2021
 
 
 
 
 
 
2020
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2019
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2018
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2017
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2016
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2015
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2014
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2013
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2012
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2011
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2010
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2009
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2008
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2007
 
 
 
 
 
 
2001
 
 
 
 
1998
 
 
 
 
1990
 
 
 
 
1989
 
 
 
 
1987
 
 
 
 
1985
 
 
 
 
1982
 
 
 
 
1980
 
 
 

DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

Bianculli's Blog

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

The Cold Light Reader

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Dateline Donovan
Contributors

DAVID HINCKLEY

All Along the Watchtower

ED BARK

Uncle Barky's Bytes

ALEX STRACHAN

TV That Matters

MIKE HUGHES

Open Mike

ED MARTIN

Ed Martin's TV Mix

KIM AKASS

Aerial View

MONIQUE NAZARETH

MNtv

BILL BRIOUX

TV Feeds My Family

ROGER CATLIN

TV Eye

GARY EDGERTON

Must-Click TV

TOM BRINKMOELLER

Raised On MTM

GERALD JORDAN

Crossing Jordan

NOEL HOLSTON

The Grassy Noel

TVWW ARCHIVE

Contributors Archive
 
 
 
 
 
2008
Nov
24
EVEN SWEEPS DON'T KEEP CABLE FROM DEMANDING ATTENTION By David Bianculli
 
 
Last night the broadcast networks presented one of their biggest guns of the November ratings sweep: Fox's two-hour telemovie, "24: Redemption." But over on cable, some of the regular weekly offerings were even more satisfying -- including the season finales of HBO's "True Blood" and "Entourage"...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
21
ABC MOWS DOWN "DAISIES," FOX PRESENTS BITE-SIZED TASTE OF "24" By David Bianculli
 
 
"Pushing Daisies," the best new series ABC has presented in two years, has been cut down by the network. Obviously, and stupidly, ABC loves it not...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
20
"PUSHING DAISIES" NEEDS ABC'S SUPPORT NOW MORE THAN EVER By David Bianculli
 
 
Last night's episode of ABC's superbly sublime "Pushing Daisies" tied, in the preliminary ratings, with NBC's supremely stupid "Knight Rider." Not good. For Daisies, it was a series low in terms of viewers, but close to a series high in terms of writing and acting...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
19
ABC'S "PUSHING DAISIES": AN ENDANGERED FLOWER THAT MUST BE PROTECTED By David Bianculli
 
 
The latest episode of ABC's "Pushing Daisies" airs tonight at 8 ET, and its fate may be determined by the number of viewers who tune in. So please, please watch -- but shame on ABC for not supporting and nurturing this excellent series more lovingly...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
17
THE BEST, AND WORST, OF CURRENT TV COMMERCIALS By David Bianculli
 
 
Most TV ads are eminently, instantly forgettable, but once in a while, one appears that's either really good or really bad. On television right now, there are stellar examples of both...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
14
RICKY GERVAIS SCORES COMEDICALLY AND TECHNOLOGICALLY -- LOOK MA, NO HANDS! By David Bianculli
 
 
There isn't much to look forward to in this very weak November sweeps month, but here comes something great: The new HBO standup special, "Ricky Gervais: Out of England"...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
13
NBC PRODUCT PLACEMENT STOOPS TO ANOTHER EGREGIOUS LOW By David Bianculli
 
 
How low will NBC stoop in its enthusiasm for in-program scripted product placement? As low as "Knight Rider" and its ubiquitous Mustang, we all know that. But last week on "My Name Is Earl," NBC sank even deeper into the bottom of the barrel...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
12
"CHOCOLATE NEWS": COMEDY CENTRAL GETS ITS NEWEST BREAKOUT VEHICLE By David Bianculli
 
 
It hasn't taken long at all -- less than a month -- for David Alan Grier to turn his new "Chocolate News" comedy series into Must-See TV. Exhibit A: The day after Barack Obama was elected, Grier opened his program with an emphatic, unbleeped two-word phrase. The first word was "Holy." The second word rhymed with "fit." And then he screamed with joy...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
11
SCARBOROUGH SPILLS STEAMING CUP OF F-WORD ON "MORNING JOE" By David Bianculli
 
 
I don't post a video link often -- about once every vernal equinox, actually -- but this one definitely is TV Worth Watching...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
10
HAPPY SMOTHERS DAY -- AGAIN! By David Bianculli
 
 
Expect to see this blog entry headline more and more this month, because my book manuscript on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" is due at the end of the month...
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 

David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.
 
 
New From TVWW

PBS' 'Frontline’ Examines Pension Promises and — Spoiler Alert — Finds the Math Doesn’t Add Up
By Alex Strachan
 
 
 
 
The Decadence of ‘Versailles’ Comes to Ovation
By David Hinckley
 
 
 
 
Prescribing Mamie Gummer in 'Emily Owens, M.D.'
By Ed Bark
 
 
 
 
Looking for a Free Ride? HBO Can Deliver
By Christy Slewinski
 
 
 
 
'Pass the Biscuits' Part of the Hatfield-McCoy Pop-Culture Legacy
By Noel Holston
 
 
 
 

Dispatches From TVWW

'Extinction: The Facts' is a Sobering Call to Action
By David Hinckley
 
 
 
 
How 'Mayans' Has Been Influenced by the Show's Creator Elgin James
By Mike Hughes
 
 
 
 
For Whom the Bell Tolls: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Take on Ernest Hemingway, the Man and the Myth
By Alex Strachan
 
 
 
 
In the Final Season, Sutton Foster's Liza is Now the Genuine Version of Her 'Younger' Self
By Monique Nazareth
 
 
 
 
Season 2 of 'City on a Hill' Returns with Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, and Boston Corruption
By David Hinckley
 
 
 
 

This Day in TV History

1957: Julie Andrews Stars in 'Cinderella'
By TV WW