When gems are graded, weight isn't the only criterion. Cut and color matter a lot, too. Emmy nominators made "gem judgments" of TV's best recently, with Nielsen points, as always, the equivalent of carat weight. Submitted for your approval: Two delightful TV gems that don't pull the ratings of the Emmy-nominated productions, but still have a cut and clarity that make them valuable -- and worth knowing about: Theater Talk and Vine Talk...

2011

Jul

A TRUE-LIFE TV LOVE STORY: HOW A STROKE STOPPED OLD VIDEO VIEWING HABITS IN THEIR TRACKS By Tom Brinkmoeller

You won't find note of this in a any medical journal, but an after-effect of stroke is an unreasonable addiction to... Emeril Lagasse. Though not a neurologist, I conclude this from experience -- and, it has to be noted up front, with the bemused approval of my spouse...

2011

Jul

IS THERE A LIFEBOAT DRILL IN PBS'S NEAR FUTURE? By Tom Brinkmoeller

It hasn't been a year to brag about for the Public Broadcasting Service. Four television stations so far this year have dropped their PBS memberships, three at the start of this month...

2011

Jul

WON'T SOMEONE PLEASE ENACT A LEMMINGS LAW? By Tom Brinkmoeller

[Did PBS's An American Family, in one generation, and CBS's Survivor, in another, lead us all, like lemmings, over a cliff from which there is no return? TVWW contributor Tom Brinkmoeller asks the question -- and connects the dots... -- DB] Several thoughts on being the first lemming into the abyss...

2011

Jun

FIRST-RATE PBS MYSTERIES, SANS POIROT AND MARPLE By Tom Brinkmoeller

History Detectives starts its ninth PBS season this week (Tuesday 8 p.m. ET; check local listings), and that's notable for several reasons. The series has longevity, something the television business displays little of anymore. It has lasted because its premise -- discovering whether privately owned items have a historical significance -- is one-of-a-kind, and is produced in a way that genuinely holds a viewer's interest...

2011

May

BEST SEAT'S IN YOUR HOUSE FOR CARNEGIE HALL 120TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT By Tom Brinkmoeller

Had you been in New York on May 5, had an interest in seeing a top-tier symphonic performance, and had an extra $50-$180 to spend, you might have been seated on one of five levels inside Carnegie Hall to watch and hear fabulous music. Those stars weren't in alignment for most of us. But PBS' Great Performances was there for the celebration of Carnegie Hall's 120th anniversary...

2011

May

SHOULD TV VIEWING COME WITH A MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE? By Tom Brinkmoeller

When the cost of a tank of gas now is nearly the same as a newspaper reporter's weekly pay in the mid-'70s, and the cost of a week's worth of groceries for two exceeds a mortgage payment during the same era, it's easy, in a long recession, to be wistful over what once was. Much of what television currently doles out, for me, eliicits the same reaction as filling up my gas tank: I can't help but remember when you watched TV and usually got your money's worth...

2011

May

DICK CAVETT, TAKE 2: SOUVENIRS FROM AN INTERESTING INTERVIEW By Tom Brinkmoeller

I interviewed Dick Cavett last month to write a story for TV WORTH WATCHING. You may have read it. You might have liked it. At any event, in our conversation, Cavett provided many wonderful quotes that didn't fit the topic at hand, but were too good to ignore or bury. So here they are...

2011

May

ABC'S 'BETTER WITH YOU': TOO GOOD TO LOSE, NOT TOO LATE TO SAVE By Tom Brinkmoeller

ABC will announce its 2011-12 prime-time schedule next week, but producers are expected to learn the fates of current shows before the weekend. ABC soon could pull the plug on the most clever comedy to hit television in five years...it's in the same class as series like "Cheers" and "Taxi" and "Newhart"...

2011

May

'NATURE' TRILOGY GOES WHERE BEAR CLAWS AREN'T JUST BAKERY GOODS By Tom Brinkmoeller

The PBS series "Nature" has presented some memorable wildlife programming over the nearly three decades it has been on the air. Over the next three Sundays, it will memorably return a term to the wild, when it reminds viewers that mama grizzlies don't care about tea, can't see Russia and can be pretty darn accommodating to outsiders...

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Tom Brinkmoeller

I wrote about television for a daily newspaper (The Cincinnati Enquirer) in the '80s, but what drew me to covering it was how good this young medium so often was. So much of what was good then came from MTM Enterprises and its alumni. When I left the beat, MTM was still setting high standards with drama series like St. Elsewhere and comedies like Newhart. Because general TV standards have dropped a great distance since then, it's no reason to capitulate. My role here is to find and spotlight programming that still honors high standards.

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