Friday night, the host of "Bill Moyers' Journal" presents an expanded 90-minute edition of his superb program, then says goodbye -- putting a self-imposed end to a stellar TV career that began 40 years ago. It's safe to say, given Moyers' reliable excellence and the qualitative demise of most network news and public affairs shows, we're unlikely to see his equal again...

2010

Apr

ACTOR JOE PANTOLIANO BECOMES A DIRECTOR, AND CHAMPIONS COMPASSION FOR "MENTAL DIS-EASE," IN NEW DOCUMENTARY By David Bianculli

Beginning today, Amazon has begun offering exclusive distribution of a new documentary by Joe Pantoliano...But this time, as writer-producer-director of "No Kidding?!! Me, Too!", the performer known as Joey Pants isn't hiding behind a role. He's being as honest as he can, about his personal battles with depression and other forms of what he calls "mental dis-ease,"...

2010

Apr

"GLEE" AND "LOST": TWO OF TV'S MOST INVENTIVE, ORIGINAL SERIES ARE MUST-SEE TONIGHT By David Bianculli

Two of television's most exciting, inventive and original broadcast network series right now, Fox's "Glee' and ABC's "Lost", present can't-miss episodes tonight. Unfortunately, they're on at the same time, so a little time-shifting is required. But see them both, by all means...

2010

Apr

SPEAKING AND WATCHING AT THE BEA: MY WEEKEND IN VEGAS By David Bianculli

This weekend capped the latest frenzied round of what passes for my life, with a presentation about my book at the Broadcast Education Association convention in Las Vegas. But what I was most excited about at the convention was the King Foundation Awards show, which selected and honored the best student and faculty productions in various media categories...

2010

Apr

SINGING THE PRAISES OF FOX'S "GLEE": IT'S BACK, AND EVEN MORE DELIGHTFUL By David Bianculli

When last we saw the musical misfits of Fox's "Glee", they had won the Sectionals, the first step in becoming state champs for their singing glee club. Well, after a few months off, they return tonight, basking in their newfound glory -- for about 10 seconds. Then, once again, the reality and cruelty of high school sets in...

2010

Apr

HBO'S "TREME": TASTY, MUSICAL, DEFIANTLY DIFFERENT, JUST LIKE NEW ORLEANS By David Bianculli

The newest HBO drama from David Simon and company, "Treme", is a quality cousin to his previous classic examination of a specific urban landscape and populace, "The Wire". But where The Wire was set in Baltimore and exuded an air of grim hopelessness, Treme, set in a post-Katrina New Orleans, exudes something else entirely...

2010

Apr

STUDENT BLOG #4: THE SUN SHOULD SET ON FOX'S "SONS OF TUCSON" By David Bianculli

I asked Rich Greenhalgh, who last wrote on the subject of anime, to take a look at one of the new shows aimed at young viewers, and write about whether it did or didn't work for him, a college student at Rowan University. Here is his not-so-glowing report on Fox's newest sitcom...

2010

Apr

THE BEATLES ON "IDOL," "AMAZING RACE," "GLEE": YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, OR NO, NO, NO? By David Bianculli

I hate it when any Beatles music shows up in a TV commercial, as when "Hello Goodbye" is covered during a Target ad. But when music associated with the group or its former members is showcased on prime-time network TV, is that a good thing or a bad thing? Depends...

2010

Apr

TONIGHT ON "LATE LATE SHOW": ATTACK OF THE ROBOT By David Bianculli

Late shows and robots have been co-exisiting peacefully since the 1950s -- thanks to B movies -- but tonight marks a new, Terminator-type evolutionary moment. Tonight at 12:35 a.m., on CBS's "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson", we're introduced to the host's brand-new robot sidekick...

2010

Apr

AN INCIDENTAL EASTER WEEKEND ANNIVERSARY: 41 YEARS AGO, CBS FIRED THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS By David Bianculli

On Easter Weekend in 1969, CBS refused to air the program Tom and Dick Smothers had supplied for telecast on Easter Sunday -- the one containing David Steinberg's second comic sermonette -- and fired off a memo which also fired the Smothers Brothers. So unhappy anniversary, guys, but thanks for letting me tell your story...

Posts 1-10 of 10 1

New From TVWW

PBS' 'Frontline’ Examines Pension Promises and — Spoiler Alert — Finds the Math Doesn’t Add Up

The Decadence of ‘Versailles’ Comes to Ovation

Prescribing Mamie Gummer in 'Emily Owens, M.D.'

Looking for a Free Ride? HBO Can Deliver

'Pass the Biscuits' Part of the Hatfield-McCoy Pop-Culture Legacy

Dispatches From TVWW

'Extinction: The Facts' is a Sobering Call to Action

How 'Mayans' Has Been Influenced by the Show's Creator Elgin James

For Whom the Bell Tolls: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Take on Ernest Hemingway, the Man and the Myth

In the Final Season, Sutton Foster's Liza is Now the Genuine Version of Her 'Younger' Self

Season 2 of 'City on a Hill' Returns with Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, and Boston Corruption