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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

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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
Jul
10
TCA PRESS TOUR: CANARIES IN THE COAL MINE, WITH NOTE PADS?... AND AN UPDATE! By David Bianculli
 
 
Since I'm not joining the Television Critics Association press tour until Monday, I've been relying on phone calls, press accounts and dispatches from TV WORTH WATCHING's own Diane Werts to learn about the Big Buzz this year. And so far, by all accounts, the Big Buzz appears to be generating around... wait for it... the TCA Press Tour itself...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Jul
9
AFTRA VOTES TO SETTLE, FELLOW UNION'S HOPES SAG By David Bianculli
 
 
The biggest news coming out of Hollywood right now isn't coming from the press tour, but from the union halls. The American Federation of TV and Radio Artists (AFTRA) has announced that more than 60 percent of its 70,000 members voted last night to accept the proposed three-year deal, and thus avoid a strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP)...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Jul
8
MINISODES, MINI-SEASONS AND MINI-PRESS TOURS By David Bianculli
 
 
Tonight at 10 p.m. ET, the FX series "Rescue Me" presents the latest self-described minisode, featuring star Denis Leary and company in a short stand-alone segment. How short? The closing credits run at 10:05...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Jul
7
TCM STAYS TRUE TO ITS IDENTITY -- A CABLE RARITY THESE DAYS By David Bianculli
 
 
True story: A decade ago, I was in Diana Rigg's New York hotel room, concluding an interview with her regarding her hosting and acting chores on the PBS "Mystery!" series, when she said she wanted to show me something, and ushered me into her bedroom. (Sigh...)
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Jul
4
LINDA ELLERBEE, AS ALWAYS, TREATS KIDS LIKE ADULTS By David Bianculli
 
 
Looking for family specials keyed to the 4th of July weekend? One of the best is the latest "Nick News with Linda Ellerbee" special on Nickelodeon (9 p.m. ET Sunday), titled Coming Home: When Parents Return from War. It explains a lot. It speaks clearly and cleverly. It never condescends...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Jul
3
WHAT'S RIGHT WITH THIS PICTURE? By David Bianculli
 
 
Tonight at 10 p.m. ET, ABC presents the second installment of its excellent documentary series "Hopkins," NBC presents the latest installment in its creepy suspense anthology series "Fear Itself," and CBS presents another new episode of its period drama series, "Swingtown"...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Jul
1
IF YOU DON'T DIVE INTO "MAD MEN" DVD, YOU'RE CRAZY By David Bianculli
 
 
Lionsgate's first-season DVD set of "Mad Men," AMC's first, fabulous weekly drama series, comes out today -- and if there's one thing that will make this long, hot summer of TV doldrums more tolerable, this is it...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Jun
30
HOLLYWOOD SHOULD BALK AT PROSPECT OF A STRIKE TWO By David Bianculli
 
 
One minute after midnight tonight, the contract expires between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). There's no imminent strike threat, but bottom line: There could be a strike two, another crippling Hollywood work stoppage in the same 12-month period...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Jun
27
TRUE TV TRIBUTES DESERVE HOURS, NOT MOMENTS By David Bianculli
 
 
Tonight's TV choices include several last-minute prime-time additions, programmed by their respective networks to honor recently deceased stars. Turner Classic Movies presents three movies by Cyd Charisse, and Home Box Office repeats George Carlin's final standup comedy special. These are very welcome moves, and ones from which other networks could learn a valuable lesson...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Jun
26
FOR SUMMER-STARVED QUALITY TV FANS, ABC'S "HOPKINS" IS JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED By David Bianculli
 
 
There are other places today where I'm talking excitedly and approvingly about "Hopkins," the new six-part ABC documentary series premiering tonight at 10 ET. ...But here, I want to rave a little more, for a few other reasons...
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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