Ricky Gervais, on television, has a perfect streak going. BBC's "The Office", the original series in which he starred, and which co-wrote with Stephen Merchant: brilliant. HBO's Extras, the series featuring both him and Merchant on-camera as well as off: brilliant. Gervais' HBO stand-up special: brilliant. And now comes "The Ricky Gervais Show", an animated HBO version of an ongoing series of conversational podcasts. And guess what? It, too, is brilliant...

2010

Feb

NBC'S 2010 OLYMPICS: OFF TO A TRAGIC/THRILLING/IMPRESSIVE START By David Bianculli

The opening weekend of NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games from Vancouver started tragically, ended thrillingly, and featured a lot of emotional and impressive moments in between. All in all, it was a strong start, establishing, once again, that the best - and worst - Olympic moments follow no set script...

2010

Feb

DID SUPER BOWL XLIV REALLY OUTDRAW "M*A*S*H"? NOT NECESSARILY... By David Bianculli

Both CBS and the Nielsen Company give credit to Sunday's CBS telecast of Super Bowl XLIV as the all-time most popular TV event, slightly beating the finale of the same network's "M*A*S*H", a record that has stood for 27 years. But if you look at the statistics from a slightly different angle, that record STILL stands...

2010

Feb

"UNDERCOVER BOSS": FOR CBS, A SMART USE OF THE POST-SUPER BOWL SLOT By David Bianculli

After Super Bowl LXIV ends, and after the post-game interviews and final analysis, CBS will attempt to retain as many members as possible of that huge TV audience, and introduce them to a new reality series: "Undercover Boss", a program in which the heads of corporation pretend to be new trainees, with cameras along to capture both their performances and their treatment. As post-Super Bowl programs go, it's a pretty good fit...

2010

Feb

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF LAST NIGHT'S "LOST"? By David Bianculli

Once it's been broadcast, I feel, it's fair game for discussion. So what did YOU think of last night's episode of ABC's Lost?...Basically, I liked it, and was thrown by it in all the right places, and can't wait for next week's episode...

2010

Feb

THE BEGINNING OF THE END: ABC'S "LOST" IS BACK, FOR ONE LAST LAP By David Bianculli

When last we saw a first-run edition of ABC's Lost, nine months ago, Juliet was banging a nuclear device with a rock, hoping desperately to trigger an explosion that would, in theory, disrupt the existing time line and throw the island's inhabitants back to a time before its magnetic and mysterious forces drew them in. The season ended with Juliet succeeding in sparking an explosion -- a blinding, brilliant flash of white...

2010

Jan

STUDENT BLOG #3: AN ANIME PRIMER, AND POP QUIZ: WHAT IS "MOE"? (HINT: NOT ONE OF THE THREE STOOGES) By David Bianculli

Bianculli here: All TV critics have their quirky specialties, and we here at TV WORTH WATCHING are no different. But I admit to being ignorant of, though curious about, the majority of Japanese anime programs. But one of my former college students at Rowan University, Rich Greenhalgh, is passionate about the subject, so I gave him a dare: Write a column about anime explaining what's hot, and why. He came through, and even provided links for us to become instantly anime-literate...

2010

Jan

FINAL VERDICT ON JOSS WHEDON'S "DOLLHOUSE": REGARDING THE CAST, MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH By David Bianculli

As I type this, less than 90 minutes remain until Fox broadcasts the final, unpreviewed episode of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. The fact that I'm anticipating it attests to the promise that Whedon brings to every project -- but at this point, at the show's final hour, I think I've isolated where his latest genre missed the mark. It cast the right actors -- but not always in the right roles...

2010

Jan

GOODBYE, CONAN -- HELLO, RETURNING CABLE SERIES AND OTHER GOOD TV By David Bianculli

Conan O'Brien said farewell to his NBC show, and his audience, Friday with absolute class -- thanking NBC rather than trashing it, and sending a special message to young fans not to be cynical. So long as entertainers such as Conan still get to follow their bliss on TV, that'll be an easier message to embrace. Meanwhile, TV marches on -- and on this particular Monday night, there's a LOT worth watching...

2010

Jan

WE KNOW JAY LENO'S NEXT MOVE -- NOW HOW ABOUT DAVID LETTERMAN'S? By David Bianculli

We now know that Conan O'Brien's era as host of NBC's "Tonight Show" is at an end, and that Jay Leno will resume his former late-night throne in five weeks. The next question to ask -- and it's an enticing one, regarding CBS's David Letterman -- is "WWDD?" As in, "What Will Dave Do?"...

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