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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

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
 
 
2011
Apr
28
ROYAL WEDDING: TOO, TOO, TOO MUCH! By Diane Werts
 
 
How much TV coverage of a royal wedding can one country stand? Americans are finding out -- with Friday's marriage of the UK's WIlliam Who Would Be King and his betrothed Commoner Catherine -- the answer to that question is "saturation." OK, I get live as-it-happens satellite coverage on ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. Or news channels like CNN and MSNBC. Even PBS, with its raging Anglophilia. And obviously, BBC America. Obviously, Wedding Central. But do we need live nuptials on TLC, home of Extreme
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Apr
26
SALUTE: 40 YEARS OF ERIKA SLEZAK By Diane Werts
 
 
Now here's something you don't get to see in prime time -- an actor playing the same role for 40 years. And we might not be seeing it much longer in daytime, either. So be there Wednesday when ABC's "One Life to Live" celebrates Erika Slezak's four decades (and six Emmys) playing solid citizen/slutty chick Viki Lord Lord Riley Burke Riley Buchanan Buchanan Carpenter Davidson Banks...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Apr
8
FLASHBACK: 'AN AMERICAN FAMILY' (RE)SURFACES By Diane Werts
 
 
I'm not sure if "reality" TV starts here, or ends here. But "here" is TV's original docusoap miniseries, from 1973 -- PBS's "An American Family". HBO revisits that landmark societal moment in its fact-based April 23 movie drama "Cinema Verite" -- and the next day, PBS's WORLD channel encores the original source material, all 12 aired hours of it, for the first time in 20 years...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Apr
3
GREAT GUESTS: MEL BROOKS, OZZY OSBOURNE AND MORE By Diane Werts
 
 
You never know where you'll spot TV's coolest guest star lineup. But maybe your 3-year-old does. This week of new episodes on Disney Junior's "Special Agent Oso" (weekdays at 1 p.m. ET/PT) features Mel Brooks, Freddy Rodriguez, Doris Roberts, Sarah Chalke and other great performers. Okay, it's just their voices, but still...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Mar
30
TUNING IN: FINDING SHOWS WHERE YOU DON'T EXPECT THEM By Diane Werts
 
 
Photography on The Weather Channel? Miniseries on Reelz Channel? Coal miners on Spike TV? And where the heck is The Dog Whisperer? Shows keep showing up in places you wouldn't necessarily think they'd be airing. As more cable channels seek to broaden their appeal, they're reaching outside their (and our) comfort zones...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Mar
27
GOTTA READ: OUR 'IDOL' EXPERT By Diane Werts
 
 
How great is it for us here at TVWW to have experts on board? As much as Bianculli and I hate to admit it, we are not the last word on everything TV, because "everything TV" has become too huge for even tubeheads like us to keep track of...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Mar
25
WEIRD & WILD: BICENTENNIAL BANSHEE By Diane Werts
 
 
Can't say I've seen it, but really, who needs to? It's "Scream of the Banshee", and it's the 200th Syfy Saturday Original Movie presentation (March 26 at 9 p.m. ET on Syfy). So here's what to expect -- kitschy title, cheesy special effects, dopey plot, so-so stars with genre pedigree. In other words, guaranteed brain-free entertainment. Whatthehell -- it's Saturday!...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Mar
23
TRIBUTE: ELIZABETH TAYLOR DIES AT 79 By Diane Werts
 
 
It didn't take long after Elizabeth Taylor's Wednesday morning death at age 79 for Turner Classic Movies to announce a 24-hour tribute on April 10. But why wait that long? Two of Taylor's most iconic films are already scheduled to air this week...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Mar
23
SAVE THE DATE: 'TORCHWOOD' IN JULY By Diane Werts
 
 
Big news for Torchwood fans -- Starz has announced its U.S.-set Torchwood: Miracle Day will premiere July 8. Continuing stars John Barrowman and Eve Myles are joined by Mekhi Phifer (ER), Bill Pullman (Independence Day) and Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) for the tale now being shot in Los Angeles. Here's the plot...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Mar
17
ST. PATRICK'S DAY: WHAT, NO IRISH TV? By Diane Werts
 
 
Why, you're absolutely right. We have kind of ignored St. Patrick's Day here at TVWW. So here's a little green for ye. Thursday night's viewing options do include a few Irish-themed offerings. Among them...
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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