DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
2014
Jan
28
 
 
In tonight’s episode, the suburban neighborhood is transformed into a fundraising local fair – a swashbuckling party theme called Buccaneer Week. And in hopes of making things run more smoothly, neighbor Andy (Ian Gomez) begs his usually caustic wife, Ellie (Christa Miller), to adopt her polar-opposite alter ego: “Charming Ellie.” She does – and princess Charming so charms Jules (Courteney Cox) that Jules wants her friend’s makeover to be more permanent.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
28
 
 

Pete Seeger, who died Monday at age 94, ended a 17-year prime-time TV blacklist of his talents by performing triumphantly in 1967 on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour…

 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
27
 
 
Tonight’s new episode is called How Your Mother Met Me, and shifts the focus to Cristin Millotti as the titular Mother-to-be. It’s a flashback episode, one that inserts “Mother” into all sorts of almost encounters, near-misses and fleeting contacts through the years with Ted (Josh Radnor). Think of it as part Rashomon, and part Zelig. Either way, once again, the final-season narrative refuses to move forward.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
27
 
 
Season 2 of The Following has a new approach, but the tone is the same: Violent scenes are lingered over as though they’re supposed to be enjoyed a little too much, and the schemes, minor as well as major, seem wildly unbelievable. But now that we know for certain that Ryan’s old nemesis survived last season’s fire, we’re back to basics. And I’m not sure, on this show, whether that’s a good thing.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
27
 
 
This documentary celebrates the bold and surgically funny work of Washington Post political cartoonist Herbert L. Bock, who signed his work Herblock and may have drawn the most caustic, accurate Nixon caricatures ever. It may be a little late to celebrate anything having to do with daily newspapers, but one of the heartening things about this film, based on the many celebrities, newsmakers and newspaper people who weigh in, is just how many people were long-time “Herblock” fans. You
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
27
 
 
Mr. Creosote is my favorite part of this 1982 collection of comedy vignettes (“Just one thin mint…”), but there’s a lot more here to enjoy, from start to finish. And, technically, even a bit after the finish.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
27
 
 
Like The Following, this broadcast network series ups the ante so far as portrayals of violence by bad guys. Unlike The Following, this series is worth… following. James Spader stars.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
27
 
 
Broadcast news came of age, and reached reliable maturity, in large part because of Edward R. Murrow – first in his prewar and wartime reports for CBS Radio, then for his stubbornly intelligent and mostly meaningful work on the new medium of television...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
26
 
 
My name is Linda, and I’m a TV addict. My jones began for me as a child...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
26
 
 
There’s a Beatles tribute being taped by Grammy attendees for broadcast closer to the golden anniversary of the group’s record-breaking appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Consequently, I’m not sure how much thunder will be generated by the appearances of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr on tonight’s show – or even whether they will play together, or appear separately. But with Ken Ehrlich producing, the Grammys are a guaranteed must-see music event anyway, because of