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
21
 
 
It’s NFL Playoff time and that also means it’s time for the college football All-Star games... Key & Peele found gold in 2012 in this clip that satirizes the usual over-the-top sports presentation graphics, and in poking fun at the inventiveness of some college athlete's names...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
21
 
 
In tonight’s “Birthday” episode of New Girl, Jess (Zooey Deschanel) is thrilled by the apparent surprise birthday party planned for her by Nick (Jake Johnson) – except it isn’t his idea. Or her party. But don’t worry – better times are on the horizon, and quickly.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
21
 
 
This expanded Season 28 premiere of American Masters is the formerly unseen director’s cut of the documentary Salinger by Shane Salerno. While straitjacketed by legal restrictions and a lack of cooperation from elusive author J.D. Salinger and his immediate family, Salerno (working with biographical co-author David Shields) has emerged with a portrait that, while incomplete and sometimes conflicting or conflicted, nevertheless manages to be both informative and evocative. Viewers must make
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
21
 
 
Part 2. Klondike is no Deadwood – but that’s almost like saying that any drama series about lawbreakers is no Breaking Bad. As a first foray into scripted material for Discovery Channel, it’s certainly worth a peek. And a lot more defensible, for that cable outfit, than, say, Hillbilly Blood.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
21
 
 
Now that Breaking Bad is gone, this is the show that I expect will bring me the most outrageous characters and conflicts on dramatic series television. And tonight, it has found a way to set up Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) in a new environment, with a new loose-cannon distraction. The environment is an opulent mansion the authorities have seized from a mob accountant – and the distraction is played by Amy Smart, as the social worker who made a strong first impression on Rayland, and challenge
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
21
 
 
SERIES PREMIERE: Think of this new reality show as something far removed from reality, but still potentially interesting. It’s like Big Brother, except the participants in this particular contest are divided into two abutting, very different fantasy worlds: one from the primitive past, the other from the shiny future. It’s based on a hit reality series from Chile, and actually seems like a good fit for Syfy. Which is more than you can say for, say, WWE SmackDown.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
20
 
 
PBS executives had good news Monday for fans of good TV shows: more Sherlock, more Ken Burns documentaries, and, for Downton Abbey, even more viewers...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
20
 
 
In tonight’s new episode, Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) is hypnotized, and compelled to answer honestly any question that is put to him. So, of course, the gang lines up to pepper him with questions, about the greatest stories ever told. By Barney, that is. And how much truth is contained therein.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
20
 
 
SEASON FINALE: This Fox series deserves credit for expanding past the seemingly narrow premise of its original pilot, without losing the occasionally, intentionally humorous tone that was part of the mix. Well, the show’s gotten all the way to the end of its season, and tonight the trail ends – and begins again – with George Washington’s Bible.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jan
20
 
 
SERIES RETURN: I’m not even going to apologize for enjoying this show. It reminds me of those warmly comforting panel shows of the Sixties, like What’s My Line?, and game shows like Password. Jane Lynch hosts playful, often ridiculous little contests while her celebrity guests try to outdo one another at trivia, charades and other head-to-head contests. For this Season 2 opener, it’s men vs. women, with Julie Bowen from Modern Family, Beth Behrs from 2 Broke Girls and Valerie B