I know, it's radio, not TV. But where else can I proudly trumpet that today on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, the show is repeating her interview with me, from last year, tied to the new paperback publication of my latest book, The Platinum Age of Television: From 'I Love Lucy' to 'The Walking Dead,' How TV Became Terrific. Yes, it's blatant self-promotion. But if not here, where? And if not now, when? And besides -- as Terry interviews me today, she gets me to talk more personally than I eve

2017

Oct

ONCE UPON A TIME By David Bianculli

SEASON PREMIERE: At least give ABC credit for consistency, and for thematic scheduling. Tonight, for the first time, the network is pairing two of its projects that suffer from the same internal, infectious rot: too much access to franchise characters, with too little regard for coherent and compelling story lines. (See also: Marvel’s Inhumans. Except don’t see it.) Tonight, Once Upon a Time, a show that began strongly and cleverly when it premiered years ago, embarks on

2017

Oct

GREAT PERFORMANCES: "HAVANA TIME MACHINE" By David Bianculli

Raul Malo, the Grammy-winning artist from the Mavericks, hosts this performance documentary celebrating the music and heritage of Cuban music. He also performs “Siboney” with the band led by Eliades Ochoa, one of the standout stars of the ensemble, and movie, Buena Vista Social Club. Other performers include Malo, Ivette Cepeda, Roberto Fonseca, and the Sweet Lizzy Project. Check local listings.

2017

Oct

ACTIVE SHOOTER: AMERICA UNDER FIRE By David Bianculli

Last week, this documentary series – with each installment dedicated to an analysis of recent mass shootings in the U.S. – premiered with the 2012 mass shooting at the suburban Colorado movie theater in Aurora, during the midnight Batman premiere of The Dark Knight Rises. Seventy people were shot in 90 seconds – which sounded like a horrendous amount of carnage. Then, on Sunday, the mass shooting in Las Vegas occurred, with the apparently lone gunman claiming, at recent count,

2017

Oct

MARVEL'S INHUMANS By David Bianculli

This is not a recommendation. There’s reason to have comic-book fatigue when it comes to TV adaptations these days, but not all series, or mutants, are created equal. Earlier this week, another entry in the Marvel pantheon of programs, Fox’s The Gifted, premiered, and was surprisingly, refreshingly good. But Marvel’s Inhumans, which premiered last week, is an unwatchable mess. It’s had to believe these two series sprang from the same universe, much less the same (Marvel)

2017

Oct

20/20 By David Bianculli

Tonight’s hour is dedicated to the first responders and other heroes in this week’s Las Vegas shooting massacre. Elizabeth Vargas and David Muir host.

2017

Oct

MIKE JUDGE PRESENTS: TALES FROM THE TOUR BUS By David Bianculli

Tales from the Tour Bus, by Mike Judge, is one of the sneakiest, most entertaining and original surprises of the current TV season. What he’s done here, basically, is a series of documentaries about country music and some of the stars’ reputed misadventures. And he’s done it with first-rate interviews, which are then animated and folded into the animated “action.” Tonight is part one of a two-part study about one-time country royal couple, George Jones and Tammy Wyn

2017

Oct

REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER By David Bianculli

Among the scheduled guests on tonight’s lineup: Billy Crystal, Russell Brand, and political strategist Steve Schmidt – three extremely quotable fellows.

2017

Oct

GOTHAM By David Bianculli

Bruce Wayne is beginning to look a bit batty, Selina is starting to act much more catty, and while the future Riddler remains on ice, the once and future Penguin, Oswald Cobblepot, is running things in Gotham, and continuing to flex his muscles. Or, metaphorically, his useless Penguin wings. Tonight, Fox tries to appeal to younger viewers by casting MTV Teen Wolf co-star Crystal Reed in a prominent new role: the daughter of former Gotham mob boss Falcone, whose daughter Sofia, played by Reed, is

2017

Oct

THE GOOD PLACE By David Bianculli

To say that The Good Place has reinvented itself this season would be a severe understatement. Two weeks ago, in the Season 2 premiere, it reinvented itself from top to bottom – by revealing that the “good place” actually was a sort of hell, and Kristen Bell’s Eleanor and the others were being emotionally tortured by this new hell’s devilish architect, Michael (played by Ted Danson). Last week, after Eleanor had discovered the ruse, Danson’s determined demon t

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