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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
 
 
2018
Oct
29
A VERY WICKED HALLOWEEN: 15 YEARS ON BROADWAY By David Bianculli
 
 
The official opening night for the Broadway musical Wicked was Oct. 30, 2003 – the night before Halloween, and 15 years ago tomorrow night. The musical is still running, but its original leads left long ago. When it opened, Kristin Chenoweth played Glinda, Idina Menzel played Elphaba, and Joel Grey played the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. They and others appear in this retrospective salute to the musical, based on the novel by Gregory Maguire and with music and lyrics by Godspell creator Stephen
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Oct
29
'LOST TAPES: THE CLINTON IMPEACHMENT' REMINDS US EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN By David Hinckley
 
 
Lest anyone think Smithsonian’s new Lost Tapes special on the impeachment of President Bill Clinton is just an exercise in uncomfortable nostalgia, the documentary opens with an old news clip of Clinton at a podium saying he will “make America great again.”...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Oct
28
'RAY DONOVAN' MOVES TO NY AND RETURNS STRONG By David Hinckley
 
 
Partway through the first episode in Season 6 of Ray Donovan, Liev Schreiber’s Ray – that’s Ray from the South Boston Donovans – walks into a bar wearing a Yankees cap. That, my friend, is how a TV show signals a reset...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Oct
28
CHRISTIAN BRASSINGTON ON THE REV. OSBORNE WHITWORTH ON 'POLDARK' By David Hinckley
 
 
Christian Brassington has the best of both worlds: He gets all the fun of playing a really sleazy character on television yet in real life he doesn’t get stopped on the street by viewers who want to scold him about it...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Oct
28
2018 WORLD SERIES By David Bianculli
 
 
Last night’s World Series game, like the one the night before, was a duel to remember. It was scoreless through five innings, after which the home-team Los Angeles Dodgers blew it open with four runs in the sixth. Given how tough it’s been for these teams to score, that should have been it – but the Boston Red Sox answered with three runs the next time they got to bat, scored the tying run an inning later, and burst the game open by scoring an additional five runs in the ninth.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Oct
28
THE CIRCUS: INSIDE THE WILDEST POLITICAL SHOW ON EARTH By David Bianculli
 
 
The suspected bomber was caught this week – but before and after, reactions to the mass mailings, across the political spectrum, overshadowed all other political stories. Almost. And The Circus was there, regardless…
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Oct
28
THE WALKING DEAD By David Bianculli
 
 
Rick’s decision to not kill Negan – in effect, honoring the final wish by Rick’s late son – continues to reverberate, and cause divisions among the various camps. And not only that, but the people within the individual camps too, with even Daryl and Maggie determined to go against Rick’s wishes. This is Rick’s penultimate episode, so whatever stand he makes, it’s getting close to his last one.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Oct
28
THE DEUCE By David Bianculli
 
 
The good news: Vincent has a new job offer, and Candy has a distributor for her X-rated “Red Hot” film. The bad news: The same as the good news, because both opportunities come attached with strings. And the mob.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Oct
28
RAY DONOVAN By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: The last time we saw Ray Donovan, and Ray Donovan, could have been his last. But instead of following his late wife and shuffling off this mortal coil, he’s still around – and available to be hired on a new case involving more intrigue among the rich and powerful. Susan Sarandon returns as Ray’s amoral employer. For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower. 
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Oct
28
LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER By David Bianculli
 
 
John Oliver likes to dive so deeply into the news, his big story tonight just as likely could involve voter suppression as the mail bombings. Either way, it’s a highlight.
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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