Here it is again – one of my favorite “spider web” movies. And this 1999 comedy is so endearing precisely because so many performers contribute so much to the fun. This time around, I’ll point to some of the supporting actors portraying the visiting aliens: Missi Pyle as Laliari and Enrico Colantoni as Mathesar. I love the way they laugh, among other things.

2012

Oct

GAMES By David Bianculli

Curtis Harrington directed this little-seen 1967 movie, which features a standout performance by Katharine Ross (pictured) as a young bride influenced by an older woman (Simone Signoret) while bouncing between her adventurous husband (James Caan) and a smitten admirer (Don Stroud). What happens is very strange, very unpredictable – and, given the cast, very noteworthy.

2012

Oct

THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW By David Bianculli

SEASON PREMIERE: There are other guests on this new edition of England’s most outrageous talk show, but the one to note is Arnold Schwarzenegger, here to plug his new book. But if he thinks Norton is going to let him off without at least a few cheeky questions, then the former Terminator has never seen this show – which actually is fairly likely.

2012

Oct

2003: NBC QUIETLY ENDS 'THE LYON'S DEN' By Christy Slewinski

This day in 2003 marked the last official broadcast of NBC's Rob Lowe vehicle, The Lyon's Den...

2012

Oct

MOCKINGBIRD LANE By David Bianculli

Unless this unsold pilot draws so many viewers NBC reverses its decision, this 2012 update of the '60s comedy The Munsters will not continue as a weekly series – and that’s regrettable, given that the co-writer of Mockingbird Lane is Bryan Fuller, creator of ABC’s Pushing Daisies. In this new version, Jerry O’Connell stars as Herman Munster, with Portia de Rossi as his wife Lily and Eddie Izzard as Grandpa.

2012

Oct

FRINGE By David Bianculli

This is the start of the final 10 episodes for this series – and this is the episode where, rather than accept their futuristic fate, the fringe group decides to go on the offensive. Good luck with that.

2012

Oct

FRONTLINE: "THE CHOICE" By David Bianculli

Here’s a very welcome repeat of last week’s Frontline two-hour special, The Choice 2012, a very telling, very even-handed dual biography of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. If you’re planning to vote a week from Tuesday, you really, really should watch this documentary. If you’re not planning to vote, well, I don’t understand that at all. Check local listings.

2012

Oct

HUNTED By David Bianculli

In last week’s series premiere, Sam (Melissa George) successfully established herself in the fortified Turner household as the new nanny, putting her in position to spy on scheming millionaire Jack (Patrick Malahide, who’s excellent). This week, we begin to see what she can, and can’t, do now that she’s in there, as she deals with her own trust issues as well.

2012

Oct

REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER By David Bianculli

The third and final presidential debate of 2012 took place earlier this week, and now, with the election just 12 days away, Maher and company weigh in. And this week, his company is a very vocal group – including Barney Frank, Eliot Spitzer, Michael Steele and Nate Silver.

2012

Oct

THE ERNIE KOVACS COLLECTION, VOLUMES 1 & 2 By David Bianculli

Ernie Kovacs, in the 1950s and until his untimely death in 1962, was a television triple threat: an unusually naturalistic and charming host, an outrageously goofy character comic, and a TV pioneer who pushed the medium in several directions at once...

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