2021
 
 
 
 
 
 
2020
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2019
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2018
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2017
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2016
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2015
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2014
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2013
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2012
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2011
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2010
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2009
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2008
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2007
 
 
 
 
 
 
2001
 
 
 
 
2000
 
 
 
 
1998
 
 
 
 
1990
 
 
 
 
1989
 
 
 
 
1987
 
 
 
 
1985
 
 
 
 
1982
 
 
 
 
1980
 
 
 

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
 
 
2015
Nov
15
FLESH AND BONE By David Bianculli
 
 
Creator and co-executive producer Moria Walley-Beckett, who won an Emmy for one of her scripts for AMC’s Breaking Bad, continues to try and apply that sense of unpredictability, and strong examination of character, to a series about ballet dancers. And her quest for realism extends to her leading lady: Sarah Hay, an actual ballet dancer, playing a young dancer trying to advance in the fiercely competitive world of dance. This is episode two – but if you missed the premiere, this is s
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Nov
15
THE WALKING DEAD By David Bianculli
 
 
This season has taken a “divide and conquer” approach, following a small handful of different characters each week as they prepare for, and try to survive, the same harrowing day. This week, after barely seeing him for weeks, the spotlight shifts to Norman Reedus as Daryl. His motorcycle has seen better days – and based on the ominous promos, so has Daryl.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Nov
15
THE GOOD WIFE By David Bianculli
 
 
One of this show’s biggest strengths is its examination of thorny legal issues raised by the latest advancements in technology. Tonight’s episode is just such a case, as the issue brought to court is that of an accident involving a driverless car. Also, Vanessa Williams shows up as a special guest star.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Nov
15
INTO THE BADLANDS By David Bianculli
 
 
SERIES PREMIERE: This new series could well turn out to be the next Game of Thrones, because it’s got the same warring-tribes chessboard mentality, as well as plot lines and conflicts guaranteeing frequent and showy displays of violence. It’s also got a couple of intriguing and equally showy characters, all of whom speak softly and carry big swords. But for me, the first episode doesn’t succeed or intrigue nearly as much as the second, and the hyper-stylized scenes of violence
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Nov
15
THE ROYALS By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: There aren’t many chances for me to recommend an E! series, but here’s one. Season 1 of The Royals, starring Elizabeth Hurley, was surprisingly droll and entertaining, mostly for the same reason I expect Season 2 to be: Elizabeth Hurley, playing a very fictitious, yet very funny, British monarch.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Nov
15
WHO CALLED IT “THE BOOB TUBE”? By Jonathan Storm
 
 
Stephen Colbert pondered the blurry line between art and porn on TV after the recent $170 million sale for Modigliani’s painting “Nu Couche”, which depicts a nude woman lying on a couch...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Nov
14
SMITHSONIAN’S 'THE DAY HITLER DIED' UNCOVERS NEW FIRST-HAND ACCOUNTS By David Sicilia
 
 
The Smithsonian special offers the first U.S. television showing of segments of interviews of bunker survivors taped in 1948...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Nov
14
CAMPAIGN 2016: DEMOCRATIC DEBATE By David Bianculli
 
 
John Dickerson, the new host of Face the Nation, gets to face the nation as the moderator of tonight’s latest Democratic debate among presidential aspirants. Televised live from Des Moines, by CBS.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Nov
14
DOCTOR WHO By David Bianculli
 
 
In tonight’s new episode, the Doctor and Clara investigate a seemingly deserted space station – which gives the show a chance to do its own twisty approach to the popular horror-movie narrative gimmick known as “found footage.” What you’ll find, I’m guessing, is that Doctor Who, as usual, is more clever, and scary, than most.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Nov
14
U2: INNOCENCE + EXPERIENCE LIVE IN PARIS By David Bianculli
 
 
WARNING – This live TV concert special has been canceled. Songs from the new U2 album, Songs of Experience, were scheduled to be performed in this live concert special from Paris – as were songs from the group’s now-voluminous back catalog. But in the wake of that city’s terrorist attacks Friday, killing at least 100 at public venues around the city, U2 and HBO have canceled the show. Whatever is televised by HBO at this hour tonight, it won’t be U2. So even though
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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