Downton Abbey is returning, as usual, shortly after the calendar turns to the New Year. But this year, before it returns, PBS is setting the scene, and the table, by presenting a retrospective of this series’ first five seasons. If you’ve never seen Downton Abbey, consider this special a 90-minute collection of Spoiler Alerts. Otherwise, enjoy. Check local listings.

2015

Nov

THE WALKING DEAD By David Bianculli

MIDSEASON FINALE: So last week’s episode ended with one of the towers collapsing, threatening to delay a long-awaited reunion – and threatening just about everything and everyone else in the process. Tonight’s episode is the midseason finale, a point in each season’s narrative when the body count, traditionally, has risen dramatically.

2015

Nov

THE GOOD WIFE By David Bianculli

Jeffrey Dean Morgan, as Jason, has been a charismatic, funny and likable replacement for the departed Kalinda as a resourceful private investigator. Alicia (Julianna Margulies) already has leaned on him strongly – and tonight, she considers doing something more than leaning, and others are noticing their mutual chemistry. With her husband running for President, that's not necessarily a smart move...

2015

Nov

OUR ANNUAL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE IS READY - AND THERE'S A (FREE) WAY YOU CAN GIVE TO US, TOO By David Bianculli

This time of year, what do The Great American Dream Machine, Better Call Saul and dozens of other great DVD boxed sets have in common? They’re all gift suggestions from myself, here or on NPR’s Fresh Air, or from other TVWW editors and writers…

2015

Nov

THE SEVENTIES By David Bianculli

CNN is repeating several episodes of its latest decade documentary tonight, starting at 7 p.m. ET. Web and DVR schedules conflict, so I’m not positive which installments are shown when, but I believe the opening episode, on TV in the Seventies, is repeated at 9 p.m. ET. Viewer warning: I’m in it, somewhere. Tread lightly.

2015

Nov

KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE By David Bianculli

This 2014 action comedy is like a James Bond amped up even more overtly, with Colin Firth, especially, having fun with the action sequences while playing against type. Supporting players include Michael Caine and Samuel L. Jackson, so there’s a lot of expertise and cinema history within this secret British spy society.

2015

Nov

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD By David Bianculli

If you still have the family around for the holidays, gather them to watch this 1962 film classic, which stars Gregory Peck as a Southern lawyer defending a black man in a small town during the Depression. The younger kids should identify with Scout, and the adults with Peck’s Atticus Finch – and there’s a lesson to be learned here, and a movie to be embraced, by everyone.

2015

Nov

DOCTOR WHO By David Bianculli

Fans of The Walking Dead spent most of a month debating whether the character of Glenn was dead or alive, until his fate was revealed in last week’s episode. Coincidentally, also last week, Doctor Who may or may not have killed off the character of Clara for good. That episode is repeated at 8 p.m. ET, followed by tonight’s new episode at 9 p.m. ET, which has the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) without his companion, and trying to obey her dying order not to seek vengeance. Is Clara, played b

2015

Nov

THE SPYMASTERS: CIA IN THE CROSSHAIRS By David Bianculli

Two reasons to give The Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs a try tonight. First, it’s a documentary interviewing all the living CIA directors in history, and they’re spilling rather than unearthing secrets – and often disagreeing. Second, it’s a film by Gedeon and Jules Naudet, the filmmaking brothers who made the stunning 2002 documentary 9/11, employing ground-level footage they were shooting, following New York firefighters, as the first plane hit the tower.

2015

Nov

THE RETURNED By David Bianculli

This fabulously creepy series continues – and tonight, there’s just what this isolated French town doesn’t need: another death in the family.

Posts 11-20 of 212

1 2 3 4 5

New From TVWW

PBS' 'Frontline’ Examines Pension Promises and — Spoiler Alert — Finds the Math Doesn’t Add Up

The Decadence of ‘Versailles’ Comes to Ovation

Prescribing Mamie Gummer in 'Emily Owens, M.D.'

Looking for a Free Ride? HBO Can Deliver

'Pass the Biscuits' Part of the Hatfield-McCoy Pop-Culture Legacy

Dispatches From TVWW

'Extinction: The Facts' is a Sobering Call to Action

How 'Mayans' Has Been Influenced by the Show's Creator Elgin James

For Whom the Bell Tolls: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Take on Ernest Hemingway, the Man and the Myth

In the Final Season, Sutton Foster's Liza is Now the Genuine Version of Her 'Younger' Self

Season 2 of 'City on a Hill' Returns with Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, and Boston Corruption