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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

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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

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The Grassy Noel

TVWW ARCHIVE

Contributors Archive
 
 
2017
Nov
19
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM By David Bianculli
 
 
This return season of Curb has been a triumph for Larry David – each episode introduces wildly funny new conflicts, ideas and “rules.” This week’s rule may be embedded in the episode’s title: “Never Wait for Seconds!” And it continues the unexpected but very welcome addition of guest star Lauren Graham, as Larry’s latest romantic interest – a single mother with a son on the autism spectrum. It sounds like a dicey area for comedy, but already,
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Nov
19
CRASS REUNION By Eric Gould
 
 
SNL took an opportunity to serve up former alum and now-U.S. Senator Al Franken for a pre-Thanksgiving carving over the recent news of the sexual misconduct accusations made against him.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Nov
18
‘COLD BLOODED’ REEXAMINES THE CLUTTER FAMILY MURDERS AND THE NEARLY-FORGOTTEN VICTIMS THEMSELVES By David Hinckley
 
 
Call it the last and cruelest indignity: becoming a bit player in your own murder...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Nov
18
MRS. PATMORE AND DAISY VISIT ‘DOWNTON ABBEY: THE EXHIBITION’ IN NEW YORK CITY By David Hinckley
 
 
Trust the downstairs people to know where the secrets were hidden in Downton Abbey...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Nov
18
THE WIZARD OF OZ By David Bianculli
 
 
I still consider this 1939 family classic a holiday tradition – but any time it’s televised, I feel compelled to point it out. Tonight, TBS shows The Wizard of Oz twice, at 7 p.m. ET and again at 9:15. The good news is, it’s on a Saturday night, the weekend before Thanksgiving, when families already may be starting to gather. The bad news is, TBS presents the movie with commercial interruptions – something you won’t have to endure if you wait until the film is shown
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Nov
18
THE NIGHT OF TOO MANY STARS: AMERICA UNITES FOR AUTISM PROGRAMS By David Bianculli
 
 
Once again, Jon Stewart hosts this annual live benefit for care and research related to autism.  Stephen Colbert is slated to perform, along with John Oliver, Sarah Silverman, Robert De Niro, Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler and many others. Louis C.K. was part of the original lineup, but was dropped after the recent allegations of his sexual misconduct became public. But will the topic, also in the news because of Minnesota Senator Al Franken and Alabama senatorial candidate Roy Moore
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Nov
18
REAR WINDOW By David Bianculli
 
 
Tonight, TCM begins a repeat cycle of this year’s The Essentials visit by Tina Fey, appearing with her former 30 Rock co-star Alec Baldwin, host of The Essentials, to co-host and present and comment upon some of her own favorite movies. The first film she chose is also part of this month’s James Stewart TCM tribute: the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock classic Rear Window, co-starring Grace Kelly, and featuring one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best visual concepts for a film – and that&rsq
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Nov
18
DIRK GENTLY'S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY By David Bianculli
 
 
It’s a clash of powerful forces tonight, as one character begins to learn the extent of her mystical powers. But is it too little, too late? Or just in time? And on this show, what does time mean anyway? If you haven’t been watching, I don’t have the time to explain…
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Nov
18
THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW By David Bianculli
 
 
Tonight’s scheduled guests include Hugh Grant, whose appearance on Jay Leno’s The Tonight Show was one of the most famous, and infamous, talk-show moments in TV history. They also include Kelly Clarkson, whose past contains much less controversy – and who just completed a nice stint as guest advisor on NBC’s The Voice.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
Nov
18
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE By David Bianculli
 
 
Tonight’s guest host and musical guests are both musical, and both from the same genre of music. The host is Chance the Rapper, and the musical guest, by chance, is Eminem.
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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