No, it isn’t, because this was broadcast live earlier this month. But it’s a good chance to revisit, or visit, the latest staging of NBC’s live theatrical productions, a tradition that goes back on TV more than 60 years. Here’s to tradition, and history – because I go back more than 60 years, too...

2016

Dec

EVERY BRILLIANT THING By David Bianculli

This one-man play, billed as a comedy, technically is neither “one man” nor wholly comic. Written by Duncan Macmillan and performed by Jonny Donahoe, it’s a play in which the audience around Donahoe is called on, many times, to participate. It’s also a play in which the leading character tries to process the confusion, as a child, of his mother’s suicide attempt – the first of many. The boy’s reaction is to compile what he hopes is a persuasive list of t

2016

Dec

INDEPENDENT LENS: "MEET THE PATELS" By David Bianculli

Ravi Patel, the Master of None and Scrubs performer who occasionally strides outside his comfort zone as an Indian-American standup comic and actor to write or do other ambitious stuff, decides to take a big leap in this very personal documentary, filmed and co-directed by his sister, Geeta. He allows his parents to set him up on a series of arranged meetings, ostensibly to find him a wife. And for reasons this documentary will make clear, all the women have to have the same name as his already

2016

Dec

2016 TOP TEN LISTS ARE SPLIT DECISIONS By Ed Bark

UpRoxx, has just released its fifth annual survey of the year’s Top 10 best new and overall TV programs. Your friendly content provider again is among the 59 critics contributing this year. Our respective lists are fairly in sync... but there are notable exceptions...

2016

Dec

'FRONTLINE: EXODUS' TAKES A CLOSE-UP LOOK AT THE REFUGEE CRISIS By Alex Strachan

It was just the latest in a seemingly endless parade of sad news stories. A trickily timed evacuation near the Syrian city of Aleppo was tossed into doubt this past weekend after six buses assigned to help civilians flee to safety from six years of war were set ablaze...

2016

Dec

'CALL THE MIDWIFE' RELOCATES TO SOUTH AFRICA By David Hinckley

Unlike Downton Abbey, whose annual Christmas special didn’t cross the pond until February or March, the Call the Midwife Christmas special will again air on, yes, Christmas day...

2016

Dec

NFL FOOTBALL By David Bianculli

On Christmas Day, the three games being played today all feature winning teams, a rarity in itself this season. But they may be difficult to find easily, because they’re scattered at odd times and on three different networks. NFL Network has the day’s first contest, between the 8-6 Baltimore Ravens and the 9-5 Pittsburgh Steelers, at 4:25 p.m. ET, live from Pittsburgh. The next games arrive at 8:30 p.m. ET: On NBC’s Sunday Night Football, there’s the 8-6 Denver Broncos vi

2016

Dec

CALL THE MIDWIFE HOLIDAY SPECIAL By David Bianculli

SPECIAL: In this year’s annual holiday special, the dedicated ladies take a road trip – a really long road trip, to be of service in a faraway remote location in South Africa. For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower. Check local listings.

2016

Dec

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST By David Bianculli

This 1991 animated musical celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, and tonight ABC is showcasing it in prime time to mark the same occasion. Paige O’Hara and Robby Benson star in the title roles. Personal side note: I went to high school with one of them, and it wasn’t Benson. Merry Christmas, Paige.

2016

Dec

I LOVE LUCY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL By David Bianculli

This Christmas special has been televised once this season already, and one of the two colorized episodes, the official Christmas episode, was shown last year as well. But the other episode, “Lucy Gets in Pictures,” has been shown in its new full-color form only once – and when Lucy gets on the soundstage in her chorus-girl costume (a career phase endured by the real Lucille Ball before becoming a TV star), she is, indeed, pretty in pink. Lots and lots of pink.

Posts 21-30 of 187

2 3 4 5 6

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