For those politically incorrect enough to still not only use the word "Christmas" but to think of the day primarily as a religious observance, PBS has three upcoming concerts that should suit the season perfectly. Not only do these concerts acknowledge the origin of the event, they do it with the kind of depth and high quality -- that the commercial networks wouldn't, and couldn't, try to copy...

2011

Dec

THE SINGING DETECTIVE - CONTINUES TO AMAZE AFTER 25 YEARS... By David Bianculli

Yes, it's The Singing Detective, the 1986 Dennis Potter miniseries that, with its uniqueness, complexity and entertaining audacity, continues to amaze me 25 years after it was televised...

2011

Dec

CURSES, 'BATMAN!': APPRECIATING AN ANIMATED SERIES THAT WAS TOO GOOD, AND ENDED TOO SOON -- BUT VERY META By Ed Martin

Outrageous! Cartoon Network's Batman: The Brave and the Bold, one of television's most clever shows, ended its three-year run last month without any fanfare at all...The series finale was meta to the max, as Bat-Mite -- the pesky, somewhat obsessive Bat-fan from another dimension -- observed that the show was past its prime and decided to do something about it, ultimately bringing about its demise...

2011

Dec

THE WORD IS OUT: GEORGE CLOONEY HAS OPTIONED MY SMOTHERS BROTHERS BOOK By David Bianculli

When I wrote "Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,'" I thought the story of Tom and Dick Smothers, and their clashes with CBS over the content of their groundbreaking TV variety series, had a lot to say that was pertinent to these times, as well as illuminating about the Sixties. I'm very, very proud to say that George Clooney thinks so, too...

2011

Dec

A 'M*A*S*H' NOTE TO HARRY MORGAN: 'GOODBYE, FAREWELL, AND AMEN' By David Bianculli

Harry Morgan, whose crusty yet friendly Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H was the pinnacle of a show-biz career that stretched to the early days of television and encompassed film and theater as well, died yesterday at age 96. What a character. What an actor. What a character actor...

2011

Dec

NBC PLAYS SANTA, DELIVERING 4 THURSDAY CHRISTMAS COMEDIES By Ed Bark

ABC was being naughty not nice by not providing TV critics with an opportunity to review its Wednesday night Christmas-themed foursome of The Middle, Suburgatory, Modern Family and Happy Endings. But NBC sent a nice little packet of its ho ho ho Thursday, in which Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office and Whitney all have new Christmas-y episodes...

2011

Dec

TVWW RECOMMENDS: MORE HOLIDAY GIFT SUGGESTIONS, JUST IN TIME By David Bianculli

Here at TV WORTH WATCHING, we already have Diane Werts' compilation of recommended DVD gift sets and holiday-themed releases, which you can peruse (and purchase) by clicking HERE and HERE, respectively. But for the next stretch of pre-holiday days, I'll be adding to that by suggesting a few other...And I'm starting with the following, a boxed set that features what I consider the best-written drama for television ever made...

2011

Dec

'CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS': TV'S BEST HOLIDAY SPECIAL MISTREATED AGAIN By David Bianculli

A Charlie Brown Christmas, broadcast by CBS in 1965, was and remains the best holiday TV special ever made. Even in an age of DVRs and Blu-Ray, gathering the family to watch Linus, Snoopy and the gang, even with commercial intrusions, is one of the few annual television traditions we have left. But now, as ABC televises it Monday night at 8 ET, that network, too, is disrespecting a classic...

2011

Dec

DECADES LATER, A PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER STILL GETS UNDER THE SKIN By Eric Gould

"The Singing Detective" might not conjure a picture of holiday cheer, but still, it's an essential gift of TV Worth Giving, and certainly one Worth Getting. If you have a quality TV collector on your list who somehow, by some gross omission, doesn't have it as part of his or her home video library, here's your chance. You can give a milestone work of television art, and one that will keep giving, and keep rewarding, with each repeated viewing...

2011

Dec

PAUL SIMON SINGS ON PUBLIC TV: 50 WAYS TO PLEDGE YOUR MONEY By Tom Brinkmoeller

The final performance of Paul Simon's "So Beautiful or So Whatspring" 2011 concert tour will show up on many PBS stations this month...Does Paul Simon, in this public-TV setting, reflect more Vincent van Gogh -- or more Lawrence Welk?...

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