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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

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
 
 
2018
Dec
24
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE By David Bianculli
 
 
NBC and its sister networks have shown this film sporadically, but sparingly, during the holiday season, making the most of its exclusive TV rights. But this is the highest-profile showing of all: in prime time, on Christmas Eve. Every time a bell rings…
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
24
A CHRISTMAS CAROL By David Bianculli
 
 
Here’s another well-time holiday movie telecast: The 1938 version of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, starring Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge. It’s a short movie adaptation of a very short book, so when this 10 p.m. ET showing is over, it’ll still be a few minutes shy of midnight – plenty of time to make room for your own midnight spirits. (I prefer Scotch.) And what’s interesting about this particular adaptation is that Marley’s Ghost is played by
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
24
CHRISTMAS EVE MASS By David Bianculli
 
 
Once again this year, NBC televises the Christmas Eve mass from St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, with Pope Francis presiding.  
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
23
AN AUCTION TELLS THE STORY OF A LIFE CUT SHORT: 'MARILYN MONROE FOR SALE' By David Hinckley
 
 
If you’re tired of getting the same old sweaters or shirts for Christmas, the Smithsonian channel can give you a glimpse of truly creative clothes shopping...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
23
WATERSHIP DOWN By David Bianculli
 
 
MINISERIES PREMIERE: This is the third time animators have taken a stab at presenting a version of author Richard Adams’ deep, allegorical story about rabbits in the English countryside. The narrative covers everything from hero’s journey quests to a rabbit-world equivalent of Nazi domination. This new version, presented in four parts by Netflix, opens with a highly stylized visualization of the rabbit myth, then proceeds to present its rabbit heroes, and villains, in computer-animat
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
23
THE SIMPSONS: "SIMPSONS ROASTING ON AN OPEN FIRE" By David Bianculli
 
 
Tonight on The Simpsons, Fox is repeating the show’s first full-length episode, a Christmas special that first expanded Matt Groening’s vision of the Simpsons as a mostly feuding family seen in interstitial breaks during Fox’s The Tracey Ullman Show. “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” was the name of that initial episode, which was televised on Dec. 17, 1989. The animation will look a lot rougher around the edges than it does today, but the wit is just as fresh, an
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
23
CALL THE MIDWIFE HOLIDAY SPECIAL By David Bianculli
 
 
In England, a lot of the beloved TV shows that take off for a few months or more during the winter nonetheless take the time and effort to serve up new annual holiday episodes. Here’s the latest one from Call the Midwife. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
23
RAY DONOVAN By David Bianculli
 
 
Family matters continue to get even more strained, as Mickey tries to enlist yet another of his sons into a questionable scheme. Meanwhile, Ray’s daughter continues to learn more about him, and isn’t very comfortable with what she’s learning.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
23
MARILYN MONROE FOR SALE By David Bianculli
 
 
NONFICTION PREMIERE: This new Smithsonian special dives deeply into what is called the largest auction of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia ever put up for sale. “And it seems to me you lived your life / like a candle in the wind…” For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
23
ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA By David Bianculli
 
 
MINISERIES CONCLUSION: Part 5 was a wonder to behold, with some especially impressive photography. Expect no less from tonight’s concluding Part 6, which provides the literal finishing touches.
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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