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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
20
NANCY WILSON 1937 – 2018 By Ed Bark
 
 
In memory of the recently deceased Nancy Wilson, here’s her effortlessly cool and distinctive rendition of “White Christmas,” with an airtight jazz combo backing her...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
20
A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS By David Bianculli
 
 
It’s another chance to see the finest Christmas TV special ever made. I saw it for the first time when it premiered in 1965. I was 12 years old then, but not too old to fall under its spell. In fact, you’re never too old. Tune in and see – and listen, to the great jazz score by Vince Guaraldi.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
20
A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE By David Bianculli
 
 
Showing the movie A Christmas Story on TV has been a holiday tradition for a while now – but here’s a “tradition” that began only last year. A year ago, on Dec. 17, 2017, this full-length musical version of A Christmas Story Live really was performed live, as a Fox Christmas special. Today, this year, it’s repeated. And I’m already betting it’ll be repeated next year as well.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
20
TIMELESS By David Bianculli
 
 
MOVIE PREMIERE or SERIES FINALE: Take your pick, because this new NBC Timeless “movie,” actually consisting of two one-hour episodes, serves both functions. It’s a telemovie premiere, because it’s a stand-alone story, called “The Miracle of Christmas.” And it’s a way for this time-travel cult series – which presented its last installment when NBC canceled it in May – to take time, so to speak, to end with a proper finale. Lucy and Wyatt get s
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
20
THE GREAT AMERICAN BAKING SHOW By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: These shows have been keyed to the holiday season, so the decision to end the series this week, as decisions go, is hardly half-baked.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
20
MURPHY BROWN By David Bianculli
 
 
Looking a bit ahead, tonight’s new episode is keyed to the New Year – and has Murphy (Candice Bergen) attending a function while worrying about her son, who’s spending the holidays in harm’s way, reporting from a war zone.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
19
WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY: OLAF'S FROZEN ADVENTURE By David Bianculli
 
 
It isn’t much, as holiday TV traditions go, but this ABC Frozen spinoff special has been televised every Christmas season since… last year. And here it is again. Because it’s the second seasonal showing, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure now qualifies, officially, as an annual event.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
19
SHREK THE HALLS By David Bianculli
 
 
Here’s a holiday special with a bit more history – not a Peanuts or Frosty kind of history, but still… It’s been 11 years since this ABC spinoff special from the Shrek movies was first broadcast. And yes, here it is again, another annual ABC Christmas event.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
18
ELLEN DEGENERES: RELATABLE By David Bianculli
 
 
SPECIAL PREMIERE: The last time Ellen DeGeneres did a standup comedy TV special, it was 2003. That was 15 years ago – but she returns to the stage without missing a step, dropping a pause, or exuding any less confidence and comfort. This time, she discusses directly the impact coming out had on her career, and what did and didn’t follow in the wake of her announcing she was a lesbian – and does so with a memorable visual aid, nature footage of meerkats.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
18
THE VOICE By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: Three of the four surviving Voice finalists who sang last night are country   artists, each coming at the genre from a different perspective: rock-flavored and growly-voiced Chris Kroeze, sweet and traditional Chevel Shepherd, and soulful Kirk Jay. The remaining finalist, Kennedy Holmes, is the youngest in the competition, having just turned 14, and is more mainstream pop, rock and hip-hop. Overall, this Final 4 did so well with their respective trio of songs that I&rsqu
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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