DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE: Sam Kinison died 25 years ago, at age 38, but he’s still remembered, mostly fondly, as a standup comedian with a short fuse, and an ability to rage that makes Lewis Black look sedated. This documentary looks back at his life and career, and in retrospect, his act’s misogyny and anger may seem particularly out of touch with today’s sensibility. But Kinison also was a genuinely funny fellow, as when he roared at, and against, victims of world hunger, particu

2017

Dec

THE TRUE STORY OF AN ACT OF RELIGIOUS REBELLION: HBO’S ‘GUNPOWDER’ By David Hinckley

If you want to be depressed in a million ways, to flip the sentiment of a popular holiday song, watch Gunpowder, HBO’s new miniseries on one of history’s biggest foiled insurrection plots...

2017

Dec

'L' ACCIDENT' STREAMING ON ACORN By David Hinckley

The French mystery L'Accident may remind some viewers of Broadchurch, because there are stretches when the villain seems to be the picturesque coastal village where the story is set...

2017

Dec

THE VOICE By David Bianculli

CYCLE FINALE: Tonight is the last night of actual vocal competition for this cycle’s Voice contestants. The Final Four will work through their final routines on this final night, then return tomorrow to see who will be the latest winner of The Voice. There are four judges and four contestants, but not each judge is represented equally. The Final Four singers are Brooke Simpson, Addison Agen, Red Marlow, and Chloe Kohanski, but while Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Miley Cyrus still have a r

2017

Dec

GUNPOWDER By David Bianculli

MINISERIES PREMIERE: Kit Harington from Game of Thrones stars in this three-part miniseries import from the BBC, tracing the origins of the rebellious movement known as Guy Fawkes Day. Harington plays Robert Catesby, the major force behind the Gunpowder Plot in London in 1605. Harington is not only a co-executive producer on the show, but also, reportedly, is an actual descendant of the real Catesby. For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.

2017

Dec

ELLEN'S GAME OF GAMES By David Bianculli

SPECIAL PREVIEW: This special sneak peek affords a taste of the newest game show from Ellen DeGeneres – and this one has DeGeneres herself hosting, presiding over games from her massively successful daytime show. To regular fans of The Ellen DeGeneres Show in daytime, such playful contests as “What’s in the Box?” and “Know or Go?” will be very familiar. Even to newcomers, though, their friendliness, like Ellen’s, should prove infectious. Six hours of thi

2017

Dec

THE DAILY SHOW'S THE YEARLY SHOW By David Bianculli

SPECIAL PREMIERE: Trevor Noah hosts this year-end review, which pulls from all the current Daily Show correspondents, and is expanded in both length and venue. It’s an hour long, and emanates from New York’s Gramercy Theater.

2017

Dec

A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! By David Bianculli

For 20 years now, TNT and TBS have televised 24-hour marathons of A Christmas Story, the 1983 film version of Jean Shepherd’s funny account of his childhood and holiday memories from the 1940s. And five years ago, Broadway staged a musical adaptation, A Christmas Story: The Musical. And tonight, the Fox network presents a live TV musical version, called A Christmas Story Live!, starring newcomer Andy Walken as young Ralphie. Ralphie’s parents are played by Maya Rudolph and Chris Diam

2017

Dec

REAL LIFE By David Bianculli

An Albert Brooks doubleheader is presented tonight on TNT, and the network is featuring two of his less frequently televised comic experiments. First up is this 1979 movie, his directorial and starring debut, which was way, way ahead of its time. In 1973, PBS presented An American Family, one of TV’s first “reality shows,” a documentary recounting the everyday private life of a middle-class suburban family called the Louds. Six years later, Brooks presented this satire, playing

2017

Dec

MODERN ROMANCE By David Bianculli

This second Albert Brooks movie, this one from 1981, has him playing another filmmaker – this time a film editor with a volatile on-again-off-again relationship with his girlfriend, played by Kathryn Harrold. Supporting actors include Bob Einstein, now of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, and writer-director James L. Brooks, who also had a small on-screen role in Brooks’ Real Life.

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