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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
 
 
2016
Feb
27
DINER By David Bianculli
 
 
For writer-director Barry Levinson, this 1982 movie was his breakout film, and that went for many of his young cast members as well. This story about a close group of friends coming of age in 1959 Baltimore stars Daniel Stern, Mickey Rourke, Steve Guttenberg, Kevin Bacon, Tim Daly, Paul Reiser and Ellen Barkin, all at the beginning of their careers.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
27
BARRIS WRITES 'BLACK-ISH' IN THE TRADITION OF NORMAN LEAR By Monique Nazareth
 
 
'Hope is what keeps us as a people and a country moving forward. And sadly the best way to end that movement is to take away that hope...'
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
26
NETFLIX MAKES ROOM FOR 'FULLER HOUSE' (AND WELL, WHY NOT?) By Ed Bark
 
 
It’s safe to say -- boy, is it ever -- that the revival of Full House is not being greeted by the TV critic community with the same bow-down reverence reserved for Arrested Development’s sacred second coming...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
26
PBS FINDS THE THRILL OF ROCK AND ROLL LEGEND FATS DOMINO By David Hinckley
 
 
With the exception of New Orleans, no home better suits Fats Domino than the PBS American Masters series...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
26
FULLER HOUSE By David Bianculli
 
 
SERIES PREMIERE: It’s baaa-aack! Just when you thought it was safe to return to your TV set. It’s Fuller House, a next-generation sequel that’s better than the original T.G.I.F. mainstay – but though accurate, that’s still not intended as a compliment. I’ll allow that anyone who loved the original Full House as a kid probably will enjoy this new version, which updates the series, and the old series dynamic, with fidelity to the old show. Everyone shows up for
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
26
INSIDE OUT By David Bianculli
 
 
The latest wonderful film from Pixar makes its cable premiere tonight, as the internal struggles and joys of a young girl are personified by emotional characters deep within her mind. It may sound odd – but as with almost any Pixar picture, this 2015 animated film is a triumph.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
26
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN By David Bianculli
 
 
Mel Brooks made several astoundingly funny films – and this one, from 1974, may be his very best. Gene Wilder, Gene Hackman and Peter Boyle are great. Then again, so are Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman and Teri Garr. And Marty Feldman, and… oh, just watch it.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
26
IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: THE SMITHSONIAN SALUTES RAY CHARLES By David Bianculli
 
 
This is the last In Performance At the White House to be presided over by President Barack Obama, and he’s saved a salute to Ray Charles for last. Guests include Usher, who gets to sing both “Georgia On My Mind” and “What’d I Say,” and other guests include Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes, Andra Day and Anthony Hamilton, Yolanda Adams, and Demi Lovato. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
26
AMERICAN MASTERS: “FATS DOMINO AND THE BIRTH OF ROCK ’N’ ROLL” By David Bianculli
 
 
Just after Barack Obama salutes Ray Charles on PBS, American Masters turns around and salutes Fats Domino, the singer-songwriter who found his thrill on blueberry hill. For full reviews, see David Hinckley’s All Along the Watchtower and Ed Bark’s Uncle Barky’s Bytes. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
26
REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER By David Bianculli
 
 
Tonight’s guests include actor Mark Ruffalo, Fran Lebowitz, and national security expert Gen. Michael Hayden. Probable conversational topics include the latest mass shooting (this time in Kansas on Thursday) and the latest Republican presidential debate (this time in Houston, last night).
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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