The Voice tried something new last night – adding a fifth chair to its live, two-hour Top 10 performance show, to let a guest mentor chime in with after-performance reactions. The inaugural mentor for this experiment was Shania Twain, who was very nice, and always had positive things to say. She did not, however, say them quickly enough, or originally enough, to warrant all the air time she gobbled up. But with the right mentor, this might prove to be another welcome addition. On tonight&r

2017

Apr

IZOMBIE By David Bianculli

This ought to be perfect for a CW series. In tonight’s episode, Liv (Rose McIver), as always, eats the brains, and temporarily absorbs the memories and personality, of a murder victim, in order to help solve the crime. But this week’s victim is so CW-ready. The victim is, or was, a young woman prone to spreading stories. In other words, a gossip girl.

2017

Apr

GENIUS: ALBERT EINSTEIN By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: In AMC’s The Son, a young actor and a veteran one share the same role, portraying the identical character at different times in his life. That’s the same approach used in this new National Geographic series, only the subject, and protagonist, in question is Albert Einstein. As a young man, he’s played by Johnny Flynn. Later in life, he’s played by Geoffrey Rush, who played a different type of genius, a musical one, in the 1996 movie Shine. For a full revi

2017

Apr

MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. By David Bianculli

Maybe it’s only me, but I always am fascinated whenever one of the Star Trek series visits an alternate reality, in which the crew members are portrayed as slightly twisted doppelgangers. This current story line on Marvels’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is doing the same thing – and allowing several of its cast members to play severely against type. And to play severely, period, as in the former android now known as Lady Hydra.

2017

Apr

FRONTLINE: "FISH ON MY PLATE" By David Bianculli

In this fascinating documentary, journalist Paul Greenberg vows to eat only fish for one year as his main source of protein, then travels the globe to check out conditions of fish and waterways, and also to try a wide variety of recipes. I hate to be suspicious, but this entire experiment sounds rather fishy. It also sounds rather low-budget. I wonder if he was paid scale. Check local listings.

2017

Apr

THE AMERICANS By David Bianculli

This season’s story line on The Americans has been a real Paige-turner. They’ve started turning Paige (Holly Taylor, playing the daughter of the embedded Soviet spies masquerading as everyday Americans) into a fledgling spy. And the more she spies on the people she’s babysitting, the more involved she becomes…

2017

Apr

‘DOMINION CREEK’ CAPTURES THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE OF THE OLD AMERICAN WEST By David Hinckley

Have a good chuckle if you will, lads and lassies, at the idea of an Irish Western...

2017

Apr

GOTHAM By David Bianculli

MIDSEASON RETURN: Coming back from its spring break, Gotham pays off a three-year plot development by turning one of its characters, Cory Michael Smith as Ed Nygma, into a full-fledged, recognizable costumed villain from the DC Comics Batman universe: The Riddler. But riddle me this: When is a bad guy like a hyena? When they both cackle…

2017

Apr

THE VOICE By David Bianculli

Last week’s live rounds went without a hiccup – all the voting and selecting was completed in time, if at literally the last second. And the performances ranged from good to excellent, with many impressive choices regarding both song selection and arrangement. The judges, too, have been up to the challenge of going live – they’re loose, and often funny, and only occasionally rambling.

2017

Apr

NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE By David Bianculli

Need a laugh? It’s in here somewhere. This 1978 comedy not only changed movies, by turning comedy sensibility over to a new generation, but launched a bunch of the next generation’s new stars. John Belushi broke out big here – but don’t forget about Kevin Bacon, Tim Matheson, Karen Allen, Peter Riegert, Stephen Furst and others.

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