I enjoyed this documentary so much, I figured I’d point out its appearance tonight on this subsidiary HBO channel. Broadway’s all-time best composer and lyricist (there, I said it) is profiled, using only his own words (in interviews both new and vintage) and a handful of his songs, showcased in very smart and revealing context (and, again, of both new and vintage variety).

2014

Apr

THE AMERICANS By David Bianculli

Last week, Nina (Annet Mahendru) passed the polygraph administered at the request of her FBI handler and lover Stan (Noah Emmerich) – which makes her the perfect triple agent for KGB operative Oleg (Costa Ronin) to use against him.

2014

Apr

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

Last week, this series presented its midseason game-changer, a tie-in with the new Marvel movie in the Avengers cycle, Captain America: The Winter Soldier. If you didn’t see it, don’t worry: ABC repeats it tonight at 8 p.m. ET, followed at 9 by a new episode that has our heroes on the run, with the fear that not all of them are heroes.

2014

Apr

PIONEERS OF TELEVISION By David Bianculli

SEASON PREMIERE: Up to now, this PBS series has been somewhat of a disappointment, with both too broad a focus and with too poorly chosen a selection of clips. This season opener, however, may reverse the tide, because its subject is precise enough to allow for an intelligent and in-depth examination. The subject? The transition from standup comic to sitcom premise, a topic that includes Bob Newhart, Bill Cosby, Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, Roseanne Barr, Robin Williams and others. Check local li

2014

Apr

THE ADDRESS By David Bianculli

Ken Burns wrote, produced and directed this 90-minute documentary – a mere blip of a TV study in Burns time, but a captivating and instructive program nonetheless. It’s about the Greenwood School in Putney, VT, an all-boys school tending to students with a variety of what might be characterized as learning disabilities. In a tradition that stretches back decades, the task of the boys, ages 11 to 17, is to memorize Abraham Lincoln’s two-minute Gettysburg address, then recite it

2014

Apr

FROM DUSK TILL DAWN: THE SERIES By David Bianculli

At more than the halfway point of this 10-episode TV version of the From Dusk Till Dawn movie, we finally arrive at the south of the border biker bar in which our bank robbers, and their family of hostages, ultimately uncover a den of vampires. In this week’s episode six, I’m also guessing they encounter Eiza Gonzalez, doing her snakelike dance number as Santanico Pandemonium. If you saw the movie, you know that performance, by Salma Hayek, was an absolute highlight. How will it comp

2014

Apr

FARGO By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: When HBO’s True Detective ended, you may well have asked yourself, “Well, when is the next great TV series going to show up?” It didn’t take long – because here it is. It’s not a retelling of the 1996 Coen Brothers film, or a sequel, but it’s a spiritual sibling, and it’s equally enjoyable. For a full review, listen to my report today on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, or visit the Fresh Air website. Martin Freeman, Billy B

2014

Apr

GETTING ITS BILLY BOB ON: FX'S MESMERIZING 'FARGO' By Ed Bark

Billy Bob Thornton’s malevolent Lorne Malvo prowls through FX’s Fargo like the Mayhem Man in those current-day Allstate insurance commercials. He’s much deadlier, though...

2014

Apr

2 BROKE GIRLS By David Bianculli

With the conclusion and disappearance of How I Met Your Mother, CBS not only no longer has a Monday night leadoff anchor, it has a Monday lineup that suddenly looks suspiciously weak. Tonight, CBS moves 2 Broke Girls into the leadoff spot – a show that doesn’t deserve it -- but on this first outing as the opening batter, 2 Broke Girls has a ringer. Its guest star, playing a scatterbrained bridezilla, is publicity magnet Lindsay Lohan.

2014

Apr

METAL HURLANT CHRONICLES By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: Good news: This import is an anthology series, an endangered TV species that deserves support. Bad news: This particular series, an English-language program from France and Belgium, takes stories from the old Metal Hurlant comics (the title translates to “Screaming Metal”; in the U.S., it was published and translated as Heavy Metal), and doesn’t necessarily improve them in the retelling. Two episodes are shown tonight: One from 2012, the other from the show&rsq

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