It’s elimination night on The Voice – and after Chris Blue and others sang so well Monday night, whatever cuts will come tonight, at the end of the viewer vote, are bound to hurt. And that goes for the performers’ fans as well as the singers themselves. Most American Idol or Voice competitions boil down to an obviously dominant one or two contestants. This cycle, on The Voice, it’s much more of a free-for-all.

2017

May

AMERICAN EPIC By David Bianculli

DOCUMENTARY MINISERIES PREMIERE: In this new documentary series, PBS tackles one of my more obscure and enthusiastic musical interests (okay, I have lots of those, but still). American Epic is the story of what is now called American roots music – the music that bubbled up, like moonshine from a still, from mountain hollers and bayou backwoods. Tonight’s episode is called “The Big Bang,” and looks for the originals of country, bluegrass, and other forms of American music.

2017

May

IZOMBIE By David Bianculli

Tonight, Liv (Rose McIver) absorbs the memories and personalities of Seattle’s latest murder victim – a preschool teacher who was well-known, at least by the faculty at his school, of being a smug womanizer. Now, temporarily, it’s Liv’s turn to act that way…

2017

May

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

SEASON FINALE: There’s been some good writing, and smart plot twists, in this season’s second-half plot line. But now that the alternate reality of the Framework has given way to a new reality, in which the former android Aida (Mallory Jansen) is now a flesh-and-blood woman obsessed with both vengeance and Fitz, tonight’s Season 4 finale reaches back to a character who dominated the first half of the season: Ghost Rider (played by Gabriel Luna, pictured). And that was this show

2017

May

THE AMERICANS By David Bianculli

Last week’s episode, “Darkroom,” ended with a chillingly effective scene in which Elizabeth and Philip (Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys) took daughter Paige (Holly Taylor) into their world even more, by showing her how they developed and printed the photos Paige had taken while babysitting at the pastor’s house. They were photos of his diary entries, and the pages developed contained entries that went from idle musings to deep concerns about Paige, making the pastor more of an

2017

May

UPFRONTS: ABC ADDS FIVE FRESHMAN FOR THE FALL WHILE READYING 'AMERICAN IDOL' FOR A MIDSEASON SPLASH By Ed Bark

Third out of the box with its new season plans, struggling ABC has five newbies for this fall and a rebooted American Idol on its bench...

2017

May

DECLINE AND FALL By David Bianculli

MINISERIES PREMIERE: Evelyn Waugh’s novel Brideshead Revisited inspired one of the most celebrated miniseries ever made, the 1981 version starring Jeremy Irons. Now, from Acorn TV, comes another import devoted to a work by the same author. Decline and Fall, though, while it’s set in the same gorgeous posh British estates and institutions, is a lot more comic and playful an approach. It’s Waugh’s first novel, and he delights in playing with his caricatured characters &ndas

2017

May

GOTHAM By David Bianculli

Just as Bates Motel got even more interesting, in its final season, as it neared the point when its story line began to merge with the familiar one we knew from Psycho, this Fox series prequel to the Batman saga is getting even sharper as its characters turn, slowly but ever so surely, into the familiar heroes, and villains, from the established lore. Last week, Camren Bicondova’s Selina, whose character is destined to be the future Catwoman, finally aligned with a key moment from the Catw

2017

May

THE VOICE By David Bianculli

Last week’s competitions included a few tears, a pair of eliminations, and, yes, an awful lot of talent. We’re down to the Top 8 this season – and now, as tonight’s performances help pare things down to the Final 4, the coming eliminations will be some of the deepest cuts of all. There’s very little deadwood left – so it could well depend, tonight, on the song choices, and who best grasps the moment.

2017

May

BETTER CALL SAUL By David Bianculli

Michael Mando’s Nacho, the Iago-like gang functionary in Better Call Saul, is caught between two evils in tonight’s episode – and both of those evils, Mark Margolis' Hector Salamanca and Giancaro Esposito’s Gus Fring, are very evil indeed. And since Nacho never made it to the events depicted in Breaking Bad, whose narratives post-dates those in Saul, there’s every reason to be nervous about Nacho’s long-term survivor. Meanwhile, tonight’s episode offers

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