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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

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All Along the Watchtower

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Uncle Barky's Bytes

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TV That Matters

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Open Mike

ED MARTIN

Ed Martin's TV Mix

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Aerial View

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MNtv

BILL BRIOUX

TV Feeds My Family

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TV Eye

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Must-Click TV

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Raised On MTM

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Crossing Jordan

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TVWW ARCHIVE

Contributors Archive
 
 
2018
May
4
A LITTLE HELP WITH CAROL BURNETT By David Bianculli
 
 
SERIES PREMIERE: This series was not made available for preview, which may not be the most encouraging sign. But Carol Burnett earned our trust as a TV star some 60 years ago as a regular on The Garry Moore Show, so let’s watch and hope. She and some cohorts (including, here, Russell Peters) speak to young kids who give advice, on all manner of things, to adults. It sounds like part Kids Say the Darnedest Things, and part the recent Last Week Tonight with John Oliver skit with young kids h
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
May
4
DEAR WHITE PEOPLE By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: Last season, this series based on an independent movie ended with Sam (Logan Browning) leading a student protest at her predominantly white college. Season 2 picks up in the aftermath of that protest, which has many of the characters, and student groups, divided among some sensitive lines – racial and otherwise.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
May
4
THE PRINCESS BRIDE By David Bianculli
 
 
This 1987 movie, directed by Rob Reiner and written by William Goldman (based on his own delightful novel), is one of my favorite films – in all respects, a modern Wizard of Oz, and full of just as much wonder and charm. This time around, pay particular attention to Andre the Giant, who plays Fezzik, and who recently was profiled in HBO’s Andre the Giant documentary. Anybody want a peanut?
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
May
4
MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. By David Bianculli
 
 
Tonight’s episode is called “The One Who Will Save Us All,” and it’s likely to be an unlikely savior. After all, the “Destroyer of Worlds,” an ominous nickname attached to both Daisy and Ruby, hasn’t been easy to pin down. Neither has the psychologically frayed but not fully broken Talbot (Adrian Pasdar), who tonight emerges from his Manchurian Candidate fog to lead the team. Or does he? And where?
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
May
4
REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER By David Bianculli
 
 
Among tonight’s scheduled guests: national security expert Michael Hayden and historian (and frequent guest on MSNBC’s Morning Joe) Jon Meacham (pictured).
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
May
4
THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW By David Bianculli
 
 
What a show – and on this week’s new episode, what a guest list. It includes Benedict Cumberbatch, about to star in Patrick Melrose on Showtime; Matt LeBlanc, who recently wrapped up his wildly entertaining (and self-deprecating) Episodes series, also on Showtime; and Mary Berry, famous in England (and here in the States) for what there was called The Great British Baking Show. Sounds like a recipe for a great hour of conversation…
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
May
3
DIRE STRAITS LEFT IN THE LURCH DURING HBO'S ANNUAL REPRISE OF THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY By Ed Bark
 
 
The man who isn’t there, unfortunately, is the one who stands out at HBO’s annual re-packaging of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
May
3
THE BIG BANG THEORY By David Bianculli
 
 
In this penultimate episode of the season, Sheldon (Jim Parsons) encounters a hitch when planning to get hitched to long-time girlfriend Amy: His mom won’t attend the wedding unless Sheldon also invites his estranged older brother, Georgie. It’s a smart move, because it brings to this show a continuation of the character, and friction-filled relationship, established on this show’s prequel sitcom, Young Sheldon. And as older Georgie, tonight’s guest star is familiar TV fa
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
May
3
GOTHAM By David Bianculli
 
 
The power plays in Gotham continue to boil over. In one corner, the Riddler has teamed, once again, with Detective Gordon’s former paramour, Lee. And meanwhile, Gordon has problems of his own, including being held at gunpoint by someone who seems to have taken fashion tips from Joker’s Harley Quinn – who hasn’t even made a fledgling appearance on this show. Not yet, anyway…
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
May
3
ROBERT OSBORNE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION By David Bianculli
 
 
Today is the birthday of Robert Osborne, the classy host of classic films on TCM for so many years. As a remembrance, the network tonight presents two relatively recent specials celebrating the late Osborne’s on-air impact as the face and spirit of Turner Classic Movies when it launched in 1994. The first, at 8 p.m. ET, is a very special edition of Private Screenings, in which co-host Alec Baldwin surprised Osborne in 2014 by making him the subject, not the host, of the show. Then, at 11:3
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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