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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
 
 
2020
May
3
ZOEY'S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: This NBC show may be the most nakedly and effectively emotional family show since Parenthood and Friday Night Lights (and, to some, This Is Us) – and tonight, in an episode focusing on Peter Gallagher as the slowly dying father, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist presents its season finale. Bring tissues. And, for the fun of it, try to anticipate which father-daughter songs this episode of Zoey’s might bring to the tab
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
May
3
WORLD ON FIRE By David Bianculli
 
 
This is episode 7 of 9 of this new WWII drama presented on PBS, and this one is of particular interest to those with particular interest in the pivotal battles in the European theater. It’s about Dunkirk -- and what's happening there, and back on the home front. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
May
3
KILLING EVE By David Bianculli
 
 
This season, it’s clear, the new show runner is embracing Jodie Comer’s character and performance as paid assassin Villanelle, and letting her freak flag fly. The murders may be no more over-the-top than usual, but the costumes are – and so are some of Villanelle’s sociopathic reactions. What fun! Really. And tonight, though it’s Eve (Sandra Oh, pictured) who’s having a birthday, it’s Villanelle who’s having the most fun celebrating it.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
May
3
THE LAST DANCE By David Bianculli
 
 
This 10-part documentary, on Michael Jordan’s 1997-98 final championship run with the Chicago Bulls, is being rolled out, two episodes per Sunday night, for five weeks during this pandemic stay-at-home advisory. The first week notched the highest ratings for any documentary in the history of ESPN, and last week’s follow-up was another ratings bonanza. (The hour on Dennis Rodman was a particular eye-opening delight.) Tonight, we get Hours 5 and 6, beginning with the team’s run a
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
May
3
WESTWORLD By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: In last week’s episode, Dolores and Maeve squared off in an epic physical battle. By the end, Maeve appeared to have the upper hand – but only because Dolores had lost her lower arm. Both these characters, though, have died and been rebooted many times on this show already, so the fact that both of them slumped to the ground, seemingly lifeless, may not be all that consequential in the long run.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
May
3
BILLIONS By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: Season 5 takes much of the opening episode to find its footing and get moving – but from then on, Billions delivers with a powerful punch, as always. Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti, trying to secure their respective power bases, pursue new goals and face new adversaries. Corey Stoll shows up early, and stands eye to eye with Lewis’ Axe, just as formidably and ruthlessly. Other players in the first two episodes include Polly Draper from thirtysomething&
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
May
3
PENNY DREADFUL: CITY OF ANGELS By David Bianculli
 
 
In this second episode, we get to see even more of Natalie Dormer, whose character is demonically shape-shifting her way to a probable Emmy nomination. She’s not only playing the evil demon whose bet with her more pious “sister” sets the whole plot in motion, but Dormer also plays three other, strikingly dissimilar roles. Note them all, and have fun. She certainly is.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
May
3
RUN By David Bianculli
 
 
Last week, Archie Panjabi was injected into the story, as an executive left behind by Domhnall Gleeson’s on-the-run lifestyle guru – and finding not only him, but his impulsive runaway companion from the past, played by Merritt Wever. They don’t know yet that Panjabi’s character knows them both… but tonight, back on the train and still on the run, they find out.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
May
3
LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER By David Bianculli
 
 
Last week, Last Week was in repeats, if that particular sentence parses okay for you. So this week on Last Week, John Oliver gets his first chance, if he so chooses, to address President Trump’s bleach remarks. Personally, I hope Oliver so chooses… There’s old news, and there’s fake news, but funny news is welcome at any time. Especially at this time.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
May
2
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY By David Bianculli
 
 
There are good movies to watch today on TV, if you have the time and inclination. Let’s begin with Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi masterpiece, which begins in prehistoric times, ends in posthistoric ones, and surprises and confounds throughout. What a movie. More than 50 years later, it’s never been surpassed.
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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