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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
 
 
2012
May
2
DON'T TRUST THE B---- IN APARTMENT 23 By David Bianculli
 
 
In tonight’s episode, Dreama Walker’s June gets invited to a wedding, but the invitation is addressed to both her and her ex-fiance. A pep talk by Krysten Ritter’s Chloe has her attending anyway – and displaying, perhaps, a bit too much pep. Kevin Sorbo guest stars. For a review of this unexpectedly quirky new sitcom, see guest contributor Cecilia Razak's review HERE.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
2
DON'T MISS THE B---- IN APT. 23 By TVWW Guest Contributor
 
 
Nice guys finish last in ABC's Don't Trust the B---- in Apt. 23, says TVWW guest contributor Cecilia Razak. And that's just one reason to watch...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
2
1955: WGBH BEGINS BROADCASTING IN BOSTON By Christy Slewinski
 
 
The nation's first public television station, WGBH in Boston, began its broadcasting history today in 1955 with Come and See, a children's program hosted by by Mary Lou Adams and folk singer Tony Saletan. WGBH is considered by some to be PBS' flagship station...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
1
'FAMILY GUY' RETURNS FROM THE DEAD By David Bianculli
 
 
After being cancelled by the Fox network in 2003, the Seth Macfarlane animated series Family Guy returns from the dead - after notching impressive DVD sales - and returns with new episodes, beginning May 1, 2005. First episode of its second, still-current run: "North by North Quahog," in which Peter and Lois attempt a second honeymoon in the hotel room of Mel Gibson.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
1
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: "JESSE OWENS" By David Bianculli
 
 
This new one-hour biography of Jesse Owens, whose speed mocked Adolf Hitler’s vision of Aryan supremacy at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, is itself presented at a breathtaking, exhilarating pace. Narrated by Andre Braugher, and co-produced by Stanley Nelson (who wrote it) and Laurens Grant (who directed it), Jesse Owens, like its subjects, bursts out of the blocks with no wasted motion – and never slows down. For a full review, see Gerald Jordan’s Crossing Jordan review HERE. C
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
1
GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD By David Bianculli
 
 
The same day this four-hour documentary is released on home video, HBO2 repeats it, showing Part 1 tonight and concluding with Part 2 at the same time tomorrow. To order the DVD, click HERE. And to watch the Beatles’ complete rooftop concert, with links to previous Material World reviews by Eric Gould and me, click HERE.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
1
THE VOICE By David Bianculli
 
 
This is the elimination night that gets us down to the Final Four. All I’m saying is, Juliet Simms had better be one of them. Even when they make her go on stage dressed as a fallen angel to sing an Aerosmith song, as they did last week (see photo), she takes those two strikes and somehow manages to score a hit. And last night, she channeled James Brown -- and got very good reception. For a report about the British version of this show, now in its first season over there, read new contri
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
1
FRONTLINE: "MONEY, POWER & WALL STREET" By David Bianculli
 
 
Parts 3 and 4. This four-hour examination of the current financial crisis, and how we got to this point, is very informative, but also very depressing. And there’s no avoiding the conclusion that we’re not close to being out of the woods yet. But we knew that already, didn’t we? Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
1
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA By David Bianculli
 
 
Long before Peter Benchley went to the sea with Jaws, but long after Herman Melville did it with Moby-Dick, Ernest Hemingway dove into his own aquatic allegories with this short, terse story about an aging fisherman and his persistence in his quest to catch an elusive, glorious marlin. Spencer Tracy stars in this 1958 movie version, directed by John Sturges. The author’s fourth wife, Mary Hemingway, can be seen in the film very briefly, playing a tourist.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
May
1
THE VOICE U.K. -- IS IT O.K.? By Kim Akass
 
 
Kim Akass reports from England about the BBC's version of The Voice -- the one with Tom Jones as a judge, and a talent show that's making quite a splash on the other side of the pond...
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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