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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

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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

ROGER CATLIN

TV Eye

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Must-Click TV

TOM BRINKMOELLER

Raised On MTM

GERALD JORDAN

Crossing Jordan

NOEL HOLSTON

The Grassy Noel

TVWW ARCHIVE

Contributors Archive
 
 
2014
May
21
THE MIDDLE By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: Another ABC Wednesday night comedy, Modern Family, did its own Disney World trip years ago, and tonight the Hecks follow suit, as part of an expanded season finale episode. What will the folks at Disney-owned ABC think of next?
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
May
21
MODERN FAMILY By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: Part 2 of 2. The wedding of Mitchell and Cam (Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet) was just about to proceed in last week’s episode, with Lily the flower girl even getting to sprinkle her rose petals, when firemen interrupted the ceremony to order a forced evacuation because of rapidly encroaching wildfires. That was the cliffhanger ending to last week’s episode – but somehow, I’m confident tonight’s end-of-season episode will serve up a very happy
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
May
21
THE AMERICANS By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: The danger has gotten so close to home, to everyone involved in The Americans, that more characters are running for cover than staying to fight. Elizabeth and Phillip (Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys) find themselves so threatened that they evacuate their own kids – and Nina (Annet Mahendru) has been given money to flee as well, because of fears that her own Soviet superiors may intend to kill her if she doesn’t successfully turn Stan (Noah Emmerich).
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
May
21
SIN CITY By David Bianculli
 
 
This evocative 2005 film is about to spawn a sequel: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, coming in August. Several of the actors and characters will be returning, including Jessica Alba as Nancy Callahan – and the original Frank Miller-Robert Rodriguez collaboration, which you can see again tonight, was so dazzling, it’s proper to have high expectations for a follow-up.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
May
20
AMERICAN IDOL By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: Part 1 of 2. Another Idol season has come and almost gone. Tonight is the one-hour performance part of the two-part finale, with the only singers left standing, Caleb Johnson and Jena Irene, competing for honors as the Season 13 winner. For one of them, 13 will be a lucky number. For Fox, which continues to watch ratings slide lower and lower season after season, not so much.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
May
20
THE ELEPHANT MAN By David Bianculli
 
 
This black-and-white, atmospheric, fact-based biography of a mild man disfigured by a rare disease was the collaboration of a very unlikely but talented duo: producer Mel Brooks and director David Lynch. Brooks gave Lynch his shot at the big time, and Lynch delivered, big time. John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft star.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
May
20
THE VOICE By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: The Season 6 winner is identified tonight, in a show that’s heavy on vocal performances, by judges and guests more so than the contestants. Josh Kaufman, Christina Grimmie and Jake Worthington are the competing singers left standing.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
May
20
FRONTLINE: "UNITED STATES OF SECRETS" By David Bianculli
 
 
Part 2 of 2. This two-parter on the subject of U.S. secret surveillance efforts, looking into its history, scope and ramifications, concludes tonight with a documentary by long-time Frontline contributor Martin Smith. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
May
20
FARGO By David Bianculli
 
 
In tonight’s episode, Lester (Martin Freeman) feels increasing pressure to get out of his hospital bed, while Gus and Molly (Colin Hanks, Allison Tolman) team up in Duluth.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
May
19
THE VOICE By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: Part 1 of 2. There are three elements, as always, to this year’s finale performance night. In order of importance, they are 1) the byplay among the judges, and how the show can boost their individual profiles, projects and careers; 2) the guest performers who help fatten up the two-hour performance finale; and 3) the three finalists who are competing for the title of The Voice winner for 2014. The first part is reflected in tonight’s scheduled live opening, in which th
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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