Philip Glass’ “Portrait Trilogy” of operas, examining brilliant minds and men who changed history in significant ways, began in 1976 with Einstein on the Beach (about Albert Einstein). It concluded in 1984 with Akhnaten (about the pharaoh Akhenaten, a.k.a. Amenhotep IV), the 2019 revival production of which was streamed last night, and is still available today until 3 p.m. ET. And between those two operas was 1980’s Satyagraha (about Mah

2020

Jun

ABC NEWS SPECIAL: THE JOHN BOLTON INTERVIEW By David Bianculli

Excerpts from the forthcoming book by the former National Security Advisor, John Bolton, have been leaked to and by the press this week – not only passages from the book as it’s about to be published, but some unredacted passages before the White House took out its scissors and red pencils. President Trump sued to block the book’s publication, but unsuccessfully: a federal judge this weekend denied that attempt. This one-hour interview, recorded before that judge’s ruling

2020

Jun

PERRY MASON By David Bianculli

MINISERIES PREMIERE: This HBO prequel to the classic 1957-66 Perry Mason courtroom series is an eight-hour miniseries – but I really hope it blossoms into a full-blown series. Matthew Rhys from The Americans plays Perry, but not at the era or age in that TV version of the Erle Stanley Gardner lawyer series. Gardner wrote 80 books in all, starting in 1933 – and this HBO series goes back to that decade, the 1930s, and revisits Perry Mason by presenting a prequel &ld

2020

Jun

PENNY DREADFUL: CITY OF ANGELS By David Bianculli

The closer this anthology series gets to its season finale, the more intense it gets – the tension between the minorities being targeted, the tension between the Nazi schemers and the Jewish cop on their trail, and even the tension on the dance floor. With tonight’s episode being called “Sing, Sing, Sing,” I’m hoping the dancers in this 1938-set drama will be gyrating to Benny Goodman’s propulsive dance-band song of the same name, which he recorded the year be

2020

Jun

LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER By David Bianculli

I’m hoping John Oliver isn’t taking Father’s Day off. He deserves to… but if he and HBO present a new edition, that’d be an absolute Father’s Day present for me.

2020

Jun

'PERRY MASON' IS AN EXCEPTIONAL FRESH TAKE ON AN OLD SHOW By David Hinckley

I’ve occasionally wondered whether TV writers take quietly impish delight in messing with the image of long-time pop culture icons...

2020

Jun

CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU? MARATHON By David Bianculli

Maybe it’s because of the pandemic, and the realization that there are a lot of viewers out there eager to watch just about anything new or interesting – but whatever the reason, DECADES has really upped its game this month. Already in June, it’s presented weekend marathons of Love, American Style and The Monkees. And this weekend, it presents a two-day twofer: marathon showings of two early TV comedies created by Nat Hiken. Today, beginning at noon, it&rsqu

2020

Jun

PHILIP GLASS' AKHNATEN By David Bianculli

Okay, so I’m being indulgent here, since I recommended this Philip Glass opera (pictured) once already during this pandemic, when this 2019 revival production was presented on PBS’s Great Performances at the Met. But this particular, super-limited-edition streaming special comes from the Met’s own website, Metopera.org – and is part of a weekend double bill of Glass operas. Glass’ “Portrait Trilogy” of operas, examining brilliant minds and men

2020

Jun

FORD V. FERRARI By David Bianculli

This 2019 fact-based movie stars Matt Damon and Christian Bale – as, respectively, automobile designer Carroll Shelby and speed racer Ken Miles. It’s got lots of action and crowd scenes that will seem, in this period drama, from an even more distant time than before.

2020

Jun

1968: 'DEAN MARTIN PRESENTS' STARTS WITH 'THE GOLDDIGGERS' By TV WW

This day in 1968 marked the debut of the NBC summer replacement variety series, Dean Martin Presents...

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