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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

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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

MONIQUE NAZARETH

MNtv

BILL BRIOUX

TV Feeds My Family

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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
Jul
16
TARZAN, THE APE MAN By David Bianculli
 
 
Swimming star Johnny Weissmuller starred in this 1932 movie, and in several sequels, playing a real swinger (on vines, that is) who talked to the animals long before Doctor Doolittle. One of the other stars of this film is Neil Hamilton, who, more than 30 years later, would play Commissioner Gordon on TV’s Batman. But the co-star deserving the most attention in this pre-Code movie is Maureen O’Sullivan as Jane, whose costumes (or relative lack of them), at the time, were as racy as a
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Jul
16
BAD IS FUNNY By Eric Gould
 
 
OK, so we're finally off to a new season of Breaking Bad. And it's been a verrry good start.  For as much enjoyment that we get out of the show, here's something to remind us that the cast might be enjoying it more...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Jul
16
'FRINGE,' 'SUPERNATURAL' AND 'DOCTOR WHO' MAKE FOR A MAMMOTH TRIPLE-PLAY AT COMIC-CON By Ed Martin
 
 
Television is increasingly the medium to beat at Comic-Con, the annual celebration of all facets of genre culture...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Jul
16
ROCKY & BULLWINKLE & FRIENDS: THE COMPLETE SERIES By David Bianculli
 
 
The packaging on this set is tough on the DVD discs, and it’s annoying that the original opening and closing music and credits are replaced by the ones substituted in the original home-video releases.  But hey – there are 18 discs here, presenting...That makes it worth owning right there...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Jul
15
HE WON. WE'RE STILL WINNING By Eric Gould
 
 
While Breaking Bad takes needed time to reset the storyline for its final collisions, it still delivers some of the best television of the year...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Jul
15
TRUE BLOOD By David Bianculli
 
 
The King of Louisiana is undead – long live the King of Louisiana. Yes, Russell (played by Denis O’Hare) finally was located by Eric, Bill, Sookie and Alcide – in an apparently very weakened state. But it turns out he’s not as helpless or strength-less as he let on – and suddenly, he has Sookie (Anna Paquin) against the wall, in a fairy vulnerable position. And yes, I meant fairy, not fairly, because Sookie is, well, the fairy whose blood drives Russell wild.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Jul
15
BREAKING BAD By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: What a dazzling way to start the season – and I’m just talking about the fast-forward opening scene, before we rejoin the action at the point we left it last season: with Gus dead, Walt (Bryan Cranston) victorious, and… well, see for yourself. And you should, because it’s the best drama currently on TV. For full reviews, see Eric Gould’s Cold Light Reader HERE and my own Bianculli’s Blog review HERE.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Jul
15
THE NEWSROOM By David Bianculli
 
 
This fourth episode may remind many viewers of the recent blown call made by Fox News and (especially) CNN about the recent Supreme Court decision regarding the Affordable Care Act. It explores a previous moment in real-life political history where several TV and radio outlets rushed to air with the wrong information – and throws the fictional characters on this show into the same media maelstrom. Jeff Daniels stars.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Jul
15
WEEDS By David Bianculli
 
 
Already, Nancy (Mary Louise Parker) has gotten into the baking business, even though she’s barely out of the hospital. And tonight, even though she’s still sporting a cane, she’s about to confront the competition and make some inroads. Hey, why not? Dr. House used a cane, too, and he was pretty intimidating…
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Jul
15
EPISODES By David Bianculli
 
 
The secrets start to percolate to the surface in tonight’s first-run show, as people begin to learn who’s sleeping with whom – while, simultaneously, there’s a funeral to attend. And it’s one which TV executive Merc (John Pankow) interrupts to take a phone call, because the call is “really important.” Like many other moments in this series, that makes me laugh.
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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