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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
 
 
2018
Sep
6
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD By David Bianculli
 
 
This fall, To Kill a Mockingbird is coming to Broadway, in a new stage version of the beloved Harper Lee novel, adapted by Aaron Sorkin. I already have tickets. Meanwhile, there’s this flawless 1962 film version, adapted by a writer who’s no slouch, either: Horton Foote. Oh, yeah, and Gregory Peck stars, playing one of the most admirable father figures, and attorneys, in the history of cinema.  
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
5
DEAN MARTIN TRIBUTE By David Bianculli
 
 
The star of the month, being saluted every Wednesday by TCM, is Dean Martin (ain’t that a kick in the head?). Tonight at 8 ET, the festivities in prime time begin with 1954’s Living It Up, one of the several antic comedies he made with then-partner Jerry Lewis.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
5
MR. MERCEDES By David Bianculli
 
 
This is episode three of this creepy adaptation of the Stephen King story – and tonight, the mass murderer turned coma victim gets to extend his influence, and potentially lethal reach, physical limitations notwithstanding.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
5
THE SHOP By David Bianculli
 
 
I’m not sure whether this is yet another repeat of last week’s premiere installment of LeBron James’ new talk show for HBO Sports, or the new second edition. Either way, it’s worth a look. The debut installment was that good…
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
4
'THE PURGE' IS A WORRISOME CHOICE TO AIR IN SUCH UNEASY TIMES By David Hinckley
 
 
Most people agree that the way to enhance the quality of life on Earth doesn’t involve thinning the herd...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
4
MARK TWAIN By David Bianculli
 
 
Part 2 of 2. This outstanding 2002 artistic biography of Samuel L. Clemens concludes tonight, and it’s so easy to understand, and appreciate, why filmmaker Ken Burns chose as the subject of this four-hour study author, humorist and American celebrity Mark Twain. Both Burns and Twain approach targets and topics in evocative and original ways, both developed styles that are still being imitated (though less successfully) – and both are obsessed with the two twin topics of their best wo
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
4
INSIDE THE NFL By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: First on HBO, and for many years now on Showtime, this NFL Films preview and wrapup show has been around since the Seventies. And as it begins yet another new season, that means only one thing: pro football is about to do the same thing.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
4
EX LIBRIS: THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY By David Bianculli
 
 
Obviously, there’s only one phrase for Best Bets to use when recommending this lengthy, illuminating history of the iconic New York Public Library: Check it out. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
4
MAYANS M.C. By David Bianculli
 
 
SERIES PREMIERE: Kurt Sutter and company present this new spinoff series from Sons of Anarchy, and the first two episodes, available for critics to preview, set up the same general dynamic. There’s a motorcycle club with a history of conflict and violence, a raft of enemies and uneasy alliances among other clubs, and a structure that allows for lots of high-speed action scenes, slow-motion crashes, and, in the case of Mayans M.C. especially, an uncomfortably high level of violence. I watch
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
4
'MAYANS MC' DEBUTS AND IS WORTH SOME PATIENCE By David Hinckley
 
 
After a short and rather unsatisfying visit to the Middle Ages, Kurt Sutter is returning to his comfort zone of contemporary violent California motorcycle gangs. Er, clubs...
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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