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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

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Ed Martin's TV Mix

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MNtv

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TV Feeds My Family

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GARY EDGERTON

Must-Click TV

TOM BRINKMOELLER

Raised On MTM

GERALD JORDAN

Crossing Jordan

NOEL HOLSTON

The Grassy Noel

TVWW ARCHIVE

Contributors Archive
 
 
2012
Sep
28
1991: ABC INTRODUCES 'THE COMMISH' By Christy Slewinski
 
 
On this day in 1991, ABC introduced the dramedy, The Commish...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
28
MOYERS & COMPANY By David Bianculli
 
 
This weekend’s new Bill Moyers report makes me furious. Not at Mr. Moyers, but at what he uncovers, and explains so well, in this lengthy piece called The United States of ALEC. ALEC is an acronym for American Legislative Exchange Council, a powerful lobbying group that not only influences local legislation, but helps draft it. It’s supposed to be bipartisan, but really isn’t. Isn’t supposed to be a lobbying outfit, but really is. And is designated by the government as no
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
28
THE GREEN MILE By David Bianculli
 
 
Given the recent passing of Michael Clarke Duncan, it seems fitting to note this AMC rebroadcast of the 1999 role that brought him to prominence: that of a prison inmate with supernatural powers, in this Tom Hanks movie based on a Stephen King story.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
27
1954: NBC'S LATE-NIGHT FRANCHISE DEBUTS WITH 'TONIGHT!' By David Bianculli
 
 
Steve Allen's first NBC show, broadcast on September 27, 1954, launched Tonight! into orbit, and it hasn't returned since...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
27
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE PRIME-TIME ELECTION SPECIAL By David Bianculli
 
 
This weekend didn’t provide the sort of headlines that lead to obvious political sketches – but with the first presidential debate only one week away, I suspect that might provide fodder for a lengthy sketch on tonight’s second of two prime-time SNL specials. Jason Sudeikis continues his role as Mitt Romney, and Jay Pharaoh takes over as the SNL impersonator for Barack Obama.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
27
THE BIG BANG THEORY By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: As Season 6 begins, Howard (Simon Helberg) is both a newlywed and a rocket man, continuing his orbital experience on the International Space Station. And back on Earth, worlds are colliding – specifically, with all three of the earthbound male buddies experiencing significant problems with their female significant others.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
27
LAST RESORT By David Bianculli
 
 
SERIES PREMIERE: Andre Braugher, one  of my favorite TV actors, gets a new series lead – and a strong one – as a submarine commander who ends up questioning orders, and for good reason. The premise, and tonight’s pilot, are strong enough to warrant a visit. For other reactions to this new series, see our 2012 TVWW Fall TV Preview page – and for more lengthy reviews, see Gerald Jordan’s Crossing Jordan and Ed Bark’s Uncle Barky’s Bytes.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
27
LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER: “OPENING GALA OF THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC” By David Bianculli
 
 
You don’t have to buy a ticket to Lincoln Center, or even get dressed up, to enjoy the season’s opening gala, featuring Itzhak Perlman performing a varied evening of violin pieces.  Among them: segments from the John Williams score Perlman performed for the Steven Spielberg movie Schindler’s List. In addition to Williams, other composers on the bill include Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakoff, and Massenet. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
27
LOUIE By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: Louis C.K. not only won an Emmy Sunday night for writing this series, but appeared as a presenter with Amy Poehler. I mention that because Poehler is one of the guest stars on tonight’s Louie season finale, so there are two more reasons to watch: see an Emmy winner, and see an Amy winner.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
27
ANDY WILLIAMS: NOT NOW, NOT EVER, NEVER! By Noel Holston
 
 
For kids and teenagers of the time, it was Andy Williams' TV show, not his Billboard charters, that mattered...
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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