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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
 
 
2016
May
8
PBS' 'WALLANDER' COMES TO A SATISFYING END By David Hinckley
 
 
Our final visit from melancholy Swedish detective Kurt Wallander proves slightly unsettling. In a good way. Sort of...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
May
8
THE GOOD WIFE By David Bianculli
 
 
SERIES FINALE: The best drama series on broadcast TV, for many years now, has been The Good Wife, the Robert and Michelle King show – part legal drama, part political drama, part family drama, and that’s only part of it – that has followed the long and winding road of Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) as she redefines herself after her politician husband (played by Chris Noth) was caught in a sex scandal involving prostitutes. This series has made my Top 10 list for its enti
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
May
8
GAME OF THRONES By David Bianculli
 
 
Last week’s resurrection of Jon Snow was so expected by fans, and so drawn out during the episode, that this weekend’s Saturday Night Live even mounted a drawn-out parody of it. But now that he’s back, the main characters can get back to business – and the business, on this series, is about to get very bloody very quickly.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
May
8
PENNY DREADFUL By David Bianculli
 
 
Last week’s season premiere of Penny Dreadful was a wonderful hour. Parts were chillingly creepy, and other parts were usually heartwarming. And new characters were introduced, including a flinty therapist played by Patti LuPone – playing her own descendant, and demanding attention as instantly and commandingly as Eliza Dushku has this season on Banshee. Other new characters are classic, in more than one sense, as we’ve been introduced to characters from both Dr. Jekyll & M
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
May
8
VEEP By David Bianculli
 
 
Only what’s really going on in Washington right now is more complicated, and in some ways comic, than what’s happening on this show, in which presidential candidate Selina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) finds herself with a statistical tie in the electoral college, and seeing a recount in one close state race as her only way to claim the presidency. Martin Mull guest stars.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
May
8
LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER By David Bianculli
 
 
After this week in politics, especially on the Republican side, a deconstruction is both welcome and necessary. Go for it, John…
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
May
7
ERNIE HUDSON: ENJOYING THE ACTOR'S LIFE By David Hinckley
 
 
Ernie Hudson took a long and winding road to become Lily Tomlin’s boyfriend in Grace and Frankie. An interesting road. Inspirational. Not easy. It could also describe the acting profession in which he has spent his life...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
May
7
KEN BURNS' JAZZ By David Bianculli
 
 
On a Saturday night, there are few better options than to dive into a repeat showing of Ken Burns’ tuneful, informative, often inspirational series celebrating America’s home-grown musical genre. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
May
7
ALL ABOUT EVE By David Bianculli
 
 
Dozens of variations on this 1950 movie have emerged over the years, but few manage to match the original. Bette Davis plays a veteran star who is befriended, used and betrayed by a young actress (Anne Baxter) intent on using the veteran performer as a stepping stone to achieve her own star status. Watch for Marilyn Monroe in a fleeting supporting role, just before achieving her own sudden stardom.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
May
7
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE By David Bianculli
 
 
New edition: Brie Larsen is tonight’s guest host, and the musical guest is Alicia Keys.
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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