DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
2014
Jul
13
 
 
2002: A Breaking Bad time and space odyssey. "I hesitate to say it, but it is indeed a period piece," creator and co-executive producer Vince Gilligan said Friday of AMC's Better Call Saul. "I can't believe it myself..."
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jul
13
 
 
Tonight’s championship, the Super Bowl and then some of what we call soccer, features Germany vs. Argentina. Starting with the round of 16, Argentina has scored two goals – one to secure the win against Switzerland, and one more against Belgium. (Argentina advanced to the finals by beating the Netherlands on end-of-play penalty kicks, 4-2). Germany, over the same period, has scored 10 goals: two in its 2-1 victory over Algeria, one in its victory over France, and seven against humili
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jul
13
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: Only Jon Voight, in his standout role as Ray’s loose-cannon father, got an Emmy nomination nod earlier this week. That’s a shame, because several actors, including series star Liev Schreiber, have turned in really complicated work. But in Voight’s case, it’s hard to complain: He tackled this role from the start like a terrier on a tear. Season 2 begins tonight, and if any of the characters begin the season in a better place, then I’ve missed someone
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jul
13
 
 
SERIES PREMIERE: Guillermo del Toro co-wrote, and directs the pilot of, this new FX series, which treats ancient vampirism as a modern plague – and, as this show tells it, with very good reason. Corey Stoll stars. For a full review, see Bianculli’s Blog, or listen to my NPR review on Fresh Air with Terry Gross. And for an interview with del Toro and series showrunner Carlton Cuse, see Gabriela Tamariz's Streamline.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jul
13
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: This new season begins with some shuffling of the deck, regarding both the personal and professional situations of the characters we’ve come to know and, if not love, at least love to watch. That goes for Michael Sheen as uptight sex researcher William Masters, and it certainly goes for the only two cast members nominated for Emmys this week, star Lizzy Caplan as Virginia Johnson and recurring guest star Allison Janney as Margaret Scully.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jul
13
 
 
SEASON FINALE: WGN America’s first original scripted series ends its season tonight, but fairly valiantly. It’s already earned a renewal for Season 2, and it packs tonight’s season finale with enough cliffhangers, revelations and bloody confrontations to make it move briskly from start to teasing finish. Not every character will survive the hour – but those who do are brewing up more trouble than ever. Double, double, toil and trouble… Janet Montgomery, Shane West
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jul
13
 
 
The Strain is a story about scary monsters, not sexy monsters that lure you in and fall in love... Last week I participated in a conference call Q&A with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and Lost showrunner Carlton Cuse about their new FX series...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jul
12
 
 
Last week, producer and series creator Ann Biderman was probably thinking she needed a baseball bat to get some Emmy attention for her Showtime drama Ray Donovan. And she knows one or two things about the persuasive use of that tough-guy device...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jul
12
 
 
Tonight’s World Cup game won’t have the tension of other games thus far, because the two teams participating, the Netherlands and host country Brazil, have lost already in the semifinals, and are playing for pride and a third-place finish. For Brazil, any pride the team can salvage would help, because it lost its last game by suffering Brazil’s worst defeat in World Cup history, being trounced by Germany 7-1 (pictured). The Netherlands, meanwhile, after holding Argentina to a d
 
 
 
  
 
 
2014
Jul
12
 
 
At this year's Golden Globes, co-host Tina Fey summarized the plot of this 2013 movie, which stars Sandra Bullock as an astronaut stranded in orbit, thusly: “George Clooney would rather float away into space and die than spend one more minute with a woman his own age.” It was a perfectly written, timed and delivered joke, and even Clooney laughed about it: “That’s a good one,” he said admiringly. “It’s a well-constructed joke.” But since then, he&r