2021
 
 
 
 
 
 
2020
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2019
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2018
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2017
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2016
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2015
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2014
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2013
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2012
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2011
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2010
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2009
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2008
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2007
 
 
 
 
 
 
2001
 
 
 
 
2000
 
 
 
 
1998
 
 
 
 
1990
 
 
 
 
1989
 
 
 
 
1987
 
 
 
 
1985
 
 
 
 
1982
 
 
 
 
1980
 
 
 

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
 
 
2019
May
22
BROCKMIRE By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: This Season 3 finale finds Brockmire (Hank Azaria) back at the big leagues at last – but that doesn’t mean it’s for long, or that it goes well. Again, I’m just guessing… but given Brockmire’s personal foibles and track record, it’s an educated guess.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
21
A HARROWING HOUR OF TELEVISION: 'FRONTLINE’ EXPOSES HOW THE SCALES OF JUSTICE TIPPED TO THE RIGHT ON THE U.S. SUPREME COURT By Alex Strachan
 
 
Supreme Revenge, veteran PBS Frontline correspondent Michael Kirk’s detailed exposé of the behind-the-scenes politics that have driven recent US Supreme Court appointments, is jam-packed with facts and figures, but one number stands out...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
21
'BLOOD & TREASURE' IS NOT THE SUMMER GEM CBS IS HOPING FOR By David Hinckley
 
 
If you’re in the mood for a whirlwind travelogue of exotic upscale destinations, mostly in Europe and the Middle East, CBS’s Blood & Treasure is your new summer show. You should be aware, though, that the travelogue is sporadically interrupted by a plot...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
21
THE VOICE By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: In yesterday’s part one of this cycle’s two-part finale, Maelyn Jarmon (pictured) – the only remaining female finalist, and the only one not to be coached by Blake Shelton (her coach is John Legend) -- performed a beautiful version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” How beautiful? Afterward, it hit #1 on the iTunes Top 100 List – and probably will be enough to give Jarmon the victory at the end of tonight. But before we find out who wins, to
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
21
1969 By David Bianculli
 
 
Tonight’s installment is called “Generation Woodstock” – and while the plans for a golden anniversary festival concert event have gotten increasingly problematic for this summer, few things went as planned in the summer of 1969 either. But thanks to farmer Max Yasgur’s last-minute offering to use his land for the three-day music event, Woodstock ended up being a real lollapalooza.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
21
FRONTLINE: "SUPREME REVENGE" By David Bianculli
 
 
Brett Cavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the behind-the-scenes figbt on both sides to either elect or oppose him, amounted to what Frontline calls the first “all-out war” for control of the Supreme Court. Here is that story. Check local listings. For a full review, see Alex Strachan’s TV That Matters. 
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
21
FOSSE/VERDON By David Bianculli
 
 
Tonight’s seventh episode of Fosse/Verdon has choreographer Bob Fosse, played by Sam Rockwell, fighting with dancer and actress (and estranged wife) Gwen Verdon, played by Michelle Williams, over the content of their upcoming Broadway musical Chicago. She wants a crowd-pleasing comeback vehicle, but he wants something much, much darker. If you’ve ever seen Chicago, the show or the movie, you know who won that one. Both of them...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
20
THE VOICE By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: Tonight and tomorrow, The Voice presents its first two-night finale of 2019. Tomorrow night is when the visiting stars will perform,  filling time until the results are revealed – but tonight is the night the four finalists, on live TV, do their best to outshine their rivals. So far as coaches this cycle are concerned, Kelly Clarkson and Adam Levine have no skin in the game – or, at least, no members of their team in the final. Blake Shelton boasts three of four f
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
20
THE LATE LATE SHOW CARPOOL KARAOKE PRIMETIME SPECIAL 2019 By David Bianculli
 
 
SPECIAL PREMIERE: Last year’s prime-time James Corden Carpool Karaoke special, in which he drove around Liverpool with Sir Paul McCartney and presented a surprise McCartney mini-concert at a local pub, was my favorite TV moment of last year. I don’t expect to be similarly moved by this year’s outing, which is dominated by him driving Celine Dion around the Las Vegas strip – but I’ll still watch, and listen, with interest, because the “Carpool Karaoke” co
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
19
AMERICAN IDOL By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: This is not a recommendation. Remember when this show, when it was on Fox, ruled the ratings and dominated media attention? Now it’s the ABC finale again this year, and I’d be surprised if anyone could name all of this year’s judges – much less any of the finalists. Which leads to that age-old philosophical question: If a 2019 American Idol finalist sings on ABC, and no one hears it, did they ever sing at all?
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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