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

 
 
2019
May
17
 
 
MINISERIES PREMIERE: This new six-part adaptation of the classic Joseph Heller WWII novel, one of my favorite books as an impressionable teen reader, takes full advantage of the miniseries form to get deeper into the book – making it darker and more meaningful as it goes on, with the missions required to fly and the body count slowly but steadily rising. The young soldiers are mostly relatively fresh faces, including Christopher Abbott as Yossarian, but watch for certain officers who are p
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
17
 
 
Last week’s Season 6 premiere returned two actors whose characters’ fates were less than optimistic – Coulson had gone off to die, and Fitz was stranded in suspended animation in a far-flung corner of the universe. But though the actors returned, they were barely recognizable: Clark Gregg was playing not the affable Coulson, but a ruthless, murderous lookalike – and Fitz, played by Iain de Caesteker, concluded the episode by returning as Fitz, but he, too, was a much fier
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
17
 
 
Among this week’s scheduled guests: returning (and always quotable) visitor Fran Lebowitz.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
17
 
 
MINISERIES CONCLUSION: I’ve adored this 10-part mini-miniseries (each episode is only 10 minutes long), and can’t wait for tonight’s conclusion. Last night’s installment, which had Tom (Chris O’Dowd) and Louise (Rosamund Pike) actually enjoying each other’s company after spending a particularly affable evening together, laid the groundwork for what just might be a hopeful ending. Or not. Either way, it’s been an unforgettably entertaining TV voyage. Kudo
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
17
 
 
George Clooney recurrently loves a man in uniform, dating all the way back to Combat High, a super-obscure 1986 TV movie in which he played Maj. Biff Woods...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
16
 
 
SERIES FINALE: The Big Bang Theory premiered in September 2007 – which is a long, long while ago, even in the relative universe of time and TV. Put it this way: The Big Bang Theory was into its second season when Barack Obama was elected President. And tonight, it ends – and I expect a healthy initial audience, because this show has earned the hearts and minds it’s won over the years.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
16
 
 
The central gimmick of this show – that “functioning” zombie Liv (Rose McIver) can temporarily absorb the memories and skills of the murder victims whose brains she samples – has been passed on to her partner in “cold case” detection, Ravi (Fahul Kohil). And tonight, the two of them snack on competitive ballroom dancer brains, then try to solve their glitzy new murder case by training for their own ballroom dance-off. And for the occasion, the usually white-ha
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
16
 
 
SEASON FINALE: It’s the Season 2 finale for Young Sheldon, which will continue next year on CBS. And since it’s narrated by Jim Parsons, it’s the only place where his Sheldon, or at least his voice, will continue on the network into 2020.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
16
 
 
SPECIAL PREMIERE: There’s a long tradition of long-running, very popular TV situation comedies presenting not only a meaningful finale, as with the record-smashing M*A*S*H, but an after-celebration special, looking back on the show’s production and history – as with Cheers, Seinfeld and Friends, just to name three. This special, Unraveling the Mystery, shows the evolution of this particular sitcom, and how Chuck Lorre and company brought it to CBS and kept adjusting its recipe.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
May
16
 
 
I seem to be writing the word “penultimate” a lot lately. It’s May, and a lot of series are fast approaching their season finales and finales – or, as is the case tonight on CBS’s The Big Bang Theory, jumping from the penultimate and presenting the ultimate. But tonight, Sundance’s State of the Union indeed is presenting its penultimate installment – and with only 20 minutes of dialogue-heavy drama left (tonight’s 10-minute episode and tomorrow&rsq