On a very slow viewing evening – so slow this is tonight’s only entry in Bianculli’s Best Bets – Cinemax saves the day, or at least the night, by showing this riotous 1988 comedy from Monty Python member John Cleese. The former Fawlty Towers star gives himself the essential straight man role here, playing a tightly wound and reserved British lawyer who finds himself involved with a small den of nefarious lawbreakers. His befuddled reaction shots are hi

2019

Dec

FROM ‘SURVIVOR AFRICA’ TO ‘ISLAND OF THE IDOLS’: SAME NAME, DIFFERENT SHOW By Alex Strachan

So much of TV is in-the-moment. We’re constantly rushing onto the next thing, and have little time to reflect on the past...

2019

Dec

RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER By David Bianculli

Now that we’re into Thanksgiving leftovers, we’re also, sigh, into Christmas and related holiday TV specials. Tonight is one of the earliest ones – not only in terms of the 2019 calendar, but also in terms of its original production. This tabletop Christmas special was an early entry in this TV genre, premiering way, way back in 1964 – the same television year in which Ed Sullivan presented The Beatles.

2019

Dec

BEN-HUR DOUBLE FEATURE By David Bianculli

This month, one of TCM’s theme is remakes, and tonight’s prime-time lineup is devoted to “Silents to Sound.” The first example of the month: a silent 1925 version of Ben-Hur, followed by the much more familiar 1959 full-color, full-sound, widescreen epic starring Charlton Heston. The first entry, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, is shown at 8 p.m. ET, followed at 10:45 p.m. ET by the shorter title, but much longer movie, Ben-Hur (pictured).

2019

Dec

PRODIGAL SON By David Bianculli

SEASON FINALE: The acting in this Fox series, about a serial murderer and his son, has been better than the writing. But if you’ve stuck with it this far, at least you’ve made it to the end of Season 1. Will there be a Season 2? The odds are good, but these days, little on broadcast TV can be taken for granted.

2019

Dec

HIS DARK MATERIALS By David Bianculli

Like another HBO series, Watchmen, this series gets better, and showcases additional strong performers and performances, each week. His Dark Materials is not in the same league as Watchmen, but it’s rapidly defining the players and strategies on its particular chess board.

2019

Dec

THE KILLINGS ON 'MIDSOMER MURDERS' RELOCATE TO ACORN By David Hinckley

Midsomer Murders, which some might call the British equivalent of Law & Order, returns for its 21^st season with a new U.S. home and an undiminished twinkle in its crime-solving eye...

2019

Dec

RAY DONOVAN By David Bianculli

This new season of Ray Donovan is only a few episodes old, but already it’s working hard to make its mark. First it took one of the show’s central and most interesting characters and killed him off suddenly – and then, an episode or two later, brought that same character back from the apparent dead. So now what? Ray (Liev Scheiber) responded with what, for him, was a typical reaction: angrily punched the formerly “deceased” man squarely in the face. That&r

2019

Dec

A CHRISTMAS CAROL By David Bianculli

It’s the first of December, and TCM is devoting each Sunday night to a pair of prime-time Christmas movies. Starting the whole month off is one of the absolute classics, based on the classic of all classic holiday stories, by Charles Dickens. This 1951 movie adaptation of A Christmas Carol stars Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge, and features Michael Hordern as that perfectly miserable spectre, Jacob Marley (pictured).

2019

Dec

WATCHMEN By David Bianculli

Last week’s installment of Watchmen was amazing – a riveting, fluid, imaginative hour of shifting perspectives and somewhat lucid dreaming. Angela (Regina King), on a mental trip after taking some of the mind-altering drug Nostalgia, experienced some of the revealing, frightening memories of her mysterious grandfather – who resurfaced at episode’s end, but attached to some potentially dangerous allies. As has Angela, by the way, awakening from her dreamy drug co

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