This show, hosted by the warm and lovable Fred Willard, tries very hard to be a modern equivalent of Whose Line Is It Anyway – with improv comedy performed for very low stakes, other than just for the fun of it. The difference here is that they’re improvising around the true-life details of guest celebrities, who have to sit and watch the comics go through their paces. In the 9:30 p.m. ET installment, the guest is Ricky Gervais, who lends his raucous laugh to some of the routines &nd

2012

Jul

NY MED By David Bianculli

When I previewed this installment of Terence Wrong’s new medical documentary series, this particular hour made me cry – in the segment about a father (Jon Kuhfeldt, at left) struggling to live long enough to walk his grown daughter down the aisle. And that was before more hospital drama entered my own life, and my daughter’s. So fair warning: I won’t be watching tonight. But you should be.

2012

Jul

COVERT AFFAIRS By David Bianculli

This usually light USA Network series has begun Season 3 trying to darken the mood a bit, adding more credible danger to the mix, and complicating CIA agent Annie Walker’s relationships within the agency as well as in the field. Piper Perabo (pictured) stars – but has many scenes stolen by supporting cast members (Christopher Gorham, Kari Matchett, and now new arrival Sarah Clarke, for starters), so watch for that. It’s not treachery. Just talent.

2012

Jul

BIRDERS: THE CENTRAL PARK EFFECT By David Bianculli

Birders are bird hunters – armed not with shotguns, but with binoculars, notebooks and cell phones. Their goal is to find and identify the hundreds of varieties of birds who either nest or visit in New York’s Central Park, and the best attribute of director Jeffrey Kimball is the same one necessary for a good birder: patience. He films his subjects, human and avian, over all four seasons, giving his story a sense of regeneration, variety and wonder.

2012

Jul

EUREKA By David Bianculli

SERIES FINALE: “Just Another Day” is the title of this week’s episode, but it’s anything but. In fact, this is the last day for Eureka, and this final hour is a wrap-up that was written and filmed quite quickly, because the cancellation by Syfy was somewhat unexpected. So along with the anything-goes atmosphere, enjoy the jokes that are not-so-subtle allusions to the show’s treatment by the network. As Eureka the series is shut down, so is Eureka the town…

2012

Jul

THE CLOSER By David Bianculli

Tonight’s episode of The Closer focuses on Provenza, played by G.W. Bailey, who provides much of the comic relief on the show. Fans of the show will be relieved, no doubt, that Provenza and Bailey will be featured prominently in the forthcoming Closer spin-off, which explains the focus on this character at this particular time, as the series with Kyra Sedgwick as star begins to wind down.

2012

Jul

THE TSUNAMI AND THE CHERRY BLOSSOM By David Bianculli

After the tsunami devastated portions of coastal Japan in 2010, there were questions about how, even if, those lands would come back. This 2011 documentary, filmed and released a year later, finds some encouraging signs, and finds them in one of the country’s most iconic beauties of nature: the cherry blossom.

2012

Jul

TARZAN, THE APE MAN By David Bianculli

Swimming star Johnny Weissmuller starred in this 1932 movie, and in several sequels, playing a real swinger (on vines, that is) who talked to the animals long before Doctor Doolittle. One of the other stars of this film is Neil Hamilton, who, more than 30 years later, would play Commissioner Gordon on TV’s Batman. But the co-star deserving the most attention in this pre-Code movie is Maureen O’Sullivan as Jane, whose costumes (or relative lack of them), at the time, were as racy as a

2012

Jul

BAD IS FUNNY By Eric Gould

OK, so we're finally off to a new season of Breaking Bad. And it's been a verrry good start. For as much enjoyment that we get out of the show, here's something to remind us that the cast might be enjoying it more...

2012

Jul

'FRINGE,' 'SUPERNATURAL' AND 'DOCTOR WHO' MAKE FOR A MAMMOTH TRIPLE-PLAY AT COMIC-CON By Ed Martin

Television is increasingly the medium to beat at Comic-Con, the annual celebration of all facets of genre culture...

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