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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
 
 
2015
May
28
WITH A PERSONAL MUSIC DOCENT ALONG, THIS 'GREAT PERFORMANCE' IS EVEN BETTER By Tom Brinkmoeller
 
 
Though many a symphony season-ticket holder might protest the following as unsophisticated and lazy, a great place to watch and appreciate a classical concert is in front of a good TV set during an expertly directed production...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
27
2014 ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY By David Bianculli
 
 
This year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is televised by HBO on Saturday. Meanwhile, for a little perspective, HBO2 tonight presents a repeat of last year’s ceremony.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
27
500 QUESTIONS By David Bianculli
 
 
Sign of summer, not a recommendation. A week after its premiere, I’ve finally seen enough of this series, over enough nights, to declare doubts that ABC has another summer quiz-show hit on its hands.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
27
THE BRIEFCASE By David Bianculli
 
 
Sign of summer, not a recommendation. The May sweeps are over, and the subsequent try-anything reality and competition shows start showing up. Here’s another.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
27
BULLSEYE By David Bianculli
 
 
Sign of summer, not a recommendation. The May sweeps are over, and the subsequent try-anything reality and competition shows start showing up. Here’s another.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
27
THE STAR By David Bianculli
 
 
Bette Davis stars in this 1952 drama, playing a washed-up actress mounting a comeback. Kind of ironic, considering that some of Bette Davis’ most iconic roles, in a very long career, were still to come.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
27
NBC’S ‘AQUARIUS’: MAKING HASH OUT OF HELTER SKELTER By Eric Gould
 
 
Just when you thought the networks might be committed to serving up appointment viewing with the likes of the just-finished American Crime, tried-and-true dramatic formulas return to remind us where the money is, and where the networks' hearts really are...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
26
500 QUESTIONS By David Bianculli
 
 
Another new episode airs tonight – but having finally tuned in for some episodes, I’m not at all certain this new quiz show has the drama, or the sparkle, to catch on. But these are the installments that will let us know, one way or the other, because the contestants are working their way closer to the allegedly intense end of the line.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
26
ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: This harmless, entertaining, often genially embarrassing quiz show returns for a new season, with Jeff Foxworthy as host.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
26
FRONTLINE: "OBAMA AT WAR" By David Bianculli
 
 
Correspondent Martin Smith, basically the very best war reporter on this series (and one of the best, period), takes a hard look at U.S. military plans for Syria – and how the White House basically was unprepared for the rise of ISIS, or ISIL, or whatever they call themselves. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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