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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
20
SURVIVOR: WORLDS APART By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: Speaking of Survivor creator Mark Burnett, here he is again, with another extended live finale of the franchise he launched in 2000, the year after Millionaire – and which helped CBS begin its climb to Number 1. For Survivor, this is cycle number 30, each one hosted by Jeff Probst. Talk about outlasting…
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
20
NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS By David Bianculli
 
 
Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals begins tonight, with the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Atlanta Hawks. This is the phase of the tournament where, traditionally, LeBron James shines like few other players in the history of the game – and now that he’s back in Cleveland, he has even more motivation.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
20
APOCALYPSE NOW By David Bianculli
 
 
Francis Ford Coppola made this war film in 1979, waging several wars of his own: with his studio, with the elements, even with some of his rebellious actors – most notably Marlon Brando. The result of all that tortured effort? A cinematic masterpiece. Martin Sheen stars.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
20
LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN By David Bianculli
 
 
SERIES FINALE: Late Show will continue, but Late Show with David Letterman will not. CBS is promoting this last installment of the Letterman era as Letterman: The Final Show. And there’s no way it won’t be memorable. I expect – and I hope – some unscripted speaking from the heart, with Letterman looking directly into the camera and talking honestly. Because that’s where Letterman always has been at his very best (as with his return after 9/11, or after his heart sur
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
19
THE FLASH By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: This spinoff of Arrow almost instantly eclipsed its parent program in terms of writing, tone and performances, and has maintained that advantage all season long. Tonight, the Season 1 finale, when we find out more about Tom Cavanagh’s character, who started the season as a good guy but along the way changed, literally, into a villain. We also learn what sacrifices the Flash must make in order to combat him.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
19
BONNIE AND CLYDE By David Bianculli
 
 
Made in 1967, and directed by Arthur Penn, this romanticized biography of the Depression-era bank robbers made a movie star and fashion icon of Faye Dunaway, and propelled Warren Beatty – who produced as well as starred – into the top tier of moviemakers given clout to do what he wished. It’s an exciting, clever film, with a terrific supporting cast (Gene Hackman wasn’t a star yet, but commands attention here, as do Estelle Parsons and Michael J. Pollard), an infamous end
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
19
THE VOICE By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: At 8 p.m. ET, prior to tonight’s two-hour season finale, NBC presents a recap hour, allowing interim- or non-viewers to get up to speed – and also allowing NBC to recycle some footage and amortize the show’s costs a bit. But at 9 p.m. ET (well, much closer to 11 p.m. ET, actually), a winner for Season 8 is crowned. Expect it to be Sawyer Fredericks.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
19
INSIDE AMY SCHUMER By David Bianculli
 
 
On this week’s show, Amy plays a contestant in a child beauty pageant in a takeoff of Toddlers & Tiaras (which, arguably, already is a spoof of itself, since it’s so horrid in every way). Schumer’s version is “Babies & Bustiers,” and she plays a contestant with abnormal growth spurts, named Amy Merryweather Sherman (the contestant, not the spurts). And her stage mom, because there has to be one? She’s played by Jennifer Coolidge… so watch out. A
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
19
INSIDE COMEDY By David Bianculli
 
 
This week, David Steinberg talks to standup comic and Seinfeld writer Carol Leifer, and also talks about comedy with someone who has subsequently moved on to, and won Emmys for, dramatic acting: former Malcolm in the Middle sitcom co-star Bryan Cranston, later of the phenomenally good, and dark, Breaking Bad.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
May
19
LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN By David Bianculli
 
 
The next-to-last Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, not the finale, is the one most people remember – the one where he was serenaded by Bette Midler. Well, tonight is the penultimate episode of Late Show with David Letterman, and there’s also a musical guest on board for the occasion: Bob Dylan. Somehow, though, I’m not expecting an original-lyrics tribute from Bob. But regardless, it’s Dylan’s first appearance on the show since 1993, Letterman’s first year on C
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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