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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

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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
 
 
2020
Apr
11
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE By David Bianculli
 
 
After the New York-based national tragedy of 9/11, the return of Saturday Night Live, with a new show performed live almost in defiance of the country’s understandable bleakness, was a profound and necessary TV event. Tonight feels much the same, and again, SNL is rallying to address the moment, the mood, and the country, regarding a horrible event that has impacted all viewers, yet finds its epicenter in New York. This week, executive producer Lorne Michaels made the d
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Apr
11
1994: CBS PRESENTS THE FINAL 'ALL IN THE FAMILY' SPINOFF By TV WW
 
 
On this day in 1994, CBS presented the final All in the Family spinoff, 704 Hauser...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Apr
10
1973: ALISTAIR COOKE'S 'AMERICA' ENDS ITS RUN By TV WW
 
 
This day in 1973 marked the final telecast of America: A Personal History of the United States...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Apr
10
JANE EYRE By David Bianculli
 
 
Every week for a while, England’s National Theatre is excavating TV versions of stage productions and presenting them for free, on its National Theatre at Home YouTube channel. It’s a wonderful service, and unexpected gift, for those of us who are shut in for so long – and that should be all of us. The only trick is, National Theatre at Home swaps out its offerings at midnight Friday, so each free production is available only for seven days. If you didn’t follow, remember
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Apr
10
THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ: 50 YEARS OF MAGIC By David Bianculli
 
 
How time flies – at least when you can go outdoors. This documentary was made on the golden anniversary of The Wizard of Oz, still the best family movie of all time. (Number two: The Princess Bride.) And since The Wizard of Oz was released in 1939, that means this celebration, hosted by Angela Lansbury, was first televised in 1989. And that, dear friends, was 31 years ago.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Apr
10
THE WIZARD OF OZ By David Bianculli
 
 
And here’s the movie itself, one of the finest films to share, as a family, under any circumstance. These circumstances especially. And what person, watching today, can fail to relate in a new way to Dorothy’s classic realization: “There’s no place like home”? These days, that’s a government mandate.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Apr
10
REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER By David Bianculli
 
 
Last week, Bill Maher pulled off a (very) remote show, hosting from his back yard. This week, he plans another socially distanced recap of the week’s news. Tonight’s scheduled guests include New York City mayor Bill de Blasio and a formerly prominent politician used to speaking of inconvenient truths: Al Gore.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Apr
10
MAGGIE SIMPSON IN PLAYDATE WITH DESTINY By David Bianculli
 
 
A last-second treat from Matt Groening, the Simpsons gang, and Disney+: This animated short film, which just appeared in theaters as a bonus prefacing the new Pixar full-length animated film Onward, has been added to the Disney+ library, effective today. Enjoy.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Apr
10
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR By David Bianculli
 
 
Jane Eyre isn’t the only filmed production of a British stage production being offered today for a limited time. Today at 2 p.m. ET through Sunday – Easter Sunday, naturally – the newly established YouTube channel The Shows Must Go On!, an Andrew Lloyd Webber giveback to the people during the current pandemic, presents London’s recent West End production of his and Tim Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar. Last week, this channel premiered with Joseph a
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Apr
9
THE GOOD FIGHT By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: Season 4 of this always clever Robert and Michelle King series begins with Christine Baranski’s Diane Lockhart experiencing a second of déjà vu – going all the way back to this series’ premiere episode and its opening scene, when she’s watching election returns that fateful night in 2016, watches Donald Trump become elected president, and screams an f-bomb of an expletive. Except this time, as she watches, it’s Hillary Clinto
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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