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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

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Uncle Barky's Bytes

ALEX STRACHAN

TV That Matters

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Open Mike

ED MARTIN

Ed Martin's TV Mix

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Aerial View

MONIQUE NAZARETH

MNtv

BILL BRIOUX

TV Feeds My Family

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TV Eye

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Must-Click TV

TOM BRINKMOELLER

Raised On MTM

GERALD JORDAN

Crossing Jordan

NOEL HOLSTON

The Grassy Noel

TVWW ARCHIVE

Contributors Archive
 
 
2018
Mar
11
'GOOD FIGHT' PRESENTS SOME GREAT TV By Alex Strachan
 
 
As a viewer looking for an evening’s hour of good entertainment — something that makes me laugh as well as think — I find CBS All Access' The Good Fight to be one of the most consistently entertaining dramas on TV...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Mar
11
'AMERICAN IDOL' RETURNS WITH MORE HOPE, LESS CRUELTY By Roger Catlin
 
 
In its incessant promos, the rebooted American Idol has already indicated which direction it will be going, when it returns tonight after a two year absence on a new network, ABC...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Mar
11
AMERICAN IDOL By David Bianculli
 
 
SERIES PREMIERE: Two years after this Fox reality-TV musical competition juggernaut left the air, it’s back – on a new network, and, save for host Ryan Seacrest, with an all-new lineup. The hosts for this comeback lap, presented by ABC instead of Fox, are Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie. The question is, will viewers show up this time, even out of curiosity?
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Mar
11
O.J. SIMPSON: THE LOST CONFESSION? By David Bianculli
 
 
SPECIAL PREMIERE: Here’s an obvious bit of network street-fighting nastiness. On the same night and time that ABC tries to relaunch former Fox hit American Idol, Fox counters by presenting a special it’s been promoting heavily, and one for which the tune-in curiosity factor is at least as formidable. This special is built around a program that Fox had recorded, and scheduled to run, back in 2006, featuring O.J. Simpson being interviewed by publisher Judith Regan in a “hypotheti
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Mar
11
COUNTERPART By David Bianculli
 
 
Last week, J.K. Simmons got a break as Nazanin Boniadi, as Claire and her doppelganger, filled the entire episode – and deepened the series even more as a result. Whatever happens tonight, we at least know one of the other characters a lot more. Two, actually, since Claire’s significant other now is more significant as well.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Mar
11
THE WALKING DEAD By David Bianculli
 
 
Last week’s episode presented individual segments focused on six different players from the Walking Dead universe. And even all that narrative catch-up, in the wake of Carl’s demise, doesn’t fully get us up to speed.  Expect more of the same tonight, as the overall story keep building towards a climax Carl was hoping to avoid: one more deadly showdown between Rick and Negan.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Mar
11
HOMELAND By David Bianculli
 
 
Last week’s episode had Carrie (Claire Danes) caught for not taking her meds, and had Saul (Many Patinkin) caught in the middle of a violent shootout at the cult compound. But tonight, the plot also revolves around the escalation and dissemination of fake news – as embodied by an inflammatorily captioned and misleading photograph.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Mar
11
TIMELESS By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: This show wasn’t supposed to have a Season 2. It was canceled by NBC, then quickly reinstated – and after that smart reconsideration, returns tonight, with new time-travel episodes heading the team directly into the paths of Hedy Lamarr, Robert Johnson, Ronald Reagan and others.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Mar
11
LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER By David Bianculli
 
 
The smartest of all the topical comedy shows presents another fresh episode tonight. That’s all I need to know to tune in – and after each week of wallowing in the latest news, I need to tune in.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Mar
11
ABC'S 'DECEPTION' ISN'T VERY MAGICAL By David Hinckley
 
 
The best magic tricks seem to be effortless. ABC’s new drama Deception, which revolves around an illusionist, too often feels like it’s working too hard...
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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