DAVID BIANCULLI

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NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
2016
Feb
2
 
 
"Stephen the Person" talks philosophy with  Kermit the Frog, and together they challenge some age old questions about free will, why cross the road, the dangers of biology classes, the importance of pants with pockets...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
2
 
 
MIDSEASON RETURN: During the first half of the season, ABC’s new incarnation of The Muppets had some viewers complaining about the show’s too-“adult” tone and focus. At midseason, the new executive producer promised to make a course correction of sorts – and tonight, it arrives, in a knowing “meta” plot that has Miss Piggy’s talk and variety show, “Up Late,” getting a mandated makeover. Judge for yourself.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
2
 
 
The villainous villainess, glamorous actress Whitney Frost, ended last week’s episode absorbing someone – not his thoughts, not his essence, but the entire guy. It has something to do with “Dark Matter,” which has something to do with the ever-increasing, throbbing black gash on her forehead – which she can hide, for now, with a carefully coiffed hairstyle. Does this mean Veronica Lake, back in the day, was a similar “Dark Matter”-infected Hollywood star
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
2
 
 
President James Garfield was in office only four months when (Spoiler Alert!) he was shot by Charles Guiteau in 1881, and died of his wounds shortly thereafter. This American Experience spends two hours on this presidential cold case, even though the assailant is unassailably identified – perhaps because this story, as American assassinations go, is so little-known. But I recommend finding, hearing and watching the TV version of Assassins, the Stephen Sondheim musical that gathered all suc
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
2
 
 
MIDSEASON RETURN: Rose McIver returns as Ivy, in an episode that displays just how much fun she and executive producer Rob Thomas are having with this series. The premise is that Ivy, though infected by a zombie, staves off the effects of full-out zombie-dom thanks to a steady diet of brains from the local coroner – her place of employment. A side effect of her brain diet is that she temporarily absorbs the memories, emotions and skills of the people she “samples,” which makes
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
2
 
 
Timothy Olyphant must be having a blast playing himself, as the rival and successor to Rob Lowe’s “Grinder” on this comedy series – because he’s back yet again. And this time, he’s irritating Lowe’s Dean by engaging in a mock trial with him. Dean’s already making a mockery of the law by practicing without a law degree or passing the bar, but now there are two unqualified “attorneys” doing battle. And that makes this, of course, a mock m
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
2
 
 
SERIES PREMIERE: I’ve seen six of the 10 episodes of this new series, which launches American Crime Story with a lengthy dramatization of the O.J. Simpson trial. Through the six hours, the drama really holds up, the courtroom moves and counter-moves are smartly and dramatically conveyed, and Courtney B. Vance and Sarah Paulson, as opposing attorneys Johnnie Cochran and Marcia Clark, deliver equally impressive and textured performances, even if their characters are less evenly matched. Cuba
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
1
 
 
For as far back as I can remember, Grease has been “the word.” And yet, during Sunday night’s three-hour live production of that campy pop-culture classic, many other words came to mind: “Dazzling,” “thrilling,” “ground-breaking,”...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
1
 
 
This may sound bizarre, but tonight Supergirl ventures into the Bizarro world of alternate super-beings – or, at least, brings one to National City, where a Supergirl counterpart is unleashed to do battle against the actual article.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Feb
1
 
 
Here’s the new X-Files episode that you shouldn’t miss: It’s written by Darin Morgan, who wrote some of the strangest and best episodes of the old X-Files series. And that’s true of the new series as well. Based on the three episodes provided for preview, it’s the best of the bunch. The title should let you know it’s another playful entry in the canon: It’s called “Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster,” and it’s loaded with extras to