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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
 
 
2020
Feb
20
MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON By David Bianculli
 
 
This 1939 Frank Capra movie contains both sides of the political and mass media seesaw. On one hand, some politicians are shown as corrupt, and some newspaper and radio reporters as jackals and parasites. But on the other side of the seesaw, there’s James Stewart as Jefferson Smith, a newbie senator so raw, honest and noble that he seems like the endangered species he was, and still is. Jean Arthur, as the more experienced Washington hand who is given the job of “handling” him,
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Feb
20
AN AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL CLUB STEEPED IN MYSTERY ON 'PLAYING FOR KEEPS' By David Hinckley
 
 
The least glamorous character in Playing for Keeps is the best reason to watch it...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Feb
19
DR. STRANGELOVE, OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB By David Bianculli
 
 
This 1964 Stanley Kubrick movie is one of my favorites – not only one of my favorite Kubrick films, but one of my favorite movies, period. Peter Sellers is a lot of the reason: every role he plays here is hilarious, each in its own, very different way. But the war room set is astounding, the supporting characters are a riot, and Slim Pickens, as the B-52 pilot who successfully evades Russian radar, gets the cinematic sendoff of the century. Don’t miss it.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Feb
19
MODERN FAMILY By David Bianculli
 
 
Too many consecutive Emmy awards may have made some of us take this sitcom for granted. But Modern Family packs as many genuine laughs per episode as any other current comedy on TV, and I’m including Curb Your Enthusiasm. These are the last episodes of the final season of Modern Family, and they ought to be seen, if only to marvel at the comic timing and deadpan comic asides. Both, by now, are perfectly tuned machines – and the show is making room for so
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Feb
19
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL DEBATE: LAS VEGAS By David Bianculli
 
 
Because of a strong enough showing in yesterday’s NPR poll, Mike Bloomberg has qualified to share the debate stage tonight, along with fellow Democratic presidential candidate hopefuls Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, and Amy Klobuchar. For the first time, this puts Bloomberg, rather than his TV ads, at center stage – and, for the first time, pits Mayor Mike against Mayor Pete. Live from Nevada, expect this debate to be the most lively one yet.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Feb
18
THE LATEST FROM PBS'S 'FRONTLINE,' ‘AMAZON EMPIRE,’ IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF TV WORTH WATCHING By Alex Strachan
 
 
Pity poor Jeff Bezos. You may have more in common with Amazon founder than you might think...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Feb
18
FRONTLINE: "AMAZON EMPIRE: THE FALL AND REIGN OF JEFF BEZOS" By David Bianculli
 
 
This new Frontline documentary looks at the rise, and Machiavellian maneuvers, of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. And it’s presented tonight on your TV set via public television, and you don’t even need to subscribe to Amazon Prime to get same-day delivery. For full reviews, see Alex Strachan's TV That Matters, and David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Feb
18
'FRONTLINE' ASKS ALEXA "ARE YOU LISTENING TO US?" ON 'AMAZON EMPIRE' By David Hinckley
 
 
At one point in a new documentary on how Amazon came to pervade the planet Earth, an Amazon official assures an interviewer that the Amazon Echo, a.k.a Alexa, doesn't really "listen" to its subscribers...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Feb
17
BOB HEARTS ABISHOLA By David Bianculli
 
 
All things are relative, especially when relatives give their opinions about romantic relationships – which is what happens on tonight’s show, as Bob and Abishola’s loved ones pontificate about love and marriage.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Feb
17
INDEPENDENT LENS: "WE BELIEVE IN DINOSAURS" By David Bianculli
 
 
This week’s documentary, We Believe In Dinosaurs, looks at the creation of a Kentucky theme park devoted to Noah’s Ark. And yes, dinosaurs do enter into this particular tale. 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