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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

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All Along the Watchtower

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Uncle Barky's Bytes

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TV That Matters

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Open Mike

ED MARTIN

Ed Martin's TV Mix

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Aerial View

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MNtv

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TV Feeds My Family

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TV Eye

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Must-Click TV

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Raised On MTM

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TVWW ARCHIVE

Contributors Archive
 
 
2012
Apr
27
GEORGE HARRISON: DVD RELEASE AND ROOFTOP REPRISE By Eric Gould
 
 
George Harrison: Living in the Material World, the brilliant Martin Scorsese HBO documentary on Beatle George Harrison, is available on DVD and Blu-ray May 1. Scorsese conducted extensive new interviews with Beatles contemporaries Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono; other musicians, such as Eric Clapton; and Harrison's widow, Olivia and son, Dhani. We loved the two-part documentary here, and then, here again. As a treat, here's the Beatles' last live performance...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
27
FOX RENEWS 'FRINGE' By Ed Bark
 
 

Fox's renewal of Fringe, announced Thursday evening by the network, is both a pleasant surprise for fans and a heartening detour from business as usual...

 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
27
NBC'S LIVE "30 ROCK" WAS SPECTACULAR - TWICE By David Bianculli
 
 
NBC’s 30 Rock presented a brilliant live episode Thursday night, inspired by and spoofing on the history of live TV itself. Then, three hours later, did it all over again, just as brilliantly – but by no means the same…
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
27
1998: TV'S BEST COMEDY MEETS TV'S BEST DRAMA By Christy Slewinski
 
 
Today in 1998, prolific writer/producer David E. Kelley orchestrated a crossover event between his two shows, the Fox comedy Ally McBeal, and the ABC drama The Practice. The shows went on to win 1998 Emmy awards for Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Drama Series, respectively, making Ally McBeal and The Practice the only top TV shows to stage such an event. Incidentally, Kelley also scooped up 1998 Emmy statuettes for Outstanding Writing for both shows.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
27
MOYERS & COMPANY By David Bianculli
 
 
This week’s new edition is titled “Big Money, Big Media, Big Trouble” – which pretty much makes it required viewing for those who care about the shape, and the future, of our mass media. And in an essay, Bill Moyers takes on the issue of modern-day McCarthyism… just when you thought it was safe to go back to the TV set. Moyers & Company is televised Friday through Sunday on local PBS member stations. To find where this program is broadcast in your area, click
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
27
STAGE DOOR By David Bianculli
 
 
Curious about how NBC’s Smash might have looked, say, 75 years ago? Then check out this 1937 movie, about hopeful young actresses – and one pampered high-society girl – tying to break into the Broadway scene any way they can. And what a cast: Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn and, at left, 14 years before I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball!
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
27
FRINGE By David Bianculli
 
 
After last week’s oddball “back to the future” episode, this week Fringe is back to normal. Except normal, on this show, is anything but. Which is why, on tonight’s new program, it isn’t bad enough that the world is about to end in six hours. With an imminent collision of two different realities, it seems the worlds are about to end. Take that, 2012 doomsayers!
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
27
THE RICKY GERVAIS SHOW By David Bianculli
 
 
Ouch. This one’s hitting way too close to home. On tonight’s new episode, Karl Pilkington talks about going to the doctor. I feel his pain. No, really. I do.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
27
REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER By David Bianculli
 
 
Good, lively, smart guests tonight: The roster includes journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin, the author of Too Big to Fail, and political strategist Paul Begala.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
26
THE BIG BANG THEORY By David Bianculli
 
 
Returning from a brief hiatus, this series takes us to Wolowitz’s bachelor party, which starts out as an all-male affair. But will it stay that way? These are geeks, after all – but this is a bachelor party. Talk about conflict…
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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