Film director Robert Rodriguez, this network’s founder and chairman, uses his own expertise, and his ability to approve and schedule any TV show he wants, to sit down occasionally for this series of specials, interviewing fellow directors whose work he admires. As a program executive, it’s a good move. As an interviewer, it’s another one. These shows are like TV equivalents of Hitchcock/Truffaut, that landmark book in which critic and filmmaker Francois Truffaut interviewed Alf

2015

Mar

THE CONVERSATION By David Bianculli

Following a new Director’s Chair special in which Robert Rodriguez interviews Francis Coppola, the El Rey network presents a prime-time showing of one of Coppola’s bold early films. Made in 1974, it stars Gene Hackman as an audio surveillance expert, and the co-stars include Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, and John Cazale (pictured), one of the only actors who can be said to have starred only in very good movies: this one, the first and second Godfather films, Dog Day Afternoon, and T

2015

Mar

BETTER CALL SAUL By David Bianculli

Lots of things about Better Call Saul make me smile. Last week, one of them was the music: the soundtrack made room for such odd yet perfect musical choices as two songs that I first adored as a teenager: Herbie Mann’s recording of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and Dave Brubeck’s “Unsquare Dance.” Oh, and the scriptwriting and the acting? They’re as great as the music.

2015

Mar

THOROUGHLY 'MODERN FAMILY' By Ed Martin

Last week’s breathtakingly original episode of ABC’s Modern Family, a television milestone shot in its entirety on iPhones, iPads and such, explored the impact of digital communication and social media on American life. It was the best half-hour of comedy I have seen all season...

2015

Mar

ONCE UPON A TIME By David Bianculli

MIDSEASON RETURN: The first half of the season, this Disney series relied heavily upon its live-action equivalents of the sisters from Frozen. Tonight, as Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) tries to work his way back from exile, he – and the series itself – throws in with a trio of nasty ladies whose communal history spans the history of Disney animation: Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmations, and Ursula from The Little Mermaid. In this TV reunion of villainesses

2015

Mar

THE JINX: THE LIFE AND DEATHS OF ROBERT DURST By David Bianculli

Episode 4. Now I’m really hooked. The evidence presented so far, in filmmaker Andrew Jarecki’s study of real estate heir and suspected multiple murderer Robert Durst, is largely circumstantial – but it’s certainly compelling. And Durst himself, every times he opens his mouth to answer a question from Jarecki, is haunting.

2015

Mar

THE GOOD WIFE By David Bianculli

MIDSEASON RETURN: The best show on broadcast TV returns for the second half of its season, adding yet another Must-See hour to Sunday’s very busy TV viewing (and recording) list. And it returns with not only its fabulous regular cast, but with a wealth of equally fabulous guest stars: David Hyde Pierce, Dylan Baker and, this week, Ed Asner.

2015

Mar

MASTERPIECE CLASSIC: "DOWNTON ABBEY" By David Bianculli

SEASON FINALE: Season 5 ends tonight with an expanded finale, with PBS importing and coupling both the end-of-season episode and the subsequent, year-ending Christmas special. It’s loaded with surprises, satisfying plot culminations, and even an appropriate holiday miracle of sorts. The beauty of Downton is that its characters are so richly delineated, this sort of extended storytelling becomes its own reward. One teaser I will reveal: Matthew Goode, who has been so charismatic on both The

2015

Mar

THE WALKING DEAD By David Bianculli

Where to go, how to survive, and whom to trust? Those are three of the key questions the scrappy survivors of this series must face, each and every episode – and this week, Ross Marquand’s Aaron puts all three questions in sharp focus, as the survivors take their wary first steps into yet another possible – but possibly deceiving and dangerous – sanctuary.

2015

Mar

BATTLE CREEK By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: Vince Gilligan wrote the original pilot script for this odd-couple crime comedy-drama (comedy, mostly) a dozen years ago, as a proposed series for CBS. Once he became “Vince Gilligan,” thanks to the fame and success of Breaking Bad, CBS was eager to revive the concept – even more so than Gilligan, whose energies were committed to his planned Breaking Bad prequel, Better Call Saul. But CBS, rather than let the opportunity slip away, paired Gilligan with House, M

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