This series has been leading up to tonight’s episode for quite a while: Ann and Chris (Rashida Jones, Rob Lowe), future parents, take their union on the road – aiming for Michigan – and leave Pawnee. The actors themselves are leaving the show – but not without an on-air goodbye party, planned by Leslie (Amy Poehler).

2014

Jan

THE SIXTIES: THE BRITISH INVASION By David Bianculli

Hastily scheduled, this is another special preview installment of The Sixties, the forthcoming CNN documentary series by Tom Hanks’ production company. The first of these, back in November, was keyed to the golden anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Now, two months later, comes a much happier 50-years-later program: a salute to the Feb. 9, 1964 appearance by The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.

2014

Jan

THE SPOILS OF BABYLON By David Bianculli

In tonight’s episode, Jessica Alba steps to the fore – and steps into a series of bitchslaps, traded with Kristen Wiig’s Cynthia in a very pointed homage to the Dynasty-era miniseries Spoils is so gleefully satirizing.

2014

Jan

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE By David Bianculli

Frank Sinatra, who co-stars, and whose film company produced this grim 1962 movie about brainwashing, political conspiracies and assassination attempts, was long thought to have withdrawn the film from circulation after John F. Kennedy was assassinated the following year, disturbed by the parallels between life and art. However, the movie wasn’t pulled for about a decade, and it turns out to have been because of a simple contract dispute with the movie distributor. No matter: The Manchuria

2014

Jan

NOVA: "GHOSTS OF MURDERED KINGS" By David Bianculli

“It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” is a famous war song that’s been around for more than a century now, but its reference to an obscure county in Ireland has new resonance today, because of an unexpected archaeological find there. In a remote peat bog, a worker finds a perfectly preserved human torso that becomes one of the coldest cold cases in history. Scientists date it to the Bronze Age, about 1000 BC – and historians theorize that the bodies found in that bog are t

2014

Jan

HAWKING By David Bianculli

Stephen Finnigan directs, and is one of the writers of, this 2013 biographical documentary about Stephen Hawking, told with unprecedented access to the brilliant scientist’s private home movies and other revealing artifacts. Expect to be surprised, impressed, educated – and inspired. Check local listings.

2014

Jan

TOP CHEF By David Bianculli

SEASON FINALE: Part 1 of 2. Tonight’s installment sends the finalists to Hawaii, which is one reason I’ll watch. (Someday, I swear, I’ll actually go there, instead of just wearing its shirts and listening to its slack-key guitar music.) Another reason: the mystery ingredient around which the chefs must build their meals is that old Monty Python musical favorite: Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam… In other words, tonight’s Top Chef features Spamalot.

2014

Jan

AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN By David Bianculli

SEASON FINALE: Tonight’s finale, the final chapter of the Coven story line, plays like a witchly reality competition show. All the young witches at the academy compete in a trial in which each of them tackles “The Seven Wonders,” a gauntlet of magical acts they must perform to identify themselves as the next Supreme. Given what’s at stake, expect a bloodbath. And that’s just for starters.

2014

Jan

SUPER AD By Eric Gould

It’s Super Bowl time and, of course, time for the annual run of high-end commercials. Last year when Ram Trucks rolled out the “Farmer” commercial which used the voiceover of late radio broadcaster Paul Harvey it wasn’t your usual Super Bowl fluff -- and arrestingly so...

2014

Jan

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION By David Bianculli

In this 1993 episode of this Star Trek spinoff series, the holodeck generates not only a believable approximation of the world of Sherlock Holmes, but a dangerously realistic version of the legendary detective’s arch-nemesis, Moriarty (portrayed by Daniel Davis, who, improbably, played Niles the stuffy butler on The Nanny). Why point out this vintage episode for special mention? Because the current, brilliant version of Sherlock is created by the same writers who, in the science fiction re

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