Tomorrow in prime time, NBC presents a giant anniversary special devoted to Saturday Night Live. But tonight, in the regular SNL Saturday night time slot, NBC repeats, in its entirety, the original series pilot, from October 1975. George Carlin is the host, and the musical guests are Billy Preston and Janis Ian. For my column about why I owe my career as a TV critic to Saturday Night Live, see Bianculli’s Blog.

2015

Feb

'SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE' AND I CELEBRATE OUR 40TH ANNIVERSARY By David Bianculli

NBC celebrates 40 years of Saturday Night Live with a massive live TV special Sunday. It arrives seven months early, but it’s indeed something to celebrate – especially for me…

2015

Feb

BOB SIMON OUTTAKE FROM 'AMERICAN MASTERS' By David Bianculli

In 1998, the excellent PBS arts anthology series American Masters profiled CBS News icon Don Hewitt in an installment called Don Hewitt: 90 Minutes on 60 Minutes. One of the subjects interviewed for that program was Bob Simon, who died Feb. 11...

2015

Feb

BOSCH By David Bianculli

It’s getting almost commonplace all of a sudden: a new TV series arrives from a streaming video service, or other alternative means of delivery, that is more polished, and more interesting, than most of the stuff being offered by traditional broadcast networks. This time it’s Bosch, a new detective series based on the novels by Michael Connelly. Connelly is involved in this adaptation, as is producer Eric Overmyer, whose credits include Treme, Homicide: Life on the Street and another

2015

Feb

HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE By David Bianculli

This fluffy, funny, occasionally sexy comedy from 1953 is about three fashion models – not so much supermodels as super-hungry models – who pool their resources to move to a posh Manhattan penthouse to lure and snare eligible, and wealthy, bachelors. They share dresses as well as addresses, but they’re more than alluring enough with their own lures: This gold-digging trio is played by Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall.

2015

Feb

SHAKESPEARE UNCOVERED: "ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA" By David Bianculli

This week’s double dose of Shakespeare analysis and celebrating begins with Kim Cattrall, of Sex and the City fame, going much more highbrow to take a look at the history, context and subtext of Antony and Cleopatra. It’s a hosting assignment that makes sense, because Cleopatra definitely used her feminine wiles, as well as her intellect, to pursue the men she desired – and Antony, really, may have been the original Mr. Big. Check local listings.

2015

Feb

SHAKESPEARE UNCOVERED: "ROMEO AND JULIET" By David Bianculli

Joseph Fiennes starred as the Bard himself in the romantic movie Shakespeare in Love – so who better than Fiennes to host this examination of Shakespeare’s most famous and popular love story? Check local listings.

2015

Feb

REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER By David Bianculli

David Duchovny is one of the guests on tonight’s show – but sometimes the events of the week are what make this week-in-review comedy and discussion show a must-see TV event. And with everything that happened this week, starting with NBC’s Brian Williams, that’s certainly the case tonight.

2015

Feb

BOB SIMON: 1941-2015 By Noel Holston

The news hit hard – and then the irony. Bob Simon, the decorated journalist and 60 Minutes mainstay, was dead, killed in an automobile crash Wednesday in New York City. Simon had survived as many war zones and hot spots in his 47-year career as any reporter alive...

2015

Feb

THE SLAP By David Bianculli

MINISERIES PREMIERE: This new NBC miniseries is adapted from a 2011 miniseries from Australia, which in turn was based on the novel by Christos Tsiolkas – but in mounting a new version for the U.S., and especially in promoting it, NBC has washed away all traces of subtlety. The opening hour should have unfolded suspensefully, but every NBC promo for this eight-part drama includes and reveals the pivotal, titular action: an adult who, at a family backyard barbeque, slaps another person&rsqu

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