DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
2015
Feb
5
 
 
Last night, the first installment from Hollywood week, front-loaded its best talent by having the early-round audition standouts called on stage to perform individually, without knowing why. It was a very effective way to generate enthusiasm quickly – but as the installment ended, things got more ruthless, and more tense, as the judges started winnowing through the remaining 100-plus contestants. That process continues tonight, as Idol works to regain its footing, and part of its audience.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Feb
5
 
 
Part 2 of 2. If you watched the Super Bowl on Sunday, and stayed tuned, you saw part one of this expanded episode of The Blacklist. (If not, you can catch up: NBC is repeating that first installment at 8 p.m. ET.) Well, here comes Part 2, with the show’s primary heroes in very serious jeopardy. Ron Perlman guest stars.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Feb
5
 
 
Marcia Gay Harden begins a guest-starring arc, playing Sam’s sister. She doesn’t believe her brother is guilty of murder – or on the lam, as the evidence suggests. And this puts her on a collision course with Viola Davis’ Annalise – which ought to make for some deliciously acted scenes.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Feb
5
 
 
This is Episode 2 of Fortitude – and the one that turns it into more of a standard procedural series, with Stanley Tucci as the out-of-town murder investigator rubbing the locals the wrong way. But there’s a lot more going on here, and this is the episode that unveils it.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Feb
4
 
 

Better Call Saul, AMC’s prequel series to its brilliant Breaking Bad, arrives Sunday and Monday with a two-part premiere. Like its mother ship, it’s a ride you owe it to yourself to take…

 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Feb
4
 
 
This Quentin Tarantino movie officially is an adult film now: This influential 1994 drama is now 21 years old. Fans of this film have their own favorite story lines – and while there are lots from which to choose, it’s tough not to love the scenes pairing John Travolta with Uma Thurman, especially when they’re ordering food, or dancing, at a strange theme restaurant and dance hall.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Feb
4
 
 
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers star in this 1936 romantic comedy, which has the duo paired on the dance floor much more than off it – at least for a while.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Feb
4
 
 
SERIES PREMIERE: Twenty years after ABC’s All-American Girl, starring Margaret Cho, became the first broadcast network sitcom focusing on Asian-Americans, the network tries, tries again. Two episodes are shown tonight – one before, and one after, Modern Family ­– and while ABC’s focus on diversity is commendable, these first installments of Fresh Off the Boat aren’t nearly as funny as they need to be. Right now, this period comedy doesn’t measure up to The
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Feb
4
 
 
So if you’re a powerful music mogul, and you want to make a romantic move, what’s better than romancing her to a recording by Anthony Hamilton? How about romancing her to a performance by the real Anthony Hamilton? Tonight, he’s one of this show’s special guest stars, in a series that continues to gain both viewers and dramatic momentum.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Feb
4
 
 
Don’t miss tonight’s episode. It has a surprise in it, and a few subsequent scenes, that anyone who cares about this series will be discussing tomorrow morning. Some of these scenes must have been fun to play – but boy, they’re wincingly tough to watch, in a good way.