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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

DAVID HINCKLEY

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

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Ed Martin's TV Mix

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MNtv

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TV Feeds My Family

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Must-Click TV

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Raised On MTM

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Crossing Jordan

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TVWW ARCHIVE

Contributors Archive
 
 
2020
Nov
17
1968: NBC CUTS AWAY FROM JETS-RAIDERS NAILBITER FOR 'HEIDI' By TV WW
 
 
On this day in 1968, AFL rivals the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders were locked in a back-and-forth battle for dominance when, with just over a minute to play, NBC cut away from the game to broadcast the previously-scheduled film, Heidi, in the Eastern time zone...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Nov
16
1966: SONDHEIM’S TV MUSICAL ‘EVENING PRIMROSE’ DEBUTS By Linda Donovan
 
 
This day in 1966 marked the debut of Evening Primrose, the only original musical written by Stephen Sondheim for television...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Nov
16
BOB (HEARTS) ABISHOLA By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: This warmhearted, heart-titled CBS comedy returns for Season 2. There are lots of comic possibilities and comedic chemistry in this show as it begins a new season. What’s more in doubt, this year, is whether the broadcast networks can manage to launch a fall season, in the midst of a pandemic, that viewers care about – or even notice. And right now, that’s an open question.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Nov
16
FILTHY RICH By David Bianculli
 
 
For example: This Fox series, which premiered recently and is based on a series from New Zealand, has built into a clever little series, and an especially welcome TV showcase for Kim Cattrall, as the resourceful matriarch of a family of televangelists. But who’s aware? And who’s watching? Not enough people, apparently. Fox recently announced it was cancelling Filthy Rich at the end of this season. So its long-term prospects? This sitcom hasn’t got a prayer.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Nov
16
HIS DARK MATERIALS By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: Ruth Wilson returns for, and is central to, Season 2 of His Dark Materials, and that’s reason enough to tune in. But this fantasy series, which HBO hoped would satisfy an appetite developed from the Harry Potter books and films, and from Game of Thrones, doesn’t satisfy in the same way. At least not yet. But Ruth Wilson? Always.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Nov
15
APPARENTLY, THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY IS A RERUN OF SORTS: 'THE REAGANS' By David Hinckley
 
 
In a perfect world, America's president would not be a performer, and the presidency would not be a role...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Nov
15
THE CROWN By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: For this new Season 4 of The Crown, Olivia Coleman continues (for now) in the role of Queen Elizabeth II, but there are some dazzling new players this season, and they establish themselves almost immediately. Emma Corrin shows up as Lady Di, and Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher… and they’re both wonderful, instantly.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Nov
15
60 MINUTES By David Bianculli
 
 
Still new. And still, after all these decades, invaluable. Tonight: an interview with Barack Obama.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Nov
15
THE SIMPSONS By David Bianculli
 
 
One of the executive producers of The Simpsons is the great James L. Brooks, who, in addition to helping midwife this series from the interstitial Matt Groening shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, wrote and directed such excellent movies as Terms of Endearment and Broadcast News. That latter film premiered in 1987, two years before Fox’s The Simpsons. And tonight, all these years later, we have a modern updated connection: a new Simpsons
 
 
 
  
 
 
2020
Nov
15
THE REAGANS By David Bianculli
 
 
DOCUMENTARY SERIES PREMIERE: This new series looks at Ronald and Nancy Reagan, and how they went from Hollywood to the White House – and what happened thereafter. It’s a lot to take in… For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower. 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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