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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

ED BARK

Uncle Barky's Bytes

ALEX STRACHAN

TV That Matters

MIKE HUGHES

Open Mike

ED MARTIN

Ed Martin's TV Mix

KIM AKASS

Aerial View

MONIQUE NAZARETH

MNtv

BILL BRIOUX

TV Feeds My Family

ROGER CATLIN

TV Eye

GARY EDGERTON

Must-Click TV

TOM BRINKMOELLER

Raised On MTM

GERALD JORDAN

Crossing Jordan

NOEL HOLSTON

The Grassy Noel

TVWW ARCHIVE

Contributors Archive
 
 
2008
Apr
10
TALENTS OF 12 OF 16 STARS REMAIN SECRET: CBS MERCY KILLS "SECRET TALENTS" AFTER ONE TELECAST By David Bianculli
 
 
CBS took one look at its new live, unscripted competition series "Secret Talents of the Stars" -- or, more precisely, took one look at the overnight ratings -- and killed it immediately. My question is: What took CBS so long?
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
10
WELCOME BACK, NBC THURSDAY NIGHT -- ESPECIALLY "30 ROCK" By David Bianculli
 
 
How long does it take for NBC's "30 Rock" to re-establish itself, in its first fresh post-strike episode, as the funniest comedy on TV right now? One second. Literally, one second. That's because the new episode, shown tonight at 8:30 ET, begins with a fake promo for the finale of the fake show mentioned once before...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
10
EXTRAS: WHAT THEY ARE, WHERE TO FIND THEM By David Bianculli
 
 
One of my most popular regular column offerings, when I was TV critic for The New York Daily News, was a feature called Extras - my name for in-jokes buried within TV shows. Over the years, I deputized my loyal readers to search for them and send them my way, and every month or so I'd print the best Extras, as well as the names of the readers who found them...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
10
FIRST PRIME-TIME TV SHOW YOU LOVED By David Bianculli
 
 
What was the first prime-time TV series you made a point of watching each week - and what do you remember about how and why you watched it? With whom did you watch? Did the viewing involve any favorite foods or rituals? What did you enjoy most?
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
9
FIRST PRIME-TIME TV CHARACTERS YOU LOVED By David Bianculli
 
 
And now, here's something I think you'll really like... QUESTION: Who were your first TV sex symbols? These will depend, of course, upon your age, sex, sexual orientation and imagination. I shall say no more than this (though, perhaps, even this says way too much...)
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
9
I'VE GOT A "SECRET" I DON'T WANT By David Bianculli
 
 
The CBS celebrity competition series "Secret Talents of the Stars" sounded like a horrible concept, but I didn't want to prejudge -- and couldn't, because it was televised live last night. Well, now I've seen it, and it's time for the postjudging...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
8
BROADCAST SHOWINGS OF CABLE SERIES: SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLEW By David Bianculli
 
 
The ratings are in. The first outing for NBC's Sunday-night duo of recycled "Monk" and "Psych" episodes (first seen on USA Network) drew only 5.6 million and 4 million viewers, respectively, and only a fraction of that in the coveted younger demographic. So should the strike-induced move be considered a failure, or a success?...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
7
MORE SHOWS RETURNING! ANOTHER STRIKE LOOMING? By David Bianculli
 
 
How long has it taken for things to return to normal after the writers' strike? This long... and longer. Scripted prime-time series began to check in with their first post-strike episodes during the past two weeks, but there are plenty left to come...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
4
"BATTLESTAR GALACTICA" RETURNS WITH FRAKKING STRONG EPISODE By David Bianculli
 
 
It's always dangerous, when you're talking about TV, to think in terms of firsts, onlys and absolutes, but Sci Fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica" holds, arguably, a very distinctive place in TV history. It may well be the best series ever made based on one of the worst series ever made...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
3
NBC PLANS, GOD LAUGHS By David Bianculli
 
 
What I love most about NBC's "52-week" schedule plan, announced yesterday, is the unbridled optimism of it. It's actually a 65-week plan...the brainchild of relatively new NBC Entertainment and Universal Studios co-chairman Ben Silverman, who laid out the plans of his fourth-place network with pride and enthusiasm....
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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