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

 
 
2011
Jun
8
 
 
gunsmoke-arness-curtis.jpgJames Arness isn't just prime time's Iron Man in terms of playing a classic character for the longest time, as Bianculli noted earlier this week. Arness also remains perhaps TV's most enduring man, as proven by the ubiquity of his Marshal DIllon western Gunsmoke -- still airing on not one but two cable channels, nearly 40 years after its original run...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Jun
7
 
 
Today I intended to present a lengthy review of the Season 3 DVD set of AMC's Breaking Bad, which just came out...And keep reading, for my one can't-resist observation about this new DVD set...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Jun
6
 
 
James Arness, who died Friday at age 88, was described in some obituaries as playing the same TV series role longer than any other performer in prime time -- until, goes the asterisk, Kelsey Grammer beat his record, though Grammer took two different series to do so. To which I say: Bah, humbug. Arness still owns that crown, and probably always will...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Jun
6
 
 
"Unstable, Volatile, Dangerous" is the subtitle for the Season 3 DVD of AMC's Breaking Bad (out here June 7). And believe it or not, it's an understatement. With an epic storyline now clocking almost three dozen episodes over three seasons, this series offers some of the most compelling and well-crafted television of a generation...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Jun
5
 
 
Hormonal teens, mysterious creatures, cops with flashlights -- no, it's not a show on The CW. It's Teen Wolf, MTV's new show based loosely on the 1985 movie starring Michael J. Fox. It premieres Sunday at 11 p.m. ET immediately following the MTV Movie Awards, then moves to its regular time slot this Monday at 10 p.m. ET...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Jun
3
 
 
News surfaced this week that PBS plans, starting this fall, to insert promotional messages and corporate and foundation sponsor spots within a few core programs, rather than just between shows. Executives defend it as a way to keep viewers from defecting during the long bunched-up breaks at the end of each hour -- but this strategy carries its own risks. Besides, there's an easier way to reduce viewer turnout...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Jun
2
 
 
Injured dancers, cancer scares and Fourth of July parties -- Theresa Corigliano delivers more behind-the-scenes quotes from the makers of "So You Think You Can Dance," the unlikely Fox hit that livens up summer nights. She got the scoop from the entire creative team while personally sitting in on two days of auditions...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Jun
1
 
 
Season 3 of True Blood has just come out on DVD and Blu-Ray, less than a month before Season 4 arrives on HBO. It's great to dive in, again or the first time, with Sookie Stackhouse and all her supernatural friends, enemies and lovers -- and it's a biting reminder why, no matter how many other creatures of the night may pop up in movies and TV right now, vampires rule...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
May
30
 
 
Had you been in New York on May 5, had an interest in seeing a top-tier symphonic performance, and had an extra $50-$180 to spend, you might have been seated on one of five levels inside Carnegie Hall to watch and hear fabulous music. Those stars weren't in alignment for most of us. But PBS' Great Performances was there for the celebration of Carnegie Hall's 120th anniversary...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
May
30
 
 
So how did your favorite broadcast series do this past season? The folks at must-read site "Deadline Hollywood" have posted the entire Nielsen rankings list for 2010-11 -- that's 141 shows/time slots -- with results reported in both total viewers and the ad game's key age 18-49 demographic...