Leave it to HBO to not only tackle this daunting, sex-less numbers game, but to somehow make it dramatically interesting. Not spectacularly entertaining, mind you. But a bravura lead performance by William Hurt and some early heavy lifting by James Woods give "Too Big to Fail" (Monday, May 23 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO) enough currency to carry it through this complex tale of 2008's near-collapse of the U.S. economy...

2011

May

NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SWEEP: FOR MAY TV SWEEPS, EXCEPT FOR OPRAH, WHY BOTHER? By David Bianculli

The ratings "sweeps" months, used to set advertising rates for local stations for the coming quarter, used to be hotly contested events, full of miniseries and TV movies, attention-getting series cliffhangers and loads of special events. But for the May 2011 sweeps, which end next Wednesday, the biggest event of all comes not from a broadcast network, but from a syndicated show...

2011

May

TRUMP'S PRESIDENTIAL BID IS TRUMPED BY... TRUMP By David Bianculli

So much for my presidential prognostication skills. Though I thought I had predicted the perfect game plan with which Donald Trump could mount a presidential run over the summer -- just long enough to get attention without having to disclose his financials -- The Donald scuttled that idea yesterday and threw his hat out of the ring in a way that was very, well, up front...

2011

May

PEABODY AWARDS AT 70: 'OSCAR WRAPPED IN AN EMMY INSIDE A PULITZER' By Noel Holston

I'll never forget the time George Foster Peabody made Jon Stewart cry. Well, in manner of speaking. It was back in May 2006. Mr. Peabody, by then, had been gone from this mortal coil about 68 years. Stewart, the incorrigibly irreverent host of The Daily Show, was on stage at the Waldorf-Astoria's grand ballroom, overseeing the presentation of the awards that bear the late, great philanthropist's name...

2011

May

DICK CAVETT, TAKE 2: SOUVENIRS FROM AN INTERESTING INTERVIEW By Tom Brinkmoeller

I interviewed Dick Cavett last month to write a story for TV WORTH WATCHING. You may have read it. You might have liked it. At any event, in our conversation, Cavett provided many wonderful quotes that didn't fit the topic at hand, but were too good to ignore or bury. So here they are...

2011

May

'FREEDOM RIDERS': IMPORTANT, EXCITING NEW DOCUMENTARY FROM PBS 'AMERICAN EXPERIENCE' By David Bianculli

The newest PBS American Experience documentary, Freedom Riders, tells of a key moment in the history of the Civil Rights movement that took place 50 years ago -- yet tells it in such a gripping, present-tense way that it plays more like a retro episode of 24. Premiering tonight (Monday, May 16) at 9 p.m. ET (check local listings), it's a two-hour history lesson that's as exciting as it is important...

2011

May

THE THINKING MAN'S 'F TROOP' By Eric Gould

It's a bit odd to think about the politically incorrect comedies of the '60s, knowing that a show about a Nazi prisoner camp (Hogan's Heroes), or about the American Army fighting the Indians in the Old West (F Troop), couldn't be made today -- but that Jersey Shore and Las Vegas Jailhouse can...

2011

May

JAMES DURBIN ELIMINATION AN 'IDOL' TRAVESTY By David Bianculli

Just when it seemed as though Fox's American Idol had weathered the storm of revamping its judging panel... the long-running musical competition show shot itself in the foot, and maybe the heart, Thursday night by refusing James Durbin entry to the Final Three. The fatal Achilles' heel of American Idol, may well turn out to be its own voters...

2011

May

ABC'S 'BETTER WITH YOU': TOO GOOD TO LOSE, NOT TOO LATE TO SAVE By Tom Brinkmoeller

ABC will announce its 2011-12 prime-time schedule next week, but producers are expected to learn the fates of current shows before the weekend. ABC soon could pull the plug on the most clever comedy to hit television in five years...it's in the same class as series like "Cheers" and "Taxi" and "Newhart"...

2011

May

WITH 'THE VOICE,' NBC PROFITS BY GOING DUTCH By David Bianculli

The only real hit of the 2010-11 TV season has arrived at the 11th hour, as NBC's The Voice moves to a new time slot tonight (10 p.m. ET Tuesday) already acknowledged as a ratings, demographic and even critical success. And its success proves, once again, that when it comes to adaptable TV formats, it's a small world after all...

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