Whaddya bet NBC wishes it had Southland back now? They thought the L.A. copfest was too adult to run at 9 p.m. ET, back when their braintrust had ensconsed Jay Leno at 10. Now that he's outta there, they could really use the drama's grit and gumption...

2010

Jan

GOODBYE, CONAN -- HELLO, RETURNING CABLE SERIES AND OTHER GOOD TV By David Bianculli

Conan O'Brien said farewell to his NBC show, and his audience, Friday with absolute class -- thanking NBC rather than trashing it, and sending a special message to young fans not to be cynical. So long as entertainers such as Conan still get to follow their bliss on TV, that'll be an easier message to embrace. Meanwhile, TV marches on -- and on this particular Monday night, there's a LOT worth watching...

2010

Jan

WE KNOW JAY LENO'S NEXT MOVE -- NOW HOW ABOUT DAVID LETTERMAN'S? By David Bianculli

We now know that Conan O'Brien's era as host of NBC's "Tonight Show" is at an end, and that Jay Leno will resume his former late-night throne in five weeks. The next question to ask -- and it's an enticing one, regarding CBS's David Letterman -- is "WWDD?" As in, "What Will Dave Do?"...

2010

Jan

TV FLASHBACK: TV LAND ADDS 'BEWITCHED' -- AND 'RAYMOND'! By Diane Werts

Is TV Land finally getting back to basics? Could the channel be remembering that it once staked out unique territory in celebrating our TV heritage, rather than running me-too reality shows?...

2010

Jan

NEWS FLASH: NBC SETTLES JAY/CONAN MESS By Diane Werts

And so it's official: Jay gets The Tonight Showback, Conan gets gone. How convenient that NBC late-night's upcoming Olympic hiatus allows the network to make such a clean break...

2010

Jan

ACADEMY OF TV ARTS & SCIENCES HALL OF FAME: THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS GET INDUCTED, NOT INDICTED By David Bianculli

I was an invited guest at Wednesday's Academy of Television Arts & Sciences dinner honoring new inductees into the Hall of Fame -- and it didn't dawn on me, until dawn the next morning, that I had forgotten to take notes. I was there because of, and to support, Tom and Dick Smothers, and just enjoyed the evening thoroughly. For a TV critic, historian and professor, the whole night was a dream...

2010

Jan

DOWNLOAD THIS: FREE PILOT EPISODES By Diane Werts

Current freebies on iTunes and Amazon.com include a couple of fun new shows that both critics and audiences seem to agree on. Mark Valley's new comic-book joyride Human Target is gratis at Amazon, for both watching and downloading...

2010

Jan

DVD UPDATE: 'DAMAGES,' 'WEEDS,' AND CANNELL ACTION By Diane Werts

Among this week's TV DVD releases: Damages, Weeds, Thirtysomething, Dallas, Defying Gravity...And a test for the two schools of DVD viewers/buyers -- those who never watch the bonus features, and those who wouldn't consider owning a set without extras...

2010

Jan

GUEST BLOG #71: TOM BRINKMOELLER ON HIS BURIED TV TREASURES By Tom Brinkmoeller

[Bianculli here: First, Diane Werts' FOR BETTER OR WERTS blog today covers a gaggle of new, and good, DVD releases. Also, one of our TV WORTH WATCHING contributors, Diane Holloway, just listed some of the shows on TV that made her happy. Now it's another contributor's turn -- and Tom Brinkmoeller intentionally surfs the fringes of the air waves...]

2010

Jan

GUEST BLOG #105: MARK BIANCULLI TALKS TV -- OR, THE SON ALSO CRITICIZES By Mark Bianculli

[Bianculli here -- DAVID Bianculli here, that is: I'm even more proud than usual to introduce the newest writer in our ever-expanding TV WORTH WATCHING stable: He's Mark Bianculli, my son. He grew up watching quality TV (how could he not?), was a TV critic for his college paper, and the same week I launched this website in 2007, he moved to Hollywood, hoping to write for television rather than about it. Until that happens, I've persuaded him to join us here...]

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