2021
 
 
 
 
 
 
2020
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2019
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2018
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2017
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2016
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2015
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2014
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2013
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2012
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2011
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2010
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2009
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2008
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2007
 
 
 
 
 
 
2001
 
 
 
 
2000
 
 
 
 
1998
 
 
 
 
1990
 
 
 
 
1989
 
 
 
 
1987
 
 
 
 
1985
 
 
 
 
1982
 
 
 
 
1980
 
 
 

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
Nov
19
ABC'S "PUSHING DAISIES": AN ENDANGERED FLOWER THAT MUST BE PROTECTED By David Bianculli
 
 
The latest episode of ABC's "Pushing Daisies" airs tonight at 8 ET, and its fate may be determined by the number of viewers who tune in. So please, please watch -- but shame on ABC for not supporting and nurturing this excellent series more lovingly...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
19
YULE TUBE: CHRISTMAS COMEDY FROM COLBERT AND THAT CABLE GUY By Diane Werts
 
 
Well, here are two different approaches to comedy, all right...Both new specials try to revive the variety tradition in their own ways: redneck raucousness and sarcastic smarm...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
19
FLICK PICKS: RAY BRADBURY MEETS LON CHANEY ON TCM By Diane Werts
 
 
Two of our faves come together Thursday night... it's Lon Chaney via Ray Bradbury on Turner Classic Movies' monthly guest programmer night, where the Fahrenheit 451 author picks flicks and discusses with host Robert Osborne what they mean to him...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
17
THE BEST, AND WORST, OF CURRENT TV COMMERCIALS By David Bianculli
 
 
Most TV ads are eminently, instantly forgettable, but once in a while, one appears that's either really good or really bad. On television right now, there are stellar examples of both...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
14
RICKY GERVAIS SCORES COMEDICALLY AND TECHNOLOGICALLY -- LOOK MA, NO HANDS! By David Bianculli
 
 
There isn't much to look forward to in this very weak November sweeps month, but here comes something great: The new HBO standup special, "Ricky Gervais: Out of England"...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
14
YULE TUBE: IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE... By Diane Werts
 
 
C'mon, it's only six weeks away! So no more complaints about Christmas coming too early. TV is officially declaring the season "on" this weekend, offering a fresh holiday episode and a new yule standup special...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
13
NBC PRODUCT PLACEMENT STOOPS TO ANOTHER EGREGIOUS LOW By David Bianculli
 
 
How low will NBC stoop in its enthusiasm for in-program scripted product placement? As low as "Knight Rider" and its ubiquitous Mustang, we all know that. But last week on "My Name Is Earl," NBC sank even deeper into the bottom of the barrel...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
12
"CHOCOLATE NEWS": COMEDY CENTRAL GETS ITS NEWEST BREAKOUT VEHICLE By David Bianculli
 
 
It hasn't taken long at all -- less than a month -- for David Alan Grier to turn his new "Chocolate News" comedy series into Must-See TV. Exhibit A: The day after Barack Obama was elected, Grier opened his program with an emphatic, unbleeped two-word phrase. The first word was "Holy." The second word rhymed with "fit." And then he screamed with joy...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
11
SCARBOROUGH SPILLS STEAMING CUP OF F-WORD ON "MORNING JOE" By David Bianculli
 
 
I don't post a video link often -- about once every vernal equinox, actually -- but this one definitely is TV Worth Watching...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Nov
11
GET THIS: INSIDE SCOOP ON THE RATINGS By Diane Werts
 
 
Curious what the ratings are for your favorite show? Wondering if it's waiting for the ax to fall? All network-related answers reside at The Programming Insider, a great weekday e-letter from Mediaweek's Mr. Television columnist, Marc Berman...
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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