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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
 
 
2015
Dec
26
NFL THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL By David Bianculli
 
 
Yes, Saturday is a weird day for NFL Network to show Thursday Night Football, but that’s the place to watch tonight’s game, in which the 7-7 Washington Redskins hopes to knock the 6-8 Philadelphia Eagles completely out of the playoff picture – and, in so doing, win the NFC East division.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
26
ASH VS. EVIL DEAD By David Bianculli
 
 
This is the penultimate episode of the season, and a lot is happening: One of Ash’s traveling companions has been vanquished by the big evil nemesis, which has decided to take shape – and the shape it’s taken is the same as Ash’s.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
26
TOP HAT By David Bianculli
 
 
Now here is a movie “Essential”: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, dancing and romancing in glorious black-and-white in 1935’s Top Hat. And when he sings “Cheek to Cheek” to her as the two of them whirl around, it’s one of the quintessential movie-musical moments.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
25
THE ANDY GRIFFITH CHRISTMAS SPECIAL By David Bianculli
 
 
Just as with I Love Lucy the other night, CBS is colorizing old episodes of The Andy Griffith Show for the holidays. I don’t like colorization, but I do like the episodes – especially the “Pickles” one.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
25
GHOSTBUSTERS By David Bianculli
 
 
This 1984 comedy is about to be remade, or sequelized, with an all-female cast – but for now, revel in the original. Bill Murray is pure comedy perfection in this wild tale of paranormal investigators, and so is everyone around him – especially Rick Moranis and Sigourney Weaver as people possessed by evil spirits.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
25
ANNIE By David Bianculli
 
 
Filmed in 1982, this is a fine Christmas night family TV treat: Aileen Quinn stars as an orphan girl with a hard knock life, and with Albert Finney and Carol Burnett as co-stars.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
25
CALL THE MIDWIFE HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2015 By David Bianculli
 
 
This series is about to start Season 5, but is serving one extra, special episode after the recent conclusion of Season 4. This is a special, stand-alone Christmas episode, set in 1960, and with everyone preparing for holiday festivities… but with babies, as well as presents, expected to be delivered. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
25
DOCTOR WHO By David Bianculli
 
 
The latest Doctor Who Christmas special is presented tonight, and it’s called The Husbands of River Song. River (Alex Kingston) returns, and she’s paired with the new incarnation of the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) for the first time. But whether it is the first time, for these two, has a lot to do with their relative time streams, which, at this point, continue to be somewhat of a mystery. Perhaps tonight’s episode will explain it, in between the crashing spaceships, headless robots
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
25
IT'S ANOTHER BRITISH INVASION: THE BEATLES ARE STREAMING! THE BEATLES ARE STREAMING! By David Bianculli
 
 
Our own David Hinckley already has written about the significance of The Beatles finally offering their music and video catalogue on streaming sites... But where to begin, with such a voluminous and outstanding catalogue at your disposal? I suggest here: a relative rarity called “Hey Bulldog,” recorded by The Beatles in 1968...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
24
SUDDENLY, THE BEATLES ARE NOT THE WAY THEY USED TO BE By David Hinckley
 
 
Forty-five years after they broke up, the Beatles have joined the main stream. As of 12:01 a.m. Christmas Eve, the 224 songs recorded by the Fab Four in the 1960s finally will be available on nine major music streaming services...
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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