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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

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Open Mike

ED MARTIN

Ed Martin's TV Mix

KIM AKASS

Aerial View

MONIQUE NAZARETH

MNtv

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TV Feeds My Family

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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
 
 
2012
Sep
28
1991: ABC INTRODUCES 'THE COMMISH' By Christy Slewinski
 
 
On this day in 1991, ABC introduced the dramedy, The Commish...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
28
MOYERS & COMPANY By David Bianculli
 
 
This weekend’s new Bill Moyers report makes me furious. Not at Mr. Moyers, but at what he uncovers, and explains so well, in this lengthy piece called The United States of ALEC. ALEC is an acronym for American Legislative Exchange Council, a powerful lobbying group that not only influences local legislation, but helps draft it. It’s supposed to be bipartisan, but really isn’t. Isn’t supposed to be a lobbying outfit, but really is. And is designated by the government as no
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
28
THE GREEN MILE By David Bianculli
 
 
Given the recent passing of Michael Clarke Duncan, it seems fitting to note this AMC rebroadcast of the 1999 role that brought him to prominence: that of a prison inmate with supernatural powers, in this Tom Hanks movie based on a Stephen King story.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
28
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF! By David Bianculli
 
 
From Maverick to The Rockford Files, James Garner exuded a special kind of easygoing cool, and a cockiness that had very little to do with the usual brand of leading-man heroics. That’s certainly the case in this 1969 comedy, in which he plays the unexpected, and unorthodox, new lawman of a not-so-sleepy little town. Co-stars include Walter Brennan, Harry Morgan, and Joan Hackett.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
28
FRINGE By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: Lots of TV shows return for new seasons jumping a few months into the future, or even, in some cases, a few years. But Fringe picks up its already confusing narrative, as this final season begins, in the year 2036. How? Why? Better tune in – but if you’re a faithful viewers, you already saw the seeds that were sewn last season, setting the stage for this leapfrog trip back to the future.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
28
THE CLIBURN: 50 YEARS OF GOLD By David Bianculli
 
 
This one-hour documentary celebrates the Van Cliburn piano competition, established in 1962, and the artistry and dedication of 50 years of gifted piano players. Good drama, great music. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
28
CBS' NEW LEGAL DRAMA DOES NOT SET THE BAR VERY HIGH By Ed Bark
 
 
The bada and the bing are mostly missing from Made in Jersey, a thoroughly ordinary series on what's increasingly an inconsequential night...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
27
1954: NBC'S LATE-NIGHT FRANCHISE DEBUTS WITH 'TONIGHT!' By David Bianculli
 
 
Steve Allen's first NBC show, broadcast on September 27, 1954, launched Tonight! into orbit, and it hasn't returned since...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
27
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE PRIME-TIME ELECTION SPECIAL By David Bianculli
 
 
This weekend didn’t provide the sort of headlines that lead to obvious political sketches – but with the first presidential debate only one week away, I suspect that might provide fodder for a lengthy sketch on tonight’s second of two prime-time SNL specials. Jason Sudeikis continues his role as Mitt Romney, and Jay Pharaoh takes over as the SNL impersonator for Barack Obama.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
27
THE BIG BANG THEORY By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: As Season 6 begins, Howard (Simon Helberg) is both a newlywed and a rocket man, continuing his orbital experience on the International Space Station. And back on Earth, worlds are colliding – specifically, with all three of the earthbound male buddies experiencing significant problems with their female significant others.
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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