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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
 
 
2012
Sep
27
LAST RESORT By David Bianculli
 
 
SERIES PREMIERE: Andre Braugher, one  of my favorite TV actors, gets a new series lead – and a strong one – as a submarine commander who ends up questioning orders, and for good reason. The premise, and tonight’s pilot, are strong enough to warrant a visit. For other reactions to this new series, see our 2012 TVWW Fall TV Preview page – and for more lengthy reviews, see Gerald Jordan’s Crossing Jordan and Ed Bark’s Uncle Barky’s Bytes.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
27
LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER: “OPENING GALA OF THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC” By David Bianculli
 
 
You don’t have to buy a ticket to Lincoln Center, or even get dressed up, to enjoy the season’s opening gala, featuring Itzhak Perlman performing a varied evening of violin pieces.  Among them: segments from the John Williams score Perlman performed for the Steven Spielberg movie Schindler’s List. In addition to Williams, other composers on the bill include Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakoff, and Massenet. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
27
LOUIE By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: Louis C.K. not only won an Emmy Sunday night for writing this series, but appeared as a presenter with Amy Poehler. I mention that because Poehler is one of the guest stars on tonight’s Louie season finale, so there are two more reasons to watch: see an Emmy winner, and see an Amy winner.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
27
ANDY WILLIAMS: NOT NOW, NOT EVER, NEVER! By Noel Holston
 
 
For kids and teenagers of the time, it was Andy Williams' TV show, not his Billboard charters, that mattered...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
26
THE MIDDLE By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: ABC’s Modern Family gets all the glory – and just scooped up lots more, at the Emmys – but this other Wednesday night ABC comedy is almost as delightful, and deserves as large an audience. Season 4 begins tonight, catching us up on what the heck the Hecks did this summer. Including, for one of the Heck children, summer school.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
26
MODERN FAMILY By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: This wonderful series just won four more Emmys, for direction, supporting actor (Eric Stonestreet), supporting actress (Julie Bowen), and the big one as Outstanding Comedy. And though Louie is more ambitious and unpredictable, it’s hard to argue against the sheer talent and comedy on display in this ABC comedy. And all you have to do is endure one of the new series trying so hard to be Modern Family this year, and you’ll appreciate the original article that much more
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
26
CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: Last year, Ted Danson came aboard to keep the long-running franchise running, and Marg Helgenberger left partway through the season. So this season is a more stable one for this series, beginning with story lines that make many of the investigations quite personal.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
26
TOP CHEF MASTERS By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: And another chef is crowned, as Season 4 ends. And these are Top Chef Masters, so bragging rights count for a lot.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
26
SOUTH PARK By David Bianculli
 
 
SERIES RETURN: I have no idea whether this is a new season, a midseason premiere, or what. All I know – and all that matters – is that there’s a fresh South Park tonight, so tune in.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Sep
26
'ELEMENTARY' IS ANYTHING BUT ELEMENTARY By Gerald Jordan
 
 
Elementary, the latest incarnation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic detective Sherlock Holmes, has enough potential to move the needle to wow...
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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