REPEAT: Here’s one more sneak preview of the new musical drama series, coming next month, from the creators of Empire. It’s one long cliché – but as a mash-up of Dreamgirls and Rock Follies, it’s got promise, and the scene in which the young ladies in the aspiring vocal trio strut their stuff comes off quite well.

2016

Dec

OLD YELLER By David Bianculli

Tonight’s another night of Treasures from the Disney Vault on TCM. Leonard Maltin, the perfect host for this recurring feature, provides the perspective for the evening’s offerings, which begin at 8 p.m. with the 1957 Disney-fied nature documentary Perry, a squirrel’s-eye-view of life in the wild. The other treats include two shorts beginning at 12:45 a.m. ET, 1939’s The Ugly Duckling and 1935’s The Tortoise and the Hare, followed at 1:15 a.m. ET by the tacky 1966 l

2016

Dec

GAME CHANGERS WITH ROBIN ROBERTS By David Bianculli

Robin Roberts does her version of Barbara Walters’ old end-of-year celebrity Fascinating People specials, mixing everyday people (such as Mona Hanna-Attisha, a key whistleblower in the Flint, MI contaminated water case) with influential celebrities and artists (such as Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda).

2016

Dec

SURPRISE! INSTANT XMAS CAROL! By David Bianculli

SPECIAL: I’m a little disturbed that this TBS special actually uses Xmas in its title, rather than Christmas – but I’m guessing, and hoping, the holiday irreverence is merely a reflection of the show’s content and approach. Surprise! sends celebrities, many of them affiliated with TBS shows, out to unsuspecting people and places, to sing holiday carols, some of them very bad, or very badly. The go-to, to-go carolers include Conan O’Brien, Rashida Jones, Charles Bark

2016

Dec

BENJAMIN BRATT GOES AGAINST TYPE IN 'STAR' By David Hinckley

When you’re hired for a TV show to play the guy who created the show, you’d think it might be a tough gig... Benjamin Bratt says no, that playing a struggling talent manager who lucks into representing a female trio is something he’s been quite enjoying...

2016

Dec

TERRY CREWS SAVES CHRISTMAS By David Bianculli

SPECIAL: And not just tonight. Like that one line about old comics, he’s here all week. And he’s descending upon various families, and bringing with him an instant celebration. It’s part reality show and part Christmas special – and Crews is just likable enough, perhaps, to pull this off, and to not wear out his welcome as the days go on.

2016

Dec

THE WHITE HOUSE: INSIDE STORY By David Bianculli

This repeat telecast, from earlier this summer, features President Barack Obama offering remarks on the two-century history of the White House, from its inner workings to its many changes and renovations over the year. Watch it again now, before the next occupant arrives with all gilt and no guilt. Check local listings.

2016

Dec

TONY BENNETT CELEBRATES 90: THE BEST IS YET TO COME By David Bianculli

Taped at Radio City Music Hall, this two-hour special features tributes from a long conga line of artists, including Lady Gaga, Elton John, Billy Joel, Diana Krall, k.d. lang, Stevie Wonder, Rufus Wainwright, Leslie Odom Jr., and more. It also features appearances by Robert De Niro, Kevin Spacey, John McEnroe – and Alec Baldwin, whose most famous Saturday Night Live impersonation of the moment is Donald Trump, but who for years did a wicked Tony Bennett on SNL. Here, he does his impersonat

2016

Dec

REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL By David Bianculli

These end-of-year specials are excellent overviews of the year in sports, but, with host Bryant Gumbel debriefing his contributors on their favorite stories, also are that rarity in broadcast journalism: a chance to revisit old stories to receive updated information and new perspectives.

2016

Dec

DEATH OF A SALESMAN By David Bianculli

This 1985 CBS version of the Broadway stage revival of Arthur Miller’s classic drama is astoundingly good from start to finish. When I saw it on Broadway, it made me cry – and not just silent little weepy tears, either, but convulsive sobs. A lot of that was due to the dynamism and realism of the acting, and those same actors are on display here, being just as vital and visceral. Dustin Hoffman stars as Willy Loman, that delusional traveling salesman who both lives in and is betrayed

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