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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
 
 
2018
Dec
19
WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY: OLAF'S FROZEN ADVENTURE By David Bianculli
 
 
It isn’t much, as holiday TV traditions go, but this ABC Frozen spinoff special has been televised every Christmas season since… last year. And here it is again. Because it’s the second seasonal showing, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure now qualifies, officially, as an annual event.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
19
SHREK THE HALLS By David Bianculli
 
 
Here’s a holiday special with a bit more history – not a Peanuts or Frosty kind of history, but still… It’s been 11 years since this ABC spinoff special from the Shrek movies was first broadcast. And yes, here it is again, another annual ABC Christmas event.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
18
ELLEN DEGENERES: RELATABLE By David Bianculli
 
 
SPECIAL PREMIERE: The last time Ellen DeGeneres did a standup comedy TV special, it was 2003. That was 15 years ago – but she returns to the stage without missing a step, dropping a pause, or exuding any less confidence and comfort. This time, she discusses directly the impact coming out had on her career, and what did and didn’t follow in the wake of her announcing she was a lesbian – and does so with a memorable visual aid, nature footage of meerkats.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
18
THE VOICE By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: Three of the four surviving Voice finalists who sang last night are country   artists, each coming at the genre from a different perspective: rock-flavored and growly-voiced Chris Kroeze, sweet and traditional Chevel Shepherd, and soulful Kirk Jay. The remaining finalist, Kennedy Holmes, is the youngest in the competition, having just turned 14, and is more mainstream pop, rock and hip-hop. Overall, this Final 4 did so well with their respective trio of songs that I&rsqu
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
18
SANTA PAWS By Eric Gould
 
 
It’s the holidays, and we at TVWW know what you really want for Christmas – a puppy!...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
17
THE VOICE By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: Part 1 of 2. Last week, Reagan Strange, Adam Levine’s last remaining team member, lost her bid for the instant save, and left Levine, once again this cycle on The Voice, entering the two-night finale with no singer in the race. The four finalists competing tonight, and hoping to be crowned the winner tomorrow, include two from Blake Shelton’s team (Kirk Jay and Chris Kroeze), and one each from Kelly Clarkson (Chevel Shepherd) and Jennifer Hudson (Kennedy Holmes).
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
17
SAD BUT SIGNIFICANT: 'MAN ON FIRE' ON PBS By David Hinckley
 
 
The Rev. Charles Moore’s final call for justice in America involved setting himself on fire...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
17
THE IRISH CRIME DRAMA, 'BLOOD,' MAKES ITS DEBUT By David Hinckley
 
 
Logic dictates that you wouldn’t take the suspicion of the family nutcase over the word of its respected patriarch, a medical doctor...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
16
'SPRINGSTEEN ON BROADWAY' DEBUTS ON NETFLIX By David Hinckley
 
 
Bruce Springsteen’s Broadway show, premiering Sunday on Netflix, at times calls to mind a striptease. There’s plenty to see because Springsteen is a world-class showman. At the same time, he also reminds us that the best strippers never take it all off...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Dec
16
SPRINGSTEEN ON BROADWAY By David Bianculli
 
 
I saw this Broadway appearance by Bruce Springsteen, and it’s a very “up close and personal” visit, without getting too up close or personal. (David Hinckley has it entirely and exactly correct, in his full review in TVWW’s All Along the Watchtower.) I strongly suggest watching this new Netflix special – and then turning it into a double feature by pairing it with another veteran singer-songwriter’s one-man semiautobiographical stage show, Loudon Wainwright II
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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