DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
2009
Dec
9
 
 
Speaking as a television critic, it's always interesting to find yourself on the opposite side of the fence from the majority of your peers. What do you see or not see that they perceive in so different a light? I'm not just standing on the other side of the fence -- I'm way over on the other side of the field...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2009
Dec
8
 
 
My dual web gurus, Eric Gould and Rich Baniewicz, have done it again: This time they've added new pages to my Smothers Brothers book website, where you can find not only the latest reviews, but the full chapter-by-chapter detailed notes...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2009
Dec
7
 
 
I'm back from L.A., trying to get back to basics -- so today's blog will be a mixed bag, with some news about my Smothers Brothers book, but also pointing out some TV worth watching: Ray Romano's original, very entertaining new TNT series...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2009
Dec
7
 
 

We're as willing to quibble as the next guy (gal), so we'll salute the tougher side of legendary director Frank Capra, often cited for his sentimental Capra-corn in movies like It's a Wonderful Life...

 
 
 
  
 
 
2009
Dec
7
 
 
I go away for a week, and look what happens -- President Obama pre-empts Charlie Brown's Christmas, and agreeable Adrian Monk suffers a disappointingly unpleasant series finale...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2009
Dec
4
 
 
I'm here in Los Angeles, and I survived. Thursday night I gave my first public reading lecture for "Dangerously Funny," at the Skirball Cultural Center -- and also taped my appearance on "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," which will be shown Friday night (early Saturday) at 12:35 a.m. ET on CBS...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2009
Dec
2
 
 
As I write this, I've just flown to Los Angeles, preparing for a taping of "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" on CBS and Thursday's book reading and signing at the Skirball Cultural Center. It's been a nonstop nutso week for me -- and I thought, since I doubt a week like this will ever come my way again, to share some of the fun parts...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2009
Dec
1
 
 
Have yourself a merry little Christmas, some Capra-corn, bunches of Bogart, and an elementary marathon of Sherlock Holmes. December's highlights on Turner Classic Movies also include a Thin Man sixpack and the 70th anniversary of Gone With the Wind...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2009
Dec
1
 
 
Six months after the tragic events of 9/11, at the US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado, five defiantly outspoken performers were saluted for their often costly efforts to exercise their First Amendment rights as comedians...Significantly, the Smothers Brothers received their Freedom of Speech Award from comic David Steinberg, whose controversial mock sermons on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour played a key part in having that variety show yanked and the brothers fired...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2009
Nov
30
 
 
Well, this is the week I've been waiting for -- for some 15 years -- so please forgive a little pride, and self-promotion. But "Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'" hits bookstores Tuesday -- and this week, I show up on a few national shows to promote the book. Here's the breakdown of where and when...