(-- New Jersey Monthly - by Tom Wilk) Like a journey of a thousand miles that begins with a single step, the road to becoming a television critic starts with a solitary sentence.

In David Bianculli’s case, it was an entry printed in his diary on December 3, 1960, when he was 7. “Man was Alice in Wonderland good,” he observed of the previous evening’s broadcast. It was an abbreviated review for an audience of one—himself.

Half a century later, Bianculli has an audience that numbers in the millions, thanks to his job as TV critic on National Public Radio’s Fresh Air program; his online television magazine, TV Worth Watching; his three books about television; and a Twitter account. After a 32-year run as a critic for six daily newspapers, including the New York Daily News and New York Post, the Cherry Hill resident has enough spin-offs to rival Law and Order.

From his boyhood fascination, Bianculli’s interest in TV has never waned. “The first show I really loved as a kid was Rocky and Bullwinkle, which warped me immeasurably,” he says. Observations about TV continued to find their way into his diary. (more)