I was a TV critic back in the late 1970s -- pre-cable, pre-Hill Street Blues -- when compiling an end-of-year Top 10 required massive amounts of generosity to fill out the bottom half, at least. But let it be said that, in 2011, not even two different Top 10s can contain all the worthy television that's out there to enjoy...In fact, when you put all the lists together, it's more like -- and more than -- a Top 40...

2011

Dec

WHAT A WAY TO END THE YEAR, AT 'FRESH AIR' By David Bianculli

As I type this, I'm about to host the final two Fresh Air programs of the year: Friday's Fresh Air with Terry Gross on NPR, and its sister show Fresh Air Weekend, which airs guess when. And they're both fun shows. Fresh Air Weekend is a critics' roundup for 2011, which has Maureen Corrigan on the year's best books, Ken Tucker on the year's best rock music, David Edelstein on the year's best movies -- and me, Jerry Mathers as the Beaver, on the year's best TV...

2011

Dec

'AMERICAN HORROR STORY' CHARACTERS DIE SO THAT IT MAY LIVE -- ANEW By David Bianculli

It's been a week since American Horror Story concluded its first season -- more than long enough, in my book, to talk about it. But if you want to protect yourself from exposure to what's happening on that fine, bold FX series, then stop reading. Especially since I want to talk not only about what happened last week, but what's going to happen next season...

2011

Dec

MY IN-PERSON ENCOUNTERS WITH 2011'S KENNEDY CENTER HONOREES -- 60 PERCENT OF THEM, ANYWAY By David Bianculli

The annual CBS telecast of the Kennedy Center Honors, this year's edition of which is broadcast tonight (Tuesday) at 9 ET, is something I always recommend, and never miss. It's great artists saluting other great artists, and it's the truest example of a true variety show that exists on TV today...And this year, by coincidence, I can claim to have seen three of them in person -- watching one perform on Broadway, having a private conversation with another, and being musically serenaded by a third... as I ate breakfast...

2011

Dec

SO WHAT DID I FIND UNDER MY TREE THIS CHRISTMAS? THE SAME DAMNED CAT... By David Bianculli

Merry Christmas, and happy holidays, to all. I don't try to get my hopes up too much when I stagger downstairs on Christmas morning to see what's waiting for me under the tree. But does it have to be the same damn cat that's been living here for 114 years, and refuses to die, and thinks of the tree as some halfway house between being indoors where it's warm and outdoors where she can kill things?...

2011

Dec

YULE LIKE THIS, THREE: VERY EARLY CHRISTMAS TREATS BY DARLENE LOVE -- AND THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS By David Bianculli

Happy holidays! I just received a great gift from one of our faithful and generous TV WORTH WATCHING readers -- and thought I'd share it with you, along with another well-timed holiday bonus. First, sent along by TVWW reader Sanford Sklansky, is Darlene Love's first Christmas appearance on David Letterman's show, way back on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman in 1986...

2011

Dec

YULE LIKE THIS, TOO: DAVID LETTERMAN'S ALMOST ANNUAL HOLIDAY SHOW By David Bianculli

I should have put this in tonight's Best Bets, but it deserves its own special place anyway. Tonight (Friday, Dec. 23) on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman, it's the 2011 edition of Letterman's always wonderful, tradition-filled Christmas show. Darlene Love, once again, will sing "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," Jay Thomas will tell his Lone Ranger story and, with Letterman, try and knock a giant meatball off the top of a Christmas tree...

2011

Dec

YULE LIKE THIS: HOLIDAY TV, HOLIDAY RADIO, AND A CHRISTMAS LOVE STORY By David Bianculli

At this time of year, we're surrounded by music, images and stories of the holidays -- but not necessarily the best ones. So here at TV WORTH WATCHING, as accompaniment or to complement the days ahead, we have the latest recommendations. TVWW managing editor Diane Werts has the very latest on televised holiday movies and TV episodes. TVWW contributor Noel Holston has a story of Christmas gift-giving that's right up there with The Gift of the Magi -- but Noel's story is true...

2011

Dec

MY TWO TOP 10 LISTS FOR 2011 -- ONE FOR ALL OF TV, THE OTHER FOR NEW CABLE SHOWS ONLY By David Bianculli

I've been fielding a lot of emails and comments since Tuesday's Fresh Air with Terry Gross appearance, when I talked with Terry about the best and worst, and other issues, involving TV. Many of you have asked how I could leave a specific series off my Top 10, and even my Top 20. Fair questions...

2011

Dec

TERRY GROSS AND I TALK TV TODAY ON NPR'S 'FRESH AIR' By David Bianculli

Today (Tuesday, Dec. 20) on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, I once again get to enjoy one of my favorite annual holiday rituals: talking TV with Terry. We cover the Top 10 shows on TV, of course -- but also, in a conversation spanning everything from politics to Snooki, we cover a lot of other ground as well. Including my favorite moment, as Terry listens in amused disbelief as I provide aural proof of what I consider the worst TV show of 2011...

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