NBC’s 30 Rock presented a brilliant live episode Thursday night, inspired by and spoofing on the history of live TV itself. Then, three hours later, did it all over again, just as brilliantly – but by no means the same…

2012

Apr

LIVE, FROM NEW YORK, IT'S THURSDAY NIGHT! By David Bianculli

NBC’s 30 Rock is performing and presenting this week’s episode live, a trick it pulled off successfully two years ago. But these days, is watching TV in “real time” a treat – or an annoyance?...

2012

Apr

I, DAVID, RECOMMEND NEW DVD OF ‘I, CLAUDIUS’ By David Bianculli

Thirty-five years ago, PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre imported a brilliant BBC miniseries about a family so twisted, it makes The Borgias and The Sopranos look like The Waltons -- now, reissued in a lavish new DVD set, I, Claudius still amazes...

2012

Apr

TV WORTH WATCHING: THE NEXT GENERATION By David Bianculli

No, you’re not seeing things. Well, actually, you are. This is still TV WORTH WATCHING – but we’ve finally delivered on our promise for another relaunch...

2012

Apr

DICK CLARK DIES AT 82, LEAVES BEHIND A HIGH-SCORING TV LEGACY By David Bianculli

Fifty-five years after his American Bandstand pop-music show went national, TV host Dick Clark died Wednesday morning of a heart attack. He was 82...

2012

Apr

GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS: NEW COMEDY SERIES COVERED -- THRICE By David Bianculli

HBO's new Girls series premieres Sunday, and we here at TVWW are welcoming it with open arms. Friday on NPR's "Fresh Air with Terry Gross," I preview the show with a lengthy clip chosen precisely to capture the writing and performing rhythms of auteur Lena Dunham...

2012

Apr

FIVE THINGS I LOVED ABOUT THE SEASON FINALE OF FX'S 'JUSTIFIED' By David Bianculli

Sometimes, despite the national mania about overly protective Spoiler Alerts, a TV show comes along that's too good not to talk about the next day...so stop reading now if you want to remain ignorant of its contents...

2012

Apr

MIKE WALLACE: DEAD AT 93, BUT NOT SOON FORGOTTEN -- OR EQUALLED By David Bianculli

"60 Minutes" -- got caught a bit off guard by Wallace's death Saturday night at age 93. Morley Safer had to promise a full retrospective would be coming the following Sunday...

2012

Apr

'MAGIC CITY': IT LOOKS GREAT, BUT ISN'T By David Bianculli

The new Starz series "Magic City," premiering Friday night at 10 ET, stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the owner of a flashy Miami Beach hotel in 1959 -- they got the look just right. With equal assurance, however, I can say they got everything else just wrong...

2012

Apr

'HOMELAND,' 'THRONES,' 'PARKS & RECREATION,' 'PORTLANDIA' AMONG THOSE WINNING PEABODY AWARDS By David Bianculli

The 71st Annual Peabody Awards committee announced their latest awards Wednesday, and among those recognized were Showtime's "Homeland," HBO's "Game of Thrones," and IFC's "Portlandia." Also nabbing highly prized Peabody's for 2011...

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