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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
 
 
2009
Sep
30
CW'S "THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE" IS CURSED, BUT NOT KICKOFF CURSED By David Bianculli
 
 
CW's The Beautiful Life TBL, its glossy new drama starring Mischa Barton, was scheduled to present its third episode tonight, but don't look for it. Two strikes -- two telecasts -- and it's already out...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2009
Sep
28
A WEEK INTO THE NEW TV SEASON, WHAT DO YOU THINK? By David Bianculli
 
 
There are more of us writing at TV WORTH WATCHING, dispensing more opinions all the time, and you can find our thumbnail summaries of our reactions to the new fall shows by clicking on the FALL PREVIEW banner on the main page. But now that the fall 2009-10 TV season is a week old -- what shows hooked you enough to tune in? Which ones were disappointing, and which ones impressed you, and why? It's time for US to read YOU for a change...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2009
Sep
25
PARK YOURSELF IN FRONT OF THE TV FOR PBS "NATIONAL PARKS" By David Bianculli
 
 
Sunday night PBS presents the latest multi-night documentary by Ken Burns: "The National Parks: America's Best Idea." You expect, and you get, endless arrays of stunning still and moving images of nature at its rawest -- gorgeous gorges, and so on. But what's so unexpected, and so uplifting and fascinating, are the human stories...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2009
Sep
21
BIG NEWS, AND LOTS OF IT: EMMY REACTION, BREAKING NEWS OF EXCITING FRESH TV IMPORT, AND TVWW'S NEW FALL PREVIEW! By David Bianculli
 
 
Busy, busy day. Reaction to Sunday's Emmy Awards, news that one of my favorite TV shows screened at RomaFictionFest is coming to the U.S., and -- just in time for the television season -- TV WORTH WATCHING presents its annual overview of the new fall season. Strap on your seat belts. Here we go...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2009
Sep
18
CRAIG FERGUSON: AMUSING, HONEST, LITERARY AUTOBIOGRAPHY AUTHOR -- ON PURPOSE By David Bianculli
 
 
Craig Ferguson's autobiography hits stores next week -- and his American on Purpose, subtitled The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot -- And if that doesn't sound like high enough praise, it's meant as quite the compliment...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2009
Sep
14
TV HISTORY ALL OVER THE PLACE: LARRY GELBART FRIDAY, "BONANZA" SATURDAY, LENO TONIGHT By David Bianculli
 
 
TV history seems to be everywhere all of a sudden. News broke Friday of the death of Larry Gelbart, whose TV triumphs go back to the Golden Age with Sid Caesar. Saturday marked the 50th anniversary of the Ponderosa clan. And tonight, Jay Leno takes the TV talk show into very significant virgin territory...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2009
Sep
9
BEATLES FANS, REPEAT AFTER ME: "NUMBER NINE, NUMBER NINE, NUMBER NINE..." By David Bianculli
 
 
Today is September 9, 2009. It's no coincidence, given how much stock Yoko Ono Lennon puts in numerology, that this is the day the Beatles and their surviving heirs have selected to release the biggest batch of Beatles merchandise in a generation -- Or, to quote the opening moments of "Revolution No. 9" from The Beatles, a.k.a. the White Album: "Number nine, number nine, number nine..."
 
 
 
  
 
 
2009
Sep
4
15 TV THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO THIS MONTH By David Bianculli
 
 
This TV season hasn't generated a lot of buzz, but there are plenty of reasons to come back to the TV set. This month alone, without breaking a sweat or making an exhaustive list,or including AMC's ongoing "Mad Men," I counted 15. Here they are, in order of telecast. Mark your calendars, and plan accordingly...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2009
Sep
1
THEMES TO ME, AND TO OTHERS, THAT TV IS MISSING A MUSICAL BEST BET By David Bianculli
 
 
I love TV theme songs. Always have, and always will, even if more and more networks and TV production companies seem to hate them. This week, I've been quoted in an article by Mark Dawidziak of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. What Mark has to report about the state of the TV theme song of tomorrow, and remember about the state of them yesterday, is well worth reading...
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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