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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
 
 
2016
Dec
8
'GLASS MENAGERIE' RETURNS TO TV - EXACTLY 50 YEARS LATER By David Bianculli
 
 

A superb CBS production of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, presumed lost following its 1966 premiere, returns to TV tonight on TCM. Here’s the behind-the-scenes story, from those who found, restored, and scheduled the special, and from its surviving star, Hal Holbrook…

 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Dec
5
FULL FRONTAL WITH SAMANTHA BEE By David Bianculli
 
 
SERIES RETURN: After a short and too-silent hiatus, Samantha Bee is back. And her voice was missed, so welcome her back tonight, with her sorely needed take on the current news, and the political and Twitter choices of President-Elect Donald Trump.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Nov
30
GRANT TINKER: 1925-2016 By David Bianculli
 
 

Grant Tinker, the TV executive arguably most responsible for the evolution of quality TV, died Monday at age 90. His legacy lives on, but even though I haven’t spoken to him in years, I really, really miss him already…

 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Nov
15
TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY - AND MY BOOKDAY! By David Bianculli
 
 

There’s a lot to celebrate around here. TVWW turned nine years old last week. I turn seven times that old today. And today also happens to be the official birth day of my new book, The Platinum Age of Television…

 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Nov
10
WHAT'S THE ONLY THING BETTER THAN BEING A 'FRESH AIR' GUEST HOST? BEING A 'FRESH AIR' GUEST By David Bianculli
 
 

Friday, Nov. 11, I return to NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross as a guest host. But today, the day before, I’m scheduled to show up as a guest guest – with Terry interviewing me about my new Platinum Age of Television book…

 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Nov
4
BEST BETS UPDATE 10/29/16 By David Bianculli
 
 
TVWW Update – Once again, it’s David Bianculli, back in the saddle, serving up another dose of weekly Bianculli’s Best Bets, and happy to be doing so. (And very happy to be reconnecting with readers, too! Thanks for the kind words, for welcoming me back, and for being so properly appreciative of all the TVWW writers and editors who continue to keep things running around here. On to another week of TV recommendations, highlighted by the deciding games of this year’s World Series, featuring the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians…
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Oct
28
BEST BETS UPDATE 10/22/16 By David Bianculli
 
 
TVWW Update — Hey, there, faithful readers! David Bianculli here, and after months in the hospital and recuperating, I'm back -- doing Bianculli's Best Bets, at least, on a weekly basis until I get fully up to speed. (Thanks, Eric, for filling the void, and so entertainingly, in my absence.) And what a week for a comeback, starting with postseason baseball on Fox Sports 1, and more faux presidential debate buffoonery on NBC's Saturday Night Live...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Oct
21
I'M BACK... AND I'M NOT DEAD YET By David Bianculli
 
 

Dear, dear TVWW readers: I’m back, I’m recovering, and, to quote Monty Python, I’m not dead yet. Thanks for your patience, and your loyalty, while I’ve been healing, glacially but gratefully…

 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Oct
20
BEST BETS UPDATE 10/15/16 By David Bianculli
 
 
TVWW Update — Flesh-eating zombies and a nuclear apocalypse are on the way this week. No, that’s not what’s in store for the third presidential debate on Wednesday...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Oct
14
BEST BETS UPDATE By David Bianculli
 
 
TVWW Update 10/08/16 — Well, TVWW readers, this last week saw a mighty blowhard force threaten the U.S., stressing out millions that lay in its erratic, unpredictable path. Hurricane Matthew was also in the news...
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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