More comedic, less filling, Orange is the New Black’s main storyline in Season 3 ends up being far less compelling than Season 2’s reign of terror by Yvonne “Vee” Parker or the inaugural year’s immersion of tenderfoot Piper Chapman...

2015

Jun

DA BOMB: HBO'S 'THE BRINK' FOLLOWS SMARTLY IN STEP WITH DR. STRANGELOVE By Ed Bark

Inspired lunacy on an international scale is a tough nutty to crack. HBO’s The Brink pulls it off despite being in the long shadow of Dr. Strangelove, the 1964 classic on which it’s very much modeled...

2015

Jun

BACK TO THE FUTURE: WILLIAMS' RETURN TO MSNBC COULD BE A PURGATORY WITH A SILVER LINING By Ed Bark

This much is certain. Brian Williams certainly can’t hurt MSNBC, which has been a third place near-corpse in the cable news network ratings for the past 10 months...

2015

Jun

ABC'S 'THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB' BLASTS OFF WITH A SURPRISINGLY COMPELLING TRUE TALE By Ed Bark

ABC’s blast from the past answer to Mad Men is likewise very much about salesmanship and subjugation. The Astronaut Wives Club is a summer diversion with smashing period wardrobes and starry-eyed tunnel visions...

2015

Jun

LAST CALL FOR THE "OLD" TNT WITH THE LATE-ARRIVING 'PROOF' By Ed Bark

TNT’s “proactive makeover” is currently in progress, with new Turner entertainment head and former Fox programmer Kevin Reilly warning TV watchers to “expect some very daring shows..." Proof, a leftover from the pre-Reilly TNT, could well be caught in his crossfire if it's not an immediate hit...

2015

Jun

'THE MAKING OF THE MOB: NEW YORK' IS A HARD-HITTING HYBRID By Ed Bark

Ray Liotta is home on the range as narrator for AMC’s new eight-episode The Making of the Mob: New York, which premieres on Monday, June 15th...

2015

Jun

CNN FIRES UP 'THE SEVENTIES' WITH ANOTHER TRUNCATED LOOK AT WHAT TV WROUGHT By Ed Bark

CNN is kicking it up a decade after spending last summer with The Sixties. From the same production team of Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman and Mark Herzog, here comes The Seventies again leading off with television’s impact on the decade...

2015

Jun

BUYING INTO THE OFFICIAL BOOK ON 'BREAKING BAD' By Ed Bark

The subtitles of all 62 episodes are dissected for both transparent and hidden meanings. Also under a microscope: the color palette, the carnage, deadly chemicals...Through it all, creator Vince Gilligan is expansive on subjects...

2015

Jun

A SHOUT OUT FOR ABC'S 'THE WHISPERS' By Ed Bark

Tonight (June 1), ABC launches its last new series originally announced in May 2014. It’s The Whispers, a compelling paranormal suspense hour in which the kids aren’t all right while the adults strive to divine what’s driving them...

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