Originally televised by CBS in 1966, this is one of the two perfect Charles M. Schulz Peanuts specials – the other, of course, being the first, A Charlie Brown Christmas. And like that one, this is, at bottom, a cartoon about the value and strength of faith. This time it’s epitomized in Linus’ belief that the Great Pumpkin will visit him on Halloween, a faith that puts him, for a while, in a rough patch.

2013

Oct

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE By David Bianculli

This prime-time special is a compilation of Halloween skits from past shows – and since there are nearly 40 years from which to draw, it ought to be filled with many more treats than tricks.

2013

Oct

VINCENT PRICE MARATHON By David Bianculli

All over the TV cable and satellite spectrum today, you can see marathons of spooky movie franchises: the Halloween movies on AMC (beginning at 10 a.m. ET), most of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies on Syfy (beginning at 9n a.m. ET), even the Saw movies on IFC (beginning at 3:45 p.m. ET). But for Halloween purists, one better place, especially if there are younger eyes still watching, is TCM’s lineup of classic horror films starring Vincent Price. The action starts at 8 p.m. ET with 1961&

2013

Oct

GHOSTBUSTERS By David Bianculli

This 1984 supernatural movie comedy may be the ultimate post-Halloween TV treat. Enjoy it with kids, and have marshmallows or Smores ready to enjoy at the climax. Bill Murray stars, Dan Aykroyd is wonderful, and Sigourney Weaver is great – especially when she’s possessed.

2013

Oct

THE RETURNED By David Bianculli

MINISERIES PREMIERE: This eight-part miniseries from France is a lot of things even Sundance’s promos won’t tell you. First, it’s subtitled – but don’t let that deter you. Second, it unfolds so deliberately, revealing its surprises and shocks so meticulously and patiently, that to give even the most basic summary would rob The Returned of some of its fun, and wonder, and eerieness. The less you know about this eight-part psychological thriller going in, the better,

2013

Oct

SUNDANCE'S 'THE RETURNED' IS MUST-SEE TV - BUT I WON'T SAY WHY By David Bianculli

The Returned, which Sundance Channel launches in the U.S. on Halloween night, is a creepy, eerie, hauntingly memorable miniseries. But you’ll have to trust me on that…

2013

Oct

VENTURA AT 20,000 FEET By Eric Gould

Here’s a Jim Carrey Ace Ventura reference to the 1963 Twilight Zone episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” written by Richard Matheson... It’s Halloween, yet Carrey doesn't even need a costume for the impression to work...

2013

Oct

THE MIDDLE By David Bianculli

It’s a new episode of The Middle, and Halloween definitely comes into play – as Brick is anxious to attend his school’s Halloween dance, and goes to his mom (Patricia Heaton) for advice. Not necessarily a good move.

2013

Oct

2013 WORLD SERIES By David Bianculli

After Monday’s victory, the Boston Red Sox have a 3-2 edge in this series, and thus two chances to win the World Series in front of a home crowd – a feat the team last accomplished in 1918, just before the end of what we now call World War I. So it’s been a while. As for the St. Louis Cardinals? The last time the Cards won a World Series in front of a home crowd was… two years ago. And the last time the Cards won it all in someone else’s ballpark? That would be 196

2013

Oct

ZOMBIELAND By David Bianculli

This 2009 movie is an especially tasty pre-Halloween treat. It’s got loads of zombies, the hottest ghouls in the current pop-culture zeitgeist – and it’s also loaded with actors who are all-stars, or have become stars since. Woody Harrelson stars as a zombie fighter with a taste for Twinkies, Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) plays his reluctant protégé, and Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin (from, respectively, The Help and Little Miss Sunshine) play two resource

Posts 1-10 of 195 1 2 3 4 5

New From TVWW

PBS' 'Frontline’ Examines Pension Promises and — Spoiler Alert — Finds the Math Doesn’t Add Up

The Decadence of ‘Versailles’ Comes to Ovation

Prescribing Mamie Gummer in 'Emily Owens, M.D.'

Looking for a Free Ride? HBO Can Deliver

'Pass the Biscuits' Part of the Hatfield-McCoy Pop-Culture Legacy

Dispatches From TVWW

'Extinction: The Facts' is a Sobering Call to Action

How 'Mayans' Has Been Influenced by the Show's Creator Elgin James

For Whom the Bell Tolls: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Take on Ernest Hemingway, the Man and the Myth

In the Final Season, Sutton Foster's Liza is Now the Genuine Version of Her 'Younger' Self

Season 2 of 'City on a Hill' Returns with Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, and Boston Corruption