Miriam Horn’s book, on which this documentary is based, is subtitled Conservation Heroes of the American Heartland. It looks at a new, rural conservation movement emanating from the heartland, and emerging as, in some cases literally, a grassroots movement.

2017

Aug

MYSTERIES OF THE ABANDONED: “CHERNOBYL’S DEADLY SECRETS” By David Bianculli

Engineer Philip Grossman admits to being borderline obsessed with the disaster at Chernobyl. He’s been there more than just about any other visitor (more than a dozen times), and even got married there. (The bride, I’m guessing, had a certain glow.) Tonight, in this new documentary, he probes what may have caused that site’s horrendous explosion and subsequent contamination – a sobering subject indeed, considering what’s happening right now at a flooded, out-of-cont

2017

Aug

THE GUEST BOOK By David Bianculli

Here’s something I’ve yet to get an answer to: Why has this charming Greg Garcia anthology series, which manages to tell a continuing story at the same time it presents stand-alone episodes, skipped an installment? The Guest Book, on TBS, jumped from episode four to episode six, and tonight shows “Story seven,” with no announced plans to present the missing episode – the one guest starring Jenna Fischer, as a scientist attempting an innovative, immersive form of &ld

2017

Aug

VIXEN: THE MOVIE By David Bianculli

This is an observation, not a recommendation. But it’s worth explaining, because it’s yet another example of the CW pushing in so many chips on its bet regarding populating its schedule with programming from the DC Comics universe. The network already has series based on such DC characters and comics as Arrow, Gotham, Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl. Now it’s taking a 12-part animated series from the CW Seed, Vixen, and re-editing it into a one-night movie offering, sh

2017

Aug

MR. MERCEDES By David Bianculli

Harry Treadaway and (pictured) Brendan Gleeson, as the killer and retired detective squaring off in this tense new Stephen King thriller, have been riveting. The supporting players, across the board, have added key levels of support, surprise, and creepiness – and Mr. Mercedes, quite quietly, is turning out to be one of the biggest and best dramatic surprises of the summer. It continues tonight, with episode four.

2017

Aug

CLASSIC ALBUMS By David Bianculli

Deadheads, take note: Tonight’s new installment of this long-running series looks at the content and evolution of two distinctly different Grateful Dead early LPs: Anthem of the Sun and American Beauty. The latter (pictured) includes, just to drop a few song titles, “Friend of the Devil,” “Sugar Magnolia,” and “Truckin’.”

2017

Aug

AMERICA'S GOT TALENT By David Bianculli

This is the third of three live shows presenting 12 of the remaining contenders. After tonight, the talent pool is winnowed considerably. Not as considerably as if I’d been in charge of the winnowing… but you can’t winnow them all.

2017

Aug

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: "WALT DISNEY" By David Bianculli

Part 1 of 2. This 2015 biography of Walt Disney is impressive, and instructive, precisely because it doesn’t avoid or whitewash some of the more problematic parts of the great show-biz visionary’s personality and history. Quite the contrary: This American Experience two-part documentary, concluding next week, is fascinating, and worth watching as a rerun, because it addresses those issues, including his fights with the union and his tolerance for certain types of prejudice, directly.

2017

Aug

SIDEWAYS By David Bianculli

Alexander Payne directed this nicely modulated 2004 character study, which stars Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church as a pair of pals taking a hedonistic trip through Santa Barbara County, California’s wine country. They’re both excellent – Giamatti in particular – but save special attention and praise for their female co-stars, Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh, who are given unusually complicated characters to play, and take full advantage of the opportunity.

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