Bianculli here: All TV critics have their quirky specialties, and we here at TV WORTH WATCHING are no different. But I admit to being ignorant of, though curious about, the majority of Japanese anime programs. But one of my former college students at Rowan University, Rich Greenhalgh, is passionate about the subject, so I gave him a dare: Write a column about anime explaining what's hot, and why. He came through, and even provided links for us to become instantly anime-literate...

2010

Jan

FINAL VERDICT ON JOSS WHEDON'S "DOLLHOUSE": REGARDING THE CAST, MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH By David Bianculli

As I type this, less than 90 minutes remain until Fox broadcasts the final, unpreviewed episode of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. The fact that I'm anticipating it attests to the promise that Whedon brings to every project -- but at this point, at the show's final hour, I think I've isolated where his latest genre missed the mark. It cast the right actors -- but not always in the right roles...

2010

Jan

FLICK PICKS: TOP SOUNDTRACKS EVER By Diane Werts

The stabbing violins of Psycho? The signature songs of The Graduate and Saturday Night Fever? The eerie woo-woo-woo-woo-woo of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly? The thumping funk of Shaft?...

2010

Jan

DVD UPDATE: (SOME OF) 'SOUTHLAND,' (RANDOM) ABBOTT & COSTELLO COLLECTION, MORE By Diane Werts

Whaddya bet NBC wishes it had Southland back now? They thought the L.A. copfest was too adult to run at 9 p.m. ET, back when their braintrust had ensconsed Jay Leno at 10. Now that he's outta there, they could really use the drama's grit and gumption...

2010

Jan

GOODBYE, CONAN -- HELLO, RETURNING CABLE SERIES AND OTHER GOOD TV By David Bianculli

Conan O'Brien said farewell to his NBC show, and his audience, Friday with absolute class -- thanking NBC rather than trashing it, and sending a special message to young fans not to be cynical. So long as entertainers such as Conan still get to follow their bliss on TV, that'll be an easier message to embrace. Meanwhile, TV marches on -- and on this particular Monday night, there's a LOT worth watching...

2010

Jan

WE KNOW JAY LENO'S NEXT MOVE -- NOW HOW ABOUT DAVID LETTERMAN'S? By David Bianculli

We now know that Conan O'Brien's era as host of NBC's "Tonight Show" is at an end, and that Jay Leno will resume his former late-night throne in five weeks. The next question to ask -- and it's an enticing one, regarding CBS's David Letterman -- is "WWDD?" As in, "What Will Dave Do?"...

2010

Jan

TV FLASHBACK: TV LAND ADDS 'BEWITCHED' -- AND 'RAYMOND'! By Diane Werts

Is TV Land finally getting back to basics? Could the channel be remembering that it once staked out unique territory in celebrating our TV heritage, rather than running me-too reality shows?...

2010

Jan

NEWS FLASH: NBC SETTLES JAY/CONAN MESS By Diane Werts

And so it's official: Jay gets The Tonight Showback, Conan gets gone. How convenient that NBC late-night's upcoming Olympic hiatus allows the network to make such a clean break...

2010

Jan

ACADEMY OF TV ARTS & SCIENCES HALL OF FAME: THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS GET INDUCTED, NOT INDICTED By David Bianculli

I was an invited guest at Wednesday's Academy of Television Arts & Sciences dinner honoring new inductees into the Hall of Fame -- and it didn't dawn on me, until dawn the next morning, that I had forgotten to take notes. I was there because of, and to support, Tom and Dick Smothers, and just enjoyed the evening thoroughly. For a TV critic, historian and professor, the whole night was a dream...

2010

Jan

DOWNLOAD THIS: FREE PILOT EPISODES By Diane Werts

Current freebies on iTunes and Amazon.com include a couple of fun new shows that both critics and audiences seem to agree on. Mark Valley's new comic-book joyride Human Target is gratis at Amazon, for both watching and downloading...

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