Mel Brooks suddenly seems to be everywhere – and that’s anything but a complaint. The PBS series American Masters just profiled him, and this weekend TNT televises his receipt of the AFI Life Achievement Award. Tonight, Encore presents two of those Life Achievements, starting with this 1974 classic that redefined comedy in films and TV – and which, Brooks told me recently, he’s playing with turning into his latest stage musical. Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder star, Richar

2013

Jun

BABY FACE By David Bianculli

This 1933 movie is one of the films that prompted the institution of Hollywood’s infamously chaste production code – which means, for its time, it was daringly racy, even in a version that suffered some edits before it was released. Barbra Stanwyck stars in the title role, playing a calculating young woman who sleeps her way from the bottom to the top, attracting and discarding men as she sees fit.

2013

Jun

NBA FINALS: MIAMI HEAT VS. SAN ANTONIO SPURS By David Bianculli

Game 3: The San Antonio Spurs made this year’s NBS Finals look like a close contest by winning Game 1, but the Miami Heat made it look like a blowout by thoroughly dominating the Spurs in Game 2. With the series tied at 1-1 and the locale shifting from Miami to San Antonio, you’d think the Spurs might have an advantage. After Sunday’s game, it’s hard to imagine the Heat not hitting the court with more of a purpose, and a vengeance – but if the Spurs are going to bou

2013

Jun

SPACEBALLS By David Bianculli

Here’s another Mel Brooks comedy shown tonight on Encore – this one from 1987, a spoof of Star Wars made a decade after that George Lucas space epic first hit theaters. Surprisingly (it surprised me, anyway), Mel Brooks told me that Spaceballs was his most popular film on DVD, and here’s a chance to see why. Start with the casting, which includes John Candy as the furby-ish Barf, Rick Moranis as Dark Helmet, and Bill Pullman as the heroic Lone Starr.

2013

Jun

THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART By David Bianculli

Jon Stewart can rest easily this summer, and so can we: The Daily Show is in great hands with John Oliver. Last night, his debut as host featured a great opening segment – on the latest electronic surveillance controversy – followed by an even funnier segment in which all of Oliver’s fellow correspondents got to vent their envy at Oliver’s summer promotion. It’s not easy being green, but they made it fun. The interview segment, with Seth Rogen, was less of a home ru

2013

Jun

TELEVISION SUCKS, SING BROADWAY STARS By Christy Slewinski

Stars of The Book of Mormon, Wicked and Gypsy — Andrew Rannells, Megan Hilty and Laura Benanti — joined Tony Awards host Neil Patrick Harris in a number that points out the risk of leaving the the Great White Way for television: cancellation.

2013

Jun

THE VOICE By David Bianculli

The popularity of The Voice means that even as the singing competition gets narrower, the shows themselves tend to get fatter. Tonight’s semifinal competition has been expanded by NBC to two hours – leaving room for, among other things, judge Usher to perform his newest single, “Twisted.”

2013

Jun

PUSSY RIOT: A PUNK PRAYER By David Bianculli

If you know the Soviet performance protest artists Pussy Riot only as a late-night punch line, or a musical act endorsed by Madonna, this 90-minute documentary will be very, very educational. Without narration, but with lots of behind-the-scenes and news footage, it shows the genesis of Pussy Riot as an all-female, anti-Vladimir Putin “feminist punk group,” dedicated to shaking things up and protesting the Soviet intermingling of church and state. The Pussy Riot story isn’t sim

2013

Jun

THE DOCTOR By David Bianculli

The NBA TV network presents this new documentary about Julius Erving, which means a largely positive slant and an avoidance of unflattering detours. But it also means an abundance of exciting footage, in this case including when Erving first drew attention as a high-schooler playing at New York’s Rucker Park. That was long before he became a legend as “Dr. J,” winning a title and performing amazing acrobatic feats for the Philadelphia 76ers – but even then, he had e

2013

Jun

MAJOR CRIMES By David Bianculli

SEASON PREMIERE: For its second season, this Closer spinoff introduces a new character, supposedly a source of new tension for Mary McDonnell’s Captain Raydor: a deputy district attorney played by Nadine Velazquez (left), minus the exaggerated accent she employed on My Name Is Earl. But without Kyra Sedgwick, this group has lost much of its flair, with only G.W. Bailey’s Provenza being as much fun to watch as before.

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