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DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

Bianculli's Blog

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

The Cold Light Reader

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Dateline Donovan
Contributors

DAVID HINCKLEY

All Along the Watchtower

ED BARK

Uncle Barky's Bytes

ALEX STRACHAN

TV That Matters

MIKE HUGHES

Open Mike

ED MARTIN

Ed Martin's TV Mix

KIM AKASS

Aerial View

MONIQUE NAZARETH

MNtv

BILL BRIOUX

TV Feeds My Family

ROGER CATLIN

TV Eye

GARY EDGERTON

Must-Click TV

TOM BRINKMOELLER

Raised On MTM

GERALD JORDAN

Crossing Jordan

NOEL HOLSTON

The Grassy Noel

TVWW ARCHIVE

Contributors Archive
 
 
2013
May
19
GAME OF THRONES By David Bianculli
 
 
There aren’t many episodes left this season, and things are getting tense. Battles are coming, and so are weddings – and it’s impossible to say, at this point, which of those events will generate more bloodshed.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
May
19
MAD MEN By David Bianculli
 
 
I guessed right, last week, that last Sunday’s episode would include the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. What I didn’t guess was that it would be included at the very end, almost as an afterthought. But that means tonight’s episode gets to deal with the aftermath – as well as the continuing story line of Don (Jon Hamm) losing control of just about every woman in his life, and his life itself.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
May
19
FAMILY TREE By David Bianculli
 
 
If last week’s series premiere didn’t quite win you over, or make it clear what sort of tone and direction Christopher Guest’s TV series was intending to provide, watch tonight’s episode two. By the time it’s over, all will be made clear. And the jokes about The Mikado, and the monkey puppet, are well worth the investment.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
May
19
ANTHONY BOURDAIN AND 'THE TASTE OF FREEDOM' By Eric Gould
 
 
Sunday DVR programming has always been a problem of triage, and that gets even more difficult tonight thanks to Anthony Bourdain, who makes an intrepid jaunt to Libya...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
May
18
BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN By David Bianculli
 
 
This 1935 sequel has as many memorable set pieces as the original – and Elsa Lanchester, as the title character, is as visually iconic as her hulking intended mate, played by Boris Karloff. James Whale’s direction is as evocative as it was in the 1931 original, and Lanchester’s skittish, birdlike bride is a great piece of genre acting.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
May
18
DOCTOR WHO By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: Last week I mistakenly said it was the Doctor Who season finale. This is the season finale, in which a lot of things are addressed, including a missing piece of the River Song puzzle, a peek at the Doctor’s ancestral home, and even his never-uttered real name. So sorry about writing about it a week early – but it should be worth the wait. Besides: Isn’t time relative? Especially on this show?
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
May
18
ORPHAN BLACK By David Bianculli
 
 
This series began as Tatiana Maslani, as the show’s star, discovers a lookalike – then another, and another, and eventually a sinister plot in which she is a pawn in a scheme involving clones, and more.  In last week’s show, someone close to her – close to one of her, at least – began to discover the same puzzling plot.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
May
18
2013 ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY By David Bianculli
 
 
Taped earlier this week, this year’s induction ceremony – from Los Angeles this time – includes one musical act inducted in its first year of eligibility, which comes 25 years after its first released recording. That would be Public Enemy. The rest of the class of 2013, though, had to exercise some patience. Heart has been eligible, but until now not inducted, for 12 years. Donna Summer became eligible 14 years ago. Rush has been in no rush, having been waiting for 15 years. An
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
May
18
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: Ben Affleck is the guest host, and Kanye West the musical guest – but tonight’s show may be most notable for its regular-cast milestones. This is Bill Hader’s final appearance on the show, so expect nothing less than a wild sendoff for Stefon. Other regulars, specifically Jason Sudeikis and Fred Armisen, may be saying goodbye, too, so this is one installment not to miss.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
May
17
'IDOL' SEASON 12 WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS By Ed Martin
 
 
There's no reason American Idol can’t stay with us for a long time to come, if the people in charge go back to treating it and the audience with the respect both deserve...
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
New From TVWW

PBS' 'Frontline’ Examines Pension Promises and — Spoiler Alert — Finds the Math Doesn’t Add Up
By Alex Strachan
 
 
 
 
The Decadence of ‘Versailles’ Comes to Ovation
By David Hinckley
 
 
 
 
Prescribing Mamie Gummer in 'Emily Owens, M.D.'
By Ed Bark
 
 
 
 
Looking for a Free Ride? HBO Can Deliver
By Christy Slewinski
 
 
 
 
'Pass the Biscuits' Part of the Hatfield-McCoy Pop-Culture Legacy
By Noel Holston
 
 
 
 

Dispatches From TVWW

'Extinction: The Facts' is a Sobering Call to Action
By David Hinckley
 
 
 
 
How 'Mayans' Has Been Influenced by the Show's Creator Elgin James
By Mike Hughes
 
 
 
 
For Whom the Bell Tolls: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Take on Ernest Hemingway, the Man and the Myth
By Alex Strachan
 
 
 
 
In the Final Season, Sutton Foster's Liza is Now the Genuine Version of Her 'Younger' Self
By Monique Nazareth
 
 
 
 
Season 2 of 'City on a Hill' Returns with Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, and Boston Corruption
By David Hinckley