I’ve stayed with this series, trying to find enough reasons to justify my continued loyalty. And so far, the scripts have let me down, and only a few performances – by Kevin Bacon as the haunted ex-FBI agent Ryan Hardy, Natalie Zea as the cult leader’s ex-wife, and Valorie Curry (pictured) as cult follower Emma. But last week, the show finally served up a genuine surprise: a flashback in which young Hardy was shown forcing the drugged-out killer of his father to inject himself

2013

Apr

TOP OF THE LAKE By David Bianculli

MINISERIES FINALE: Elisabeth Moss, who’s back as Peggy on Mad Men, concludes her run in this imported miniseries, playing a detective who returns home to New Zealand and ends up pursuing a missing-persons case. The miniseries’ final two episodes are shown back to back tonight, so watch or record accordingly.

2013

Apr

INDEPENDENT LENS: “WONDER WOMEN! THE UNTOLD STORY OF AMERICAN SUPERHEROINES” By David Bianculli

This new documentary is fairly lightweight, like a comic book – but, like a comic, there’s plenty of subtext and symbolism to be found if you look for it. Interview subjects discussing the role of Wonder Woman, and other female heroines, through pop-culture history include Lynda Carter, who played the Amazon on TV in the 1970s, and Gloria Steinem, who selected the comic-version Wonder Woman as the cover of the first issue of Ms. magazine that same decade. Trace the lineage, from the

2013

Apr

INSIDE COMEDY By David Bianculli

SEASON FINALE: Even though this is a talk series about comedy, David Steinberg saved the most serious installment for last. It’s an interview with Robert Schimmel, a standup comic who endured and survived, and drew comic material from, his bouts with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. But shortly after recording this interview with Steinberg, Schimmel died in a car crash in 2010, making this a sort of salute, retrospective, and last laugh, all in one.

2013

Apr

FEMALE POWER THAT TOOK FLIGHT WITH WONDER WOMAN By Eric Gould

Wonder Women! is a study of the evolution of fictional female heroines as powerful archetypes, and how these characters mirrored the changes real women demanded...

2013

Apr

ANNETTE FUNICELLO TRIBUTE By David Bianculli

Me-TV is saluting the recently departed Annette Funicello by presenting four out of five episodes of her guest stint on Danny Thomas’ Make Room for Daddy sitcom in 1959. She played foreign exchange student Gina Minelli, a role that predated her first Beach Party movie by four years. (That’s her, flanked by Make Room for Daddy kid actors Rusty Hamer and young Angela Cartwright. For TVWW tributes to the former Mouseketeer, see Ed Bark’s Uncle Barky’s Bytes and Bill Brioux&r

2013

Apr

2013 MASTERS GOLF TOURNAMENT By David Bianculli

After three days of play, Angel Cabrera (pictured) and Brandt Snedeker lead the pack at seven under par. Right behind them are three Australians, which is significant because no Aussie golfer has ever won the Masters. (Oy! Oy! Oy!) But Adam Scott (at six under par), Marc Leishman and Jason Day (at five under par) are right in the thick of it. Completing the first page of the leader board are two U.S. players, Matt Kuchar (four under par) and Tiger Woods (three under par). Tomorrow could be quite

2013

Apr

THE GOOD WIFE By David Bianculli

It’s getting down to the election, and that’s not the only battle line being drawn in this episode. There’s one confrontation, for example, between Peter and Will – and they’re not talking politics. They’re talking Alicia.

2013

Apr

NURSE JACKIE By David Bianculli

SEASON PREMIERE: When this series began, Edie Falco’s character was defined by her addictions. Now, at the start of this season, she’s being redefined by the lack of them. Can Jackie play it straight? Perhaps, and perhaps not. But Edie Falco, by now, has proven she can play just about anything.

2013

Apr

MAD MEN By David Bianculli

Last week’s season premiere ended with a surprise very similar to the twist that ended this series’ very first episode: Jon Hamm’s Don Draper going to bed with a woman we didn’t suspect. This time it was the doctor’s wife, played by surprise guest star Linda Cardellini – who’s come a long, long way from Freaks and Geeks. I expect to see more of her tonight, but with Mad Men, you can never tell.

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