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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
Apr
10
SLEUTH By David Bianculli
 
 
Kenneth Branagh remade this Anthony Shaffer play as a movie in 2007, but this is the original screen adaptation, made in 1972. Shaffer himself wrote the screenplay for this one, which stars Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier in a story about marital infidelity, jealousy – and potential murder. Lots of fun, and very, very clever.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
10
MODERN FAMILY By David Bianculli
 
 
Benjamin Bratt returns as Javier, the biological father of Rico Rodriguez’s Manny and the ex of Sofia Vergara’s Gloria – and tonight, in this new episode, he brings along a guest. It’s his new girlfriend, played by former Criminal Minds star Paget Brewster.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
10
THE AMERICANS By David Bianculli
 
 
Stan (Noah Emmerich) pursues some new leads that get him closer to discovering the identity of an undercover KGB cell – and closer, therefore, to someone with whom he already shares a neighborly proximity: across-the-street neighbor Elizabeth (Keri Russell).
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
10
SOUTHLAND By David Bianculli
 
 
Eric Gould, in a recent Cold Light Reader column, raved about Gerald McRaney’s acting on last week’s excellent episode of this series. Our own Noel Holston reacted with a comment, agreeing with Eric and wondering exactly when McRaney shifted from the tossaway comedy of Major Dad and Simon & Simon and morphed into one of TV’s best dramatic actors in Deadwood, House of Cards, Justified and elsewhere. Guest star McRaney is reason enough to watch Southland this season – b
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
10
A GLEE-FUL NEW SERIES FOR VH1 By Christy Slewinski
 
 
VH1 is billing its new reality series, Off Pitch, as a real-life Glee (although a real-life Waiting for Guffman may be more apropos)...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
10
DADDY DEAREST: THE DARK BACKBEAT OF 'THE COWSILLS' FAMILY BAND By Eric Gould
 
 
Family Band: The Cowsills Story exposes the cracked foundation that supported a squeaky-clean American family image...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
9
THE VOICE By David Bianculli
 
 
NBC has had such a rough year, in the ratings and in the press, that the stability and success of this series shouldn’t be taken for granted – especially not by NBC. It’s a good-natured, positive competition show, when most of the other prime-tie network efforts, including American Idol and The X Factor, have devolved into anything but.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
9
THE LION KING By David Bianculli
 
 
It’s always worth noting, especially on a slow TV night, whenever Disney fills its prime-time schedule by presenting a classic animated movie from its vault. This movie musical, from 1994, may feel too young to deserve classic status, but next year, it’ll be 20 years old.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
9
SHAUN OF THE DEAD By David Bianculli
 
 
This 2004 comedy horror film may deserve credit for reinvigorating the zombie story as a popular piece of pop culture. Simon Pegg stars as Shaun, who tries to win back his ex-girlfriend while all around them are besieged by the undead. Co-stars include Lucy Davis, who played the adorable Dawn Tinsley in the original British version of The Office. By the way: Shaun of the Dead? Terrific title.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Apr
9
FRONTLINE: "SYRIA: BEHIND THE LINES" By David Bianculli
 
 
Frontline reporter Olly Lambert didn’t choose sides when filming this documentary about the front lines in Syria’s civil war. He spent five weeks living on both sides, and returning with this very intense ground-level study that captures the continued effects of a brutal, ongoing armed conflict. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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