I’ve come to rely on this show to put me to bed for the week, tucking me in and making me feel, if not safe, at least sane, and determined to deal with whatever comes my way the following week. This week’s recap, and perspective, ought to be especially interesting, with or without Bolivian zebras.

2017

Apr

WITH ‘THE SON,’ AMC HEADS DOWN A DARK WESTERN ROAD By David Hinckley

The Son keeps AMC in the business of historic American heartland epics with sweeping moral implications...

2017

Apr

THE SON By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: It’s been only a decade since AMC redefined itself by presenting quality original drama programming, with 2007’s Mad Men and, before that, with the 2006 AMC Western miniseries Broken Trail, starring Robert Duvall. Both Westerns and miniseries were dying genres then, and Westerns still are today – but maybe this new series, based on the novel by Philipp Meyer, will help change that. It’s about tough Texan Eli McCullough, shown alternatively at two pivotal

2017

Apr

THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW By David Bianculli

Tonight’s episode is a new compilation of the best moments from the current season. The Graham Norton Show is funny and entertaining enough in regular, full-length installments – so these concentrated doses are sure-fire winners.

2017

Apr

TWIN PEAKS By David Bianculli

The Showtime revival of Twin Peaks begins in little more than a month (May 21; mark your calendars), and I advise starting to work yourself up in anticipation with plenty of time to spare. Tonight, for example, Showtime presents the original 1990 movie-length pilot of Twin Peaks, which launched with those immortal words, “She’s dead. Wrapped in plastic.” It’s more than a quarter-century since David Lynch and Mark Frost unveiled Twin Peaks to an unsuspecting and fascinated

2017

Apr

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE By David Bianculli

If I were writing a President Trump skit for Saturday Night Live this week, it would focus on the inaudible sound of his microphone as he announced the U.S. retaliatory bombing of Syria – with audio that sounded like it was coming from the worst commuter-train P.A. system in history. I’ll be watching SNL to see what they do, and how they handle Trump’s most successful political week as President – but mostly, I’ll be watching to see guest host Louis C.K., whose prev

2017

Apr

‘AMERICAN PLAYBOY’ IS AN AUTHORIZED LOOK AT THE MAN BEHIND THE MAGAZINE By David Hinckley

Whether you think Playboy magazine liberated America from its puritanical shackles or sent America spiraling into a Godless moral hell, you gotta admit it changed the game...

2017

Apr

AMERICAN PLAYBOY: THE HUGH HEFNER STORY By David Bianculli

DOCUMENTARY SERIES PREMIERE: This new Amazon TV series, an extended biography of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, is made with Hefner’s cooperation and input, as well as by dipping into his extensive archives of back issues, news clippings, TV interviews and other personal memorabilia. The “character” of Hefner narrates his own tale here, teeing it up in unabashedly subjective terms: “This is my story,” he says at the start. “Or at least how I remember it.”

2017

Apr

FARGO By David Bianculli

We’re only a few weeks away from the third iteration of Noah Hawley’s latest reimagining of the Fargo universe, originally fabricated so brilliantly by Joel and Ethan Coen in 1996. That’s 21 years ago now – and while Hawley’s two previous versions of Fargo, presented as stand-alone miniseries with separate plots, settings and casts, are fresh, funny, dramatic and captivating, the original article seems fresh and all the rest, too, all these years later. This is the

2017

Apr

FIRST DATES By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: In the hands of anyone but executive producer Ellen DeGeneres, the concept of First Dates would be in danger of being swallowed up by a mean-spirited reality-show riptide. Not so with her in charge, so, with this new real-life look at first dates (narrated by Drew Barrymore), expect something with elements of humor, intended to be heartwarming and ultimately life-affirming. If, grumbles Ebenezer Scrooge, you enjoy that sort of thing…

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