This 1998 version of the Charles Dickens tale works best if you come to it with less than great expectations – but if so, there are two performances that make it quite worthwhile, and both of them are of the women who have the most effect upon Ethan Hawkes’ poor “Finnegan Bell.” Yes, the names are changed to protect the non-innocent (ain’t that a Pip?). The vengeful, man-hating reclusive Miss Havisham is now called “Ms. Dinsmoor,” and played by Anne Banc

2013

Mar

HANG 'EM HIGH By David Bianculli

This isn’t one of the “spaghetti Western” entries of Clint Eastwood’s career – though it’s of the same vintage, and the same genre. Bruce Dern and Dennis Hopper have small roles in this 1968 movie, which is a more standard Western – though what makes it stand out most is a fairly unusual leading lady: Inger Stevens, the Swedish-born actress who was one of my deep TV crushes in the 1960s. Sigh.

2013

Mar

SMASH By David Bianculli

Looking for tension and drama wherever it can find it, Smash has gone from settling last season's question of which actress will star in the Marilyn Monroe musical bound for Broadway to asking other questions. Will the show get to Broadway at all? And if it does, who will produce it? Tonight, there’s yet another question added to the mix: Will the show’s leading lady, Karen (Katharine McPhee), keep the job, or abdicate because of a conflict with another career opportunity?

2013

Mar

JUSTIFIED By David Bianculli

This season’s plot has been all about the mystery of Drew Thompson, a mysterious figure long thought dead – but apparently very alive and well and living in Harlan County or thereabouts. Last week, we finally learned the real identity of Drew, the man sought so persistently by U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) and Sheriff Shelby (Jim Beaver). Watching these two old Deadwood hands share some scenes together again has been a real treat – and clearly, as more cha

2013

Mar

WILD THINGS WITH DOMINIC MONAGHAN By David Bianculli

On tonight’s new show, in search of one of the deadlier reptiles on the planet, host and adventurer Dominic Monaghan tells you five things you need to know about the Guatemalan beaded lizard. I’ll tell you one: The closest I want to get to one is on the other side of a high-def TV screen.

2013

Mar

THE FOLLOWING By David Bianculli

Last week, this series turned two different corners, both of which make it even more difficult to get behind this grim Kevin Bacon show. One is that Bacon’s character deliberately opted to use torture to further his investigation, putting The Following squarely in the Zero Dark Thirty and 24 debate. The other is that the villainous Carroll (James Purefoy) is now sprung from prison and holed up with a mansion of acolytes – all accomplished in a series of moves that abandoned entirely

2013

Mar

DALLAS By David Bianculli

This is the most significant episode of Dallas since the identity of “Who Shot J.R.?” was revealed several decades ago -- well, that and the "Bobby emerges from the shower" stunner a few years later. It’s the new episode in which the current Dallas producers responded to the unexpected death of star Larry Hagman by staging J.R.’s funeral. Among others in attendance at the service: Bobby (Patrick Duffy), Lucy (Charlene Tilton), and Sue Ellen (Linda Gray). You should be, to

2013

Mar

THE STAIRCASE By David Bianculli

MINISERIES CONCLUSION: Last week’s installment, the first of two new hours updating the story of convicted murderer Michael Peterson, cast a persuasive amount of suspicion on the one lab scientist whose testimony was most responsible for the jury’s verdict of guilty. Tonight’s continuation of that update shows the results, if any, of that new information. If you’ve seen any of The Staircase, this last step is not to be missed.

2013

Mar

INSIDE COMEDY By David Bianculli

Last week, David Steinberg presented a warm and informative conversation with two talented peers: Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin. This week, he talks to two more, from a slightly younger generation of comics: Jim Carrey and Keenen Ivory Wayans.

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