If you tune in to today’s new Doctor Who special – and you should – you’ll be seeing it at the same time as everyone watching it anywhere it’s televised on the planet. That, in itself, is pretty special. And so is this new show, which somehow manages to pair the current Doctor, played by Matt Smith, with his immediate predecessor, played by David Tennant. Confusing? Yes. Entertaining. Ever since this series was revived from dormancy in 2005, absolutely.

2013

Nov

BILL COSBY: FAR FROM FINISHED By David Bianculli

This is a day of 50-year-old flashbacks and anniversaries. The minute-by-minute replay of CBS’s coverage of the John F. Kennedy assassination and aftermath continues to be streamed on cbsnews.com, just as CBS broadcast it on this day in 1963. Also today in 1963, Doctor Who premiered in England, and BBC America marks the occasion by presenting the newest Doctor Who episode in a 50-years-later global telecast at 2:50 p.m. ET. And tonight on Comedy Central, Bill Cosby stars in his first stand

2013

Nov

THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW By David Bianculli

BBC America, like the BBC itself, has outdone itself celebrating the golden anniversary of Doctor Who, which premiered in England on this date in 1963. That even goes to Graham Norton’s talk show, which has been positively delightful this season. Tonight, his guests include the two most recent actors, as of yesterday, anyway, to have played The Doctor: David Tennant and Matt Smith, the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, respectively. On the same couch, at the same time. Though time, to a Doctor W

2013

Nov

SARAH SILVERMAN: WE ARE MIRACLES By David Bianculli

My favorite part of this Sarah Silverman special – her first for HBO – is the prologue, which has her trading barbs with some curbside toughs before entering the club to do her intentionally outrageous standup act. How outrageous? It’s difficult to describe, but she earns lots of laughs by the many ways she says a word that Bill Cosby, presenting his own standup comedy act on a competing cable network tonight, would never say on stage even once. For a full review, see Eric Goul

2013

Nov

THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS By David Bianculli

Except for Steven Spielberg’s 1971 made-for-TV movie Duel, which was released theatrically overseas, this 1974 film was Spielberg’s big-screen debut. Goldie Hawn stars as a fugitive from the law, in an adventure drama that eventually leads to an elaborately staged chase sequences -- and not at high speed, either.

2013

Nov

CBS JFK 50TH ANNIVERSARY STREAMING COVERAGE By David Bianculli

Here’s an astoundingly resonant use of a network’s flagship news website. Beginning this afternoon, and lasting for four days, the CBS News website will devote itself to a minute-by-minute replay of its coverage of the John F. Kennedy assassination and aftermath 50 years ago. My only complaint is that the replay doesn’t begin with the network’s very first bulletin, but that’s a mere completist’s quibble, given the rare opportunity to see so much of this in the

2013

Nov

NBC NEWS SPECIAL: “WHERE WERE YOU: THE DAY JFK DIED?” By David Bianculli

The title of this NBC News special is a tipoff that, for once, a news network organization isn’t pandering for younger viewers at the expense of older ones. This doesn’t mean, that if you weren’t alive 50 years ago, you shouldn’t be watching – quite the contrary. But it also means that those of us who were old enough to remember may have been stunned, the last few days, to realize how little we’ve forgotten about those truly tragic, life-changing events. Here,

2013

Nov

AN ADVENTURE IN SPACE AND TIME By David Bianculli

Fifty years ago, the day after the JFK assassination, British television transmitted the premiere episode of a little science fiction show called Doctor Who. Tomorrow, in a telecast shown at the same time globally, Doctor Who celebrates its golden anniversary with a long-awaited brand new episode. Meanwhile, tonight, BBC America presents a new telemovie which dramatizes the creation of the Doctor Who TV franchise. David Bradley stars as William Hartnell, who played the first in a long series of

2013

Nov

JFK: IN HIS OWN WORDS By David Bianculli

For a TV critic with decades of viewing behind him, the JFK assassination coverage brings with it additional memories of previous specials keyed to previous JFK anniversaries. This documentary, for example, premiered in 1988, on the 25th anniversary of President Kennedy’s assassination. It remains, in my estimation, one of the best, because it captures the public (and sometimes private) speaker unfiltered, quoting him as a candidate, and as President, to let his words speak for themselves.

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