DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
2011
Apr
4
 
 
The first minute of His Way, HBO's new documentary about veteran show-biz producer Jerry Weintraub, hooks you with the people lining up to tell stories about him: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and lots more. And from then on, Weintraub himself shows up to hook you for the duration...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Apr
2
 
 
Of all the special TV events vying for attention Sunday -- including the launch of Showtime's The Borgias and the opening installment of the orphaned, adopted miniseries The Kennedys -- the most compelling and impressive is also the darkest. It's The Killing, the newest bold programming move by AMC...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Apr
1
 
 
Some days are so special, and so packed with TV options, that one set of BEST BETS hardly seems enough to contain everything fairly. So today, which certainly qualifies as special, we offer a bit more...If you're not particularly impressed by today's "official" April 1 BIANCULLI'S BEST BETS offerings, here are some alternatives -- which, I dare say, you might find even MORE entertaining...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Mar
31
 
 
The 70th annual Peabody Awards have just been announced -- and once again, the winners are a heady reminder of how great TV can be when it tries... This year, that would include such worthy recipients as FX's Justified, TNT's Men of Certain Age, and three documentaries from currently beleaguered National Public Radio...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Mar
30
 
 
[The latest guest column from a Rowan University student is another from Rich Greenhalgh, who in the past has tried to explain the content, intent and appeal of such things as TV zombies and imported anime. Today, he takes on the newest version of the King Arthur legend -- Camelot, which premieres Friday at 10 p.m. ET on the Starz network -- and claims it's a very good fit for Starz, and for him...DB]
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Mar
28
 
 
The third season of Showtime's United States of Tara begins tonight at 10:30 ET -- and this is the year this series vaults to the top echelon of TV's most compelling, complex current series. It may be categorized as a comedy -- but this year, while the laughs remain abundant, Tara's various identity crises make this half-hour show as gripping and thrilling, and as impressive, as an episode of Dexter...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Mar
24
 
 
For many decades now, every time I start previewing a new TV miniseries, it's with a dual sense of anticipation and dread. Anticipation, because when done well, this is one of my favorite TV genres. Dread, because when you know from the first minute that it's probably a clunker, a multi-hour miniseries is a chunk of your life you'll never get back...HBO's "Mildred Pierce" lets you know from the very first minute that it's something special. And it is...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Mar
21
 
 
HBO's Big Love ended Sunday night...If you've already seen it, read on past the jump. If not, and don't want the details revealed and discussed, stop right here, and come back to this column once you've done your homework. But once again, for the record, the newsman in me resents having to wait for the slowpokes. If a show's finale means that much to you, watch it live...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Mar
16
 
 
One's an isolated event, two's a pattern, three's a crowd, and more than that's a definite trend. So here's a new TV trend: In commercials for new phones and phone plans, the people using them tend to be insufferable idiots. So is that the target audience? Or just the unavoidable conclusion?...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Mar
14
 
 
The new 40th-anniversary reissue of Simon & Garfunkel's classic Bridge Over Troubled Water LP is something you really, truly owe it to yourself to see. Yes, see. Because, while the music on the CD is as timeless and brilliant as ever, the two TV specials on the accompanying DVD are what make this new mixed-media release a gold mine, rather than a mere upgrade...