In which our TVWW correspondent, recounting a long-untold story from the days when he'd left the TV critic beat and become a publicist for Walt Disney World, finally reveals details of the time he was recruited as a "spy" to gather information about a new competitor to the equally new Regis Philbin syndicated TV talk show...(DB)

2011

Nov

SUNDAY, BLOODY SUNDAY By Eric Gould

Once the sacred territory of horror and slasher films, hefty servings of fetishized blood and guts are now regular television fare in plentiful supply on Sunday night. And every other night of the week, for that matter -- but somehow Sunday, with its massive audience and its collection of daringly dark drama series, gets the lion's share...

2011

Nov

NBC'S 'GRIMM' PROMOTION: WE'RE #1 -- SORT OF... By David Bianculli

NBC hasn't been able to celebrate much this season, but it's trying its best to make the most of a grim fall 2011 development season -- the highlight of which, ironically, appears to be Grimm. The network is touting the new drama series, which premiered two weeks ago, as "Friday's #1 New Show." Well, maybe. Sort of...

2011

Nov

WHO YOU GONNA CALL AS NEW OSCARS HOST? MY VOTE: BILLY CRYSTAL! By David Bianculli

After movie producer Brett Ratner made enough insensitive comments about his personal life and views to have him replaced as producer of February's Oscar awards, host Eddie Murphy, star of Ratner's Tower Heist, has walked as well. The new producer, Brian Grazer, has to find a new host, fast. Who's he gonna call? Here's who he should call: Billy Crystal...

2011

Nov

'BONES' RETURNS WITH SATISFYING 'UNSOLVABLE SITUATION' By Alan Pergament

Stephen Nathan, one of the executive producers of the Fox hit series Bones, wrote a message to the nation's television critics that came with the DVD of the first two episodes of the seventh season. He wrote: "Bones finds itself dealing with a happily unsolvable situation: Brennan and Booth are a couple. And they are about to have a baby... but we also have seen they couldn't be more unsuited for each other...

2011

Nov

HOW A FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT WRITER GOT HOOKED ON 'AMERICAN HORROR STORY' By Jane Boursaw

I shouldn't like FX's American Horror Story. It's weird and shocking and disturbing. It goes against everything I know is good and true from my Midwest Methodist upbringing. And yet, every time an episode screener arrives here from FX, I drop everything to go watch it, gluing myself to the TV in rapt horror...

2011

Nov

'GOOD WIFE,' BAD TIME SLOT By David Bianculli

Tuesday's New York Times includes an excellent Bill Carter story about the ramifications of CBS moving its drama The Good Wife from Tuesdays to Sundays this season, making it subject to East Coast time delays from pro football overruns. CBS executives say that, in getting the word out about the annoying time shifts, they're "doing about everything we can." No, they're not. They're not doing the most obvious and important thing...

2011

Nov

HISTORY'S 'VIETNAM IN HD' HAS CLARITY OF PURPOSE - AND PICTURES By Ed Bark

History Channel thrived on combat in its formative years, offering heaping helpings of grainy war footage. Sixteen years after its launch -- and now known simply as History -- it's back to the future with a digitally remastered, highly personalized look at armed conflict...

2011

Nov

DVD DEALS: 'L&O,' TOM HANKS' WW2! By Diane Werts

The deluge of DVD/Blu-ray gift sets has begun! And TVWW is on top of it. But we're not actually inside all those sets yet, so our reviews aren't ready. And neither, yet, is our annual Holiday Buying Guide. In the meantime, here's a quick rundown on some new big box sets we'll be exploring soon in much more depth...

2011

Nov

HOW 'HELL ON WHEELS' ROLLED OVER ME By Theresa Corigliano

I was about as conflicted as "Hell on Wheels" antihero Cullen Bohannon, Confederate soldier turned vigilante, seeking the men responsible for the death of his wife..Bohannon's your archetypal Western hero -- driven, mysterious and glowery, yet with a nugget of goodness inside (his Yankee wife persuaded him to give his slaves their freedom), even as he murders his way across the country...

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