2021
 
 
 
 
 
 
2020
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2019
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2018
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2017
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2016
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2015
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2014
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2013
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2012
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2011
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2010
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2009
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2008
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2007
 
 
 
 
 
 
2001
 
 
 
 
2000
 
 
 
 
1998
 
 
 
 
1990
 
 
 
 
1989
 
 
 
 
1987
 
 
 
 
1985
 
 
 
 
1982
 
 
 
 
1980
 
 
 

DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

Bianculli's Blog

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

The Cold Light Reader

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Dateline Donovan
Contributors

DAVID HINCKLEY

All Along the Watchtower

ED BARK

Uncle Barky's Bytes

ALEX STRACHAN

TV That Matters

MIKE HUGHES

Open Mike

ED MARTIN

Ed Martin's TV Mix

KIM AKASS

Aerial View

MONIQUE NAZARETH

MNtv

BILL BRIOUX

TV Feeds My Family

ROGER CATLIN

TV Eye

GARY EDGERTON

Must-Click TV

TOM BRINKMOELLER

Raised On MTM

GERALD JORDAN

Crossing Jordan

NOEL HOLSTON

The Grassy Noel

TVWW ARCHIVE

Contributors Archive
 
 
2012
Apr
13
O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? By David Bianculli
 
 
I’m well aware that I promote this 2000 Coen Brothers comedy a lot – and I did it long before George Clooney optioned my book on the Smothers Brothers as a possible film, so I’m not brown-nosing here. Not completely. But I absolutely adore any movie audacious enough to connect The Odyssey to Sullivan’s Travels, with an old-timey country soundtrack and a Three Stooges vibe, and somehow make it all work. This is that movie – and Clooney is its Ulysses. Truly. And wait
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
13
CASABLANCA By David Bianculli
 
 
As it happens, there are several movies on TV tonight that I’ll write about, and point you towards, every chance I get. Here’s one of them, and here’s another chance: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains in a cinematic masterpiece from 1942. Watch it again, Sam. And watch it again, even if your name isn’t Sam.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
13
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS By David Bianculli
 
 
Here’s another movie I recommend whenever I can – a film I loved so much that, when I was in Paris last year, I sought (and found! And sat on!) the steps on which Owen Wilson sat before being whisked to a memorable taste of Parisian night life. Alas, no carriage came for me – but I’ll always have Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen’s best comedy film in decades. (See how I tied that back to Casablanca, folks? No extra charge.) Rachel McAdams co-stars as Wilson’s fi
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
13
FRINGE By David Bianculli
 
 
This new episode is called “The Consultant” – and perhaps, with a consultant, I would feel comfortable describing what’s about to happen in this hour. I know, though, that it involves two universes, the red-haired Olivia, and a Walter where he shouldn’t be.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
13
REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER By David Bianculli
 
 
Among tonight’s guests: David Stockman (expect lots of talk about the budget and the economy) and Tavis Smiley (expect lots of talk about everything, especially Barack Obama). But on the week when Rick Santorum retrieved his hat from the ring, seemingly leaving the Republican nomination to Mitt Romney, everyone, especially Maher, should have plenty to say.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
13
LENA DUNHAM'S 'GIRLS' NAVIGATE NEW YORK CITY LIFE By David Bianculli
 
 
(From NPR) "Girls" has been compared to Sex and the City. The characters, played by Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Lena Dunham and Zosia Mamet, navigate the ups and downs of life in New York City...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
12
"THE DUST BOWL" IS COMING -- NEXT NOVEMBER By Diane Werts
 
 
Can't wait for Ken Burns' next PBS documentary? Here's a peek at The Dust Bowl, which premieres Nov. 18-19, examining "the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history." - DW
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
12
THE BIG BANG THEORY By David Bianculli
 
 
A repeat, but a fun one: Wil Wheaton, who plays a spiteful version of himself as an occasional guest star on this series, shows up again to torture Sheldon (Jim Parsons). Basically, Wheaton is to Sheldon what Newman was to Jerry Seinfeld on Seinfeld - and just as funny.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
12
COMMUNITY By Eric Gould
 
 
In tonight’s new episode, we learn that Britta has a soft spot for carnies – and when an ex of hers shows up, it’s apparent she’s been barkering up the wrong tree.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2012
Apr
12
SELENA By David Bianculli
 
 
This movie biography was made in 1997, when Tejano singer Selena, who had been murdered at the height of her young fame, was a big name in the Latino community – and when Jennifer Lopez, who plays her in this biopic, was not. If you’ll permit an Idol observation: How times have changed…
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
New From TVWW

PBS' 'Frontline’ Examines Pension Promises and — Spoiler Alert — Finds the Math Doesn’t Add Up
By Alex Strachan
 
 
 
 
The Decadence of ‘Versailles’ Comes to Ovation
By David Hinckley
 
 
 
 
Prescribing Mamie Gummer in 'Emily Owens, M.D.'
By Ed Bark
 
 
 
 
Looking for a Free Ride? HBO Can Deliver
By Christy Slewinski
 
 
 
 
'Pass the Biscuits' Part of the Hatfield-McCoy Pop-Culture Legacy
By Noel Holston
 
 
 
 

Dispatches From TVWW

'Extinction: The Facts' is a Sobering Call to Action
By David Hinckley
 
 
 
 
How 'Mayans' Has Been Influenced by the Show's Creator Elgin James
By Mike Hughes
 
 
 
 
For Whom the Bell Tolls: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Take on Ernest Hemingway, the Man and the Myth
By Alex Strachan
 
 
 
 
In the Final Season, Sutton Foster's Liza is Now the Genuine Version of Her 'Younger' Self
By Monique Nazareth
 
 
 
 
Season 2 of 'City on a Hill' Returns with Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, and Boston Corruption
By David Hinckley