This is the penultimate show of this season, so expect things to start happening a bit faster and more furiously. That’s saying something, too, because this excellent show is nothing if not briskly paced – and full of surprises. Tonight, one of those surprises involves Judge Cuesta (David Paymer), who is presiding over a case argued by Alicia (Julianna Margulies).

2012

Apr

MAD MEN By David Bianculli

Details, as always, are sketchy for this show – but we know that a pitch to a client goes very, very bad... and that Don (Jon Hamm), at some point during the workday, asks wife Megan (Jessica Pare) for a private word.

2012

Apr

1976: REASONER REVEALS WALTERS' NEW NEWS ROLE By Christy Slewinski

On April 22, 1976, news anchor Harry Reasoner announced that Barbara Walters would become his ABC Nightly News co-anchor that October. The move made Walters - a morning news anchor with NBC's Today - the first woman to anchor an evening news program. Her million-dollar salary ($500,000 to anchor the news and $500,000 to produce and appear in other ABC programs) also made her TV's highest-paid journalist. (Photo from Audition: A Memoir)

2012

Apr

FOX IS 25, AND BART SIMPSON IS STILL IN GRADE SCHOOL By Diane Werts

Crazy like a Fox! It's impossible to overstate the influence this outrageous "fourth network" has had on TV since it stormed into prime time in April 1987 -- yes, 25 years ago, which accounts for Sunday night's clips-and-reunions salute, Fox's 25th Anniversary Special...

2012

Apr

ERNIE KOVACS' LEGENDARY "EUGENE" SPECIAL By Diane Werts

And now here is your weekend moment of zen . . . actually, a half-hour of zen: Comic innovator Ernie Kovacs' legendarily visual "Eugene" special, made just before his 1962 death. Today, we're used to all kinds of video tricks, but 50 years ago, Ernie was a pioneer, playfully expanding the TV medium with imaginative glee. Take a time trip that continues to delight . . . - DW

2012

Apr

PLANET EARTH MARATHON By David Bianculli

(6 a.m. - 5:55 p.m. ET) Tomorrow, Discovery Channel presents a nature series marathon of its own, televising the entire Frozen Planet, a sequel to this series – which, like Frozen, was a co-production by the BBC and Discovery Channel. The two series have something else in common: while narrated by Sir David Attenborough in the U.K., both were televised in the U.S. by Discovery with substitute narrators: Sigourney Weaver for Planet Earth, and Alec Baldwin for the Frozen Planet, which just e

2012

Apr

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS By David Bianculli

This 2011 movie, based on a true story, stars Robin Pattinson as a former veterinary student who falls in love with a circus performer, played by Reese Witherspoon. It’s set in a circus, and the animals have no trouble stealing this show – but on a slow TV night, why not?

2012

Apr

TREE OF LIFE By David Bianculli

Terrence Malick's films -- relatively rare events -- never make much of a dent at the box office, and this poetic 2011 drama didn't either, despite the presence of both Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. But, like the others, attention was indeed paid. Roger Ebert said, "The only other film I've seen with this boldness of vision is Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey." And he went on to add that 2001 "lacked Malick's fierce evocation of human feeling." In other word: Watch.

2012

Apr

PATTON OSWALT: FINEST HOUR By David Bianculli

This new Comedy Central special has Patton Oswalt holding court, spinning stories that poke fun at everything from being a new parent (which he is) to attending meetings at Weight Watchers (which he has). Very funny stuff, all around.

2012

Apr

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE By David Bianculli

This is a rerun, but one with a reason for revisiting. The musical guest is Lana Del Ray, and her performances here were largely derided afterward as the worst SNL musical debacle since Ashlee Simpson’s lip-synching machine “malfunctioned” in 2007, causing her to walk off in embarrassment.

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