One of the previous hosts of NBC’s Tonight Show, albeit briefly, is Conan O’Brien, who tonight provides a special edition of Conan that would have been eminently Tonight Show-worthy. To honor the death last week of pioneering TV comedian Sid Caesar, O’Brien has scrubbed his originally planned show for tonight to turn over most of it to a visit, and conversation, with Mel Brooks, who began writing for Caesar in the late 1940s, even before they both worked on that landmark master

2014

Feb

THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON By David Bianculli

It’s night number two of The Tonight Show under Jimmy Fallon’s regime, and look who he’s got as guests for tonight’s show. One guest is Jerry Seinfeld, who was Jay Leno’s opening guest the night he returned as host of The Tonight Show. Seinfeld, coincidentally, also was one of the celebrities imitated by Fallon when he auditioned for Saturday Night Live. (For details, and a video of that audition, see Bianculli’s Blog.) Other guests tonight: Kristen Wiig, who,

2014

Feb

FRONTLINE: "GENERATION LIKE" By David Bianculli

Douglas Rushkoff, who provided Frontline with Merchants of Cool in 2001, takes another try, in another decade, at explaining the sly ways in which young people are targeted by marketers. In this case, it has to do with tapping into their desires to be part of a group, to be famous, and simply to be noticed, using Facebook and other social media, while companies use them just as eagerly. My only quandary here is, should I “Like” Generation Like on social media? Or should I just say I

2014

Feb

THE XXII OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES By David Bianculli

One of the biggest stories at the Olympics today is the gold medal final in ice dancing, where U.S. favorites Meryl Davis and Charlie White have a significant lead going into the free dance final event. Viewers can watch them live on NBCSN beginning at 10 a.m. ET, or watch for the way NBC repackages the event for prime time, beginning at 8 p.m. ET. The prime-time features on Davis and White have been very effective, showing them skating together almost since birth, and going on an endlessly repe

2014

Feb

VERONICA GUERIN By David Bianculli

This 2003 movie tells an intense and interesting true story, about a persistent newspaper crime reporter in Dublin whose efforts to cover the expanding drug trade in her country made her the target of vengeful drug lords. An additional reason to see the movie at this point in time, though, is because the title role, in this seldom televised movie, is played by Cate Blanchett, up for another Oscar this year for her brilliant work in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine.

2014

Feb

THE MUSIC MAN By David Bianculli

Can’t help it. I love this movie, and I love whenever TCM televises it, because it’s at the proper screen ratio, and presented uninterrupted. Robert Preston and Shirley Jones star, with ample support from a totally charming barbershop quartet. "Lida Rose, I’m home again, Rose…"

2014

Feb

INSIDE COMEDY By David Bianculli

Tonight, David Steinberg focuses on two comedians who have established themselves as dramatic actors as well: Bette Midler, who’s as strong a singer as she is an actor and joke-teller, and Richard Belzer, a standup comic who made the transition to dramatic acting in general, and decades of playing Det. John Munch in particular.

2014

Feb

THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: Watch and record this, because it’s a little piece of instant TV history. It’s the first time The Tonight Show has emanated from New York since Johnny Carson departed for California in 1972, and the first Tonight Show hosted by Jimmy Fallon – performing in the same 30 Rock studio that once housed Carson and, before him, Jack Paar. Tonight, Tonight starts another chapter in its long, impressive history, which began nationally on NBC in 1954. Opening-night schedu

2014

Feb

THE XXII OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES By David Bianculli

Last night, in prime time, NBC presented its 2014 equivalent of the “Do you believe in miracles?” Olympics men’s hockey match between Russia and the U.S. – and once again, Al Michaels was there to put it in perspective. Somehow, I suspect, NBC will find a way to replay that latest overtime thriller yet again, while reminding viewers that, yes, this year’s Olympics will be providing its own highlights, and heroes, for the ages. Among tonight’s highlights on NBC

2014

Feb

PASSING STRANGE By David Bianculli

Shown on PBS’s Great Performances in 2009, this is Spike Lee’s filmed version of the semi-autobiographical stage musical by Stew, with music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald. It’s about a young black man who leaves Los Angeles to see, then live in, Europe, as part of his search for identity. Stars, reprising their acclaimed stage roles, are Daniel Breaker as Youth, Elsa Davis as Mother, and De’Adre Aziza, Colman Domingo, Chad Goodridge and Rebecca Naomi Jones in multiple roles.

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