Look what NBC has decided to do this year with this 1946 holiday classic: After broadcasting it once this month already, it’s shifted a rerun over to sister cable network USA. And in TV heaven, every time a network televises It’s a Wonderful Life, an angel gets its residuals.

2014

Dec

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL By David Bianculli

The Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, long-time rivals in the NFC East, are tied atop the division with identical 9-4 records. Tonight, they meet in Philadelphia for what’s certain to be a high-energy, if not high-scoring, crucial contest.

2014

Dec

BARBARA WALTERS PRESENTS THE 10 MOST FASCINATING PEOPLE OF 2014 By David Bianculli

Well, Barbara Walters isn’t quite through. Tonight ABC gives her two hours of valuable Sunday night prime time, and she delivers with an impressively star-packed edition of her interview specials, which have been part of ABC, off and on, since the Seventies. Tonight’s guests include Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey, and Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin.

2014

Dec

THE NEWSROOM By David Bianculli

SERIES FINALE: Last week’s episode generated headlines and controversy by including a volatile and accidentally timely subplot about accusations of rape on college campuses – but ended with a development even more notable. It was a very sudden death of one of its main characters – a surprise that allows series creator Aaron Sorkin to go out not with a whimper or a bang, but with a eulogy, for the series as well as the character. And it’s a series that has never gotten its

2014

Dec

HOMELAND By David Bianculli

There’s a general consensus that Homeland is back this season, and the consensus is entirely accurate. If you saw last week’s episode, you probably were as impressed, and involved, as I was by the intensity of the drama and the action. And we’re not through yet, not by a long shot – or by a very close-range shot, for that matter.

2014

Dec

LIMITLESS By David Bianculli

This 2011 drama stars Bradley Cooper, now on Broadway as The Elephant Man, as an everyday person suddenly capable of accessing 100 percent of his brain power. This movie went nowhere at the box office – but earlier this year, a similar plot provided Scarlett Johannson with a major global hit as the star of Lucy. Compare and contrast.

2014

Dec

PETER PAN LIVE! By David Bianculli

I was really, really looking forward to this new NBC live production of Peter Pan – and then I saw it. NBC is repeating it anyway, but I can’t really recommend it with much enthusiasm, other than as a rare TV event. The direction didn’t help, and neither did Christopher Walken’s Captain Hook. Allison Williams, in the title role, was questioned in advance as the potential weak link, but ended up being one of the stronger elements. Still, here it is again.

2014

Dec

MY FAIR LADY By David Bianculli

No disrespect to her many onstage and offstage collaborators, but Audrey Hepburn, as cockney turned society darling Eliza Doolittle, makes this 1964 musical version of Pygmalion such a roaring, singing success. Even though NBC is countering tonight with a repeat of its Peter Pan Live! telecast, if you’re in the taste for musicals, this is the one to watch.

2014

Dec

THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW By David Bianculli

This week’s new show features another amazingly diverse celebrity couch: Birdman Michael Keaton, Sir Ian McKellen (a.k.a. Gandalf), chef Jamie Oliver, and One Direction.

2014

Dec

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE By David Bianculli

For me, watching Saturday Night Live is a force of habit – but tonight, it’s more like a force of Hobbit. Martin Freeman, star of that film series, as well as of BBC’s original The Office series and the FX remake of Fargo, is the guest host. And the musical artist this week is Charli XCX.

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