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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

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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
 
 
2015
Dec
17
THE BIG BANG THEORY By David Bianculli
 
 
Last week, Sheldon and Amy got back together as boyfriend and girlfriend. This week, CBS promos aren’t exactly being subtle about what to expect from their romantic reconciliation. To quote: “It’s the Big Bang you’ve been waiting for!” Something else I’ve been waiting for, in addition to the chance to dangle my participle, is another appearance by Bob Newhart as Sheldon’s spirit guide, former TV host Professor Proton. Newhart plays this character so well
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
17
INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO By David Bianculli
 
 
The guest this time is Steve Carell. And while there’s no reason to believe he’ll bring along and read the review he got from an early, especially vicious critic, as he did once at a Television Critics Association Awards appearance, I hope he does – because it’s a riot. But this installment of Inside the Actors Studio should be fascinating, because Carell’s journey, from early TV comedy to recent film drama, is indeed an unusual one.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
17
TREASURES FROM THE DISNEY VAULT By David Bianculli
 
 
Once again, Leonard Maltin – the perfect host for a Disney tribute, since he literally wrote the book on Disney – presides over a TCM night of Treasures from the Disney Vault. The evening begins at 8 pm. So Dear to My Heart, starring Burl Ives as a kindly uncle helping a young farm boy (Bobby Driscoll) care for a black lamb. Also on the roster tonight: 1961’s Babes in Toyland, starring Annette Funicello (pictured), at 10 p.m. ET, and others.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
17
LUTHER By David Bianculli
 
 
Once an imported British limited series, Luther, starring Idris Elba, returns as a one-night telemovie special. Elba’s London DCI John Luther is as intense as ever – maybe more so, now that his nemesis and love, Alice Morgan (played by the equally brilliant Ruth Wilson, now of Showtime’s The Affair), no longer is around. But he can smile… on occasion. For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
17
BARBARA WALTERS: 10 MOST FASCINATING PEOPLE 2015 By David Bianculli
 
 
For this year’s Most Fascinating People, one of her guests is Amy Schumer (pictured). Another is Bernie Sanders. And that leaves eight….
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
16
SURVIVOR CAMBODIA: SECOND CHANCE By David Bianculli
 
 
CYCLE FINALE: Tonight marks the end of Cycle 31 for this long-running reality competition series. And 15 years after it started, its finale formula remains the same: a two-hour final elimination, and confrontation with previous players, followed by a live reveal of the winner, and a recap hosted by Jeff Probst. Tonight is the conclusion of Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance, but for Survivor itself, it’s amazingly close to Thirty-Second Chance.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
16
CHILDHOOD'S END By David Bianculli
 
 
MINISERIES CONCLUSION: Whether or not you’ve been captivated by this multi-generational science-fiction story based on Arthur C. Clarke’s classic, one thing’s for sure: Tonight, indeed, is Childhood’s end.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
16
NASHVILLE By David Bianculli
 
 
Tonight’s episode is the third Nashville special to follow the real-life cast members of this show as they embark on a concert tour. Don’t look for the top female headliners this year, but the participants do include Clare Bowen, Chris Carmack, Charles Esten, Sam Palladio, Aubrey Peeples and Lennon and Maisy Stella. And these concert specials have proven quite popular in the past, so it’s not surprising they’ve become an annual Nashville tradition (the picture here is fro
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
16
AMERICAN HORROR STORY: HOTEL By David Bianculli
 
 
Last week’s episode title was “She Wants Revenge.” This week’s is “She Gets Revenge.” And at this point, though we still don’t know who “She” is, once again there are plenty of possibilities…
 
 
 
  
 
 
2015
Dec
16
JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE By David Bianculli
 
 
In October, Donald Trump was scheduled to appear as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live, but canceled at the last minute. Tonight, in the wake of last night’s latest Republican presidential debate, Trump again is scheduled to appear.
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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