DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
2017
May
19
 
 
This is a repeat show, from 2004, saluting Julia Child, who came to public television with The French Chef way back in 1962, making more than 200 episodes over the next 11 years. Her story, before, during, and after the show, is fascinating – just as Dan Aykroyd’s parody of her during the first season of Saturday Night Live (“save the liver!”) is unforgettable. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
May
19
 
 
I confess to not being familiar with political analyst Boris Epshteyn, who is scheduled as the leadoff guest for tonight’s show – but given my Rocky & Bullwinkle tutelage, I’m presuming that Boris will have a lot to say about Russia. But the other guests slated to appear are among host Bill Maher’s all-time most vocal and intelligently combative guests: astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, conservative editor David Frum, and liberal academic Cornel West.  
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
May
18
 
 

It’s been a harrowing year for Susan Blommaert’s Mr. Kaplan on NBC’s The Blacklist, and it’s not over yet. In fact, Blommaert jokes, she may need another bottle of wine to get to the finish line...

 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
May
18
 
 
CHANNEL PREMIERE: I know, I know. As channels go, this one is on radio, not TV – and only on satellite radio, at that. But this is the Beatles we’re talking about, so until I launch a sister website called Radio Worth Hearing (don’t hold your breath), I’m taking the time and space here to note the launch of the world’s first official Beatles 24-hour radio channel. It’s got special programs (including Chris Carter’s long-running FM radio staple “Bre
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
May
18
 
 
SEASON FINALE: I don’t recommend watching this show, really, not any more. But I do marvel at both its impact and its longevity. With tonight’s episode, Grey’s Anatomy concludes Season 13, a truly impressive stretch. And it’s not just limping to the seasonal finish line – it’s sprinting there as ABC’s most popular drama series. That’s why so many of ABC’s dramas, for good or for ill, tend to be painted with the same Shonda Rhimes brush, wheth
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
May
18
 
 
SEASON FINALE: And here’s another series that’s not being recommended, really, but also is being noted for its durability. Supernatural, with tonight’s two-hour episode, concludes Season 12 – and that’s really an astounding achievement, when you consider that the network presenting it, the CW, is only 11 years old. (Nothing paranormal about that fact: Supernatural began on the WB, and was imported to its new home when the WB and UPN merged to form the CW.)
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
May
18
 
 
For two weeks running now, the scheduled episode of CNN’s Soundtracks – about the shooting of students at Kent State University by the Ohio National Guard in 1970, and the music it inspired, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s searingly swift response, “Ohio” – has been pre-empted by breaking news emanating from the White House. And a betting man, or woman, would be wise to bet that tonight will make it three for three. But I’m setting my DVR anyw
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
May
18
 
 
Stanley Tucci co-directs (with Campbell Scott), co-writes (with Joseph Tropiano) and co-stars (with Tony Shalhoub) in this utterly captivating 1996 movie, about dissimilar brothers, both gifted cooks, teaming together to make a go of it with their proudly authentic Italian restaurant. The restaurant’s future all comes down to one super-important “big night,” and it’s as hilarious as it is touching, dramatic and intense. And the final scene, performed and shot in real time
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
May
18
 
 
The television legacy of Roger Ailes is as impressive as his personal conduct seemed to be deplorable...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2017
May
18
 
 
Follow the bouncing reboots. Earlier in the week, ABC officially became the new network of American Idol...Now The CW, intent on broadening its audience beyond 18-to-34-year-olds, is hoping to make a soapy splash with one of ABC’s onetime hits...