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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

KIM AKASS

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
 
 
2021
Jan
19
ZOEY'S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST By David Bianculli
 
 
It may be me. I suspect it is, at least in part. But part of the reason I’m responding so much to this second season of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist is that its premise allows us glimpses into the inner thoughts and desires and motives of those around us – when, in real life, that would be an invaluable tool indeed. Also, music is entertaining and uplifting even when folded into the darkest of dramatic narratives (see The Singing Detective – please).
 
 
 
  
 
 
2021
Jan
19
FRONTLINE: "PRESIDENT BIDEN" By David Bianculli
 
 
Already, last fall, Frontline provided an illuminating, balanced, and at times emotional biographical examination of Joe Biden in its 2020 edition of The Choice, profiling both Donald Trump and him as they competed for the 2020 presidential election. Now, being intentionally one day premature, Frontline tonight presents a new biographical edition, called President Biden. Tomorrow – the inauguration, with all the tension Trump is bringing to it, witho
 
 
 
  
 
 
2021
Jan
19
A FEMALE DETECTIVE IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND: 'MISS SCARLET AND THE DUKE' By David Hinckley
 
 
Eliza Scarlet is arrogant in the best sense of the word...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2021
Jan
19
1953: LITTLE RICKY IS BORN ON 'I LOVE LUCY' By Linda Donovan
 
 
On this day in 1953, “Lucy Ricardo” gave birth to “Little Ricky” on I Love Lucy...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2021
Jan
18
1975: THE JEFFERSONS MOVE ON UP TO THEIR OWN SITCOM By David Bianculli
 
 
All in the Family spinoff The Jeffersons premiered today in 1975 on CBS...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2021
Jan
18
YOU GOT TO MOVE By David Bianculli
 
 
This 1985 documentary is part of tonight’s TCM commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. It examines the movement to combat racism and segregation in the South, but from a particular group of players: The Highlander Folk School.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2021
Jan
18
FREEDOM ON MY MIND By David Bianculli
 
 
The recent voter registration drive that swelled the numbers of minorities eligible to vote in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, and the two crucial subsequent Senate runoffs, showed the importance of voting, and the right to vote. This 1994 documentary shows it again – but by explaining the significant, and extremely dangerous, drive to find and register minority voters in 1960s Mississippi.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2021
Jan
18
'HOW IT FEELS TO BE FREE' TELLS THE STORIES OF BLACK FEMALE ENTERTAINERS WHO HAVE PAVED THE WAY By Mike Hughes
 
 
It was the sort of break a young actress might covet...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2021
Jan
17
SHE'S KEEPING DAD'S DETECTIVE BUSINESS GOING IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND: 'MISS SCARLET AND THE DUKE' By Mike Hughes
 
 
There are good reasons for dramas to retreat to the past...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2021
Jan
17
2021 NFL PLAYOFFS: DIVISIONAL ROUND By David Bianculli
 
 
The second weekend of postseason NFL play concludes today with two more games, starting at slightly weird times – 3 and 6:30 p.m. ET – but definitely worth seeking out. The first game, on CBS, pits the top-ranked Kansas City Chiefs against the Cleveland Browns. The Browns are in the playoffs for the first time in 18 years, and last week mounted a stunning upset against the Pittsburgh Steelers to face the dominant Chiefs today. And the second game, on Fox, features the New Orleans Sai
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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