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

 
 
2008
Apr
15
 
 
Word of Tim Robbins' somewhat defiant keynote address at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas Monday continues to spread. Two days later, you can not only hear the complete speech in audio form -- but can read it and see it, too, all thanks to the Internet...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
14
 
 
Actor-writer-director Tim Robbins, who has been known to speak his mind when standing in front of an audience, was asked the give the keynote opening speech at Monday's National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas. Then he was asked not to give it...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
13
 
 
When I was TV critic at the New York Daily News, I instituted a recurring feature called "Extras" -- my name for in-jokes hidden within TV shows, and unearthed by either me or my sharp-eyed readers. Most of the time, it was the readers who deserved the credit -- and got it, for some 14 years, as I showcased the best Extras and identified the viewers who caught them...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
10
 
 
CBS took one look at its new live, unscripted competition series "Secret Talents of the Stars" -- or, more precisely, took one look at the overnight ratings -- and killed it immediately. My question is: What took CBS so long?
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
10
 
 
How long does it take for NBC's "30 Rock" to re-establish itself, in its first fresh post-strike episode, as the funniest comedy on TV right now? One second. Literally, one second. That's because the new episode, shown tonight at 8:30 ET, begins with a fake promo for the finale of the fake show mentioned once before...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
9
 
 
The CBS celebrity competition series "Secret Talents of the Stars" sounded like a horrible concept, but I didn't want to prejudge -- and couldn't, because it was televised live last night. Well, now I've seen it, and it's time for the postjudging...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
8
 
 
The ratings are in. The first outing for NBC's Sunday-night duo of recycled "Monk" and "Psych" episodes (first seen on USA Network) drew only 5.6 million and 4 million viewers, respectively, and only a fraction of that in the coveted younger demographic. So should the strike-induced move be considered a failure, or a success?...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
7
 
 
How long has it taken for things to return to normal after the writers' strike? This long... and longer. Scripted prime-time series began to check in with their first post-strike episodes during the past two weeks, but there are plenty left to come...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
4
 
 
It's always dangerous, when you're talking about TV, to think in terms of firsts, onlys and absolutes, but Sci Fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica" holds, arguably, a very distinctive place in TV history. It may well be the best series ever made based on one of the worst series ever made...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2008
Apr
3
 
 
What I love most about NBC's "52-week" schedule plan, announced yesterday, is the unbridled optimism of it. It's actually a 65-week plan...the brainchild of relatively new NBC Entertainment and Universal Studios co-chairman Ben Silverman, who laid out the plans of his fourth-place network with pride and enthusiasm....