It's Halloween, and since it's the time of year for the utterly icky and strange, there's no better occasion to flip through the archives for a show that introduces us to a spineless, pale Cephalopoda with large, smart-looking eyes that shifts shape, and that can also attack with an eight-armed face...

2011

Oct

DUMBER AND DUMBERER: MTV'S 'BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD' ARE BACK, HEH-HEH! By Eric Gould

Watching MTV's new reboot of Beavis and Butt-Head (premiering Thursday at 10 p.m. ET), you get the same feeling you had when the series premiered in 1993 -- why in the world am I wasting time on these idiots? I mean, serious idiots. And when Butt-Head reprises his role as couch-bound commentator of MTV videos and shows, it strikes you: You're watching these dopes watch TV...

2011

Oct

THE BRILLIANT WHITE OF 'ENLIGHTENED' By Eric Gould

There are many moments in HBO's new Monday half-hour series Enlightened where the scene dissolves to bright white light, while the main character's thoughts go in and out of meditation. These are the white spaces where the mind might drift smoothly, or in here, run rampantly and disquietly through attempted calm. They're also spaces created by another White -- Mike White...

2011

Oct

MASTERPIECE, WEIRDER By Eric Gould

Bravo's "Work of Art: The Next Great Artist" returns for a second season Wednesday (Oct, 12) at 9 p.m. ET, and it's a bit of a surprise that there was enough interest in a competition show about the art world to make another run...But, thinking on it -- it's probably a winning environment to plant artists in...

2011

Oct

COMING HOME WITH THE DOGS OF WAR By Eric Gould

Not a lot of good news comes out of war, and sometimes you have to be lucky to find it. Here's some -- a small, one-hour documentary that plays infrequently on Military Channel, where most will not see it. And it next airs at 9 in the morning, when, again, most will not see it. But a great story is a great story. So set your DVRs for Tuesday (Oct. 11) at 9 a.m. ET for an astonishing story of loyalty, steadfast determination and, most of all, love. You won't be disappointed...

2011

Oct

AS THEY SAY, SHUT UP AND SING By Eric Gould

Political commentator Laura Ingraham's 2003 book, Shut Up and Sing: How Elites From Hollywood, Politics and the U.N. Are Subverting America, was critical of stars from the left who went public with political views when their only qualifications were to entertain us. It seems that same level of scrutiny has just been applied to a star from the right...

2011

Oct

HOME SCREECH HOME By Eric Gould

When I first saw the title for FX's "American Horror Story", I thought: "Finally...a show about unaffordable health insurance and upside-down mortgages." Somewhat off the mark -- but it's an equally scary idea that introduces us to the troubled Harmon family as it moves into an L.A. mansion that it bought for a song...

2011

Oct

WITHIN GEORGE, WITHOUT HIM By Eric Gould

When George Harrison passed away in 2001, Brian Wilson, founder of The Beach Boys wrote: "I am horribly saddened by the death of George Harrison. While we were not personal friends, I think that just like everybody in the world, I have always considered all the Beatles to be my friends." And that's the thing about Harrison and the group: they were so much a part of our world for so long, they were like family...

2011

Oct

PBS'S 'PROHIBITION' PRESENTS THE REAL BOARDWALK EMPIRE By Eric Gould

HBO's Boardwalk Empire is, of course, a visual triumph, with the art direction up front and center as a major character in the series. Wardrobe, interiors, automobiles and product design are done with so much attention to detail, we can palpably sense the time and day of Atlantic City...Turns out, the new Ken Burns documentary for PBS, Prohibition, confirms all that mayhem and corruption...

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