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

 
 
2011
Dec
19
 
 
1960s, before starring with brother Tommy on CBS's The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Dick Smothers sang and danced as Tweedledee, to his sibling's Tweedledum, in a 1966 TV musical called Through the Looking Glass. Later in the Sixties, Dick competed in automobile races, driving Formula B race cars. And five decades later, Dick Smothers is still dancing, and still driving, but in different directions...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Dec
17
 
 
As one final push for holiday gift suggestions, this weekend I'm recommending a handful of new books (and one e-book) I like a lot. And all of these 2011 books, in addition to being excellent reads, have one other thing in common: They're all written by friends of mine. Descriptions of the books, and the friendships, follow...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Dec
16
 
 
We've gotten a lot of response to our coverage this month of ABC's treatment, and occasional mistreatment, of A Charlie Brown Christmas -- and we're not through yet. Want to hear how the special almost was killed by CBS the very year it premiered, way back in 1965? Of course you do... This story comes courtesy of the Cincinnati Enquirer and its TV critic, John Kiesewetter, a good journalist, and good guy, who just repeated his own vintage Peanuts story, the same trick I pulled just the oth
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Dec
14
 
 
NBC's Fear Factor is back on the air -- and, at the same time, polluting it. During Monday's two-hour comeback premiere, Fear Factor presented an outrageously gross stunt that showed everyday people, eager to do just about anything for money, wallowing in a giant vat of animal waste. And then I thought -- wait a minute. I've seen that before...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Dec
13
 
 
Back in February, I wrote and posted a column noting the 40th anniversary of one of the greatest family TV specials ever made. I'm repeating that column today because, when it comes to recommending unusual and inexpensive gifts for children, I can't think of many better choices than to get right to The Point...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Dec
12
 
 
On today's (Monday's) Fresh Air with Terry Gross on NPR, I interview Michael C. Hall, the talented star of Showtime's Dexter (and, before that, HBO's Six Feet Under). One thing you won't hear in the interview, though, is something we were talking about briefly when we weren't recording: his plans for the holidays, while visiting New York. It turns out he plans to take his mother to a Broadway show, but can't get seats for the one he wants. To put it another way: Dexter would kill for a pair of tickets to The Book of Mormon...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Dec
10
 
 
When I wrote "Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,'" I thought the story of Tom and Dick Smothers, and their clashes with CBS over the content of their groundbreaking TV variety series, had a lot to say that was pertinent to these times, as well as illuminating about the Sixties. I'm very, very proud to say that George Clooney thinks so, too...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Dec
8
 
 
Harry Morgan, whose crusty yet friendly Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H was the pinnacle of a show-biz career that stretched to the early days of television and encompassed film and theater as well, died yesterday at age 96. What a character. What an actor. What a character actor...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Dec
7
 
 
Here at TV WORTH WATCHING, we already have Diane Werts' compilation of recommended DVD gift sets and holiday-themed releases, which you can peruse (and purchase) by clicking HERE and HERE, respectively. But for the next stretch of pre-holiday days, I'll be adding to that by suggesting a few other...And I'm starting with the following, a boxed set that features what I consider the best-written drama for television ever made...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2011
Dec
5
 
 
A Charlie Brown Christmas, broadcast by CBS in 1965, was and remains the best holiday TV special ever made. Even in an age of DVRs and Blu-Ray, gathering the family to watch Linus, Snoopy and the gang, even with commercial intrusions, is one of the few annual television traditions we have left. But now, as ABC televises it Monday night at 8 ET, that network, too, is disrespecting a classic...