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

 
 
2013
Sep
23
 
 
Louis C.K. stopped by Conan and delivered one of his most funniest rants to date... Check out why he really hates cell phones...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Sep
23
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: In last season’s surprise cliffhanger, we finally met the titular mom in this longest-running drawn-out TV narrative since The Fugitive. And tonight, Cristin Milioti (pictured) gets promoted to full cast-member status, as the entire Season 9 – the final season – of this sitcom focuses on the buildup to the wedding of Robin and Barney.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Sep
23
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: After a replacement season in which Usher and Shakira stepped in to fill two of this show’s red swivel chairs, tonight’s Season 5 opener returns with the original quartet of judges: Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green, coming back to rejoin Blake Shelton and Adam Levine. And since these earliest rounds of The Voice are the most enjoyable, who not peek in for the reunion?
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Sep
23
 
 
SERIES PREMIERE: Like many of the new network comedies this season, the casting is much more inspired than the writing. This first installment of Chuck Lorre’s newest comedy isn’t nearly funny enough – but Anna Faris and Allison Janney make for an enticing daughter-mother pairing, and Lorre is one of the best writer-producers at changing and improving his shows quickly. So stay tuned.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Sep
23
 
 
SERIES PREMIERE: Though this new drama sounds derivative, the premiere episode turns out to be a lot more original, and intriguing, than expected. James Spader stars. For a full review, see Bianculli’s Blog.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Sep
23
 
 
Part 4. Tonight’s edition: The 1930s – The Great American Movie Genres and the Brilliance of European Film. And after the documentary, which has been good enough to point out even on a competitive opening night of the 2013 fall TV season, TCM presents a terrific triple feature. 1931’s The Pubic Enemy (starring James Cagney, pictured) is shown at 11:15 p.m. ET, followed by the same year’s Frankenstein at 12:45 a.m. ET and one of my favorite movies of the period, Gold Digge
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Sep
23
 
 
Tonight and tomorrow, Kimmel and his ABC show kick off their newest season by presenting two special nights of  concert fare and interviews. Tonight, Kimmel holds court in his studio to talk with Paul McCartney, who then ventures outdoors for a traffic-stopping concert on Hollywood Boulevard. Tomorrow night, Justin Timberlake does the same.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Sep
22
 
 
The eagerness of Sunday’s Emmy Awards show writers to embrace TV’s hottest and hippest was apparent early… But the Emmy voters themselves were far more resistant... until, that is, the very end...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Sep
22
 
 
Neil Patrick Harris is the host this year, which bodes well – he’s the first entertainer since Bob Hope and Johnny Carson who could, if he so chose, spend his year just putting on tuxes and hosting various TV awards shows. There’s also a tribute to two of television’s most memorable events, both from the 1963-64 season: coverage of the assassination and funeral of John F. Kennedy, and the first appearance by The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. For some things to anticipa
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Sep
22
 
 
I don’t like the word penultimate – not when “next-to-last” takes less time to say. Nor do I like that this is the penultimate episode of Breaking Bad, because it means my biggest current TV thrill is about to end. But anyone who cares about quality TV and isn’t watching these episodes as AMC and Vince Gilligan are unveiling them is really, really missing the boat. Enjoy! And to help with the enjoyment, read Eric Gould’s Cold Light Reader assessment after last