July 04, 2008
Need a Good Veep?
Chuck Hagel and Colin Powell have both been bandied about as possible vice-presidential candidates for both parties, but if McCain or Obama are looking for a true crossover running-mate, we have the man for the job. Happy 4th!...
June 30, 2008
Ann Coulter's Nicorette, Bill O'Reilly's Mirror, and Katie Couric's Scarf
All this and more can be viewed at Harry Shearer's "Found Objects" outpost on mydamnchannel.com. The most famous treasure in Shearer's collection is the adventure of Dan Rather and his trenchcoat. Great stuff....
June 16, 2008
TV Monday
Between baseball season and my obsession with the November elections, I haven't been blogging much about TV. And I'm far behind in my viewing, especially on reality shows. I'm curious about how Nashville Star has changed since jumping from USA...
June 13, 2008
Crossing the Bridge
I haven't seen it, but have heard great things about this documentary about the modern Turkish music scene. Tonight on Sundance at 10:00 P.M. I'm firing up the DVR....
June 06, 2008
Well, WE Have Family Feud
[Thanks to Christine Beagle]...
June 03, 2008
Planet Green Debuts
Ever watched the Discovery Home Channel? Not me. And most likely, not you. So when Discovery Network decided to launch a new eco-themed channel, Planet Green, the powers that be decided to relinquish Home's digital cable space to Planet Green....
May 22, 2008
American Idol Finale
In case you DVR'd it and missed the finale. Here are the last nine minutes:...
May 16, 2008
One Good Reason To Pay Attention in History Class
I watched this live on Hardball yesterday. I've never seen anything quite like it:...
May 01, 2008
The Potsie Syndrome
When bad things happen to TV characters... [Thanks to Jon Delfin]...
April 24, 2008
David Gest (and Tito Jackson)
Now we see what Liza saw in him....
April 06, 2008
If Jim Cramer Were a Meteorologist
His work would probably look (and sound!) something like this: [Thanks to Wesley McGee]...
February 12, 2008
After the Strike
Will your favorite TV show return with new episodes this season? TV Guide offers some help....
February 10, 2008
Grammys
I'm writing this well into the third hour of the Grammy's, before Amy Winehouse's live performance. As anything could happen, let me just observe that this is the best Grammy broadcast in recent memory. Someone, bless him or her, decided...
February 07, 2008
3 Babies and a Man
If you haven't been following the adventures of Conan, Stephen Colbert, and John Stewart and a certain presidential candidate, you might want to take a look at these three videos....
January 19, 2008
Don't You Wish You Lived in Cincinnati?
Not every Friday, of course. But on some Fridays, it's DANCE PARTY FRIDAY! [Thanks to Mark Jeffries]...
January 15, 2008
Nothing To Watch on TV?
You must be kidding! Let's forget about scripted shows. Let's forget about the debut of American Idol on Fox. Or the pleasures (guilty or not) of reality shows such as The Real Housewives of Orange County, the reality show about...
December 17, 2007
Strike, Schmike
To those who bemoan the state of television, my reaction is: Are you nuts? There are so many interesting shows on television, particularly nonfiction/reality stuff. I'm going out tonight, and have my two DVRs on overdrive. Will I like everything...
November 20, 2007
Take That, Katie Couric
BBC News readers perform "All That Jazz" from the musical, Chicago....
November 08, 2007
The Office on the Strike Front
Even though there were some scripts available to shoot, The Office was one of the first network sitcoms to shoot down production after the Writers Guild strike commenced. One of the best sources on the web for (admittedly pro-WGA) information...
November 04, 2007
Seinfeld on King
I found a link to this video on Mark Evanier's wonderful website, News From ME Mark writes: Larry King used to brag a lot that he did zero preparation for his interviews...as if that was a good thing. It usually...
October 30, 2007
Inside Inside Inside
James Lipton interviews himself and likes what he sees!...
October 29, 2007
Heroes of the Writers Strike
What will writers do if the Guild strikes?...
October 23, 2007
What's It Like To Eat at Hell's Kitchen?
James Hibberd, the excellent TV columnist, reports....
October 15, 2007
High School Musical 3
What can I say? This makes me laugh....
October 04, 2007
Top Chef Finale
Worry not -- no spoilers here. But I do think the two-part finale of Top Chef was the best ending of any reality show ever. No gimmicks --just strong contestants facing a challenge with serious, passionate judges battling over who...
October 03, 2007
Missed That TV Show?
Forgot to videotape that show you wanted to watch? Did you suffer from a DVR malfunction? Relief might be on th way. TV Guide has launched Online Video Guide, a roundup of where you can find previously aired shows online....
September 22, 2007
Sin City Law
The new Fall season is upon us and although so far I've seen nothing that has knocked my socks off from the Big 4, I've already found a show that I think is spectacular. Despite its unfortunate title, Sin City...
September 14, 2007
Reality Check
I've previously expressed my enthusiasm for Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, CMT's documentary/reality series about the competition to make the squad. In some ways, the competition is grimmer than NFL players trying to make the team on Hard Knocks. Surely, no head...
September 10, 2007
Can Nice Guys Finish First on MTV?
Regular readers of this blog will know that despite my age and sex, I was a devoted fan of MTV's Laguna Beach, and have continued watching the adventures of Lauren on The Hills, now MTV's highest-rated show (new episodes appear...
September 09, 2007
Curb Your Enthusiasm
I'm looking forward to many new shows this Fall, but none more than Larry David's masterpiece. Tonight at 10:00 P.M. on HBO....
August 31, 2007
Author, Si; Book, No!
The good news is a gig on Oprah. The bad news is... [Thanks to Jon Delfin]...
August 21, 2007
History of Paramount Television -- 1968-2006
The world of Paramount as seen through end-tags:...
August 13, 2007
America's Got Talent
You're not going to find a talent contest/reality show cheesier than America's Got Talent, which makes American Idol look like Masterpiece Theater in comparison. But a strange thing has happened this season. The show features two wonderful performers. One is...
August 04, 2007
Don't Wear a Red Shirt!
At least, if you are going to encounter Captain Kirk....
July 29, 2007
The Simpsons in Arabic
June 16, 2007
More Triumph
My nephew, the inimitable Michael Feldman, found this Triump gem on the World Wide Web. Triumph does weather....
June 14, 2007
Triumph Does the Tony's
And nobody does it better....
May 30, 2007
Gilligan's Island Meets Imponderables
At least the Professor meets us (see bottom of this page). Can anyone find the answer to the immortal Imponderable?...
May 28, 2007
Right To Return
On this Memorial Day, let's not forget the Americans displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Director/producer Jonathan Demme's Right To Return chronicles stories of those who have chosen to reclaim their homes and their neighborhoods. Right To Return will be...
May 15, 2007
An Upfront Blog
'Tis the season when the networks announce their new schedules for Fall 2007. TV Week's James Hibberd's blog is a good place to follow the news. I especially like his May 14 account of NBC's Entertainment president, Kevin Reilly's, rundown...
May 11, 2007
Yay for NBC!
Sorry for the relative dearth of postings. I'm working on a medical experiment -- doing first-person research on having a cold and bad allergies at the same time. What motivated me to move off the couch is the great news...
May 08, 2007
51 Birch St.
I've got one of those package cable-Internet deals from Time-Warner that gives me scads of HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, and Starz channels. To be honest, other than watching Bill Maher, The Sopranos, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, I don't take much advantage...
April 11, 2007
Sunrise/Sunset
Tonight's the season finale of Friday Night Lights on NBC, my vote for the best new scripted series on network television. Although it won a Peabody Award, highly unusual for a drama about high school football, the ratings have been...
March 29, 2007
Maraka
Robert Smigel is a national treasure. Here's last week's TV Funhouse from Saturday Night Live....
March 15, 2007
Watch Jeopardy on Friday
At least, the folks at Jeopardy are urging TV critics to pass on the word to readers. Sayeth the PR folks: *This Friday, March 16th, 2007...and for the first time in 23 years, "Jeopardy!" history will be made. * It...
February 23, 2007
Oscar Telecast Spoilers
Crack TV critic Aaron Barnhart, proprietor of TVBarn, linked to an article by Nikki Finke that reveals many secrets about Sunday's telecast. This could be an interesting Oscars....
December 25, 2006
My Christmas Gift To You
I come bearing gift. My favorite part of the Christmas season is looking forward to hearing and seeing Darlene Love perform Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)on the David Letterman Show. Here is her brilliant 2004 performance, along with Darlene singing...
December 03, 2006
Are You in the Target Audience for Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip?
The Studio 60 Flowchart will tell all....
November 28, 2006
TV Tonight
In today's New York Times, TV critic Virginia Heffernan points out that in its own stealthy way, situation comedies have made a big comeback -- at least in quality. Although there are far fewer sitcoms on the air than ten...
November 15, 2006
Who Wants To Be a Cognitive Neuroscientist Millionaire?
The story of how "a researcher uses his understanding of the human brain to advance on a popular quiz show." [Thanks to James Gleick]...
November 14, 2006
Docs on My Mind
If we can wrest you from the ecstasy of the Dancing With the Stars danceapalooza, you might be interested in four documentaries airing tonight: Thin, on HBO at 9:00 P.M., explores four women with eating disorders who seek treatment at...
October 31, 2006
Saturday Night Unlive?
Jed Rosenzweig thinks so. Besides this intermittent but always interesting blog, Rosenzweig maintains another site for fans of backhaul satellite feeds. Want to know what the news business is really like? Check out the site....
October 28, 2006
Saturday TV
Kobayahsi isn't just for hot dogs anymnore. With much less fanfare, the greatest competitive eater of all time is also a hamburger killer. Today, he competes for the 2006 World Hamburger Eating Championship (4:00 P.M., ESPN2) I'm not that much...
October 10, 2006
Made
Is there a sweeter show on television than MTV's Made? Made gives reality shows a good name. For the uninitiated, Made chronicles the attempt of a high school student to succeed in some dream. By an adult's standards, these wishes...
October 03, 2006
Friday Night Lights
I haven't seen it yet, so this is no personal endorsement, but when ace New York Times critic, Virginia Heffernan, gets so excited about a TV series, so do I. Here's the lead of her review in the New York...
September 18, 2006
It's Not Easy Being Adorable for a Whole Hour
But Rachael Ray tried, strenuously, in the first episode of her new syndicated show. Will a hyperactive spitfire work for five hours a week in daytime? We shall see. Oprah, who has godmothered the show, is visiting tomorrow....
September 12, 2006
O'Donnell vs. Couric vs. Vieira
Most of the attention in the network musical chairs has been on Katie Couric. As expected, her ratings were fantastic the first few days. One week later, she came in third in the overnight ratings (Monday), although CBS usually gains...
September 10, 2006
The Wire
I've tried each season, but I've never been hooked by HBO's The Wire, which debuts its fourth season tonight. But I'm going to try again. I don't think I've ever seen reviews for a series as glowing as The Wire...
August 31, 2006
The Simpons vs. Star Trek
Nobody's a winner....
August 03, 2006
Conclusive Proof that Men Are Smarter than Women?
You be the judge....
Bedazzled
The amount of video online is staggering, and a trip to YouTube can induce a migraine and overload. So it's always great when someone with an astute sensibility and an archivist's soul filters a part of what's "out there." Such...
Jon Stewart Is Not God
But not everyone agrees....
July 31, 2006
The Answer Is: Today's Link
The question is: Where can I find the Jeopardy Archive? [Thanks to James Gleick]...
July 12, 2006
Who Hates the New Emmy Nominations Most?
The fashionistas!...
July 10, 2006
Pee-wee isn't the Only Wacky TV Guy
Pee-wee's Playhouse rides again, starting tonight, on the Adult Swim bloc on the Cartoon Network (11:00 P.M. E.S.T.). And ABC's president of sales is wacky....
June 28, 2006
Replay TV "PC Edition"
The folks who invented the DVR are fighting for survival (heck, TIVO, who "won the war," is fighting for survival) with their PC Edition. You can sign up for a free 30-day trial when it launches in September....
June 26, 2006
Obsessed with "Lost"?
Some of my friends think that I'm obsessed with all televsion shows, but for whatever reason, Lost just doesn't grab me (even though I used to be pals with Matthew Fox's wife when they lived in New York -- she...
June 24, 2006
Televisionary
This is a cool blog about television, written by, of all people, a young TV development executive....
June 21, 2006
Tops of the Pops, RIP
Another victim of the fractured music scene....
June 20, 2006
Lovespring International
For the first time ever, I found a show to watch on Lifetime, and it's the only new sitcom besides the American version of The Office that I like enough to watch regularly. Featuring an ensemble steeped in improvisational comedy,...
June 14, 2006
Big Meower
Shows on Animal Planet I'm unlikely to watch include......
June 12, 2006
What I'm Watching Tonight
Rock Paper Scissors Championship tonight on A&E (10:00 P.M. E.S.T.) Will Shortz, on David Letterman, promoting the documentary, Wordplay....
June 07, 2006
Gervais Meets David
Perhaps the two funniest writers on television meet. And talk. We're all winners....
June 06, 2006
Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares
I was a big fan of Bravo's Top Chef and look forward to Fox's Hell's Kitchen, which has a similar format with a little more hype and bombast. But if you want to have as good a glimpse into the...
May 27, 2006
Tivo Hit LIst
Tivo calls this list it's "Most-Recorded Shows" but I don't think that's quite right. It's actually a list of the shows with the most "Season Passes" (shows that users ask Tivo to record automatically). This is a good measure of...
May 16, 2006
TV Upfronts
May is always a big television month. It's the all-important May Sweeps (which is why series finales are more common than pollen) but also the upfronts, when the networks announce their new Fall lineups. Aaron Barnhart, the Kansas City Star's...
May 04, 2006
Time To Clean Out That Hard Drive?
If you want to appear on MTV's forthcoming dating show, it might be a good idea to prune, at the very least....
April 26, 2006
Must See TV: SNL
This week's Saturday Night Live is guaranteed to be the best episode in many, many years. How do I know? It's devoted exclusively to Robert Smigel's TV Funhouse segments. Record it now and avoid having to buy the DVD....
April 25, 2006
Jim Henson & Kermit
In his blog, Mark Evanier links to a wonderful clip from The Tonight Show w/Johnny Carson: Jim Henson and Kermit, sitting on a chair, chatting and singing "It's Not Easy Being Green." Charming stuff....
April 21, 2006
We'll Pass on Oxygen, Thanks
Could a TV concept be less appealing?...
April 11, 2006
Make Him Watch TV
Go ahead. Make his TV day....
March 28, 2006
EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEME Makeover Home Edition
The memo....
March 08, 2006
Big Reality Tonight
Tonight is the finale of Project Runway on Bravo. But there are also three reality-show debuts tonight. Top Chef follows Runway, and attempts to do for chefs what its lead-in does for fashion designers. One obvious problem: we can see...
March 07, 2006
8th and Ocean
A bunch of young models, male and female, live together in a house in Miami. We can already hear the pitch that solid it: America's Next Top Model meets The Real World. Doesn't sound too promising. But 8th and Ocean...
March 01, 2006
"Did Nancy Grace, TV Crimebuster, Muddy Her Myth?"
The weekly New York Observer has always boasted excellent television reporting. Rebecca Dana is doing wonderful work in her NYTV column. This week, she takes on CNN's Nancy Grace's backstory -- Grace is not quite in James Frey territory, but...
February 27, 2006
The only thing I'm sicker of than the Olympics...
...is the title of this blog entry from the blog of the Kansas City Star's crack TV critic, Aaron Barnhart. I think he is right on about the economics of the Olympics. For some reason, critics have been piling on...
February 21, 2006
Nothing To Watch On TV?
On the contrary,there's altogether too much. The highest ratings, no doubt will go to American Idol, with the twelve female semi-finalists facing off. And the Olympics continue, with the women's short program in figure skating the biggest draw. But here...
February 07, 2006
TV Tonight
Has there ever been a contemporary song played on more dramatic and reality shows than James Blunt's "You're Beautiful"? Tonight, Blunt appears as himself on the so-far disappointing Love Monkey (CBS at 10:00 P.M.). On PBS, in most markets, there...
February 03, 2006
Documentary Alert!
Tonight, debuting on Discovery, check out what some critics consider the best documentary of the year, Grizzly Man, Warner Herzog's film about Timothy Treadwell, who lived, and died, with grizzlies. Not for the squeamish....
February 02, 2006
Three Different Reality Shows
Tonight is the debut of Survivor: Panama -- Exile Island. I haven't watched much of Survivor in the past few years, but like a dutiful Popular Culture guy, I'll try again. I'm a little more enthusiastic about tonight's debut of...
January 26, 2006
James Frey Alert
Guess where James Frey is appearing today? Oprah. This should be interesting....
January 18, 2006
The Psychology of Reality
On the Morning News site, Keith Hollihan has written three fascinating articles about reality TV. His latest focuses on the psychological screening that contestants undergo before, during, and after the shows air. He interviews Mark Burnett's workhorse psychologist, and the...
January 17, 2006
TV Tonight
Lots of interesting stuff on tonight. Of course, American Idol debuts tonight, with a 2-hour audition special. Independent Lens, on PBS, chronicles the travails of three girls dealing with the juvenile justice system in San Francisco. And Paula Poundstone makes...
January 11, 2006
James Frey on Larry King Tonight
By now, I assume you know about the scandal involving James Frey and the falsifications in A Million Little Pieces. Perhaps this is shallow of me, but another nail in his reputation, as far as I'm concerned, is Frey's decision...
January 09, 2006
For Your Viewing Pleasure
I haven't seen a second of it, but I'll be watching PBS three-part Frontline, "Country Boys," a documentary following two boys in rural Kentucky throughout their high school years. It's the kind of long-range documentary about "real people" that is...
December 24, 2005
Christmas Time for the Jews
I'm finally imbued with the Christmas spirit. The subways are running again in New York, last night Darlene Love once again performed a transcendent version of "Merry Christmas (Baby Please Come Home" on David Letterman, and I saw Robert Smigel's...
December 15, 2005
Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words
Tonight on Bravo, Fred Willard, Cheryl Hines, Jay Mohr, Andrea Martin, Doris Roberts and other stars read from the renowned works of Sylvester Stallone, N' Sync, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Loni Anderson, and many more. I'm so there....
December 12, 2005
World's Worst Weathermen?
The first one will do until a worse one comes along....
December 07, 2005
A Charlie Brown Christmas Redux
So I watched ACBC again last night and loved it once again. Bill Nichols wrote a wonderful article about the making of the special, interviewing not only the producers, but the kids who voiced the characters....
December 06, 2005
At 4:00 P.M., Prime-Time Looks So Promising
All kinds of shows sound promising on TV tonight. On A&E, Ted Danson stars in Knights of the South Bronx, a drama based on a true story about a teacher who turns his South Bronx classroom into a chess powerhouse....
December 04, 2005
Good Sunday Viewing
On HBO2, this morning at 10:00 A.M. and repeated at 1:00 P.M. on Thursday, Imagine: John Lennon, a documentary by Andrew Solt with a voiceover narration by none other than John Lennon. And at 10:00 P.M., the debut of Showtime's...
November 29, 2005
Tivo Launches Ad Search Capability
Why use Tivo to skip ads when you can use Tivo to find commercials?...
November 22, 2005
Ted Koppel's Last Night
I needn't add to the hype. Tonight is Ted Koppel's final appearance on Nightline. The show has been at its best in the last month, often offering half-hour investigations into topics no other network show would touch. Most of the...
November 14, 2005
Tonight Show -- tonight
It takes a lot to get me to tune in to the Tonight Show (I'm a Letterman fan), but tonight is an exception. Neil Diamond is promoting his new CD, and will be joined by Brian Wilson. Any live appearance...
November 08, 2005
Nightline Tonight
In a few weeks, Ted Koppel leaves Nightline for good, and he has been doing his best to make sure we miss him -- when it hasn't been covering breaking stories, such as Katrina, Nightline has aired eccentric, wonderful shows....
November 07, 2005
Yahoo Meets Tivo!
Replay TV has had this feature for many years, but finally, you can control your Tivo via the web....
October 28, 2005
TV Squad
Here's a cool blog, written by a group of TV fans, full of tips, news, and annotated listings of what's worth watching every day. [Thanks to Laura Tolkow for the tip]...
October 25, 2005
Still Fewer Excuses for Missing a TV Show
First there was the videocassette recorder. Then the digital video recorder. Soon, Time-Warner will enable you to see all of a TV show if you stumble upon it in midstream....
October 17, 2005
The Colbert Report
Tonight is the debut of The Colbert Report. Who knows whether Colbert will be able to sustain a persona of an obnoxious megalomaniac on a daily basis? Colbert is an enormous talent, both as a writer and a performer, and...
October 15, 2005
A Great Night for Art Movies on TV
The broadcast networks have conceded failure on Saturday nights. Viewer levels are so low that NBC, CBS, and ABC have chosen to play reruns (of course, Fox is airing the baseball playoffs). As a result, the premium cable networks have...
September 29, 2005
Extreme Fakeover?
Tsk Tsk....
September 26, 2005
American Masters "Bob Dylan: No Direction Home" & Curb Your Enthusiasm
Tonight, even this heathen will be watching PBS. At 9:00 P.M. E.S.T., American Masters "Bob Dylan: No Direction Home debuts Martin Scorcese's film about Bob Dylan. By all acccounts, it is terrific. I'm in a good mood. Curb Your Enthusiasm...
September 20, 2005
Two New Sitcoms and a Modest Proposal
Four new sitcoms have come with buzz, and two of them debuted Monday night: How I Met Your Mother and Kitchen Confidential. My main constructive criticism applies to both: Relax and stop trying so hard. Both shows have attractive casts...
September 19, 2005
Emmy Postmortem
As I expected, lots of folks on television forums are upset about the results of last night's Emmys. And not just fans. Arrested Development and Desperate Housewives lose to Everybody Loves Raymond? William Shatner and James Spader win for Boston...
September 13, 2005
Two New Talk Shows and One Documentary
In the interest of science, I checked out Martha Stewart and Tyra Banks's new shows' debuts. I'm not sure a live studio audience suits Martha well, but so many of her instincts are good, such as not overloading her first...
September 06, 2005
A Good Night on Television
There are all sorts of promising stuff on TV tonight, none of which I've previewed: On PBS, tonight's POV (check local listings for time), The Hobart Shakespeareans chronicles a remarkable teacher in Los Angeles who produces an original Shakespeare production...
August 27, 2005
Best Reason To Stay Home on a Saturday Night
Dodgeball makes its TV debut on Cinemax tonight, 10:00 P.M. E.S.T. If you avoided Dodgeball in theaters because it sounded dumb, your instincts were only partly right. It is dumb. It's also hilarious....
August 22, 2005
Bright Leaves
May I recommend a film that I haven't seen? The PBS documentary series, POV, has snagged the broadcast premiere of Bright Leaves, the documentary about tobacco directed by Ross McElwee. Don't expect a Michael Moore-type polemic against the industry, but...
August 19, 2005
More Kept Blogging
An eagle-eyed reader of this blog (O.K., it was me) noticed that the blog of Seth, the winner of the reality show Kept, links to the blog of his pal and runner-up's, Austen. Austen is more articulate than Seth, only...
August 18, 2005
Kept Blog
On the off chance that any of you followed the VH1 show, Kept, the winner, Seth, has a blog. Seth is 34, but his blog chronicles a life not unlike a parody of frat life....
August 13, 2005
When She's Good, She's Great
New York Times television critic is coming into her own. It's refreshing to find a critic who "gets" television. I loved her piece about Laguna Beach. Heffernan rightly points out that this reality show is the most beautifully shot program...
August 02, 2005
Hell's Kitchen
Finales of reality shows are usually busts, but last night's conclusion of the Fox-TV reality show was fabulous. No spoilers here, in case some of you haven't watched yet, but I will say that the lack of gimmicks and red...
July 28, 2005
Reality TV is Busting Out All Over
Almost every night this summer, a new reality show or three debuts. Tonight, the high profile new kid on the block is David E. Kelley's The Law Firm, in which real lawyers try real cases and really get kicked off...
July 19, 2005
TIVO's Latest Upgrade
This is an upgrade?...
July 14, 2005
I Kid You Not
The Wolper Organization has announced a new reality series that will be shown on the A&E Network: God or the Girl which follows men as they struggle with the decision to enter the seminary. Sounds like the classiest show since...
July 05, 2005
2 New Reality Shows Debut Tonight
And one of them sounds slight but promising. A&E has done little promotion for it, but Family Forensics is an interesting twist: "New real-life series about a Los Angeles police detective, crime scene investigator, and psychologist who conduct a two-day...
June 25, 2005
The Education of Shelby Knox
It's been awhile since I've seen a documentary as uplifting and entertaining as The Education of Shelby Knox, which aired this week on the PBS series, POV, in many cities. The summary on the POV website puts it perfectly: "A...
June 20, 2005
Celebrity Charades
All week long at 9:00 P.M. E.T./P.T., American Movie Classics is running a succesor to what was irresistible programming from the 1950s and 1960s -- Stump the Stars and Pantomime Quiz. Charades might not seem like a great spectator "sport,"...
June 07, 2005
Keeping It Real
Debuts and season premieres of reality shows abound. Tonight, the Queer Eye guys take on the idiots, the Boston Red Sox. Tommy HIlfiger's The Cut debuts Thursday. But I doubt if any of these shows will be more entertaining than...
May 24, 2005
Not On Cruise Control
Oprah Winfrey is a talented broadcaster, and often can be an incisive and tough interviewer, but put her in front of a star and she is horrifying. Yesterday, she engaged in her usual kissfest with Tom Cruise. Of course, T.C....
May 19, 2005
Next Fall on TV
What will the Fall line-up look like? I like the way Laurel Krahn designed her grid to indicate new shows, programs that have changed time or days, and those standing still. And you can do worse than using her daily...
May 12, 2005
John Lennon's Jukebox
I loved this Great Performances special on PBS (it will run and be rerun at different times -- check the PBS website for local listings). They had me at the premise: find and interview as many of the musicians as...
May 06, 2005
Bill Bell, R.I.P.
A giant in the world of soap operas, William Bell, died one week ago today at the age of 78. Bell is best known for creating the highest-rated soap opera of the past two decades, Young and the Restless and...
April 11, 2005
You're Arrested!
We don't think Carolyn would approve....
March 20, 2005
Two Reality Shows Worth Watching -- The Contender and Intervention
The ratings are a huge disappointment, but the success of The Apprentice and Survivor notwithstanding, Mark Burnett's best show is The Contender (Sundays at 8:00 P.M.). I don't think there's anything NBC can do to convince most folks to watch...
March 15, 2005
Project Greenlight Redux
The first episode of Project Greenlight is fantastic. It focuses on the choice of which horror script would be produced, and which director would work with that script. Right away, there are tensions between the Project Greenlight folks (Matt Damon,...
Reality is Goofy
Sure, The Amazing Race and American Idol are on tonight, but are you really going to miss The Starlet tonight to catch them? Surely, we're dying to see the plight of young hopefuls whose ultimate dream is to garner a...
March 12, 2005
Worst Use of English by a Human Being on Television
This prestigious award goes to Iyanla Vanzant, who on the March 10 episode of Starting Over actually said: "How can we re-language that?" Never one to use a simple two-syl