NBC, in the past several years, has not had a lot of ratings success. But at least it had some respect. The Office was a hit, …
TV Networks
Upfronts Watch: CBS: Eye on the Prize
“You know what we do,” said CBS scheduling executive Kelly Kahl at a Wednesday-morning announcement of the network’s fall schedule. “We do pretty much the same things every year.” To be fair to Kahl, he was talking about …
Big Love Watch: All About the Mormons
Big Love is anomaly among HBO shows, in that it avoids the obligatory nudity and rarely utters a curse stronger than “G.D.” With these self-imposed restrictions, the series has to find subtler ways of providing its shocks. Sunday’s episode, “D.I.V.O.R.C.E.,” boasted two jolts—mouth-to-mouth scandals that touched on the series’ …
Roger Ebert's New TV Show: Two New Thumbs, One Overdue Comeback (Video)
Much has been written in recent years about the death of the professional movie critic, replaced by the ubiquitous movie blogger – bloggers who sometimes seem to prefer snark over substance, who occasionally seem willing to offer glowing buzz for the most mediocre of titles in exchange for free airfare and lodging. As someone who …
The Night Shift: Jon Stewart's Seamless, Searing Takedown of Congressional 9/11 Hypocrisy
It’s always been a touchy subject on The Daily Show – the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, which redefined the battlefield of American politics. Following his emotional return to the airwaves in 2001, Stewart seemed somewhat hesitant about discussing the attacks. In the nine years since, he’s unloaded freely on the Bush …
The Night Shift: Now A Serious Word or Two From Russell Crowe (Video)
Wednesday night’s Late Show With David Letterman started predictably enough: A couple jokes about Conan, about George W. Bush’s new book, about the cruise ship stranded out at sea.
Then Russell Crowe came on to talk about his new (and pretty good) movie The Next Three Days. In the past, Crowe’s been a provocative headline maker, …
TV Tonight: Is 'Hard Knocks' the Summer's Best Reality TV Show?
I know Tuned In is usually a place on Wednesdays to read all about Top Chef – a show that I used to be obsessed with. But in recent weeks, as the cooking competition has skewed more extreme and predictable, another show has risen up to dominate not just the 10 p.m. hour on Wednesdays, but the weekly slate of reality TV contenders. …
While We Weren't Looking: Watch Letterman Kick The Leno Feud Back Into High Gear
Back in January, when the whole Jay Leno Show-Tonight Show controvery was blowing up, David Letterman made something of a short-term fortune in bashing Jay Leno and the suits over at NBC.
Well, I missed this yesterday, but Letterman came back from vacation on Monday night, and seems to have rekindled the anger at his old comedy …
Video: The Rod Blagojevich-Jon Stewart Interview. Truly Haunting TV
It’s not every day that a disgraced former governor who’s been convicted of lying to the FBI goes on primetime television to chat about the trial. So I tuned in to Monday evening’s The Daily Show for a little good old-fashioned Schadenfreude, as Rod Blagojevich sat down across Jon Stewart to be pummeled and ridiculed. Halfway …
The Fascinating, Fearless Implosion of Entourage: How Far Will They Fall?
Note: This is less an episode summary than a larger discussion of the series’ surprising change in direction.
Oh Entourage, how you confound me. I’ve rarely had such an emotionally turbulent relationship with a TV series – alternating between apathy and sympathy, between eye-rolls and gasps. What once was a great show about a …
StoryCorps on PBS: Must-See, Can't-Miss, Your-Life-Depends-on-It TV
From GOP to Gallows Humor: The Daily Show Finds Its New, Exasperated Tone
I picked up the “Best of Summer” issue of Entertainment Weekly late last night (the July 9-16 double issue) and was startled to see sitting atop the “Must List” a full cast photo for The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. “There’s nothing funny about the Gulf oil mess,” the magazine writes, “But he still wrings rueful laughs out …
David is Now Goliath: Entourage's Urgent Quest to Remain Relevant
Entourage returned Sunday night – a fact that, in previous years, would have been cause for jubilation around my house. But over the last few seasons, what used to be a witty, cutting, edgy observational drama about four young friends navigating the halls of Hollywood power has instead become a sort of male-oriented Sex and the City …
