Category Archives: What’s On TV

Saturday TV: Gregg Toland’s Eye, Mick on ‘SNL’

By Roger Catlin | Published: May 18, 2012
The luxurious black and white cinematography of Gregg Toland is featured tonight on Turner Classic Movies, starting with the movie that won him an Oscar, the 1939 “Wuthering Heights” (TCM, 8 p.m.), pictured right. It’s followed by 1940’s “The Long Voyage Home” (TCM, 10 p.m.), Jane Russell in Howard Hughes’ 1943 “The Outlaw” (midnight), John [...]
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Friday TV: Shakespearian Opera, ‘Supernatural’ Finale

By Roger Catlin | Published: May 18, 2012
The great thing about the Met Live in HD series, that brings live broadcasts of opera to 1,700 theaters around the world, is that the performances usually end up on TV a few months later. That’s the case with “The Enchanted Island” a world premiere opera tonight on “Great Performances at the Met” (PBS, 9 [...]
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Five Dramas Coming from The CW

By Roger Catlin | Published: May 17, 2012
The CW announced five new dramas for its 2012-2013 schedule Thursday and unlike all the other broadcast networks that preceded them in the week of upfront presentations, no comedies. But The CW has never been big on comedies. The additional shows require a little shuffling with that they’re returning, with “90210” moving to Mondays and [...]
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Thursday TV: Fighting Power and Finales

By Roger Catlin | Published: May 17, 2012
Empowering and inspiring, the Mexican American Studies Program in Tuscon obliterated dropout rates. While nationally, 48 percent of Mexican American students drop out, 98 percent of the program’s students graduated and 85 percent went on to college. Still, in a state where it was becoming legal to detain people based on racial profiling, the program [...]
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Wednesday TV: Koalas and Finales

By Roger Catlin | Published: May 16, 2012
They may make cute stuffed animals, but koalas are mean little things who bark and fight about mating and are now invading the suburbs of Brisbane. With all the males going after the females, it can get awfully noisy. The researchers who are “Cracking the Koala Code” as the title of this special on “Nature” [...]
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Tuesday TV: Kids vs. School Lunch, Several Finales

By Roger Catlin | Published: May 15, 2012
The hard-hitting series “The Weight of the Nation” (HBO, 8 p.m.) concludes its two day event tonight, with some hopeful news about how kids took it upon themselves to improve the luches they receive at schools. The fried, fast-food style takeover of cafeterias has been caused by profit considerations — not nutrition or health. That [...]
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Monday TV: Here’s Johnny …And Howard

By Roger Catlin | Published: May 14, 2012
The man who made late night TV what it is for 30 years, now nearly forgotten by younger audiences, is given his due in a fascinating and thorough biography on “American Masters” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings). “Johnny Carson: King of Late Night” was made with lots of incisive interviews with one of his [...]
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Also On Sunday: ‘Survivor’ Finale, More Sherlock

By Roger Catlin | Published: May 13, 2012
It’s always a little jolting when the finale of “Survivor” (CBS, 8 p.m.) moves from midweek to Sundays all of a sudden, for the big three hour finale. This one is the first in 24 seasons with an all female finale – made more surprising since this was the season when it was men vs. [...]
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Saturday TV: Louis C.K. Standup, Heart Healing

By Roger Catlin | Published: May 12, 2012
It’s already made a mint on direct internet sales at $5 a pop, and a comedy award earlier this month in New York. Now “Louis C.K.: Live at the Beacon Theatre” (FX, 10 p.m.) makes its television premiere. The award-winning standup special, which made more than $1 million in its first 11 days of availability, [...]
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Friday TV: New ‘Common Law,’ ‘Fringe’ Finale

By Roger Catlin | Published: May 11, 2012
In a week when gay partnership is central in the news, with declarations by Joe Biden, the historic ‘evolutionary’ statement by Obama, the voting action in North Carolina, here comes a USA Network series that pushes the buddy film relationship of detective partners to such a degree that they have to go to couples therapy. [...]
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