If you ever watched Current TV’s underrated “InfoMania,” you will know the work of Ben Hoffman, the deadpan and sardonic comic who is never seen without his baseball cap. He gets a full showcase now on “The Ben Show” (Comedy Central, 10 p.m.) where he’ll continue to do more of his filmed pieces including, tonight, buying […]
Monthly Archives: February 2013
Wednesday TV: Endangered Elephants
African Elephants are becoming endangered because of because of an illegal trade in their tusks, to fuel the demand in China for the material. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species says 25,000 elephants were killed in Africa last year. In Tanzania alone, poachers kill 20 elephants a day. In “Battle for Elephants” (PBS, […]
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Andy Dick, Others on ‘Dancing with Stars’
ABC broadens the definition of “star” with the announcement this morning of its newest contestants in the upcoming 16th season of “Dancing with the Stars.” Other than Andy Dick, Wynonna Judd, and D.L. Hughley — all of whom are candidates to be first to be eliminated when the season starts March 18 — the names […]
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Stars Shine in HBO’s Lavish ‘Parade’s End’
Those starved for early 20th century English period drama following the season’s end of “Downton Abbey” should prepare for the lavish buffet of riches provided by the miniseries treatment of Ford Madox Ford’s “Parade’s End” (HBO, 9 p.m.). As your HD set glistens with the delights of the countryside, the opulent houses and the exacting […]
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‘Makers,’ A History of Women’s Movement
Chalk it up as another indignity to women that not only has there never been a comprehensive documentary on the movement, but that the formidable one that has appeared, “Makers: Women Who Make America” (PBS, 8 p.m., check local listings) has its entire three hours stuffed into one evening’s TV. Rather than having its three chapters […]
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Also On Tuesday: ‘Golden Boy,’ ‘Celebrity Wife Swap,’ Legless Travel
What would seem to be yet another CBS crime procedural is different already when you realize that its star, Theo James, played the dashing Turkish diplomat who died in the bed of Lady Mary in “Downton Abbey.” Already “Golden Boy” (CBS, 10 p.m.) is more interesting, right? Also, it comes in part from Greg Berlanti, […]
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‘The Bachelor:’ The Final Rose Ceremony
It was the last rose ceremony on “The Bachelor” before Sean Lowe drops to a knee and decides between his two final choices in two weeks. And you almost thought the guy was maybe deciding to keep the flower for himself. He held on to it so long — waiting more than a minute of […]
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Monday TV: Weiwei, Unapologetic
Al Weiwei, the versatile and imaginative and bold Chinese artist gets an in-dept portrait from first time director Alison Klayman in “Al Weiwei: Never Sorry” premiering tonight on “Independent Lens” (PBS, 10 p.m., check local listings). It’s tough enough to be an artist anywhere, but Weiwei also had to contend with repressive Chinese authorities who […]
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How’d Jimmy Kimmel’s Post-Oscars Show Do?
Tuxedo for tuxedo, Jimmy Kimmel’s eighth annual post-Oscars show was more assured and consistently funny than Seth MacFarlane’s mess of a ceremony that had already pushed Kimmel from 11:35 back to his old 12:05 a.m. after less than two months in the new timeslot. But it dragged after a while too. Here’s the rundown as […]
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‘Family Guy’ as Oscar Host
It was a crass move to attract a younger demographic to hire Seth MacFarlane as Oscar host. The guy behind the crass and consistently unfunny “Family Guy” and its similar sequels couldn’t jazz up the show only tarnish it as it dragged on and on even more than usual. With a smarmy smirk made smarmier […]
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