Monday TV: Organs From the Black Market
Ten to 15 percent of organ transplants in the U.S. use organs that are obtained from the black market, from brokers who solicit them on Craigslist and other sources, to…
Van Alden Finds His Mojo on ‘Empire’
Boardwalk Empire has grown into such an expanding saga, some characters can be gone for weeks before reappearing on the series. Such is the case with arguably the biggest name…
Sunday TV: The JFK Conspiracy Kickoff
If October was all about Halloween, November is all about JFK, because of the 50th anniversary of his assassination. A month of more than two dozen specials begins tonight with…
Kerry Washington on ‘SNL’
It didn't take long for "Saturday Night Live" to address its major criticism this season: Its lack of female cast members of color. Earlier this season, Kenen Thompson, go-to cross…
Saturday TV: A Thanksgiving Movie
Before the big crush of Christmas movies, here's Lindsay Wagner starring on "The Thanksgiving House" (Hallmark, 8 p.m.) which seems to follow the same kind of pattern: high-strung, big city…
Playlist 11-1-13
Good news: Muggers did not prevent me from making it to the studio today. But instead of the big stack of Halloween music I was going to play last week,…
Showtime’s Bracing ‘Time of Death’
Few would expect, from the fun-loving production company Magical Elves, the group behind shows from "Project Runway" and "Top Chef" to "Braxton Family Values," the kind of dignity and empathy…
Also On Friday: ‘Moby Dick,’ The Opera
Ahoy! San Francisco Opera's production of "Moby-Dick" makes its TV premiere on "Great Performances" (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings). The new opera from Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer based…
Report from Halloween, 2013
Through some stroke of fate, I was a judge of a neighborhood kids costume contest and though I hardly ever had to weigh tough decisions of winners and losers, I…