Sunday TV: Oscars Overkill One More Time
As many times as he's hosted other such events, it's the first time Neil Patrick Harris gets to do the Oscars. So he'll do the opening and then pretty much…
Saturday TV: ‘Independent Spirit Awards’
The best part of Oscar weekend is the much more low-key, much less hyped, and much more interested in cinema Film Independent Spirit Awards (IFC, 5 and 11 p.m.). Fred…
Playlist 2-20-15
On the coldest night in Washington in D.C. in 20 years, with near gale-force interior studio drafts, I still managed to have a pretty good time playing music tonight, on…
Triumph’s Tart Return
It's not unusual for comedians to come out and blast the writers at the TV Critics Association press tour. Frankly, we deserve it. But Robert Smigel's long-running, cigar-chomping creation Triumph…
Friday TV: All About August Wilson
A strong case is made for the greatness of American playwright August Wilson on tonight's "American Masters" (PBS, 9 p.m.) through endorsements by esteemed actors who's worked with him, as…
Also on Thursday: Odd Remake of ‘Couple’
It hardly seems necessary to formally remake "The Odd Couple" (CBS, 8:30 p.m.). Though it went off the air 40 years ago, the reruns of the original Jack Klugman-Tony Randall…
Theatre Review: ‘King Hedley II’ at Arena
Black lives matter. That’s the succinct message that’s arisen from protests of the past several months. It’s a rallying cry, too, from August Wilson’s powerful "King Hedley II" — one that comes…
Wednesday TV: End of ‘The Mentalist’
"The Mentalist" (CBS, 8 p.m.) calls it quits a two hour episode that ends with his wedding to Robin Tunney's Reresa Libson. But not before yet another serial killer, this…
Getting Italian Americans to Open Up
For a series that hopes to dispel stereotypes,” The Italian Americans” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings) begins with shots from “The Godfather.” The mob permeates stories of the Italian…
Also on Tuesday: Ellen’s Hidden Camera
It sounds like a gag first used by David Letterman: people have to say whatever he tells them to say, even though it's often weird or absurd or ultimately amusing.…