Monday TV: Two Hours of Charlie Brown
The best thing about "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (ABC, 9 p.m.) is its simplicity in the face of holiday excess. Nevertheless, over the years it's been bulked up to an…
Sunday TV: Badu Hosts Soul Train Awards
Erykah Badu gets the chance to wear all manner of eccentric headgear tonight while hosting the Soul Train Awards 2015 (BET, Centric 8 p.m.) in Las Vegas where performers include…
Saturday TV: CIA ‘Spymasters’ Talk
The Central Intelligence Agency began as an international spy agency that has in recent decades become something of its own military force. The 12 living current or former directors of the…
Playlist 11-27-15
A quite long Black Friday show began with some lingering thanksgiving, then a salute to Cynthia Robinson, the trumpet player and co-founder of Sly and the Family Stone, still quite…
Friday TV: Springsteen’s ‘Ties That Bind’
Just as Bruce Springsteen's 2010 project of outtakes from "Darkness on the Edge of Town," called "The Promise," came with its own accompanying short promotional documentary by Thom Zimmy, so…
Holiday Special: Slow Train Running
America is understandably slow in getting into the Slow TV racket. I fell under the spell of the Scandinavian trend this summer while on a visit there. (I wrote about…
Also on Thursday: Parade, Dogs, Football
The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade (NBC, CBS, 9 a.m.), that three hour cornucopia of commercialism, show biz and balloons kicks off with performers that include Mariah Carey, Jordin Sparks, Jennifer Nettles,…
Wednesday TV: Peek at ‘Wiz’ Preparations
It would seem to be a good night to stage one of those live network musicals that have been popular during holiday times. But no, NBC’s staging of “The Wiz”…
The Flamin’ Groovies at Rock & Roll Hotel
It’s one of those things that make you believe in Robert Johnson-meets-the Devil stories. After being a fine revivalist rock band in San Francisco for a few years, a slightly…
Theater Review: ‘Sons of the Prophet’
It’s not easy to maintain a balance in dark comedy. Going too dark dries up the laughter and becoming too wacky blots the underlying pain. “Sons of the Prophet,” Stephen…