Playlist 3-13-15
Back on the air after a two week break, I return to find the station at a new frequency for the first time in 16 years. Because we thought a…
Friday TV: Making the Police an Army
The militarization of domestic police forces, especially in light of recent protests, is a topic on a new "Vice" (HBO, 11 p.m.), in the second episode of the new season. Also, there…
Thursday TV: ‘American Crime’ Deepens
It's not too late to get on board with two of the spring's best new dramas, both showing their second episodes. On John Ridley's arresting "American Crime" (ABC, 10 p.m.),…
Wednesday TV: Examining the Canvas
There's no shortage of quirky travel shows across cable but the new "American Canvas" (Ovation, 10 p.m.) brings a more artistic intent as it finds the less well known corners…
Tuesday TV: Making Vows Work
The premise of "Newlyweds: The First Year" (Bravo, 10 p.m.) is that only half of marriages survive the first year. By putting cameras on four of couples, it forces viewers…
Two Named Potential ‘Bachelorette’s
"The Bachelor" franchise had long since fallen into a rut in recent seasons, ever since it decided that a regular person could never be the bachelor or bachelorette handing out…
Monday TV: ‘Returned,’ as a U.S. Series
It’s a little tiresome how many perfectly fine foreign series have been slavishly remade into American versions. The first reaction to “The Returned” (A&E, 10 p.m.) is like that, especially…
Notes on a Cruise
It was not my idea to go on a cruise. Instead, it was a generous offer from my mother-in-law, who was dedicating her winter to two halves of the same…
Theatre Review: ‘Back to Methuselah, Pt. 2’
Much respect is due the Washington Stage Guild, which has been systematically producing the plays of George Bernard Shaw for more than 25 years. In that time and in five…
Opera Review: Poulenc’s Beheadings
The climactic horror at the end of the Washington National Opera’s production of Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmelites” has an added jolt — it echoes too closely the recent beheadings…