Arresting ‘Orange is the New Black’
The new Netflix drama set at a women's prison, "Orange is the New Black," starts immediately with a flash of breasts, probably making the people at Cinemax flinch: Why didn't…
Toasting the ‘Family Tree’ Finale
Christopher Guest's sweet TV series "Family Tree" ended its first season Sunday in Los Angeles, where half of the eight episodes were set. It had followed a character played by…
‘Life’s Too Short’s Brief Return
I was among the few who enjoyed Ricky Gervais' "Life's Too Short," the Ricky Gervais series about a fictional Warwick Davis that drew the humor of dwarves from a different…
Anna Nicole: on TV Again
Any tabloid tale is fair game for a Lifetime movie. If they've done Jodi Arias and Amanda Knox, then why not Anna Nicole Smith, except that her death came so…
‘Dome’ a La King, Under Glass
If it wasn't from Stephen King, "Under the Dome" (CBS, 10 p.m.) would be laughed off pretty quickly, even as summertime fare. The series about a town that has a…
Desperate ‘Devious Maids’
How removed is Eva Longoria from her Latino roots? Enough not to see the latest soapy series she's executive producing is mostly just stereotypes. Yes, "Devious Maids" (Lifetime, 10 p.m.) is…
Theatre Review: ‘Stupid @#$%ing Bird’
Reinventing theater is easier said than done – and easier still said with an expletive. Thus we have Aaron Posner’s "Stupid @#$%ing Bird," an adaptation of Chekhov’s "The Seagull" that just…
A Reality Show That Has to Go
I thought the new Fox reality show "Does Someone Have to Go?" was about kids about to embark on a long road trip. No such luck. It's about downsizing, internal friction…
Armisen, Hader Wave Good-Bye on ‘SNL’
The big news on "Saturday Night Live" this week wasn't host Ben Affleck joining the five-timers club (none of the others came to greet him as they did Justin Timberlake). It…
Wiig Well Used in Returning to ‘SNL’
It's usually fun -- and seemingly easy -- whenever a former cast member returns to "Saturday Night Live" to host. There's no learning curve to overcome, a certain ease with…