The Sound of the Dust Bowl
There were spools of dramatic period newsreel film to fill Ken Burns four-hour, two night documentary on "The Dust Bowl," which begins tonight on PBS. All of it, it seems,…
Enlisting the SEAL Team, Through Film
There is no mistaking that there is some great television on tonight regarding contemporary global counterterrrosism. But its name is “Homeland” (Showtime, 9 p.m.). That complex and fictional series is…
Friday TV: ‘The Munsters’ Redux
Networks that sour on TV pilots they’ve dumped a lot of money into are usually satisfied with burying them very deeply in vaults, pretending they never green lit them to…
The Wealth of Humor of Mitt Romney
The comic possibilities of Mitt Romney’s campaign are so rich, you might think the cast of “Saturday Night Live” may all end up voting for him just to keep the…
Shaky ‘SNL’ Start: Instead of Wiig, Wigs
At 38, “Saturday Night Live” has long since aged beyond its target demographic. At the start of a new season Saturday, it showed it in a very precarious spot. The…
Daytime TV Debuts: A Report
Every fall I spend opening day of daytime surveying the new shows, wondering anew what it is that keeps people watching any daytime shows. The new contenders this year were…
What Are ‘Bunheads’ Anyway?
Fans of “Gilmore Girls” can take heart in more than reruns and Alex Bledel popping up on “Mad Men.” The show’s spirit has been virtually resuscitated in a new series…
‘Hemingway & Gelhorn’ vs. ‘Hatfields & McCoys’
Among its other uses, Memorial Day is a time to mark summer’s start, when people spend less time with their TV shows, networks take off their best shows, fill time…
Zach Braff Takes the Stage
Having finally shaken off his popular character “Scrubs” and lost whatever indie movie cred he scored with the solid “Garden State,” Zach Braff seems to be at sea a bit…
In Premiere, Dancing Trumps Stars
“Dancing with the Stars” seems more and more old fashioned every time it comes on. A ballroom competition! Before an audience required to dress up! Featuring “stars” so obscure, a…