Showtime’s Bracing ‘Time of Death’
Few would expect, from the fun-loving production company Magical Elves, the group behind shows from "Project Runway" and "Top Chef" to "Braxton Family Values," the kind of dignity and empathy…
Also On Friday: ‘Moby Dick,’ The Opera
Ahoy! San Francisco Opera's production of "Moby-Dick" makes its TV premiere on "Great Performances" (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings). The new opera from Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer based…
Thursday TV: Subtle Zombies in ‘The Returned’
Halloween isn't the greatest occasion for subtlety. But when a good chill is required, here comes a French import that takes such an understated start on the zombie thing, you…
Wednesday TV: Devil’s Night Fare
Scary movies are plentiful this week, of course, but what happens when Halloween is over? Time to turn to ghoulish special effects men like Greg Nicotero from Pittsburgh, who dropped…
Tuesday TV: Reliving the Panic Broadcast
Faking out audiences is something that broadcasters do routinely these days. But 75 years ago, when that was less widespread, thousands were taken in by Orson Welles' Halloween Eve 1938…
Monday TV: Baldwin Begs: Funding Films
Movies may still be one of the strongest U.S. exports, but that doesn't mean they're any easier to make. In fact, a lot of the hard work comes in raising…
Sunday TV: ‘Blackout’ a Disaster All Right
Beware a TV movie not given a description of fiction or documentary; whose style is pegged as "Blair Witch Project." That usually means: amateurish actors, no production values, shot with…
Also on Sunday: ‘Civil War 360’
Historians are coming around to the view that the Civil War that continues to deeply affect the United States wasn't one with just two stories, North and South, but three.…
Horror and Horrible Halloween Flicks
The last Saturday before Halloween brings the expected harvest of horror films. Among them are a couple of originals. "Zombie Night" (Syfy, 9 p.m.), despite a cast that includes Shirley…
Friday TV: Dull ‘Dracula’ After ‘Grimm’
Jonathan Rhys Meyers has gone from playing Elvis to playing Henry VII and now, a very short "Dracula" (NBC, 10 p.m.). For whatever reason, he's back as a turn of…