The Face of Irene
She's mean. She's cantankerous. And she won't stand for swimmin' in the cement pond before the viddles are done. Irene Ryan, who played Daisy Clampett, better known as simply Granny…
Thursday TV: End of ‘Expedition,’ Louie Goes an Hour
There’s almost no question who will win the first season of “Expedition Impossible” (ABC, 9 p.m.), the Mark Burnett reality series so closely based on “The Amazing Race” except that…
What Would Greenwich Do?
Given the question “What Would You Do?” a posh Connecticut town said: Kick them out. The show, that is. A camera crew from “What Would You Do,” the “Candid Camera”-like…
The Week in Reality Retreads
Used to be we’d sometimes be able to discover new people and new personalities from the array who volunteered to be part of reality shows (well occasionally anyway). Lately, reality…
Wednesday TV: New shows from Keno Twins, Gail Simmons
The Keno twins, Leigh and Leslie, who came to fame on “Antiques Roadshow,” are now the featured stars in a new network show with largely the same premise. The main…
How I Spent My Earthquake
It may be a testament to my ability to roll with the punches, or proof that I clearly can’t identify with what’s all around me, but I didn’t feel the…
At the MLK Memorial Soft Opening
After an earthquake it was almost a letdown – the first major memorial in Washington D.C. in years, a $120 million effort, one that has been the works for decades.…
No Room for Bill Moyers at PBS?
It’s great news that the great newsman and wise cultural observer Bill Moyers has decided to cut his TV retirement short at 77 and return once again to public television.…
Tuesday TV: ‘Drug Kingpin Hippos’ and Other Pests
Colombia’s Pablo Escobar was an outsized criminal drug lord, with a personal fortune estimated at $25 billion and responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hits on 600 Colombian police.…
Letterman: Fighting the Fatwa with the Funny
Becoming the target of a jihad only played into David Letterman’s careerlong self-deprecating humor Monday. It was a shot in the arm for writers just back from vacation. The jihad…