David Bianculli appears in the following:
Great New DVD Box Sets: Blasts From The Past And 'Breaking Bad'
Monday, December 23, 2013
Delightful 'Six By Sondheim' Leaves You Wanting Six More
Friday, December 06, 2013
A 'Curb'-Like Comedy And The Return Of 'Breaking Bad'
Friday, August 09, 2013
This weekend, the AMC cable network begins showing the final episodes of its acclaimed drama series Breaking Bad, and launches a new one: Low Winter Sun. Meanwhile, HBO presents its newest made-for-TV movie — this one a comedy, starring and co-written by Larry David.
Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan's series about ...
This Summer, Vintage TV Shows Thrive On DVD
Monday, July 29, 2013
So much TV, so little time. Even during the summer — when broadcast TV slows down and leaves mostly cable and satellite TV series, and now Netflix, to watch and review — the TV shows on DVD keep coming. And summertime is the perfect time to dive into some of ...
Laughs And Drama Behind Bars With 'Orange Is The New Black'
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Netflix's original series Orange Is the New Black has two important TV predecessors. One is HBO's Oz, the 1997 men-in-prison drama from Tom Fontana that paved the way for HBO's The Sopranos. The other is Showtime's Weeds, which in the fourth season put one of its central characters behind bars.
...It's Showtime For Untested 'Ray Donovan' And Proven 'Dexter'
Friday, June 28, 2013
For at least as long as there have been Fall Preview issues of TV Guide, there's been a sense of optimistic excitement about the start of new television series. But more recently, producers of long-running TV shows have injected excitement into the ends of their programs' life spans as well. ...
New 'Arrested Development' Gags Are Best Served In One Sitting
Tuesday, June 04, 2013
When Mitch Hurwitz and his collaborators began making the Fox sitcom Arrested Development 10 years ago, it was loaded with jokes — in-jokes, recurring jokes and just plain bizarre jokes — that rewarded viewers who watched more than once. But even though it won the Emmy for best comedy series ...
Douglas, Damon Illuminate HBO's 'Candelabra'
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Before you see any of Behind the Candelabra -- when you just consider the concept of the TV movie and its casting — this new HBO Films production raises all sorts of questions: How much will be based on verifiable fact, and how much will be fictionalized? On an anything-goes ...
In A Cluster Of New Sitcoms, 'Family Tree' Stands Tall
Thursday, May 09, 2013
Christopher Guest, co-creator with Jim Piddock of the new HBO comedy series Family Tree, obviously is having a good time making this show — and it's contagious. It's several shows in one, and every element is a self-assured little delight.
Christopher Guest, of course, has made a career — quite ...
'Rectify': An Ex-Con Navigates The World Outside
Monday, April 22, 2013
Rectify, a new drama series from the Sundance Channel, wants to stand out from the pack — and it certainly succeeds at that. It's a six-hour limited series, more along the British model of TV than ours here in the States. If these first six installments catch on enough, the ...
'Central Park Five': Rape, Race And Blame Explored
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Ken Burns has said that no matter what subjects he tackles in his documentaries — baseball or jazz, Mark Twain or the Civil War — they always seem to boil down to two things: "race and place."
That's certainly true with his latest film, The Central Park Five, which tells ...
This Spring, Rejoice At Rebirth Of 'Mad Men'
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
For decades, when broadcast television called the shots and dominated the TV landscape, the biggest event of the year was "the fall season," when networks would unveil their new shows and return with fresh episodes of old favorites. But now, because of cable and satellite TV, the fall season isn't ...
You Can't Trust HBO's 'Phil Spector,' But You Can Enjoy It
Thursday, March 21, 2013
The HBO movie Phil Spector is a production that demands attention because of the heavyweight names attached. First, of course, there's the subject of the drama: Spector himself, the man who invented the "wall of sound," and recorded hits for everyone from the Crystals, Darlene Love and Ike & Tina ...
Two New TV Dramas Look Below The Surface
Monday, March 18, 2013
Top of the Lake, a new seven-part miniseries premiering tonight on the Sundance Channel, was co-created and co-directed by Jane Campion, who teamed with Holly Hunter 20 years ago on the movie The Piano. Hunter is back for this new project, playing a mysterious New Agey guru of sorts. She's ...
'Downton' Returns With Aristocratic Class And Clash
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Johnny Carson Gets The 'Masters' Treatment
Monday, May 14, 2012
Filmmaker Woody Allen Gets The 'Masters' Treatment
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Woody Allen: A Documentary is the result, though not the culmination, of three very long and distinguished careers.
First, there's Robert Weide, the writer-director whose examination of Allen's life and art follows similar — and similarly impressive — documentaries on the Marx Brothers, Mort Sahl and ...