Network News & Reviews

Golden Globes don't necessarily deserve your disrespect

Ed Bark — 2019-01-03T12:10:37-06:00

A few years later, Hollywood correspondent Aljean Harmetz wrote in the Los Angeles Times that the Globes had become more or less “respectable” after “years of being ridiculed as a bunch of part-time journalists and full-time freeloaders who would sell their votes for a vodka tonic and cross the Alps for a hot dog.” ...Rogers-like star of Kidding, squares off against Bill Hader (who the Emmy for Barry), Michael Douglas of The Kominsky Method, Donald Glover of FX’s Atlanta and Sacha Baron Cohen of Showtime’s Who Is America?

New adventures in idiocracy with Fox's The Masked Singer

Ed Bark — 2019-01-02T15:33:50-06:00
Your host is Nick Cannon, who’s taking a deep plunge from his eight years as the front man for NBC’s America’s Got Talent, which he left in 2017 over creative differences. ...Masked Singer puts Cannon in proximity to four well-traveled judges -- Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong -- and a dozen purportedly big names disguised in garish costumes.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Season finale

Ed Bark — 2018-12-24T13:30:29-06:00
The definitive version of “The Christmas Song” is by the late, great Nat King Cole. ...

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 9

Ed Bark — 2018-12-21T11:47:02-06:00
Originally shown in 2014, this buoyant, feel-good holiday spot from D-FW’s Fox4 features The Emerald City Band’s performance of “It’s Christmas Time.” ...

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 8

Ed Bark — 2018-12-20T13:48:56-06:00
Long before Bad Santa, Paul Lynde played a caustic Claus on a Donny and Marie Osmond Christmas special. ...

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 7

Ed Bark — 2018-12-19T11:43:16-06:00
So here they are blowing the doors off with “Rock and Roll Christmas.” ...

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 6

Ed Bark — 2018-12-18T11:28:34-06:00
In memory of the recently deceased Nancy Wilson, here’s her effortlessly cool and distinctive rendition of “White Christmas,” with an airtight jazz combo backing her. ...

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 5

Ed Bark — 2018-12-17T14:23:09-06:00
This one dates all the way back to Saturday, Dec. 15th of this year, when Saturday Night Live came up with an instant classic. It’s a contemporary take on the Island of Misfit Toys, starring Christmas ornaments relegated to the back of the tree after being deemed too tacky or dated to hang upfront.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 4

Ed Bark — 2018-12-14T11:58:30-06:00
Presenting SCTV’s mock promo for a Liberace Christmas special, with special guests Elton John, Ethel Merman and Orson Welles. ...

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 3

Ed Bark — 2018-12-13T13:22:11-06:00
We return to the present with this beautiful Elton John Christmas spot on the lifelong impact of just the right gift. ...

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 2

Ed Bark — 2018-12-12T13:43:04-06:00
“O Holy Night” remains the Mount Olympus of Christmas hymns, with its climactic high notes a superior challenge for all vocalists daring to ride its ranges. Here’s the version by Mariah Carey, chose not only for its very notable rendition but for its church setting, all-in congregation and full-throated choir.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 1

Ed Bark — 2018-12-11T13:32:28-06:00
Back by popular demand -- perhaps -- here we go again with the annual “Uncle Barky’s Countdown to Christmas” collection of videos designed to evoke and entertain. ...

All hail Season Two of Amazon Prime's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Ed Bark — 2018-12-04T12:41:31-06:00
Brosnahan, as Miriam “Midge” Maisel, remains superb in the role, whether running a switchboard, sparring with her parents or sparkling onstage with a rapid-fire ribald act that Sherman-Palladino says is patterned after Joan Rivers’ early efforts to break down gender barriers. ...This includes some cringe-worthy moments of self-entitlement, whether it’s Moishe and Shirley arriving very loudly and self-importantly, or Miriam retorting, “Bring that, too” when she’s informed “there’s a baby in the back seat.”

Showtime's Escape At Dannemora: A prison break quite unlike any other from a guy who'd been comedic all the way

Ed Bark — 2018-11-16T09:19:39-06:00
There’s nothing at all comedic, or even serio-comic about Showtime’s Escape At Dannemora, which makes it all the more surprising to see Ben Stiller’s named attached as the director and principal executive producer of all seven episodes. ...Showtime made the entire limited series available for review, and it could benefit from a quickened pace and shorter length. Dannemora at times can seem like a life sentence for viewers, although its grit, realism and performances (particularly by Patricia Arquette and Eric Lange) are major selling points throughout.

Michael Douglas, Alan Arkin keep their zip in Netflix's The Kominsky Method

Ed Bark — 2018-11-15T15:11:08-06:00
It looks as though he’s still learning the “single-cam” rhythms at times, with some of the give-and-take in Kominsky Method feeling as though it’s waiting on an audible audience response. ...For whatever reasons, they’ve made Last Man Standing and Fox’s following The Cool Kids (which is set in a retirement home) Friday night’s two most popular broadcast network series among viewers in this demographic.

Amazon Prime's Homecoming has both star power and a story that sticks

Ed Bark — 2018-11-01T15:58:35-05:00
Based on a same-named podcast, Amazon Prime’s Homecoming is a slowly developing but ultimately quite satisfying limited series that’s created, directed and co-produced by Sam Esmail. ...Or a getaway by Walter and a GI pal (Jeremy Allen White as Shrier) in which they drive on and on, it seems, without any conversation at all about why it’s taking so long just to find a place to have a beer.

House of Cards: the last shuffle

Ed Bark — 2018-11-01T10:00:10-05:00
The character he left behind also is unseen in any form during the first five hours of this final and shorter eight-episode season, which begins streaming in its entirety on Friday, Nov. 2nd. ...Even so, House of Cards also can be a victim of its own excesses, which are now built up into a heavy goo of previous evil and investigations of same by the sometimes ridiculously dogged Tom Hammerschmidt (Boris McGiver).

"The Tragic Death of Jordan Edwards" puts the Real Sports stamp on a Balch Springs police crime

Ed Bark — 2018-10-23T12:10:09-05:00
Heavily covered in D-FW, the Balch Springs police murder of a 15-year-old African-American student with honor roll grades and a budding high school football career gets national TV exposure Tuesday night (Oct. 23rd) as the lead story on HBO’s award-laden Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. ...But when gunfire unrelated to the gathering broke out, Oliver eventually began shooting first before claiming that he and his partner that night, Tyler Gross, were in danger of being struck by the car Vidal was driving.

Some plain truths in HBO's My Dinner with Herve about the guy who briefly soared to fame on "De plane! De plane!"

Ed Bark — 2018-10-19T09:42:08-05:00
Dinklage, best known for his Emmy-winning portrayal of Tyrion Lannister in HBO’s Game of Throne, turns out to be pretty terrific in My Dinner with Herve, which premieres Saturday, Oct. 20th at 7 p.m. (central). ...His big break comes, at least as depicted in the movie, after a knife-wielding Villechaize barges into the office of William Morris Agency heavyweight Marty Rothstein (David Strathairn) and makes quite a scene within the scene he’s acting out while the agent reaches for his desk drawer pistol.

The Kids Are Alright gives ABC another well-tuned rewind to family of another era

Ed Bark — 2018-10-15T14:18:48-05:00
ABC long has been the network of mom, dad and the kids sitcoms while also making its mark with long-running rewinds to the 1950s (Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, the ‘60s (The Wonder Years) and the ‘80s (The Goldbergs). Kids Are Alright is set in the ‘70s -- and for future/past reference, ABC’s midseason comedy Schooled will be set in the ’90s as a spinoff of The Goldbergs. ...In this case, it’s creator/executive producer Tim Doyle, who vocalizes middle kid Timmy (Jack Gore), a 12-year-old with an artistic bent who auditions for a children’s theater musical in Episode 1 and performs with his fire-damaged ventriloquist’s dummy Knuckles in the second episode provided for review.

ABC's The Rookie benefits from its built-in star

Ed Bark — 2018-10-15T11:46:42-05:00
ABC sorely needs a surefire hit, and The Rookie looks like the best bet to deliver as a cop drama with a sometimes unsteady aim in Tuesday’s premiere. ...The following morning’s roll call finds the watch commander again ridiculing Nolan before all three of the new cop duos are pinned down by a parole violator spraying fire from an automatic weapon.

HBO goes Camping for fun, but don't expect to have any

Ed Bark — 2018-10-10T17:55:17-05:00
The Great Outdoors comes down with a case of seemingly incurable human infestation in HBO’s Camping, in which Jennifer Garner segues from those cheery Capitol One commercials to star as a scrunch-faced Debbie Downer with a self-described “dysfunctional pelvic floor.” ...Their fellow campers are Walter’s brother, George (Brett Gelman) and his wife, Nina-Joy (Janicza Bravo); Kathryn’s sister, Carleen (Ione Skye) and her boyfriend, Joe (Chris Sullivan from This Is Us); and an unexpected mega-free spirit named Jandice (Juliette Lewis), who’s along for this ride with Miguel (Arturo Del Puerto) after his wife left him.

Amazon Prime's The Romanoffs gives Mad Men creator a license to underwhelm, overspend

Ed Bark — 2018-10-10T14:54:07-05:00
A reported $70 million budget for an eight-episode first season of 90-minute stand-alone stories so far is not paying off handsomely in terms of stories that induce wonderment, surprise or quickened pulses. ...Before dealing in more depth with the first two episodes, let’s note briefly that former Mad Men co-star Christina Hendricks is the principal focus of “House of Special Purpose,” with Paul Reiser the other familiar cast member.

The CW's All American trades on both racial tensions and student bodies

Ed Bark — 2018-10-09T12:57:19-05:00
It also just so happens that coach Baker’s son, Jordan (Michael Evans Behling), is the Beverly Hills high quarterback (he feels unappreciated) while his daughter, Olivia (Samantha Logan), is newly out of rehab after taking the rap for someone else. ...In Episode 3, for instance, the coach’s son is roughed up by white Crenshaw cops after he and Spencer are stopped for no reason while driving back to the Hills in Jordan’s flashy red convertible.

Pop fizzling with a pop star in CBS' Happy Together

Ed Bark — 2018-10-01T17:17:16-05:00
It’s supposedly loosely drawn from a brief period when One Direction’s Harry Styles lived in the attic of Ben Winston, who with Styles is a co-executive producer of Happy Together. ...Happy Together otherwise is the season’s slightest new sitcom on a network that has done much better by this genre in recent seasons with the likes of Young Sheldon, Mom and Life In Pieces.

CBS' The Neighborhood is too black and white for its own good

Ed Bark — 2018-10-01T15:37:32-05:00
Cedric the Entertainer plays the entrenched naysayer while Max Greenfield (fresh from Fox’s New Girl) co-stars as the painfully well-meaning Dave Johnson in a comedy that mostly plunges headlong into its punchlines while also dispensing an assortment of life’s lessons. ...Besides Malcolm, they have a younger son named Marty (Marcel Spears), who lives outside the house, has a job of some sort and is described as “chipper” in CBS publicity materials.

The old folks at home (and in one) in Fox's The Cool Kids

Ed Bark — 2018-09-28T14:32:31-05:00
New vistas in semi-senility are upon us in Fox’s The Cool Kids, which is set in a retirement home and somehow steers clear of a Depends joke in Friday’s premiere. There’s ample cringe-worthy bawdiness, though, as when ringleader Hank (David Alan Grier) schemes to keep pushy Margaret (Vicki Lawrence) from replacing newly deceased Jerry at a table of four with a vacancy.

Murphy Brown re-arrives with too many clunks for now

Ed Bark — 2018-09-27T12:01:37-05:00
“I still can’t get used to being in a protest march without reporting on it,” Murphy laments before two of her old “FYI” news magazine co-workers, investigator Frank Fontana (Joe Regalbuto) and lifestyles reporter Corky Sherwood (Faith Ford), join her at their old hangout. ...Murphy has refused his request to spar on her show after “FYI’s” old and still self-important news anchor, Jim Dial (Charles Kimbrough), counsels her during an Episode 3 walk-on as a guest star.

Three men and a fatality in ABC's A Million Little Things

Ed Bark — 2018-09-26T15:04:55-05:00
Set in Boston, this is an at times affecting but too often overwrought drama series initially built around four dedicated Bruins hockey team fans, one of whom is subtracted in the early going when he plunges off the ledge of his high-rise office and onto a car hood. ...But Jon remains alive via flashbacks that flesh out the history of his relationships with best buds Eddie Saville (David Giuntoli), Rome Howard (Romany Malco) and Gary Mendez (James Roday).

Kids get the upper hands and the winning lines in ABC's Single Parents

Ed Bark — 2018-09-26T13:11:00-05:00
Principal among them is hapless, divorced Will Cooper (Taran Killam), whose manhood has atrophied during the time he’s been doting on his little daughter, Sophie (Marlow Barkley). ...He’s joined in this mix by Angie D’Amato (Leighton Meester) and her son, Graham (Tyler Wladis); infant-toting Miggy Park (Jake Choi); and Poppy Banks (Kimrie Lewis), whose son is Rory (Devin Trey Campbell).

It's no crime or coincidence that FBI is on CBS

Ed Bark — 2018-09-25T09:47:34-05:00
Wolf, who’s straying from NBC in part because that network already is loaded with four of his hit shows (the Chicago trilogy and Law & Order: SVU), knows how to craft mainstream shows with staying power. ...CBS keeps developing and green-lighting new crime series because so many of them have become long distance runners for the network. FBI seems well-equipped to also settle in for an extended stay.

NBC's New Amsterdam needs a few injections

Ed Bark — 2018-09-24T16:31:44-05:00
Max Goodwin (Ryan Eggold from the Peacock’s quickly canceled The Blacklist: Redemption), is all about doing good at all costs, but has an aversion to billing patients. ...NBC made the first two episodes available for review, and they’re also populated by patients ranging from a black boy from Liberia who shows symptoms of Ebola to a high-strung young woman in Frome’s care to a kid who’s been overly medicated after a violent incident at his school.

Manifest's destiny is in your hands

Ed Bark — 2018-09-21T13:40:21-05:00
Ben (Josh Dallas), his leukemia-afflicted son, Cal (Jack Messina), and his troubled sister, Michaela Beth (Melissa Roxburgh), elect to jettison their overbooked flight and take a later one in return for $400 vouchers. ...So what happened beyond everybody else getting five-and-a-half years older while the FL 191 crew and passengers stayed as is and now are starting to hear voices in their heads?

A new Magnum enters CBS' house of hit reboots

Ed Bark — 2018-09-21T09:19:22-05:00
Consider this: the network’s second coming of Hawaii Five-0, which will start its ninth season this fall, has a fighting chance to run as long (or longer) as the original, which endured for 12 seasons on CBS. ...Anyway, the new Thomas Sullivan Magnum is played by Hispanic actor Jay Hernandez, who doesn’t have a full mustache, does have a goatee, doesn’t wear Hawaiian shirts (in the first episode at least) and does show off his torso.

Monk see, Monk re-do: From the creator of that series comes Netflix's The Good Cop

Ed Bark — 2018-09-20T17:06:04-05:00
He’s also said that his intention with The Good Cop is to give audiences a straight ahead, mostly light-hearted “procedural” where crimes are solved cleanly and to some extent, amusingly. ...All of this is very clumsily handled in time, with Tony Sr. eventually consulting a Catholic priest for guidance while Tony Jr. keeps trying to puzzle out why such a knockout would be interested in his father.

Netflix's Maniac has a mind of its own (boy, does it ever)

Ed Bark — 2018-09-20T15:12:48-05:00
At the heart of this 10-episode series, which pairs feature film stars Emma Stone and Jonah Hill, is a simple truism stated via voice-over in the picturesque opening minutes: “We’re lost without connection.” ...It’s a whole new world out there, almost to the point where feature films someday may be seen as a step down. Maniac, for its part, throws down a tale that swerves to the left and swerves to the right without ever losing velocity.

NBC's I Feel Bad needs a good deal of improvement

Ed Bark — 2018-09-18T15:07:02-05:00
Dividing its time between a chaotic home and a carefree video game company, I Feel Bad is centered on an Indian wife/mom who’s constantly vexed and likes telling viewers about this via her narrative voice. ...This leaves rotund Norman (Zach Cherry), the very British Chewy (James Buckley) and pasty-faced Griff (Johnny Pemberton). I Feel Bad spends a surprising amount of time with them, including a lame Episode 3 caper in which they plot a mission to gain access to the workplace rooftop -- where the cool kids supposedly gather.

From start to finish, an SNL-centric Emmys ceremony

Ed Bark — 2018-09-18T09:53:26-05:00
Netflix’s league-leading seven Emmy wins were sprinkled among The Crown, which received two (including a best actress nod to Claire Foy); Godless (2); Black Mirror, Seven Seconds (an acting win for Regina King); and John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous At Radio City. ...Following the opening “We Solved It” production number, Jost addressed “the hundreds who are watching at home” (Emmy ratings have been on a decline, as have those for the Oscars) while Che said that NBC receiving the most nominations of any broadcast network was “kind of like being the sexiest person on life support.”

His own worst enemy: Norm Macdonald nonetheless stumbles onto Netflix

Ed Bark — 2018-09-14T11:49:12-05:00
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Macdonald said of his longtime friends, Roseanne Barr and Louis C.K.: “There are very few people that have gone through what they have, losing everything in a day. ...Of course there’s always a chance that Netflix could yank this show at any moment if Macdonald has another episode like he did with The Hollywood Reporter and then with Stern.

More rocket fuel, please: Mars is the goal line and Sean Penn the go-to guy in Hulu's The First

Ed Bark — 2018-09-13T09:41:24-05:00
But now here he comes in a big way, first as the head astronaut in Hulu’s The First series (launching on Friday, Sept. 14) and next year in the lead role of Andrew Jackson for HBO’s American Lion miniseries. ...On the day of what turns out to be a launch gone very wrong, Penn’s Hagerty is first seen jogging bare-chested through his neighborhood. The First seems mighty proud of his pecs, with recurrent shots throughout of Hagerty either on the run or navigating the bottom of a training pool with arm weights that further tone his already ripped physique.

The downfall of Leslie Moonves

Ed Bark — 2018-09-10T15:23:34-05:00
The former struggling actor turned TV programming titan is out as chairman, president and chief executive officer of the CBS Corporation after previous and new allegations that he had sexually abused at least 12 women who have come forward in articles written for The New Yorker by Ronan Farrow. ...Moonves, 68 and married to Big Brother and The Talk host Julie Chen since December 2004, has issued a statement that reads in part: “For the past 24 years it has been an incredible privilege to lead CBS’s renaissance and transformation into a leading global media company . . .

Carrey shines through, occasionally darkly, in Showtime's one-of-a-kind Kidding

Ed Bark — 2018-09-07T11:28:22-05:00
Some of Carrey’s very best work as an underrated actor came in 2004’s oft-surreal Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which was directed by Michel Gondry. Kidding is their first collaboration since then, with Gondry a co-executive producer who also directs the first two half-hour episodes. ...He doesn’t need to ever work again, but he’s a wonderment in a challenging role that at least gives him a fighting chance to win an acting Emmy or at least be nominated as a performer for the first time.

Rel is an unfortunate throwback that should have been thrown back

Ed Bark — 2018-09-06T14:50:43-05:00
Later in this introductory half-hour, Rel is aboard a bus when a younger black man barges on board, disses the driver, refuses to pay and then starts ragging on Rel’s physical appearance. ...The whole thing comes off as uncomfortably clownish and insulting to viewers of any color, let alone African-Americans who have every right to cringe at such off-putting, clownish portrayals in times when FX’s immeasurably superior Atlanta has charted such bold new territory.

FX's Mayans MC gives Sons of Anarchy a new baby boy

Ed Bark — 2018-09-04T11:59:20-05:00
Not to give too much away in this resultant rather brief review, but Mayans MC is a talkie that’s also in color and has lots of loud two-wheeled vehicles, automatic weapons fire, drug-running, tough talk laced with f-bombs and a grisly torture scene in each of the first two hours. ...He also has a former girlfriend named Emily (Sarah Bolger), who’s back in the picture because she’s married to someone whose identity won’t be revealed here for fear of experiencing a “very unpleasant way to lose weight” -- which happens with graphic suddenness in the opening, extended episode.

At best a powder keg,The Purge infests the USA network

Ed Bark — 2018-08-30T10:26:07-05:00
The architect of both the movies and USA’s 10-episode series (Tuesday, Sept. 4th at 9 p.m. central) is James DeMonaco, who wrote and directed the first film in 2013 on a $3 million budget that led to gross receipts of $89 million. ...An upwardly mobile young married couple, Jenna and Rick Bettencourt (Hannah Anderson, Colin Woodell), merely want to make a multi-million dollar deal with billionaire developer Albert Stanton (Reed Diamond), who’s also the party’s imperial host.

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan gives Amazon a money-on-the-screen gripper

Ed Bark — 2018-08-29T12:34:07-05:00
Judging from its big-screen look and feel, Amazon has spent freely on Jack Ryan while also already renewing it for a Season Two (both will run for eight episodes). ...While Showtime’s Homeland winds down with an eighth and final season scheduled for next summer, Jack Ryan winds up with a powerful opening tale of the CIA versus an Islamic terrorist whose wounds run deep.

Men at work? In the ongoing #MeToo wave, not so much and not surprisingly so

Ed Bark — 2018-08-22T13:45:37-05:00
***The CW network, already home to Supergirl and other DC Comics heroes, will strike again sometime next year with Batwoman, in which Ruby Rose has been cast as the openly gay title character. ...***Fonda also will be one of the 10 guests on Netflix’s Norm Macdonald Has a Show (Sept. 14), which seems like an odd, almost out-of-body fit with its lead role for an aging Caucasian male.

Brendan Gleeson remains a cut above in Season Two of Audience network's Mr. Mercedes

Ed Bark — 2018-08-21T14:20:33-05:00
Hartsfield wound up in a coma while Hodges checked out of the same hospital after first stopping by to warn that “sure as taxes,” he’d finish the killer off if he ever dared to regain consciousness. ...But a nice slow simmer is well-suited to Gleeson’s talents as an actor who doesn’t mind taking his time in further molding a character with a gruff exterior and an old, buttered soul.

Acorn TV's Mystery Road is not quite on track, despite the estimable presence of Judy Davis

Ed Bark — 2018-08-17T11:02:06-05:00
But Aaron Pedersen, as rough hewn detective Jay Swan, ends up being the series’ driving force after being called in to help investigate the disappearance of two young “jackaroos” employed by a cattle and sheep emporium known as Ballantyne Station. ...The eventual uncovering of the culprits isn’t as satisfying or surprising as it might have been while the demons that drive Jay and prompted him to leave his wife and daughter are passingly referenced without enough detail.

The Last Sharknado: It's About Time -- or more accurately, way past time

Ed Bark — 2018-08-16T11:01:58-05:00
Without revealing the historical characters they play (this one has a lot of time travel), keep an eye or two open for Darrell Hammond, Ben Stein, Tori Spelling, Dean McDermott, Gilbert Gottfried, Roker (gad, him again), Dee Snider, Christopher Knight, Bernie Kopell, Leslie Jordan (whom I at first hoped was the late Little Jimmy Dickens) and Neil deGrasse Tyson (whose performance is atrocious even by Sharknado standards). ...But no one’s ever anywhere for very long, with Fin and various familiar supporting characters hurtling incomprehensibly through space to fight flying sharks in medieval times, the Revolutionary War era, the Old West, 1997 San Francisco and the very distant future.

Season Two of Get Shorty improves on the first while again giving Epix a booster shot

Ed Bark — 2018-08-10T10:52:28-05:00
Adapted from the same-named novel by the late, great Elmore Leonard (after a well-received 1995 movie), Epix’s first-rate version continues the travails of Ireland-bred hit man turned movie producer Miles Daly (Chris O’Dowd) and B-movie shlepper Rick Moreweather (Ray Romano). ...She’s a cajoling and at times sweet-talking manipulator who has Rick on the leash as a wired informant who late in Season One developed a very personal relationship with the lethal but needy Amara.

WGN America's imported Carter gives Jerry O'Connell something to do

Ed Bark — 2018-08-07T16:29:40-05:00
You could do worse, and have. Carter, derivative of Fox’s well-reviewed but short-lived The Grinder, is a semi-passable detective dramedy in which O’Connell plays actor Harley Carter, otherwise known on the small screen as ace sleuth Charlie Carter. ...WGN America made all 10 Season One episodes available for review, but watching the first three was more than enough to pass judgment. Carter is basically a crime caper of the week, with Harley acting as “consulting detective” via a mayoral appointment after he more or less lucks into solving the opening night’s murder mystery.

Frontline puts names to faces in Documenting Hate: Charlottesville

Ed Bark — 2018-08-07T09:52:24-05:00
The violent events of Aug. 12, 2017 -- and President Trump’s “blame on both sides” reaction to them -- are still seared into the public consciousness. Frontline’s latest one-hour investigative report, Documenting Hate: Charlottesville (Tues., Aug. 7 at 9 p.m. central on PBS), has a reporter on the trail of several notably violent participants in a “Unite the Right” rally that left one woman dead and a number of others injured. ...He passingly resembles Michael Avenatti, and seems determined to get as much face time as Stormy Daniels’ ubiquitous attorney. Documenting Hate even has a lengthy -- and wholly superfluous -- shot of Thompson walking down the street during a snowstorm.

Season Two of USA's The Sinner again makes a strong case for itself

Ed Bark — 2018-07-30T10:28:24-05:00
The leading women are Carrie Coon as a possibly culpable commune leader named Vera and Natalie Paul in the role of police deputy Heather Novack, who’s proudly pronounced as gay by her rather creepy father, Henry (John Rue), an old chum of Harry’s. ...Flashbacks abound, not only Harry’s but Natalie’s recollections of her girlfriend, Marin (Hannah Gross), who’s been missing for the past 10 years after becoming infatuated by the goings-on at the isolated and much-maligned Mosswood commune.

Burden of Truth is a Canadian import that viewers of The CW should salute

Ed Bark — 2018-07-24T14:40:17-05:00
The populous cast also includes high school guidance counselor Diane Evans (Nicola Correia-Damude); Millwood cop Owen Beckbie (Meegwun Fairbrother); and Joanna’s CTS firm partner and oddly estranged husband Alan Christie (Benjamin Ayres). Burden of Truth could very easily do without him -- and should have. Protective town officials, ostracism and an increasingly divided community serve as appendages in a multi-layered whodunit/coverup with enough pulling power to endure for the rest of this summer and early fall. Burden of Truth is an anomaly for The CW, but a good one to have.

Hulu's Castle Rock: a unique fling with Stephen King

Ed Bark — 2018-07-23T11:54:50-05:00
Ah, but Hulu’s Castle Rock turns out to be a frightmare apart from the likes of Carrie, The Shining, It, Cujo, Under the Dome, Pet Sematary, Christine, Bag of Bones, The Dead Zone, The Shawshank Redemption and Salem’s Lot -- to name just a few. ...One of the simple, but highly pleasurable moments of Castle Rock comes in Episode 2, when Pangborn orders an over-priced beer at a hoity toity hotel bar while trying to warn the new prison warden (Ann Cusack) about her mysterious, newly discovered inmate.

A tale of six accomplished TV auteurs, half of them prolific, the other half largely standing in place

Ed Bark — 2018-07-17T10:49:54-05:00
But as the Law & Order brand petered out -- and seemingly Wolf’s career along with it -- he reinvented himself with more drama series in the same branding mode. Chicago Fire, launched in 2012 on NBC, was followed by Wolf’s Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med while a third spinoff, Chicago Justice, failed to achieve liftoff. ...He made his first big marks with FX’s Nip/Tuck and Fox’s Glee after breaking in with 1999’s moderately successful Popular for now defunct WB network. Glee received a slew of Emmy nominations and won six of them. Nip/Tuck likewise had multiple Emmy nominations during its run, but won only for “Outstanding Makeup.”

Emmy snubs are nothing new, but two of this year's really rankle

Ed Bark — 2018-07-13T09:33:46-05:00
And it got worse for Tambor when veteran actress Jessica Walter said he had verbally bullied her during filming of Netflix’s second season of Arrested Development, which had completed filming by the time the Transparent controversy kicked in. ...Note to readers: In case you might be wondering, HBO’s Veep, FX’s Pose and Netflix’s House of Cards all were ineligible for Emmy consideration because new episodes didn’t air between June 1, 2017 and May 31, 2018. Pose missed that cut by just three days.

Game of Thrones paces an otherwise dethroned HBO in 2018 Emmy nominations

Ed Bark — 2018-07-12T11:15:17-05:00
FX scored big with The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (18 nominations) and Atlanta (16) while Hulu again finished near the top of the charts with the second season of The Handmaid’s Tale (20 nods). ...This left out one of HBO’s heaviest hitters, Veep, after production on its final season was delayed by star Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ recovery from breast cancer. Veep had won three consecutive Emmys as Best Comedy Series while Louis-Dreyfus had a six-year winning streak in the Lead Actress in a Comedy Series category.

The Outpost gives The CW a summertime facsimile of Wonder Woman

Ed Bark — 2018-07-10T12:41:18-05:00
Jessica Green stars as Talon, who as a little girl watched her mother and the entire village they lived in destroyed at the order of a maniacal SOB known as Dred (Philip Brodie). ...Talon is too serious-minded for that with her understandable determination to kill her mother’s killers in addition to avenging the attempted wiping out of an entire race.

HBO still not lifting the gloom with Sharp Objects

Ed Bark — 2018-07-06T10:36:25-05:00
Adapted from Gillian Flynn’s 2006 same-named novel, it features an effectively morose lead performance by Amy Adams, who’s virtually certain to get an Emmy nomination when Sharp Objects becomes eligible next year. ...Sharp Objects seems intent on setting an unbreakable TV record for consumption of straight, unadorned booze, whether the imbiber is Camille, incoming Kansas City detective Richard Willis (Chris Messina) -- with whom she meshes and clashes -- or Natalie’s surviving, troubled brother John Keene (Taylor John Smith), a prime suspect in the view of some.

Take a crash course in EDM with the takeoff of What We Started on Netflix

Ed Bark — 2018-06-29T11:56:54-05:00
The visuals from these times are revelatory, with running commentaries from pathfinders such as Disco Donnie, Dubfire, Seth Troxler, “grandfather of EDM” Dave Guetta (who also produced a breakthrough album by The Black-Eyed Peas) and Paul Oakenfold (who helped take EDM to another new level as the opening act for U2 during one of their world tours). ...“One of the big challenges for me is to keep evolving, and to stay relevant,” Garrix says near film’s end. What We Started is a sturdy, vibrant step in that direction for those who likewise want to keep their learning curves finely tuned.

The Conners gets a greenlight from ABC after it put a stop to Roseanne

Ed Bark — 2018-06-22T09:19:16-05:00
ABC’s spinoff became official a little over three weeks after the network quickly axed its ratings-rich Roseanne reboot in reaction to the star’s characterization of former Obama administration senior advisor Valerie Jarrett as part “ape.” ...Goodman long has worked regularly in feature films, Metcalf received an Oscar nomination for the 2017 movie Lady Bird and Gilbert co-hosts The Talk for CBS. The Hollywood Reporter says this trio will be paid $300,000 each per episode for The Conners while Goranson and Fishman (who actually could use the money) will receive considerably less.

Take Two gives ABC another Castle -- in premise if not execution

Ed Bark — 2018-06-20T14:02:47-05:00
Sam’s hit TV series, Hot Suspect, lasted eight seasons before her drunken escapade led to both cancellation of the show and a stint in rehab for its star. Castle likewise endured for eight seasons on ABC, and the network hasn’t had a successful “crime procedural” hour since then. ...Take Two comes nowhere close to matching the glories of ABC’s Moonlighting or NBC’s Remington Steele, both of whose odd couple crime solvers really rocked. Castle also fell well short of those two, but did pass ABC’s endurance test.

OWN's Love Is __ serves up romance from a distance and with spice

Ed Bark — 2018-06-19T13:31:26-05:00
Spanning 30 years and drawn from the real-life romance of the principal executive producers, Love Is __ gives Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network what looks to be a durable drama with a sweet/spicy sauce. ...For the purposes of Love Is __, Nuri (Michele Weaver) is on the writing staff of the comedy “Marvin” while Yasir (Will Catlett) is newly in town and living with Ruby (Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing), who’s grown weary of his unemployment.

Costner gets his Eastwood on in Paramount's Yellowstone

Ed Bark — 2018-06-18T10:54:36-05:00
Youngest son Kayce (Luke Grimes from the Fifty Shades movies) is a former Navy SEAL and combat veteran who lives on the Broken Rock Indian Reservation with his Native American wife, Monica (Kelsey Asbille), and their seven-year-old son, Tate (Brecken Merrill). ...But he also gets saddled with some groaners, such as, “I’ve seen too much bad in my life to believe God exists,” And of course, when John thinks he’s got a wild horse “settled now,” it’s time for him to get bucked off again.

A wealth of his songs (but not the big one) in PBS' Perry Como Classics: Till the End of Time

Ed Bark — 2018-06-06T12:58:56-05:00
Burnett, whose variety show was the last major TV hit in this now all but extinct genre, performed with Como and got a little weak-kneed in his presence, as a clip shows. ...But in bygone times when entire families regularly gathered around the lone living room TV set, Como’s weekly variety hour had a glow and an impact that still resonates with many Baby Boomer kids who since have outlived him, but not his memory.

Dietland takes AMC in a new, full-bodied direction

Ed Bark — 2018-06-04T15:02:08-05:00
Created, written, produced and sometimes directed by Marti Noxon (UnREAL, Code Black, Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce), the distinctly different Dietland primarily trains on the lives of two disparate women who also are collaborators. ...And as the bodies begin piling up -- including that of a degenerate photographer who has worked for the magazine -- Kitty hires a detective named Dominic (Adam Rothenberg) to dig deeper while also courting Plum as a possible informant.

FX's Pose charts new territory but sometimes groaningly so

Ed Bark — 2018-06-03T12:15:23-05:00
Starring: Mj Rodriguez, Dominique Jackson, Evan Peters, James Van Der Beek, Indya Moore, Ryan Jamaal Swain, Billy Porter, Kate Mara, Angelica Ross, Hailie Sahar, Dyllon Burnside, Charlayne Woodard, Angel Bismark Curiel ...Another of Blanca’s adoptees, a transgender streetwalker known as Angel (Indya Moore), is viewed as a walk-on-his-wild side by Stan Bowes (Evan Peters), who’s just been hired as a junior executive by the Trump organization.

Cinemax makes solid contact with J.K. Rowlings' C.B. Strike

Ed Bark — 2018-06-01T09:34:31-05:00
C.B.’s mother died of a heroin overdose and his father, who had him out of wedlock, is a world famous rock star from whom he’s been long estranged. ...C.B. and Robin then move on to the investigation of a shock/horror novelist’s grisly murder in The Silkworm, which runs through hours 4 and 5.

Farewell to The Americans, with some explanations of why it played out the way it did -- and whether there might be more

Ed Bark — 2018-05-31T08:14:37-05:00
But with an uncertain number of seasons and storylines in the show’s future, “odds are (that) any ending you thought you were going to tell is going to end up being changed by all the things that came in between,” he said. ...Asked why Stan ultimately yielded and let the Jennings drive off, Weisberg said the producers have “taken a pretty tough line that we don’t want to answer that one, because we think that’s one that people are going to come up with a lot of different answers on their own.”

NBC's Reverie can't muster much of a grip

Ed Bark — 2018-05-30T08:21:02-05:00
But former police chief Charlie Ventana (Dennis Haysbert in his first series role without hair) sees her as the perfect choice to be a daring and deft virtual-reality guinea pig. ...By the end of the premiere hour, Haysbert’s Charlie is meeting with some sort of corporate schemer (Kathryn Morris as Monica Shaw) while Mara is having a rather startling real world vision.

ABC played with fire until Roseanne Barr finally burned her last bridge (updated)

Ed Bark — 2018-05-29T14:46:47-05:00
The network’s Roseanne reboot, which rocketed to the top of the ratings charts and received an instant pickup from its blown away network, is now nothing more than a vacancy in next fall’s Tuesday prime-time lineup. ...Cosby’s Huxtables were the first African-American family to “cross over” into runaway acceptance among families of all colors while Roseanne emerged as the first woman to wear the pants in a working class sitcom -- and be wildly successful in doing so.

Roseanne Barr's racist tweet triggers ABC's abrupt cancellation of her hit reboot

Ed Bark — 2018-05-29T12:59:35-05:00
Sara Gilbert, who plays Roseanne and Dan Conner’s daughter, Darlene, and has been a co-executive producer of the reboot, tweeted that Barr’s comments about Jarrett are “abhorrent and do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show.” Gilbert also said, “This is incredibly sad and difficult for all of us, as we’ve created a show that we believe in, are proud of, and that audiences love -- one that is separate and apart from the opinions and words of one cast member.”

A Memorial Day salute in HBO's John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls

Ed Bark — 2018-05-25T14:38:42-05:00
Not only about choosing Palin, but of eventually succumbing to a “war crimes confession” when he thought death was imminent from the oft-brutal treatment he received during a five-and-a-half year imprisonment in what became known derisively as the Hanoi Hilton. ...Still, when reporters looked to her to say “negative things” about her ex-husband during the 2008 presidential campaign, Carol says she’d never do that to him and is sad that he’s not likely to be around much longer.

HBO stays in a fun-free zone with its latest original film, The Tale

Ed Bark — 2018-05-23T14:34:08-05:00
Now comes The Tale (Saturday, May 26th at 9 p.m. central), which recounts director/writer Jennifer Fox’s real-life recovered memories of her sexual abuse as a 13-year-old at the hands of a Svengali-like couple. ...Nor is The Tale easy to watch, particularly when Jason Ritter exudes creepiness as an initially benignly smiling running coach with a goal of becoming 13-year-old Jenny’s lover after first repeatedly praising her as being “so special” and “so deep.”

HBO's remake of Fahrenheit 451 generates little heat

Ed Bark — 2018-05-18T10:36:32-05:00
Directed in oft-plodding and recurrently preachy fashion by Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop), the film is touted as being relevant anew in times where “we have willingly given up our knowledge, identity, books, history, dreams, culture -- everything -- to tech companies, big business and politicians.” ...He’s stolen a copy of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Notes From Underground and increasingly keeps company with “eel” (resistor) Clarisse McClellan (Sofia Boutella), an off-and-on informant who hits her off switch again as the plot congeals, er, thickens.

Led by CBS (and save for ABC), the new fall season is all in with minorities and women as leads

Ed Bark — 2018-05-17T15:19:06-05:00
For its God Friended Me drama series, which bears a more than passing resemblance to the long-running Touched By An Angel, CBS chose young African-American actor Brandon Micheal Hall after his sitcom The Mayor got a quick ax from ABC last fall. ...The Rel stars African-American comedian Lil Rel Howery as himself. The Cool Kids, with veteran African-American actor David Alan Grier given top billing in Fox publicity materials, is set in a retirement home and also stars Vicki Lawrence, Martin Mull and Leslie Jordan.

The CW goes super and supernatural in new Sunday addition to 2018-19 lineup

Ed Bark — 2018-05-17T09:38:31-05:00
Supergirl and a new version of Charmed are The CW’s first Sunday duo while Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Jane the Virgin and iZombie will all be saying farewell. ...Legacies (drama) -- This offshoot of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals continues with the stories of “the next generation of supernatural beings at The Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted.”

CBS accents a Monday rebuilding project in new fall lineup marked by Magnum P.I., Murphy Brown reboots and heavy-duty diversity

Ed Bark — 2018-05-16T08:39:10-05:00
CBS passed on a Cagney & Lacey reboot after seeing the pilot, perhaps because it already has five re-do’s in Magnum, Murphy and the returning MacGyver, Hawaii Five-0 and S.W.A.T. ...FBI (drama) -- Producer Dick Wolf, who already has four series on NBC (including an entire Wednesday night of Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.), infiltrates CBS with tales of New York-based federal gumshoes who “tenaciously investigate cases of tremendous magnitude.”

ABC adds/subtracts in abundance for new fall schedule

Ed Bark — 2018-05-15T11:18:58-05:00
This again includes the network’s entire Thursday lineup of Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19 and How to Get Away with Murder, plus For the People, which is scheduled to return in midseason. The Alec Baldwin Show features the Donald Trump impersonator and Match Game host interviewing fellow celebrities of his choice. Dancing with the Stars: Junior, billed as a “fresh take on an established favorite,” will team apprentice kids with professional junior ballroom dancers.

Fox goes traditional (whether admitting it or not) with latest prime-time menu

Ed Bark — 2018-05-14T10:09:17-05:00
Both Newman and his executive equal, co-chairman/CEO Dana Walden, said that Last Man Standing had been a candidate for the previous season after ABC canceled the Tim Allen comedy series after six seasons. ...The Cool Kids (comedy) -- Well-weathered vets Martin Mull, Vicki Lawrence, David Alan Grier and Leslie Jordan raise hell in a retirement home, with Grier’s character, ringleader Hank, described as “a gruff, opinionated, 21st century Archie Bunker who will go to any lengths to have a good time.”

NBC again slims and trims with just three new fall series (and thinly veiled midseason reincarnations of past prime-time hits

Ed Bark — 2018-05-14T08:12:37-05:00
Midnight, Texas, which debuted as a summer show in 2017, has been elevated to the 2018 fall lineup, with a Friday night spot between Blindspot and Dateline NBC. ... Bio, Ellen’s Game of Games and America’s Got Talent: The Champions, which for the first time will air during the regular season with a special short-run edition. Brooklyn Nine-Nine also is due sometime in 2019 after being rescued from cancellation by Fox.

A tale of a childhood lost and an adulthood on the brink in Showtime's Patrick Melrose

Ed Bark — 2018-05-11T09:53:49-05:00

Viewers also will meet the young Bridget Watson-Scott (Holliday Grainger), a Lolita-like hippie who has succumbed to the creature comforts provided by David’s best and very callow friend, Nicholas Pratt (Pip Torrens). ...David Melrose’s cruelty is palpable throughout this episode, whether he’s in the company of his son, staring down his wife or causing the elderly resident cook/housekeeper to physically quiver while he interrogates her at a distance.

Vida gives Starz a new look series with a #MeToo overlay

Ed Bark — 2018-05-04T11:06:46-05:00

But Marisol also is prone to be manipulated by resistance leader Tialoc (Ramses Jimenez). Vida’s other scummy male character is developer Nelson (Louis Bordonada), a smooth-talking Hispanic who gets hands-y with Emma before getting his comeuppance via a hot cuppa joe. ...By the end of Season One’s six episodes, Vida has taken some predictable courses in terms of re-rallying around Vidalia’s and later Eddy’s efforts to keep the bar and apartment building from being poached.

Dire Straits left in the lurch during HBO's annual reprise of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony

Ed Bark — 2018-05-02T09:46:48-05:00

Justin Hayward (left) and John Lodge show both their age and talent as charter members of The Moody Blues during a performance at the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. HBO photo ...Samuel Raymond, before extended, fiery and inventive musical tributes by Andra Day (“I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” and “I Put a Spell on You”) and Lauryn Hill (“Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair,” followed by “I Ain’t Got No, I Got Life” and “Feeling Good”).

Michelle Wolf at the door, but her best snarls were saved for last at the White House Correspondents Dinner

Ed Bark — 2018-04-30T14:22:20-05:00

Most of America’s latest case study in “tribal” polarization is over the pointed shots she took at White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was seated just a few chairs away from her at Saturday night’s annual White House Correspondents Dinner. ...I would have preferred more barbs at their expense rather than a tame riff on how MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow “never gets to the point” or a bare mention of FNC’s Sean Hannity being exempt from comedic criticism because “this dinner is for journalists.”

Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale keeps the faith with a bracingly strong Season Two

Ed Bark — 2018-04-25T09:13:26-05:00

In truth, The Handmaid’s Tale, drawn from the 1985 Margaret Atwood novel, can be credited as a stimulus for the many women who came forward with allegations of sexual abuse at the hands of various men in positions of power. ...Moss and Dowd, both of whom also won Emmys for their Season One performances, continue to send Handmaid’s Tale into overdrive with their one-on-one scenes as Offred/June and Aunt Lydia.

Genius: Picasso so far is a portrait worth seeing

Ed Bark — 2018-04-23T11:34:45-05:00

Arguably the most famous painter of them all, Pablo Picasso, had been given the brush-off until the National Geographic channel finally came along with Genius: Picasso, followup to its Genius: Einstein and precursor to the newly announced Genius treatment of Frankenstein creator Mary Shelley. Nat Geo and principal executive producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer again have landed a name actor to front the second Genius while inviting Samantha Colley back to play one of the protagonist’s discarded women.

HBO's Westworld returns on a grander scale -- mind games included

Ed Bark — 2018-04-19T09:36:39-05:00

It’s like trying to divine the thought processes of a certain guy who hadn’t been elected President yet when HBO’s Westworld and its sprawling, futuristic park first opened on a weekly basis. ...And in that context, Episode 4, subtitled “The Riddle of the Sphinx,” is built around the unraveling of a ruthless billionaire (his identity won’t be revealed) who finally is told in no uncertain terms, “It took me a long time to learn this.

In times of turmoil, the Big Four broadcast networks are more devoted than ever to same old/same old

Ed Bark — 2018-04-16T12:36:56-05:00

Modern Family -- ABC’s biggest Emmy-winner ever among its comedy series is in Season 9 and has already been renewed for a 10th, which currently is being planned as its last. ...Also on the cartoon front, Family Guy is in its 16th season overall after previously being canceled by Fox and then quickly picked up again after it showed continued staying power as part of the Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim” bloc.

HBO's Elvis Presley: The Searcher has the added poignancy of Tom Petty's perspectives

Ed Bark — 2018-04-13T14:50:46-05:00

It’s also a case study of an unfulfilled rock ’n’ roll mega-deity who near the end became “unmoored from the Earth experience,” in the words of writer Warren Zanes, author of 2015’s acclaimed Petty: The Biography. ...But don’t turn away just yet. The Searcher concludes with Presley’s full performance of “If I Can Dream” at the close of the 1968 TV special followed by Petty’s cover of “Wooden Heart” from Elvis’ G.I.

Netflix finds a way to relaunch Lost in Space

Ed Bark — 2018-04-12T10:02:21-05:00
Two decades after Lost In Space left CBS, it re-emerged as a feature film with a pretty imposing cast that included Oscar winner William Hurt as John Robinson and current lead actor Oscar champ Gary Oldham as the sinister Zachary Smith. ...“Danger, Will Robinson,” a trademark line in the original series (even though it was uttered just once by the Robot), is very much in play during the first five episodes of the Netflix reboot.

Pacino takes the HBO field again with a bravura performance in Paterno

Ed Bark — 2018-04-04T14:35:40-05:00
Less than two weeks after becoming the winningest Division 1 coach in college football history, Paterno was fired in November 2011 for his alleged impassivity in a scandal involving former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who eventually was convicted on 45 counts of sexually molesting young boys. ...From there he has a stricken look, with the film offering repeated brief glimpses of Paterno in this state of anxiety between its reconstructions of the events that quickly overtook him in his 46th and final season at Penn State.

The Last O.G. gives TBS and Tracy Morgan a vehicle that could go far

Ed Bark — 2018-04-03T11:29:52-05:00
It makes for both a welcome return and a coming out party, with The Last O.G. looking to be well-suited to Morgan’s out-sized talents while also fine-tuning and sometimes even sweetening his persona as an ex-con named Tray. ...Morgan is in good hands with co-creator/executive producer Jordan Peele, who won a “Best Original Screenplay” Oscar last month for Get Out and also has an Emmy as the co-star of Comedy Central’s Key and Peele sketch series.

RIP Steven Bochco, who willed broadcast TV into adulthood

Ed Bark — 2018-04-02T10:05:11-05:00
Perhaps that’s a stretch, but here’s a guy who gave a damn -- about both the potential of broadcast television and his own legacy as a pathfinder whose Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue in particular explored brave new worlds in adult drama. ...By that time he was both ailing and a lion in winter who had roared mightily for a quarter-century. Hill Street Blues helped to pave the way for Bochco’s future successes and for many thoroughly adult dramas to follow, including NBC’s St.

ABC looks for another Lost (sort of) with The Crossing

Ed Bark — 2018-03-30T11:34:49-05:00
Steve Zahn is caught in the middle when hundreds of bodies, some of them still alive, wash up in his small fishing town. ABC photo ...A thumbnail ABC description of Episode 2, subtitled “A Shadow Out of Time,” says that “in a flash-forward to 2187, Reece finds Leah, an orphaned Common baby, and goes against her Apex cohorts to take her in as her own.”

But WHY was Roseanne such a big hit again?

Ed Bark — 2018-03-29T10:35:30-05:00
In Roseanne’s opener, Roseanne Conner trumpeted her support of Trump while her sister, Jackie (Laurie Metcalf), made her entrance in a pink “Nasty Woman” t-shirt and matching “pussy hat,” even though she eventually admitted to wasting her vote on Dr. ...Heavy-set, plain-looking, outspoken and starring in her own comedy series in times when only NBC’s The Golden Girls and CBS’ short-lived Annie McGuire (fronted by Mary Tyler Moore) had women leading the laughs on the then Big Three broadcast networks.

The Russians are going, the Russians are going: End games for FX's The Americans in a climactic Season 6

Ed Bark — 2018-03-28T12:18:54-05:00
Mikhail Gorbachev’s twin punch reforms, perestroika and glasnost, remain in formative stages, with Soviet hard-liners intent not only on stopping these initiatives but seeing Gorbachev dead if he in any way compromises a still-in-development, all-powerful defense system during his nuclear disarmament talks with President Reagan. ...But in a setup for the Season 6 opener (Wednesday, March 28th, 9 p.m. central), Elizabeth offered to go it alone while an increasingly disenchanted Philip devoted his full energies to what’s been their more or less mock travel agency.

Alex, Inc. finds Zach Braff back in prime-time, this time as a family man on (where else?) ABC

Ed Bark — 2018-03-27T10:56:26-05:00
So he impulsively quits in hopes of launching his own more engaging podcast with help from Cheer Up producer Deirdre (Hillary Anne Matthews) and a wise guy second cousin named Eddie (Michael Imperioli). ...The series shifts back and forth from home front to workplace in the three episodes made available for review. Alex, Inc. is at its best, though, when the parents and their kids are interacting.

Splitting Up Together gives ABC another family-driven comedy with a personality all its own

Ed Bark — 2018-03-26T15:47:28-05:00
One parent will live in the re-appointed garage for a week while the other gets the house as a whole but also responsibility for daughter Mae (Olivia Keville), older son, Mason (Van Crosby), and his baby brother, Milo (Sander Thomas). ...Splitting Up Together, whose executive producers include Ellen DeGeneres, is a plus mark in a season that’s been notable for broadcast network reboots and spinoffs, but short on new comedies of any import.

Roseanne barges back on, but will it still fit ABC?

Ed Bark — 2018-03-26T13:00:01-05:00
As did NBC’s Will & Grace revival, ABC’s second coming of Roseanne unburdens itself of the polarizing presidential election in Episode 1 before putting a stop to it and moving on to other discords in upcoming half-hours. ...Barr’s acting is noticeably mechanical in the early going while Goodman (who seems to have made a million movies in the interim) initially seems a little lost in the transition back to playing a character for which he received seven Emmy nominations without ever winning.

FX's Trust takes some big whacks at the Gettys

Ed Bark — 2018-03-23T10:45:38-05:00
Sutherland is letter-perfect imperious in this role, whether dressing down one of his surviving sons, admiring the Kennedys as “men with red balls and hot blood” or coldly dismissing one of his live-in mistresses after he fails to achieve an erection. ...But the old man comes to enjoy the kids’s pluck and intellect while his grandson has one objective in mind -- securing $6,000 to pay off a series of debts he’s rung up in Rome while partying and occasionally selling one of his paintings for a big snort of cocaine.

Bill Hader takes a shot at being a hitman in HBO's Barry

Ed Bark — 2018-03-22T12:13:49-05:00
Skepticism is understandable, but both Hader and Winkler manage to make the sale while much of the comedy in these half-hour episodes is provided by a pair of Chechen mobsters who nonetheless are not to be taken lightly. Barry isn’t always completely on target. ...The sheer absurdity and audacity of that line, perfectly delivered by the underrated Root, is part of what makes Barry work. The Sopranos and various adaptations of Elmore Leonard’s crime novels likewise have some cockeyed moments amid the carnage. Barry has a tougher tightrope to walk because it also has to sell Hader, let alone Henry “The Fonz” Winkler, in roles that on paper seem unsuited to them.

Krypton gives Syfy a long Superman run-up -- but will it fly?

Ed Bark — 2018-03-20T12:14:43-05:00
There are no castles per se, but plenty of royalty amid all of the flying objects, none of which include the future Man of Steel. Krypton’s special effects are pretty impressive throughout the first five episodes made available for review. ...At the center of Krypton’s story is 23-year-old Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe), the handsome, chiseled, still single grandfather of Earth’s future Superman.

CBS' Instinct is groundbreaking while also very much being same old/same old

Ed Bark — 2018-03-16T10:21:40-05:00
They’re thrown together after Dylan’s bestselling book Freaks is used as a “tutorial” by a serial killer who leaves playing cards behind as clues to who he’ll murder next. ...This also is the episode in which Dylan’s estranged father makes an extended appearance at the expense of Naveen Andrews’ character, who’s not seen at all.

The network of musicals strikes again with Rise

Ed Bark — 2018-03-10T11:54:40-06:00
Now here comes Rise, a 10-episode series in which a frustrated high school English teacher attempts to walk on the wild side by directing an adaptation of Spring Awakening, a Tony Award-winning musical exploration of teen angst and sexuality inspired by an 1891 German play. ...Other members of the Spring Awakening troupe include transgender Michael/Margaret Hallowell (Ellie Desautels); plus-sized Annabelle (Shannon Purser); promiscuous Sasha (Erin Kommor) and lighting director Maashous Evers (Rarmian Newton), a foster kid who ends up being Rise’s most appealing student character.

ABC's Deception heists Castle while substituting a magician for a mystery novelist

Ed Bark — 2018-03-08T13:30:11-06:00
This is supposed to be a lark for the most part, and Cameron’s feisty backstage support team also can be a good deal of fun after they first entertain the idea of working for Criss Angel, whose name is dropped along with those of Doug Henning, Siegfried & Roy and David Copperfield. ...During the three episodes made available for review, it’s increasingly obvious that she’ll also be getting it on with FBI agent Alvarez while Cameron and Kay likewise show telltale signs of inevitably succumbing to a little sheets music.

No trophy for you: NBC's Champions is mostly just a participant

Ed Bark — 2018-03-07T16:54:01-06:00
Meanwhile, the son that Vince never knew he had (wow, what a novel twist) is now 15, openly gay and suddenly denied enrollment in a prestigious school after the dean of students who recruited him got caught in a “Jared from Subway-type sting.” ...Hayes once effectively played Lewis in a made-for-TV movie, so he might well be up to the task of injecting Champions with some sorely needed cheap belly laughs.

The CW's Life Sentence merits a quick death knell

Ed Bark — 2018-03-06T14:11:49-06:00
Life Sentence instead proves to be super-treacly with its overwrought, underwhelming tale of young Stella Abbott (Lucy Hale), who for the past eight years had steeled herself for death by cancer. ...But now that she’s got a reprieve, Ida is quickly in the arms of her daughter’s godmother Poppy (Claudia Rocafort) -- “I’m coming out as a bi-“ -- while college professor Peter wonders what hit him.

Frontline takes its turn in the Harvey Weinstein cesspool

Ed Bark — 2018-03-02T13:32:56-06:00
A former executive with the company, Tom Prince, flatly says “Harvey was a dictator” who raised suspicions when he had some young actresses flown abroad to play small l parts that easily could have been handled by locals at a fraction of the cost. ...He’s also likely to go unmentioned by host Jimmy Kimmel, because there’s nothing at all amusing about his long, alleged reign of terror. Frontline’s late-in-coming documentary capably condenses it all while Weinstein continues to prepare his defense.

You can go your own way: FX's Atlanta is finally back -- and again doing just that

Ed Bark — 2018-02-28T13:12:29-06:00
Glover has been much in demand, though, with Season Two of Atlanta a late arrival (Thursday, March 1st at 9 p.m. central) after the last of Season One’s 10 episodes aired back on Nov. ...The comedy, such as it is, could be fighting a too-close-to-call battle this season with an overall sense of foreboding and desperation. Atlanta is by no means a downer, though -- at least not yet.

Regarding 9/11, Hulu's The Looming Tower asks why

Ed Bark — 2018-02-27T14:20:02-06:00
Episode 1 sets these events in motion with footage from ABC newsman John Miller’s 1998 interview with bin Laden, who vowed to take violent action against the United States for what he perceived as past war crimes. ...Looming Tower, for which author Wright is a co-executive producer, is visceral and fully engaging in its best moments, but also head-hurting with some of its efforts to diagram the myriad goings-on abroad.

USA network goes hard core with Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G.

Ed Bark — 2018-02-27T09:35:40-06:00
Unsolved toggles between parallel investigations after the LAPD’s well-worn Greg Kading (Josh Duhamel) is summoned in 2006 by elder detective Brian Tyndall (Brent Sexton), who also was party to the original investigation of Biggie’s murder. ...While Kading assembles his ad hoc squad, Unsolved rewinds to the dogged probe of detective Russell Poole (Jimmi Simpson), who ended up being a lone wolf in his efforts to link the deaths of Tupac and Biggie while also putting various, possibly crooked cops on his radar.

Losing his religion's not an option in CBS' Living Biblically

Ed Bark — 2018-02-26T08:52:59-06:00
But nothing came of this, and a decade passed before Johnny Galecki, already very gainfully employed on CBS’ The Big Bang Theory, decided to take his first major fling as a head executive producer. ...Previous long-distance runners such as Touched By An Angel, 7th Heaven, Amen and even The Flying Nun have shown there could be a market for Living Biblically, particularly during this here and now of uncertainty and divisiveness.

Post-Olympics, NBC's Good Girls also goes for the gold

Ed Bark — 2018-02-23T14:25:56-06:00
In Episode 2, it’s back to some laugh lines, with Annie cracking, “I make nine dollars an hour, so just give me a couple of decades” to pay back her portion of the $60 grand now owed to the mob. ...Episode 3 is built around a largely comedic trip to Canada after Beth, Ruby and Annie are told they’ll be square with the mob if they bring back a package from what turns out to be a front called Cascade Canadian Crafts.

Netflix's Seven Seconds: accentuating the grim from a storyteller who seems to know no other way

Ed Bark — 2018-02-23T10:23:27-06:00
The architect of The Killing again is a determined bearer of bad tidings as the creator and writer of Netflix’s Seven Seconds, whose 10-episode Season One begins streaming on Friday, Feb. 23rd. ...In fact, though, these stories already are being told in abundance -- to the point where many viewers justifiably may want or even need a break. Seven Seconds, which runs for more than 10 hours that seem like 15, follows the grim and grimy Sud playbook without really saying much of anything new.

HBO's Here and Now has a spark only now and then

Ed Bark — 2018-02-07T14:39:12-06:00
The creator and principal executive producer is Alan Ball, who has been very good for HBO (and HBO very good to him) with the previous series Six Feet Under and True Blood. ...Ramon, who also has a new gay lover named Henry (Andy Bean), reluctantly joins his parents at the office of therapist Farid Shokrani (Peter Macdissi, who in real life is Ball’s partner and a co-executive producer of Here and Now).

Draw your own conclusions from Showtime's Our Cartoon President

Ed Bark — 2018-02-07T09:56:04-06:00
Colbert and his nightly opening demolitions of Trump and company have vaulted his show past competitors Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel in the total viewer Nielsen ratings. Cartoon President piles on more of the same while at the same time risking over-saturation. ...Nor is a family dinner of nothing but hot dogs while a disengaged President is fixated on an old Cowboys and Indians shoot ‘em up rather than any verbiage from his sons, Melania, Ivanka or Jared.

Some juvenile highs in NBC's A.P. Bio

Ed Bark — 2018-02-01T11:41:24-06:00
Jack Griffin (Glenn Howerton from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) struts through all of them as a disaffected Harvard grad and alum of Toledo’s Whitlock High School whose agenda includes “firm plans to bang my high school ex- as hard as I can.” ...Some of them stand out, including the very serious-minded Sarika (Aparna Brielle), student body president Marcus (Nick Peine), awkwardly rebellious Heather (Allisyn Ashley Arm) and the mostly clueless Colin (Tucker Abrizzi), who also plays the sax and whose mother is hot (the spotlight storyline of Episode 3).

Acorn TV's Girlfriends has age-old appeal

Ed Bark — 2018-01-29T10:04:12-06:00
But they re-bond at the funeral for Linda’s husband Micky (Steve Evets), who at the beginning of Episode 1 is first besotted aboard a cruise ship -- and then shockingly deceased after falling overboard. ...Beyond Sue (“I need a large g &t and a cigarette”), most of the comic relief comes from Gail’s tart, 84-year-old mother, Edna (Valerie Lilley), who’s prone to wandering away from her nursing home but retains at least partial control of her faculties.

Starz's Counterpart has a grip, a gimmick and a pair of J. K. Simmons

Ed Bark — 2018-01-25T10:34:26-06:00
Other characters of note include the duplicitous Alexander Pope (Stephen Rea), who operates in the other world; no-nonsense, real world director of diplomacy Roland Fancher (Richard Schiff doing double time away from ABC’s new The Good Doctor); and operative Ian Shaw (Nicholas Pinnock), who has an intimate relationship with a key character. ...Playing the two Howard Silks, though, is what makes Simmons who he really is -- a bald, plain-faced actor of presence and stature who at age 63 is getting to play leading men on two entirely different fronts.

TNT's The Alienist is just the latest drama to accentuate serial killing

Ed Bark — 2018-01-22T10:56:47-06:00
This time we’re in 1896 New York City, where intense alienist Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Bruhl) strives to put together clues and motivations tied to the murders of young boys dressed as girls for varying reasons. ...Those who book full passage for Season One’s 10 episodes may or may not get full closure. The Alienist, which closes out Episode 2 with Moore at the mercy of gangland forces and their young boy prostitutes, so far is trying terribly hard to be darkly spellbinding.

HBO's Mosaic sags down the stretch as a whodunit but puts Sharon Stone back in business

Ed Bark — 2018-01-19T15:01:38-06:00
Accomplished director Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven and its two sequels, Traffic, Erin Brockovich) does succeed, though, in resuscitating the acting career of Sharon Stone, who gives a bravura performance until her character suddenly goes missing. ...As with most latter day whodunits, Mosaic shifts into reverse -- in this case flashing back four years -- after first putting Joel on the receiving end of a likely arrest warrant.

Fox adds a new set of doctors to its house in The Resident

Ed Bark — 2018-01-18T10:07:45-06:00
Amy Holden Jones, daughter of a doctor and co-creator/executive producer of Fox’s new The Resident, seems to know just what many TV critics are thinking. ...But this isn’t supposed to be a soap opera in the mode of Dallas, so Bell seemingly can’t get away with being a broadly drawn J.R.

Darren Criss's killer performance -- and the stories of lesser-known victims -- are the main events of FX's The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

Ed Bark — 2018-01-17T09:13:58-06:00
It’s a fully committed, crazily energetic performance that carries this nine-part miniseries through its peaks, valleys and at times disjointed timeline. Assassination of Gianni Versace also is very nice to look at, except when the corpses left behind are not. Ryan Murphy, lately the busiest man in Hollywood, again shows that he’s generally on firmer ground when dramatizing real-life events rather than fictionally concocting them in series such as Nip/Tuck, Scream Queens, Fox’s new 9-1-1 and FX’s ongoing and very uneven American Horror Story anthology series.

A DC superhero of color in The CW's bold, bolt-dispensing Black Lightning

Ed Bark — 2018-01-15T12:04:57-06:00
In The CW’s case, it’s Cress Williams in the role of principled high school principal Jefferson Pierce, who nine years ago “retired” without a pension from being Black Lightning after the constant bloody battles he fought ended up costing him his marriage. ...Whale, an African-American with albinism and red hair (as is Jones III in real life), replies in no uncertain terms that he in fact hates “incompetent, thick-lipped, scratch-where-it-don’t-itch Negroes like you.

Millennial age crises in Freeform's Alone Together

Ed Bark — 2018-01-09T12:51:21-06:00
It all began as a short, self-produced film by Povitsky before bigger fish, namely Andy Samberg’s The Lonely Island production company, took notice and sold Freeform on the idea of a weekly series. ...They also help Benji to realize his full potential as a malfunctioning, neurotic adult, whether he’s persuaded into buying a fish tank by a pot-smoking entrepreneur with “restless neck syndrome” or selling his older brother on his built-in ineptitude.

Greatness is in the cards for Showtime's The Chi

Ed Bark — 2018-01-05T15:45:17-06:00
Starring: Jason Mitchell, Jacob Latimore, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, Yolonda Ross, Alex Hibbert, Tiffany Boone, Armando Riesco, Jahking Guillory, Steven Williams, Birgundi Baker, Shamon Brown, Michael Epps, Common ...But with Waithe at the helm, along with show runner Elwood Reid, they don’t come off as stereotypes. The Chi has the basic ingredients of most ensemble drama series -- characters who are mostly good and mostly bad, plus those caught in the middle by circumstances that keep bedeviling them.

The X-Files fires up anew in times when the truth is anything but out there

Ed Bark — 2018-01-02T16:16:24-06:00
But in the Fox publicity release accompanying the new X-Files episodes, Carter makes it a point to say up top: “As in our last time out, we put the band back together as much as possible, including Glen Morgan, James Wong and Darin Morgan. ...Most of the quips come from Duchovny, who in Episode 2 deadpans, “As if you didn’t know” after Scully inquires, “Why do you operate so well with your hands cuffed behind your back?”

9-1-1 gives Fox an emergency transfusion

Ed Bark — 2017-12-28T14:53:05-06:00
Murphy’s three ongoing FX franchises, American Horror Story, Feud and American Crime Story, are appreciably more “adult” in comparison, while his upcoming Pose touts “television’s largest cast of transgender actors in series regular roles and the largest LGBTQ cast ever for a scripted series.” ...But if there’s room for one more -- and quite likely there is -- then Fox certainly could do worse than a comparatively blood-less but decently executed series from a producer who still hits more than he misses.

Fox's LA to Vegas: 2018's first flight should have been grounded

Ed Bark — 2017-12-28T11:46:30-06:00
As the vain, womanizing Captain Dave, he’s looking for laughs after a grim and grimmer quintet of ABC’s Big Shots, TNT’s Dark Blue, FX’s American Horror Story, CBS’ Hostages and CBS’ Stalker. ...Fox made three episodes of LA to Vegas available for review during an early January rush that also will include the launches of 9-1-1 and The Four: Battle for Stardom plus the return of The X-Files for a 10-episode run.

Christmas merry-go-round -- 2017

Ed Bark — 2017-12-24T10:55:57-06:00
We both hope you’ll have a night and day of peace and joy at the close of a very eventful year. And as an extra added attraction, the finale of Uncle Barky’s Countdown to Christmas offers a double feature that you can watch right here.

Still full of majesty, Netflix's The Crown returns

Ed Bark — 2017-12-07T16:58:20-06:00
After the royal marriage is put in crisis mode, The Crown spends a good deal of its first three episodes rewinding through Philip’s great adventures abroad while Elizabeth both longs for his company and frets about what other company he might be keeping. ...For now, though, enjoy and appreciate all three of these principals in a Season Two that matches and sometimes surpasses the quality of the series’ initial 10 hours. The Crown remains a joy to behold and savor, whether it’s Philip giving a most gracious 10th anniversary toast or Elizabeth uncharacteristically coming alive while dancing the fox trot with the leader of Ghana.

Syfy's Happy! sells a Christmas story from hell -- and in eight episodes no less

Ed Bark — 2017-12-05T14:18:03-06:00
Post-Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Christopher Meloni’s walks on his wild side include Fox’s short-lived but bracing Surviving Jack, a pair of Wet Hot American Summer followups and a stint as Donald Trump in Funny Or Die’s The Kellyanne Conway Story. ... otherwise is recurrently a visual banquet of surreal scenes, with Meloni obviously not caring a whit about his “image” after a dozen years of true-blue crime solving on Law & Order: SVU.

Lauer's just the latest, but also the biggest, to be felled by charges of "inappropriate sexual behavior"

Ed Bark — 2017-11-29T10:38:37-06:00
Savannah Guthrie haltingly broke the news of Matt Lauer’s firing on Wednesday’s Today after charges by a so far unnamed staffer of “inappropriate sexual behavior” in the workplace. NBC photo ...While it is the first complaint about his behavior in over 20 years he’s been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.”

Taking a long-planned break

Ed Bark — 2017-11-08T08:29:15-06:00
Unclebarky.com is taking some time off while its proprietor goes on a big adventure. Thanks to all readers for your continued patronage, and be assured we’ll be back up after the Thanksgiving weekend with the November “sweeps” local newscast ratings results for starters.

Hulu's Future Man goes for the comedy gold

Ed Bark — 2017-11-07T13:34:45-06:00
In the first episode, which begins streaming on Tuesday, Nov. 14th, Josh, Tiger and Wolf use a short-on-fuel TTD (Time Traveling Device) for a trip to 1969 in hopes of stopping Elias Kronish from contracting herpes via a girl he meets at a moon landing-themed college frat party. ...It also should be noted that Hulu is going against the grain of its usual streaming regimen by making Season One’s 13 half-hour episodes of Future Man available all at once instead of in weekly doses.

National Geographic's The Long Road Home is both commemorative and compelling

Ed Bark — 2017-11-06T15:51:09-06:00
For the next seven Tuesdays (beginning with a two-hour premiere on Nov. 7th) and extending to just six days before Christmas, the National Geographic channel will bear arms with its most ambitious, expensive and heavily promoted venture to date. The Long War Home, filmed entirely in Texas, is adapted from ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz’s 2007 bestseller. ...All of the soldiers were deployed from Fort Hood, Texas, and Long Road Home journeys back and forth in briefly telling their back stories while dramatizing the wives’ reactions when sketchy news of the ambush starts to hit back home.

Showtime's SMILF is comedy with a high misery index

Ed Bark — 2017-11-03T10:31:27-05:00
O’Donnell, not known as the easiest person to get along with, nonetheless remains a surprisingly good actress who doesn’t mind deglamorizing herself -- either in this role or as a lesbian activist in ABC’s recent When We Rise. ...One of her friends, who’s plus-sized and wears a “Roses are red, Doritos are savory, the U.S. prison is legalized slavery” t-shirt at rehab meetings, lately is making big money with a website that requires men to pay to watch her over-eat while scantily dressed.

Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace gives Netflix a murder mystery with a mind of its own

Ed Bark — 2017-11-02T14:15:01-05:00
Unlike her futuristic The Handmaid’s Tale, which became a major success story for Hulu earlier this year, Alias Grace is based on grisly, real-life events. ...Sarah Gadon (Hulu’s 11.22.63) plays central figure Grace Marks, who’s spent 15 years in Canada’s Kingston Penitentiary after being co-convicted of the murders of house master Thomas Kinnear (Paul Gross) and his head housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery (Anna Paquin), with whom he was rather creepily intimate.

S.W.A.T.'s back on a network that's already persuaded viewers to have seconds of Hawaii Five-0 and Macgyver

Ed Bark — 2017-10-31T13:49:49-05:00
Plays a cop on TV, otherwise isn’t one. S.W.A.T. star Shemar Moore walks the CBS red carpet during TV Critics Association “press tour.” Photo: Ed Bark ...During these first four hours, Hondo also shoots with pinpoint accuracy while standing majestically in a helicopter; makes a successful flying tackle of a bad guy on a runaway motorcycle; cooks up a batch of his “famous gumbo” for a terrorized family and strengthens his inner city ties with visits to a beauty parlor and an old Muslim friend/informant whose convenience store has been damaged by a brick-throwing knuckle dragger.

Frontline pours on the Russian dressing with Putin's Revenge

Ed Bark — 2017-10-24T13:54:39-05:00
During a 2014 phone call to U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt, she told him “F**k the EU (European Union)” in terms of the U.S. interceding on Ukraine’s behalf and against Putin’s strong-armed efforts to keep the country under Russian control. ...At the same time, Donald Trump publicly encouraged the Russians to continue leaking damning information against his opponent. Putin’s Revenge covers all of this ground again but also the less well-known private confrontation between Obama and Putin at the G20 Summit in China.

Scaring up The Simpsons' 28th annual Treehouse of Horror

Ed Bark — 2017-10-19T12:57:14-05:00
Boo, it’s coming again on Sunday, Oct. 22nd at 7 p.m. (central) on Fox, where Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie have been taking up residence since a Dec. ...Your friendly content provider of course can’t be bribed, but, er, most of the candy will be re-gifted to trick or treaters (well, at least half of it) and it’s been quite a while since I’ve paid any attention to this annual rite of lightly coated scariness.

Megyn Kelly's woes are typical of high-priced news talent poached from rival networks

Ed Bark — 2017-10-18T12:44:41-05:00
As is currently the case with Megyn Kelly, the former Fox News Channel force who hasn’t been much to reckon with at NBC after first fronting a little-watched prime-time news magazine and now a 9 a.m. extension of Today with her name affixed. Ratings and reviews for both showcases have NBC News executives wondering what they’ve done to themselves. Megyn Kelly Today, which launched on Sept. 25th, so far has been digging an increasingly deeper Death Valley ratings-wise in its slot between the longstanding Matt Lauer/Savannah Guthrie-hosted Today and Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda.

Audience network's Loudermilk is as fresh as its title character is sour

Ed Bark — 2017-10-17T14:23:58-05:00
Even so, here’s an actor who, at age 50, deserves his own show and a defining role. Loudermilk, which joins Hit the Road in premiering Tuesday, Oct. 17th on DirecTV’s Audience network, shows strong signs of becoming what both he and we deserve. ...Several of Loudermilk’s “patients” also are fleshed out during these first four episodes, including a former rock band drummer with stunted arms and a wayward father who hasn’t communicated with his daughter in 10 years.

Jason Alexander gets his Costanza on in Hit the Road's unrepentant sendup of The Partridge Family

Ed Bark — 2017-10-17T10:52:53-05:00
Playing and singing along are his wife, Meg (the under-appreciated Amy Pietz); promiscuous oldest daughter Rita (Natalie Sharp); dense, marijuana-peddling son Alex (Nick Marini); asthmatic, hyper-sensitive adopted son Jermaine (Tom Johnson Jr.); and activist little daughter Casey (Maddie Dixon Poirier). ...Episode 2 finds the entire band camping out in pursuit of a front-of-the-line spot outside an audition hall, only to find that the entrance is at the other end of the building.

Showtime's White Famous overplays its racial component but may have a star player in Jay Pharoah

Ed Bark — 2017-10-13T11:00:48-05:00
These are times when the landscape is brimming with examples ranging from Donald Glover’s Emmy-winning Atlanta on FX; to ABC’s thriving black-ish; to HBO’s Insecure; to The CW’s de-whitening of its Dynasty reboot -- to name just a very few examples. ...Never more than a peripheral member of the Saturday Night Live cast, he plays Floyd without reservation and with an assured, cockeyed conviction. White Famous can be faulted in its conceits and concept, but Pharoah is fully invested and funny at times, too.

How serial killer profiling began: Netflix's Mindhunter has an appetite and an aptitude for that

Ed Bark — 2017-10-12T09:19:53-05:00
During a stop in San Francisco, he arranges an interview with the aforementioned Edmund Kemper (a superbly nuanced and chilling performance by Cameron Britton), an outwardly gentle, bespectacled giant of a killer whose grotesque murders of college co-eds are fully detailed in Mindhunter, but won’t be here. ...It’s left for Tench to save the day with the money quote from both a previously released Mindhunter trailer and also of these first two episodes: “How do we get ahead of crazy if we don’t know how crazy thinks?”

Dynasty does prime-time again (but will The CW's target audience even know it used to be a thing?)

Ed Bark — 2017-10-10T13:28:35-05:00
Arriving a few years after onetime arch-rival Dallas had a three-season run on TNT, The CW’s “modern re-imagining” of Dynasty seems like an odd fit for a network with a core target audience of 18-to-34-year-olds. ...After sleeping with Blake’s gay prodigal son, Steven (James Mackay), he shows up unexpectedly at Blake’s super-posh wedding to Cristal Flores (Nathalie Kelley), who was Krystle Jennings in the ABC version.

The CW's Valor soaps up its military motif

Ed Bark — 2017-10-06T12:09:15-05:00
Judging by the early ratings returns, NBC’s The Brave already is looking like it might be an aborted mission while CBS’ SEAL Team could be marching toward longevity on the sturdy shoulders of David Boreanaz, the Gen X equivalent of Mark Harmon. ...Since this is The CW, the Valor’s female CIA analyst is a sultry purring kitten, but with claws, compared to the more ripened characters respectively played by Anne Heche and Jessica Pare on The Brave and SEAL Team.

Shocking upset: ABC's The Mayor elects an entertainer with no previous training, but there the resemblances stop

Ed Bark — 2017-10-03T13:31:29-05:00
The Mayor wastes very little time in getting him elected after he lectures and belittles Gunt about the latter’s campaign pledge to clean up the garbage-strewn Fort Grey Commons, where Courtney used to play as a kid. ...Gunt’s former campaign manager, Valentina Barella (Lea Michele), is instantly on the prowl, hiring herself to be Courtney’s top advisor while his two homies, Jermaine and TK (Bernard David Jones, Marcel Spears), remain by his side.

Touched by ABC's Kevin (Probably) Saves the World

Ed Bark — 2017-10-03T11:57:38-05:00
Even so, Saves the World can be overly goofy at times and remains murky in terms of just what Kevin represents or is supposed to do as “the last of the righteous.” Whatever the potholes in the plot, Saves the World commendably aspires to be bracing and uplifting in times when a second coming of Touched By An Angel might just do a world of good.

Another Marvel to behold in Fox's The Gifted

Ed Bark — 2017-10-02T16:07:07-05:00
It’s the only remaining North Texas reference or remnant, with the opener otherwise scrubbed clean of its initial origins after Fox opted to shoot the rest of the series in tax-friendlier Atlanta and environs. ...It’s been a busy day for Reed, who earlier stares down a Belleview Acres High School principal after he and his wife, Caitlin (Amy Acker) are called in to be apprised of their son, Andy’s (Percy Hynes White), bullying at the hands of oafish classmates.

The address is so typically CBS in 9JKL

Ed Bark — 2017-10-02T14:17:39-05:00
Earlier this fall, the mostly set in its ways network took two walks on the wild side with new “single-cam” sitcoms (Young Sheldon and Me, Myself & I) that are shorn of laugh tracks and filmed out of view of a “live studio audience.” ...Complicating matters: Josh’s goofy brother, Andrew (David Walton), his wife, Eve (Liza Lapira) and their new baby son also live next door in an apartment whose doorman Nick (Matt Murray) alerts Judy to whenever Josh returns.

CBS' appetite for crook-catching gets an app in Wisdom of the Crowd.

Ed Bark — 2017-09-29T16:07:37-05:00
Tanner’s staff also includes engineer/confidante/secret bedmate Sara Morton (Natalia Tena); head programmer Josh Novak (Blake Lee), described in CBS publicity materials as “nerdy cool;” and new recruit Tariq Bakari (Jake Matthews), who impresses Tanner by hacking Sophe. ...Unlike APB’s quick solve, it looks as though the identity of Mia’s real killer will be a connective thread through multiple episodes of Wisdom of the Crowd.

Who you gonna call? (not Ghosted)

Ed Bark — 2017-09-28T14:00:47-05:00
Both are quickly plucked into service after somehow being deemed the best two people on planet Earth to locate one of the Bureau Underground’s “finest agents” after he goes missing in the first episode’s opening minute. ...All three of the network’s new fall series, including The Orville and The Gifted (yet another Marvel enterprise premiering on Monday, Oct. 2nd) rely heavily on other worldly premises. Ghosted is the thinnest of them.

ABC's Marvel's Inhumans is C-grade drama with a better than average villain

Ed Bark — 2017-09-28T09:49:01-05:00
As Game of Thrones’ thoroughly despised Ramsay Bolton, he finally received payback when his own ravenously hungry hounds made a meal of him. Marvel’s Inhumans -- yes, Marvel again -- finds Rheon comfily back in dark leather as the conniving, power-hungry Maximus. ...Karnak’s basic cynicism can be a bit of fun while Crystal’s repeated spurning of Maximus’ advances doesn’t keep him from calling her “princess-y,” which easily is the best line of these entire two hours.

Broad, bawdy and back: NBC's new/old Will & Grace

Ed Bark — 2017-09-27T11:12:31-05:00
This also is the episode where Will delivers a little sermonette on what his generation of older gay men have endured so that a younger generation can be far more open about their sexuality. ...The broad histrionics of Will, Grace, Jack and Karen, who are still cavorting before a guffawing live studio audience, at times seem more dated than NBC’s early reluctance to let Will have a same-sex kiss or be seen in bed with another man.

CBS' Seal Team has David Boreanaz in it -- which is likely all that matters

Ed Bark — 2017-09-25T15:58:09-05:00
It’s probably best not to bet against David Boreanaz, who’s had two decades worth of continuous TV series employment in starring roles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Bones. ...After dispensing with these preliminaries, the team is informed by CIA analyst Mandy Ellis (Jessica Pare from Mad Men) of a sudden prime chance to nab a kingpin terrorist named Abu Samir.

The Menendez Brothers get another whirl, this time with NBC's Law & Order attached

Ed Bark — 2017-09-25T12:08:26-05:00
The other big name is behind the camera in the person of Dick Wolf, who dominates NBC as no producer has since the late Aaron Spelling populated ABC with the likes of Charlie’s Angels, Dynasty, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Hart to Hart, T.J. ...During its planned limited run of eight episodes, beginning with a slo-mo re-creation of the killings, Menendez Murders chronicles what led to this, that and that before the brothers were convicted and sent to prison, where they remain.

It's not rocket science: Young Sheldon takes flight as a near-perfect prequel to Big Bang

Ed Bark — 2017-09-21T11:54:35-05:00
The fall season’s best new comedy, set in the fictional East Texas town of Medford circa 1989, has its own charm and a breakout kid star in Iain Armitage as brainy, persnickety nine-year-old high school freshman Sheldon Cooper. ...But there’s no indication of that in Young Sheldon’s first episode, which begins with narrator and Big Bang star Jim Parsons telling viewers that “I’ve always loved trains” while his pre-teen self plays with one.

CBS' time-spanning Me, Myself & I seems to be in too much of a hurry

Ed Bark — 2017-09-21T10:01:08-05:00
Add this: Moynihan, Larroquette and Jack Dylan Grazer (now appearing in the new feature film version of Stephen King’s It) look nothing alike even though they’re playing the same character, Alex Riley. ...So there’s not a lot of conflict here, except when Alex’s heart is broken via an unfortunate occurrence at the school dance while he’s dreamily dancing with his seemingly unattainable dream girl, Nori Sterling (Reylynn Caster and in later years, Lawrence).

ABC's The Good Doctor is both an autistic and artistic triumph

Ed Bark — 2017-09-20T14:36:42-05:00
He previously worked for ABC as a co-star on Lost before clashing with CBS over his demand that he be paid the same salary as Hawaii Five-0 co-stars Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan. That didn’t happen, so Kim left the series after seven seasons to further advance his fledgling 3AD production company, which is partnering with ABC after CBS programmers earlier passed on The Good Doctor.

NBC's The Brave force marches its way through international terrorism

Ed Bark — 2017-09-20T09:38:19-05:00
NBC is first to the battle front with The Brave, which premieres on Monday, Sept. 25th in a to-die-for time slot following The Voice. ...Ezekiel “Preach” Carter (Demetrius Grosse) is the other Special Ops risk-taker while domestic front CIA analysts Noah Morgenthau (Tate Ellington) and Hannah Rivera (Sofia Pernas) dig out invaluable information on who’s who and their whereabouts.

Prime-time Emmys pound away at Trump (and also give away some awards)

Ed Bark — 2017-09-18T11:46:29-05:00
Dolly Parton notably declined to go with the flow when co-presenters Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda tore into Donald Trump at Sunday night’s 69th annual Prime-Time Emmy Awards. Photos: Ed Bark ...It had been a very long monologue that also included a game assist after Colbert displayed a 2014 Trump tweet in which he said Seth Meyers would be a “total joke” as that year’s Emmy host because “he is very awkward with almost no talent.

Cinemax's Mike Judge Presents: Tales From the Tour Bus ties one on with country's most self-destructive stars (most now dead)

Ed Bark — 2017-09-14T14:55:27-05:00
For a while, until he fired ‘em, the Adams brothers also backed up George Jones, whose tempestuous marriage and singing career with man-hungry Tammy Wynette is recounted in Episodes 3 and 4 of Tales. ...“The Killer,” as he proudly called himself, might have been the “The King” instead of Elvis “had he not married his 13-year-old second cousin,” says the man who signed him to his first Sun Records contract.

Ken Burns' The Vietnam War brings it all back home in ways his other films never have

Ed Bark — 2017-09-13T12:25:51-05:00
But the face-to-the-camera storytelling is left to largely unknown soldiers on both sides, plus others who were directly involved in or affected by a war that ended the lives of more than 58,000 Americans, at least 250,000 South Vietnamese and more than a million Viet Cong and North Vietnamese. ...Watching the entirety of The Vietnam War, in just three days time for review purposes, left a wash of feelings and emotions for one who very much lived through those times (more on this in a brief postscript).

Fox's The Orville so far is lost in space

Ed Bark — 2017-09-07T15:05:36-05:00
Having spent much of the interim drinking or otherwise impaired, Mercer learns from an admiral named Halsey (the recurring Victor Garber) that “nobody’s first choice” is the beneficiary of a captain shortage that puts him in line to helm one of Planet Union’s 3,000 ships. ...MacFarlane’s efforts at dramatic indignation are particularly weak during this hour, which also includes a life-changing experience triggered by a viewing of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Down and dirty sex sells in HBO's unflinching The Deuce

Ed Bark — 2017-09-07T10:39:02-05:00
Starring: James Franco, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Emily Meade, Gary Carr, Dominique Fishback, Chris Bauer, Margarita Levieva, Chris Coy, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Don Harvey, Natalie Paul, Jamie Neumann, Mustafa Shakir, Michael Rispoli, David Krumholtz, Method Man/Cliff Smith, Ralph Macchio ...A wide array of supporting characters includes pimps Larry, C.C and Rodney (Gbenga Akinnagbe, Gary Carr, Method Man/Cliff Smith); pimp-controlled prostitutes Darlene, Lori and Ashley (Dominique Fishback, Emily Meade, Jamie Neumann); cops Chris Alston and Danny Flanagan (Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Don Harvey); mobsters Rudy Pipilo and Carmine Patriccia (Michael Rispoli, James Ciccone); openly gay bartender Bobby Dwyer (Chris Coy); and bouncer Big Mike (Mustafa Shakir).

Top of the Lake: China Girl further elevates Moss above her old Mad Men crowd

Ed Bark — 2017-09-06T13:05:02-05:00
Elisabeth Moss continues her TV career of the year with Top of the Lake sequel, in which she leads the way as detective Robin Griffin. Sundance TV photo ...Less than three months after Season One ended, she’s back for another go as angst-ridden detective Robin Griffin in Top of the Lake: China Girl, sequel to the 2013 original that won Moss a Golden Globe.

Thumping Trump with American Horror Story: Cult

Ed Bark — 2017-08-31T10:55:50-05:00
Starring: Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Alison Pill, Billie Lourd, Cheyenne Jackson, Colton Haynes, Billy Eichner, Leslie Grossman, Adina Porter Emma Roberts, Lena Dunham, Frances Conroy, Mare Winningham, Chaz Bono ...But as he’s demonstrated repeatedly, Murphy’s excesses can spill over in his mostly fictional projects, whether it’s Nip/Tuck, Scream Queens or the likes of AHS: Hotel, which was horrific in the worst sense of that word.

Netflix's Disjointed goes to pot without taking you higher

Ed Bark — 2017-08-23T13:34:36-05:00
Reviewers can’t inhale anything close to the entire first season due to the streaming giant’s unusual rollout of only Episodes 1, 3, 8 and 9 before all 20 half-hours of Season One are dealt to the public at large on Friday, Aug. 25th. ...Disjointed also is clearly intent on making breakout characters of the recurring Dank and Dabby (Chris Redd, Betsy Sodaro), a super-stoner duo with a youtube show where Travis cuts a sponsorship deal in return for free weed for the hosts.

A Trump is a Trump -- then and now

Ed Bark — 2017-08-17T10:33:02-05:00
This turned out to be a last-ditch effort to save the original, conventional version of The Apprentice by originating it from Los Angeles for the first time and also changing up the format. ...His two kids were more succinct at this particular session, with Don Jr. in particular speaking volumes after I dared to ask what he and Ivanka thought of O’Donnell.

NBC's Marlon brings on too much Marlon

Ed Bark — 2017-08-16T12:12:12-05:00
“I’m just going to make a perfect divorce ‘perfecter,’ “ by having sex with his ex-, Marlon proclaims to Stevie in Episode 4 before very predictably getting cold feet when Ashley comes on stronger than he expected. Worried that this is suddenly a case of “tap it and trap it” rather than “Lube her and Uber,” Marlon hides out in the bathroom and then makes another excuse: “I didn’t get to wash in there.

Epix deserves to come up big with Get Shorty

Ed Bark — 2017-08-14T14:33:12-05:00
Although the violence is recurring and particularly considerable in Episode 5, Get Shorty is never too far from a brisk one-liner, As when Rick’s tart receptionist, Gladys (Sarah Stiles) orders, “Put the plant over by the window. ...There’s no obvious weak link among the featured cast members, although Romano’s recurring use of the word “Yeah” to begin or end sentences is a familiar remnant from both his standup act and his signature sitcom role as Ray Barone.

Heading west for another bout with the summer TV Critics Association "press tour"

Ed Bark — 2017-07-24T12:46:31-05:00
I’ll be there almost for the duration, missing just a handful of early panels on Tuesday, July 25th after arriving in mid-afternoon on that day. ...My first press tour was in the summer of 1980, well before cable networks became a force and also pre-dating the launch of the Fox network, the Internet and latter day streamers such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.

Getting darker: USA network's The Sinner further distances the network from a recently discarded sales pitch

Ed Bark — 2017-07-21T08:07:39-05:00
Darkness prevails at the USA network, which formerly championed a “blue sky” approach that welcomed banter-laced, light-stepping dramas such as Psych, Royal Pains, White Collar, Fairly Legal and the pathfinding Monk. ...Closer to the here-and-now, USA’s The Sinner launches on Wednesday, Aug. 2nd as an eight-part, “close-ended” series fronted on-and-off camera by former 7th Heaven co-star Jessica Biel.

Midnight, Texas gives NBC a sure-footed supernatural offspring from the author of True Blood

Ed Bark — 2017-07-20T09:20:26-05:00
NBC’s Midnight, Texas, set in a one-horse town without any horses, features a psychic, a vampire, a witch, a shape-shifter, a gay “fallen angel” with wings at the ready and -- ooh, scary -- a talking cat with a scratchy Southern twang. ...There’s also a not so everyday Joe (Jason Lewis), who fears that being an earthbound angel at some point will trigger an all-out battle for survival with so far repressed underground “demons.”

Netflix's Ozark follows the money while Jason Bateman's career takes a new path

Ed Bark — 2017-07-19T09:30:48-05:00
Bateman, now a seasoned 48 and also a co-executive producer and director of Ozark, is best known for his starring role as Michael Bluth in Arrested Development, which Netflix recently green-lighted for a second season of all new post-Fox episodes. ... Over the course of Season One’s 10 episodes (all duly viewed, pant-pant), he makes the character work for him while also enduring slaps and punches to the face, pistols to the head and something appreciably more cringe-worthy in a season-ender that provides both resolution and a wide open door for another 10 episodes.

SNL and Westworld lead latest pack of Emmy nominees while Hulu also goes to the big dance with A Handmaid's Tale

Ed Bark — 2017-07-13T12:07:53-05:00
The third season of FX’s Fargo made another strong showing with 13 nominations. Feud and Fargo will square off as finalists in the “Outstanding Limited Series” category, where the other nominees are The Night Of, Big Little Lies and National Geographic’s Genius, which made a substantial impression on voters with a total of 10 nominations for its bio of Albert Einstein. ...NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers, a reliable Trump antagonist, also failed to make the cut, leaving the Peacock starkly without major nominations for its two Monday through Friday after-hours shows. SNL oddly is a nominee in the lesser “Outstanding Variety Sketch Series” category, even though all nine of its acting nods are under the “Comedy Series” umbrella.

Salvation: This time it's an asteroid attack in CBS' latest earth-shaking summertime "event"

Ed Bark — 2017-07-12T16:15:26-05:00
The initial two hours move along at a fairly crisp pace, complete with skulking and several close calls but next to nothing spent on special effects. Under the Dome, Extant and Zoo all have depended in part on their visual eye candy. ...The guess here is that Salvation will end up being one and done, with viewers proceeding at their peril if CBS pulls the plug without either putting that asteroid in its place or letting it go ahead and whack Earth.

Fancy-free Freeform feminism in The Bold Type

Ed Bark — 2017-07-10T13:48:48-05:00
Still, this series is intent on winning empathy points for the denizens of self-important Scarlet magazine, a stand-in for Cosmopolitan with three million subscribers and a reach of twice that many via various social media outlets. ...An intrusive blend of throbbing pop tunes -- “Make him whistle like a missile”, for one -- just can’t restrain itself during The Bold Type’s otherwise featured adventures of three young, ambition-pumped women staffers, who also are the best of friends.

TNT's Will find a way to make Shakespeare rock

Ed Bark — 2017-07-07T09:54:40-05:00
TNT’s Will does a surprisingly entertaining and sometimes even thoughtful job of this in presenting Shakespeare as a wide-eyed, young gun writer hoping to make his mark in order to feed his wife and their three children. ...Otherwise it will get very painful, with Will in constant peril while he’s also trying to hook up with a theater group run by the ornery and demanding James Burbage (fine work by the ever reliable Colm Meaney).

Snowfall is a tough sell, even if its crack cocaine is not

Ed Bark — 2017-07-05T09:27:36-05:00
As portfolios go, Singleton lately has lagged behind fellow veteran African-American filmmaker John Ridley, whose recent efforts include 12 Years A Slave, Guerrilla and three seasons of ABC’s American Crime, which was critically acclaimed but also had criminally low ratings. ...Beatings, killings, graphic language and gyrating bare behinds are never more than a few scenes away, with young Franklin gradually steeling himself before stumbling upon the joys of cooking coke during a trip to Oakland and a chance meeting with a thoroughly dazed free baser in a contorted Episode 7.

Smithsonian Channel's America In Color brightens history without blighting it

Ed Bark — 2017-06-29T10:36:55-05:00
But for the most part, no one cared about the slew of B-movies that Turner also touched up, including the likes of Once Upon a Honeymoon, Poultry Pirates and Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! ...The Smithsonian Channel’s five-part America In Color, which lights up the 1920s through the 1960s, is likewise a case of no harm done in terms of desecration or detraction.

Broadchurch returns with an assured grip for what's billed as its final season

Ed Bark — 2017-06-28T08:24:40-05:00
The recent finales of HBO’s The Leftovers and FX’s Season Three of Fargo both left viewers to draw their own conclusions while no one in their right mind expects David Lynch’s ongoing Twin Peaks: The Return to provide any firm grounding after its 18 episode-run on Showtime. ...David Tennant and Olivia Colman re-team as Detective Inspector Alec Hardy and Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller, this time in pursuit of whoever raped 49-year-old Trish Winterman (Julie Hesmondhalgh) after an alcohol-fueled 50th birthday party for her best friend, Cath Atwood (Sarah Parish).

GLOW gives Netflix a ring of fire

Ed Bark — 2017-06-22T15:04:45-05:00
The stars of the show otherwise are a severely struggling actress named Ruth Wilder (Alison Brie) and her best friend, Debbie Eagan (Betty Gilpin), a busty blonde beauty who gained a modicum of fame as an off-and-on co-star of the soapy Paradise Cove before motherhood intervened. ...But there are more than a few little unexpected delights, ranging from Ruth’s impression of Audrey Hepburn winning an Oscar for Roman Holiday to Sam’s learning that a just released real-life movie has upstaged his plans to direct a surefire crowning masterpiece titled Mothers and Lovers.

ABC's Gong Show re-do recaptures the Barris essentials

Ed Bark — 2017-06-20T13:31:10-05:00
It instantly has more star power than the network’s upcoming second coming of Battle of the Network Stars, with judges Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis and Ken Jeong populating Thursday’s one-hour premiere while Mike Myers covers himself in padding and heavy makeup as host “Tommy Maitland.” ...Then again, you’re reading the writings of a guy whose alter ego is Uncle Barky, a former child star who later became so desperate for work that he teamed with Maitland in the short-lived Welsh sitcom “Your Fly’s Open But There’s Really Nothing to Hide.”

Spike TV's The Mist means more money in the bank for horror's King midas

Ed Bark — 2017-06-20T10:37:02-05:00
The inveterate horror-meister’s inexhaustible library gets another whirl with Spike TV’s The Mist, adapted from a 1980 novella that also became a 2007 feature film directed by Frank Darabont of The Walking Dead fame. ...He secretly over-rules his wife and allows Alex to go off to a post-football game party as long as she promises not to drink and is escorted by her openly gay and picked-on friend, Russell Posner (Adrian Garf).

Megyn Kelly and NBC now know that soiling themselves with Alex Jones was also bad for business

Ed Bark — 2017-06-19T12:01:15-05:00
No. 1, her face-off with Jones bombed in the national Nielsen ratings with 3.71 million viewers in the 6 p.m. hour, trailing ABC’s rerun of America’s Funniest Home Videos (3.71 million); CBS’ 60 Minutes repeat (5.31 million); and Fox’s final full hour of a hardly dynamic U.S. ...Worse yet for the Peacock, major advertisers bailed, leaving Megyn Kelly with a mix of gratis Ad Council-stamped public service spots, promos for NBC shows and fire sale rate ads from companies that generally can’t afford this kind of prime-time real estate on a Big Four broadcast network.

Acorn TV's Loch Ness trades in above-ground monstrosities

Ed Bark — 2017-06-15T13:26:17-05:00
Loch Ness sorts through this chamber of horrors (and chamber of commerce nightmare) in ways that can be both gripping and more than a little far-fetched at times. ...Also in the law enforcement mix is visiting forensic psychologist Blake Albrighton (Don Gilet), a headstrong naysayer who apparently once had a thing with Lauren, even though it’s not really fleshed out.

Hoping to nail it with TNT's Claws

Ed Bark — 2017-06-07T14:20:59-05:00
But Desna (Nash) has big plans to move on up to prime property in Sarasota after enduring a nail-bitting year of laundering money for a lucrative “Dixie Mafia” drug clinic run by “Uncle Daddy” (Dean Norris from Breaking Bad and Under the Dome). ...Preston is solid in the role of the drawling, sweet-tempered Polly while Lyon’s Jennifer nicely juggles her roles as both the salon’s second-in-command and the wife of Big Daddy’s underfoot younger son, Bryce (Kevin Rankin).

Living the life of tortured standups in Showtime's searing I'm Dying Up Here

Ed Bark — 2017-06-02T12:34:54-05:00
Jim Carrey, a principal executive producer, is one of the comics who got his start at Mitzi Shore’s The Comedy Club, as did the likes of Richard Pryor (played very deftly by guest star Brandon Ford Green in Episode 3), David Letterman, Robin Williams, Freddie Prinze, Jay Leno and Sam Kinison. Carrey also has recounted, in interviews and Showtime publicity materials, how he lived in an acquaintance’s L.A. closet for a year while trying to make his bones as a comic. I’m Dying Up Here doubles this particular pleasure by putting two transplanted Boston comics, Eddie Zeidel and Ron Shack (Michael Angarano, Clark Duke), in this severely cramped situation.

Pelley slides over to a full-time position with 60 Minutes -- but not smoothly

Ed Bark — 2017-05-31T13:24:52-05:00
“I find my heart filled with gratitude for the opportunity to know you, humility in light of your sacrifices, and hope for the future of journalism because of the standards you live by,” he says in a statement directed at his Evening News colleagues. ...CBS News President David Rhodes, with whom Pelley reportedly had growing differences, said that the “milestone 50th season of 60 Minutes requires Scott’s full contribution, and we look forward to important reporting from him for many years to come.”

Oh Romeo, WTF? ABC gets dopey with Still Star-Crossed

Ed Bark — 2017-05-26T14:28:19-05:00
All of this is far closer to The CW’s Reign than HBO’s Game of Thrones, with the battles between leftover Montagues and Capulets raging anew after secretly wed Romeo and Juliet (the interracial pairing of guest stars Lucien Laviscount and Clara Rugaard) drink themselves to death without inspiring viewers to care in the least. ...None of this seems likely to resonate, even if Star-Crossed’s various duplicities and infidelities are in keeping with the modus operandi of ABC’s preceding The Bachelorette.

ABC's Dirty Dancing tries to floor it on the final night of the May "sweeps"

Ed Bark — 2017-05-24T10:54:54-05:00
It’s odd, then, that the family car drive to Kellerman’s Lodge is a far looser affair, with Marjorie, Baby and her older sister, Lisa (an unconvincingly cast Sarah Hyland from Modern Family) breaking into “Big Girls Don’t Cry” before rather easily persuading Jake to join in. ...After all of that plays out again, the film returns to 1975 for an epilogue that rather ham-handedly reconnects the two principals instead of letting things end with the original’s climactic group performance of “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life” (an Oscar-winner for Best Original Song).

What was that? It's Showtime for Twin Peaks

Ed Bark — 2017-05-22T08:59:53-05:00
Showtime’s continuation of Twin Peaks premiered Sunday night without any advance review opportunities and with a 2-hour chunk before the premium pay network made the next two episodes available On Demand and on its streaming site. ...Vince Gilligan (FX’s Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), Noah Hawley (FX’s Fargo and Legion) and Ryan Murphy (FX’s American Horror Story, American Crime Story and Feud anthologies) are among those with a talent for blending the absurd with the basically plausible.

The CW catches reboot fever with Dynasty

Ed Bark — 2017-05-18T13:27:15-05:00
Now The CW, intent on broadening its audience beyond 18-to-34-year-olds, is hoping to make a soapy splash with one of ABC’s onetime hits. Dynasty is joining the network’s new fall lineup, with former Melrose Place heartthrob Grant Show now grown into the role of business tycoon Blake Carrington while Nathalie Kelley (The Vampire Diaries) steps in as Krystle Carrington. ...Valor (drama) -- Matt Barr, formerly a recurring character on the newly canceled Sleepy Hollow, quickly bounces back as commanding officer Leland Gallo, whose Shadow Raiders helicopter unit just had a very bad outing.

CBS picks six, including a Big Bang Theory prequel, for new fall schedule

Ed Bark — 2017-05-17T08:50:02-05:00
Newcomer Iain Armitage plays nine-year-old Sheldon Cooper, whose big brain already has advanced him to an East Texas high school. Big Bang star Jim Parsons narrates in an approach reminiscent of ABC’s The Wonder Years, veteran CBS scheduler and senior executive vice president Kelly Kahl said in a Wednesday morning briefing. ...Me, Myself & I (comedy) -- It’s an obvious effort to piggyback on the success of NBC’s time-spanning This Is Us, with Saturday Night Live veteran Bobby Moynihan the principal star as a “present day” 40-year-old version of a guy named Alex.

Two paws up for ABC's Downward Dog

Ed Bark — 2017-05-16T13:47:06-05:00
He also resents being locked in “the sex room” whenever Nan and her nominally ex-boyfriend, Jason (a heavily bearded Lucas Neff from Raising Hope), succumb anew to one another, usually after heavy consumption of wine. ...Instead it gets almost everything irresistibly right, whether it’s Martin’s simple yet challenging life (“I’m only human,” he reasons) or the accompanying two-legged human endeavors that shift his mind into overdrive and this series into the realm of the near-sublime.

ABC adds five freshman for the fall while readying American Idol for a midseason splash (updated)

Ed Bark — 2017-05-16T11:06:56-05:00
Third out of the box with its new season plans, struggling ABC has five newbies for this fall and a rebooted American Idol on its bench awaiting big decisions on who will host (likely Ryan Seacrest) and who will judge (who knows?). ...The fall lineup also has a trio of notable night shifts, with Shark Tank moving from its longtime Friday perch to Sundays, Once Upon A Time segueing from Sundays to Fridays and black-ish going from Wednesdays to Tuesdays.

Idol thoughts tied to Fox's new season announcement

Ed Bark — 2017-05-15T08:08:53-05:00
But first some revelatory words from Fox Television Group co-chairman/CEO Dana Walden on why Fox is losing its all-time signature show, American Idol, to a poacher next season. ...9-1-1 (drama) -- FX auteur Ryan Murphy (the American Horror Story, American Crime Story and Feud anthology series) rebounds from the cancellation of his Scream Queens with this “fast-paced exploration into the lives and careers of first responders.”

NBC is first out of the gate with a new fall lineup with little new

Ed Bark — 2017-05-14T11:59:48-05:00
NBC otherwise is rebooting Will & Grace for a “12-episode event” while also padding producer Dick Wolf’s wallet with another extension of his Law & Order franchise. Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders is an eight-episode answer to FX’s American Crime Story anthology series. ...Will & Grace (comedy) -- Original stars Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally are all reprising their roles in what was a breakthrough broadcast network series back in 1998. W&G ran until 2006, with all four principals winning at least one acting Emmy.

I Love Dick takes Amazon Prime into a thoroughly adult book store

Ed Bark — 2017-05-10T13:10:31-05:00
Kathryn Hahn plays Chris, a frustrated, two-bit filmmaker whose husband, Sylvere (Griffin Dunne), intends to reexamine the Holocaust as part of a fellowship bankrolled by Dick Jarrett (capable Kevin Bacon), a wealthy artist who hasn’t done anything new for the past decade. ...In I Love Dick, the plan at first is for Chris and Sylvere to drive from New York to Marfa before she flies off to a Venice festival where her film has been accepted.

Hulu's version of The Handmaid's Tale can't help but be a clarion call 32 years after its first incarnation

Ed Bark — 2017-04-25T12:39:12-05:00
There’s little choice, though, with The Handmaid’s Tale, which already has been embraced by “The Resistance” as a chillingly cautionary look at what could happen to women if the still nascent Republican administration is allowed to have its way. ...Episode One ends with Offred underscoring her defiance while Lesley Gore’s 1963 anthem, “You Don’t Own Me,” accompanies both the final scene and the closing credits. Handmaid’s Tale comes off as that sort of rallying cry in perceived times of need for many.

Tackling Einstein and keeping him within grasp in National Geo's Genius

Ed Bark — 2017-04-24T09:27:18-05:00
So Genius begins with the bloody 1922 assassination of the Jewish foreign minister of Germany’s Weimar Republic before cutting to an older, married Einstein’s in-office sexual coupling with his much younger secretary. ...National Geo’s previous scripted efforts have mostly amounted to adaptations of Bill O’Reilly’s Killing books. Genius easily is the network’s most ambitious undertaking to date, with Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush (Shine) and the comparatively unknown Johnny Flynn respectively taking turns as the older and younger Einstein.

NBC's Great News is even better news for ageless Andrea Martin

Ed Bark — 2017-04-21T15:16:48-05:00
And for a role that makes or breaks this show, creator/executive producer Tracey Wigfield and co-executive producer Tina Fey had the eminent good sense to cast the great Andrea Martin, who’s given more screen time than perhaps she’s ever had. ...But at least some acting is required, and Richie delivers, whether teasing a story on going “undercover as an ugly person” or noting that “my mentor, Roger Ailes” suggested that she show a lot more leg on-camera.

Pulling through with Oprah Winfrey in HBO's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Ed Bark — 2017-04-20T12:20:08-05:00
Hobbling around on a cane and hit with enormous mood swings born from being molested as a girl, Winfrey’s character shares much of her screen time with Rose Byrne as the intrepid and oft-giggly Skloot. ...Wolfe (Nights In Rodanthe) has a tough story to tie together -- and at times ties himself in knots before a goodly young British doctor provides something of a Christmas bow by very generously allowing Deborah and her brother to see Henrietta in all her ever-living glory.

Fox News Channel officially cuts ties with Bill O'Reilly (updated)

Ed Bark — 2017-04-19T13:58:51-05:00
In a new statement released later Wednesday, O’Reilly first lauded The Factor as “one of the most successful news programs in history” and a key contributor to “building Fox into the dominant news network in television.” ...The network has announced that the aforementioned Carlson will be inheriting O’Reilly’s slot while The Five, which had been airing at 4 p.m. (central), gets Carlson’s old spot.

FX's Fargo does a slower burn in early stages of Season 3

Ed Bark — 2017-04-18T11:22:13-05:00
The Sharknado-like fish storm from Season 1 of Fargo and Season 2’s eventually pivotal flying saucers might be slightly less swervy than the outlandish/cartoonish first on-camera killing in Season 3’s extended opening episode. ...He’s become the prosperous “Parking Lot King of Minnesota” while younger brother, Ray (also played by McGregor), festers as a put-upon and sometimes peed on parole officer who spends a good amount of time personally overseeing parolee urine samples.

Adrift and out of sorts: Veep re-starts with Selina in political Siberia

Ed Bark — 2017-04-12T10:20:03-05:00
Dashing, womanizing Dan Egan (Reid Scott) is now with CBS This Morning, former chief of staff Ben Cafferty (Kevin Dunn) finds he’s an ill fit for Uber and ex-communicators director Mike McLintock (Matt Walsh) is fighting off financial ruin while continuing to adopt babies with his wife, Wendy (Kathy Najimy). ...But it seems likely -- and to the show’s benefit -- that Selina soon will be back in her sweet spot as a candidate for some high national office. Veep is at its best when her political team is united -- and of course also divided.

O'Reilly on the ropes? Popularity doesn't matter if advertisers forsake you

Ed Bark — 2017-04-10T09:11:23-05:00
Absent any mainstream ads, but with a wealth of 800 number bottom-feeders, the host still found time to promote his latest book and upcoming personal appearances on Friday’s The O’Reilly Factor. Photo: Ed Bark ...It was not a good look for the embattled host, for whom FNC has paid out a reported $13 million to settle sexual harassment charges by five accusers. The Factor had six commercial breaks, if you want to call them that.

In a more sharply divided media landscape than ever before, is the truth really out there anymore?

Ed Bark — 2017-03-28T09:18:44-05:00
The President’s frequent “fake news” diatribes and infamous “enemy of the people” tweet have never included Fox News Channel, where he’s lately done the majority of his interviews while also parroting whatever the network says is news -- even if it’s from a commentator citing the unnamed sources that Trump claims to despise. ...Even the two Sunday morning media analysis shows, CNN’s Reliable Sources and FNC’s Media Buzz, can’t be relied on to be faithfully impartial anymore. Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter, who replaced Howard Kurtz, is easily the more balanced of the two.

Serving more time and resurrecting the dead via Fox's Prison Break

Ed Bark — 2017-03-27T10:10:44-05:00
Seven years ago, Prison Break’s soulful Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) presumably was laid to rest after sacrificing himself for the greater good of his new wife, Sara Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies), and their unborn son. ... Fox sent the first four episodes while also imploring, “Specifically in regards to Episode Four, we ask that you DO NOT reveal the details of the prison escape sequence, as well as major character deaths and a villain reveal.”

ABC might have a marginal winner with Imaginary Mary (or is it just my imagination?)

Ed Bark — 2017-03-26T13:21:40-05:00
This second half-hour, which will be shown in Imaginary Mary’s regular Tuesday slot (after sneak-previewing on Wednesday), also has a shot at Bill Cosby and the first thaws in Alice’s relationships with Ben’s kids. ...A couple of months down the road, ABC will launch the like-minded Downward Dog, which co-stars a talking canine opposite Allison Tolman in her first TV series since breaking out in Season One of FX’s Fargo.

Despite an already guaranteed Season 2, TV Land's limp Nobodies might just stay that way

Ed Bark — 2017-03-24T14:19:53-05:00
A trio of real-life Hollywood grovelers all play themselves in TV Land’s Nobodies, which can be desperately amusing at times but too often comes off as just desperate. ...Languishing as writers on a fictional animated Nickelodeon show called The Fartlemans, they yearn to be taken seriously and think they have just the right vehicle with their screenplay for Mr.

Hulu's Harlots bares 18th century England

Ed Bark — 2017-03-23T13:34:38-05:00
She has two daughters, seasoned Charlotte (Jessica Brown Findlay) and the still virginal Lucy (Eloise Smith), whose un-flowering could attract some of the big money Margaret needs to relocate to nicer digs. ...Still, this is a decidedly different and bracing look at ye olde England, with power struggles aplenty as women strive to assert themselves while men mostly just want to insert themselves.

Fox's Shots Fired is the latest broadcast network drama aiming to be socially relevant

Ed Bark — 2017-03-21T11:23:38-05:00
All of these forces intertwine and collide in a morality tale whose soapy touches and swelling music may give Shots Fired a more “commercial” appeal than either When We Rise or American Crime, both of which have more of a documentary feel. ...Still, it’s drama of a fairly high order and relevancy on a network not known for such efforts. When We Rise and American Crime likely will have bigger upsides come Emmy time.

NBC's Trial & Error makes a play date with the "true-crime" genre

Ed Bark — 2017-03-10T14:52:05-06:00
There’s no rhyme or reason -- nor is there meant to be -- to this tale of a small town poetry professor charged with fatally propelling his wife through their glass front door. ...Trial & Error can be hit & miss, but the hits just keep on coming as the murder case twists itself into a pretzel of ifs, buts, maybes and absurdities.

Opposite of escapism: Season 3 of ABC's American Crime

Ed Bark — 2017-03-09T14:33:48-06:00
But ABC lately stands alone in this respect after a substantial and likely anticipated ratings shortfall for last week’s When We Rise, a four-night, eight-hour miniseries that dramatized the history of the LGBT(Q) movement. ...But let the record show that ABC rather amazingly has dared to get behind American Crime for a third time while its Big Four broadcast network rivals -- CBS, Fox and NBC -- perhaps would sooner subject themselves to medieval torturing.

Patsy Cline gets an overdue American Masters tribute

Ed Bark — 2017-03-07T12:01:35-06:00
Narrated by Roseanne Cash, the one-hour American Masters presentation (Wednesday, March 8th at 7 p.m. on KERA13 in Dallas) fittingly is being paired with another reprise of Roy Orbison: A Black and White Night during the PBS station’s latest pledge drive. ...Cline became a star in times when women struggled to gain footholds in a recording industry dominated by male powerbrokers. Patsy Cline portrays her as both independent-minded and also insecure in breaking away from the traditional country music mold and those cowgirl outfits her mother used to make for her early stage performances.

Season 5 of FX's The Americans is still in the Reagan White House era, but what if someday . . .

Ed Bark — 2017-03-06T14:46:45-06:00
The Americans otherwise remains in the top tier of TV dramas, even if the first three episodes of the 13-episode new season (launching Tuesday, March 7th at 9 p.m. central) could use a kick in the pants pacing-wise. ...What an electric avenue it could be, though, if a grizzled but thoroughly wily Elizabeth and Philip jetted roughly three decades into the future for their ultimate mission in Season 6.

Time travel palooza with Fox's Making History and ABC's Time After Time

Ed Bark — 2017-03-03T14:12:16-06:00
Traveling in a zippered, internally wired device perfected by his late father, Dan regularly hooks up with Deborah during his journeys back to 1775 Lexington, where the men are coarse chauvinists and the British remain an occupying army. ...Founding Fathers John Hancock and John Adams (John Gemberling, Neil Casey) are portrayed as dolts who spend most of their time drinking in Buckman Tavern while blacksmith Paul Revere is a humorless taskmaster who basically views his daughter as a hired hand living under his thumb.

FX's Feud: Bette and Joan gives old Hollywood a big and boisterous tumble

Ed Bark — 2017-03-02T14:37:13-06:00
FX’s eight-part Feud: Bette and Joan also can be substantive in telling the tale of two larger-than-life, but fading dynamos battling the Hollywood system in times when women were very seldom seen behind the camera and discarded when they were deemed too old to be in front of it. ...Bette and Joan, for which the first five, one-hour parts were made available for review, is built around the pairing of Davis and Crawford in the wholly unanticipated smash feature film of 1962, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Wolf's at the door again, this time with Chicago Justice

Ed Bark — 2017-02-28T12:06:17-06:00
The overall star of the show, assistant state’s attorney/deputy chief of special prosecutions Peter Stone (Philip Winchester), is the son of New York City district attorney Ben Stone, who was played by Michael Moriarty in the first four seasons of Law & Order. ...He still knows how to put together a crisp, concise story, and certainly how to milk a franchise. Chicago Justice, which some also see as something of a lightly camouflaged Law & Order reboot, gives NBC another steady hand that’s also no great shakes.

NBC's Taken -- or maybe you'll just as soon leave it

Ed Bark — 2017-02-27T16:22:49-06:00
NBC’s misfiring Taken is billed as a 30-year prequel to the same-named feature film, with Standen stepping in to play ex-Green Beret Bryan Mills while Liam Neeson chills as the character’s older self. ...As part of a planned payback, he takes out our anti-hero’s sister, Cali (Celeste Desjardins), during a melee aboard a train after Mills springs into action upon deducing that something’s amiss.

ABC's triumphant When We Rise reacquaints ABC with its Roots

Ed Bark — 2017-02-23T14:01:25-06:00
McKenzie, Emily Skeggs, Fiona Dourif, Jonathan Majors, Ivory Aquino, Sam Jaeger, Rafael de la Fuente, Carrie Preston, Todd Weeks, Phoebe Neidhardt, Gideon Adlon, Charles Socarides, Arliss Howard, Rosie O’Donnell, Whoopi Goldberg, David Hyde Pierce, Phylicia Rashad, Rob Reiner, Richard Schifff, Denis O’Hare ...The roll call includes Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie O’Donnell (both as San Francisco-based lesbian activists); David Hyde Pierce (Cleve’s recalcitrant doctor father); Phylicia Rashad (a church pastor supportive of gay civil rights); Rob Reiner (a naysaying but ineffectual court “expert”); and Richard Schiff (a judge).

What would Trump do without his enemies of the people -- or they without him?

Ed Bark — 2017-02-22T10:26:31-06:00
But it’s been on a prolonged ratings surge during Trump’s presidency, beating onetime kingpin Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show for three consecutive weeks in total viewers although still trailing by increasingly smaller margins among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds. ...As for the fifth enemy of the people, well, ABC News is doing just fine lately. World News Tonight currently ranks No. 1 in total viewers, with the NBC Nightly News (a fellow enemy) just a bit behind.

A hard-knocks but poetic life for the ages in PBS' Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise

Ed Bark — 2017-02-21T09:14:04-06:00
So she stopped talking for the next five years and didn’t speak again until a teacher and friend of the family told her that a newfound love of poetry could only be fully appreciated by reciting the words. ...He’s most memorable at the end of a story on how his mother was denied work as an understudy to Pearl Bailey in an all-black Broadway version of Hello, Dolly!

HBO's Crashing: a "small" comedy that measures up

Ed Bark — 2017-02-19T10:09:39-06:00
And as Crashing evolves (HBO made the first six episodes available for review), he grows in appeal as a babe in the New York City jungle who ends up depending on the kindness of fellow, far more successful stand ups. ...Besides, he has to run off to the city again for a chance to do a few minutes of standup at a crummy comedy club that doesn’t pay him but does enforce a two-drink minimum whether you’re onstage or in the sparse audience.

The Good Fight comes out punching in Round One for CBS All Access

Ed Bark — 2017-02-17T11:13:16-06:00
The network’s recently launched streaming service, CBS All Access, gets serious this Sunday with its first original series. The Good Fight, a continuation of its much-lauded The Good Wife, puts Christine Baranski at center stage in place of Julianna Margulies, who leaves the scene after seven seasons and two Emmy awards in her leading role of Alicia Florrick. ...CBS obviously wants to entice viewers to buy into All Access by giving them something worth investing in. The Good Fight is enticing bait, although it’s a shame that the broadcast network hasn’t come close to measuring up in recent seasons with a string of standard-issue new dramas, most in the crime-solving genre and none in any danger of receiving an Emmy nomination.

HBO's Big Little Lies: all-star angst amid a dangled double mystery

Ed Bark — 2017-02-16T09:35:05-06:00
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Alexander Skarsgard, Laura Dern, Adam Scott, Zoe Kravitz, James Tupper, Kathryn Newton, Jeffrey Nordling, Iain Armitage, Darby Camp, Cameron Crovetti, Nicholas Crovetti, Ivy George, Santiago Cabrera ...Fourth wheel Renata Klein (Laura Dern) is a prosperous businesswoman with a little girl named Annabella (Ivy George) and a husband, Gordon (Jeffrey Nordling), who endures her verbal volatility while also trying to tame it.

Doubt bounces Katherine Heigl over to CBS

Ed Bark — 2017-02-14T14:05:42-06:00
All hasn’t gone as planned since she left Grey’s Anatomy in 2010 with the idea of becoming a movie star. Grey’s remains gainfully deployed on ABC while Heigl since has been in a pile of pedestrian, barely seen feature films (Jackie & Ryan, Home Sweet Hell, Jenny’s Wedding, etc.) while also fronting NBC’s quickly canceled State of Affairs during the 2014-’15 TV season. ...Hill’s attorney Cobb admonishes and advises Sadie but relies on couples’ therapy to sort out whether it’s possible for him to have an enduring relationship with his on-and-off girlfriend.

Tower deftly animates a University of Texas tragedy

Ed Bark — 2017-02-14T09:50:42-06:00
Running for just under one hour, 20 minutes and airing under the Independent Lens banner, Tower premieres at 9 p.m. central on (KERA13 in D-FW). The director is Keith Maitland, who financed the film via the Indiegogo crowdsourcing website before receiving $70,000 in matching funds from University of Texas alumni. ...It’s shown near film’s end as a bridge to forgiveness from Claire Wilson James, who was pregnant on that day and lost both her baby and her boyfriend to Whitman’s bullets.

FX goes thoroughly mondo Marvel -- and brilliantly so -- with Legion

Ed Bark — 2017-02-07T15:26:18-06:00
FX has ordered just eight hours for Legion’s first season, which gives Hawley the luxury to take his time while also having ample time to closely monitor Season 3 of Fargo, which is due this spring. ...Both Smart and Keller co-starred in Season 2 of Fargo before Hawley took them with him to Legion for the respective key roles of Melanie and Syd.

A billionaire with swagger plays savior to a crime-ridden Chicago in Fox's APB

Ed Bark — 2017-02-05T14:22:24-06:00
Reeves, whose company has set the pace for technological innovation, buys his way into total control of this sub-force by throwing money at the Windy City’s budget shortfall while threatening to fund Mayor Salgado’s (Nestor Serrano) opponents if he doesn’t give the go-ahead. ...The APB ensemble is rounded out by tradition-minded district captain Ned Conrad (Ernie Hudson); hard-charging police officer Nicholas Brandt (Taylor Handley) and Reeves’ trusty assistant, Ada Hamilton (Caitlin Stasey), who gets an intriguing and apparently ongoing subplot in Episode 3.

24: Legacy is evidence that time's up

Ed Bark — 2017-02-03T10:23:01-06:00
Now that Fox’s first Jack Bauer-less 24 is upon us, another tick-tock axiom comes to mind after watching the first four hours made available for review: Even a broken clock is right twice a day. ...It’s no big reveal, though, to say that yet another massive domestic terrorist strike is at hand unless the new Jack (Corey Hawkins as former Army Ranger Eric Carter) can quickly come up with $2 million.

Netflix's Santa Clarita Diet offers all you can eat absurdity

Ed Bark — 2017-02-02T13:30:17-06:00
These four core characters mesh very well together in a daringly different and exuberant concoction from Victor Fresco, whose previous off-center efforts include My Name Is Earl, Andy Richter Controls the Universe (he has a cameo in Episode 1) and Better Off Ted. ...Still, Santa Clarita Diet very much has a comic beat all its own, with Joel reasoning that “the best prototype would be a young, single Hitler” before Sheila all but lip-smacks the line, “Man, this guy really hit the spot.”

Justice with a sledgehammer on CBS' Training Day

Ed Bark — 2017-02-01T10:06:13-06:00
The overall enforcer is deputy chief Joy Lockhart (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), who periodically drops in during the first three episodes to warn Craig that he’d better stick to that game plan or she’ll have his badge and also ruin his life. ...But the height of ridiculosity comes later, when Rourke and his crew run out of ammo and are pinned down by a small army of drug dealers to the tune of Johnny Cash’s “Remember the Alamo.”

Superior Donuts: another sitcom fit only for CBS

Ed Bark — 2017-01-31T11:54:24-06:00
It has a black character in a featured rather than tacked-on role after CBS took some heat on the diversity front at the start of this season. Superior Donuts otherwise is built on the same foundation of punch lines and piped-in guffaws. ...Koechner, a veteran of both The Office and the Anchorman films, gets the utmost out of the lines given to him while Jobrani’s high-strung Fawz manages to safely land the line “You two are like Cagney and Lazy” in a future episode.

NBC's Powerless plugs into the (what else is new?) superhero genre

Ed Bark — 2017-01-31T08:59:27-06:00
It’s also the first authorized DC sitcom, with a collection of ordinary humans at center stage while superheroes and super villains create super collateral damage during their never-ending battles. ...And of course, just when it looks as though all is lost, a “game-changing product” materializes that keeps Wayne Security from being shut down and Van Wayne from being “absorbed” into the Gotham office.

Even more twists/turns in newest Witness for the Prosecution (this time on Acorn TV)

Ed Bark — 2017-01-26T14:08:57-06:00
Set in London circa 1923, the two-hour film has its U.S. premiere on Monday, Jan. 30th via Acorn TV, which actually is a subscription streaming service that you’d do well to look into. ...Were she alive to see it, the feeling is that Christie might like Jones best of all in a role where the character’s name has been changed (from Wilfred Robarts) while his added-on fragilities threaten to divide and conquer him.

RIP Mary Tyler Moore: Dec. 29, 1936 to Jan. 25, 2017

Ed Bark — 2017-01-25T17:37:48-06:00
She was promoting what turned out to be ABC’s Mary and Rhoda, a poorly made TV movie that paired Moore with Valerie Harper (her best friend Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show) for the first time in 26 years. ...Moore eventually won out, was proud of herself and said she planned to write a book about “the emergence of me as a mature woman who’s finally able to stand on my own two feet and say, ‘I have learned a lot about this business.

Riverdale: The CW pulp novelizes those old gee-whiz Archie comic books

Ed Bark — 2017-01-25T09:55:43-06:00
Also included are the transforming of goofball Jughead Jones into a ruminating Holden Caulfield while no-nonsense schoolteacher Miss Grundy goes from middle aged, plain-faced and basically asexual to piping hot and very friendly with a gooey, reciprocal Archie Andrews. ...All four episodes are spiked by the recurring schemings of the dead Jason’s twin sister, Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch), who in one of her milder moments verbally slaps Betty with a reference to her “crazy, tweaked-out sister.” Riverdale likewise fits that description.

Lifetime's Beaches remake moves along pretty swimmingly

Ed Bark — 2017-01-19T09:38:14-06:00
The principals are played by Idina Menzel (as CC) and Nia Long (Whitney) a generation after Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey teamed in the 1988 feature film directed by the recently deceased Garry Marshall. ...It’s her first big on-camera role after excelling as the voice of Queen Elsa in Frozen before having her name mangled at the Oscar ceremony by presenter John Travolta.

FX's Baskets still in the throes of its miseries, but also keeping some slivers of hope alive

Ed Bark — 2017-01-17T16:14:01-06:00
The only truly unmitigated louse of Baskets is Dale, who’s basically hatable in Episode 3 after he manipulates Martha into going on a date with him. ...It works on several levels, but primarily via the friendship struck up by Christine and Ken (Alex Morris), an African-American carpet store owner whose daughter, Cypher (Eva La Dare), also has been a constant challenge.

HBO has the damndest thing in The Young Pope

Ed Bark — 2017-01-12T13:12:05-06:00
But Pope Pius XIII, abandoned by his parents as a seven-year-old and dropped off at an orphanage run by the nurturing Sister Mary (Allison Case in flashbacks, Diane Keaton in the present), seems wholly above their pedestrian machinations. ...Pius XIII (born Lenny Balardo) smokes as a way of exhaling, demands breakfasts of Cherry Coke Zero and no more, doesn’t do “friendly” while on the job, spurns all efforts to merchandise the new papacy and refuses to be seen by the masses.

Carrie-ing on with Season 6 of Homeland

Ed Bark — 2017-01-12T10:54:57-06:00
The series’ Sunday, Jan. 15th return (at 8 p.m. central) almost instantly establishes that Quinn is alive and limping in a hospital rehab wing, where he’s self-destructive and thoroughly resistant to Carrie’s daily visits. ...It’s a solid enough re-start to a series that Showtime already has renewed for two more seasons beyond this one. Homeland has “proven it can reinvent itself year after year,” Showtime president/CEO David Nevins told TV critics last summer.

FX's Taboo does a very slow boil

Ed Bark — 2017-01-09T14:02:51-06:00
Still, there remains something of an abiding interest in what might happen and what did happen to James Delaney (Hardy), a blunt-spoken, uncompromising, presumed dead prodigal son whose very unexpected return to dank 1814 London sets events in motion while also tending to plod in place. ...Three episodes deep, there’s an appetite for more, but not a ravenous one. Taboo could develop into a whale of a tale once Delaney is fully seen in his earlier element.

Double requiem: HBO's Bright Lights shines upon Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher

Ed Bark — 2017-01-06T09:55:14-06:00
Originally scheduled for a March air date, the 90-minute Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds can be seen for the first time on HBO at 7 p.m. (central) on Saturday, Jan. 7th. ...It’s a long way from Postcards From the Edge, which Fisher wrote in 1987 before Shirley MacLaine and Meryl Streep played approximations of Debbie and Carrie in the 1990 film adaptation.

NBC's Emerald City trades in oohs, Oz and mayhem

Ed Bark — 2017-01-05T14:27:38-06:00
So it’s eventually decided to exile her on a yellow brick road to Emerald City, where she’s expected to answer to The Wizard (a sometimes unintentionally laughable Vince D’Onofrio from NBC’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent). ...Dorothy and Toto find an ally in “Lucas” (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), whom they first encounter hanging from a cross and covered with mud and um, straw. Emerald City also introduces decidedly different variations on the Tin Man and Cowardly Lion, but you’ll have to see for yourself.

Netflix hits a sweet (and spicy) spot with Hispanic version of One Day At a Time

Ed Bark — 2017-01-05T11:32:16-06:00
So in that context, here indeed comes the “re-imagined” One Day At a Time, whose 13 Season One episodes start streaming on Friday, Jan. 6th. ...The new One Day At a Time also tackles workplace sexism, being true to one’s self and, in Episode 1, Elena’s extreme reluctance to be a part of Quinceanera.

NBC News lands Megyn Kelly, and will have much for her to do (updated)

Ed Bark — 2017-01-03T15:14:02-06:00
After a high profile year in which she feuded with Donald Trump and joined the chorus against deposed Fox News Channel founder Roger Ailes, star player Megyn Kelly is leaving the network that put her in the spotlight and joining forces with NBC News. ...NBC’s statement on Kelly’s hiring says that all four of its major news division properties -- Today, Nightly News, Meet the Press and Dateline -- are number one among 25-to-54-year-olds (the main advertiser target audience for news programming) and 18-to-49-year-olds.

Freeform's Beyond also beckons a binge

Ed Bark — 2017-01-02T09:47:18-06:00
Being of sound mind and still in holiday season layback mode, your friendly content provider watched the first four episodes in preparation for this review. Beyond, whose executives producers include Tim Kring of Heroes fame and later infamy, is the fairly diverting tale of a Fort Reed, Kansas kid who’s knocked into a 12-year coma after wiping out in the woods on his mini-motorcycle while being chased by some jerks in a monster truck. ...A little too much patience is required at times, but the first four episodes do include a brief glimpse into a pretty cool looking netherworld during Holden’s chemical injections at the hands of Willa.

More CBS crime time (but in a somewhat lower key) with Ransom

Ed Bark — 2017-01-01T15:28:36-06:00
Episode 1 finds Beaumont first tackling a hostage situation in Montreal before moving on to Denver, where an eight-year-old kidnapping case has suddenly come alive after the parents of a then three-year-old son get a ransom note. ...There are likely to be more to come on a network that only occasionally fails to keep its crime hours in play for multiple seasons. Ransom is easier to take than some of them, and with a hero who doesn’t have to brandish a gun to get the job done.

Fox's The Mick is not Mickey Mouse-ing

Ed Bark — 2016-12-29T14:38:01-06:00
Olson, who had a long run as bartender Deandra “Sweet Dee” Reynolds on Sunny, is well-cast as “The Mick,” which in earlier times was both a fond nickname for a certain New York Yankees legend and a derogatory term for an Irish immigrant. ...They soon manage to flee the country while Mick is asked to be a stand-in parent to snooty teen Sabrina (Sofia Black D’Elia), her wiseass younger teen brother Chip (Thomas Barbusca) and little seven-year-old Ben (Jack Stanton), who’s not yet been despoiled but is still problematic.

39th annual Kennedy Center Honors not all that special this time, but the CBS partnership still is

Ed Bark — 2016-12-22T14:19:14-06:00
It probably falls somewhere in the middle of the pack on a continuum that stretches all the way back to 1978, when CBS and the Kennedy Center got together for the debut ceremony honoring Fred Astaire, Richard Rodgers, Marian Anderson, George Balanchine and Arthur Rubinstein. ...You have to be among the living to be honored, so the clock is ticking like a time bomb for the likes of Lewis, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, Dick Van Dyke and Norman Lear, all of whom have yet to get the Kennedy Center call.

Fox's Star so far is Empire-building on a shaky foundation

Ed Bark — 2016-12-13T14:06:57-06:00
So in a flash, Star, Simone and Alexandra hook up and head off to Atlanta, where beauty parlor owner and would-be godmother Carlotta just happens to be willing to take them in and provide guidance on her somewhat stern terms. ...Her three troubled sons from a marriage to nefarious record magnate Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) also could be embraced with varying degrees of empathy. Star offers none of those plusses, with Latifah trying hard to be Star’s version of Cookie but coming off as more of a saltine in comparison.

True Brit: The Level is only the latest on Acorn TV

Ed Bark — 2016-12-13T09:09:03-06:00
Acorn’s latest acquisition, The Level, a whodunit featuring the first post-Downton Abbey series role by Robert James-Collier, ends up being only a fair to middling investment. ...This time out she’s detective sergeant Nancy Devlin, whose compromising position with a mobster named Frank Le Saux (a very briefly seen Philip Glenister) ends up compromising her when she witnesses his shooting death early in Episode One.

RIP Grant Tinker: Jan. 11, 1926 to Nov. 28, 2016

Ed Bark — 2016-11-30T15:49:03-06:00
Tinker’s MTM Enterprises, which he formed in 1969 with his then wife, Mary Tyler Moore, birthed some of television’s most esteemed series, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, WKRP in Cincinnati, Lou Grant, The White Shadow, Remington Steele, Hill Street Blues and St. ...Tinker’s preference for TV’s high ground didn’t stop him from defending, sort of, his involvement in 1965’s My Mother the Car, which he helped to nurture during an earlier six-year stint as one of NBC’s programming vice presidents.

More future shocks in Syfy's solidly executed Incorporated

Ed Bark — 2016-11-29T13:07:21-06:00
But they do invest this sobering drama series with impressive production values and an array of eye-catching innovations if you happen to be among the privileged few living in a Green Zone. ...Haysbert drops in and out more than the other featured players, but does have a nice one-on-one scene with Miller’s Laura in an eventful and revealing Episode 5.

Fusion's The Traffickers could also be a starmaker

Ed Bark — 2016-11-18T10:55:31-06:00
She is very much front and center in The Traffickers, which can still be off-putting to those who prefer a more “traditional” form of journalism. ...Among the Big Four broadcast networks, ABC above all prizes “star quality” journalists who wear their empathy and/or outrage on their sleeves. The Traffickers might someday be remembered as the series that put this still budding talent on radar screens -- even if not on many home screens.

A "Lady Mary" quite contrary in TNT's Good Behavior

Ed Bark — 2016-11-15T10:27:55-06:00
Through it all, TNT flexes its latter day “edgy” muscles with f-bombs that have their midsections muffled, some rather provocative sex talk and Dockery in various stages of undress that wouldn’t have made the cut in Rizzoli & Isles. ...This gives Dockery a chance to belt out a few bars of “Blue Skies” during the course of sloshing down martinis with the unsuspecting spouse while Javier joins her hubby for a little game of golf -- and an end game.

The Crown is another jewel for Netflix

Ed Bark — 2016-11-02T08:38:20-05:00
But in the first two episodes, the second of which is simply magnificent, Harris registers fully as a kingly father who dearly loves both Elizabeth and her far more coltish sister, Margaret (Vanessa Kirby). ...Nor is she entirely unsympathetic as a dutiful daughter who strives to work things out before invariably giving in. The Crown also makes it clear that Elizabeth quickly becomes rather taken with the ornate trappings and adoring subjects during trips abroad to the Crown’s “dominions.”

Cubs and Indians have a Boudreau running through them

Ed Bark — 2016-10-27T14:15:51-05:00
The Chicago Cubs, sainted baseball team of my youth, return to their home city Friday night for the first World Series game in Wrigley Field in 71 years. ...And in the year they won it all, he also was the American League’s MVP and star of the first ever one-game playoff to get into the World Series between the Indians and Boston Red Sox.

People of Earth gives TBS some space

Ed Bark — 2016-10-27T10:45:14-05:00
But by the end of the first four episodes made available for review, People of Earth has built a small-town universe with just enough quirks and intrigue to keep its premise in play. ...The central character, Ozzie Graham (former Daily Show writer/correspondent Wyatt Cenac), is a soft-spoken big-city journalist who’s sent to little Beacon, NY for what’s supposed to be a one and done story on wackos who think they’ve been abducted by aliens.

Docs in smocks fight these battles in CBS' "Bunker Hill"-set Pure Genius

Ed Bark — 2016-10-26T08:30:18-05:00
An idealistic billionaire and an ace surgeon put their heads together at a state-of-the-art medical emporium in Pure Genius. CBS photo ...His recent executive producer credits include Friday Night Lights and Parenthood, both for NBC. Pure Genius is for CBS, and it’s also Katims’ first medical drama.

McHale's nadir -- as the star of CBS' new The Great Indoors

Ed Bark — 2016-10-25T11:46:45-05:00
For whatever reason (money), he’ll soon be thudding his way through a “traditional” multi-camera CBS sitcom filmed before a live studio audience and equipped with an annoying laugh track sweetener whenever necessary -- which is often. ...“You guys don’t know what it’s like to look at a creature that is the last of its kind,” he says in exasperation.

What the deuce? BBC America's Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency careens into view

Ed Bark — 2016-10-21T11:13:12-05:00
He’s called on to do this often when the eccentric and effete Dirk Gently (Samuel Barnett) breaks into his apartment and pronounces himself a “holistic detective” who gets “intrinsically connected” to cases without having any firm ideas on how to solve them. ...We’ll leave you with a quote from BBC America president Sarah Barnett, who says in publicity materials: “Fans of Doctor Who, Monty Python, Sherlock and Barton Fink will find things to love in this sharply original yet reverent gigantic puzzle, at the heart of which are funny, messed-up people you really care about.

LeBlanc's back with CBS' likeable Man With A Plan

Ed Bark — 2016-10-20T11:26:11-05:00
Adam, who’s in business for himself, is left to make the transition from “Daddy Fun Times” to the guy who takes their three kids to school, picks them up and keeps things in working order until Andi returns home. ...At age 49, he seems to have a fairly firm grip on what works for him. Man With A Plan suits this guy, and his co-star makes it an even better fit.

Laurie's back and Hulu's got him in Chance

Ed Bark — 2016-10-19T11:04:56-05:00
Having played a surly doc on Fox’s long-running House and recently a villainous billionaire businessman in AMC’s acclaimed The Night Manager, estimable Hugh Laurie is back in M.D. mode for Hulu’s Chance. ...D is played menacingly by Ethan Suplee, who’s a revelation in this role after initially gaining fame as dense sibling Randy Hickey in the NBC comedy series My Name is Earl.

Reviewing Amazon Prime's Goliath after viewing all eight episodes

Ed Bark — 2016-10-17T14:51:23-05:00
The introspective guy behind Boston Legal, Ally McBeal and Picket Fences has had a rough go of late with The Crazy Ones for CBS, Monday Mornings for TNT, Harry’s Law for NBC and Wonder Woman, which never made it past the pilot stage after being developed for NBC. ...It’s a crackling good yarn of semi-good versus abject evil, with Kelley seemingly very aware that many viewers might be parched at this point for some straight-ahead dramatics that don’t rely on time travel, dreamscapes, otherworldly monsters and season-to-season string-alongs.

Epix weighs in twice with its first scripted series of note -- Graves and Berlin Station

Ed Bark — 2016-10-13T11:26:09-05:00
Preceded by a concerted promotional campaign, they arrive Sunday night at the close of a free preview weekend. Graves is the showier of the two, with Nick Nolte front and center as a former president seeking to atone for being the “worst ever.” Berlin Station has a better grip on itself, though, as a skulk-around spy drama set in contemporary times. ...As with most cloak-and-dagger dramas, there’s a lot of following around while the mind games escalate and the sound track remains stuck in the key of ominous. Berlin Station so far looks like a series worth riding out, with Jenkins, Armitage, Ifans and Forbes all making strong contributions to the cause.

Falling Water continues on the USA network's newly darker path

Ed Bark — 2016-10-12T11:28:25-05:00
Don’t be misled by the ill-fitting title, because USA’s Falling Water has nothing to do with either a very elementary weather forecast or a cooling, summertime slip ’n’ slide park. ...Piecing together what’s real and what isn’t may or may not be an exercise in futility. Falling Water looks to be a chancy bet that something eventually will come out the other end.

ABC's in your face American Housewife has too much fatty material

Ed Bark — 2016-10-11T09:15:31-05:00
But in many ways (besides Roseanne being far funnier), that’s one of the few differences between these two sitcoms. American Housewife even premieres on the same night and time -- Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. (central) -- that Roseanne did back in October, 1988. ...Katie, who favors plaid, flannel shirts in the mode of Roseanne Conner, brays her way through the first episode in ways that too often make her off-putting rather than a down-to-earthy role model for plus-sized women.

Insecure at last colorizes HBO

Ed Bark — 2016-10-07T13:00:41-05:00
But landing a man has been a steep uphill climb, with Molly collecting and discarding them almost night by night while Issa continues to live restlessly in the nondescript Dunes apartment complex with her nice guy, but unemployed boyfriend Lawrence (Jay Ellis). ...Some of Rae’s best moments during the six episodes made available for review are when her character squares off with herself in a mirror and rehearses what she should or shouldn’t say in big moments.

HBO's Divorce is a near-perfect union of Sarah Jessica Parker/Thomas Haden Church

Ed Bark — 2016-10-05T13:21:32-05:00
This otherwise is a thoroughly adult turn for Parker, who inhabits it with the sure-footedness of someone who’s bided her time waiting for just the right role and also is one of Divorce’s co-executive producers. Church, whose previously best known role was in the critically praised 2004 film Sideways, likewise excels as the easily vexed Robert, whose recurring stomach problems go hand in hand with a whiny, run-at-the-mouth persona.

Less than hi-tech: The CW's time traveling Frequency has a ham radio vibe

Ed Bark — 2016-10-04T11:30:12-05:00
NBC’s Timeless, which premiered Monday and got off to a solid ratings start, is notably more whimsical and primary-colored than Frequency -- in addition to having a much broader scope. ... And sports fans like myself are duly impressed that the series also gets its history of the 1996 World Series right, including the New York Yankees’ near-miracle comeback in Game 4 on the Atlanta Braves’ home field.

No Tomorrow is in keeping with The CW's current-day accent on appealing lead women

Ed Bark — 2016-10-03T15:10:51-05:00
Jane the Virgin, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and the newly imported Supergirl form a nice nucleus, though, while iZombie and Reign (both returning in midseason) are of a more serious bent while not getting all clenched up about it. ...on a too gimmicky regular basis, otherwise is flaming out with her nerdy boyfriend, Timothy (Jesse Rath), whose surprise marriage proposal comes just after Xavier intrigues her with his “Apocalyst” of things to do before the end.

Justice do-over? ABC's Conviction literally counts down the days

Ed Bark — 2016-09-30T11:46:01-05:00
Hayley Atwell has washed that Marvel right out of her hair, quickly rebounding from ABC’s failed Agent Carter to the network’s new Conviction. But she’ll still be up against it Monday night opposite the premiere of NBC’s spirited Timeless, which has the added advantage of an industrial strength lead-in from The Voice.

Timeless puts NBC back into past tense

Ed Bark — 2016-09-29T15:02:33-05:00
So Lucy, jaunty, wisecracking Master Sergeant Wyatt Logan (Matt Lanter) and Mason employee Rufus Carlin (Malcolm Barrett) are soon off in the rickety thing to find and apprehend a bad guy who otherwise might turn history on its ears. ...It would be giving away too much to detail the ease in which Lucy, Wyatt and Rufus return to the scene of an impending crime. Timeless tends to have plot holes the size of pot holes.

HBO's version of Westworld: a morality play replete with gunplay

Ed Bark — 2016-09-29T09:13:26-05:00
Starring: Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, Anthony Hopkins, James Marsden, Jeffrey Wright, Thandie Newton, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Tessa Thompson, Shannon Woodward, Jimmi Simpson, Rodrigo Santoro, Ingrid Bolso Berdal, Ben Barnes, Sam Quarterman, Angela Sarafyan, Luke Hemsworth, Clifton Collins, Jr. ...The super-rich guests, paying at the rate of $40,000 a day, are free to roam, copulate and pillage as they please with what amounts to their playthings. Westworld strives to both comment on the primal human condition and engage viewers in some of the hosts’ yearnings to somehow become human.

Tales from their dark sides: the formative years of Trump, Clinton in PBS' The Choice 2016

Ed Bark — 2016-09-27T09:22:49-05:00
But as the analysis of their respective performances goes on an on and on, let’s remember that one night of joint show-and-tell does not begin to tell the stories of how Clinton and Trump were bent, shaped and mutilated into what they are today. ...Hillary, who in essence became Bill’s campaign manager in his successful re-election bid, also turned for the first time to reptilian Dick Morris, a campaign consultant who’s now ripping her on a weekly basis in the pages of The National Enquirer.

Fox's The Exorcist: another knockoff, but not a cheap-looking one

Ed Bark — 2016-09-23T11:04:55-05:00
And the magnetic leading man, Alfonso Herrera, is going to go places whether or not The Exorcist becomes a Friday night staple like Fox’s The X-Files or quickly vanishes along with other short-lived feature film knockoffs ranging from Fox’s Minority Report to two versions of Uncle Buck, on CBS and then ABC. ...He’s been having very bad dreams of late, all of them with visions of a demonically possessed Mexico City boy who’s at the mercy of both the devil and an older priest who’s desperately trying to pull him out of it.

MacGyver re-do gives CBS another retro dud

Ed Bark — 2016-09-23T09:22:42-05:00
His abundance of narration during Friday’s premiere bespeaks the show’s seeming inability to pull off anything resembling natural-sounding dialogue. MacGyver otherwise bounces from one less than scintillating action scene to another, with a generic soundtrack of utmost urgency. ...Viewers might be better served if CBS simply filed for creative bankruptcy at this point rather than continue to pound out the likes of MacGyver, Kevin Can Wait and another upcoming paint-by-the-numbers sitcom starring Matt LeBlanc as a vexed stay-at-home dad.

ABC's Notorious leaves a ring around the cable news and legal professions, but not in a way that makes it watchable

Ed Bark — 2016-09-22T10:42:04-05:00
“Inspired” by the real-life tales of defense attorney Mark Geragos and news producer Wendy Walker, ABC says its latest serial string-along is a “provocative look at the unique, sexy and dangerous interplay of criminal law and the media.” ...Its anchor (played by Kate Jennings Grant) is an amoral cougar who’d poison her grandma as a means to an end, but definitely wouldn’t sleep with Larry King unless he could guarantee her eternal life.

Pitch perfect? Fox's new baseball series comes pretty close

Ed Bark — 2016-09-22T08:24:47-05:00
Ginny, firmly and impressively played by Bunbury, has been schooled by her taskmaster father, Bill Baker (guest star Michael Beach), who taught her the screwball as a “secret weapon” that just might get her to the Bigs. ...What happens on the field has the feel of a major league game, with no one involved looking as though they’ve discovered a ball, bat and glove for the first time. Pitch also does a terrific job of building the drama and bringing them home.

Fox's Lethal Weapon brings its own ammo

Ed Bark — 2016-09-21T09:05:45-05:00
It adds up to more than simply marking time between action sequences, which include a high-speed chase in the middle of a downtown Grand Prix race and not one, but two bullet wounds for Riggs during the course of subduing the opening episode’s principal villains. ...Lethal Weapon, paired with the still highly potent Empire in Fox’s Wednesday night lineup, looks as though it might have a winning blend of two well-matched lead actors and a Walker, Texas Ranger-sized helping of weekly bang/boom/vroom.

Speechless aims to open eyes, hit some comedy sweet spots

Ed Bark — 2016-09-20T13:16:05-05:00
In case anyone might wonder for even a second, Maya greatly objects to any use of the word “cripple” while demanding that JJ gets an access ramp at the school entrance rather than at the back end where deliveries are made. ...The network already has a very formidable roster, whether it’s Patricia Heaton’s “Frankie” Heck (The Middle); Wendi McLendon-Covey’s Beverly Goldberg (The Goldbergs); Tracee Ellis Ross’ Rainbow Johnson (black-ish); Sofia Vergara’s Gloria Pritchett (Modern Family; Constance Wu’s Jessica Huang (Fresh Off the Boat; or Martha Plimpton’s Eileen O’Neal (The Real O’Neals).

ABC's Designated Survivor gives Kiefer another world crisis but a meeker demeanor

Ed Bark — 2016-09-20T07:34:36-05:00
Wednesday’s opening episode, the only one made available for review, solidly sets the hook while only partly weaning Sutherland from all those years as Jack Bauer on 24 (which Fox plans to reboot without the Jack Bauer character following the Feb. 5th Super Bowl). ...Before any of this can be resolved, Tom is ordered to hunker down as “the designated survivor” while everyone else of any consequence is on site for the State of the Union address.

FX steps up to join HBO in major Emmy awards driver's seat

Ed Bark — 2016-09-19T09:17:12-05:00
The host also put himself at the mercy of nightly Jimmy Kimmel Live foil Matt Damon -- the show never has time for him -- after HBO’s Last Week Tonight With John Oliver won for best variety talk series. ...It was a night of usual suspects, also first-timers in two major weekly series categories. Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus won as best actress in a comedy series for the fifth straight year; Regina King won again, but in an entirely different role for ABC’s American Crime; an again absent Maggie Smith collected another Emmy for PBS’ Downton Abbey; and Jeffrey Tambor repeated for his role in Transparent (with Kimmel handing him a statue at the outset of the show to signify he was a lock).

NBC's This Is Us deserves and needs your helping hand

Ed Bark — 2016-09-16T11:19:48-05:00
But if you’re looking for the increasingly hard-pressed broadcast networks to challenge cable with something truly different, then NBC is the prime address this fall. This Is Us joins The Good Place, which is being sneak-previewed on Monday, Sept. 19th, in the realm of the distinctly different -- as opposed to Fox’s remakes of Lethal Weapon and The Exorcist, and CBS’ MacGyver burp-up. ...So this is quite a blend from the start, with This Is Us quickly advancing the story lines while also making room for a memorable stint by Gerald McRaney as an elderly doctor brought in to deliver Rebecca’s triplets after her regular MD has a medical emergency.

CBS hopes to create a Bull market via optimum product placement

Ed Bark — 2016-09-16T08:59:34-05:00
Bull’s the head man at the sleek, state-of-the-art Trial Analysis Corporation, which is dedicated to the cynical but often all too true proposition that virtually anyone can beat a murder rap if the right jury is in play. ...This makes him an easy mark for Bull’s flip-offs, which include a recitation of the old Big Mac jingle (there’s later an Arby’s reference, too) in an effort to convince the defense that its simpleton “try the facts” approach is more outdated than the new CBS sitcom Kevin Can Wait.

The Good Place gives NBC a Cloud Nine of a comedy

Ed Bark — 2016-09-15T09:01:21-05:00
Equipped with a sure-footed but decidedly swervy mind of his own, the former Saturday Night Live writer has matriculated to NBC’s The Office and Parks and Recreation, and Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine. NBC’s new The Good Place, being showcased Monday with back-to-back episodes after the season premiere of The Voice, is Schur’s first flight as a solo pilot.

CBS opens its starting gate to Kevin Can Wait

Ed Bark — 2016-09-14T16:03:14-05:00
On the contrary, it’s CBS’ first new fall series out of the chute with a stupefying Monday night sneak-preview hammocked between the season premiere of The Big Bang Theory and a two-hour re-investigation into the JonBenet Ramsey case. ...Anyway, Kevin’s would-be life of complete leisure is waylaid by daughter Kendra’s new circumstances, which end up aborting plans to rent out a garage room for extra income that Kevin can happily pee away.

Fox's Son of Zorn is a "hybrid" without much apparent mileage

Ed Bark — 2016-09-08T14:14:22-05:00
But in the case of Fox’s Son of Zorn, which sneak-previews on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it’s just a few grins here and there. ...Episode One has a bit of a surprise in the final minute before ending with a scene that won’t be spoiled but doesn’t sit very well if you’re a friend of furry or feathery creatures -- animated or otherwise.

Better Things: further evidence that FX just keeps getting better

Ed Bark — 2016-09-07T10:25:50-05:00
Adlon, who in real life won an Emmy for voicing young Bobby Hill on Fox’s King of the Hill, brings raspy-voiced appeal to the role of a mom trying to maintain a “houseful of young girls kickin’ my ass.” ...Watching them isn’t exactly a joy, but it’s never a chore. Better Things, sprinkled with cameos from the likes of Julie Bowen, Bradley Whitford and David Duchovny, keeps hitting strong, resonant cords, whether it’s another civil war at home or Sam’s struggles to make Hollywood see her as more than a once hot commodity who’s now straddling her expiration date.

Atlanta is FX's first comedy of a different color

Ed Bark — 2016-09-01T14:05:49-05:00
Atlanta, which premieres on Tuesday, Sept. 6th with back-to-back episodes, is billed as a comedy series from a former co-star of NBC’s Community. ...Episode 3, subtitled “Go For Broke,” includes another black-on-black shooting -- this time for keeps. Atlanta, with its frequent use of the n-word and depictions of seemingly dead-end lives, might be accused of reinforcing stereotypes were it helmed by a white producer.

All the best to FXX's You're the Worst -- or something like that

Ed Bark — 2016-08-30T15:39:01-05:00
Lead actors Chris Geere and Aya Cash are both butt naked in the sack after his ever-irascible Jimmy Shive-Overly more or less proclaimed his love for her clinically depressed Gretchen Cutler in last season’s final scene. ...Now doughy Paul is determined to start their life anew as a “family,” but in ways that prompt Lindsay to inflict her own brand of kitchen nightmare on him at the close of the season premiere.

LeBron now taking his talents to Cleveland Hustles as the new CNBC series' principal producer

Ed Bark — 2016-08-24T12:32:48-05:00
The pariah turned patriarch is the co-executive producer (along with longtime pal Maverick Carter) of CNBC’s Cleveland Hustles, an eight-episode series that hooks up budding entrepreneurs with savvy investors. ...But Cleveland Hustles also manages to distinguish itself in the opening episode as a well-meaning, solidly executed, feel-good effort underscored by James’ go-to slogan: “Nothing is given.

Imported Gomorrah offers stark, dark mob activities

Ed Bark — 2016-08-23T14:37:48-05:00
Mainly because life indeed is too short, in my view at least, for a full investment in a drama that accentuates mob violence but lacks the “charm,” humor and overall empathy generated by The Sopranos. ...But for me, the “entertainment” value is next to nil in times when real-life, mass mayhem is all too plentiful. The Sopranos had a relatable cavalcade of characters whose foibles and fractured syntax were leavening agents.

Hammy and ham-handed: NBC's geezer-centric Better Late Than Never

Ed Bark — 2016-08-18T13:04:19-05:00
But The Bard surely wouldn’t have envisioned or countenanced NBC’s depositing of Henry Winkler, William Shatner, George Foreman and Terry Bradshaw in Tokyo for “an adventure for all ages.” ...Unless there’s an unexpected appetite for more of this, Better Late Than Never will have run its course by the time the new fall season gets underway in earnest on NBC and rival broadcast networks.

Rather than wait, an audacious Netflix throws The Get Down at the Olympics

Ed Bark — 2016-08-10T15:23:01-05:00
Unfortunately, The Get Down can also be a beat down at times, beginning with an overcooked and run-in-place 90-minute episode in which Luhrmann appears to be channeling the endless wedding reception scene from the late Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter. ...But at the heart of The Get Down are Ezekiel “Books” Figuero (Justice Smith) and Mylene Cruz (Herizen Guardiola), both of whom are immensely musically talented in their own very different ways.

Netflix's The Little Prince never stops short of wondrous

Ed Bark — 2016-08-04T10:55:39-05:00
Beautifully and expressively animated, The Little Prince basically is the story of an old man who still acts like a kid and a kid who’s being programmed to be an “essential” cog in the grand industrial, soul-deadening scheme of things. ...It goofs around with Fuller House; sets the “social media” world abuzz with a daring continuation of Arrested Development; heaps on the political skullduggery with House of Cards; goes comedic and tragic with Orange is the New Black; makes headlines with the true-crime documentary series Making a Murderer; and now rescues The Little Prince from the hands of Paramount’s what-were-they-thinking brain trust after the studio dropped it.

The "worst TV candidates since Richard Nixon" do not include Hillary Clinton

Ed Bark — 2016-08-02T11:37:19-05:00
TV critic David Zurawik, who’s been a frequent and oft-hyperkinetic presence on CNN’s Reliable Sources, Fox News Channel’s Media Buzz and lately, Reliable Sources again, is of the opinion that Hillary Clinton is “the worst TV candidate since Richard Nixon.” ...Smiling Bill Clinton was a master at getting his TV messages across while Dole tended to snarl and glower before his no-nonsense old-school persona later made him something of a hit as both a Comedy Central “correspondent” and late night talk show guest.

HBO's Meet the Donors is a priceless, cost-efficient film on those who throw millions into the country's biggest game-changing political campaigns

Ed Bark — 2016-07-28T14:50:08-05:00
She also talks to Minnesota-based “broadcasting tycoon” Stanley Hubbard, a rock-ribbed GOP donor who agrees that he gets access in return for his money but has never asked a politician to “help me with something.” ...Instead, “I got the friggin’ cat,” Freeman says, referring to Bush’s request that he take care of the clawed family feline, who was too old to be declawed and therefore could do considerable damage to White House furnishings.

Colbert's opening video a psychedelic happening after Monday night's Democratic convention

Ed Bark — 2016-07-26T12:04:51-05:00
Hillary” video that opened Stephen Colbert’s live Monday Late Show soared into the stratosphere of what we’ve seen on our TV screens. ...As he did with the Republicans, Colbert will mess with the Democrats this week after their nightly convention activities in Philly.

A disgraced Ailes is out after 20 years of ruling a news network as no one ever had or likely ever will again

Ed Bark — 2016-07-21T16:31:19-05:00
Notable for being both prickly and outspoken in his defense of FNC’s conservative leanings, “Roger shared my vision of a great and independent television organization and executed it brilliantly over 20 great years,” Murdoch said in his statement. ...In a telephone interview with this reporter several days before FNC’s birth, he assailed Time Warner Inc. and its chairman, Gerald Levin, for allegedly reneging on an agreement to put FNC on half of the 11.2 million cable homes it served at the time.

HBO's Vice Principals is infantile and too often just vile

Ed Bark — 2016-07-14T15:04:40-05:00
Early in Episode 2 of this HBO series, festering high school vice principals Neal Gamby (McBride) and Lee Russell (co-star Walton Goggins of The Shield and Justified fame) break into the home of North Jackson High’s new principal, a black single mom named Dr. ...McBride, who co-created Vice Principals, certainly did not make nice during four seasons of HBO’s East Bound and Down, in which he played a washed up pitcher turned middle school phy ed teacher.

68th Prime-Time Emmy nominations: Game of Thrones again rules but FX is biggest gainer in major categories

Ed Bark — 2016-07-14T12:33:37-05:00
HBO’s Game of Thrones led all programs in Emmy nominations for the third straight year while FX’s The Americans is among the Best Drama Series contenders for the first time. ...HBO again will be formidable in the Best Television Movie category with All the Way, which has eight nominations. Game of Thrones’ Kit Harrington, whose risen-from-the-dead character, Jon Snow, clogged “social media” arteries this year, received first-time Emmy recognition as a supporting actor nominee.

Netflix's Stranger Things: an ode in the mode of E.T.

Ed Bark — 2016-07-14T09:23:23-05:00
In fact, Stranger Things also can be seen as a nod to the much lesser known Eerie, Indiana, a short-lived 1991 series about hyper-imaginative, bike-riding kids intent on investigating and solving a series of strange happenings in their small Midwestern town. ...In this case, though, a single-shot “limited series” seems like the way to go -- and then stop. Stranger Things, buoyed by its considerable kid power and bolstered by Ryder’s strong work, tells a complete and pretty satisfying story despite a few plot pot holes.

HBO's captivating The Night Of sets its hook for seven more Sunday nights after

Ed Bark — 2016-07-07T12:03:05-05:00
This is HBO’s best “limited series” since Angels in America, which in 2004 won all of the major Emmy awards in its category. The Night Of, adapted from the 2008 British series Criminal Justice, arrives too late in the game to be eligible for this year’s Emmys. ...They collaborate on words and images that resonate and linger, whether it’s recurring glimpses of Nancy Grace ranting about the case on a barroom television or Stone being asked by his new courtroom partner Chandra (Amara Karan) how he knows so much about “all this drug stuff.”

USA's Queen of the South: hooked on drugs, filmed in Dallas

Ed Bark — 2016-07-06T13:18:50-05:00
Queen of the South, which is both set and shot largely in Dallas, began with Alice Braga’s Teresa Mendoza introducing herself as a high-heeled and very well-heeled drug kingpin before being shot presumably dead in her palatial mansion. ...There are some lapses, though, including Episode 2’s unbelievably crazy/careening drive to Love Field by a Dona Camila underling who has Teresa in tow with a bellyful of fast-dissolving drug packets that must soon be expectorated.

Former Fox News Channel anchor Gretchen Carlson assails boss Roger Ailes in sexual harassment lawsuit

Ed Bark — 2016-07-06T11:09:26-05:00
The suit, filed on July 6th in the Superior Court of New Jersey, alleges that Ailes “retaliated against Carlson in various ways, including by terminating her employment . . . and prior thereto, by, among other other things, ostracizing, marginalizing and shunning her after making clear to her that these ‘problems’ would not have existed, and could be solved, if she had a sexual relationship with him.” ...Steve Doocy, who is not being sued and remains on Fox & Friends, “engaged in a pattern and practice of severe and pervasive sexual harassment of Carlson,” the lawsuit says, “including, but not limited to, mocking her during commercial breaks, shunning her off air, refusing to engage with her on air, belittling her contributions to the show, and generally attempting to put her in her place by refusing to accept and treat her as an intelligent and insightful female journalist rather than a blond female prop.”

Discovery Channel's American Tarzan merits a shout out

Ed Bark — 2016-06-29T14:12:36-05:00
Because judging from the premiere hour made available for review, the five men and two women involved will be subjected to more suffering than Johnny Depp’s latter day box office receipts. ...This is far more grueling than The Amazing Race, and with no rewards for completing one of the obstacle courses other than the satisfaction of a job well done. American Tarzan also is mercifully brief and to the point.

Reviewing Orange is the New Black after viewing all 13 Season 4 episodes

Ed Bark — 2016-06-29T10:17:31-05:00
During the course of all 13 episodes, look for a self-defense killing followed by dismemberment of the corpse; the death of a regular cast member; a branding triggered by an ad hoc race war and the arrival of a new force of security guards headed by an openly gay, uncompromising bearded giant named Desi Piscatella (Brad William Henke), who’s aided and abetted by the sadistic Thomas “Humps” Humphrey (Michael Torpey). ...Season 4 also is notable for the arrival of “Queen of Cuisine” Judy King (Blair Brown), who supposedly is loosely modeled after Martha Stewart but in time comes off as much more of a Paula Deen.

Can't stop falling in love: Showtime's Roadies returns Cameron Crowe to his rock roots

Ed Bark — 2016-06-23T09:49:22-05:00
Showtime’s Roadies, for which Crowe is the creator, principal writer and co-executive producer, is his first weekly television series after a feature film career that also has included Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Vanilla Sky and the blockbuster Jerry Maguire. ...He’s just strafed the Staton-House Band as “relentlessly irrelevant,” and Roadies treats this as an Armageddon moment that must be immediately remedied by inviting Newman to the Atlanta show and thoroughly kissing his ass.

CBS tries again with American Gothic, which otherwise has nothing in common with the famous painting or the network's 1995 original

Ed Bark — 2016-06-17T12:06:38-05:00
The last-place network already had its new fall lineup in place, so Moonves inherited the likes of Bless This House, Central Park West, Dweebs, Almost Perfect, Can’t Hurry Love, If not For You and -- the punch line -- American Gothic. ...He’s nine-year-old Jack Hawthorne (Gabriel Bateman), who in Episode 2 tells the mourners at his grandfather’s funeral, “I’m mostly sad that grandpa was cremated and I never got to see his decomposing body.”

Two transfixing TV miniseries tackle O. J. Simpson hard

Ed Bark — 2016-06-16T10:21:21-05:00
But his win against “The Man,” aided and abetted by an oft-inept prosecution team, is still viewed through the prism of institutional racism as “payback” for decades of injustice. Made In America makes that side of the story perfectly clear while also judiciously telling both sides. ...But as a clip in Made In America shows, it’s hard to keep a straight face while watching Nordberg being riddled with bullets before staggering about and hitting his head, burning his hand in a furnace, soiling his jacket with wet white paint, getting his fingers crunched by a slamming window, falling face-first into a cake and finally stepping into a bear trap.

TNT takes aim at being daringly provocative with Animal Kingdom

Ed Bark — 2016-06-14T11:04:42-05:00
Smurf has three blood sons and the cleaner cut, adoptive Barry “Baz” Brown (Scott Speedman), who spends much time at the family compound but also has a restive life away from it with his girlfriend, Catherine (Daniella Alonso), and their pre-teen daughter. ...So a drama that more or less “celebrates” an unsavory and, from the looks of it, incestuous crime family, may put many off their feed -- particularly longstanding TNT viewers who are more used to the likes of Rizzoli & Isles and, not that long ago, Dallas.

Uncle Buck gets another shot -- and a beer

Ed Bark — 2016-06-14T09:19:37-05:00
So Buck sets up a “crew” on the sly while Tia and Miles try to figure out how to repair a big hole in his bedroom wall and save her from being grounded before she can attend a big concert. ...Except for perhaps the kicker in Episode 1, when Buck somehow gains access to a no-good teen “player’s” bathroom, snaps him coming out the shower, brands the kid “Inchworm” and threatens to expose him on Instagram if he doesn’t immediately mend his ways.

CMT puts itself on the sitcom map with Billy Ray Cyrus in Still the King

Ed Bark — 2016-06-12T14:40:07-05:00
Vernon also learns he’s the dad of a 15-year-old daughter named Charlotte (Madison Iseman), whose mom, Debbie Lynn Cooke (Joey Lauren Adams), is now demanding $500 a week in support payments. ...But he gradually settles in while Adams and Iseman instantly take hold as mother-daughter antagonists who of course will slowly be warming to Vernon’s half-assed efforts to do the right thing.

CBS' BrainDead takes a shot at being D.C. serio-comic

Ed Bark — 2016-06-09T12:13:01-05:00
The timing is right but also daunting for CBS’ BrainDead, a considerable departure from the norm for a network that’s long been up to its neck in crime series and “traditional” sitcoms with tag-along laugh tracks. ...Better yet is Winstead’s assured, appealing performance as a D.C. tenderfoot thrust into a new world of mystery and political polarization that escalates once those bugs begin infesting and in some cases, exploding the heads of their prey.

AMC's Feed the Beast doesn't make much of a presentation

Ed Bark — 2016-06-02T15:04:20-05:00
That said, there’s a “but” here. Feed the Beast more often than not is a rather clumsy, predictable and often preposterous tale of two lifelong friends who reunite to open an upscale restaurant in an otherwise lousy neighborhood in The Bronx. ...Dion, the otherwise perfectionist chef, is immediately caught in the middle and terrorized by both a brutal, strong-armed cop and mobster Patrick Woijchik (Michael Gladis), also known as “The Tooth Fairy” for his invasive use of a pair of pliers.

Cinemax gets a big jolt with Outcast

Ed Bark — 2016-06-02T11:44:41-05:00
The tormented soul trying to stop it -- and also reclaim his mother, wife and daughter -- is Kyle Barnes (Patrick Fugit), who’s been living in a sad state of disrepair since returning five months earlier to nondescript little Rome, West Virginny. ...Their first mission is demonic Joshua, who’s one hell of a handful. Outcast spends the concluding portion of its opening episode on this very grim undertaking.

Trump bad-mouths the media while also giving them what both want

Ed Bark — 2016-06-01T10:48:33-05:00
It all crystallized Tuesday during Trump’s extended defense of his trumpeted and belated donations to veterans after he skipped a January debate on the then “unfair” Fox News Channel and held his own competing event on behalf of those who served. ...One of the more telling visuals of Showtime’s campaign trail series, The Circus, came when co-host Mark McKinnon was left out in Iowa’s snowy cold and required to stand at a long distance from Hillary as she exited a campaign event.

History network's new Roots doesn't negate the original

Ed Bark — 2016-05-26T08:53:39-05:00
They’re also played out at length rather than hurried along, whether it’s Chicken George (Ben Vereen) poignantly trying to explain himself to his long-suffering mother, Kizzy (Leslie Uggams), or Kunta Kinte a k a “Toby” (John Amos) and his wife, Belle (Madge Sinclair), begging their master not to sell Kizzy off. ...Kizzy’s scene at her father’s spare grave provides a sense of closure that’s missing from the new Roots, in which Kunta Kinte (invigorating newcomer Malachi Kirby) and Belle (Emayatzy Corinealdi) simply disappear after Tuesday’s Part 2.

More comic book mayhem in AMC's bloody, soul-searching Preacher

Ed Bark — 2016-05-20T15:23:00-05:00
Sunday’s opener (with new episodes then resuming on the Sunday after Memorial Day weekend) literally begins in “OUTER SPACE,” which is spelled out in large block letters before Preacher starts veering sequentially to: ...But Preacher’s main venue is the dusty little West Texas town of Annville, where Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) is trying to go straight as a minister who wears a clerical collar under a black shirt with silver-tipped collars.

Another triumph for Cranston in HBO's superb All the Way

Ed Bark — 2016-05-19T11:52:42-05:00
Directed by Jay Roach and with an executive producer team that includes Steven Spielberg, All the Way is reminiscent of the latter’s Lincoln in its depiction of horse-trading and infighting in pursuit of passing the first portion of what would be the Johnson administration’s landmark Civil Rights Act. ...This is a riveting film with a bravura performance by Cranston, who’s been the signature television actor of the past decade. All the Way again shows there’s nothing he can’t do -- with the exception of giving a bad performance.

Two new dramas and a Supergirl for The CW this fall

Ed Bark — 2016-05-19T09:11:30-05:00
Only America’s Next Top Model, Containment and Beauty and the Beast won’t be back while freshman series Supergirl, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow will get sophomore seasons. ...Frequency (drama) -- New York detective Raimy Sullivan (Peyton List) is determined to prove she’s nothing like her crummy, corrupt father, Frank (Riley Smith), who’s long been presumed dead after disappearing two decades ago.

New season upset: CBS adds the most fall shows

Ed Bark — 2016-05-18T08:30:13-05:00
CBS also is shifting NCIS: Los Angeles from Mondays to Sundays and bridging its Tuesday night pairing of NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans with the new drama Bull. The Amazing Race, Undercover Boss and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders all will be back in midseason. ...Kevin Can Wait (comedy) -- James plays a newly retired married cop with three kids who looks forward to laying and playing around, “only to discover he faces tougher challenges at home than he ever did on the streets.”

ABC adds five fall newcomers, keeps four freshman series and subtracts 10 for next season

Ed Bark — 2016-05-17T11:22:56-05:00
Designated Survivor (drama) -- No longer a part of Fox’s latest incarnation of 24, Kiefer Sutherland takes his man-of-action street cred to a “conspiracy thriller” in which he plays a lower-level cabinet member who becomes president after a devastating terrorist attack. ...Conviction (drama) -- Former First Daughter Hayes Morrison (Hayley Atwell from Agent Carter) takes a job from her “sexy nemesis” to avoid doing hard time for cocaine possession while also keeping her mom’s Senate campaign free of scandal.

Fox joins NBC in skimping on new fall series

Ed Bark — 2016-05-16T08:49:54-05:00
Fox has renewed the first-year series Scream Queens, Rosewood and Lucifer while sacking freshmen Grandfathered, The Grinder, Minority Report, Second Chance, Bordertown, Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life and apparently Houdini & Doyle, which was given just two episodes to prove itself after premiering on May 2nd. ...This season’s return was no ratings blockbuster, but X-Files performed appreciably better than returnees such as Scream Queens, Rosewood and Sleepy Hollow, which somehow will be back for a fourth season.

NBC offers just a trio of fall newcomers (but with much more to come)

Ed Bark — 2016-05-16T06:28:42-05:00
NBC also has a post-Summer Olympics “reality” hour and a wealth of new midseason series, plus the returns of Shades of Blue, Little Big Shots, Hollywood Game Night and a new version of The Celebrity Apprentice with Arnold Schwarzenegger and without Donald Trump. ...Trial & Error (comedy) -- A wet-behind-the-ears New York lawyer played by Josh Segal journeys to a teeny Southern town to defend a wacky poetry professor (John Lithgow) accused of murdering his wife. “Making a Murderer can be funny!”

Fox's Coupled is the latest to get its dating game on

Ed Bark — 2016-05-13T10:27:02-05:00
But Coupled also is from Mark Burnett, who has more money than Fort Knox after striking it rich time and again with Survivor, The Apprentice, Shark Tank, The Voice and Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? ...So it’s not nearly in the same off-putting league as thrice-married Cary Deuber of Real Housewives of Dallas, who says in each week’s introductions, “I’m not a trophy wife.

PBS' Janis: Little Girl Blue revisits what drove and quickly consumed Port Arthur's most famous outcast

Ed Bark — 2016-05-03T09:26:22-05:00
Her periodic “Dear Family” letters, read throughout the film by singer Chan Marshall, bespeak a longing to make them proud or at least accepting of the new beginning she’d made in San Francisco, where the drugs and sounds of the ‘60s were an inseparable and often lethal mix. ...The most memorable, in this view, came on June 25, 1970, when she opened with “Move Over” and basked in a full-throated audience ovation before sitting down to converse with Cavett and later, an eclectic guest lineup of Raquel Welch, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Chet Huntley.

Fox's Houdini & Doyle is a far-fetched pairing in a fair to middling drama

Ed Bark — 2016-04-27T11:16:53-05:00
Houdini (a somewhat oddly cast Michael Weston) is the irreverent wise guy of this duo while Holmes (Stephan Mangan) is the more proper married man and father whose wife unfortunately has been in a coma for months. ...In the far better-rendered Episode 2, this prompts Houdini to debunk a superstar local faith healer by sniping, “Or maybe God is just a louse who gets a divine thrill out of watching people suffer.”

Smithsonian Channel's Sports Detectives hits some sweet spots in searches for famed memorabilia

Ed Bark — 2016-04-24T12:56:02-05:00
The six-part series begins by uncovering the whereabouts of the frayed and partially torn king-sized American flag draped over goalie Jim Craig after the U.S. hockey team’s totally unexpected march to the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY. ...23, 1972 “Immaculate Reception” by Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris while also trying to determine whether Cleveland Browns Hall of Fame rusher Jim Brown has any basis for claiming that his 1964 NFL Championship ring was stolen.

Season 5 of Veep fires up just in time to make the real-life Campaign 2016 seem almost fuzzy wuzzy

Ed Bark — 2016-04-21T11:03:02-05:00
But by all that is holy, who can match the pure, unadulterated, self-absorbed power-mongering of Selina Meyer, who’s again played to perfection by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, a k a TV’s First Lady of Comedy? ...But it’s rather magically gone by Episode 2, although the ever-vexed sitting president still can’t get over “this Olympic-sized swimming pool of shit that I’m doing the backstroke in.”

The CW's Containment goes viral

Ed Bark — 2016-04-19T13:23:06-05:00
Well, here we go again -- although how many viewers will want to go there? -- with The CW’s Containment, which zeroes in on Atlanta (as AMC’s The Walking Dead did for most of its first five seasons). ...At this point, some of the characters have taken pretty firm hold, with Gyasi’s Lex and Gutoskie’s Katie breaking from the pack while Wood’s Jake understandably is being torn asunder by his dual roles as corpse-burner and hopelessly over-extended peacekeeper.

From the BBC to AMC: The Night Manager is a highly polished gem drawn from an old John le Carre page-turner

Ed Bark — 2016-04-18T10:01:26-05:00
Extolling this modernized adaptation of his 1993 espionage novel, he praises the principal actors and director Susanne Bier for bringing back “those glory days in the seventies when I was watching the BBC’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy being magicked to life by Alec Guinness and the inspired cast that surrounded him.” ...And by the end of them, you’ll have taken a wild ride amid picturesque vistas and a rich soundtrack that add additional flavor to the first-rate performances. The Night Manager has the production values of a James Bond movie, but without the quips, chases or lapses in basic believability.

Hill-Thomas faceoff reprised in HBO's sturdy Confirmation

Ed Bark — 2016-04-14T10:44:46-05:00
Former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw is one of the more heavily used, telling his viewers near the end, “We have gone from shock to discomfort, now to a combination of anger, depression and shame” over the graphic details of Hill’s testimony and the seeming eagerness of some committee members -- most notably Biden -- to hear it repeated. ...Thomas’ Republican backers, if one can believe the movie, had Biden by the short hairs in terms of both altering the hearing schedule and, in the end, not allowing Angela Wright (Jennifer Hudson) to testify that she also had been sexually harassed by the Supreme Court nominee before being fired.

Ken Burns' Jackie Robinson takes his full measure

Ed Bark — 2016-04-11T08:51:43-05:00
“It was us against the world,” Rachel says of the days when her husband was being groomed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and pioneering president/general manager Branch Rickey to become the major leagues’ first black player. ...Jackie Robinson connects all of these dots and gives a far fuller picture of the man than the pedestrian 2013 feature film 42 or 1950’s The Jackie Robinson Story, in which Jackie played himself opposite Ruby Dee as Rachel.

NBC's Game of Silence has an involving storyline, but will its promised cliffhangers live to see a Season Two?

Ed Bark — 2016-04-08T12:56:31-05:00
But the principal bad guy, former juvenile prison warden and present-day congressional candidate Ray Carroll (Conor O’ Farrell), certainly is heinous enough to get viewers very interested in seeing him incarcerated for life after perhaps he first endures a hot lead enema and a few tooth extractions via a ball peen hammer. ...The fifth wheel in all of this is Jessie West (Bre Blair), who was being abused by her drunken mother as a kid before Jackson, Gil, Shawn and Boots came to her rescue and ended up paying for it after a serious mishap in a stolen getaway car.

The Detour is another road less traveled on formerly formulaic TBS

Ed Bark — 2016-04-07T16:35:28-05:00
It’s a pre-sold title, after all, and The Detour can only hope to do as well with its winding, mind-bending road trip from Syracuse to a would-be beach vacay in Fort Lauderdale. ...Against her will, Nate’s wife, Robin (Harris County, TX native Natalie Zea branching out from her very serious roles in Justified and The Following), agrees to travel by car rather than plane from Syracuse to Fort Lauderdale.

Bravo's Real Housewives of Dallas is long overdue but pretty much interchangeable with all the others

Ed Bark — 2016-04-07T12:56:59-05:00
In the first episode, Stephanie spends ample time pounding down “Jesus juice” (white wine) in daytime hours while over-cackling with her best friend, Brandi Redmond, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader whose husband, Bryan, is determined to be a millionaire by the age of 40. In what may be the signature quote of the series, Brandi tells the camera, “We’ll have a little bit too much to drink and we’ll pee in bushes and she (Stephanie) will fart on command and I will dance in her fart.”

Netflix's The Ranch gives Kutcher a little more rope

Ed Bark — 2016-04-01T15:27:00-05:00
Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson from That ‘70s Show are reunited as siblings in The Ranch, which turned up on April Fool’s Day with the 10 episodes that make up “Part One” of Season 1. It’s a decent vehicle for both of them, with veterans Sam Elliott and Debra Winger also part of the ensemble while Elisha Cuthbert (24, Happy Endings) is prominent in most of the early half-hours.

Hoff the Record migrates from the UK to AXS TV

Ed Bark — 2016-03-31T11:33:15-05:00
The numerous references to Knight Rider and Baywatch (but no mention at all of America’s Got Talent and A&E’s disastrous The Hasselhoffs) are thoroughly played out by the time Hoff declares in Episode 6, “I can save the world, man. ...In what’s more or less his real life, Hasselhoff will be appearing in the upcoming Sharknado 4 and also has a cameo in a scheduled 2017 Baywatch feature film starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in Hoff’s former lead role of lifeguard Mitch Buchannon.

Rush Hour belatedly joins the CBS crime family

Ed Bark — 2016-03-31T08:46:39-05:00
Thursday’s first episode, the only one made available for review, lurches from one action scene to another, with Yan Naing Lee (Foo) quickly journeying from Hong Kong to Los Angeles to unravel the presumed death of his sister, Kim (Jessika Van) and her involvement with a Chinese drug ring. ...Rush Hour is yet another “procedural” crime hour on the network of three NCIS series, Criminal Minds and its new Beyond Borders spinoff, Hawaii Five-0, Blue Bloods, Scorpion, Limitless, Elementary, Supergirl, Person of Interest (which is being canceled) and CSI: Cyber (virtually certain to be axed).

CNN's three-hour Republican candidate "town hall" meeting a markedly all-white affair Tuesday night

Ed Bark — 2016-03-30T09:14:17-05:00
One would think that the campaign staffs of Cruz, Trump and Kasich would be conscious of this and find at least a relative handful of blacks or Hispanics willing to attend the three-hour town hall meeting. They must be out there somewhere, and it’s likely that CNN would have been more than happy to put at least a few on-camera as questioners.

R.I.P. Patty Duke: Dec. 14, 1946 to March 29, 2016

Ed Bark — 2016-03-29T16:17:52-05:00
But then I had to examine myself and try to separate the painful stuff in my life at that time from the fact that the show and the people on it were really a safe haven for me. ...“It’s my opinion that the things they (her aunt and uncle) did that were wrong were borne more of distortion and alcoholism and pill addiction and fear than they were borne of two people who sat down maliciously to see how they could devastate this little girl’s life.”

Not completely taken with Hulu's The Path

Ed Bark — 2016-03-29T13:18:32-05:00
Minka Kelly, who first broke through on NBC’s Friday Night Lights, drops in for a couple of episodes as follower Miranda Frank, who’s suspected of having an affair with the constantly put-upon Eddie. ...The Path mostly is notable for Aaron Paul giving his all in the service of a role that finds him on familiar shaky ground in a series with too many ruts.

R.I.P Garry Shandling: November 29, 1949 to March 24, 2016

Ed Bark — 2016-03-24T17:08:24-05:00
Garry Shandling at the height of his powers on HBO’s The Larry Sanders Show, in which he played a vain, insecure late night talker. ...The then-fledgling Fox network re-purposed the last two seasons of the show before Lifetime began airing It’s Garry Shandling’s Show all over again in 1991 on the same night that his first comedy special for HBO premiered.

The Catch gives Mireille Enos a complete makeover and Shonda Rhimes another ABC vehicle to drive

Ed Bark — 2016-03-21T15:39:03-05:00
And by the end of Thursday’s fairly engaging premiere episode, the cat-and-mouse game is on in earnest after Alice’s beau vanishes and returns to the possessive arms of criminal mastermind Margot Bishop (Sonya Walger from Lost and Krause’s previous series, Parenthood). In part meant to evoke The Thomas Crown Affair, this is producer Shonda Rhimes’ latest gift to ABC following the successful launches of Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, whose Thursday night slot now goes to The Catch.

NBC's Heartbeat needs to adjust its meds

Ed Bark — 2016-03-17T13:59:40-05:00
Its principal smock-wearer, heart surgeon Alexandra Panttiere (Melissa George), is an over-bearing loose cannon with an aversion to authority, a mega-sex drive, mad skills in the operating room and scant time for her two sons from a previous marriage. ...Oh yeah, the patients. Heartbeat’s best case to date is in Wednesday’s Episode 2, when conjoined twins Beth and Emily (Justina Machado) face a life-threatening medical emergency.

Quality to burn: The Americans returns to FX

Ed Bark — 2016-03-15T10:31:59-05:00
Wednesday, March 16th at 9 p.m. (central) is the latest due date, with Soviet spies Philip and Elizabeth Jennings (Matthew Rhys, Keri Russell) now facing ramped-up troubles at home after their daughter, Paige (Holly Taylor), discovered their secret identities and also confided in “Pastor Tim” (Kelly AuCoin). ...But now they must deal with a go-between spy named William (new cast addition Dylan Baker), a rogue American scientist who hands over small vials of biological death while warning, “This is to meningitis what bubonic plague is to a runny nose.”

Warburton's forte gets a nice workout in NBC's Crowded

Ed Bark — 2016-03-14T15:32:10-05:00
But the parents’ newfound and much-enjoyed freedom is jolted “Four Years Later” when both intellectual Shea (Miranda Cosgrove) and comparatively dim Stella (Mia Serafino) plead poverty and announce they’re moving back in. ... So like Marie and Frank Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond, Bob and Alice Moore (Stacy Keach, Carlease Burke) continue to live in very close proximity, the better for them to barge in.

CNN continues to be the news leader in giving Donald Trump free passes

Ed Bark — 2016-03-11T13:37:52-06:00
OK, so the man who 12 hours earlier was “pretty much OK” with doing two more debates (the other would be in New York City if at least two candidates are still left standing) was now pleading ignorance of saying any such thing. ...In truth, Kasich has said it would be time for him to drop out if he didn’t win his home state of Ohio.

WGN America's Underground is an imperfect but worthy drama set in a very imperfect world

Ed Bark — 2016-03-08T16:24:22-06:00
It continues the network’s newfound path toward relevance and hoped-for Emmy acclaim after generations of idling in place with various syndicated reruns. Underground, billed in publicity materials as a “pulse-pounding journey with revolutionaries of the Underground Railroad,” spikes its 1857 antebellum setting with a mix of contemporary and period music devised by co-executive producer John Legend. ...Then there’s the morally ambiguous August Pullman (Christopher Meloni of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit fame), who sometimes brings in runaway slaves to make ends meet but whose best friend is a black man played by Clarke Peters from The Wire.

Bible study: ABC's Of Kings and Prophets may be too late for that

Ed Bark — 2016-03-07T13:48:31-06:00
The setting is “1,000 Years Before Christ,” with a battle-weary King Saul (Ray Winstone) hoping to unite the 12 fractious tribes of Israel against the sinister Philistines by marrying off his daughter, Merav (Jeanine Mason), to a rug merchant son of Judah. ...During the course of its events, the Ark was attacked by pirates and also solicited by a peddler (played by James Coburn), who arrived on the scene in a pedal-powered mini boat to announce, “I’m running a special this week.”

The Family gives ABC yet another multiple mystery drama with no resolution in sight

Ed Bark — 2016-03-03T14:07:29-06:00
So if you’ve found something to like in recent kindred entries such as Betrayal, Revenge, Secrets and Lies, Quantico, Resurrection, The Whispers and How to Get Away with Murder, well . . . then you might be a redneck. ...ABC got considerable mileage out of Revenge, but Betrayal, Resurrection and The Whispers came up short on staying power while How to Get Away with Murder is already sagging ratings-wise in Season 2. Secrets and Lies has been renewed for an all-new whodunit, but ABC keeps dragging its feet on announcing a return date.

Winning hand: Sundance TV's Hap and Leonard deftly adapts to East Texas and the string of novels from Joe R. Lansdale

Ed Bark — 2016-03-02T11:34:52-06:00
Hap Collins (Rome’s James Purefoy) and Leonard Pines (The Wire’s Michael Kenneth Williams) are first seen toiling in a rose field before being informed they’re losing their jobs to cheaper Mexican labor. ...After all, he knows the lay of the East Texas land and also is much more a man of action than the vegetarian, pot-smoking Howard, who wants to use his cut of the money to supposedly “even the playing field between the haves and have nots.”

ABC again pushes the kid-narrative button (and other buttons) in The Real O'Neals

Ed Bark — 2016-03-01T12:22:54-06:00
It leads the league in wins, though, with The Wonder Years, Suburgatory, The Goldbergs and Fresh Off the Boat all getting multi-season runs on a network that lately has struggled to make much of anything else work. ...Dallas native Ferguson, who played Burt Reynolds’ son on Evening Shade before growing into the adult role of Stan Rizzo on Mad Men, is somewhat lost in the shuffle so far as an unsteady father figure and oddly benign Chicago cop.

Netflix makes room for Fuller House (and well, why not?)

Ed Bark — 2016-02-24T14:13:17-06:00
None of them are in Episodes 4-6, which actually serves Fuller House well in its efforts to survive on its own with Danny’s young adult daughters, Donna Jo and Stephanie (Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin), plus their dorky, intrusive childhood friend, Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber). ...But seriously, it’s a surprise to see how well the grown-up Bure, Sweetin and Barber work together in the service of a show that employed them as kids, cast them off and now is welcoming them back instead of recasting.

Getting his due: Fats Domino makes his American Masters debut

Ed Bark — 2016-02-24T11:36:02-06:00
Together they prospered with 37 top 40 singles, including “Ain’t That A Shame” (almost immediately homogenized by Pat Boone), “I’m Walkin’, I’m In Love Again, Walkin’ to New Orleans,” and his signature “Blueberry Hill,” earlier recorded with little impact by both Gene Autry and Louis Armstrong. ...Riding a hot streak of sold-out tours and TV appearances, Domino’s chart-topping years pretty much went down for the count in the 1960s, when a “British Invasion” led by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones overwhelmed many an American rocker.

BBC America's Prey at least will cut to the chase

Ed Bark — 2016-02-24T09:28:49-06:00
Rather than play cat-and-mouse for multiple seasons with no end in sight, BBC America’s Prey resolves itself in just three weeks before moving on to another entirely different catch. ...Some of the puzzle pieces don’t fit as snugly as they should in Prey, which can be a bit all over the place even when Marcus isn’t running to and fro.

Carole King again crowned queen in one fine American Masters tribute

Ed Bark — 2016-02-19T10:28:57-06:00
In that context, PBS’ American Masters series is more than a bit late to the party with its one-hour Carole King: Natural Woman. Even so, this is a very entertaining jaunt replete with striking vintage footage and photos (imagine Paul Simon with a thick shock of hair), plus the sheer strength of the musical catalog authored by King on her own and earlier in a storied collaboration with husband Gerry Goffin.

Judd Apatow's Love gives Netflix another distinct pleasure

Ed Bark — 2016-02-18T13:03:20-06:00
This time it’s a thin, plain-faced, bespectacled, soft-spoken nebbish with the full name of Gus Cruikshank (Paul Rust) who eventually becomes alluring to a messed-up beauty named Mickey (Gillian Jacobs from Community). ...Gus, an aspiring scriptwriter, has a group of friends who occasionally get together to improvise closing credit theme songs for movies that didn’t have them, including The Perfect Storm and Carlito’s Way.

Hulu's 11.22.63 goes through the rabbit hole to that awful day in Dallas

Ed Bark — 2016-02-12T11:54:53-06:00
James Franco, still very much known for his sleepy co-hosting of the 2011 Oscars, invests himself fully in the role of Jake Epping turned Jake Amberson after he’s transported back to Oct. 21, 1960 (for some reason the one and only date available). ...And he’s steadfastly stood by this thoroughly discredited story after his colleagues at the time say he never reported anything for WFAA on the suicide and in fact was in Dallas when it happened.)

Better Call Saul won't be rushed in the early stages of Season 2

Ed Bark — 2016-02-11T13:23:23-06:00
I’ll side with the leisurely pace en route to Bob Odenkirk’s scam-prone Jimmy McGill eventually becoming one of TV’s ultimate shysters, Saul Goodman, in the late, great Breaking Bad. ...Also included in a major way is Mark Proksch as an apprentice, milquetoast of a drug dealer who first appeared last season in the “Pimento” episode. Better Call Saul’s opening hours are significantly tied to his new dilemma.

The music of their lives: HBO's Vinyl is a trip that sometimes trips

Ed Bark — 2016-02-10T10:29:05-06:00
Scorsese and principal co-executive producer Mick Jagger for the most part get away with all of this sound and fury, even though some of Vinyl’s excesses are more over the top than Liberace’s closet. ...It’s all very, very ambitious, with hits that keep on coming while storyline misses seem to be almost beside the point. Vinyl is thoroughly rousing at its core, a crazed, dope-filled, sometimes dopey trip that begins in 1973 and has nothing in common with the earlier, comparatively sedate decade brought to you by AMC’s Mad Men.

The Revolution Was Televised is an instant classic book while The Top 100 American Situation Comedies: An Objective Ranking has its moments

Ed Bark — 2016-02-04T11:47:47-06:00
The behind-the-scenes machinations, both before and during these pathfinding series, make Sepinwall’s book a valuable record of what really happened before time, self-serving egos and fading memories begin constructing alternative realities. Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan and his team are especially forthcoming, allowing the author to dig deep into the show’s creative cavities. ...He notes that while NBC’s Seinfeld (No. 10) didn’t have any spinoffs, it did help to launch the careers of female guest stars such as Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives); Courteney Cox (Friends); Jane Leeves (Frasier); Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad; Debra Messing (Will & Grace); Kristin Davis (Sex and the City); and Jamie Gertz (Still Standing).

Richard Dreyfus, Blythe Danner make the Madoffs go 'round in ABC miniseries

Ed Bark — 2016-02-02T13:00:24-06:00
The self-described financial “magician” is usually joined by wife Ruth, their sons, Mark and Andrew (Tom Lipinski, Danny Deferrari) and Bernie’s jittery younger brother, Peter (Peter Scolari), who also serves as his chief compliance officer. ...Together they make Madoff a watchable yet curious undertaking for a network that would rather be the broadcast home of Marvel action heroes but still can’t seem to make those particular investments pay off.

O.J. all over again in the new and spellbinding first edition of FX's American Crime Story

Ed Bark — 2016-01-28T13:04:00-06:00
Simpson, this behind-the-scenes look at the hows and whys of Simpson’s eventual acquittal represents executive producer Ryan Murphy’s finest TV work in a career that also encompasses Nip/Tuck, Glee, American Horror Story and Scream Queens. ...Connie Britton, who co-starred in the first season of Murphy’s American Horror Story between roles on Friday Night Lights and Nashville, does a brief but showy turn as Faye Resnick, a cocaine-addled close friend of Brown Simpson.

On the eve of destruction in NBC's "comedic drama" You, Me and the Apocalypse

Ed Bark — 2016-01-27T09:44:30-06:00
Jenna Fischer (The Office) plays librarian Rhonda McNeil, who’s wrongly imprisoned as a mastermind hacker and does an Orange is the New Black turn in Episode 1 before her life turns further upside down. ...After a few obligatory misunderstandings, she ends up working with Father Jude, initially as a saint debunker and then as an exposer of all the false Messiahs emerging after the world learns that an eight-mile wide meteor will be leveling the planet in 34 days time.

A hillbilly haven -- and so far a durned good drama -- in WGN America's Outsiders

Ed Bark — 2016-01-25T12:55:49-06:00
It turns out to be an all-terrain vehicle joust between a prodigal “traveler” returned home (Joe Anderson as Asa) and a son (Ryan Hurst as Lil Foster Farrell) who very much wants to please his tyrannical daddy. ...But the most compelling character in Outsiders is the aforementioned Sheriff Houghton, who’s devoted to his young son but not at the expense of giving up the alcohol and pills to which he’s become addicted.

Fox's Lucifer takes its title character from burning Hell to L.A. hot spot

Ed Bark — 2016-01-22T08:21:28-06:00
But then there wouldn’t be a series and viewers couldn’t get to know semi-loopy therapist Linda Martin (Rachael Harris), who’s very taken with Lucifer while also serving as his Dr. ...The head executive producer of Lucifer is Jerry Bruckheimer, who hasn’t had a successful series in a while after striking it rich with the CSI franchise, Cold Case, Without A Trace and The Amazing Race.

The X-Files returns -- and this should be the last time

Ed Bark — 2016-01-21T10:56:35-06:00
So in reality -- what a concept -- there’s no time to waste after Sunday’s specially scheduled opening hour introduces a new, far-flung, super-sinister government/military plot dating to the 1947 crash-landing of an alien spacecraft 75 miles from Roswell in barren “Northwestern New Mexico.” ...And this time around, it indeed could be the very last of The X-Files after it took so long to get Duchovny and Anderson interested in even this limited engagement.

More comic book character heroics in The CW's DC's Legends of Tomorrow

Ed Bark — 2016-01-20T08:14:45-06:00
But it’s Arrow, The Flash, The 100, iZombie, The Vampire Diaries and old-timer Supernatural that have re-branded the network as a place where fan boys and girls can gather as one and let their pulse rates run wild. ...Journeying to 2016, Hunter recruits eight helpmates, including The Atom (Brandon Routh); White Canary (Caity Lotz); Hawkman (Falk Hentschel); Hawkgirl (Ciara Renee) and Firestorm (Franz Drameh), whose mentor, Professor Martin Stein (Victor Garber), is also half of Firestorm.

Desperate lives played for grins in FX's finely woven Baskets

Ed Bark — 2016-01-19T14:21:35-06:00
But all are pre-serpent Gardens of Eden compared to FX’s Baskets, in which Zach Galifianakis (it’s bad enough having to repeatedly type his name) plays perhaps the saddest sack in TV series history. ...Before heading disconsolately back to his hometown of Bakersfield, CA, he succeeds in getting the self-absorbed Penelope (Sabina Sciubba) to marry him -- not out of anything resembling love but for a Green Card in a country she’s always wanted to visit.

Bonnie and Clyde ride again (but you knew they would) on PBS' American Experience series

Ed Bark — 2016-01-18T12:53:23-06:00
PBS’ American Experience series at last gets around to Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow after four previous big- and small-screen treatments of their murderous crime spree and love story in and around Depression era Texas. ...The much-acclaimed 1967 feature film Bonnie and Clyde, starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, later lionized the pair indelibly after 1957’s little-seen The Bonnie Parker Story barely made a blip.

Mercy Street serves up Civil War trauma in a hard-pressed hospital

Ed Bark — 2016-01-15T15:52:21-06:00
Starring: Josh Radnor, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Gary Cole, Hannah James, Norbert Leo Butz, Tara Summers, McKinley Belcher III, Shalita Grant, Peter Gerety, Cameron Monaghan, Brad Koed, Jack Falahee, AnnaSophia Robb, Donna Murphy, L. ...He’s also been the clandestine beau of Green’s youngest daughter, Alice (AnnaSophia Robb), whose older sister, Emma (Hannah James), becomes an ad hoc nurse after first being seen in a pretty awesome hoop skirt.

From ABC's Police Squad! to TBS' Angie Tribeca: what took so long?

Ed Bark — 2016-01-15T11:16:12-06:00
That happens in Episode 3, one of the seven I watched before writing this review. Angie Tribeca already has been renewed for a Season 2, guaranteeing it more than three times as many episodes as Police Squad! ...All of this is a very welcome departure from the broad, laugh track-choked comedies that have typified TBS. Angie Tribeca, with Jones daring to do just about anything for a laugh, emerges in fine form as a Police Squad!

Showtime's Billions is driven by money in the bank performances from Giamatti, Lewis

Ed Bark — 2016-01-14T11:11:43-06:00
The 12-episode Season One, with half of it made available for review, pits a cutthroat, charismatic hedge fund emperor against a tightly wound, sexually kinky U.S. attorney bent on bringing him down as a crooked inside trader. ...The go-between in all of this is Rhoades’ wife, Wendy (Maggie Siff), who served as Axe Capital’s invaluable and very well-compensated in-house therapist long before her husband became a high-level federal prosecutor.

USA's "near future" Colony gives Earth yet another bad time of it

Ed Bark — 2016-01-13T15:40:12-06:00
USA’s decidedly un-Utopoian Colony, set in the “near future” and premiering on Thursday, Jan. 14th, co-stars two TV denizens who already have name brand sci-fi series under their belts. Josh Holloway is reunited with his old Lost co-executive producer, Carlton Cuse, while Sarah Wayne Callies emerges from several seasons on The Walking Dead.

Fox's Second Chance is good enough for starters to deserve one

Ed Bark — 2016-01-11T15:30:55-06:00
Fox’s Second Chance, premiering on Wednesday, Jan. 11th after the still potent American Idol, is a distant relative of Frankenstein and The Six Million Dollar Man without the scary outward appearances or campy comic book overlay. ...But Lookinglass Technologies founder Mary Goodwin (Dilshard Vadsaria) and her dependent twin brother, Otto (Adhir Kalyan), have the resources it takes to turn black the clock after old Jimmy is tossed off a bridge after first being doused with booze to make it look like suicide.

Frequently bleeped Golden Globes need a course correction or a new network (or streamer)

Ed Bark — 2016-01-11T12:37:44-06:00
Gervais’s entire stage setter went un-bleeped, although he shared the wealth later on -- during an up-close moment with Mel Gibson -- after numerous presenters and awards recipients likewise had their tongues lashed by NBC’s censors. ...So if that’s the way it’s going to be, then maybe it’s time for the Globes to move to a premium cable network -- such as HBO, Showtime or Starz -- or a streaming service such as Netflix, Amazon or Hulu.

CBS stumbles out of the pearly gates with Angel From Hell

Ed Bark — 2016-01-07T13:36:48-06:00
There seems to be little redeeming value in this rather slight little outing that also stars Maggie Lawson (quite good opposite James Caan in ABC’s short-lived Back in the Game) as an uptight dermatologist named Allison. ...So much so that guest star and former New Kids on the Block member Joey McIntyre basically is a throw-in who plays himself for no other reason than promotional purposes.

J Lo cops a dramatic feel in NBC's Shades of Blue

Ed Bark — 2016-01-07T09:30:38-06:00
Resemblances to FX’s The Shield are obvious, with Liotta doing Vic Mackey duty while Lopez frets about ratting him out after she’s caught in the act of shaking down a guy who turns out to be an undercover cop. ...Shades of Blue puts Santos in constant jeopardy of being exposed in ways other than stripping down to her black bra for a dalliance with a fellow cop or in an effort to show Woz that she’s not wired.

ABC's American Crime returns in superb form

Ed Bark — 2016-01-06T08:53:14-06:00
But American Crime is entertaining in its own way with unforeseen developments, vivid characterizations and, above all, a sense of purpose that makes this story matter without making it a grind to watch. ...Jessup, formerly of TNT’s Falling Skies series, is brilliant in the challenging role of a kid who just wants it all to “go away” while his mother demands justice.

Reviewing Netflix's Making a Murderer after viewing all 10 episodes

Ed Bark — 2016-01-04T10:02:37-06:00
In that sense, this series resembles Sundance TV’s fictional drama series, Rectify, whose central character, Daniel Holden (Aden Young), spent 19 years in prison for the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl. ...But the most telling media moment is at the national level, when a Dateline producer says in Episode 4 that “murder is hot” and “this is the perfect Dateline story” in the NBC news magazine’s never-ending battles with ABC’s 20/20 and CBS’ 48 Hours.

Downton Abbey is ready to run its final laps

Ed Bark — 2016-01-03T10:18:44-06:00
Now the time has come for Downton Abbey’s sixth and final season, which breathed its last on Christmas Day in the United Kingdom and premieres on Sunday, Jan. 3rd in the United States (8 p.m. central on KERA13 in Dallas-Fort Worth). ...Judging from the first eight hours, it truly will be grand. Downton Abbey looks for all the world as though it’s steaming steadily toward happy or at least contented endings for one and all.

Through the Family Guy prism with Fox's Bordertown

Ed Bark — 2015-12-29T16:01:40-06:00
Later in these festivities, Bud blows his head off (but cartoon characters never die) upon hearing that his homely, histrionic daughter Becky (Alex Borstein) is planning to marry the college-educated nephew of next door neighbor Ernesto Gonzalez (Nicholas Gonzalez). ...So the timing couldn’t be much better for Bordertown’s belated debut, even if it’s pretty much Family Guy all over again in terms of the corpulent protagonist, out-of-body pop culture references and some really abhorrent jokes.

More young men on pause in Fox's Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life

Ed Bark — 2015-12-29T12:35:54-06:00
The two main women characters generally are easier to take than their mostly doofus male counterparts, with Rath’s Kelly Bishop nicely showcased in a “How to Survive Being a Plus One” episode scheduled for Jan. 17th. None of this, however, adds up to New Girl, which returns for Season 5 on Tuesday, Jan. 5th and does a far better job portraying the vexed lives of its five still youngish principles. Guide to Surviving Life makes the best case for itself in a fairly imaginative Episode 2.

Syfy's The Expanse looks great, lacks coherence

Ed Bark — 2015-12-10T11:57:48-06:00
But having little or no earthly idea of what’s going on can be a problem, even with the lengthy printed preamble greeting viewers of the Monday, Dec. 14th premiere episode. ...And Jonathan Banks, a stalwart on both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, drops in for perhaps a minute as a pistol-shooting, weepy drunk who ends up being strapped to a stretcher and carted off.

Reviewing Netflix's Jessica Jones based on viewing all 13 Season One episodes

Ed Bark — 2015-12-08T13:30:10-06:00
No, this is from the narrative voice of haunted, booze-swilling, dark-mooded Jessica Jones, who’s endowed with super strength and the ability to fly but is very much out of uniform and in a funk for her Season One escapades on Netflix. ...Krysten Ritter (formerly of ABC’s Don’t Trust the B -- in Apartment 23) vividly portrays the title character while David Tennant segues from the tormented investigator of Broadchurch to the super-sinister mind manipulator known as Kilgrave.

Danny Kaye -- Legends returns to the yesteryears of his memorable variety show

Ed Bark — 2015-12-07T11:22:53-06:00
The recently released Danny Kaye -- Legends offers six full episodes on two discs, with the guest list including Lucille Ball, Louis Armstrong, Tony Bennett, George Burns, Shirley Jones, Liberace and Imogene Coca, the old stalwart from Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows. ...Other high points of Danny Kaye -- Legend include his free and easy swinging with Armstrong, reminiscing at length with Burns and merely gazing upon Jones, who looks positively luminous in the collection’s first color episode.

Eva Longoria's in fine form in a funny forum on NBC's Telenovela

Ed Bark — 2015-12-04T13:35:10-06:00
Ana Sofia has a built-in problem (she doesn’t speak Spanish) and a vexing new one when her philandering ex-husband Xavier (Jencarlos Canela) joins the soap’s cast as the star’s latest love interest. ...Former Chuck star Zachary Levi, who’s not listed as a regular character, is first seen in the premiere episode as Anglo Vivavision network president James McMahon, who also speaks fluent Spanish.

Stocking stuffer: Netflix's A Very Murray Christmas

Ed Bark — 2015-12-03T08:33:20-06:00
It seemed to be a fair assumption that A Very Murray Christmas would find the host grooving and goofing on the holiday season by reprising his smarmy Saturday Night Live lounge singer, Nick Ocean. ...But none of his announced guests can make it, leaving him to sing “I’ve Come Down With Those Christmas Blues” in his hotel suite while the ever-faithful Paul Shaffer tickles the ivories.

NBC's Superstore somehow opens for business

Ed Bark — 2015-11-30T11:33:14-06:00
Premiering: Monday, Nov. 30th at 9 p.m. (central) with back-to-back episodes sneak-previewing on NBC before show returns on Jan. 4th ...America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) and Ben Feldman (last season’s failed A to Z) head the cast, with former Kids in the Hall standout Mark McKinney adding a hopelessly broad and goofy characterization as store manager Glenn.

A second helping of the story behind Thanksgiving in PBS' The Pilgrims

Ed Bark — 2015-11-24T09:56:18-06:00
PBS’ two-hour The Pilgrims (Tuesday, Nov. 24th at 7 p.m. locally on KERA13 and repeated on Thanksgiving Day) airs under the American Experience umbrella and is notable for the late Roger Rees’ last performance. ...In Saints & Strangers, Kartheiser’s Bradford is no less God-fearing but brand new to the experience of being a stranger in a strange land after that arduous journey aboard the Mayflower in the fall 1620.

Crackle takes a tangled look at high-priced auctioneering in The Art of More

Ed Bark — 2015-11-20T11:06:05-06:00
Its latest effort is far more ambitious and also the first time Crackle has mounted an original drama series. The Art of More, which on Thursday began streaming all 10 Season One episodes, is high on production values but low on basic believability with its discombobulated tale of two very amoral New York art auction houses. ...Season One of Art of More ends very open-ended, with Connor sinking into even deeper depths of misery and criminality while Brukner makes a drunken spectacle of himself during what’s meant to be a triumphant party he’s thrown on his behalf.

Saints & Strangers gives National Geographic Channel a hearty Thanksgiving Day primer

Ed Bark — 2015-11-19T08:55:35-06:00
It’s a detailed and balanced look at how the first “Thanksgiving” came to be, with the portrayals of resident Native Americans a revelation in terms of their customs, machinations and tribal differences. ...All in all, National Geo should be justifiably proud of this production, which serves Kartheiser well while also telling the companion stories of the people who got to Plymouth first.

Amazon's The Man in the High Castle struggles to meet high expectations with its post-World War II occupations

Ed Bark — 2015-11-18T09:03:16-06:00
That came to pass in ABC’s Amerika, a 14-and-a-half-hour miniseries in which the Soviet Union made life very miserable for the likes of a previously incarcerated freedom fighter played by a monotonic and virtually expressionless Kris Kristofferson. ...Amazon Prime’s The Man in the High Castle, which begins streaming its entire 10-episode first season on Friday, Nov. 20th, in effect picks up the Amerika baton and strives to run with it.

Chicago times three with Fire, P.D. and now Med

Ed Bark — 2015-11-16T15:07:36-06:00
Producer Dick Wolf seemed to be on the verge of Hollywood extinction several years ago when NBC began separating itself from his longstanding Law & Order “brand” -- as he emphatically insists on calling it. ...As hospital dramas go, it’s not in the same league with NBC’s long-running ER but has a stronger, more relatable opening episode than CBS’ new Code Black did.

Starz offers heaping helpings of fear and self-loathing in the ballet miniseries Flesh and Bone

Ed Bark — 2015-11-06T09:36:03-06:00
The underlying story may go like this: Starz took a look at the finished product and wondered whether there possibly could be a sustained audience for this extraordinarily morose, voyeuristic and pretentious treatise about a New York City ballet company populated by cowed, catty, misery-drenched dancers and run by a vain, viciously twisted founder/director. ...Flesh and Blood also mixes in a Russian strip club owner who loves both the ballet and teenage sex slaves; an insecure, drug-addicted diva (Irina Dvorovenko as Kiira); a new and edgy choreographer whom Paul very predictably loathes (Marina Benedict as Toni Cannava); a desperate company manager named Jessica (Tina Benko); and Claire’s metaphorical favorite book, The Velveteen Rabbit.

Netflix's Master of None is Aziz Ansari's fully realized comedy masterpiece

Ed Bark — 2015-11-05T13:41:13-06:00
In what amounts to his full-blown coming out party after years as a supporting player on NBC’s Parks and Recreation, Ansari shows he has mastered the art of devising a perfect vehicle for himself. ...The “Old People” episode is just one of the gems, with Dev meeting and commiserating with his girlfriend Rachel’s “Grandma Carol,” an assisted living center denizen yearning to break out and breathe deeply for a change.

New Star Trek series could be rocket fuel for CBS All Access (and also a launch pad for what's to come)

Ed Bark — 2015-11-02T13:14:56-06:00
Yes, CBS shook the earth Monday with its declaration that a new chapter in the Star Trek franchise will be shown exclusively on its fledgling All Access streaming device after a token one-episode launch on the musty old broadcast network. ...Citing the “terrific growth” of All Access in the past year, DeBevoise also says in a statement, ”We now have an incredible opportunity to accelerate this growth with the iconic Star Trek, and its devoted and passionate fan base, as our first original series.”

CNBC's debate flop re-tarnishes the "mainstream media"

Ed Bark — 2015-10-29T09:40:44-05:00
Led by an obnoxiously abrasive John Harwood and abetted by co-panelists Becky Quick and Carl Quintanilla, CNBC made a massive mess of things while also making it all the more difficult for their responsible peers. ...Ben Carson showed a smidgen of indignation at the accusatory nature of the questioning while Trump twitted Quick after she stumbled through another “gotcha” question regarding the billionaire businessman’s supposed criticisms of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s support of an increase in high-skill immigrant visas.

Starz hits the spot with deliciously gory Ash vs Evil Dead

Ed Bark — 2015-10-28T11:42:38-05:00
Continuing in the slap-happy tradition of 1981’s Evil Dead, 1987’s Evil Dead II and 1992’s Army of Darkness, the 10-episode Starz series returns jocular Bruce Campbell to the role that devotees of this franchise just won’t let him forget. ...Nothing is taken terribly seriously, whether Campbell is playing Ash Williams or previous characters such as Sam Axe in Burn Notice; the title character in Fox’s lamentably short-lived The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.; Ray the mad brain surgeon in Lunatics: A Love Story; or the recurring character of Autolycus in Xena: Warrior Princess.

New vistas in hypocrisy: NBC's renewed coziness with Donald Trump

Ed Bark — 2015-10-27T12:31:47-05:00
This almost assuredly won’t happen, but here’s what I wish upon NBC: a succession of SNLs hosted in no particular order by Carson, Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, John Kasich, Carly Fiorina and Chris Christie. ...One last point: NBC also is the network that last fall terminated plans to do a new Bill Cosby sitcom after dozens upon dozens of women came forward to allege he’d drugged and sexually molested them.

ABC's Wicked City gets up-close with a Sunset Strip serial killer in the land of 1982

Ed Bark — 2015-10-22T13:22:23-05:00
But it received a late October berth when the original Tuesday night fall occupant, Quantico, got re-routed to Sundays after ABC decided it didn’t want to proceed as intended on that night with Of Kings and Prophets. Wicked City also has undergone some major casting changes, with Jeremy Sisto supplanting Adam Rothenberg as one of the two lead cops while the character’s wife is now being played by Jaime Ray Newman instead of Holley Fain.

Supergirl gives CBS a comic book hero with possibly serious staying power

Ed Bark — 2015-10-22T09:28:26-05:00
Watching her take flight, without being unduly flighty about it, is one of the many pleasures of Monday’s premiere, which gets a lead-in from The Big Bang Theory before Supergirl moves to its regular 7 p.m. (central) slot on Nov. 2nd. ...Viewers under 30 years of age might find themselves in tune with CBS for the first time ever while the network’s traditionally older crowd stays in the fold to root for a kid they’d like to have as a granddaughter.

Hallmark keeps the Jesse Stone franchise vividly in play with Lost In Paradise

Ed Bark — 2015-10-15T12:49:19-05:00
And it has. Jesse Stone: Lost In Paradise, premiering Sunday, Oct. 18th at 8 p.m. (central) on Hallmark, is the first of two movies ordered by the entity best known for its seemingly endless supply of Christmas movies. ...But Selleck very much remains the command presence in a franchise in which he now co-writes the scripts and has relied on director Robert Harmon to execute them in every Jesse Stone movie except 2011’s Innocents Lost.

NBC's Truth Be Told looks like a Friday night false hope

Ed Bark — 2015-10-14T09:59:22-05:00
So the first impression of People Are Talking is that bolder topics were tackled in late summer on NBC’s The Carmichael Show, a very pleasant surprise that’s been renewed for a second season after the Peacock at first seemed to be burning it off. ...It’s all built around four prized tickets and backstage passes to a Jay Z concert, with Mitch’s stir-crazy wife at last primed for a night out but apprehensive about leaving their four-year-old daughter with a babysitter for the first time.

Gotta sing, gotta dance on The CW's distinctive Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Ed Bark — 2015-10-12T11:59:48-05:00
But Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s bright, sprightly premiere is another step up in quality for a network that was much derided as superfluous until four very fresh coats of paint -- Arrow, The Flash, Jane the Virgin and iZombie -- came into view during the past three years. Singing her heart out on several occasions, relative newcomer Rachel Bloom stars in this saga of a needy, unfulfilled, up-and-coming Manhattan lawyer who spurns a big promotion in favor of pursuing a guy she crushed on 10 years earlier as a 16-year-old at summer camp.

Going medieval and grandly succeeding with BBC America's The Last Kingdom

Ed Bark — 2015-10-09T13:44:58-05:00
Last Kingdom can be more than a little contemporary at times, with a Viking saying, “Just saying” in Saturday’s premiere episode. ...It all meshes together in enthralling fashion with a tale that’s understandable and a setting that’s tailor made for picturesque vistas. Last Kingdom livens up Saturday nights with Emmy caliber storytelling and oft-sumptuous production values.

High expectations: And FX's Fargo exceeds them with an exhilarating return

Ed Bark — 2015-10-07T14:09:03-05:00
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Jean Smart, Ted Danson, Cristin Milioti, Bokeem Woodbine, Nick Offerman, Jeffrey Donovan, Zahn McClarnon, Brad Garrett, Allan Dobresen, Rachel Keller, Angus Sampson, Todd Mann, Brad Mann, Raven Stewart, Elizabeth Marvel, Kieran Culkin, Michael Hogan, Bruce Campbell ...But it’s not grossly gratuitous or voyeuristic, unlike most of the carnage in just the first episode of FX’s newly launched American Horror Story: Hotel. Fargo’s producers, who also include former NBC entertainment president Warren Littlefield, know how to service a story without getting muck all over themselves.

FX's American Horror Story: Hotel doesn't check out

Ed Bark — 2015-10-07T09:32:31-05:00
Lowe and his wife, Alex (alum Chloe Sevigny), also have a darling pre-teen daughter, Scarlett (Shree Grace Crooks), and a son . . . well, you’ll see, although it’s not much of a surprise. AHS: Hotel tends to telegraph its supposedly shocking reveals. ...Murphy is a very busy guy at the moment, what with Scream Queens, AHS: Hotel and an upcoming American Crime Story series for FX that will devote its first season to the arrest and trial of O.J.

Hulu's Casual comes off as watchable (but not must-see)

Ed Bark — 2015-10-06T13:07:54-05:00
Hulu’s new Casual, which starts streaming with weekly episodes on Wednesday, Oct. 7th, is more or less a comedy series that’s also more or less watchable. ...Alex’s subsequent and very predictable liaison with a chunky bartender ends up making him an even more loathsome member of the male species, let alone the human race. Casual has made it difficult to get invested in this guy’s overall well-being.

ABC should have let Dr. Ken call in sick

Ed Bark — 2015-10-01T10:53:34-05:00
This is the same network with a Wednesday night quartet of smart, funny family comedies in The Middle, The Goldbergs, Modern Family and black-ish. ...Jeong’s high-strung, bumbling central character mugs his way through a succession of lame one-liners while his patient wife, Allison (Suzy Nakamura), serves as both his licensed therapist and buffer between their two kids, teenager Molly (Krista Marie Yu) and pre-teen Dave (Albert Tsai).

The late night talk show host beard-athon (past/present)

Ed Bark — 2015-09-30T14:58:51-05:00
Even Jimmy Fallon went with a beard for a while after returning to his former NBC Late Night show following an extended break. ...Late night talk show hosts of yore, such as Jack Paar, Joey Bishop, Dick Cavett, Merv Griffin and Johnny Carson, went bare-faced under all circumstances (save for the time Johnny returned from a 1985 vacation with a jarring short beard that he ditched after a week).

Code Black is latest candidate to end CBS' long medical drought

Ed Bark — 2015-09-29T17:10:35-05:00
Spunky resident Christa Lorenson (Bonnie Somerville), who’s older than her three peers, gives Rorish a dose of her own cliche medicine by telling her, “In my experience, tragedy either softens you or hardens you.” ...Epilogue: Even with CBS’ long history of medical malpractice, there’s still cause for hope via less than imposing time slot competition from NBC’s Chicago P.D. and ABC’s Nashville.

Lowe remains on a comedy high with Fox's The Grinder

Ed Bark — 2015-09-28T15:13:32-05:00
Returning home to Boise, Idaho to watch the series finale with his married “little bro” Stewart (Fred Savage of eternal The Wonder Years fame) and other assorted Sandersons, Dean is struck by what they have and what he doesn’t. ...Stewart, a stiff real-life lawyer with no stage presence in court, has a wife, Debbie (perfectly played by Mary Elizabeth Ellis from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia), a daughter, Lizzie (Hana Hayes) and a son, Ethan (Connor Kalopsis).

Fox's Grandfathered offers John Stamos a new wrinkle

Ed Bark — 2015-09-28T13:12:31-05:00
The star of Fox’s Grandfathered can’t even bring himself to say the word after getting back-to-back jolts in Tuesday’s premiere episode. ...He still has a crush on her, and dad Jimmy is called on to help him convince Vanessa that they can be more than just friends.

ABC's Blood & Oil lets Don Johnson show off again

Ed Bark — 2015-09-25T15:07:46-05:00
Blood & Oil otherwise is the saga of Billy and Cody “CJ” Lefever (Chace Crawford, Rebecca Rittenhouse), who have the grand idea of starting up a laundromat chain in the great unwashed state of North Dakota. ...But through pure happenstance, the Lefevers also get wind of it and dirt poor Billy comes up with a financial stake almost quicker than Hap can down a shot.

ABC's Quantico puts NYC on the receiving end of more terrorist devastation

Ed Bark — 2015-09-25T10:35:40-05:00
You’ll get both in ABC’s Quantico, a flash back and forward whodunit starring the beauteous Priyanka Chopra as a recruit who’s later suspected of being behind the bombing of NYC’s Grand Central Terminal. ...At the summer Television Critics Association “press tour,” co-executive producer Mark Gordon (who also orchestrates Showtime’s Homeland) fell back on an oft-used industry term to defend some of Quantico’s rather far-fetched storytelling.

Birth of a big mess in NBC's Heroes Reborn

Ed Bark — 2015-09-24T11:22:24-05:00
Besides those already mentioned, the locales include East Los Angeles, Chicago, Tokyo, Canada, “somewhere in Texas,” the Arctic Circle and Midian, Colorado, which turns out to be home base for the Renautus conglomerate and a new “Epic” tracking device that can root out “every enhanced human” on the planet. ...There are many more characters to sort through, including heavy-drinking war hero Carlos Gutierrez (Ryan Guzman) and Tokyo’s Miko (Kiki Sukezane), who’s searching for her missing father and has Thursday night’s niftiest sequence after winding up in a video game.

NBC's The Player might not want to bet on its survival

Ed Bark — 2015-09-23T16:39:03-05:00
“I need you to wrap your head around impossible,” Cassandra tells him after rescuing him from a passel of pursuing cops (who think Kane might have killed his wife) and taking him to the penthouse domain of Mr. ...Although this isn’t a flat-out terrible series, don’t bet on NBC having a winner opposite fearsome time slot competition from CBS’ Thursday Night Football and ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder.

Fox's Rosewood too often seems built of balsa

Ed Bark — 2015-09-23T12:28:23-05:00
But his principal foil is detective Annalise Villa (Jaina Lee Ortiz), a saucy import from New York City who wears tank tops on the job, talks as though she’s always speaking into a megaphone and has no use for Rosewood until, of course, she does. ...“In the simplest of terms,” he says, “Rosewood is a fun procedural drama wherein Rosewood and Villa solve incredible crimes with style, wit, sex appeal and a heavy dose of fast-paced banter, though we’ll let you guys decide if we pulled that off.”

Another night, another movie knockoff with CBS' Limitless

Ed Bark — 2015-09-22T13:13:28-05:00
CBS’ Limitless, launching on Tuesday, Sept. 22nd, is fairly quick on the heels of the 2011 film that starred Bradley Cooper as a stressed but empowered user of the super brain-boosting drug NZT. ...Meanwhile, Brian’s dad is afflicted with a mysterious illness after collapsing during one of those big family dinners that only happen these days on CBS in general and Blue Bloods in particular.

The Muppets gives ABC a big brand name in a challenging "mockumentary" setting

Ed Bark — 2015-09-21T16:56:22-05:00
Which is a show within a show on The Muppets, where backstage machinations, out-of-pocket personal lives and talk-to-the-camera sidebars form the bulk of the first two half-hour episodes. ...These first two episodes are watchable enough, with next week’s half-hour hitting on a fairly novel way to short-circuit a gooey Groban-Miss Piggy relationship that calms her tempestuous temperament but compromises her show.

Fox's Scream Queens can leave a nasty taste

Ed Bark — 2015-09-21T12:53:01-05:00
Dean Cathy Munsch (Jamie Lee Curtis) quickly emerges as Chanel’s arch foe, promising to reform Wallace University’s most popular sorority by freeing it from the tyrannical grip of a diva and her “minions,” Chanels 2 through 5. ...“I’m gonna barf on your face unless you get out of here,” she tells a self-anointed Big Man on Campus named Chad Radwell (Glen Powell) after judging him very lousy in the sack.

HBO, Samberg are winning combo at Primetime Emmys

Ed Bark — 2015-09-21T09:13:48-05:00
The premium cable network’s dominance included first time wins for Game of Thrones and Veep in the climactic best drama and comedy series categories, plus six Emmys for Olive Kitteridge, including for best limited series. Veep’s win ended Modern Family’s run of five straight years as best comedy. ...Uza Aduba, who plays Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren in Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black, became the first actress to win an Emmy for the same role in both comedy and drama.

Uncle Barky's Emmy picks

Ed Bark — 2015-09-18T10:38:12-05:00
And a little history could be made if ABC’s Modern Family wins the Best Comedy Series Emmy for the sixth year in a row. ...Comment: The battle is between Henson and Davis, either of whom would be the first African-American woman to ever win in this category.

NBC's Blindspot gets its tattoos on

Ed Bark — 2015-09-17T14:38:38-05:00
Now that his bonafides have been established, Weller is summoned back to NYC for a look-see at a woman (played by Jaimie Alexander) who “knows what music is but doesn’t remember The Beatles.” ...Blindspot is very similar to NBC’s Blacklist in terms of apprehending a bad guy of the week while peeling away bits and pieces of a mysterious origin story.

Life in Pieces amuses outside the traditional CBS sitcom format

Ed Bark — 2015-09-17T12:38:01-05:00
So far, pretty good in this case, with the second mini-tale playing strongest while the final one has its moments -- including family patriarch John Short (James Brolin) in a coffin during the course of celebrating his 70th birthday with his own faux funeral. Brolin and Dianne Wiest, who plays Joan Short, are the well-seasoned pros in a show that also includes capable junior partners Colin Hanks (Fargo), Betsy Brandt (Parenthood), Thomas Sadoski (The Newsroom), Zoe Lister Jones (New Girl) and Dan Bakkedahl (Veep).

Fox's Minority Report looks great and plays well, too

Ed Bark — 2015-09-17T09:26:52-05:00
But Bradley Cooper has a financial stake as a co-executive producer of TV’s Limitless while Minority Report star Tom Cruise is completely uninvolved with the Fox reboot. ...Dash is the series’ central Pre-Cog, and Sands plays him winningly as something of a skittish nerd who’s still traumatized by his oft-grisly visions but figures he has to do something about them.

For starters, Stephen Colbert's Late Show has some strong finishing kicks

Ed Bark — 2015-09-15T15:31:35-05:00
But Fallon and his show’s producers showed some show biz savvy on that night by going for the jugular while Colbert opted to wear a big furry hat with a pointed red top for an overlong and decidedly less than hilarious string of “The hat has spoken!” ...It’s where Colbert shines, and he also clearly wants to make Late Show much more of a landing spot for people of genuine substance and achievement. CBS This Morning has stayed true to its serious news approach opposite the three-ring circuses on Good Morning America and Today.

His kingdom for a mouse: PBS' revelatory Walt Disney doc

Ed Bark — 2015-09-14T13:14:20-05:00
Monday’s Part 1, the more wondrous of the two, is captivating in its depictions of the rise of Mickey Mouse (star of the first animated talkie) and the slow flowering of Snow White into a previously unfathomable “cartoon” combination of laughter and pathos at feature film length. ...As a kid in the 1950s -- and as a TV critic in training who didn’t know it at the time -- my two big Disney obsessions were his series of small-screen Davy Crockett adventures and the “Spin and Marty” after-school serials popularized on The Mickey Mouse Club.

Self-inflicted wounds: FX's The Bastard Executioner

Ed Bark — 2015-09-11T13:04:53-05:00
His FX followup is The Bastard Executioner, a bloody, mystical but not magical saga set in British-occupied Northern Wales, where “tension grows in the turbulent marshlands” at the dawn of the 14th century. ...Let’s note at this point that Bastard Executioner also is populated with other intriguingly named characters, including Berber the Moor (Danny Sapani), Gruffudd Y Blaid (Matthew Rhys) and Ash Y Goedwig (Darren Evans).

Reviewing Amazon Prime's Hand of God after viewing all 10 Season 1 episodes

Ed Bark — 2015-09-08T15:55:24-05:00
Amazon Prime publicity materials for Hand of God describe it as the saga of a “law-bending,” somewhat all-powerful judge who “begins to rely on ‘visions’ and ‘messages’ he believes are being sent” from on high via his ventilator-bound son, who had shot himself through the head after he’d been forced to watch his wife being raped. ...The mystery over who raped Jocelyn drives Hand of God from start to stop, with Pernell acting on his son’s “orders” and hiring a twisted ex-con named KD Dennison (Garret Dillahunt from Raising Hope) as his hit man.

Violence vs. sex: on TV it's still no contest when it comes to showing and telling

Ed Bark — 2015-09-01T12:26:14-05:00
The producers of The Mindy Project, picked up by Hulu after three seasons on Fox, are likewise keeping the series pretty much as it’s been when a new season begins streaming on Sept. 15th. ...And I think if we really changed the show too much . . . and put it more on a tilt towards stuff you would find on HBO or Showtime, we would maybe turn off some of our core audience.

Reviewing Netflix's Narcos after viewing all 10 Season 1 episodes

Ed Bark — 2015-08-31T13:13:21-05:00
Netflix’s Narcos is the latest to recount the life and very turbulent times of Pablo Escobar, whose thirst for violent reprisal claimed hundreds if not thousands of lives while he shrugged and told an underling, “Geniuses are always branded as crazy.” ...The most familiar face to American audiences is Luis Guzman (Anger Management, How to Make It in America) as henchman/assassin Jose Rodriguez Gacha. Narcos also has at least one genuinely honorable politician in President Cesar Gaviria (a strong performance by Raul Mendez), who shows up in the second half of the series.

Breaking down the demographics of prime-time's hits and misses

Ed Bark — 2015-08-28T10:07:26-05:00
Two animated Fox series, The Simpsons and Family Guy, also pole-vaulted into 18-to-49 prominence despite relatively low total viewer ranks. The Simpsons, which begin its gazillionth season this fall, ranked 50th in total viewers but No. 12 among 18-to-49-year-olds. Family Guy jumped from 88th to 38th place. ...CSI, which will get a two-hour movie sendoff on Sept. 27th, still did quite well in the total viewer ratings, ranking 31st with an average of 11.108 million. Brooklyn Nine-Nine was 98th in this measurement with 4.407 million.

Broad, loud -- and funny: NBC's The Carmichael Show

Ed Bark — 2015-08-26T09:22:16-05:00
Robinson landed its jokes with a series of big thuds while The Carmichael Family is much smoother, even in the face of decibel levels that threaten to shatter the sound barrier whenever Momma and Daddy are spouting their decidedly old-school values. ...Somehow it does with The Carmichael Show, which can be laugh-out-loud funny because its cast knows just what to do with some pretty sharp material.

Public Morals gives TNT a sharply defined period cop drama

Ed Bark — 2015-08-25T08:29:33-05:00
Starring: Edward Burns, Michael Rapaport, Elizabeth Masucci, Katrina Bowden, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Austin Stowell, Wass Stevens, Brian Wiles, Neal McDonough, Brian Dennehy, Robert Knepper, Kevin Corrigan, Aaron Dean Eisenberg, Keith Nobbs, Patrick Murney, Lyndon Smith, Cormac Cullinane ...There’s another terrific scene in Episode 3, with old Joe telling a shaky subordinate mobster known as “Smitty” (fine work by Kevin Corrigan) how it’s gonna go down in the aftermath of a lethal hit at the end of Episode 1.

Fear the Walking Dead makes it a twosome on AMC

Ed Bark — 2015-08-21T13:38:49-05:00
AMC’s The Walking Dead still reigns as the runaway winner in ratings among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds, with 13.2 million of its 20.1 viewers in that age range. ...Meanwhile, shackled Nick has rather unconvincingly escaped from the hospital in hopes of clearing his head and finding out if his girlfriend in fact was eating people alive at that church where bad things indeed happened but NO ONE CALLED THE COPS.

Starz's Blunt Talk does some funny business for Patrick Stewart

Ed Bark — 2015-08-21T09:31:39-05:00
And the link to the classic 1976 film Network is fully intentional. Blunt Talk’s creator, Jonathan Ames, acknowledges without hesitation that his star player is “very much” meant to be an extension of Howard Beale, whose “Mad as Hell” clarion call is still echoing. ...But each of these early episodes has an inspired high point or two, whether it’s Blunt interviewing himself; being conquered by automated airport bathroom devices; getting towel-whipped as penance by his faithful manservant; faking a report from hurricane-threatened Galveston; or debating whether to affect his Bono or Peter Jennings look before heading off to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

Sooner or later it had to happen: Lifetime's The Unauthorized Full House Story

Ed Bark — 2015-08-20T11:30:03-05:00
A pre-Full House Stamos (Justin Gaston) is first seen shlepping at his dad’s diner after quitting General Hospital and enduring two failed prime-time series (for the record they were “Dreams and You Again? ...But of course he stuck it out, getting the host job on America’s Funniest Home Videos in the bargain while Stamos played the field and Coulier kept farting before, during and after a failed marriage.

IFC's Documentary Now! turns the genre upside down

Ed Bark — 2015-08-19T14:56:44-05:00
The better news: Two subsequent half-hour episodes available for review are incrementally funnier than the first one, with “Kunuk Uncovered” a fully realized howl drawn from 1922’s Nanook of the North and featuring a guest appearance by John Slattery. ..., Hader does most of the talking as 56-year-old “Little Vivvy” Van Klimpton while Armisen spends a lot of time in bed as the tart, 75-year-old “Big Vivvy.”

CNN's Evocateur recaptures Morton Downey Jr. at the height of his glowers

Ed Bark — 2015-08-19T09:43:35-05:00
A then rotund Al Sharpton Jr. got knocked off his chair by Congress of Racial Equality chairman Roy Innis and in another instance aimed a homophobic epithet at an audience member that today would get him knocked off MSNBC for at least a short while. ...But after years of helping to fabricate and then legitimize the incident, his longtime friend, Lloyd Schoonmaker, comes forward in Evocateur to say he was with Downey at a convenience store when they bought a pair of scissors and a felt marking pen.

HBO and David Simon re-team in exemplary Show Me a Hero

Ed Bark — 2015-08-16T10:39:35-05:00
Simon and co-executive producer/director Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby, Crash) skillfully blend nuts and bolts with the very human, intertwining stories of politicians, disadvantaged minority women and a middle-aged white Yonkers resident with a steely resolve to stop the housing project in its tracks. ...Simon’s central point in taking on this challenging re-telling can be found in the conclusion to his Foreword: “Over these wasted decades,” he writes, “we have become a people ever better at politics, but less and less capable of governing ourselves.

Westward bound for another TV "press tour" extravaganza in sunny Southern California

Ed Bark — 2015-07-26T17:33:35-05:00
It’ll all begin with a bang -- a late Monday afternoon screening of FX’s opening Season 2 episode of Fargo -- before settling into a daily pattern of one interview session after another and usually a nighttime “working” party. ...You can find my tvww press tour posts right here, although the site won’t be back up until Monday or at the latest, Tuesday, due to a major server crash.

Trickle down humor in TBS' America's Next Weatherman

Ed Bark — 2015-07-26T14:16:03-05:00
So maybe at least some of the show’s 12 contestants are salaried comedians doing bits rather than actually aspiring to win $100,000 and a guest shot on CNN’s early morning New Day. ...Oberg, after returning from a “Confessional” in which he questions his hosting abilities, gets back into the flow nicely by challenging contestants with, “This city sounds like it was named after a plumber with low-riding pants.

NBC's Mr. Robinson is a throwback that should have been thrown back

Ed Bark — 2015-07-26T12:20:16-05:00
Filling in at Studs Terkel High School in hopes of rekindling a dashed romance with English teacher Victoria Wavers (Meagan Good), Craig very predictably encounters a batch of wacky co-teachers and an abrasive principal named Christine Taylor (Frasier alum Peri Gilpin in place of Smart). ...Doofus physical education teacher Jimmy Hooper (Ben Koldyke), who dubs himself “Magnum P.E.,” is in constant full strut while Indian colleague Samir (Asif Ali) keeps trying to invent something to make him rich (such as “substitute beef” in Episode 2).

CNBC's West Texas Investors Club positions itself as unscrubbed Shark Tank

Ed Bark — 2015-07-24T09:22:27-05:00
In that mold, it’s fronted by two multi-millionaire, Midland-based oil pipe salesmen and a cackling old singer/songwriter whose snow white beard is big enough to conceal a small handgun. ...But as an “authentic” un-scrubbed offshoot of Shark Tank, it needs to pick up the pace and cut down on the corn pone palaver, some of which seems obviously pre-scripted. Shark Tank gets more done with five investors to service in a single hour.

Netflix returns to camp with a winning Wet Hot American Summer prequel series

Ed Bark — 2015-07-23T13:06:14-05:00
There’s also a cavalcade of star cameos -- Chris Pine, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Michael Cera, Jordan Peele, “Weird Al” Yankovic, etc. -- and five longer-term new characters played by John Slattery, Lake Bell, Jason Schwartzman, Josh Charles and David Wain, who directed both the movie and the prequel and also co-wrote them. ...The blossoming romance of counselors Ben and McKinley (Bradley Cooper, Michael Ian Black) comes to full flower while new counselor Lindsay (Elizabeth Banks) is not what she seems and camp scientist Henry Newman (David Hyde Pierce) is still out of pocket but laying the groundwork for his arrival.

Mark Cuban as the President (hoo hah) in Syfy's Sharknado 3

Ed Bark — 2015-07-21T17:21:24-05:00
But let’s note that Cuban remains among the living and ready for any further duty in Sharknado 4, which is teased at the end of the third “because we’re not done yet.” ...But this film otherwise isn’t as “good” as Sharknado 2: The Second One, which laid more inventive waste to New York City and included Judd Hirsch of Taxi fame as a cabbie.

Spike's Tut is a better than expected playground for kings and Kingsley

Ed Bark — 2015-07-17T06:16:12-05:00
Spike sent the entire miniseries for review, although Episodes 2 and 3 were “rough cuts” that include some temporary music borrowed from Game of Thrones and printed notations such as “Add blood spatter.” ...Through it all, Ay’s eye makeup never runs -- even after he’s rebuked as a suitor by Ankhe, who terms him a “man of internal frustration” before flashing her naked body and then strutting off.

HBO and Game of Thrones repeat as top Emmy nominees

Ed Bark — 2015-07-16T11:18:22-05:00
Joining GOT, Mad Men and House of Cards in the Best Drama Series category are AMC’s Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul, Showtime’s Homeland, PBS’ Downton Abbey and Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, which entered last year in the comedy series division. ...The Best Limited Series nominees are FX’s American Horror Story: Freak Show (again running second to GOT with 19 total nominations), HBO’s Olive Kitteridge, Sundance TV’s The Honorable Woman PBS’ Wolf Hall and ABC’s American Crime, which was nominated in this category even though it’s been renewed for a second season.

FX's Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll blasts off, fizzles, re-ignites (and has a title that's a pain to type in full)

Ed Bark — 2015-07-15T12:45:20-05:00
The second episode also includes a broadside at Pat Benatar and her guitarist/musical partner Neil Giraldo; Johnny’s deft mocking of a typical Morrissey song (by all means leave that in); and Gigi’s dart at a tune written by Johnny after everyone insisted he get clean and sober. ...S&D&R&R begins faltering in Episode 3, when the band’s mercenary manager, Ira Feinbaum (Josh Pais), suggests that “for business purposes” Johnny should stay dead for a short while after false Internet reports had him choking on a chicken bone.

The Jim Gaffigan Show gives TV Land a "puffy" dad in his prime

Ed Bark — 2015-07-14T10:44:51-05:00
CBS twice passed on other versions of this series before Gaffigan and co-creator/executive producer Peter Tolan (Rescue Me) found a home on TV Land, which has announced its intent to get “edgier” and more adult. Welcome to New York, a fall 2000 comedy series in which Gaffigan played a TV weatherman, actually made it to CBS but was quickly canceled. ...Nonetheless it all goes down pretty easily. The Jim Gaffigan Show showcases its star at his exasperated best, putting his now well-honed spin on the befuddled dad genre from which many a sitcom has supped.

TV Land's Impastor preaches "irreverend" comedy

Ed Bark — 2015-07-14T08:48:05-05:00
Michael Rosenbaum’s spiritual journey has taken him from Lex Luthor on Smallville to the pretend-to-be-gay pastor of a Lutheran Church in Impastor. ...During Wednesday’s premiere episode, Impastor also works in a sub-plot involving a big bag of grass (which Buddy/Barlow is happy to confiscate) and a surly teen boy who’s having sex with a cantaloupe and also severely disrespecting his mother.

Frontline's "Escaping ISIS" documents the brutality of "purification"

Ed Bark — 2015-07-13T13:40:44-05:00
The stark Frontline documentary “Escaping ISIS” (Tuesday, July 14th at 9 p.m. central on PBS) is a story of small but heartening victories via an “underground railroad” led by former lawyer Khalil al-Dakhi. ...This is journalism that counts in times when the longstanding broadcast network evening newscasts increasingly seem content to say “Look at this” before showing the latest “viral” video of a vehicular wreck, an animal escapade or a baby reacting sourly to his or her first lemon wedge.

Masters of Sex fast-forwards both its setting and its children in a searing start to Season 3

Ed Bark — 2015-07-08T16:22:34-05:00
The Sunday, July 12th return of Masters of Sex (at 9 p.m. central on Showtime) features all four more prominently than ever before, with Henry and Tessa in full-blown rebellion, Johnny on the verge of exploding and Jenny still a little sweetheart. ...This doesn’t work out at all as planned, with Virginia and a growingly assertive Libby instead doing most of the bonding and commiserating while the ever taciturn William tries to sequester himself with the final stages of what will become the landmark book Human Sexual Response.

Still steeped in sadness, Rectify returns for a shorter and perhaps final Season 3

Ed Bark — 2015-07-07T13:51:20-05:00
Young’s Daniel remains the monotonic center point, trying so hard not to be a burden to anyone while also having no idea where he’ll go and what he’ll do next. ...Note to readers: On the day after this review was posted, Sundance TV announced that it has renewed Rectify for a fourth season.

The CW takes a more "mature" approach with British import Dates

Ed Bark — 2015-07-07T10:43:26-05:00
In that context, it’s instructive to know that Mia (Oona Chaplin) will return in Episodes 3, 7 and 9 while David (Will Mellor) re-enters in Episode 5 before getting back with Mia in the Season 1 finale. ...This is all assuming that The CW will air all 9 episodes of Dates, which will be tasked with recruiting an “older” audience in this instance.

Chasing down The Fugitive is well worth the marked-down Complete Series DVD price

Ed Bark — 2015-07-01T10:30:59-05:00
Un-billed, all-business narrator William Conrad, TV’s future Cannon, put it this way in the pilot episode: “Richard Kimble ponders his fate as he looks at the world for the last time and sees only darkness. ...As “A Quinn Martin Production” -- which a booming voiceover made very clear -- black-and-white episodes of The Fugitive first joined ABC’s Tuesday night lineup in tandem with the network’s The Greatest Show On Earth and opposite two variety series (CBS’ The Garry Moore Show and NBC’s The Bell Telephone Hour).

Animals on edge in CBS' Zoo

Ed Bark — 2015-06-25T11:16:23-05:00
This is not good, particularly because the Los Angeles Telegraph is beholden to a conglomerate owner with holdings that include a sinister agro-chemical company with a new contract to feed L.A.’s zoo-confined animals crappy, pesticide-laced food. ...Don’t expect anything in the vicinity of the special effects thrills of Jurassic World, where dinosaurs devouring terrified humans is still a very popular spectator sport. Zoo’s up-close shots of lions growling is about as good as it gets in the lone episode made available for review.

USA network gets the edge it's looking for with distinctly different Mr. Robot

Ed Bark — 2015-06-24T11:47:39-05:00
A growing number of basic cable networks are looking for an edge this year, with TNT, Lifetime and even TV Land hoping to move into the same risqué neighborhoods as FX and AMC. Mr. Robot, a sharp departure from the likes of USA’s Royal Pains, Psych and Suits, embodies disaffected, damaged youth in the person of vigilante hacker Elliot (Rami Malek).

Reviewing Orange is the New Black after viewing all 13 Season 3 episodes

Ed Bark — 2015-06-23T12:53:06-05:00
Whatever your fetishes, this turns out to be far less compelling than Season 2’s reign of terror by Yvonne “Vee” Parker or the inaugural year’s immersion of tenderfoot Piper Chapman (primary series star Taylor Schilling) into an intimidating, unnerving new world. ...An overriding sense of jeopardy or menace is mostly missing as well. OITNB instead devotes multiple episodes to Piper’s burgeoning panty ring; a run on long-frozen, tasty Kosher meals by phonily Jewish inmates; and a devoted religious cult that forms around the silently manipulative Norma Romano (Anna Golden).

Da bomb: HBO's The Brink follows smartly in step with Dr. Strangelove

Ed Bark — 2015-06-19T12:48:19-05:00
Schreiber, best known for his Season 1 portrayal of crooked corrections officer “Porn Stache” in Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, is high in the sky -- and often on the ground, too -- as drug-smuggling bomber pilot Zeke “Z-Pak” Tilson. ...Maribeth Monroe also excels in these sequences as devoted aide Kendra Peterson, who’s become expert at cleaning up her boss’s messes on a daily basis -- even when his urinary tract is A-OK.

Back to the future: Williams' return to MSNBC could be a purgatory with a silver lining

Ed Bark — 2015-06-18T14:29:43-05:00
As principal anchor of the oft-tawdry Dateline NBC for a number of years, Holt wasn’t exactly a guardian angel of solid, straight-ahead journalism. Nightly News ratings slipped during his interim tenure, with ABC’s boyishly handsome David Muir topping the key 25-to-54-year-old ratings in recent weeks while Holt for the most part held on to a narrow lead in total viewers. ...But under the direction of former NBC Universal chairman Jeff Zucker, CNN has re-set its course as an all-in, all-the-time destination for big breaking news stories (including its much parodied and criticized missing Malaysian airliner coverage) and a destination for prime-time, somewhat newsy series starring the likes of Anthony Bourdain and Morgan Spurlock.

"The Rock" gives HBO's Ballers a big draw at the height of his powers

Ed Bark — 2015-06-18T11:57:36-05:00
Also on the other side of the ball, a sports agent named Jason (Troy Garity) works in tandem with Strasmore while dealing with abrasive Cowboys dealmaker Hal (too young to be Jerry Jones but perhaps a mockup of his son, Stephen). ...For now, his character is bedding TV sports reporter Tracy Legette (Arielle Kebbel), who keeps a lid on one of client Ricky’s transgressions in return for Strasmore promising to have his head examined for any collateral concussion damage.

HBO's True Detective 2 keeps hating on itself

Ed Bark — 2015-06-17T09:49:46-05:00
Along for the bumpy ride are officer Paul Woodrugh (Kitsch), a high-strung war veteran with a constant haunted look, and caustic detective Ani Bezzerides (McAdams), whose sister does sex tapes and whose father is a weird, bearded, long-haired, robed religious institute leader played by a virtually unrecognizable David Morse (now close to three decades removed from St. ...He’s chiseled himself for the role, but Vaughn as a tough-talking intimidator still tends to come off as more silly than menacing.

ABC's The Astronaut Wives Club blasts off with a surprisingly compelling true tale

Ed Bark — 2015-06-16T13:18:28-05:00
Starring: Yvonne Strahovski, Dominique McElligott, Odette Annable, JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Erin Cummings, Azure Parsons, Zoe Boyle, Desmond Harrington, Evan Handler, Sam Reid, Luke Kirby, Bret Harrison, Kenneth Mitchell, Wilson Bethel, Aaron McCusker, Joel Johnstone ...It’s also far more interesting and incisive than anticipated, even if you’re fully familiar with the history of America’s all systems go effort to put a man on the moon.

Last call for the "old" TNT with the late-arriving Proof

Ed Bark — 2015-06-15T16:49:20-05:00
TNT’s “proactive makeover” is currently in progress, with new Turner entertainment head and former Fox programmer Kevin Reilly warning TV watchers to “expect some very daring shows -- some of which will not appeal to all of our current viewers but will be a lightning rod to attract new viewers.” ...But this is Beals’ show from start to finish, with her character’s softer sides and haunted vulnerabilities seeping through that hard-shell casing during Episode 3 in particular.

AMC's The Making of the Mob: New York is a hard-hitting hybrid

Ed Bark — 2015-06-11T14:27:25-05:00
AMC is the latest to get its tommygun on, launching the unscripted/scripted The Making of the Mob: New York on Monday, June 15th after Goodfellas serves as a platesetter from 6 to 9 p.m. (central). ...It’s all handsomely produced and cogently told, even if the soundtrack and dramatizing can sometimes be akin to over-baked zitti. Making of the Mob also has assembled a conveyor belt of talking heads, sprinkling them like parmesan while also scrimping on the likes of Rudy Giuliani, Frankie Valli, Joe Mantegna, Chazz Palminteri and Gay Talese.

CNN fires up The Seventies with another truncated look at what TV wrought

Ed Bark — 2015-06-11T08:52:56-05:00
A batch of East Coast-based TV critics, including colleagues and friends David Bianculli and Alan Sepinwall, vie for time with a gaggle of actors and producers plus a clip reel that tries to accommodate All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*A*S*H, Roots, Monday Night Football, Saturday Night Live, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, The Bob Newhart Show, Maude, Good Times, Mork & Mindy, Charlie’s Angels, Three’s Company and many more. ...Saturday nights on CBS housed an unparalleled 1973-’74 season lineup of All in the Family, M*A*S*H, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show and The Carol Burnett Show (the only one of these to premiere in the 1960s).

Buying into the official book on Breaking Bad

Ed Bark — 2015-06-03T13:41:06-05:00
Through it all, creator Vince Gilligan is expansive on subjects ranging from what he might have changed about a character (Jesse Pinkman’s teeth remained “a little too perfect”) to the bend-over-backward pains he took to “get the audience on Walter’s side when we first meet him.” ...For instance: “In those final episodes of Breaking Bad, nothing was beyond discussion, and we talked about the idea of flashing forward to a scene in which a 21-year-old young woman is in a meeting in a lawyer’s office, watching a videotape on her birthday, and receiving money.

A shout out for ABC's The Whispers

Ed Bark — 2015-05-31T14:05:10-05:00
So let’s just say that Rabe contributes a standout lead character while the three major kiddos (so far) all seem comfortable and natural on camera, whether communicating with Drill or their parental units. ... In The Whispers he also gets the adult mix right in a bracingly good and shivery serial drama with much to show and tell in the first three hours.

Psst, here comes Lifetime's The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe

Ed Bark — 2015-05-29T12:39:39-05:00
Kelli Garner checks out on all four in Lifetime’s The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, a four-hour film that somewhat separates itself from the many others with its up-close look at the title character’s very mentally ill mother. ...Morgan, also currently co-starring in the History network’s Texas Rising miniseries, brings authority and presence to his portrayal of the fabled New York Yankee Hall of Famer, But the survivors of “Joltin’ Joe” won’t be at all happy with some scenes.

Taking the full 13-episode trip with NBC's Aquarius (but was it worth it?)

Ed Bark — 2015-05-28T07:36:33-05:00
David Duchovny (right) & Gethin Anthony square off as a hard-boiled detective and Charles Manson in the 13-episode Aquarius. NBC photo ...We now live in the age of hot weather, otherworldly “event” series, whether it’s Fox’s Wayward Pines, CBS’ trio of Under the Dome, Extant and the new Zoo (coming June 30th) or ABC’s Astronaut Wives Club (June 18th). Aquarius fits right into that new way of doing things, and it’s worth at least an exploratory trip to see if it sticks with you.

A Dave and a Don say their goodbyes

Ed Bark — 2015-05-26T15:17:39-05:00
The other up-in-the-air mystery was if Leno, who’d been invited, would be a part of Dave’s last stand after making numerous guest appearances on his old NBC Late Night show. ...Letterman joked that he’ll now devote himself to “Social Media” after resisting Facebook and Twitter throughout his entire 33-year late night tenure while younger rivals such as Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon made it an important and increasingly indispensable part of their audience recruitments.

One is the loneliest number this fall -- while also signifying success for The CW

Ed Bark — 2015-05-26T14:01:26-05:00
Basking in unaccustomed critical praise for last fall’s The Flash and Jane the Virgin in addition to midseason’s iZombie, The CW has just one newcomer to offer in the early stages of the upcoming season. It’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, a comedy-drama starring Rachel Bloom as a transplanted New Yorker who moves West in a “desperate attempt to find love and happiness in that exotic hotbed of romance and adventure -- suburban West Covina CA.”

CBS books flight with Supergirl in new fall lineup

Ed Bark — 2015-05-26T12:45:12-05:00
The No. 1 network in total viewers also is adding four other new series to its revised autumn lineup, including a comedy fronted by Jane Lynch playing another super-sassy character after her long tenure on Glee. ...CBS again had a largely successful crop of first-year series, with Scorpion, NCIS: New Orleans, Madam Secretary, The Odd Couple and CSI: Cyber all getting second-season pickups.

ABC reaches back while also pushing renewal buttons for many of last season's newcomers

Ed Bark — 2015-05-26T10:42:57-05:00
First-year series getting sophomore seasons are Fresh Off the Boat, black-ish, Beyond the Tank, Marvel’s Agent Carter, How to Get Away with Murder, American Crime, Secrets and Lies and the surprise returnee, Galavant. ...The Catch (drama) -- It’s Shonda Rhimes to the rescue again, with a thriller about a fraud investigator (Mireille Enos as Alice Martin) who’s about to be a fraud victim of her fiancé.

Heading on an adventure -- and again leaving lots behind

Ed Bark — 2015-05-11T17:21:39-05:00
So your friendly content provider will be missing a few things -- including the Mad Men and David Letterman finales -- while away from this grindstone. Some of the networks’ new season announcements, which continue this week, also will have to wait until after Memorial Day.

Reviewing Netflix's Grace and Frankie after viewing all 13 episodes

Ed Bark — 2015-05-11T14:44:55-05:00
In Grace and Frankie, they turn out to be going just fine, with the series really hitting its stride during Episodes 5 through 9 before Season 1 eventually wraps on a poignant, open-ended note. ...Tomlin’s character also gets to throw some deft jabs at Fonda’s expense, telling her in Episode 1 that she’s “making the sand angry” and squirting a blast of whipped cream into her mouth at the start of Episode 6 before adding, “Now you can’t eat until Monday.”

All new Tuesdays and end of Idol highlight Fox's new season plans

Ed Bark — 2015-05-11T10:06:30-05:00
Idol, which premiered on June 11, 2002 and made Kelly Clarkson of Burleson, TX its first champ, once ruled prime-time as no series ever has with multiple nights of singing and judging that crushed all competing programs. ...The X-Files’, six-episode “event series,” with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprising their original roles, will launch on Sunday, Jan. 24th following the NFC Championship game. New Girl also is being held until January, when it will air on Tuesday nights with “virtually uninterrupted” new episodes.

NBC adds six new fall series, saves several high profile ones until later

Ed Bark — 2015-05-11T08:17:40-05:00
The Tina Fey-produced Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt instead wound up on the streaming service Netflix, where it already has been renewed for a second season. Mission Control and Emerald City still have no announced air dates while the comedy series Mr. ...NBC also has announced a series of movies produced by Dolly Parton, with her autobiographical Coat of Many Colors the first in line. Undateable will return on Fridays in the fall with live episodes every week.

History channel's Texas Rising makes it up as it goes along

Ed Bark — 2015-05-08T11:15:08-05:00
The History network since has been perfectly willing to take extreme liberties with its historical dramas -- particularly during the course of Sons of Liberty, a six-hour “dramatic interpretation” that premiered in January. Texas Rising ups that ante after unspooling one of the longest printed prologues in feature film or TV miniseries history. ...Texas Rising blends actual historical figures such as Sam Houston (Bill Paxton), Santa Anna (Olivier Martinez), Juan Seguin (Raul Mendez) and Andrew Jackson (Kris Kristofferson) with complete concoctions such as a crazed, vengeful Alamo survivor named Lorca (Ray Liotta).

HBO's Bessie: a showcase for Queen Latifah in a serviceable bio pic

Ed Bark — 2015-05-07T11:45:17-05:00
The movie charts the ups and downs of a vintage blues singer who died in 1937 at the age of 43. Bessie ends on a considerably higher note with her comeback tour after years of heavy drinking and drug abuse. ...The other main supporting characters are Bessie’s protective, short-tempered husband Jack (Michael Kenneth Williams); her older brother and road manager Clarence (Tory Kittles); and her long-estranged oldest sister Viola (Khandi Alexander), who ruled the homestead with an iron fist after their mother died at an early age.

Fox's late-arriving Wayward Pines made of stronger timber than expected

Ed Bark — 2015-05-06T15:10:52-05:00
Secret Service agent Ethan Burke (Matt Dillon) has his ear to the ground but his head’s all messed up in Wayward Pines. Fox photo ...Night Shyamalan, who burst onto the scene with 1999’s The Sixth Sense but lately has directed a quartet of clunkers -- Lady in the Water, The Happening, The Last Airbender and After Earth, the seriously awful 2013 bomb starring Will Smith and his son, Jaden.

Watching Mayweather-Pacquiao on the cheap and in an entirely new way

Ed Bark — 2015-05-04T11:40:45-05:00
I got a feed on my mini-ipad just in time to watch Jamie Foxx butcher the National Anthem and later prompt the post-fight Tweet of the night from Chris Rock: “The only fight I saw in that boxing ring tonight was Jamie Foxx beating up the national anthem.” ...But in the highly singular event of Mayweather-Pacquiao, those who paid their money then decided to take their chances by using a new technology that in reality can’t be stopped.

HBO's The Casual Vacancy gets around to earning its keep

Ed Bark — 2015-04-28T12:30:45-05:00
Powerbroker Howard Mollison (Michael Gambon) and his willing wife Shirley (Julie McKenzie) strive to run the show in The Casual Vacancy, a 3-hour miniseries about small town strife. HBO photo ...Gambon plays this role fearlessly, by the way, allowing himself to be exposed in one scene as a man who’s grown so fat that his own fold-over stomach skin has afflicted him with an angry-looking bedsore.

Showtime's Happyish is sadly excessive

Ed Bark — 2015-04-22T14:16:07-05:00
Here’s a comedy series that sequentially begins its first three episodes with full-blown f*&k you’s -- verbally and digitally -- to Thomas Jefferson, Carol Brady and God. ...One of the surprises of Happyish is that so many real-life brands allow themselves to be twitted or flat-out degraded in the first three episodes sent for review.

CW's The Messengers sends another strong sci-fi vibe

Ed Bark — 2015-04-16T11:46:21-05:00
Denizens in each of those venues are affected by some sort of shock wave emanating from a mysterious object that crash-lands in Socorro and leaves a crater the size of New Orleans’ Superdome. ...The others in Joshua’s shoes are National Deep Space Agency researcher Vera Buckley (Shantel VanSanten); bullied high school swimmer Pete Moore (Joel Courtney); young, formerly drug-addicted mom Erin Calder (Sofia Black-D’Elia) and undercover drug agent Raul Garcia (JD Pardo).

Reviewing Netflix's Bloodline based on viewing all 13 Season 1 episodes

Ed Bark — 2015-04-15T13:40:22-05:00
Buoyed by a bravura performance from Australian Ben Mendelsohn (The Dark Knight Rises) as prodigal son Danny Rayburn, Bloodline is an absorbing, fractious family drama that captivates despite giving away Season 1’s major development in the very first hour. ...Eric’s sister, Chelsea (an effective Chloe Sevigny from Big Love), is a hard-working but also hard-partying nurse who sees something in Danny that hardly anyone else does except Mama Sally Rayburn.

HBO's many-splendored Game of Thrones remains at the top of its game

Ed Bark — 2015-04-09T15:00:57-05:00
Meanwhile, Jaime is on a rescue mission, dropping out of view for perhaps too long a time before returning in Episode 4 for a splendid fight scene in which he learns how to make unexpected use of his metallic hand. Game of Thrones again has much to juggle and many characters to serve, including a new religious sect leader called The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce doing double duty on Sunday nights while also co-starring in PBS’ Wolf Hall series).

Crystal and Gad are mixed nuts in FX's The Comedians

Ed Bark — 2015-04-09T08:10:26-05:00
Billy Crystal is reluctantly paired with Josh Gad in what’s meant to be a talk-to-the-camera mocu/documentary about the making of The Billy & Josh Show for the real-life FX network. ...Larry Charles, the real-life co-producer, writer and director of The Comedians, pops in put out the fire but instead is fired by Crystal before viewers are transported to “Three Months Earlier.”

Louie returns -- and that's a very good thing for us if not him

Ed Bark — 2015-04-08T17:19:48-05:00
Only seven episodes are scheduled this time out, beginning with the Thursday, April 9th re-start at 9:30 p.m. central on FX. Season 4 ran twice as long, but so did the hiatus while star/creator/producer/writer/director Louis C.K. re-charged himself and came up with an unusually heavy dose of drama-laden and occasionally drama-leaden half-hours. ...He gets off an amusing riff about possible life on other planets, contending we should stop looking because “I don’t think there’s a good version of the ‘We found another planet of people’ story.”

Mad Men returns for one last not so merry-go-round

Ed Bark — 2015-03-27T16:38:04-05:00
Mad Men premiered on July 17, 2007, putting AMC on the map as a provider of quality TV dramas and leading the network on the paths toward Breaking Bad, its Better Call Saul prequel and The Walking Dead. ...But one scene in particular in the Season 7B opener illustrates in no uncertain terms that Peggy and particularly Joan are still viewed as sex toys by some of their male counterparts.

Imperfectly Frank: HBO's Sinatra: All Or Nothing At All

Ed Bark — 2015-03-27T13:43:57-05:00
Take a brief breath and here he is back in the race with Sinatra: All Or Nothing At All, a four-hour retrospective that begins on Sunday, April 5th at 7 p.m. (central) and continues on Monday at the same hour. ...Sinatra was a man capable of both belittling Sammy Davis Jr. with borderline racist humor during The Rat Pack years and of singing from his heart during a concert for mostly black prison inmates. All Or Nothing At All has footage of both extremes.

NBC's American Odyssey twists and turns while putting its heroine through a living hell

Ed Bark — 2015-03-27T10:25:36-05:00
It’s been a dismal season for new NBC drama series, with Constantine, The Mysteries of Laura, State of Affairs, Allegiance and The Slap all coming up ratings clunkers. ...On the emotional front, Odelle’s budding alliance with the teenage Aslam (Omar Ghazaoui), one of those assigned to guard her, is resonant and well-played throughout the first five hours.

Tome improvement: NBC's A.D. The Bible Continues

Ed Bark — 2015-03-26T12:52:42-05:00
The same can’t be said for History channel’s The Bible miniseries, which hit it big in the ratings but took a lashing from TV critics. ...TV critics of the Dead Sea Scrolls vintage -- verily I’m among them -- will recall reviewing an earlier NBC A.D. miniseries with a big-name cast that included James Mason, Ava Gardner, John Houseman, Susan Sarandon, Colleen Dewhurst, Ian McShane, Ben Vereen, Anthony Andrews, Richard Roundtree and Jennifer O’Neill.

Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell: together yet again in PBS' very slow-cooked Wolf Hall

Ed Bark — 2015-03-26T10:39:03-05:00
PBS’ six-chapter Wolf Hall, premiering under the Masterpiece banner on Sunday, April 5th at 9 p.m. central (re-check your local listings), is completely bereft of the zip that infused Showtime’s The Tudors. ...One of the better scenes in Wolf Hall comes during Hour 2, when Cromwell is almost giddy after bedding an unhappily married woman whom he has known for years.

Lifetime's Lizzie Borden Chronicles swings hard in the service of making things up

Ed Bark — 2015-03-25T15:49:32-05:00
Lifetime seeks to have it both ways with The Lizzie Borden Chronicles, an eight-episode series reuniting Christina Ricci with her title character from last year’s Lizzie Borden Took An Ax. ... The series is billed as “an intense and fictionalized account of actual events” in the aftermath of Lizzie’s acquittal for the free-swinging murders of her father and stepmother.

Fox's Weird Loners likely will struggle to get any long-term viewer commitment

Ed Bark — 2015-03-25T12:12:29-05:00
On the contrary they continue to heavily populate the prime-time landscape in shows ranging from CBS’ rebirth of The Odd Couple to FX’s Louie to Fox’s New Girl to NBC’s Undateable. ...Unlike Fox’s The Last Man On Earth, there’s no thrill of discovery here. Weird Loners instead re-shuffles the aimless singles deck before falling well short of coming up aces.

Brace yourself for HBO's superlative Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

Ed Bark — 2015-03-25T08:44:31-05:00
HBO, despite an organized campaign of threats and intimidation from the “religion’s” legions of automatons, will premiere the two-hour film on Sunday, March 29th at 7 p.m. (central). Must-see television? ...Gibney’s credits include Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, the Oscar-winning Taxi to the Dark Side, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and HBO’s upcoming Sinatra: All Or Nothing At All, which premieres on Easter Sunday.

Let's get real. The makers of The Jinx are not the bad guys

Ed Bark — 2015-03-18T13:03:45-05:00
But the overall end result of The Jinx, which aired for six consecutive Sundays, seems to be getting more than a bit lost amid a swirl of post mortems on “timelines,” the filmmakers’ responsibilities to law enforcement officials and whether they “manipulated” some events for maximum dramatic impact. ...That’s the one in which Jarecki confronted Durst with copies of those two now infamous “BEVERLEY HILLS” letters, one in which the writer alerted police to a “cadaver” and the other of which was written earlier to the eventual murder victim, Susan Berman.

This is your brain on drugs. This is your brain on iZombie

Ed Bark — 2015-03-17T11:08:27-05:00
Liv, played by Rose McIver (Once Upon a Time), is a go-getter young doc who in the opening minutes of Tuesday’s premiere ignores protocol to save a life. ...OK, let’s review. iZombie is a “procedural” cop show spiced with brain-eaters who don’t stagger and a love story that won’t quit if Liv can somehow reunite with the seemingly good-hearted Major.

NBC's One Big Happy may have just enough merriment

Ed Bark — 2015-03-16T17:41:00-05:00
Nor is its lead character, Lizzy (Elisha Cuthbert), a 30-something single gay woman whose roommate, Luke (Nick Zano), doesn’t play for that team but has been equally unsuccessful at finding a wife. ...There also are some intriguing twists as these beats go on. One Big Happy may be entirely sitcom-y but it’s not thoroughly predictable.

Reviewing Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt after viewing all 13 Season 1 episodes

Ed Bark — 2015-03-11T13:31:20-05:00
Twenty-nine-year-old Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) is one of four “Mole Women” who’d been locked in an underground bunker since 1998 by the Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne (Mad Men’s Jon Hamm in later episodes). ...Earlier Kimmy episodes are sprinkled with guest star appearances by Martin Short, Amy Sedaris, Richard Kind, Dean Norris, Nick Kroll and Kiernan Shipka from Mad Men, who in this case doesn’t cross paths with her TV dad.

Reviewing Season 3 of House of Cards after viewing all 13 episodes (minimal spoilers)

Ed Bark — 2015-03-11T10:06:34-05:00
He was left for dead at the end of Season 2 after being beaten with a brick by prostitute/lover/possibly dangerous informant Rachel Posner (Rachel Brosnahan), who thought Stamper was planning to kill her. ...Instead, it’s said almost in passing that Mendoza had to step down because of an ethical impropriety -- as if that would be grounds for anyone’s dismissal in House of Cards.

USA's Dig an "event series" that mostly congeals and confuses

Ed Bark — 2015-03-05T14:12:35-06:00
So it’s essential to make an arresting impression in the early going rather than inflicting a ponderous, murky 90-minute pilot episode on a restive viewing public with numerous other places to go and things to see. ...Prototypical religious nut Tad Billingham (David Costabile) is at the controls while a dutiful but kindly acolyte named Debbie (Lauren Ambrose from Six Feet Under) tries to keep the boy halfway entertained during his incubation.

ABC's American Crime soars on the strength of its daring, daunting premise

Ed Bark — 2015-03-04T16:41:30-06:00
They’re uniformly terrific while at the same having virtually no chance of matching the audience levels for How to Get Away with Murder, the hit series that American Crime is replacing for the rest of this season. Huffman’s performance is the pace-setter, whether she’s fixated on prosecuting her son’s murder as a reverse hate crime or slamming away at her ex-husband, a recovering gambling addict who left her in the lurch years ago.

Broadchurch returns to brilliantly pick up where it left off

Ed Bark — 2015-03-04T09:17:18-06:00
And viewers without any previous Broadchurch experience would be much better served by watching Season 1 (available to Netflix subscribers for free and on Amazon at an added cost) before getting immersed in Season 2. ...Season 2 otherwise is fueled by the re-emergence of a double murder case that Hardy thought he’d left behind after his days as a detective in Sandbrook.

CSI: Cyber -- no awards this time but a likely nice nest egg for Oscar-winner Patricia Arquette

Ed Bark — 2015-03-02T15:26:55-06:00
Her action-craving right-hand man otherwise is Agent Elijah Mundo (James Van Der Beek returning to the drama fold after sitcom fails with Don’t Trust the B -- In Apartment 23 and Friends With Better Lives). ...The team is rounded out by the requisite tubby bearded guy (Charley Koontz as Daniel “Krummy” Krumitz); the requisite trouble-plagued young newcomer getting a make-or-break second chance (Shad Moss as Brody Nelson); and someone his age for Brody to hang out with (Hayley Kiyoko as Raven Ramirez).

CBS' semi-offbeat Battle Creek shows some signs of being from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan

Ed Bark — 2015-02-27T13:15:15-06:00
Many cop shows have taken this route, including Fox’s made-in-Dallas The Good Guys, a short-lived 2010 effort that starred Bradley Whitford as a gruff, set-in-his-ways detective and Colin Hanks as his buttoned-down, by-the-book partner. ...So CBS may be getting something of a half a loaf here, even though Battle Creek still qualifies as something of an art house series on a network that’s mostly been painting by the numbers.

Land of distinction: Fox's The Last Man On Earth

Ed Bark — 2015-02-26T14:35:43-06:00
It so happens that one of them is an under-inflated football, although Last Man On Earth was filmed long before the New England Patriots “scandal” and already has its first 13 episodes in the can. ...But this is a concept that so far doesn’t lack for execution. Last Man On Earth has no chance at all to be a blockbuster in league with Fox’s new Empire.

ABC's Secrets and Lies: a murder mystery without a strong enough pulse

Ed Bark — 2015-02-26T08:27:22-06:00
Ben’s guilt or innocence is very suddenly in question after he finds the dead body of a 5-year-old neighborhood boy whom his snippy teen daughter, Natalie (Indiana Evans), used to babysit. ...Adapted from a same-named Australian series and scheduled to run for 10 episodes, Secrets and Lies is billed in ABC publicity materials as a “thrilling who-done-it” in which the accused “peels back the layers of these suburbanites’ lives in their quiet cul de sac, revealing their dirty little deceptions and all-too-crowded closets overflowing with skeletons.”

WE tv's super-ludicrous Sex Box tries to position itself as an idea whose time has, um, come

Ed Bark — 2015-02-25T14:12:39-06:00
Getting all indignant about Sex Box won’t do anything to stop it from actually airing on an American television network after it flopped in the United Kingdom. ...The show strives to position itself as nothing more than a selfless Good Samaritan with one goal only -- to bring sexual healing for desperate couples that had no recourse other than intercourse in a big box built on a TV stage.

Reviewing Amazon Prime's Bosch after mainlining all 10 Season One episodes

Ed Bark — 2015-02-24T15:42:37-06:00
Some of Bosch plays a little same-old, same-old, principally a power struggle between deputy chief Irving, who wants to climb the next rung, and district attorney Rick O’Shea (Steven Culp), who ramrods the cop shop in his quest to be mayor. ...Welliver, who’s played roles ranging from Lost’s Man in Black “Smoke Monster” to gun-runner Jimmy O’Phelan in Sons of Anarchy, bites off a lot that he definitely can chew in Bosch.

Legend of Lead Belly makes Smithsonian Channel worth a look

Ed Bark — 2015-02-20T12:27:21-06:00
Smithsonian Channel’s one-hour docu-film, Legend of Lead Belly (Monday, Feb. 23rd at 7 p.m. central), serviceably recaptures the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s impact on what turned out to be mostly white musicians. ...Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter’s last performance was at the University of Texas at Austin, where his vocals remained strong but his signature 12-string guitar playing was impaired by Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Vikings returns in fine, ferocious form

Ed Bark — 2015-02-18T11:22:37-06:00
Or, in a later episode, it’s the newly crowned King Ragnar Lothbrok fuming at his strapping oldest boy, Bjorn: “You have the strength of a man but the will of a little girl. ...Vikings remains at the top of its bloody game, with Fimmel still commanding the role he was born to play in a series that fully immerses itself in a world of wonder and plunder.

Latest remake of The Odd Couple is grounds for a quick "conscious uncoupling"

Ed Bark — 2015-02-17T13:10:16-06:00
Matthew Perry as slovenly Oscar Madison and Thomas Lennon as anal Felix Unger in TV’s latest version of The Odd Couple. CBS photo ...The first episode of this Odd Couple also includes a bulimia joke and an even worse one after Oscar is getting ready to bed a comely blonde named Casey (guest star Leslie Bibb) before Felix screws it up.

A swervy trip through SNL's first 40 years (and there's also a new app for that)

Ed Bark — 2015-02-13T14:03:20-06:00
CAST MEMBER WHO’S GONE ON TO HAVE THE MOST GAINFUL TV CAREER -- I have to go with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who’s since won acting Emmys for her roles in NBC’s Seinfeld, CBS’ The New Adventures of Old Christine and HBO’s ongoing Veep. ...MOST UNDERRATED MIMIC -- I’ve made fun of him over the years, primarily because he’s basically gone on to do nothing after reigning as SNL’s biggest star with Eddie Murphy in Seasons 7-9.

NBC's The Slap kick-starts the network's seriously dramatic, totally revamped Thursday night lineup

Ed Bark — 2015-02-11T14:19:34-06:00
But it gives The Slap an opportunity to assemble all the other main characters under one roof, including Hector’s short-tempered, rich cousin, Harry (Zachary Quinto), and his well-kept wife, Sandi (Marin Ireland). ...The clear breakout character is Quinto’s Harry, a raging bull whose infrequent soft touches are slammed to the ground by his many excesses. The Slap would have been wiser to temper him with a little more feel.

The polar opposite exits of Brian Williams and Jon Stewart

Ed Bark — 2015-02-11T08:46:03-06:00
He’s always had a talent for comedy, proving to be a dry ad libber during numerous late night talk show appearances while also acquitting himself pretty well as a one-time host on Saturday Night Live. ...“It is time for someone else to have that opportunity,” he said of his long tenure on The Daily Show, which won 10 consecutive Emmys from 2003 to 2012 as television’s “Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series.”

Schitt's Creek an attention-getter for yet another new network

Ed Bark — 2015-02-10T14:59:08-06:00
In this case, Johnny and Moira Rose (Levy, O’Hara) are suddenly evicted from their palatial home after the family’s tax-dodging business manager flees with most of their money. ...After losing their home and most of their possessions, the Roses are reminded by their lawyer that in 1991, Johnny bought the little town of Schitt’s Creek as a gag gift for son David.

Weighing in on the curious case of Brian Williams

Ed Bark — 2015-02-09T10:56:47-06:00
Or is Williams’ self-made mess, for which he rather weakly apologized on last Wednesday’s Nightly News, in reality more heinous than, say, the Post’s “Bag Men” headline and picture in the early aftermath of the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing? ...During his 10 years as Nightly News anchor, he generally was applauded by TV critics as a solid journalist who also knew how to have fun and perhaps sometimes crossed the line in that respect.

Better Call Saul gives Breaking Bad a good name

Ed Bark — 2015-02-05T13:35:37-06:00
But the first three episodes of Better Call Saul find Odenkirk in terrific form, even if Saul Goodman has yet to emerge from the ashes of penny ante lawyer Jimmy McGill. ...Episode 1 also finds Jimmy belligerently quoting Ned Beatty’s character from Network, enlisting a pair of scamming skateboards in a would-be bigger scam and having a surprise encounter with a Breaking Bad bad guy before the closing credits roll.

The true crime genre hits a new high with HBO's The Jinx

Ed Bark — 2015-02-05T10:49:53-06:00
Premiering on Sunday, Feb. 8th at 7 p.m. (central) and continuing through March 15th, this is a spellbinding, six-part docu-investigation of three unsolved murders that many believe were committed by none other than Durst. ...These early chapters also are mum on the unsolved 2000 murder of Susan Berman, who’s believed to have run afoul of Durst as a key witness in the investigation of his missing first wife.

NBC's spy-driven Allegiance brings The Americans to mind

Ed Bark — 2015-02-04T11:20:10-06:00
Set in present times, with the oldest daughter already a groomed Russian spy, NBC’s new Allegiance isn’t entirely a knockoff of FX’s The Americans. Even so, you can’t mention one show without including the other. Allegiance, airing after The Blacklist as part of NBC’s big new Thursday night plans, likewise is set in the U.S., fueled by familial intrigue and full of narrow cloak-and-dagger escapes in the first three episodes made available for review.

ABC's Fresh Off the Boat adds more diversity while laboring to stay afloat

Ed Bark — 2015-02-02T12:25:31-06:00
Unlike its predecessors, Fresh Off the Boat is no slice of white bread, even if 11-year-old Eddie (Hudson Yang) demands “white people food” after the Chinese lunch he brings repulses his new classmates at Abraham Lincoln Middle School. ...Both Eddie and Jessica are very much against the family’s move from Washington, D.C.’s Chinatown to suburban Orlando, FL, where aspiring dad Louis (Randall Park) is trying to turn the Cattleman’s Ranch Steakhouse into a thriving eatery.

Fortitude is worth an expedition to Pivot

Ed Bark — 2015-01-29T09:51:43-06:00
Fortitude doubles as the name of a small frozen community whose governor, Hildur Odegard (Sofie Grabol), has big plans for a Glacier Hotel Project that she envisions as a tourist magnet and safe haven from the area’s at times lethal wildlife. ...There’s also a guilt-ridden, cancer-inflicted nature photographer named Henry Tyson (the always good Michael Gambon), who takes to even heavier drinking after his eyewitness participation in a chilling opening scene involving a bear and its very unlucky human prey. Fortitude then jumps ahead three months.

CNN lately prospers in ratings -- ridicule and all

Ed Bark — 2015-01-28T12:17:29-06:00
Don Lemon and the CNN Blizzardmobile drew heavy ridicule from Jon Stewart on Monday’s edition of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. ...CNN also has done some decent business with a new batch of prime-time series and specials, including Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, Morgan Spurlock Inside Man and the Life Itself biography of the late film critic Roger Ebert.

truTV's Breaking Greenville toys around with real-life small town news

Ed Bark — 2015-01-27T10:43:55-06:00
Absent a whole lot to do, the news teams for ABC affiliate WABG-TV and CBS affiliate WXVT-TV have signed on for what truTV publicity materials call a “character-driven, comedic docu-soap.” ...Now get out there and make some #$@*% news or I’ll have all of your asses on a chafing dish before you know what the #$&*@ hit you!

FX's The Americans returns but it's not quite all the way back yet

Ed Bark — 2015-01-26T13:41:21-06:00
Nina is now imprisoned in Moscow, facing charges of treason. The Americans’ efforts to keep her in the mix from afar are reminiscent of the storytelling dilemma faced by Showtime’s Season 3 of Homeland) after Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) escaped abroad and found himself imprisoned. ...He also must decide whether to follow through on another possibly sexual liaison, this time with an under-age babysitter who’s in position to provide some key information on the CIA’s select Afghan Group.

Jumping through some Revolutionary hoops in History's Sons of Liberty

Ed Bark — 2015-01-22T13:49:51-06:00
Strapping Sam Adams (Ben Barnes) is a handsome, headstrong rebel and escape artist who kicks a pair of Redcoats down a flight of stairs early in Episode 1 before declaring in Episode 2, “This will not happen to anyone in Boston ever again. ...But Sons of Liberty is mostly in the hands of its young bucks, who also include Paul Revere (Michael Raymond-James) as a thick-of-the battle leader who does much more than ride through the night proclaiming “The British are coming.”

Fox's Backstrom and star Rainn Wilson shine in rainy Portland

Ed Bark — 2015-01-21T12:46:40-06:00
Rainn Wilson, who came to fame as the vain, persnickety Dwight Schrute on NBC’s version of The Office, plays the title role with a hammy staggering swagger that turns out to fit him very well. ...Backstrom’s nicely put together ensemble also includes young detective Nicole Gravely (Genevieve Angelson), with whom he constantly clashes; patience-testing forensics specialist Peter Niedermayer); dogged uniformed detective Frank Moto (Page Kennedy) and in-house tech specialist Nadia Paquet (Beatrice Rosen).

Pity the poor future (again) in Syfy's 12 Monkeys

Ed Bark — 2015-01-15T15:13:22-06:00
By that time, perhaps she’ll have either met or be familiar with a seemingly sinister bigwig known as Leland Frost (the inevitable but always good Zeljko Ivanek). ...The 12 Monkeys movie, directed by Terry Gilliam, ran for 2 hours and 7 minutes with a cast that included Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt (who received an Oscar nomination), Madeleine Stowe, Christopher Plummer and impressionist Frank Gorshin.

FXX's bizarro Man Seeking Woman both loses its way and finds some funny

Ed Bark — 2015-01-14T13:10:33-06:00
Man Seeking Woman, which continues its acid trip motif in Episode 2, is yet another venture by Lorne Michaels, who already presides over NBC’s entire late night lineup in addition to IFC’s Portlandia. So besides Saturday Night Live alum Hader, also look for guest shots by fellow SNLera Fred Armisen (star of Portlandia) and Vanessa Bayer, who in Episodes 1 and 2 plays a sweet Chicago marketing liaison named Laura Ferber.

Send in the frowns: Girls is back for Season 4

Ed Bark — 2015-01-09T11:56:48-06:00
And in the latest hitfix results, in which 52 critics (including your friendly content provider) were polled, Girls was nowhere to be found among the 96 series receiving at least one point on a sliding scale That means it failed to make even one critic’s Top 10 list in its third season. ...But the writing is sharp during their group sessions, with outcast Hannah giving as good as she gets while viewers wonder how long it will be before she inevitably heads back to New York.

HBO's Togetherness gradually loses its way (but there's always Amanda Peet)

Ed Bark — 2015-01-08T10:27:06-06:00
Mark also co-stars in FX’s The League and is very much a key player in Togetherness as a married but unsettled Hollywood sound man named Brett Pierson. ...This is when your eyes may start to roll with a vengeance after a labored Episode 5 ends up pitting Brett, Michelle, Alex, Tina and their “oldster” friends in a game of Kick the Can with a group meant to epitomize callow youth.

Fox's Empire provides an all too rare chance for a predominantly black cast to bring on the drama

Ed Bark — 2015-01-06T11:36:48-06:00
Daniels, best known as the director of Lee Daniels’ The Butler, may have out-Shonda’d ABC’s Shonda Rhimes (Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder) in terms of putting together an over-the-top, but immersive melodrama with black characters calling the shots. ... Henson butters the bread as his very showy ex-wife Cookie, who’s out to get what’s rightfully hers after a 17-year stint in the slammer.

Here we go again: Marvel's Agent Carter serves seconds to ABC

Ed Bark — 2015-01-06T08:20:03-06:00
One of the better sequences in Agent Carter finds Peggy pounding away again while a simultaneous radio serial -- The Captain America Adventure Program -- portrays her as a “defenseless sweetheart” always in need of rescuing. ...Those who swoon at the name Marvel are likely to be entertained anew by a short-run series that pushes all those familiar buttons before the next feature film attraction kicks in with bigger stars, bolder visuals, better battles and a tease for the next one. Iron Man’s Explosive Christmas may not yet be on the drawing boards.

Downton Abbey's Season 5 steps it up and regains its solid footing

Ed Bark — 2015-01-03T10:40:29-06:00
The year is 1924 at this point, so Robert may or may not live long enough to experience the debilitating effects of television, which otherwise continues to be graced by the presence of Downton Abbey. ...Season 5 of Downton Abbey also has much in store for haughty, scheming under-butler Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier) and Cora’s new lady maid, Phyllis Baxter (Raquel Cassidy), who very much comes into her own this season.

ABC goes medieval -- and musical -- in funny, spirited Galavant

Ed Bark — 2014-12-30T11:19:39-06:00
The principal guest appearances are by Jon Stamos (in Episode 2) as the vain jouster Sir Jean Hamm (har); Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville as the well-disguised Pirate King (Episode 4); and Ricky Gervais as an off-brand Merlin named Xanax (Episode 6). Also look for some singing Franciscans (“Hey, hey, we’re the monks”) in Episode 5 and Richard’s attempts to woo back Madalena (in Episode 4) by learning the fine points of standup comedy from the Jester.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas (season finale)

Ed Bark — 2014-12-24T10:06:29-06:00
We end as we almost always do -- with Darlene Love’s annual performance of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on Late Show with David Letterman. ...It’s a tradition that dates to 1986, when Love and Letterman first joined forces on his old NBC Late Night show.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas (Episode 7)

Ed Bark — 2014-12-23T11:13:25-06:00
Although it’s been sung many times, many ways, no one before or since has ever done it better than Nat King Cole. ...

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas (Episode 6)

Ed Bark — 2014-12-22T10:55:50-06:00
There’s no telling how many cut or split lips emerged after recipients took a sip from “decorative glassware” made from Ronco’s Bottle & Jar Cutter. Once upon a Christmas, Little Barky received “the greatest gift you will ever receive or get” and somehow emerged unscathed after turning a Sprite bottle into a jagged-edged drinking thing.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas (Episode 5)

Ed Bark — 2014-12-19T15:34:17-06:00
We’re always looking for odd couple Christmas duos, and the Bing Crosby/David Bowie bit has pretty much played itself out. So how about this very lively, knee-slapping performance of “Jingle Bells” on a 1969 edition of The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour?

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas (Episode 4)

Ed Bark — 2014-12-18T09:52:49-06:00
The oft-times numbing sameness of chain-owned, consultant-influenced local newscasts is brought home brilliantly in this Conan Christmas season clip-fest of anchors from around the country parroting, “It’s OK, you can admit it, if you’ve bought an item or two or 10 for yourself.” ...

Fond adieus to Ferguson and Colbert, whose current late night runs end this week

Ed Bark — 2014-12-17T12:29:44-06:00
Their departures this week won’t be rattling the late night terrain like David Letterman’s recently announced May 20th exit after 32 years on NBC and then CBS. ...Ferguson, who in recent weeks has also been hosting the recently launched, decidedly lame quiz show Celebrity Name Game, became known for his freewheeling, mostly unscripted monologues and a remote-controlled skeleton sidekick known as Geoff Peterson.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas (Episode 3)

Ed Bark — 2014-12-17T10:24:50-06:00
Anchor Clarice Tinsley remains at Fox4 and sports anchor Dale Hansen, who somehow got through this one-minute promo, has long been the highly opinionated, irreverent bats and balls guy at Gannett8. ...Others featured in the spot are late anchor Chip Moody, anchor Quin Mathews, weathercasters Wayne Shattuck and Ron Jackson, 4 Country Reporter host Bob Phillips, anchor Hosea Sanders, late feature reporter Jack Brown and anchor Marlene McClinton, who 17 years later famously quit on the air while with Houston’s KHOU-TV.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas (Episode 2)

Ed Bark — 2014-12-16T12:15:05-06:00
This surprisingly forward-looking clip from 1949’s The Cowboy and the Indians finds Gene Autry in the saddle and singing “Here Comes Santa Claus” while riding next to -- Santa Claus. ...Autry had a hit with both this song and, of course, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

NBC strikes again with Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas

Ed Bark — 2014-12-15T16:33:24-06:00
All three are musicals, befitting the tastes of entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt, who earlier developed a musical adaptation of 9 to 5 for Broadway and championed Smash as his first passion project for NBC. ... drew slightly less than half the 18.5 million viewers for Sound of Music, although it performed decently compared to previous NBC Thursday night offerings this season. How Murray Saved Christmas, shown on Friday, Dec. 6th, bombed with just 3.6 million viewers nationally while also faring poorly among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas (Episode 1)

Ed Bark — 2014-12-15T12:16:45-06:00
Dirk Nowitzki gives his Mavericks teammates special Christmas gifts in this amusing spot. ...

Syfy's Ascension launches and lurches

Ed Bark — 2014-12-12T11:05:03-06:00
The network’s latest “thrilling and highly anticipated” event is Ascension, which blasts off with a 90-minute premiere on Monday, Dec. 15th before continuing Tuesday and ending on Wednesday. ...William Denninger (Brian Van Holt), whose lascivious, layabout wife Viondra (Tricia Helfer) lets it be known that “you won’t find your courage in the bottom of a glass.”

Netflix hits a wall with unremarkable Marco Polo

Ed Bark — 2014-12-11T14:08:02-06:00
Any viewers who have stuck it out this far almost assuredly will remain hard-pressed to figure out what the deuce is going on. Marco Polo, filmed in Italy, Kazakhstan and the Pinewood Studios in Malaysia, is harder to decipher than a current-day major league baseball player’s quickly scribbled autograph. ...A viewer would be better served trying to track down a copy of NBC’s 10-hour, 1982 Marco Polo miniseries, which likewise starred an unknown (Ken Marshall) but was enlivened by a passing parade of prominent guest stars, including Burt Lancaster, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, John Houseman, Leonard Nimoy and Ian McShane.

Golden Globe TV nominations again are nothing to scoff at

Ed Bark — 2014-12-11T08:42:48-06:00
The big winners so far are FX’s Fargo, HBO’s True Detective, The Normal Heart and Olive Kitteridge, Showtime’s The Affair, Netflix’s House of Cards and Orange is the New Black and CBS’ The Good Wife. ...True Detective and Fargo were lumped into the Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made For Television category, even though both in reality are series that will be returning for second seasons.

PBS' Bing Crosby Rediscovered makes belated Dallas debut

Ed Bark — 2014-12-10T10:48:03-06:00
It’s all brought home in Bing Crosby Rediscovered, which premiered nationally on Dec. 2nd but is airing in Dallas for the first time on Friday, Dec. 12th at 7:30 p.m. on KERA13. Narrated by actor Stanley Tucci, the 90-minute American Masters presentation also will be repeated on Dec. 26th -- both locally and nationally. ...But Mary also is a staunch defender of her father, recalling a lunch she had with Gary in which he supposedly told her that his book wasn’t entirely factual and was trumped up in the interest of selling more copies.

Television's best of show via annual hitfix.com national poll (which included your friendly content provider)

Ed Bark — 2014-12-09T10:38:16-06:00
FX’s Fargo reigns as both best new program and best of all programs in this year’s hit fix.com poll of the nation’s TV critics. ...Here are the comparative lists, with the caveat that this is getting to be a much more difficult task in light of all the quality programming available on cable, broadcast TV and streaming sites such as Netflix and Amazon.

NBC crash-lands with animated How Murray Saved Christmas

Ed Bark — 2014-11-26T16:25:03-06:00
Sean Hayes and Jason Alexander voice an elf and a reluctant substitute Santa in How Murray Saved Christmas. NBC photo ...Home base is a town called Stinky Cigars, which for some reason is populated by the likes of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, the Easter Bunny, Columbus, Uncle Sam, Cupid, the New Year’s Baby, April Fool and a gopher who talks like Woody Allen.

Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce in a class of its own as Bravo's first original scripted series

Ed Bark — 2014-11-26T12:38:41-06:00
Turns out it was well worth the wait. Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce is a gem of a one-hour dramedy starring Lisa Edelstein of House fame as a bestselling self-help author who’s lately living a lie. Abby McCarthy (Edelstein) and her husband, Jake (Paul Adelstein), are separated while still living under the same roof for the purposes of maintaining her image and ostensibly making it easier on their two kids.

Two of your waking hours would be well-spent with National Geo's Sleepless in America

Ed Bark — 2014-11-25T15:08:24-06:00
The above opening statistic is among many sprinkled amid the program’s talking heads, colorful imagery and chapters on how sleep deprivation can lead to obesity, diabetes, mental illness, temper tantrums, a faster growth of cancer cells and fatalities when drivers nod off at the wheel. Sleepless in America is bookended by the story of a man who lost his wife and two of the family’s four children when a dozing motorist veered across four lanes of traffic and hit them head-on in 2007. ...I’m now more than happy to comply with the 8-hour a day/night sleep regimen. Sleepless in America might compel you to make adjustments, too.

Shame on Bill Cosby

Ed Bark — 2014-11-20T09:00:11-06:00
In rapid-fire succession, Netflix canceled plans to stream his standup special, NBC stopped developing a sitcom for him and TV Land said it’s dropping all scheduled episodes of The Cosby Show, including a marathon that was set to air during Thanksgiving week. ...If even one of these charges is true -- and it’s virtually impossible to believe that all of Cosby’s accusers are lying -- then he deserves to be exiled to the bone heap to live out his miserable life.

Travel Channel's Booze Traveler tipsy toes through its international "spirit'ual journey"

Ed Bark — 2014-11-19T15:10:37-06:00
It’s not known if Blues Traveler at least got a case of Jameson in return for Travel Channel’s play on the band’s name in the new series Booze Traveler. ...Travel Channel will present 15 one-hour episodes of Booze Traveler in its inaugural season, with the host also drinking his way through future venues such as Armenia, Belize, Lithuania, Mongolia and Nepal.

ABC anchor David Muir: from pizza chef to Muppets interview, it's all in the night's news

Ed Bark — 2014-11-18T15:16:20-06:00
In the past week, Muir also has huddled up close with a 93-year-old World War II veteran and Sarah Jessica Parker, somewhat dubiously named World News’ “Person of the Week” for her efforts on behalf of the New York City ballet. ...The carefully managed softening of ABC’s World News, GMA and Nightline, under the guidance of former news president Ben Sherwood (soon to be president of the ABC-Disney Television Group), has paid ratings dividends across the board. GMA has risen to No. 1 in its pitched battle with former kingpin Today while Nightline’s often goop-infested presentation is beating both Seth Meyers and Craig Ferguson in total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

NBC's State of Affairs arrives in a bad state

Ed Bark — 2014-11-13T13:32:29-06:00
And on the flawed female CIA agent front, Carrie Mathison of Showtime’s Homeland runs crazy concentric circles around State of Affairs while also registering much higher on the believability front. In this vehicle, we’re supposed to believe that Charlie and her young, wisecracking wee hours team (their shift starts at 2 a.m.) find it unnecessary to wake President Constance Payton (Alfre Woodard) when faced with the choice of trying to save a captured American doctor from a potential beheading or taking advantage of an 80 percent chance to kill the Middle East’s No. 1 terrorist, Omar Fatah.

UP network's Paper Angels yearns to be on your Christmas movie map

Ed Bark — 2014-11-13T10:21:13-06:00
An “Uplifting” cavalcade of holiday fare fired up on Nov. 2nd and continues on Sunday, Nov. 16th with the premiere of Paper Angels at 6 p.m. (central).. ...Upcoming new UP movies include Christmas in Palm Springs (in which Ian Ziering takes a break from Sharknado); A Christmas Tree Miracle (wonder what The Love Boat’s Jill Whelan looks like now); and Marry Us For Christmas (sequel to last year’s Marry Me For Christmas).

Olive Kitteridge gives HBO another Emmy-worthy gem

Ed Bark — 2014-10-30T09:41:25-05:00
Olive Kitteridge, premiering Sunday, Nov. 2nd at 8 p.m. (central) and continuing at the same time Monday, also is notable for being largely faithful to the Puliizer Prize-winning Elizabeth Strout book. The Leftovers, which is getting a string-along second season, in contrast has veered wildly from the printed words of Tom Perrotta. ...The miniseries basically spans 25 years, beginning with Olive preparing to end it all before backtracking a quarter-century to the time Henry gave her a heart-shaped box of candy -- which she ignored.

CBS' The McCarthys agreeably plays it loud (laugh track included, of course)

Ed Bark — 2014-10-28T14:07:43-05:00
In the comedy realm, that means another broadly rendered “multi-camera” outing filmed before a studio audience and sweetened when needed by an accompanying laugh track. The McCarthys originally went against this grain before CBS entertainment chairman Nina Tassler shifted it from a “single-cam” comedy (made without an audience or laugh track) to what historically has worked for CBS. ...Meanwhile, it’s already been well-established in promos and CBS publicity materials that Dad shockingly will offer the job to Ronny, who will decline because he’s pretty much at sea when it comes to hoops.

HBO's varnished James Brown documentary is still more thrilling than unfulfilling

Ed Bark — 2014-10-23T13:39:43-05:00
Produced by Mick Jagger (who also helped birth the 2014 Brown biopic Get On Up) and directed by Alex Gibney, the two-hour documentary premieres on Monday, Oct. 27th at 8 p.m. (central). ...A few years later, In 1964, Brown and The Famous Flames, the Stones, The Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye and other musical deities were all booked on the T.A.M.I. concert, which also was being filmed as a movie.

More comic bookery on NBC's wham, bam and oft-befuddling Constantine

Ed Bark — 2014-10-22T14:29:50-05:00
He’s soon pulling up in a yellow cab next to a woman named Liv (guest star Lucy Griffiths), whose auto has mysteriously malfunctioned atop an Atlanta parking garage. ...But the producers decided to write her out after Friday’s first episode in favor of a more powerful ally named Zed (Angelica Celaya), who’s scheduled to show up in Episode 2.

An independent woman and a crack shot, too: new DVD collection revisits trailblazing Annie Oakley TV series

Ed Bark — 2014-10-21T13:16:43-05:00
The 11-disc collection also has a 34-minute documentary on Davis; a collection of commercials for products she sold as Annie; and the original unsold Annie Oakley pilot, which starred Billy Gray (the future “Bud” of Father Knows Best) as her energetic little brother, Tagg. ...Annie Oakley hits the entertainment bullseye every week with her hard ridin’ (see her catch a runaway stage coach), straight shootin’ (Annie stood atop her galloping horse, Target, and fired a shot through the center of a 9 of Spades) and suspense” (demonstrated by Annie sneaking through a half-open window).

Music to his ears: HBO's Sonic Highways indulges Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl

Ed Bark — 2014-10-15T09:26:51-05:00
In each of the 10 cities they visited, Foo Fighters recorded a song for their new album at a “legendary studio integral to the unique history and character of each of these great musical capitals.” ...Sonic Highways’ other stops will be in Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and Austin, where Grohl hooks up with Gibby Haynes, co-founder of Butthole Surfers and son of the late, legendary Dallas children’s TV host Jerry “Mr.

Viewers should get engaged with NBC's Marry Me

Ed Bark — 2014-10-13T13:00:16-05:00
As sitcom setups go, the opening minutes of NBC’s Marry Me may be the best you’ll see this season -- on a new or returning series. ...The pilot episode made available for review still has two f-bombs intact (they’ll be bleeped or removed entirely) and a sucker punch of a line that goes like this: “We literally cannot get away from each other.

Appealing star of CW's Jane the Virgin comes off as seasoned vet

Ed Bark — 2014-10-10T13:27:16-05:00
Jane’s own fondness for telenovelas and grilled cheese sandwiches has been with her since a pre-teen indoctrination by devout Grandma Alba (Ivonne Coll), whose own daughter Xiomara (Andrea Navedo) gave birth to Jane after being impregnated at age 16. ...She’s arguably the most engaging newcomer of the fall season, whether pouring wine as a mermaid at the hotel or pouring herself out to grandma while trying to explain how “a sample of a man” got inside of her.

Showtime's The Affair tantalizes for starters

Ed Bark — 2014-10-10T10:47:31-05:00
But Showtime unusually has made only the opening one-hour episode available for review, making it difficult to assess how well The Affair will tell the rest of its story. ...Executive producers Sarah Treem and Hagai, who earlier collaborated on HBO’s very interior In Treatment series, have constructed what Treem calls a “Rashomon-like framing device” in which events are remembered differently within each two-part episode.

ABC's Dallas-set Cristela embraces Cowboys/diversity

Ed Bark — 2014-10-08T07:45:50-05:00
There’s a little slippage later in the premiere, when Cristela somewhat jokingly refers to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones as an “old buffoon” and a “demented geriatric” during an interview with her prospective law firm boss. ...The show is pretty much equally split between the home front and the workplace, where Cristela’s fellow law firm interns are a very nice Jewish guy named Josh (Andrew Leeds) and the boss’s ditzy blonde daughter, Maddie (Justine Lupe).

American Horror Story regenerates brilliantly with Freak Show

Ed Bark — 2014-10-07T13:52:32-05:00
Lange this time out is Elsa Mars, a cut-rate Marlene Dietrich who yearns to be a star while recruiting new freaks for a show that’s lately fallen on hard times. ...But Freak Show looks like a beauty, with a wealth of fascinating characters and a little smattering of heart helping to balance out the grisly appointed rounds of a so far unidentified clown with a hellish half-mask.

CW's new The Flash quickly gets up to speed

Ed Bark — 2014-10-06T15:58:59-05:00
He’s appealing both in and out of civilian clothes, with Barry still pining for Iris (who’s now dating a hunky detective) while The Flash sets his jaw and explores new vistas in fast-action heroism. Cavanaugh, who’s kicked around for a decade in a wide variety of TV stuff since starring in NBC’s Ed, may finally have found a role that suits him in The Flash.

Who shot Dallas? In the end it was mostly audience demographics

Ed Bark — 2014-10-06T10:11:49-05:00
Dallas, which was filmed entirely in North Texas, had an area “economic impact” of roughly $40 million for Season 2’s 15 episode, Dallas Film Commission director Janis Burklund estimated in a 2012 interview with unclebarky.com. ...Well, the show isn’t cheap to produce, despite the seeming elimination of at least one paycheck when Christopher Ewing apparently expired in a car explosion at the close of Season 3.

Front and self-centered: Homeland returns with a steely Carrie Mathison

Ed Bark — 2014-10-03T14:30:45-05:00
And after a somewhat plodding start in its first season without Damian Lewis’ deceased Nicholas Brody, Homeland begins to find its way again while Carrie (Claire Danes) fixates as only she can. ...But equally important to her is an opportunity to divest herself of baby daughter Frannie, who’s left stateside in the care of Carrie’s increasingly resentful sister, Maggie (Amy Hargreaves), and a part-time nanny.

Mulaney crash-lands on Fox

Ed Bark — 2014-10-03T09:43:13-05:00
This is doubly tragic for Fox, since the show stars former SNL writer/performer John Mulaney and is co-produced by NBC’s lord of all late night, Lorne Michaels. ...Michaels perhaps has been way too busy to oversee Mulaney in addition to SNL, the show’s upcoming 40th anniversary special, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers and Portlandia.

Holding its own: Fox's Gracepoint a more than solid adaptation of the British Broadchurch

Ed Bark — 2014-10-02T11:40:27-05:00
Tennant, soon to be re-deploying his native British accent for Season 2 of Broadchurch, does not miss a beat in the Fox remake, even if his heart can be both cold and medically weak. ...Gracepoint may not be superior to Broadchurch, but makes its own mark as fall’s best new broadcast network drama series -- even if in some ways it’s not.

NBC paints by the letters in new courtship comedy A to Z

Ed Bark — 2014-10-01T11:56:14-05:00
Charming and disarming without yet being exceptional, NBC’s breezy A to Z nonetheless comfortably wins this season’s boy-meets-girl bout against ABC’s similarly themed Manhattan Love Story. ...Recurring narration (from an unbilled Katey Sagal) tells viewers that Andrew and Zelda will date for 8 months, 3 weeks, 5 days and 1 hour before some sort of outcome is determined.

Odor in the court: NBC's Bad Judge has a vigorous star who's not yet well-served

Ed Bark — 2014-10-01T08:37:40-05:00
These subtractions, from the original pilot to Thursday’s revised on-air version, are to the detriment of a comedy that at least still has Kate Walsh in energetic mode as hellcat Rebecca Wright. ...This is a comedy that could get better but so far has fallen a few notches from original pilot to revised one to Episode 2, in which Rebecca beds an Adonis-like firefighter with limited brain power.

Stalker gives CBS another crime-driven gawker

Ed Bark — 2014-09-30T13:32:32-05:00
Stalker, compatibly paired with the grisly Criminal Minds on Wednesday’s CBS lineup, begins with a woman who’s doused with gasoline by a masked despot before he lights up her car. ...Stalker otherwise stars Maggie Q as a lieutenant with the LAPD’s Threat Assessment Unit and the increasingly creepy Dylan McDermott as a former New York City homicide detective with emotional baggage.

Reviewing Amazon Prime's Transparent (after streaming all 10 Season One episodes)

Ed Bark — 2014-09-29T14:59:21-05:00
But as the series moves on, we see him in happier frames of mind during both 1994 flashbacks and in the current-day company of supportive Davina (Alexandra Billings), who’s had the full-blown sex change that Mort/Maura hasn’t embraced yet. ...Bradley Whitford is a recurring presence as Mark/Marcy, who in Episode 8 accompanies Mort/Maura to the Camp Camellia trans camp, It’s the only half-hour set entirely in what turned out to be a pivotal 1994.

ABC hopes (against hope) that viewers will fall for Manhattan Love Story

Ed Bark — 2014-09-29T12:11:36-05:00
Peter, David and their half-sister, Chloe (Chloe Wepper), all work for their father, William (Kurt Fuller), who owns an engraving company and has branded his kids with the notion that whatever he wants from them he gets. ...Half-sister Chloe, who’s a bit of fun as the show’s fifth wheel, later tells Peter, “You’re not going to like this, but I think you might be experiencing some feelings.”

OMG, LOL, WTF: And then along came ABC's Selfie

Ed Bark — 2014-09-29T11:14:02-05:00
Eliza’s guru turns out to be a fellow employee and marketing whiz named Henry (John Cho), who’s just successfully re-branded a pediatric nasal spray that had to be recalled after inducing “satanic hallucinations.” ...Selfie has some vital signs, with Cho and Gillan a well-matched, mis-matched pair that could take this beyond what seems to be a one-joke premise.

Rhimes makes it a Thursday night triangle with How to Get Away with Murder

Ed Bark — 2014-09-24T12:44:45-05:00
How to Get Away with Murder is joining holdover hits Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, both of which are being moved up to an hour to accommodate it. ...She’s a veteran of the prime-time TV game after playing regular or recurring characters in City of Angels, Century City, Traveler, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and United States of Tara in addition to four Jesse Stone movies.

ABC's black-ish looks for laughs in 'burb-an vs "urban"

Ed Bark — 2014-09-23T12:50:22-05:00
black-ish, a better show in a seemingly advantageous time slot (behind Modern Family), stars Anthony Anderson as ad agency executive Andre “Dre” Johnson, with Tracee Ellis Ross as his biracial wife, Rainbow. ...But it will be further challenged when one of its key writer-producers, Larry Wilmore (The Bernie Mac Show), leaves to ramp up for hosting Comedy Central’s new The Minority Report, set to premiere in January after Stephen Colbert leaves The Colbert Report.

Still makin' copies: CBS' NCIS: New Orleans

Ed Bark — 2014-09-22T12:46:59-05:00
Scott Bakula stars as Special Agent Dwayne Pride, who’s also a Cajun-style cook and a jazz pianist when he’s not giving orders or trying to stay awake while reciting lines such as “All I’m sayin’ is where you lay your head in this city defines you.” ...Bakula and Pounder have some solid work on their resumes, and Black was highly appealing as a crew cut kid actor in Sling Blade and CBS’ short-lived, memorably offbeat American Gothic. NCIS: New Orleans may end up supplying all of them with fail-safe, long-term employment at handsome rates of pay.

Forever gives ABC an immortal doc of "Sherlockian" stock

Ed Bark — 2014-09-19T14:19:14-05:00
It allows him to lay it on a little thick after Henry again is bedeviled by Forever’s mysterious Moriarty, who calls him by phone and says he knows all of his secrets. ...Is it because you didn’t have time after cleaning all that blood out of the shower where you killed your wife’s lover with the same straight razor that you then cleverly planted in the bathroom medicine cabinet of a man to whom you owned a fortune in gambling debts?”

CBS' Scorpion is mostly lethally ridiculous

Ed Bark — 2014-09-19T12:33:15-05:00
Patrick, who first got rolling as the relentless villain of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, is a good guy with a bad disposition in CBS’ Scorpion. ...They’ll all crash-land when their fuel runs out unless Walter, mechanical whiz Happy Quinn (Jadyn Wong), behaviorist Toby Curtis (Eddie Kaye Thomas) and “statistics guru” Sylvester Dodd (Ari Stidham) can devise a way to reboot everything.

CBS' Madam Secretary could use a bigger jolt of political theater

Ed Bark — 2014-09-19T09:21:09-05:00
The dedicated protagonist of CBS’ Madam Secretary is a former CIA agent and mother of two opinionated kids whose husband Henry (Tim Daly) seems to be about as perfect a spouse as Bill Clinton hasn’t been. ...You don’t even know there is a box,” the prez says before adding with an equally straight face that he’s determined to preside over “real change” in the world with Elizabeth as his point woman.

Fox's Gotham an "origin" series with originality as well

Ed Bark — 2014-09-18T14:49:41-05:00
But the writing can be a kick, too, with the amoral Fish Mooney (deliciously played by Jada Pinkett Smith) sizing up Gordon for the first time by telling him, “Well, aren’t you a cool glass of milk.” ...The other “origin” story in play during Episode 1 is future Riddler Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith), who for now is on the side of justice. Gotham’s companion detective team is Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen (Victoria Cartagena, Andrew Stewart Jones), both of whom are at odds with the sneering, easily corrupted Bullock.

The Beatles and Me On Tour is a fab way to join the lads back in the U.S., circa 1964

Ed Bark — 2014-09-18T08:22:40-05:00
British reporter Ivor Davis was with The Beatles from start to stop on their 1964 U.S. tour, which landed in Dallas on Sept. 18th. ...As a Los Angeles-based correspondent for London’s Daily Express, he was assigned to cover The Beatles’ landmark 1964 U.S. tour from its Aug. 18th start in San Francisco to a tacked-on benefit concert for cerebral palsy on Sept. 20th in New York.

Life, death and taxing teens in Fox's Red Band Society hospital drama

Ed Bark — 2014-09-15T16:25:41-05:00
One of them, Margaret Nagle, had a brother who was in a coma “for a very, very long time,” she said during an interview session at the summer Television Critics Association “press tour.” ...The title Red Band Society comes from the wrist-wraps distributed by Leo Roth (Charlie Rowe), who’s lost both his hair and part of a leg to cancer.

Whodunit to Debra Messing in NBC's The Mysteries of Laura?

Ed Bark — 2014-09-15T14:46:53-05:00
But first comes a “sneak preview” of Laura, an oft-loud and mostly messy hour of Debra Messing hoping to register as a New York homicide detective after all those years on Will & Grace and a tour of duty on Smash. ...Messing seems to be trying hard, but in a role and a show that just don’t suit her talents. The Mysteries of Laura may well get a nice-sized sampling in Wednesday’s advantageous post-AGT slot.

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History is triumphant even by Ken Burns' standards

Ed Bark — 2014-09-12T10:35:12-05:00
But the man who became president in the throes of The Great Depression and later guided the country through World War II would never walk again without heavy braces and the assistance of aides whose arms he tightly clasped for balance. This chapter also includes incredibly poignant footage of FDR at the Warm Springs, Georgia retreat that began as a resort before he turned it into a rehab center for fellow polio victims.

Fall promo palooza: Grand finale

Ed Bark — 2014-09-12T09:20:48-05:00
Network TV’s new fall series begin trickling onto home screens next week, although the latest TV season doesn’t officially begin until Monday, Sept. 22nd. ...version=3&hl=en_US">

Ten takeaways from Mad Men's Episode 4, Season 7

Ed Bark — 2014-05-05T09:35:19-05:00
1. Don Draper (Jon Hamm) firmed his jaw and and started cranking it out again at the end of Sunday’s episode while colleague Roger Sterling (John Slattery) was last seen looking stricken and defeated. ...And he’s abject in defeat, his vested suit spattered with mud, after Margaret/Marigold skins him alive him for being an absentee father who had his secretary order birthday gifts for her while he was shacked up in a hotel room.

The Simpsons go Lego in Episode 550

Ed Bark — 2014-05-01T14:49:28-05:00
That’s been remedied in the 550th episode of The Simpsons (Sunday, May 4th, 7 p.m. central), which reassembles Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie in detachable parts. ...It also goes to show that the creative team behind this amazingly enduring series can still marshal forces for a “labor of love, but also a labor of work” that took two years to complete, according to Fox publicity materials.

FX's Louie returns in fine but not yet great form after a long respite

Ed Bark — 2014-05-01T11:01:15-05:00
That’s when Louie C.K. ended up spending New Year’s Eve in China -- and having a great time -- with a rural family that took him in on the Season 3 finale of FX’s Louie. ...Hope it’s not saying too much to reveal that Louie eventually goes to Mars and then returns to Earth as a little green man who further impresses his two daughters by reading them a bedtime story.

A 24 in half the time on a network that sorely needs a jump start

Ed Bark — 2014-04-30T09:13:40-05:00
Set in London after Jack Bauer (Sutherland) has been in exile for four years, Live Another Day tries to heavily inhale the fumes of 24’s better days -- and hours. ...A lot of new, quality serial dramas have emerged in the four years since 24 flamed out. Homeland, The Americans, The Good Wife, The Walking Dead, True Detective, Game of Thrones, House of Cards, Fargo, Vikings, Sleepy Hollow, Boardwalk Empire and Orphan Black all exceed or equal 24’s once-upon-a-time unbeatable combinations of suspense, violence and intrigue.

No longer terra firma: TV's late night terrain will soon be without Craig Ferguson, too

Ed Bark — 2014-04-29T10:56:13-05:00
In an interview Monday night with Variety, Ferguson emphasized that his decision to leave was long-planned and had nothing to do with CBS bypassing him as a successor to David Letterman and instead choosing Stephen Colbert earlier this month. ...Fallon’s NBC Late Night successor, former Saturday Night Live mainstay Seth Meyers, has been outdrawing Ferguson’s show during the early weeks of their head-to-head competition while Fallon continues to thump both CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live.

HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver sparked with some brilliant material that should be given a little more time to breathe

Ed Bark — 2014-04-28T15:46:53-05:00
“Welcome, welcome, welcome to whatever this is,” he said without any further ado at all on Sunday’s premiere of HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. ...As it turns out, Comedy Central almost assuredly would have offered him Stephen Colbert’s post-Daily Show slot had the network known he’d be leaving to become David Letterman’s successor sometime next year.

Ten takeaways from Mad Men's Episode 3, Season 7

Ed Bark — 2014-04-28T12:48:20-05:00
3. It’s easier from a storytelling standpoint to have the remaining charter Sterling Cooper denizens all under one roof again -- albeit with interlopers Jim Cutler (Harry Hamlin) and Lou Avery (Allan Havey), to whom Don must now report. But it’s also deflating at the moment, with Don almost desperately wanting to be wanted after Megan pushed him out of her life while loyal secretary and confidant Dawn Chambers (Teyonnah Parris) had her hands too full to fully service him with door-to-door intel and deliveries.

HBO's All About Ann is mostly about enshrining her

Ed Bark — 2014-04-24T14:28:17-05:00
Richards, who died in 2006 at age 73 of esophageal cancer, is extolled anew in HBO’s All About Ann: Governor Richards of the Lone Star State (Monday, April 28th at 8 p.m. central). ...Richards and her husband, David, first moved to Austin in 1969 after living in Dallas. All About Ann, as have many political films, finds it easy to make Dallas something of an arch villain.

Bad Teacher doesn't fail CBS (but will the ratings provide a passing grade?)

Ed Bark — 2014-04-23T15:40:51-05:00
It’s bright, sharp, without a laugh track and with a very well assembled ensemble cast headed by Ari Graynor in the Diaz role of a gold-digging, dumped divorcee looking to land another big fish. ...Two of the first three episodes predictably end with Meredith doing the right thing by her students rather than heading off with a hand-picked, cash-laden stud. Bad Teacher wouldn’t work otherwise.

ABC's Black Box goes for gravitas on a tilt-a-whirl

Ed Bark — 2014-04-23T11:31:30-05:00
The featured patients in Thursday’s opener, neither of whom really register, are an elderly woman with an imaginary dwarf friend she calls Yojo and a brainy young man whose acceptance to MIT is waylaid by his sudden impulse to draw wildly complex pictures on walls. Catherine’s own tangled webs are the premiere’s marquee storyline, though And her impromptu, madcap dance atop a hospital staircase is exceedingly ripe for a Saturday Night Live parody if Black Box somehow succeeds as a spring replacement for Scandal, which had its season finale last week.

Ten takeaways from Mad Men's Episode 2, Season 7

Ed Bark — 2014-04-21T12:20:22-05:00
2. The underling racial politics at Sterllng, Cooper & Partners emerged front and center in an episode that gave the agency’s first black employee, secretary Dawn Chambers (Teyonah Parris), some rare showcase scenes. ...8. I’m still seeing an eventual reuniting of Don and Peggy, with a carping Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) and an increasingly marginalized Roger Sterling (John Slattery) also possibilities -- along with Dawn as head secretary -- in any last hurrah new ad agency.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered gets stamp of approval from Hallmark Channel

Ed Bark — 2014-04-18T11:09:43-05:00
So we’re going to try being reasonably kind and gentle toward Signed, Sealed, Delivered, a throwback hour of harmless, gooey entertainment for those who still prefer storybook endings to slaughterhouses, anti-heroes or Salem, a polar-opposite series premiering the same night on WGN America. ...Harper’s character will stick around for the first two episodes before fellow TV icon Dick Van Dyke replaces her as supervisor in the next two. Signed, Sealed also will feature Valerie Bertinelli, Marilu Henner and former Touched co-star Della Reese in guest roles before the series finale makes room for Carol Burnett.

WGN America tries to burn hot with Salem (its first original scripted series)

Ed Bark — 2014-04-17T13:57:00-05:00
WGN America’s first original scripted series, premiering Sunday, April 20th, heightens its drama to an often absurd degree during what publicity materials describe as a “bold new vision of Salem -- and an even bolder new vision of witches.” ...But you’ve gotta do something when you’re basically known as the longtime network of the Chicago Cubs, who haven’t been to a World Series since 1945, haven’t won a World Series since 1908 and are off to another fine start this season with a 4-9 record to date.

BBC America's Orphan Black returns with star Tatiana Maslany in even finer forms

Ed Bark — 2014-04-17T09:45:55-05:00
And Season 2 of BBC America’s most talked-about series (launching Saturday, April 19th at 8 p.m. central) is if anything even more convoluted in its comings, goings, killings, near killings and constant fumblings by the sinister Dyad Institute. ...It’s a tangled web, of course, with Maslany again navigating it brilliantly whether she’s on the lam (as Sarah), rehearsing for a community musical (as Alison) or doing an autopsy (as Cosima) on a fleetingly seen character whose fate and identity will be kept confidential in these spaces.

The Address: a here and now Ken Burns film about Lincoln's most enduring words

Ed Bark — 2014-04-15T09:48:08-05:00
But The Address is both an intimate and a “little” film compared to The Civil War (11.5 hours), The War (14 hours), Baseball (18.5 hours), Jazz (20 hours) and other Burns’ epics during his more than 30 years with PBS. ...The Address is largely a telescoped look at an annual rite of Putney, Vermont’s Greenwood School, which challenges its students to memorize Lincoln’s words and deliver them at a candle-lit school dinner at which everyone gets dressed up.

Ten takeaways from Mad Men's Episode 1, Season 7

Ed Bark — 2014-04-14T11:57:57-05:00
3. Don clandestinely funneling his pitches through old-line ad guy Freddy Rumsen (Joel Murray) -- with Peggy as his audience in Sunday’s opening scene -- reminded me a bit of Johnny Carson secretly sending monologue jokes to David Letterman after he retired from The Tonight Show. ...Interestingly, in the 2013 HBO docu-film Seduced and Abandoned, Alec Baldwin and writer/director James Toback used Campbell as one of their non-starter selling points for Last Tango in Takrit, basically a fake remake of Last Tango in Paris.

Getting its Billy Bob on: FX's mesmerizing Fargo

Ed Bark — 2014-04-11T09:31:40-05:00
But it’s in full bloom now, and Fargo turns out to be a perfect fit as a 10-episode “limited series” that could return for a second season but not with the same mix of characters. ...Kate Walsh, coming off a long haul through Grey’s Anatomy and its Private Practice spinoff, plays former Vegas stripper Gina Hess, wife of an ill-fated trucking company owner who has delighted in bullying Lester since their high school days.

HLN goes nuts for "social media generation"

Ed Bark — 2014-04-10T15:23:34-05:00
The centerpiece of HLN’s latest announcements is The Daily Share, a one-hour nightly program that will “provide a digest of what people are watching, searching, playing, sharing, shopping and creating in every aspect of their social lives.” ...Two CNN holdovers, Erin Burnett Outfront and Anderson Cooper 360, will remain on the weeknight schedule from 6 to 8 p.m. (central) before an array of original series, films and in-house documentaries takes over at 8 p.m.

Colbert will step in when Letterman steps out

Ed Bark — 2014-04-10T13:05:21-05:00
Since October of 2005, Colbert has hosted Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, which airs at 10:30 p.m. (central) on weeknights following the network’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. ...A location for the show also will be disclosed later, the network said. The Colbert Report and Late Show both are taped in New York City, so CBS presumably is talking about a studio rather than any coastal shift.

Doled out in two parts, Mad Men's final season remains rich in possibilities

Ed Bark — 2014-04-10T09:23:20-05:00
Welcome to Part 1 of the seventh and final season of Mad Men, which put AMC on the map before the network’s off-the-charts successes with Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. ...We begin this way because reviewing any new season of Mad Men (re-starting Sunday, April 13th at 9 p.m. central) has more restrictions than a military base.

HBO's Game of Thrones is still to die for

Ed Bark — 2014-04-04T09:42:27-05:00
HBO’s latest batch of Game of Thrones review DVDs came with a cover letter asking recipients to “not reveal any major plot points in advance, or point to any one episode as a ‘big one.’ ...Peter Dinklage’s Tyrion Lannister, who’s emerged as the central character of Game of Thrones after three seasons of attrition, remains a pint-sized major player along with fellow Lannister schemers Tywin (Charles Dance), Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Cersei (Lena Headey).

Letterman announces his departure -- on a date to be named later

Ed Bark — 2014-04-03T17:46:15-05:00
“I think it will be at least a year or so, but sometime in the not too distant future, 2015 for the love of God, in fact, Paul (bandleader Paul Schaffer) and I will be wrapping things up and taking a hike.” ...In answer to a followup question on CBS’ willingness to cancel other shows that were failing in the ratings, Moonves said bluntly, “I don’t consider David Letterman a failure in any way, shape or form . . .

HBO's Silicon Valley: a killer comedy series about the quests for killer aps

Ed Bark — 2014-04-03T13:13:47-05:00
Still, it’s not a bad spot to be in, with Belson offering $10 million for total control while Gregory wants just 5 percent of Pied Piper for his $200,000 investment. ...Everything otherwise goes down very well, with ample amusement to be found in Richard’s battle for the Pied Piper name with a sprinkler company; Erlich’s efforts to design the perfect logo and the lame-o parties repeatedly thrown by bloated dot com giants.

Hardly Revolutionary: AMC's Turn tepidly goes into battle

Ed Bark — 2014-04-03T09:08:15-05:00
Spies among us have made for a number of eye-catching TV series over the years, including I Spy, Get Smart, The Avengers, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Wild Wild West, Alias and FX’s ongoing The Americans. ...But Turn soon begins bogging down, even in the midst of its ongoing unsolved murder mystery and the subsequent capturing of Simcoe after the Colonials get their first big tip from the budding spy ring.

73rd annual Peabody Awards mostly leave the Big Four broadcast networks out of it

Ed Bark — 2014-04-02T08:49:11-05:00
The frothy but popular ABC serial drama Scandal, yet to be nominated as a series by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Emmys); the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Golden Globes); the Screen Actors Guild or the Television Critics Association, nonetheless came away with its first Peabody nod. ...The other weekly scripted series honored with Peabodys are Breaking Bad (AMC); The Bridge (FX); Broadchurch (BBC America); Key & Peele (Comedy Central); Orphan Black (BBC America) and the French language series The Returned, which was brought to American audiences on the Sundance Channel.

Coming this fall (er, scratch that): Coming this spring/summer

Ed Bark — 2014-03-27T15:23:25-05:00
The Quest (unscripted) -- ABC promises to “literally take contestants and audiences to an amazing, imaginative realm where the ogres are advancing in the woods, the dragons are stirring, agents of a dark lord are infiltrating the keep” . . . and so on. Premieres Thursday, June 19 ...Reckless (drama) -- Billed as a “sultry” legal hour set in Charleston, S.C., this is what happens when a “gorgeous Yankee litigator and a charming southern attorney must hide their intense mutual attraction as a police sex scandal threatens to tear the city apart.”

Best to try something other than CBS' Friends With Better Lives

Ed Bark — 2014-03-27T13:36:43-05:00
Besides the smelly wiener riff, Friends With Better Lives has a double shot of breast pump jokes (“What’s up with lefty?”), an extended exchange on “nut cheese,” a “pap smear” reference, several oral sex ba-da-booms and Kate’s recollection of what it was like to date a guy with one testicle. ...Previewing on Monday after the special one-hour episode of How I Met Your Mother, the newbie will tuck itself into its regular 7:30 p.m. slot on April 14th, following 2 Broke Girls as the night’s new lead-off hitter.

Still aglow: a sit-down with a vintage Hollywood star in Eva Marie Saint: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival

Ed Bark — 2014-03-27T10:31:09-05:00
The one-hour Eva Marie Saint: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival (Monday, March 31st at 7 p.m. central on Turner Classic Movies) finds her onstage with the always amiable Robert Osborne, who’s become the face of TCM as it celebrates its 20th anniversary. ...TCM is garnishing Eva Marie Saint: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival with three of her most notable films. On The Waterfront follows at 8 p.m. (central) before a 10:30 p.m. repeat of the special.

Christopher Meloni re-seeds comedy roots in Fox's Surviving Jack

Ed Bark — 2014-03-25T16:33:20-05:00
But he cut his TV teeth in comedy, even if few remember him anymore from a string of 1990s flops that began with The Fanelli Boys and continued with The Boys, Dinosaurs (in which he voiced Spike) and Misery Loves Company. ...Then it’s time for Meloni to break some balls as hard-driving, gruff-edged Jack Dunlevy, who’s first seen commanding his tallish teen son, Frankie (Connor Buckley), to run a lap around the block at 3 in the morning.

Syfy's Creature Shop Challenge adheres to "reality competition" playbook while also turning a few new pages

Ed Bark — 2014-03-25T08:02:36-05:00
The 10 supplicants, most of whom have previous experience in the creature-building trade, are all wide-eyed and gushy upon first meeting Henson and host Gig Edgley, an Australian actress who played Chiana on Syfy’s Farscape series. ...The show picks up when the creations are finally finished and put to the test in front of judges Henson, creature designer Kirk Thatcher (Star Wars: Return of the Jedi) and creature fabricator Beth Hathaway (Jurassic Park).

Sham and a shame: missing Malaysian plane offers CNN's Reliable Sources and Fox News Channel's Media Buzz a chance to be clearly biased

Ed Bark — 2014-03-24T11:46:49-05:00
After schmoozing at length with another Fox News personality -- Greg Gutfeld promoting his new book Not Cool: The Hipster Elite and Their War On You -- Kurtz took another shot at CNN’s Lemon for publicizing a “Black Hole Theory” regarding the disappearance of Flight 370. ...After scolding Ellen DeGeneres for cozying up to President Obama during his recent appearance on her show -- “She totally embraced Obamacare” -- Kurtz neared the finish line with a “Top Tweet” that said, “Can you imagine if CNN had been around when Gilligan, the Skipper and their castaways were lost?

CW's The 100 is well-grounded on earth, in space

Ed Bark — 2014-03-18T13:08:45-05:00
Abby’s arch enemy is scheming vice chancellor Marcus Kane (Henry Ian Cusick of Lost), who yearns to wrest the chancellorship from the more even-handed Jaha (Isiah Washington/Grey’s Anatomy). ...It’s all enough to rope a viewer in, even if you’re well north of The CW’s 18-to-34-year-old target audience. The 100 ends up being sci-fi fun for all ages -- with a spine tingle or two also within these realms of possibilities.

Doll & Em is too much of a trinket for HBO

Ed Bark — 2014-03-18T11:21:46-05:00
Billed as a “semi-improvised comedy” that in fact lapses into too much drama, it’s getting what amounts to a Wednesday night afterthought slot for a three-week run of six half-hour episodes. ...Sevigny, whose new series Those Who Kill was yanked by the A&E network after just two episodes, makes no lasting impression at all in either the second or fourth episodes.

NBC's Crisis hopes to captivate by taking a whole classroom hostage

Ed Bark — 2014-03-12T17:38:06-05:00
Captives include Kyle Devore (Adam Scott Miller), son of the president of the United States, and Amber Fitch (Halston Sage), whose corporate tycoon mom is rich enough to blithely lay out $24 million in untraceable cash if it will get her daughter back. ...Both of the latter two series got off to strong ratings starts with their first episodes, although Believe had the advantage of being previewed after Monday’s edition of The Voice before moving to its regular slot.

SPOILER ALERT: do not read this if you don't want a detailed critique of how True Detective ended Season One

Ed Bark — 2014-03-12T11:10:13-05:00
In the end, Rust and Marty prevailed, even if crazed, abused, scar-faced hillbilly Errol Childress likely was not “The Yellow King” at the head of a long history of brutal killings, including ritualistic child sacrifices. True Detective centered more on the disparate relationship of its two highly flawed principles than the whodunit hanging over them. ...For me, that exchange would have had more impact as some of their last words to each other in the killer’s cave. True Detective instead played the born again, redemptive card, with the heretofore godless Rust talking about the vision he had of his daughter (and father) while lying in a coma.

NBC's Believe quickly prompts serious doubts (about how it ever got on the air)

Ed Bark — 2014-03-07T14:04:00-06:00
Previewing Monday after The Voice before moving to its regular Sunday 8 p.m. (central) slot, Believe rapidly congeals into a ponderously paced tale of a little girl named Bo (Johnny Sequoyah), her mysterious group of protectors and sinister forces who would use her assortment of powers for their own undisclosed gains. For some reason, “The Believers,” headed by a solemn guy named Milton Winter (Delroy Lindo), decide that Bo’s latest protector and running mate should be a death row inmate named Tate (Jake McLaughlin).

Fox graces the sprawling TV universe with a new Cosmos

Ed Bark — 2014-03-06T15:34:11-06:00
Consider this improbable journey through time and space: from Carl Sagan’s classic 1980 Cosmos series on PBS to a Fox reboot whose principal executive producer is the guy behind Family Guy. ...Fox’s Cosmos can’t hope to replicate the clout of the original, which for a decade stood as the most-watched PBS series ever until Ken Burns’ The Civil War overtook it in 1990.

ABC's new Resurrection intentionally plays dead

Ed Bark — 2014-03-06T11:13:01-06:00
Not to be confused with the earlier series The Returned -- although it will be -- ABC’s Resurrection is based on The Returned, a 2013 book by Jason Mott. ...But it’s of a higher caliber than ABC’s recent rash of freshman drama flops, which include Killer Women, The Assets, Mind Games, Betrayal, Lucky 7 and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.

Denis Leary's EMT comedy Sirens leers and veers on USA

Ed Bark — 2014-03-05T14:22:58-06:00
This is the one where featured rescuers Johnny, Hank and Brian (Michael Mosley, Kevin Daniels, Kevin Bigley) let it all hang out with discourses on porn, human penises and horse penises before responding to a false alarm that finds all three of them stunned by the sight of an elderly couple having relations in their kitchen. ...But some of Sirens’ best scenes involve gruff EMT bossman “Cash” (Bill Dunn), a recurring character who’s in two of the three episodes sent to TV critics.

George Lopez hits the fast track with FX's Saint George

Ed Bark — 2014-03-04T15:53:26-06:00
The so-called “10/90 model” is code for assembly line comedy on a bullet train schedule in order to reach the magic 100-episode syndication mark in roughly one-third the time it traditionally has taken. ...He’s been out of the dating pool for quite a while but is making strides as an entrepreneur whose energy drink is now the world’s No. 5 bestseller.

DeGeneres plays key role in making Oscars a hit (see for your selfie)

Ed Bark — 2014-03-03T11:21:21-06:00
Earlier on Oscar night, McConaughey proved to be a perfect gentleman while presenting with the now 81-year-old Kim Novak, who in recent years has survived both a fall from a horse and breast cancer. ...Her missteps will be forgotten when compared to the “genius” of arranging a picture with the likes of Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Jared Leto, Kevin Spacey and Ellen herself all in one big happy gaggle where everyone’s a winner.

Life is too short for A&E's Those Who Kill

Ed Bark — 2014-02-28T14:47:12-06:00
By the second time around, Those Who Kill has deteriorated into a very unpleasant series of events with blood-curdling screams and some patently ridiculous powers of deduction by D’Arcy’s character. Sevigny works hard at being complex, haunted, etc. while the show around her collapses into a voyeuristic mess with a denouement that makes one wonder how Catherine Jensen could possibly remain on the force beyond the opening episode.

Season 2 of History's Vikings: winning the battle to become one of TV's better dramas

Ed Bark — 2014-02-27T14:31:17-06:00
Season 2 (firing up Thursday, Feb. 27th at 9 p.m. central)) is notably improved on every level, with major developments coursing through the first four episodes made available for review. ...Spooky shipbuilder Floki (Gustf Skarsgard), scheming but decent-hearted Siggy (Jessalyn Gilsig), the deformed Seer (John Kavanagh) and kidnapped Anglo-Saxon monk Athelstan (George Blagden) also return as series regulars.

SundanceTV's The Red Road traffics in a command performance by a Game of Thrones game-changer

Ed Bark — 2014-02-26T15:56:10-06:00
Creator and co-executive producer Aaron Guzikowski says in Sundance publicity materials that he’s “always been fascinated with the idea of children repeating their parents’ mistakes -- that human beings are locked into these ancient patterns, doomed or blessed to do as those before them have.” ...This is SundanceTV’s second wholly produced original series, following last season’s extraordinary Rectify (scheduled to return this summer). Red Road gets more gripping by the hour, although it still feels like a drop-off whenever Momoa isn’t on screen.

Legit goes from FX to FXX for Season 2 -- & you really should try to find it

Ed Bark — 2014-02-26T13:22:18-06:00
In Season 1, Jim and Steve also took in Steve’s comparatively sweet-natured brother, Billy (DJ Qualls), whose muscular dystrophy mostly confines him to a wheelchair. Legit has its heart in the right place with this character. ...Episode 4 is largely set at a high school reunion where Steve outdoes himself in the making-an-ass-of-oneself department while Jim tries to make amends with both a woman he chided as “Tubs” and his first real girlfriend.

So long, Sochi, hello Cold War in Season 2 of FX's The Americans

Ed Bark — 2014-02-25T09:46:16-06:00
There’s also a scene, during Episode 1 of Season 2, in which the 14-year-old daughter of the two Russian principles walks in on them during their summit of “69.” ...The first five of Season 2’s 13 episodes were made available for review, with the story resuming a couple of months after Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell) has mended from the serious gunshot wound she sustained during a harrowing getaway at the end of Season 1.

Mixology finds ABC looking for love in a singles bar

Ed Bark — 2014-02-24T17:10:48-06:00
In Wednesday’s premiere it’s the aforementioned Tom -- on the rebound after being nastily dumped by his fiancee -- and Maya (Ginger Gonzaga), a tart-tongued, tomboy sports attorney whose back story includes a cameo by former NFL star Keyshawn Johnson. ...Maya so far is the most interesting character of the bunch, though, whether ripping on Tom (“She left you because you’re a sniveling little bitch”) or in Episode 3 carping about how she’s always mistaken for being Hawaiian.

ABC's Mind Games loudly shatters the calm

Ed Bark — 2014-02-24T12:59:41-06:00
He’s been burning through failed series at a furious pace in the past several years, with NBC’s My Own Worst Enemy, ABC’s The Forgotten and Fox’s Breaking In all stacking up since 2008. ...But the most unlikely development of all -- in terms of behavior modification -- would be persuading more than a relative handful of viewers to watch Mind Games from week to week.

Sin city rises again with Season 3 of TNT's Dallas

Ed Bark — 2014-02-21T13:17:15-06:00
Let’s feast on two of her delicious spews -- aimed directly at a son who betrayed her last season by pushing old Judith down a flight of stairs and then salting her away in rehab. ...He then mounts his horse, says goodbye -- “Well, I’ll try not to disappoint ya” -- and rides off before the scene shifts to the Omni Hotel for additional morning-after philandering by J.R.’s bad seed son, John Ross III (Josh Henderson).

NBC hopes for a hit from the blind side with Growing Up Fisher

Ed Bark — 2014-02-20T14:23:24-06:00
Can the actor best known lately for pitching Farmers Insurance in omnipresent TV ads also sell viewers on the notion that he’s a blind man who’s been successfully pulling the wool over his law firm clients’ eyes for the past 20 years? ...Previewing Sunday after the Winter Olympics closing ceremonies before going to Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. (central), Growing Up Fisher also asks viewers to accept an oddly idyllic divorce -- no reason is really given -- between Mel Fisher (J.K.

NBC's About a Boy is one to grow on

Ed Bark — 2014-02-19T14:05:05-06:00
Incubated with heavy promotion during NBC’s Olympics coverage, it gets a commercial-free sneak preview after Saturday’s prime-time Winter Games package before nestling into a regular Tuesday, 8 p.m. (central) slot following the network’s biggest non-sports hit, The Voice. ...After playing along as a prop in Will’s pursuit of a comely single mom (guest star Leslie Bibb) who thinks he’s the father of a cancer-afflicted son, Lucas leans in to whisper, “I own you” after first declaring, “I would say if it weren’t for my father, I’d be dead right now.”

Fallon's first Tonight Show is A-OK whenever U2 takes charge

Ed Bark — 2014-02-18T11:53:03-06:00
Buoyed by two blow-away performances by U2, Fallon got past a rather obsequious start in which he walked viewers through the basic mechanics of a monologue and said he’d be doing 10 minutes worth every night in case the Jay Leno faithful might have thought otherwise. ...First guest Will Smith and Fallon returned after a commercial break to lay down “The Evolution of Hip-Hop Dancing,” a followup to the gone viral “Evolution of Mom Dancing” in which the host and First Lady Michelle Obama made a perfect pair on his old NBC Late Night show.

Reviewing Season 2 of House of Cards (after a full 13-episode immersion)

Ed Bark — 2014-02-17T11:53:39-06:00
And although no viewing figures are available (because Netflix still doesn’t provide them), it’s a safe bet that lots of people already have devoured the entire Season 2 of House of Cards after all 13 episodes became available on Valentine’s Day. ...But the biggest splash by far is from Ashleigh Banfield, who turns out to be quite good at playing herself during an extended and pivotal Episode 4 interview with Claire Underwood.

Invasion from Planet Hollywood? Cute teen aliens abound in The CW's Star-Crossed

Ed Bark — 2014-02-13T12:18:47-06:00
And Robert Vartan (Marcus Hester), bearded, deep-drawling, unkempt head of the town’s Redhawk faction, shares his thoughts at a school board meeting to decide if the Atrians will be allowed to attend Marshall’s annual homecoming carnival. ...The CW has enjoyed some modest success this season with the freshman series Reign and The Originals, both of which have been picked up for next fall. Star-Crossed has the potential to make it a threesome while navigating its way through attempted social relevance and basic high school dynamics.

R.I.P. Sid Caesar: Sept. 8, 1922 to Feb. 12, 2014

Ed Bark — 2014-02-12T14:56:53-06:00
The Sid Caesar appreciation society shrank to near invisibility in the many years since he made a big name for himself as the star of the truly groundbreaking Your Show of Shows. ...He had been in poor health for some time, but still mustered the energy to appear at a July 2005 panel tied to PBS’ first edition of its ongoing Pioneers of Television series.

American Experience heads West again with true stories of Butch and Sundance

Ed Bark — 2014-02-10T14:12:12-06:00
PBS’ long-running American Experience series does it again with Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid (Tuesday, Feb. 11th at 8 p.m. central) after previous dissections of Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, George Armstrong Custer, Annie Oakley, Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill and Billy the Kid (which encores before Butch and Sundance). ...You’ll learn how they got their bank- and train-robber names, why they became a dying breed and how they just happened to have their last formal photos taken during an undercover stop-off in Fort Worth.

Leno's star-adorned final Tonight (plus quavering exit speech)

Ed Bark — 2014-02-07T12:15:23-06:00
Jimmy Fallon will succeed him on Feb. 17th in a transition that’s been much smoother this time around even though it still seems to make little sense to dump a guy who remains a dominant No. 1 in all major late night audience measurements. ...While signing off, Leno said he is “really excited for Jimmy Fallon,” of whom he’s “proud.” The Tonight Show is a “great institution,” he said, and “I am so glad I got to be a part of it.

CBS doubles its NFL pleasure with new Thursday night package next season

Ed Bark — 2014-02-05T12:07:12-06:00
The CBS/NFL Network deal comes on the heels of Sunday’s Super Bowl XLVIII ranking as television’s most-watched program ever (with 112.2 million viewers) despite being a 43-8 blowout win by Seattle over Denver. ...NBC’s Sunday Night Football remains the NFL’s showcase event, but CBS now will have the bigger NFL presence with weekly games on two nights of the week.

Blowout-defying Super Bowl XLVIII sets new national ratings record (updated with revised final numbers)

Ed Bark — 2014-02-03T16:04:23-06:00
Averaging 112.2 million viewers nationally, Sunday’s Super Bowl XLVIII on Fox vaulted past the 2012 game (111.3 million) to become the most-watched television program ever. ...It was the first Super Bowl played in a cold weather locale in an outdoor stadium, even though the weather at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium was unseasonably balmy.

And the Oscar Goes To . . . a very satisfying appetizer for TCM's annual "31 Days of Oscar"

Ed Bark — 2014-01-30T13:56:26-06:00
The network gets extra credit this time for setting the table with And the Oscar Goes To . . ., a first-rate documentary film premiering on Saturday, Feb. 1st from 7 to 9 p.m. p.m. (central) between airings of two 1939 Best Picture nominees -- The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind (which won). ... One of those officially shunned by the Academy, playwright/screenwriter Lillian Hellman, was invited back to present the best documentary film statue at the 1977 ceremony. And the Oscar Goes To . . . includes her telling the audience that Hollywood’s power brokers “confronted the wild charges of Joe McCarthy with the force and courage of a bowl of mashed potatoes.”

Double 0 nothing: But there's no second try for BBC America's disappointingly flat Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond

Ed Bark — 2014-01-30T09:04:12-06:00
Assuming their positions: Dominic Cooper and Lara Pulver star in the miniseries Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond. BBC America photo ...But Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond too often jabbers, meanders and redundantly bed-hops its way through the formative early life and times of Bond creator Ian Fleming.

Broad City graduates from web series to winning sitcom

Ed Bark — 2014-01-22T12:54:37-06:00
But while those two got laughs from runaway chocolates on a conveyor belt, these two do an hour’s worth of housework in their bras and panties for the voyeuristic pleasure of a creep (guest star Fred Armisen) who promises to pay each of them $100. ...The show is Broad City, which originated as a web series and now premieres on Wednesday, Jan. 22nd as a full-fledged half-hour comedy with a 10-episode order for Season One.

Rake: Fox's latest import is also a Greg Kinnear first

Ed Bark — 2014-01-21T13:09:55-06:00
They head to a very posh looking party where he plays poker all night and hits the jackpot before learning that the biggest loser is a deadbeat just like him. ...In a very busy first episode, you’ll also meet Keegan’s loyal British office assistant, Leanne Zander (Tara Summers), and his “love interest,” Mikki Partridge (Bojana Novakovic), who’s also a prostitute.

Stellar Salinger documentary film makes "director's cut" premiere on PBS

Ed Bark — 2014-01-21T08:49:21-06:00
Many are still around to tell tales about him in Salinger, which has its television premiere with an elongated two-and-a-half-hour “director’s cut.” (In D-FW, the documentary film airs from 8 to 10:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 21st on KERA13.) ...But his friend became a friend no more after Hotchner “betrayed” him by inadvertently allowing Cosmopolitan magazine to change the title of one of Salinger’s short stories even though every word of it remained as written.

Reelz Channel's Hollywood Hillbillies accentuates its "Mema"

Ed Bark — 2014-01-20T10:54:11-06:00
For the purposes of Hollywood Hillbillies, though, Mema’s first words (at the dinner table, of course) are an appetizer served cold: “When I say a blessing, it brings me back to reality at what real assholes all of ya’ll are.” ...On Tuesday’s first Hollywood Hillbillies, Mema also recalls the time her septic tank backed up and she had to pee standing up so as not to get bit by fire ants.

Ambitious Klondike explores new territory for Discovery Channel

Ed Bark — 2014-01-19T11:07:15-06:00
Richard Madden, Augustus Prew are up against it as tenderfoot gold diggers in the three-part, six-hour Klondike. Discovery Channel photo ...Discovery Channel overall gets a passing grade for mounting a drama that effectively captures its period visually if not always verbally. Klondike marks a big step forward for its network, which can expect a little ratings gold as well.

Gay pride is front and center in HBO's Looking

Ed Bark — 2014-01-17T09:01:48-06:00
Paired with Girls and drawing the inevitable comparisons, HBO’s Looking has an overall happier disposition even though its three principal gay male pals for the most part are struggling personally and/or professionally. ...Not slap-happy, but comfortable in its own skin as the three principals, in the words of HBO’s show description, “explore the exciting and varied options available to a new generation of gay men seeking fulfillment in love and life.”

Fox's The Following returns -- for those still trying to follow (or fathom)

Ed Bark — 2014-01-16T14:48:23-06:00
But since actor James Purefoy attended this week’s official Fox interview session for The Following and since the actor also is shown in the above Fox photo, it’s probably safe to say that this particular cat is fully out of the bag. ...Instead he’s back to again bedevil Kevin Bacon’s still haunted Ryan Hardy, beginning with a special re-launch on Sunday, Jan. 19th immediately following the 5 p.m. (central)-starting NFC Championship Game between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers. The Following then moves to its regular Monday, 8 p.m. slot on Jan. 27th (following an “encore” of Sunday’s preview).

Lifetime's Flowers in the Attic accentuates the development of onetime Mad Men tyke

Ed Bark — 2014-01-16T11:15:47-06:00
Cathy, her older brother, Christopher (Dylan Bruce), and little tyke twins Cory and Carrie (Maxwell Kovach, Ava Telek) are assured by their mom that being sequestered in a locked upstairs room with access only to the attic will be just a brief inconvenience. ...Flowers in the Attic might be best remembered, though, as another step in the process of Kiernan Shipka becoming an actress who may very well do some great things in a career that’s still just barely begun.

Connick's the tonic as Idol tries to make it a lucky Season 13

Ed Bark — 2014-01-14T13:59:55-06:00
One Idol contestant, 17-year-old Mario Sellers of Detroit, is given a considerable boost Wednesday night during a self-standing open in which Seacrest introduces viewers to a new wrinkle, “The Chamber.” ...But none of its singers -- winners or otherwise -- has gone on to become anything but quickly forgotten. Idol still has the power of its past, with Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry, Phillip Phillips, Adam Lambert and even Kelly Pickler among the former contestants who still have either gainful or superstar careers.

Out of the vampire rut with Syfy's Bitten

Ed Bark — 2014-01-13T15:28:23-06:00
Syfy puts the “she” in werewolf with Bitten, whose put-upon heroine is more interested in mating with a chiseled adman whose name is not Don Draper. ...She’s required to both fend off advances and advance the sexual action by pulling the shower towel off a pleased McAdams after spending a good part of the night as a werewolf.

Vile Chozen soils FX

Ed Bark — 2014-01-13T11:05:22-06:00
The latter series, with Saturday Night Live’s Bobby Moynihan very loudly voicing the title character, joins FX’s spy spoof with a TV MA rating for “Graphic Violence, Explicit Sexual Activity, Crude/Indecent Language.” ...In the first two half-hours it’s Jimmy, a sub-scumbag voiced by co-executive producer Danny McBride (better known as the star of HBO’s Eastbound & Down, which ended its run last fall).

Girls returns -- and looks who's happy

Ed Bark — 2014-01-10T15:00:15-06:00
The Lena Dunham lightning rod -- in which some critics pound her for being morose, nude too much and not having enough diversity in the cast -- returns on Sunday, Jan. 12th with back-to-back episodes at 9 p.m. (central). ...This becomes especially evident at Hannah’s 25th birthday party, in which all of her friends and acquaintances gather at a bar during an ambitiously staged Episode 3.

True Detective gives HBO the next great drama it's been looking for

Ed Bark — 2014-01-10T09:37:09-06:00
This also is just what HBO needed to fend off an ongoing quality drama onslaught from Showtime, Netflix, FX, AMC, BBC America and Sundance Channel. True Detective, starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as head-butting dicks, is the kind of series that will get people talking about HBO again. ...His performance in True Detective takes McConaughey to an even higher level, whether he’s the barely-holding-it-together young detective dubbed “The Taxman” (for taking meticulous crime scene notes on a legal-sized ledger) or the ex-cop who’s found peace of sorts in a never varying, but outwardly self-destructive routine.

Fox's Enlisted earns some stripes

Ed Bark — 2014-01-09T14:35:47-06:00
They include his middle brother, Derrick (Chris Lowell), and youngest brother, Randy (Parker Young), who in Episode 2 demonstrates that he still can’t recite the plot for Toy Story without bawling his eyes out. ...Enlisted also aims at relevance in Episode 4, with Cody counseling Pete about Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome after he sequesters himself in a trailer home to get away from the constant demands of his troops.

Syfy's Helix fights a killer virus and some of its own demons

Ed Bark — 2014-01-09T12:02:44-06:00
So the former star of The Killing and Killing Lincoln is well-suited to playing dedicated, disease-fighting pathologist Alan Farrugut, who’s been left “closed off emotionally” by the brief affair his wife, Julia Walker (Kyra Zagorsky), had with his brother. ...Throughout the first two episodes of Helix (presented back-to-back Friday night), Hatake repeatedly balks at being the least bit cooperative while Farragut doggedly strives to get everyone on the same page.

IFC's The Spoils of Babylon: a grandiose, gut-busting sendup

Ed Bark — 2014-01-08T15:05:09-06:00
Watching these opening title credits roll is one of the instant pleasures of Spoils of Babylon, where obviously miniature autos and palatial estates are used to keep Jonrosh’s budget in line. ...(The younger Cynthia and Devon are played by Isabella Acres and Philip Wampler in these formative scenes after an adult Devon is shot and then staggers away to record his life story on two giant tape reels.)

Dick Wolf at the door again: this time he's spun Chicago P.D. from Chicago Fire

Ed Bark — 2014-01-07T16:32:15-06:00
In case you don’t get the picture, Hank economically brutalizes a drug dealer in Chicago P.D.’s opening scene, vowing to deposit him “at the bottom of the river” if he ever sees him soiling his city again. ...Seda does some decent emoting here while also prototypically walking the line between using Hank’s hammer and tong “techniques” or asking an arrestee to please spill the beans or you won’t get desert with your jailhouse meat loaf.

Still a keeper: Justified's back with Season 5

Ed Bark — 2014-01-07T12:06:58-06:00
One of prime-time’s most under-recognized series (still no Emmy nominations for best drama) is now forging ahead without the late Elmore Leonard, on whose writings it’s based and who died in August. ...It wasn’t bad enough the first time,” Leonard said in what turned out to be his last public appearance with the Justified cast and producers during a January 2012 session with TV critics.

ABC's Killer Women embraces Texas, films elsewhere, plays pretty dead

Ed Bark — 2014-01-06T14:37:07-06:00
Replacing ABC’s almost instantly canceled Lucky 7, this series also is reminiscent of an earlier failed effort on rival NBC. Chase, launched in fall 2010, starred Kelli Giddish (now of NBC’s Law & Order: SVU) as Texas tough Annie Frost, head of an otherwise all-male task force of elite U.. ...ABC is using that as a selling point in its on-air promotions, but the principal hands on this throttle more likely are those of Law & Order veteran Ed Zuckerman, former NBC entertainment president Ben Silverman and writer/producer Hannah Shakespeare -- which this isn’t.

Chip on his shoulder -- and in his brain: Intelligence comes to CBS

Ed Bark — 2014-01-06T11:15:13-06:00
So in this latest action hour, Gabriel Vaughn (former Lost star Josh Holloway) just happens to have an “extremely rare genetic mutation” that makes his brain the perfect breeding ground for a “super-computer microchip.” ...Besides being a techno-centric remodeling of The Six Million Dollar Man, it also filches from the James Bond movies (Gabriel gets thrown around by an over-sized Asian henchman) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (Gabriel finally stops messing around and kills him with a pistol shot).

Resonance lost and not always found: Downton Abbey undertakes Season 4

Ed Bark — 2014-01-03T15:55:45-06:00
Six months after the jolting death of her husband, Matthew (Dan Stevens), in a Season 3-ending car wreck, the oldest daughter of Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) and Cora Crawley, Countess of Grangham (Elizabeth McGovern) remains distant, deeply blue and sickly pale, too. ...Season 3’s most ballyhooed guest star (Shirley MacLaine as Countess Cora’s American mother) will be returning again this season to presumably spice things up during her verbal jousts with Lord Grantham’s flinty mother, Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith).

ABC's The Assets: the Cold War served less than lukewarm

Ed Bark — 2013-12-31T13:52:54-06:00
You can cut the tension with a Popsicle stick in The Assets, a Cold War era drama so inferior to FX’s The Americans that it should have been deported before landing on ABC. ...Aldrich/Rick weaves his way in and out, generating overall boredom instead of electricity. The Assets just can’t get untracked, lumbering through its first two hours without any sense of purpose, style or urgency.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Season finale

Ed Bark — 2013-12-24T09:42:27-06:00
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Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 11

Ed Bark — 2013-12-23T10:52:44-06:00
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Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 10

Ed Bark — 2013-12-20T11:54:01-06:00
Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon test out new Christmas toys -- before Johnny gets a little testy with a balky one -- in this Tonight Show blast from the past. ...version=3&hl=en_US">

There's much to like about Psych: The Musical

Ed Bark — 2013-12-13T11:42:19-06:00
So here comes Psych: The Musical (Sunday, Dec. 15th at 8 p.m. central), a nicely done two-hour whodunit whose signature song is “Under Santa Barbara Skies.” ...But Roday’s Shawn is the majority singer, leading the way through a buoyant opening number and later sitting down at a piano to warble, “When you’re making up a song, the words you improvise are never wrong.”

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 5

Ed Bark — 2013-12-13T10:52:37-06:00
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Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 4

Ed Bark — 2013-12-12T10:50:20-06:00
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Latest list of Golden Globe TV nominees again out-classes Screen Actors Guild choices

Ed Bark — 2013-12-12T08:59:43-06:00
The latest batch of Golden Globe nominees, released Thursday morning, includes recognition for Showtime’s Masters of Sex and Ray Donovan; Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black; BBC America’s Orphan Black, Fox’s Brooklyn Nine Nine and Starz’s Dancing on the Edge. ...The Globes showered House of Cards with a best drama series nomination and acting nods for Spacey, Robin Wright and the very deserving Corey Stoll in a supporting category.

"Event" fever: it's going to be an epidemic after success of Sound of Music Live

Ed Bark — 2013-12-11T12:59:16-06:00
This is, after all, the network that pioneered the miniseries genre with mega-hits such as Rich Man, Poor Man, Roots, The Thorn Birds and the aforementioned Winds, a mega-expensive 18-hour production that led to the even longer War and Remembrance. ...Live productions are rich in social media appeal, whether it’s NBC’s risk-taking presentation of Sound of Music, NFL/college football, awards shows or talent competition series such as NBC’s The Voice, Fox’s American Idol or ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 3

Ed Bark — 2013-12-11T11:56:09-06:00
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Rodeo Girls gets A&E's best mount -- a post-Duck Dynasty premiere

Ed Bark — 2013-12-10T13:30:27-06:00
And A&E has big plans for this one, scheduling the first hour after a new Ducky Dynasty Christmas episode Wednesday before Rodeo Girls moves to its regular Thursday slot. ...The other featured players are Barb “Wicked” West, an appealing former champ who’s been off the circuit for two years, and “hot mess” Marvel Murphy, who’s “got a wild streak in her,” according to her on-the-prowl cowboy cousin, Ty Murphy.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 2

Ed Bark — 2013-12-10T09:27:08-06:00
Come in from the cold and chill out with this very special rendition of “The 12 Days of Christmas” from a 1980s Cowboys team featuring the song stylings of Danny White, Tony Dorsett, Tony Hill, Bill Bates, Rafael Septien, Everson Walls and others. ...version=3&hl=en_US">

All the world's a stage, but Texas upstages the field on NBC's Ready For Love

Ed Bark — 2013-03-04T12:37:22-06:00
Sikorski was wowed when she saw Ernesto's video and knows she is ready to take on the full-time role as wife for a family man such as Ernesto." ...So there you have it. Ready For Love will be hosted by Giuliana and Bill Rancic, with assists from a "preeminent matchmaker," a relationship author and a professional dating coach.

History (Channel) further follows the scripts by filling Sundays with Vikings and The Bible

Ed Bark — 2013-03-01T10:01:14-06:00
But Vikings (9 to 10 p.m. central for the next 9 Sundays) turns out to be far superior to The Bible (7 to 9 p.m. central for the next five Sundays). ...Producer Burnett's first fully scripted series -- his 2004 Commando Nanny for The WB never made it to the air -- provides strong evidence that he should resume doing what no one else does better.

ABC's Red Widow: mob ties served with Russian dressing

Ed Bark — 2013-02-27T13:44:54-06:00
She's a mother of three children living the good life in Marin County by looking the other way as her husband Evan (a still bearded Anson Mount from AMC's Hell On Wheels) supports the family by exporting marijuana. ...Instead, as ABC's promos have made clear, it's only Evan who winds up dead while his youngest son, Boris (Jakob Salvati), is witness to and traumatized by the sight of three bullets entering dad's chest.

HBO's Parade's End a downer for Downton Abbey devotees

Ed Bark — 2013-02-26T13:47:24-06:00
It also wants to experiment, on a smaller scale, with the watch-it-all-at-once-if-you-want stratagem of Netflix and its first original series, House of Cards. ...On conventional TV screens, the first two parts air from 8 to 10:05 p.m. (central) on that night with parts three and four on Wednesday (8 to 10:05 p.m.) and part five on Thursday (8 to 9 p.m.)

Oscar host MacFarlane goes too far -- and also takes too long to do so

Ed Bark — 2013-02-25T11:54:49-06:00
The host's first misstep of the night was just a joke or two away, though. DJango Unchained is the "story of a man fighting to get back his woman, who's subjected to unthinkable violence," MacFarlane said. ...But five separate production numbers and/or bits ensued, including the kickoff "We Saw Your Boobs" song in which MacFarlane (with help from the Los Angeles Gay Men's Choir) ticked off a stream of films in which Oscar winners and nominees had appeared topless.

CBS' Golden Boy nicely primes the network's crime pump

Ed Bark — 2013-02-22T12:35:45-06:00
Premiering: Tuesday, Feb. 26th at 9 p.m. (central) on CBS and also airing on Tuesday, March 5th before moving to regular Friday, 8 p.m. slot o March 8th. ...The task force's other principal members are Arroyo's hard-knocks partner, Deborah McKenzie (Bonnie Somerville), and big lug Joe Diaco (Holt McCallany), who prides himself on getting prime tickets to big events like The Book of Mormon and Knicks games.

CW's Cult aggressively defies convention -- and explanation

Ed Bark — 2013-02-19T08:35:28-06:00
This almost certainly is a reference to fave rave producer Joss Whedon and his science-fiction series Dollhouse, which premiered in February 2009 and spilled over into the following fall season despite its anemic ratings. ...The CW has ordered 13 hours of Cult, which has the potential to attract a cult following on a network whose most successful series (The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Arrow) in reality have little more than cult followings.

National Geo's Killing Lincoln lacks a firm pulse

Ed Bark — 2013-02-14T14:17:06-06:00
And on the Sunday before that they're going to murder him again in Killing Lincoln, which also serves as National Geographic Channel's first original scripted drama. ...Campbell, who got plugged as a politician on AMC's The Killing, is in a no-win situation when compared to Daniel Day Lewis' bravura big-screen performance as Lincoln.

Yep, it's her again. Beyonce tells her story her way in HBO's Life Is But A Dream

Ed Bark — 2013-02-13T11:27:06-06:00
Intercut with some typically showy stage performances in addition to powerful off-stage vocals, the film portrays Beyonce as a willful yet vulnerable artist who lets the world know that "I'm a human being. ...Still, it's a watchable film for those who just can't get enough of a pop music jewel to behold who's still just 31 and likely not even in her prime yet.

ABC's Zero Hour adds up to barely that

Ed Bark — 2013-02-12T05:39:40-06:00
Zero Hour further sets up its cockamamie premise with a very ponderous 1938 Nazi Germany sequence in which priests and other resistors are sent to kingdom come after some mysterious events get set in motion. ..."I gotta go," he says before heading off to the small offices of Modern Skeptic magazine, which he publishes while preaching the guiding principles of "inductive reasoning" to young staffers Rachel Lewis and Arron Martin (Addison Timlin, Scott Michael Foster).

Having a little funster with I'm Dickens . . . He's Fenster

Ed Bark — 2013-02-07T13:41:59-06:00
The accompanying liner notes for Dickens/Fenster praise it as a before-its-time classic that rallied in the ratings too late to get beyond its 32-episode Season 1. ...In the "Father Image" episode, he loudly tries to juggle Arch's other arriving girlfriends while his stewardess fiancee, Joan (Burstyn), is in a very nearby bedroom taking an inordinate amount of time to put on some of Harry's wife's cologne.

The Super Bowl is still ratings rocket fuel for any network that has it (Ask CBS)

Ed Bark — 2013-02-07T09:54:40-06:00
The network now is averaging 4 million viewers in the 18-to-49 age range, knocking a slumping NBC (3.5 million) into second place for the first time this season. ...But without Sunday Night Football and with no other current hits on its schedule, the Peacock probably will end up in third place behind Fox at the close of this season.

A look at Netflix's revolutionary House of Cards -- based on watching all 13 Season 1 episodes

Ed Bark — 2013-02-06T10:49:08-06:00
TV critics were provided with the first two episodes before that date, and many of the early, largely favorable reviews are based on what amounts to a sneak peek of this twisting, turning Washington, D.C.-based serial drama. ...Instead he's double-crossed and passed over, with the new president deeming him more valuable as a congressional deal-maker with the moxie to ram through a big education reform bill in the first 100 days of the Walker administration.

New Jennifer Love Hewitt video again sells sex -- and The Client List

Ed Bark — 2013-02-05T12:09:03-06:00
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Super Bowl XLVII ranks III on all-time list while post-game Elementary falls into late-starting ratings ditch

Ed Bark — 2013-02-04T15:12:12-06:00
The in-game delay and a post-game show pushed the start of the network's tagalong entertainment attraction -- a new episode of the first-year series Elementary -- completely out of Sunday's prime-time window. Starting at 10:11 p.m. central, it averaged 20.8 viewers in falling dramatically from last year's haul for NBC's The Voice (37.6 million).

TNT's Monday Mornings resuscitates the hospital series genre

Ed Bark — 2013-01-30T16:19:52-06:00
In recent seasons, the list of deceased, short-lived doctor hours includes CBS' Miami Medical, Three Rivers and A Gifted Man; NBC's Mercy, Trauma and Saving Hope; ABC's Off the Map and Combat Hospital; Fox's Mental and The Mob Doctor and TNT's Hawthorne, the only one to survive beyond a single season. ...Kelley also seems to have curbed his penchant for absurdities, at least in the early going. Monday Mornings sometimes relies too insistently on clockwork-like mood music, although the Stones' "Gimme Shelter" is welcome anytime -- and closes out Monday's Episode 1.

NBC's Do No Harm does no harm if you're first medicated into unconsciousness

Ed Bark — 2013-01-29T12:17:16-06:00
Do No Harm also throws in layman therapist Will Hayes (the always serviceable John Carroll Lynch), who drops in and out to offer advice on the order of, "When you embrace the Ian in you, you will know how to fix this." ...But perhaps never more so than in an Episode 2 scene that finds Price (impersonating Cole) urging the angry father of a seriously ill little girl to blow off steam by throwing a vase of flowers at a nursing station desk.

The Americans takes FX to the head of prime-time's class

Ed Bark — 2013-01-28T09:11:17-06:00
Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys are cloak and dagger KGB spies who struggle with allegiances and an arranged marriage in The Americans. ...Set in 1981 at the outset of Ronald Reagan's presidency, this is the rich-in-intrigue saga of KGB spies Elizabeth and Philip Jennings (Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys), who have been masquerading as husband and wife since 1965.

Hagman still a lifesaver in early Season 2 episodes of TNT's Dallas

Ed Bark — 2013-01-25T10:06:55-06:00
But now every sighting is something of an event as TNT's Dallas fires up a 15-episode sophomore year with back-to back episodes on Monday, Jan. 28th (8 to 10 p.m. central). ...Those wheels keep turning in the early going, with Pamela angling for a 30 percent share of Christopher's fledgling methane company while John Ross plots to screw one and all with help from his daddy.

Spartacus: War of the Damned ready for its last stabs at gory glory

Ed Bark — 2013-01-23T10:44:21-06:00
The Starz network's most popular original series remains gratuitously gruesome to behold, but not as much crazed campy fun in its climactic thrusts. Spartacus: War of the Damned (Friday, Jan. 25th at 8 p.m. central) goes about its business in a brutal, business-like way. ...Spartacus in fact is what it is -- a broadly drawn, visceral feast of blood, guts, lust and lower-rung language. War of the Damned doesn't spare any of it en route to its no doubt hellish conclusion.

Rise of the Drones a sky-high cautionary tale from Nova

Ed Bark — 2013-01-22T12:41:04-06:00
This is mainly because a Drone's remote control pilot -- they're initially trained with X Box video game controllers -- basically is "looking through a soda straw" during the final process of zeroing in. ...Rise of the Drones isn't an alarmist hour, but does raise some caution flags in addition to showing a little footage from Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

Ex-Lost star Dominic Monaghan blisses out in BBC America's Wild Things

Ed Bark — 2013-01-21T15:47:59-06:00
He's first seen popping his head from the murky waters of Vietnam's Crocodile Lake in BBC America's Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan. ..."These little droplets of sweat spell adrenalin," Monaghan says while pausing to grab a ground-level Monocle Cobra by its tail during the opening episode's search for those nasty water bugs.

Ripper Street another reason to give BBC America a test drive

Ed Bark — 2013-01-18T16:46:41-06:00
Their third wheel is former American Pinkerton detective Homer Jackson (Adam Rothenberg), who knows his way around a bare bones autopsy slab and is on the run from an undisclosed "incident." ...Its oft-grimy 1899 setting is effectively re-created and as such is a nice companion piece to BBC America's Copper, which is set in 1860s New York City and will have a second season.

Lance & Oprah take the silver in all-time OWN ratings

Ed Bark — 2013-01-18T15:50:20-06:00
In the cable TV network universe Thursday night, OWN's initial Lance/Oprah telecast was beaten in total viewers by USA network's 7 p.m. repeat of NCIS (3.7 million), USA's new episode of its original drama series Suits (3.6 million) and TNT's Los Angeles Lakers-Miami Heat game (also 3.6 million). Lance/Oprah outdrew one program on the Big 4 broadcast networks -- NBC's new episode of the sure-to-be-canceled 1600 Penn sitcom (3.0 million viewers).

Fox's The Following hopes to stake its bloody claim

Ed Bark — 2013-01-18T09:13:17-06:00
Fox therefore is standing firmly behind The Following, billed as an "epic story of good versus evil" pitting a psychologically and physically scarred former FBI agent against an English professor turned serial killer whose "art" is drawn from the works of Edgar Allan Poe. ...So I'm somewhat hooked for the time being, although more than a little guiltily so. The Following is a grisly, ghoulish turn of events for Fox, which hopes to generate some electricity by glomming onto some of the shock values of its cable sister FX.

Nerdy but nice: TBS offers up King of the Nerds competition

Ed Bark — 2013-01-17T11:55:21-06:00
Revenge of the Nerds movies mainstay Robert Carradine seems a bit embarrassed, or maybe stunned, to be co-hosting a latter day "reality competition" series among real-life dweebs. ...The 11 designated nerds, identified by first names only, gather at the well-appointed Nerdvana headquarters to compete for a $100,000 grand prize and the right to occupy the prestigious Throne of Games.

FX's Legit is crudely mined comedy gold

Ed Bark — 2013-01-16T15:32:06-06:00
Set in L.A. and starring Australian comic Jim Jefferies, Legit has a chance to rival FX's Louie in terms of bald-faced boldness and swervy, uniquely individual takes on being a semi-sad sack male. ...So it's off to a brothel for the three of them, with Billy's mom Janice (Mindy Sterling), apoplectic and dad Walter (a so far scantly used John Ratzenberger) hoping to blank it all out.

Comedy Central's Kroll Show no droll show

Ed Bark — 2013-01-15T14:36:10-06:00
But the network struck gold over the past summer with Workaholics, a Stooge redux that Comedy Central says was the "highest-rated series in its timeslot across all of television" with 18-to-34-year-old males. ...This time they have a likely new soul mate in Kroll Show, which follows at 9:30 p.m. and stars man of many guises Nick Kroll (Ruxin on FX's The League).

CW's The Carrie Diaries takes a Sex and the City time trip

Ed Bark — 2013-01-14T11:59:00-06:00
Recovering from the recent cancer death of her mother, Carrie (AnnaSophia Robb) lives in bland suburban Connecticut with her almost painfully understanding father, Tom (Matt Letscher), and a bratty 14-year-old sister named Dorrit (Stefania Owen). ...AnnaSophia Robb is appealing enough in the title role, but Monday's first episode (being repeated immediately after at 8 p.m. central) starts to sag from all the CW-ian title character narration and overall pop tune heaviness.

TLC hopes to Charlie Hustle viewers with Pete Rose: Hits & Mrs

Ed Bark — 2013-01-11T17:18:24-06:00
The 71-year-old lightning rod, still ineligible for the Hall of Fame after betting on baseball as player-manager of the Cincinnati Reds, is playing a notably different game with the six-episode Pete Rose: Hits & Mrs. ...Rose whacked out an all-time record 4,256 hits during his playing days. Hits & Mrs. is at best a bloop single for a man who's otherwise doing all right for himself in the arms of a busty, seemingly intelligent bombshell who also gets a kick out of his overall coarseness.

HBO's Girls still a gift in plain wrapping

Ed Bark — 2013-01-10T13:36:29-06:00
Returning on Sunday, Jan. 13th at 8 p.m. central, Girls continues to be what Sex and the City never was. ...For a good part of Episode 3, Hannah sports a horrid, see-through yellow mesh tank top that finds its way onto her during a cocaine-fueled wardrobe swap at a hyperkinetic dance club.

Banshee increases Cinemax's original drama series output, but does little else

Ed Bark — 2013-01-09T10:14:13-06:00
Premiering Friday, Jan. 11th as Cinemax's third original scripted drama series (following Strike Back and Hunted), this 10-episode offering has something for everyone whose tastes are in sync with Ball's description of its locale. ...His identity is then stolen by the new Lucas Hood, whose ex-lover and partner in crime is now married with two kids and living under the assumed name of Carrie Hopewell (Ivana Milicevic) with her district attorney husband Gordon (Rus Blackwell).

Celebrities reading mean tweets on Kimmel: hoo hah!!!

Ed Bark — 2013-01-09T09:37:19-06:00
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Cougar Town joins Conan in the TBS shuffle

Ed Bark — 2013-01-08T12:50:42-06:00
By moving from ABC to TBS for Season 4, Cougar Town automatically ranks as that network's funniest half-hour scripted comedy in a sea of Men at Work, Sullivan & Son and Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse. ...The other members of Cougar Town's Gulfhaven, Florida menagerie are ditzy, showy Laurie Keller (Busy Phillips), Jules' grown son, Travis (Dan Byrd), and her ex-husband Bobby (Brian Van Holt), an accomplished beer drinker who still lives on his boat.

FX's Justified remains on target as Season 4 marks its territory

Ed Bark — 2013-01-07T13:12:28-06:00
Tuesday's return is buoyed by a 30-year-old cold case and the arrival in town of a tent preacher whose conversion rate is threatening the drug-dealing livelihood of ne'er-do-well Boyd Crowder (series regular Walton Goggins). ...Perfectly delivered lines like that keep ringing the bell in Justified, which can be violent at times but not in the excessive mode of two other current FX dramas -- American Horror Story and Sons of Anarchy.

NBC's new Deception not a notable exception

Ed Bark — 2013-01-04T14:11:59-06:00
Tate Donovan, who plowed similar terrain in Damages, plays disaffected oldest son Edward Bowers while his playboy kid brother Julian (Wes Brown) strives to rekindle the somethin' somethin' he once had with the young Locasto. ...And while Deception doesn't rise anywhere close to the level of distinguished TV, it is notable for being the second broadcast network drama series this season with an African-American woman in the lead.

Downton Abbey gives PBS a third big rush

Ed Bark — 2013-01-04T10:52:22-06:00
MacLaine, guest-starring as the American mother of Cora, Countess of Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern), is first sighted just after the 43-minute mark of Downton's two-hour, Sunday, Jan. 6th premiere (8 p.m. central on KERA13). ...But their deep wounds are felt in kind, particularly during a wrenching Part 4 (Sunday, Jan. 27th) that takes Downton to what may be its greatest ever dramatic heights at Season 3's midpoint.

Big Al and his Al Jazeera America deal

Ed Bark — 2013-01-03T13:42:33-06:00
In its dying months, Current sought to position itself to the left of even MSNBC with a prime-time roster of personalities ranging from deposed CNN host and former disgraced New York governor Eliot Spitzer to ex-Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, who announced her resignation from the network when the sale to Al Jazeera was announced. ...That would have been an even starker transition from far left to far right, although Beck at least initially would have attracted an appreciably larger following than Current ever had. The New York Times reported that "on a typical night last year, just 42,000 people watched their (Current's) shows."

The self-inflicted debasing of Anderson Cooper (and his credibility)

Ed Bark — 2013-01-02T13:48:12-06:00
CNN proudly presented the clown prince of American TV journalism making a spectacle of himself on New Year's Eve in midst of Kathy Griffin, MC Hammer and "Si" of Gangnam Style fame. Photo: Ed Bark ...But he keeps putting himself in this position year after year with seemingly no regard as to how viewers might perceive him the next time he affixes a sober countenance to report from scenes of national tragedies or disasters.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas: Finale

Ed Bark — 2012-12-21T09:30:11-06:00
hl=en_US&version=3">Late Night with Jimmy Fallon showcased the man himself humming merrily through seasonal standards.

Crix top picks on HitFix

Ed Bark — 2012-12-19T12:30:28-06:00
Of the four TV attractions that made my Top 10 but not the consensus, Justified finished just out of the money in the 11th spot. Treme was 20th, The Middle 23rd and The Dust Bowl 40th. Although I really don't think a lot of writers read the fine print indicating that all TV shows were eligible, not just series. Dust Bowl, the latest Ken Burns documentary film, ran for four hours on two nights.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas: Episode 8

Ed Bark — 2012-12-19T09:26:47-06:00
The 1986 Dallas Cowboys had a very un-merry time of it, finishing 7-9 after a 6-2 start en route to the team's first losing season since 1965. But they did hang together long enough to put together this oddly charming "Christmas In Dallas" music video, featuring the likes of Danny White, Herschel Walker, Bill Bates, Eugene "The Hitting Machine" Lockhart and a dozen or so other teammates.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas: Episode 7

Ed Bark — 2012-12-18T14:28:31-06:00
Yes, take it from pitchman George Fenneman, who used to be Groucho Marx's second banana on his old comedy quiz show, You Bet Your Life. In the below spot, Fenneman pockets a little extra Christmas cash by touting the unbeatable combination of holiday stencils and Glass Wax.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas: Episode 6

Ed Bark — 2012-12-17T13:15:13-06:00
Louis Armstrong's chuckling narration of "The Night Before Christmas" is still the best there's ever been. Here it's accompanied by old timey animation from HBO's terrific 2004 half-hour special 'Twas the Night.

HBO's Picture Paris serves a main course of Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Ed Bark — 2012-12-17T11:38:46-06:00
The most gainful post-Seinfeld career is still being enjoyed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who had a nice run in CBS' The New Adventures of Old Christine and now is rolling along with her Emmy-winning role in HBO's Veep. The half-hour HBO film Picture Paris (premiering Monday, Dec. 17th at 8 p.m. central) allows Louis-Dreyfus to tap her inner Woody Allen in tandem with husband Brad Hall, who wrote and directed it. Mais oui, there's also a little American Horror Story in play here.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas: Episode 5

Ed Bark — 2012-12-14T17:51:22-06:00
Young and old alike: Put your pedals to the metal and see if you can possibly keep pace with this super-peppy 2010 Brave Combo rendition of "Jingle Bells." ...

NBC's 1600 Penn leaves a ring around the Oval Office

Ed Bark — 2012-12-14T08:51:45-06:00
Bill Pullman (previously the president in Independence Day) and Jenna Elfman (Dharma & Greg) are the name brand stars as President Dale Gilchrist and First Lady Emily Nash Gilchrist, whom he married after the mother of his four kids died. ...This seems more than a little counter-productive, although Gad as Skip conceivably could put together a little post-1600 Penn disclaimer in which he tells viewers, "Don't be like me.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas: Episode 4

Ed Bark — 2012-12-13T17:51:23-06:00
Comedy Central's 2012 Night of Too Many Stars telethon to raise funds for autism research included an auction for a family Christmas photo with Al Pacino. ...Louis CK opened the bidding, joked around and eventually made merry merry with the man himself.

Globes TV nominations get Girls/Girl crazy

Ed Bark — 2012-12-13T12:35:39-06:00
ABC's freshman drama Nashville also broke through with two acting nominations while NBC's Smash got a surprise nod as one of the five nominees in the "Best Television Series -- Comedy or Musical" category. Girls was the only other first-year series to make that list while Newsroom is the lone newcomer in the best drama series category. ...HBO had the most overall TV nominations with 17 while Season 2 of Homeland led arch rival Showtime's list of seven nominees after winning the last time as best drama series.

TNT unveils the first of Hagman's last hurrahs in Episodes 1 & 2 of Dallas' second season

Ed Bark — 2012-12-13T10:16:40-06:00
In what's sure to resonate as a classic and perfectly played J.R. moment. he moves in behind his son while the two of them watch Bobby Ewing's (Patrick Duffy) adopted son Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe) kiss John Ross's ex-girlfriend, Elena Ramos (Jordana Brewster). ...NOTED IN PASSING -- John Ross gives a little shout-out to the local daily in an early Episode 1 scene that finds him blackmailing a trucking company owner after a bedroom romp with his soon-to-married kiddo.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas: Episode 3

Ed Bark — 2012-12-12T13:07:05-06:00
The usually straight shootin' King of the Cowboys assured kids that a miniature pop-up gun in a white cowboy hat is "your secret weapon, even when they think you're unarmed." Maybe it's not all that outlandish for those who recall the short-lived 1959 CBS western series Hotel De Pardee.

All my son wants for Christmas is . . . well, let's hope not

Ed Bark — 2012-12-11T15:20:33-06:00
Still, the Comedy Central shop's generous offer of a free "Tight Butthole" foam hand with one of the above t shirt purchases can't quite top the all-time worst toy ever concocted for Christmas giving. ... Even if the damned thing in pristine condition likely would now sell for at least $200 at Comic-Con.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas: Episode 2

Ed Bark — 2012-12-11T12:21:46-06:00
Hark, it's Bing and Frank in a 1957 ABC Christmas special that originally aired in black and white on ABC. ...Many Christmases later, the richly appointed color version was discovered and included in a 2010 DVD collection titled Bing Crosby: Volume Two -- The Christmas Specials.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas: Episode 1

Ed Bark — 2012-12-10T16:14:46-06:00
Day 1 brings this nifty little "Santa Baby" number from the anchor team for San Antonio's 6:30 p.m. ... WFAA8 increasingly is bullish on comedy news, but any of the local morning teams could make this work for them.

Have yourself a merry little 12 Disasters of Christmas

Ed Bark — 2012-12-06T14:07:01-06:00
In the early minutes of 12 Disasters, good ol' grandma is impaled by a giant lethal "ice spear" from above before an inflatable Santa Claus and Frosty are also taken out. ...But there's a little pulling power, too, with Joseph and Jacey in a desperate search for the remaining hidden rings after finally buying into the apocalyptic visions of an old coot named Grant (Donnelly Rhodes).

Zucker is CNN's new leading man after long up-and-down career at NBC

Ed Bark — 2012-11-29T12:07:39-06:00
Phil Kent, chairman and CEO of CNN's parent company, Turner Broadcasting System, emphasized that the NBC broadcast network's ratings free-fall during Zucker's tenure are beside the point in terms of what he brings to CNN. ..."It's not lost on any of us that occasionally HLN's (CNN's Headline News channel) morning show beats CNN's morning show," Kent said before lauding Zucker as "one of the great innovators in that daypart."

Accept no substitutes: Television often leaves its stars with one role above all

Ed Bark — 2012-11-27T13:34:56-06:00
But he'll always be diabolical J.R. in the public's mind while all of Barbara Eden's obits someday will be topped by her ties to a sexy genie named Jeannie. ...CARROLL O'CONNOR -- We'll always think of him first and foremost as Archie Bunker, although he also had a long run as Southern-fried Sheriff Bill Gillespie in the TV series version of In the Heat of the Night.

An appreciation: Larry Hagman (Sept. 21, 1931 to Nov. 23, 2012)

Ed Bark — 2012-11-24T12:23:03-06:00
A lot of actors owe a lot of their money to Hagman's salary holdout between the time J.R. got shot to when the world learned who plugged him on the night of Nov. ...The end of the original Dallas, after 13 seasons (seven of them in prime-time's Top 10), found Hagman ready to move on and be someone other than the broadly drawn J.R.

Fall season report card: hits & misses among broadcast network newcomers

Ed Bark — 2012-11-21T10:36:07-06:00
As the November "sweeps" ratings period ends and holiday season repeats kick in, let's look at the fates of the new fall series on ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and The CW. ...Vegas -- also basking in full-season pickup but needs to do a bit better following potent NCIS: Los Angeles on Tuesdays.

Lifetime's Liz & Dick a festival of ick

Ed Bark — 2012-11-20T08:29:38-06:00
The finished product, with New Zealand actor Grant Bowler (True Blood, Ugly Betty) along for the ride as Richard Burton, is basically a collection of spliced-together snippets in which the two boozy principals live lavishly, insult one another, make up, rinse and repeat. ...As the movie depicts it, Taylor had no interest in the infatuated Burton until he climbed aboard during a love scene and lengthily kissed her into submission. Liz & Dick then makes sport of aides' efforts to hide their affair from the two jilted spouses, resorting to jaunty Muzak while Sybil and Eddie are diverted from the two stars' trailers.

Ken Burns' latest film: dust to dust -- and more dust

Ed Bark — 2012-11-16T13:12:41-06:00
The drought-stricken, spirit-sapping Great Plains of the 1930s get the lyrical and learned Burns treatment in a two-parter premiering on Sunday, Nov. 18th and concluding the following night (at 7 p.m. central on KERA13 in D-FW). ...Monday's Part 2 includes a near-magical picture of FDR, whose triumphant visit to Amarillo near the end of the 1930s drew a crowd of more than 200,000 in addition to a "World's Largest Marching Band" assembled for the occasion.

Satanic Stones of yore get their ya-ya's out in HBO's evocative Crossfire Hurricane

Ed Bark — 2012-11-15T10:22:34-06:00
Crossfire Hurricane, which draws its title from a lyric in "Jumping Jack Flash," is also in some ways a reunion among the surviving Stones and charter member Brian Jones, whose life ended at the bottom of a swimming pool on July 3,1969. ...A great early version of "It's All Over Now" is performed within the relatively intimate confines of a TV studio before a group of delirious fans. Crossfire also brings home the sheer enormity of the Stones' Hyde Park concert (which became a requiem for Jones) and the foreboding free performance at Altamont, where the Hells Angels provided security during the course of stabbing a rowdy concert-goer to death.

Rockin' the past with History network's "epic" Mankind

Ed Bark — 2012-11-12T13:18:43-06:00
Stuck on hyper-drive and stuffed with hyperbole, Mankind: The Story of All of Us is history a-go-go from a programmer that used to obey a few speed limits. ...He's also relatively calm compared to the likes of former Navy SEAL Richard "Mack" Machowicz, who acts and looks as though he'd be more than happy to re-arm himself and join the Spartans in their battle to repel the rampaging Persians.

CMT's Big Texas Heat is happily thick with corpulent cops

Ed Bark — 2012-11-09T13:57:18-06:00
Although just a dot on the East Texas map, Trinity (pop. 2,697) remains spacious enough to encase the super-corpulent cops of CMT's Big Texas Heat. ...The other members of Trinity's finest are also overweight, even though pudgy young officer Justin Sikes is nicknamed "Little Man" because he's not quite a full-blown porker yet.

Hitting a few beats: TBS' Wedding Band

Ed Bark — 2012-11-09T08:09:21-06:00
The former "Hollywood Madam," who served a 37-month sentence for "pandering" until her release in September 1999, is the focus of HBO's notably stuporous Heidi Fleiss: The Would-Be Madam of Crystal. ...Filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, earlier responsible for the likes of Inside Deep Throat and The Eyes of Tammy Faye, follow a none-too-steady Fleiss on her quest to establish a thriving "Stud Farm" on 60 acres of property that she managed to buy dirt cheap.

Sawyer, Rove, Trump: An election night to remember

Ed Bark — 2012-11-07T13:42:29-06:00
Every election night has its moments, but this one was notable for the oddities contributed by ABC, Fox News Channel and NBC anchor Brian Williams with a searing critique of his network's billionaire embarrassment. ...An "All-Star" edition of Trump's Celebrity Apprentice is set to premiere March 3rd on NBC, occupying two hours of the network's prime-time Sunday real estate for four weeks before downsizing to one-hour episodes on March 31st.

And the winner is . . .

Ed Bark — 2012-11-06T10:58:06-06:00
Will any of the other handful of "battleground states" -- Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Florida, etc., -- have different outcomes than both of these maps project? And will any of the networks make a projection they're later forced to take back?

SEAL Team Six: a mini-"controversy" on a minor network

Ed Bark — 2012-11-01T15:34:19-05:00
After all, it's premiering just two days before the presidential election (Sunday, Nov. 4th at 7 p.m. central) and supposedly was belatedly re-cut in order to ramp up the role of President Obama via archival news footage. ...Originally planned as a feature film titled Code Name: Geronimo (the moniker give bin Laden by those out to kill him), SEAL Team Six comes from The Weinstein Company and its Obama-backing chieftain, Harvey Weinstein.

Back to the drawling board with ABC's Malibu Country

Ed Bark — 2012-11-01T08:25:10-05:00
Instead it's on ABC, paired with Tim Allen's Last Man Standing in an effort to at least partially rebuild the network's old laff track-spiked TGIF comedy franchise. ...Saucy Reba and a tart-tongued Tomlin -- "She said you're a horn dog just like your daddy" -- are for the most part a sad turn of events in Malibu Country.

Strange but true: Long-dormant Peacock still leading new season among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds

Ed Bark — 2012-10-24T08:58:06-05:00
Revolution and The Voice have punched up the Peacock's 18-to-49 ratings through first four weeks of new season. NBC photos ...This time around, two-hour performance editions of The Voice are clubbing ABC's Dancing with the Stars among 18-to-49-year-olds before the new serial drama Revolution holds steady against ABC's still potent Castle.

Commie pinko update -- from righteous Twitter debate analysts who just know I'm one of those

Ed Bark — 2012-10-23T08:17:23-05:00
John Beakley (also unheard from in Debates 1 and 2) had a thought: "Stick to reviewing tv shows with fluff, you are out of your league on big boy politics." ...On Monday night, the conservative founder and president of the Media Research Center tweeted, "It's important for conservatives to acknowledge this: Whatever his biases, and he has biases, Schieffer didn't show them tonight.

HBO's The Girl puts a big hitch in the Hitchcock legend

Ed Bark — 2012-10-19T13:53:59-05:00
That film included a rape scene at the hands of Sean Connery, who is seen only briefly from the back and is played by an unbilled actor. The Girl's epilogue, as does Spotto's book, hail Marnie as the sagging Hitchcock's last "masterpiece." ...Hedren, mother of actress Melanie Griffith (who's portrayed as a little girl in the film), was held to her seven-year contract by Hitchcock after refusing to submit sexually to him however and whenever he wanted.

HGTV's Home Strange Home is a sweet little series

Ed Bark — 2012-10-19T09:01:30-05:00
Live and let live on HGTV's Home Strange Home, where retired neurosurgeon Lonnie Hammargren of Las Vegas plans to remain on site with his remains in a replica of an Egyptian tomb. ...After launching as a special in November 2011, HSH returns to HGTV Friday (Oct. 19th at 8 p.m. central) as an eight-episode weekly series produced by Dallas-based AMS Pictures.

Cinemax's Hunted offers quantum espionage

Ed Bark — 2012-10-18T13:39:15-05:00
When not sneaking around -- or engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat on a side trip -- she regularly flashes back to the day her mother was murdered at a gas station while eight-year-old Sam watched in horror. ...Cinemax, HBO's longtime sister network, is striving to make a mark with its own latter day wave of original series. Strike Back was the first and Banshee (from Six Feet Under/True Blood creator Alan Ball) is set for a January 2013 premiere.

HBO's Ethel a loving, evocative tribute without warts and all

Ed Bark — 2012-10-17T15:02:23-05:00
So her memories of him are solely via film, photos and recollections from her siblings and mother, who remains a reluctant, short-spoken but generally good-natured first-hand witness to it all. ...Rory makes a game try near film's end after Ethel says of her children (save for Douglas), "It really is a great tribute to Daddy that you've all done so many wonderful things."

FX's American Horror Story: Asylum is no more than scary bad

Ed Bark — 2012-10-16T09:43:00-05:00
As they did with the once borderline great series Nip/Tuck, co-creators/executive producers Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk have proved incapable of resisting their worst impulses. Nip/Tuck deteriorated into a gratuitous, absurd mess. Asylum goes several steps beyond in its seeming determination to be nothing more than a very sick and twisted gore-fest laying waste to one of the easier punching bags on earth -- the Catholic Church. ...Jessica Lange, who won an Emmy as warped Constance in the first AHS, returns as the new character Sister Jude, a Satanic nun running a home for the insane called Briarcliff Manor. Asylum is mostly set in 1964, which might as well be the Dark Ages in terms of the brutalization endorsed within these walls.

Prescribing Mamie Gummer -- in Emily Owens, M.D.

Ed Bark — 2012-10-15T09:31:05-05:00
Emily is constantly in motion and on-camera, whether shouldering a rather preposterous load of cases -- for a spanking new intern at least -- or striving to overcome awkward relationships with a growing number of Memorial staffers. ...So if this is the second coming of Meryl Streep, then Emily Owens, M.D. might well be remembered as the first big coming out party for Mamie Gummer's obvious talents.

AMC's The Walking Dead: more Sundays bloody Sundays

Ed Bark — 2012-10-12T13:48:25-05:00
The Walking Dead, revving up Season 3 in two eight-episode installments, also draws roughly double the audience for AMC's two other main events, Mad Men and Breaking Bad. ...And in truth, the profits being made from Walking Dead may in some ways have served to underwrite extra episodes and longer lives for both Mad Men and Breaking Bad.

Biden's interruptive merriment the take away talking point of veep debate

Ed Bark — 2012-10-12T08:56:17-05:00
Oftentimes over-compensating for the boss man's self-acknowledged "bad night" last week, Vice President Joe Biden made his mere omni-presence the singular issue of Thursday night's veep candidate debate with comparative kiddo Paul Ryan. ...And in fact he may have scored his biggest points by interrupting one of Biden's multi-interruptions to tell the veep that viewers would be better served if they'd stop interrupting each other.

Key and Peele presents the East/West Collegiate Bowl

Ed Bark — 2012-10-11T12:31:28-05:00
Let's meet the players, including Penn State's Hingle McCringleberry, after a brief opening commercial that you'll be glad you sat through. ...
Key and Peele
Get More: Comedy Central,Funny Videos,Funny TV Shows

Come again? This time it's The CW's turn with Beauty and the Beast

Ed Bark — 2012-10-10T10:18:54-05:00
ABC ordered a Beauty and the Beast pilot for this season, but passed on what it called a "fantastical re-imagining of the classic fairy tale set in a mythical, dangerous world wherein a beautiful and tough princess discovers an unlikely connection with a mysterious beast." ...So off we go toward more weekly bouts with forbidden love and unsolved crimes. Beauty and the Beast won't hurt all that much to watch, but the dialogue and plot stretches can add up to a lot of little ows.

NBC's Chicago Fire not yet burning brightly but rises above flame-out

Ed Bark — 2012-10-09T15:30:20-05:00
Meanwhile, tormented hose-wielder Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) is injecting something into his upper arm from week to week with help from lesbian paramedic Leslie Shay (Lauren German), who keeps vowing to stop supplying him. ...Other weekly characters include firm but fair battalion chief Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker); veteran fireman Christopher Herrmann (David Eisenberg); rookie firefighter Peter Mills (Charlie Barnett) and paramedic Gabriella Dawson (Monica Raymund), who retains a case of the slow, simmering hots for Casey.

Singing its praises: ABC's Nashville is fall's best newcomer

Ed Bark — 2012-10-09T07:21:05-05:00
How about if she cancels her upcoming tour and instead serves as an opening act for country music's hottest new sensation, willful, spoiled, busty Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere from NBC's Heroes)? ...That's because Rayna and her longtime band leader, Deacon Claybourne (Charles Esten), were -- as a country song title might put it -- "Meant For Each Other, But It Wasn't To Be."

CW's Arrow has a little something in its quiver

Ed Bark — 2012-10-08T15:06:54-05:00
He had been on a small storm-tossed boat with a handful of passengers, including his tycoon father (Jamey Sheridan dropping in from vice presidential duties on Homeland) and the sister of Dinah "Laurel" Lance (Katie Cassidy), on whom he'd been cheating. ...Even if the series more likely than not will settle into an oft-trod TV regimen of dispatching a bad guy per week while peeling away more layers of "mythology" regarding the Queen family's previous bad deeds.

Lifetime's Steel Magnolias is both distinctly different, faithful to original

Ed Bark — 2012-10-04T13:58:22-05:00
The gimmick, if you can call it that, finds an all-black cast stepping into the small town Louisiana roles played a generation ago by the likes of Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis, Daryl Hannah, Tom Skerritt, Sam Shepard and Dylan McDermott. ...Shelby, a diabetic with a chronic kidney condition, is the only daughter of M'Lynn (Queen Latifah/Field). Magnolias begins on the eve of her marriage to Jackson (Tory Kittles/McDermott), a sensitive lawyer who remains steadfastly in love with headstrong Shelby after learning that having any children might well be dangerous to her well-being.

Debate No. 1: Romney puts on a show; Obama shows he's not invincible

Ed Bark — 2012-10-04T07:11:15-05:00
In the end, President Obama had significantly more speaking time than Mitt Romney, but didn't make his words count as much during Wednesday's first of three debates between the two. Photo: Ed Bark ...Moderator Lehrer is being ripped by some for being a laissez faire moderator who let both candidates get away with too much cross-talk while not rebutting them with his own sharp questions.

Oscar throws a curve, naming Seth MacFarlane as latest host

Ed Bark — 2012-10-01T12:16:15-05:00
MacFarlane, who also made his feature film directorial debut this summer with the box office hit Ted, said it's an "overwhelming privilege" to host the Oscars, scheduled for Feb. 24th on ABC. "My thoughts about hearing the news were, one, I will do my utmost to live up to the high standards set forth by my predecessors; and, two, I hope they don't find out I hosted the Charlie Sheen roast."

New seasons for Showtime's Sunday night knockout punches -- Homeland/Dexter

Ed Bark — 2012-09-28T15:28:36-05:00
Dexter, now on the cusp of its seventh season, left its title character aghast when his sister, Debra, witnessed him ritually plunging a knife into killer Travis Marshall. ...Although Dexter appeared to be running out of steam last season, the opening hour believably rejuvenates Showtime's longest-running and most-watched drama hour.

ABC's congealed 666 Park Avenue needs to get its blood flowing

Ed Bark — 2012-09-26T16:08:33-05:00
They're from the Midwest, of course, although Henry (Dave Annable in designer stubble) already has a job as a mayoral aide while wife, Jane (Rachael Taylor), aspires to fill the vacant manager's position at the Drake. ...ABC publicity materials, which turn out to more interesting than the opening hour, say that Gavin "has many skeletons in his closet," but for now is "at the height of his world and commands the dark power of the Drake."

CBS' Made In Jersey is pasta without fazool

Ed Bark — 2012-09-26T12:29:44-05:00
Garretti, who comes off as a distaff Sherlock Holmes with her uncanny (and oft-preposterous) deductive abilities, initially turns the head of New York law firm founder Donovan Stark (Kyle MacLachlan continuing to age well). ...The badda and the bing are mostly missing, though. Made in Jersey at best comes off as a one-hour prime-time rest stop between returning CBS series CSI: NY and Blue Bloods.

R.I.P. Andy Williams: Dec. 3, 1927 to Sept. 25, 2012

Ed Bark — 2012-09-26T11:14:07-05:00
Williams also hosted a long-running variety series that premiered as a summer replacement hour before joining NBC's fall lineup in 1962 and running until 1971. The Andy Williams Show made stars of The Osmond Brothers, who first appeared on a Dec. 20, 1962 episode singing "I'm a Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas" and "Side by Side." ...Here's a video from the first full year of The Andy Williams Show, with "Moon River" right up top and its singer in full, soaring voice.

All aboard: ABC's Last Resort a seaworthy military mystery tour

Ed Bark — 2012-09-24T15:52:15-05:00
Last Resort is well-appointed with multiple "back stories," duplicitous motives and other seemingly solid characters ranging from Lieutenant/chief navigator Grace Shepard (Daisy Betts) to Kylie Sinclair (Autumn Reeser), the well-heeled, conniving "golden child" of a high level defense contractor. ...But the dramas we talk about generally are of this ilk, whether it's Breaking Bad, Mad Men or Sons of Anarchy on cable networks or ABC's Revenge, Once Upon A Time or Lost for those who either endured or embraced its wobbly course.

Shades of last fall's Prime Suspect: CBS' Elementary stars a Holmes away from home

Ed Bark — 2012-09-24T10:17:17-05:00
Patrick Jane and Sherlock Holmes are both ego-centric, off-center geniuses partnered with calmer, steadier female work mates. The Mentalist, which is moving to Sunday nights, could easily work out a "crossover" arrangement with Elementary during a ratings "sweeps" period. ...The third wheel in this arrangement is police captain Tobias "Toby" Gregson, with Aidan Quinn back in the saddle as roughly the same kind of authority figure he played last season on NBC's American-ized version of Prime Suspect.

Emmys fete a threesome of big winners with four statues each

Ed Bark — 2012-09-24T06:31:02-05:00
Jimmy Kimmel presided for the first time, pledging to "host this show until it's pregnant" before delivering an opening burst of jokes preceded by an amusing taped spot in which various female TV stars "punched" his Botoxed mug back into submission. ...But the program's longtime leading man, Jon Stewart, pulled it off and got the night's biggest laugh by saying at speech's end, "Years from now, when the earth is just a burning husk and aliens visit, they will find a box of these and they will know just how predictable these (f-bomb) things can be."

ABC's The Neighbors an alien intruder in every way, shape and form

Ed Bark — 2012-09-21T15:00:07-05:00
Hilarity is supposed to bust out when they're greeted by a Zabvronian family of four -- all of whom have taken the names of prominent athletes who perhaps will be able to collect at least a few residual checks. ...The scripts are flat in any diction. Neighbors dulls the senses with both its Wednesday night opener and a very marginally improved second episode in which everyone journeys to the mall in pursuit of new clothes and some product placement for Macy's.

Monaco's still the first, no matter how she fares in DWTS "All-Star" extravaganza

Ed Bark — 2012-09-21T09:04:05-05:00
The other previous winners hoping to do it again are Emmitt Smith (Edition 3); Apolo Anton Ohno (Edition 4); Shawn Johnson (Edition 8); Drew Lachey (Edition 2); and Helio Castroneves (Edition 5). ...She praises him as a world champion dancer while conceding that "not having a familiar partner could be a disadvantage" against the likes of Burke, Max and other fan fave pro dancers such as Derek Hough and Kym Johnson.

What stays in Vegas is Quaid vs. Chiklis

Ed Bark — 2012-09-20T13:34:04-05:00
But it might as well be cowboys vs. aliens, judging from the killer look from tall-in-the-saddle Ralph Lamb (Dennis Quaid) after his herd is spooked by a low-flying plane toting a load of casino patrons in the year 1960. ...Principal among them is Chicagoland's Vincent Savino, a swaggering enforcer played by Michael Chiklis in a return to his hard-ass ways after an ill-fated spin on ABC's No Ordinary Family.

Fox's Mindy Project an uneven work in progress

Ed Bark — 2012-09-20T10:22:26-05:00
Mindy ends up making a scene at their wedding reception, a comedy device also used in the first episode of Fox's other new Tuesday nighter, Ben and Kate. ...For starters, though, The Mindy Project is the weakest entry in a revamped Fox Tuesday lineup that also includes the aforementioned Ben and Kate plus returnees New Girl and Raising Hope.

Ben and Kate gives Fox another doofus male (to go along with its cartoon characters)

Ed Bark — 2012-09-19T14:29:23-05:00
And as she puts it in a creatively written Fox publicity release, "When I was little, my older brother used to punch me so hard he'd knock the wind out of me and then he'd make an awesome game out of convincing me he knew the precise medical way of getting my breath back. ...And Dana Fox has penned a pretty funny first episode of Ben and Kate, which will be part of a new Fox comedy Tuesday along with holdovers New Girl and Raising Hope plus fellow newcomer The Mindy Project.

CBS' Partners a showcase for co-star (and Plano Senior High grad) Michael Urie

Ed Bark — 2012-09-19T10:42:35-05:00
The latest thief is Dallas native and Plano Senior High grad Michael Urie, who made something of a name for himself on ABC's Ugly Betty and now is front and center as the co-star of CBS' new Partners. ...Co-star David Krumholtz (Numb3rs), who just finished playing a psychiatrist in Season 1 of HBO's The Newsroom, is both straight and straight man in this fairly promising laugher based on the real lives of co-creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick.

Fox and Friends punk'd while again shilling for Romney

Ed Bark — 2012-09-18T11:22:26-05:00
This is of course made him perfect for the purposes of Fox News Channel's Fox & Friends, which even on a good day is by and large an embarrassment. The interview was conducted by F&F co-host and former Miss America Gretchen Carlson, who was a weekend anchor/reporter at Fort Worth-based NBC5 during a portion of the 1990s.

New infusions on Idol and The Voice vs. same-old, same-old on DWTS

Ed Bark — 2012-09-18T08:22:17-05:00
Last season ended up being a sharp drop-off, with Idol at last relinquishing its No. 1 spot in prime-time to NBC's Sunday Night Football in both the total viewer and 18-to-49 Nielsen ratings. Prediction: Only DWTS will show an overall audience increase this season -- mainly because of its All-Star trappings. Idol will dip anew after the initial curiosity, although the interaction among country strong Urban and divas Minaj/Carey literally could be an audience-grabbing x-factor provided that Jackson doesn't say "Yo yo yo" too much.

HBO's Boardwalk Empire doubles down on Nucky's evil ways while wife Margaret sees her light

Ed Bark — 2012-09-14T11:22:23-05:00
Through the course of Boardwalk Empire's first five Season 3 episodes, Nucky (Steve Buscemi) does at least one considerably worse thing than he did to Jimmy, a badly shaken WW1 vet who had been in on a plot to kill him. ...Boardwalk Empire nonetheless remains a big plus on the Sunday prime-time scene -- even if Showtime's twin Sunday punches of Homeland and Dexter will be sounding their own thunder claps when they return on Sept. 30th.

Costas goes on Conan to ridicule NBC's handling of Olympics closing ceremony

Ed Bark — 2012-09-14T08:47:08-05:00
"I thought we were doing well headed to the finish line," Costas said in reference to NBC's brain-dead decision to cut The Who out of its taped prime-time Olympic closing ceremony telecast in favor of a "sneak preview" of the new sitcom Animal Practice. ...They came during the same week that NBC news president Steve Capus sent a semi-mea culpa to NBC-owned and affiliated stations for being the only network not to observe the "Moment of Silence" on the 11th anniversary of Sept. 11th.

Can the futuristic Revolution give NBC a future as well?

Ed Bark — 2012-09-12T14:08:17-05:00
Revolution, the most promising and expensive new series on NBC's fall schedule, is from the guy who keeps conjuring up doomsday or, at best, very foreboding scenarios. Alias, Lost and last season's unfortunately canceled Alcatraz were all under his watch. ...We're then transported to a time "15 Years After the Blackout," with Ben, his two grown kids and new gal pal Maggie (Anna Lise Phillips) all down on an improvised farm without anyone saying, "Well this is just the way the Amish wanted it."

Fox's Mob Doctor: take two shivs and call me in the morning

Ed Bark — 2012-09-12T12:01:30-05:00
Because a weekly broadcast network drama series can't subsist on a lead character who caves into the mob on a weekly basis rather than resisting with all her might while covering up all those threatening in-hospital cell phone calls with variations on "Gotta go." ...Grace's colleagues, all of them in the dark, include Roosevelt Medical chief of surgery Stafford White (Emmy-winning Zeljko Ivanek from Damages); a boyfriend doc named Brett Robinson (Zach Gilford of Friday Night Lights); officious rival doc Olivia Wilcox (Jaimie Lee Kirchner); super-officious veteran surgeon Ian Flanigan (David Pasquesi); and best friend nurse Rosa "Ro" Quintero (Floriana Lima).

Mindful of the Sunday night clock, CBS making football-prompted adjustments to prime-time lineup

Ed Bark — 2012-09-11T14:00:32-05:00
The lineup, as it now stands, is 60 Minutes, Big Brother 14 (to be replaced on Sept. 30th by The Amazing Race), The Good Wife and The Mentalist. ...CBS doesn't want you throwing things when up pops a Big Brother vote-off or a finishing kick on Amazing Race instead of the scripted lawyerly intrigue on Good Wife.

NBC's Guys with Kids underscores the network's latter day baby love

Ed Bark — 2012-09-10T16:42:25-05:00
It's all too unwieldy to mesh very well in the first episode. Guys with Kids is over-populated, under-funny and no match for the simple charms of Three Men and a Baby, the surprise mega-hit of 1987. ...Now the Peacock is loading up on babies and/or baby talk in comedies such as Guys with Kids, fellow newcomer The New Normal and the returning Up All Night.

Latest Reelz "original" is the Canadian import Bomb Girls

Ed Bark — 2012-09-10T13:26:09-05:00
The still fledgling network takes another step in the vicinity of that direction with Bomb Girls, a passable World War II era drama that's being touted as a "Reelz Original," even though it's a Canadian-made series that premiered in that country last January. ...Its best-known cast member is Meg Tilly, who was Oscar-nominated for Agnes of God and can still bring home a scene or two as the puffy, pale "floor matron" of Toronto's Victory Munitions bomb-making factory.

The Voice and The X Factor ready to go for each other's throats

Ed Bark — 2012-09-07T09:22:21-05:00
Other than Sunday Night Football, NBC's Season 2 of The Voice ranked as its most popular series last season with an average of 15.8 million viewers for the performance shows and 10.9 million for the weekly results. And despite performing below lead dog Simon Cowell's pronounced expectations, Fox's The X Factor also was its network's second most popular series (behind only American Idol) with 12.7 million and 12.6 million viewers for the performance and results shows.

NBC's The New Normal crashes into view

Ed Bark — 2012-09-06T13:27:12-05:00
She's a vile stick figure caricature of any right-of-center viewpoints in a sitcom that also works in a "Calista Gingrich hair-do" slam after the series' too-good-to-be-true surrogate mother is asked whether she's a "secret operative for the Republican Party." ...And there's more than a little too much of this in The New Normal, whether it's the steaming pile of intolerance from Nana or Bryan's disinclination to be with Goldie during the embryo transplant procedure.

Brokaw back in play after brief hospital stay

Ed Bark — 2012-09-06T12:23:41-05:00
NBC News mainstay Tom Brokaw has been released from Carolinas Medical Center and pronounced in "great health" after feeling light-headed Thursday on the set of MSNBC's Morning Joe. ..."Out of an abundance of caution," he was taken to Carolinas Medical Center for a check-up, NBC News president Steve Capus said in a statement.

"Reality" check: NBC's top-rated Sunday Night Football flattened all singers/dancers

Ed Bark — 2012-09-04T08:08:35-05:00
The Dallas Cowboys in fact will play the New York Giants in a stadium Wednesday night, moving NBC's traditional weeknight kickoff ahead one day so as not to overwhelm President Obama's climactic Thursday night acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. ...After Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. (central) Cowoys-Giants game (preceded by a 6:30 p.m. pre-game show), SNF begins its regular Sunday night schedule with Peyton Manning's much-anticipated return to the NFL as a Denver Broncos QB.

Eastwood steals the show -- and what's really so wrong with that?

Ed Bark — 2012-08-31T07:59:55-05:00
Why didn't the Mitt Romney biographical film or those touching testimonies from fellow Mormons find their way into the sainted one-hour "prime-time window" of convention coverage from ABC, CBS and NBC? ...And boy oh boy, now all anyone's gonna talk about is Eastwood's "bizarre" performance -- as MSNBC's Rachel Maddow said with obvious distaste -- rather than Mitt's game attempt to sell himself via Teleprompter as a really good guy who gets things done.

Here comes A&E's Coma, so knock yourself out (literally)

Ed Bark — 2012-08-30T14:15:43-05:00
Coma, adapted from the Robin Cook novel and initially a 1978 feature film with Michael Douglas and Genevieve Bujold, premieres on Labor Day, Sept. 3rd at 8 p.m. (central) and for some reason returns on the following night at the same hour. ...Although housed in two-hour time slots on both Monday and Tuesday, the commercial-less review DVD sent to TV critics provides barely 75 minutes of befuddlement in Chapter 1 and just over 80 minutes in Chapter 2.

GMA's Robin Roberts begins extended medical leave

Ed Bark — 2012-08-30T09:51:51-05:00
Two of Roberts' principal GMA mates, co-anchor George Stephanopoulos and weathercaster Sam Champion, said goodbye from afar via satellite during Thursday's sendoff, Stephanopoulos is at the Republican National Convention in Tampa and Champion is in New Orleans reporting on the after-effects of Hurricane Isaac. GMA continues to wage a close battle with NBC's Today for the top spot in the morning news ratings race. Today had been dominant for nearly two decades before GMA broke its long winning streak earlier this year.

Sheen gets the green

Ed Bark — 2012-08-29T12:26:05-05:00
It caps a remarkably quick comeback for the volatile actor, who less than a year-and-a-half ago had a mega-meltdown tied to his firing from the hit CBS comedy Two and a Half Men. ...The series recently finished its Season 1 run as this year's most-watched cable comedy series, with an average of 4.5 million viewers per episode and 2.5 million of them within the 18-to-49-year-old motherlode.

Chris Matthews: braying donkey or impassioned truth-teller?

Ed Bark — 2012-08-28T14:32:36-05:00
In no uncertain terms, he kept telling Priebus that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is wantonly playing the race card on the issues of both President Obama's birthplace and his stance on welfare reform. ...Gingrich, as big a media baiter as Matthews is a grandstander, made a very telling point when MSNBC's Great White Father kept insisting that Romney's welfare reform riffs were thinly disguised attacks against America's black people.

Here comes Harvey Keitel in Lifetime's Fatal Honeymoon (huh?)

Ed Bark — 2012-08-24T09:18:39-05:00
Keitel effectively plays her aggrieved, suspicious father, Tommy Thomas, in a film that disjointedly meanders back and forth without ever answering a very central question: Why on earth would a beautiful blonde sweetheart like this marry such an arrogant, hot-tempered, unfeeling lug? Gabe (Billy Miller), a certified rescue diver, subsequently was charged with Tina's murder after she sunk to the bottom while they joined other couples in a scuba diving expedition off the Great Barrier Reef.

GSN's American Bible Challenge: An appealing do-gooder without preachments

Ed Bark — 2012-08-22T12:38:30-05:00
But the spirit moves me to say that American Bible Challenge is an entertaining, enlightening, feel-good weekly hour in which 18 teams of three members apiece are playing to "love on somebody else" and perhaps eventually come away with the show's $100,000 grand prize. ...Two of the teams are from North Texas, with Plano's very appealing and animated Team Minnie's Food Pantry featured on the Thursday, Aug. 23rd premiere hour along with Team Surburban Saints from Sacramento and Team Gospel Geezers of Charlotte, NC.

Late night shocker: Nightline being pushed back an hour to make way for Kimmel

Ed Bark — 2012-08-21T12:34:55-05:00
ABC News President Ben Sherwood, whose division's Good Morning America has regularly been whipping former morning kingpin Today in the weekly ratings, said that Nightline's weekly prime-time perch coupled with its otherwise later start time is a recipe for continued prosperity. ...Whether that in fact happens, Sherwood now will be forever known as the news executive who whistled a happy tune while his network's entertainment division pushed Nightline into the near wee hours after almost 33 years as ABC's late night lead-off hitter.

Michael J. Fox coming back to weekly TV and the Peacock (not Fox) has him

Ed Bark — 2012-08-20T17:41:59-05:00
Fox, who became a star in the early 1980s via NBC's Family Ties, will be returning to the network some 30 years later in a new as yet untitled comedy series. ...Earlier reports also say that Fox has found a blend of medications that have helped him to curb the tremors from his Parkinson's Disease, with which he was diagnosed in 1991.

R.I.P. Phyllis Diller: July 17, 1917 to Aug. 20, 2012

Ed Bark — 2012-08-20T14:54:42-05:00
She was a staple stand-up act on a wide variety of prime-time variety hours and late night talk shows, making numerous appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, Bob Hope specials and The Tonight Show among many. ...version=3&hl=en_US">

Copper rises to the top as BBC America's first original scripted series

Ed Bark — 2012-08-16T13:59:05-05:00
Co-stars Franka Potente & Tom Weston-Jones couple up in Copper, a new Civil War era crime & punishment drama. BBC America photo ...Descriptions in network press materials indicate that the series will be typical in terms of its hardscrabble hero uncovering various clues on his path toward finding his wife and avenging his daughter's murder while also dealing with other weekly messes within his jurisdiction.

Starz's Boss is back in business, with Grammer still reason enough to watch

Ed Bark — 2012-08-16T08:54:34-05:00
But there's no shortage of wheeler dealer double-crossing, with Grammer's mayor Tom Kane leading the charge as an increasingly unhinged contemporary King Lear determined to build monuments to himself while perhaps amending at least a few of his evil ways before he dies. ...Through the course of five episodes made available for review, Kane remains hell-bent on ramrodding through his two pet projects -- an expansion of O'Hare Airport and the demolition of the Lennox Gardens public housing project, which is crime-infested and dominated by drug dealers.

CW's The Next is TV's newest -- what else -- search for a superstar singer

Ed Bark — 2012-08-15T10:18:32-05:00
Four singers looking for a big break will spend 72 hours with one of the mentors (72 hours in TV time is perhaps an afternoon) before singing their hearts out at a popular local venue (willing to waive any costs to The CW in return for free publicity). ...So Gloria Estefan helps Yarckin mow the lawn (for a few seconds at least) while Nelly accompanies Itzy Rodriguez to her day job at a sunglasses shop and Joe Jonas helps his protege to babysit a dozen or so star-struck little girls.

It's game on with The CW's Oh Sit!

Ed Bark — 2012-08-14T12:12:36-05:00
Or as co-host Jamie Kennedy tells viewers up-top: "Twelve weekend warriors who are in shape and out of their minds will put their asses to the test." ..., the once promising Kennedy shares a desk with Jessi Cruickshank, who initially comes off as the WORST HOST EVER but eventually settles in with lines such as, "You have a very lucky cornfed bum."

Syfy's Collection Intervention may well be another addictive series about addicts

Ed Bark — 2012-08-13T15:10:12-05:00
As an off-and-on collector of sports cards, myriad TV stuff, old LPs and Chip Hilton sports books devoured in grade school years, I'm not about to make fun of Syfy's Collection Intervention. ...Hosted by Elyse Luray, formerly an executive with the famed Christie's auction houses, Collection Intervention is getting an initial run of six one-hour episodes.

Say what? NBC idiotically dumps The Who from prime-time Closing Ceremonies

Ed Bark — 2012-08-13T11:35:56-05:00
Principal host Bob Costas had noted earlier that the ceremony's pop/rock music theme would "pick up a bit later with The Who" after dignitaries went about the business of solemnly extinguishing the Olympic flame. ...Those who wanted to see the grand finale instead were forced to stay up an extra hour for what turned out to be The Who (and their new backup members) followed by a Costas benediction.

Lehrer, Schieffer renew Texas connections to presidential debates

Ed Bark — 2012-08-13T10:24:07-05:00
Lehrer, who formerly worked for The Dallas Morning News, The Dallas Times-Herald and KERA13's groundbreaking Newsroom program, again has been unable to say no after insisting that a 2008 stint would be his last. ..."I share the Commission on Debates' belief that the format has the possibility to open up the debates for a more spontaneous and deeper exchange of positions and ideas," Lehrer said in a PBS statement.

NBC's Stars Earn Stripes blazes into view after 21-gun Olympics promo campaign

Ed Bark — 2012-08-10T14:12:06-05:00
After his initial appearance in the field, Clark repairs to his Mission Control observation area, where he supposedly watches the individual missions on a big video table while occasionally issuing orders such as "Pull him out" and "Carry on with the mission." ...Stars Earn Stripes has an outwardly noble intent, even if its "look at modern warfare" (as Clark puts it) tends to come off as one big gung-ho combat high accompanied by a chain rock score.

Still room at the inn: Hotel Hell makes it four Fox series for raging Gordon Ramsay

Ed Bark — 2012-08-09T14:28:46-05:00
It's too bad in a way that Gordon Ramsay's latest Fox series, Hotel Hell, arrives way too late to help Dick and Joanna Loudon whip their Vermont-based Stratford Inn into shape on CBS' old Newhart series. ...He's got a brand to sustain, and Hotel Hell is every bit as watchable -- in a morbidly fascinating way -- as his other Fox crock pots.

TNT's Major Crimes emerges as committed, quality extension of The Closer

Ed Bark — 2012-08-08T14:47:20-05:00
Would it be a punishable offense, or a mere wrist-slappping misdemeanor, to say that the continuation of The Closer under a new title might be a better series without Kyra Sedgwick but with just about everyone else? ...And the network sends her off in gripping style during a closing episode that re-confronts Brenda with serial killer Phillip Stroh (Billy Burke before segueing to the hero's role in NBC's new fall drama Revolution).

Too little monkey business in NBC's human-infested Animal Practice

Ed Bark — 2012-08-08T10:36:52-05:00
In Animal Practice, head veterinarian George Coleman (Justin Kirk after several mile high seasons on Weeds) relates to his patients but doesn't much care for two-leggers. ...In recent remarks to TV writers, co-executive producer Anthony Russo went into the usual human shell in saying, "This show is definitely like a smart, fast-paced, character-driven comedy that happens to have a monkey in it.

TNT's Dallas wraps up Season 1 Wednesday with cliffhanger opposite Olympics

Ed Bark — 2012-08-06T16:51:30-05:00
What might have been a fiasco has turned into a solidly entertaining romp through multiple back-stabbings, bed-hoppings, Bobby Ewing's cancer scares and two fatalities after the opening seconds of Wednesday's season finale reveal who emerged from last week's lethal tussle between Christopher Ewing's estranged, duplicitous pregnant wife, Rebecca and her rotten "brother," Tommy. ...Postscript: The Season 1 finale, in which Christopher Ewing's estranged wife, Rebecca, was revealed to be Cliff Barnes' daughter, drew 4.29 million viewers nationally to rank at the top of all that night's cable programming.

Matthew Perry's Go On gets a post-Olympics "sneak" that most viewers still may not know about

Ed Bark — 2012-08-06T11:53:14-05:00
But Go On begins to click when he takes over the session in the brief absence of its group leader and conducts a NCAA brackets-style competition to determine who has the best sob story. ...Community, Parks and Recreation and 30 Rock all have their dedicated fan bases, but haven't been able to build on them. Go On obviously won't be off the charts ratings-wise, as Friends was for most of its run.

Gold medal spoof: The Wall Street Journal's "Homemade Highlights" from Summer Games

Ed Bark — 2012-08-03T10:40:42-05:00
NBC's exclusive rights to the 2012 Olympics, for which it paid a bit over a billion dollars, hasn't stopped rival media outlets from presenting their own views of the Summer Games. ...version=3&hl=en_US">

"Twinkletoes" Emmitt Smith part of Dancing's first All-Star collection

Ed Bark — 2012-07-27T12:40:09-05:00
The NFL's all-time leading rusher, former Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith, will hoof and puff anew in this fall's first All-Star edition of ABC's Dancing with the Stars. ...version=3&hl=en_US">

CBS' 3 at least wins the minimalist title crown (but what's this all about?)

Ed Bark — 2012-07-25T11:15:50-05:00
So there's a certain patina to 3 in comparison with The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Bachelor Pad, Love In the Wild, Take Me Out, The Choice or one of ABC's all-time stinkers from the summer of 2009, Dating in the Dark. ...Then comes the multi-episode "search for love," with a little-seen extraneous host named Alex Miranda promising that in this quest, Libby, April and Rachel will "travel across the country and outside their comfort zone" before returning to Chicago for the end games.

R.I.P. Sherman Hemsley: Feb. 1, 1938 to July 24, 2012

Ed Bark — 2012-07-24T15:39:51-05:00
His diminutive George Jefferson was a volatile bag of bones opposite wife Louise "Weezy" Jefferson (the late Isabel Sanford) and their take-no-guff maid Florence Johnston (Marla Gibbs) in one of several successful CBS spinoffs of Norman Lear's masterstroke, All In The Family. The Jeffersons ran from 1975 to 1985, finishing among prime-time's 10 most-watched weekly programs in three of those seasons. ...Both shows aired in times when comedies with predominantly black casts flourished as mainstream prime-time hits. The Jeffersons came to prominence during the days of Sanford and Son, Good Times and What's Happening!

Fox fills one Idol judge vacancy with Mariah Carey

Ed Bark — 2012-07-23T15:02:53-05:00
Season 12 of Fox's wobbling American Idol got some juice Monday when the network announced the long-rumored hiring of Mariah Carey to fill one of two vacant judge posts. ..."We are proud to have one of the world's greatest-ever female singers join our show," Idol creator/executive producer Simon Fuller said in a publicity release.

Mass shootings in Aurora movie theater followed by TV network excesses, mistakes

Ed Bark — 2012-07-20T13:27:55-05:00
Fox News Channel is using the above logo to promote its Friday prime-time coverage of the shootings in Aurora, Colo. Photo: Ed Bark ...Not to be left out, ABC, CBS and NBC all have prime-time specials planned for Friday. CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley and NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams both will be in Aurora for Friday's dinnertime editions while ABC World News anchor Diane Sawyer remains in New York for that network's "special edition."

Emmy nominations a feast for perennials plus notable newcomers ranging from Girls to Homeland to Hatfields & McCoys

Ed Bark — 2012-07-19T08:44:21-05:00
A batch of usual suspects -- Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Modern Family, 30 Rock -- again deservingly had their say while newcomers American Horror Story, Homeland, Girls and Hatfields & McCoys also broke through in a big way in prime-time Emmy nominations announced Thursday. ...But either Showtime's first-year Homeland or AMC's Breaking Bad (ineligible last year) are likely to dethrone Mad Men, with Downton Abbey a dark horse in its first outing in this category after winning last year as prime-time's best miniseries or movie.

Sullivan & Son gives TBS a drunken lout of a sitcom

Ed Bark — 2012-07-18T08:39:11-05:00
In S&S he gripes about "the coloreds" moving in, extolls "normal whites" and states his determination to "keep the Mexicans out" of the bar where he drinks non-stop while not always knowing where he is. ...Another desperately drinks in the S&S kitchen (the bar has temporarily been shut down by a health inspector) in order to avoid what's depicted as a fate worse than death -- helping his son with his homework.

Schieffer bites back after unwittingly being used as Romney campaign attack dog

Ed Bark — 2012-07-16T16:55:27-05:00
Nor should he be happy with whatever CBS station sales departments authorized the 30-second spot in which the overall slogan is Schieffer asking, "Whatever happened to hope and change?" ...version=3&hl=en_US">History Detectives welcomes the opportunity to examine the guitar which is currently in Mr. ...The Beatles' autograph segment, with show detective Tukufu Zuberi on the case, is marred in part by the gumshoe declaring himself a huge fun despite later admitting that he didn't know the lads did a second Ed Sullivan Show performance from Miami Beach after their famous New York City appearance.

AMC's Breaking Bad makes another brilliant strike

Ed Bark — 2012-07-12T14:38:04-05:00
Taut, chilling and measuredly paced for maximum impact, AMC's Breaking Bad very much returns to the living after the stirring Season 4-ending death of drug capo Gustavo "Gus" Fring. ...Cranston and co-star Aaron Paul, who plays his shaky protege, Jesse Pinkman, have both deservedly won acting Emmys for making Breaking Bad a gritty, violent polar opposite of AMC's Mad Men.

USA's Political Animals strives to be a drama, emerges as laughing hyena

Ed Bark — 2012-07-12T09:07:17-05:00
USA's new six-part "limited series event," Political Animals, basically re-imagines Bill and Hill in the form of philandering former president Bud Holland (Ciaran Hinds) and his ex-wife, Elaine Barrish (Sigourney Weaver). ...This is a series in which Elaine and the man who bested her to become president (Adrian Pasdar as Paul Garcetti) suggestively shake their booties together at a big outdoor campaign event.

TNT's Perception is prime-time's latest crime-bender

Ed Bark — 2012-07-02T14:49:22-05:00
TNT's string of fair to fairly good drama series continues with Perception, Eric McCormack's latest effort to make viewers see him in a new light after his eight seasons on Will & Grace. ...Nor are the cases at hand all that compelling, either in the July 9th premiere or in a subsequent episode built around a rapist/killer who strikes again 26 years after his last known crime.

Showtime's Episodes ups its game in Season 2

Ed Bark — 2012-06-28T14:57:40-05:00
The husband-and-wife creators of the hit British sitcom Lyman's Boys have come to terms with an American TV network's mangling of their show into a broad LeBlanc-fronted sitcom called Pucks! ...David Crane, the co-executive producer/creator/writer of Episodes along with Jeffrey Klarik (Mad About You), is a former Friends show-runner who knows this terrain and has re-tapped LeBlanc's comedic strengths after his Joey series crashed badly.

Two out of three cable news networks can be wrong on Supreme Court health care reform decision

Ed Bark — 2012-06-28T10:41:20-05:00
And they spun it as a "victory" anyway, telling various news networks that the decision will play into their hands on election day. ...

Curry tearfully says goodbye to Today while her body language fingers Lauer

Ed Bark — 2012-06-28T08:42:55-05:00
At this point, a thought bubble over Curry's head could have been lifted from The Godfather, Part II: "I know it was you," with "Matt" substituted for "Fredo." ...Curry said she'll remain a Today contributor, with "fancy new titles" and the freedom to "go all over the world and all over the country at a time when this country and this world needs clarity."

Brand X with Russell Brand gives FX its worst show ever

Ed Bark — 2012-06-27T16:03:18-05:00
Airing at 10 p.m. (central) as the caboose of FX's new Thursday comedy block, the half-hour show is being taped just three days before its air dates in the interest of being "extremely topical and relevant to the news and events of the day." ...He doesn't name the publication, but it's the Hindustan Times, which notes in its story that Brand "bragged how he had won 'Shagger of the Year award' thrice."

Never been better: Season 3 of FX's Louie clears its own high bar

Ed Bark — 2012-06-27T13:30:34-05:00
The fourth and fifth episodes find Louie smitten with a book store employee (Parker Posey as Liz) after his six- and 10-year-old daughters wonder when their divorced dad will get a steady girlfriend. ...A plain-faced female comedian informs Louie he's "bad at sex" and has "really ruined my night in two ways" by inviting her to have dinner with his kids.

ABC's new Final Witness first focuses on East Texas killings

Ed Bark — 2012-06-27T09:08:13-05:00
The latest evidence is ABC's Final Witness, which is stylistic, cinematic and indie music-infused in hopes of offering "a unique look at some of the nation's most shocking murders." Seven episodes are scheduled for this summer, with Thursday's "The Kids Aren't Alright" re-telling the March 1, 2008 murders of church pianist Penny Caffey and two of her young sons, "Bubba" and Tyler.

Sheen makes return deposits in FX's Anger Management

Ed Bark — 2012-06-26T15:17:56-05:00
Anger Management otherwise is part of FX's new Thursday night summer comedy block, with back-to-back episodes leading into the returns of Wilfred and Louie and the premiere of Brand X with Russell Brand. ...And Sheen actually is more likable in some ways here as a father who maintains a cordial relationship with his ex- (nice work by Shawnee Smith as Jennifer Goodson) and adores his teenage daughter, Sam (the lyrically named Daniela Bobadilla).

TNT's The Great Escape can't hide from itself

Ed Bark — 2012-06-24T12:38:33-05:00
Hosted by former ESPN and now NFL Network personality Rich Eisen, Great Escape's premiere episode originates from evocative old Alcatraz Island, which also accommodated an ambitious Fox series that got canceled last month. ...But it's important to get off to a good if not great start with shows like this. The Great Escape instead falls flat on opening night, beginning at the midnight hour on Alcatraz island and then almost instantly turning into a pumpkin.

Lifetime's Tall Hot Blonde is more about its man in the middle (and the performance by Garret Dillahunt)

Ed Bark — 2012-06-22T09:11:56-05:00
Clinching the deal was a starring role for Garret Dillahunt, currently the dense dad on Fox's Raising Hope and previously Wild Bill Hickok's killer on HBO's Deadwood before returning in a different role as a prostitute murderer. ...Dillahunt plays Thomas Montgomery, the guy who takes it too far before his nurse wife, Carol (Laura San Giacomo), discovers what he's been up to during those long nights on his new laptop.

Difficult birth: Sorkin's new baby is HBO's Newsroom

Ed Bark — 2012-06-21T09:04:27-05:00
But in the very fictional world of Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom, anchor Will McAvoy somehow is succeeding handsomely with his prime-time cable news show by playing it straight down the middle and avoiding all political partisanship or feather-ruffling. ...One can take him at his word after Will makes an on-air declaration of news independence that ends with "I'll make no effort to subdue my personal opinions.

CBS strikes back, fake-announcing new Dancing On the Stars series from Hollywood graveyard

Ed Bark — 2012-06-20T15:35:34-05:00
Reacting to its inability to stop ABC's Big Brother knockoff, The Glass House, from premiering Monday night, CBS has sent out a withering publicity release on behalf of its purported new show, Dancing On the Stars. ...Dancing on the Stars, says CBS, will be "broadcast live from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and will feature moderately famous and sort of well-known people you almost recognize competing for big prizes by dancing on the graves of some of Hollywood's most iconic and well-beloved stars of stage and screen."

The Soul Man cometh -- on the same path as TV Land's other laughers

Ed Bark — 2012-06-20T09:31:57-05:00
TV Land came to the rescue of this time-honored and still durable format after most broadcast and cable networks (save for CBS) increasingly went the route of "smart" single-cam comedies filmed without studio audiences and absent any built-in guffaws. ...Wouldn't you know it, though, Episode 2 finds the old man dropping in just as Boyce is about to race upstairs to Lolly with a can of whipped cream and spatula in hand.

More retro: Arsenio Hall hopes to re-emerge as night light

Ed Bark — 2012-06-19T09:44:31-05:00
Retro thinking will be hitting homes again in September 2013 when the former host of The Arsenio Hall Show returns to late night on a mix of Tribune-owned and CBS stations where "duopolies" exist. ...But CBS Television Distribution president John Nogawski figures that Hall's 18-to-34-year-old fans are "now right in the middle of the late-night core audience of 35-54.

Another Palin continues to lament media treatment while seeking further attention in Lifetime's Bristol Palin: Life's a Tripp

Ed Bark — 2012-06-18T13:11:53-05:00
Having written a book, lectured on sexual abstinence and placed third on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, the single mom Palin with the son named Tripp takes her dubious talents to Lifetime in the 10-episode Bristol Palin: Life's a Tripp. Keeping up with the Kardashians isn't just the name of the E! ..."Even though it seemed like the media was trying to tear me down, my faith, my family and my friends held me up," 21-year-old Bristol proclaims before her new series finds her jetting off to Hollywood with reluctant older sister Willow in tow.

Falling Skies still makes its special effects count while the scripts crash and burn

Ed Bark — 2012-06-15T11:22:06-05:00
Falling Skies ended its first season with Wyle's Mason agreeing to board the alien spaceship in hopes of talking the intruders into freeing his second oldest son, Ben (Connor Jessup), from any lasting effects from a "harness" that had been embedded into his spine in order to control him. ...The new Dallas launched on Wednesday and the final season of The Closer begins on July 9th in tandem with the premiere of Perception, starring Eric McCormack of Will & Grace fame. Major Crimes, a spinoff of The Closer, is set for an August 13th premiere and Season 5 of Leverage is coming on July 15th.

National picture: Dallas does well, but it's no Hatfields & McCoys

Ed Bark — 2012-06-14T11:42:23-05:00
TNT says that it's double-barreled relaunch of Dallas, which ran from 8 to 10:15 p.m. (central), averaged 6.9 million viewers nationally to rank as cable's No. 1 scripted weekly series premiere for the year to date. ...Nielsen data says that Fox's So You Think You Can Dance, which ran from 7 to 9 p.m., was the night's No. 2 overall draw with 6.5 million viewers.

HBO's 41 gives George H.W. Bush his say (not that he says all that much)

Ed Bark — 2012-06-13T15:42:09-05:00
Weighing in at 1 hour, 40 minutes and premiering at 8 p.m. central on Thursday, June 14th (two days after Bush turned 88), 41 gets a rise out of its subject only after an off-camera interviewer dares to ask, "Can you talk a bit about Ross Perot?" ...The entire film goes without any mention at all of what it was like to run against Geraldine Ferraro in the 1984 campaign; why he chose Dan Quayle as his running mate in the 1988 presidential campaign; the mess he found himself in over Iran/Contra; or even his past and present relationship with oldest son George W.

History channeling: a look at the first media gathering of the old/new stars of TNT's Dallas

Ed Bark — 2012-06-13T09:54:16-05:00
Gray, who as Sue Ellen Ewing endured numerous indignities from J.R. before divorcing him, got a chance to slap him in the chops in a scene filmed the day before the cast headed West for this interview session. ..."And I knew somewhere in my heart that we could never work together again because the three of us couldn't come into a scene without everybody saying, 'Oh, there's J.R., Sue Ellen and Bobby.'

TNT's big, bold Dallas shows that oil's well with the storied Ewings

Ed Bark — 2012-06-11T10:30:13-05:00
Let's just say he'll be in the throes of a major health scare while also battling the ever-embittered John Ross Ewing (Josh Henderson from Desperate Housewives) for the future direction of Southfork. ...Gray and Hagman briefly flash their old Dallas magic at the Cattle Baron's Ball, where he discards a walker and ambles up to her as part of his faux apology tour.

NBC's out-of-body Saving Hope may have a ghost of a chance

Ed Bark — 2012-06-06T16:52:12-05:00
The series hopes to pull viewers along with both individual patient cases and the week-to-week prospects of flat-on-his-back Charlie, who shows a fleeting sign of life next Thursday. ...The Big Four broadcast networks mostly resort to hot weather regimens of ill-considered or sick-in-the-head reality series. Saving Hope may be a nice curative in that respect.

Fox's The Choice is mostly about chiding The Voice

Ed Bark — 2012-06-06T11:47:41-05:00
In this case, four of "the most eligible celebrity bachelors in America" sit in swivel chairs and activate their spin-around "love handles" if a sight-unseen potential date lures them with her verbal teases. ...Your host for The Choice is Cat Deeley, the vivacious and gorgeous Brit who also presides over Fox's Wednesday night editions of So You Think You Can Dance.

Charitably put, Lifetime's The Week the Women Went is "reality" in all its worst forms

Ed Bark — 2012-06-05T15:18:13-05:00
Before providing a few further details, let's also note that a preview of future episodes has the left-behind white men of Yemassee marching menacingly toward what's described as a secretive African village where un-American things might be happening. ...In the spirit of TLC's newly announced Here Comes Honey Boo Boo (starring the gag-inducing 6-year-old "breakout star" of Toddlers & Tiaras), the producers of Week the Women Went have given viewers two monstrous little girls.

Discovery's Dallas-set Fast N' Loud offers auto rehab at the friendly Gas Monkey Garage

Ed Bark — 2012-06-05T10:52:29-05:00
There's your prevalent cable reality series premise in a nutshell, with Discovery's Dallas-based Fast N' Loud spotlighting junked out autos and a pair of bearded entrepreneurs who also could have made a few bucks as extras on History's Hatfields & McCoys. ...The big Good Guys swap meet at Texas Motor Speedway is just nine days away and "we're going to have to race the clock every day to get it done," Aaron says with as much urgency as he can muster during the show's frequent talk-to-the-camera interludes.

Ampersands unite with returns of TNT's Rizzoli & Isles, Franklin & Bash

Ed Bark — 2012-06-04T15:49:10-05:00
Franklin & Bash is a welcome summer breeze with agreeable lead actors who both look as though they're having the times of their lives. Rizzoli & Isles has a big plus in Harmon, who ably fights her way through hit-and-miss story lines. TNT's decision to team the two shows on Tuesdays, with Rizzoli & Isles moving from Mondays, gives the network a nice new summer season duo while also getting its only pair of ampersands together.

CMT sugars the off-season with Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Brides

Ed Bark — 2012-05-31T15:08:35-05:00
Marry a few of 'em off in Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Brides, a one-hour special premiering on Saturday, June 2nd at 7 p.m. (central) on CMT. ...Nor is there a Jerry Jones in sight. Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Brides is fluffy, cotton candy entertainment from start to near-finish, when Collin deftly removes Cassie's blue Cowboys Star garter with his teeth before the happy couple are driven off in what looks like a Rolls Royce.

A&E's Longmire stands tall for straight arrow law enforcement

Ed Bark — 2012-05-31T11:22:16-05:00
With Mad Man, Game of Thrones and The Killing winding down their latest runs, it arrives just in time to establish a new Sunday night viewing habit. ...It likely will do very well for A&E, which needs a palate-cleanser to offset low-brow flotsam such as Flipped Off, Hoarders, Billy the Exterminator, Parking Wars, Monster-In-Laws and Dog the Bounty Hunter, which at last is being canceled.

CW's Breaking Pointe bores the toes off the ballet profession

Ed Bark — 2012-05-30T12:17:21-05:00
It's not exactly heart-stopping stuff, with seven dancers spotlighted in addition to bossman Adam Sklute, whose edge gets no rougher than the observation that young Rex Tilton occasionally "lets his personal life interfere with his professional work." ...Other dancers in the mix are young loves Ronald Tilton and Katie Martin; biker/ballet dude Ronnie Underwood; and the off-and-on-again pair of Rex Tilton (who wants a relationship) and Allison DeBona (who does not).

More pet peeves with CBS' Dogs In The City

Ed Bark — 2012-05-29T12:23:33-05:00
Airing in the Wednesday night Survivor slot this summer, this is a basically harmless walk in the park that unfortunately is fronted by a hunky but too talky New York City therapist named Justin Silver. ...At least it's not another stupid game show or dating/mating concoction. Dogs In The City is pet-able but also kind of annoying and redundant.

HBO's Hemingway & Gellhorn meanders before gathering strength

Ed Bark — 2012-05-25T09:18:57-05:00
Pretty as a picture, but sometimes too much of a still life, HBO's Hemingway & Gellhorn is a lengthy ode to star-powered, old time filmmaking. ...They first meet in 1936 at Sloppy Joe's bar in Key West, FL, with Hemingway fresh from landing a marlin and Gellhorn intrigued by his devil-may-care manliness.

History's Hatfields & McCoys takes its place among TV's best Westerns

Ed Bark — 2012-05-24T14:35:05-05:00
Spiked by Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton as the heads of their respective clans, this down-and-dirty epic doubles down on storied family intrigue while also emerging as the best made-for-TV western saga since AMC's 2006 Broken Trail. ...Randall is fated to suffer in a Union prison camp while his brother, Harmon, is killed back home at the hands of Anse's no-good Uncle Jim Vance (an almost unrecognizable Tom Berenger).

TBS' Men at Work digs itself a manhole

Ed Bark — 2012-05-22T09:29:42-05:00
Such is the texture of TBS' Men at Work, the saga of four buds who'll drink Buds (if TBS can land a product placement deal) while plotting their next plans of attack. ...Tarses, also a producer of TBS' My Boys, was once witnessed at an ABC All-Star party having a little make-out session with Ryan Reynolds, the then up-and-coming co-star of the network's Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place.

Road trip! Route 66 rides again in new complete series collection

Ed Bark — 2012-05-21T08:54:03-05:00
This newly minted, 24-disc, complete series collection from Shout Factory ($99.99 plus just 66 cents for shipping and handling) puts the boys back behind the wheel of their Chevy Corvette convertible for adventures that began in grimy, foreboding Concord, Kentucky (standing in for an out-of-the-way Mississippi burg named Garth) and ended very lamely in shiny Tampa, Florida. ...The Shout Factory collection, with all of the episodes in glorious black-and-white, for the most part is a time travel well worth taking. Route 66 , which aired on Fridays opposite ABC's The Flintstones for its first three seasons, had an uncommon bite and range during its glory years with Maharis, Milner and their trademark Corvette convertible.

Old Mick, new app

Ed Bark — 2012-05-18T12:30:31-05:00
NBC is making an extra big deal of it by using the new free Color for Facebook app on ol' Mick, who cut his musical teeth on old-line revolving vinyl. The network says that Jagger, the SNL cast and special guests Arcade Fire and Foo Fighters can all be seen behind the scenes via 30-second videos recorded during rehearsals and the live show's commercial breaks.

The CW reloads for next season after again shooting blanks

Ed Bark — 2012-05-17T08:42:18-05:00
Arrow -- Transformed by a shipwreck that left him missing and presumed dead for five years, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) returns to his home base of Starling City to live large by day and shoot arrows by night as a crime-fighting vigilante. ...The Carrie Diaries -- We rewind to 1984, with Carrie Bradshaw a vexed 16-year-old whose mom has just died and whose dad is overwhelmed by having to raise two teenage daughters on his own.

Sorry, but we wasted our money -- notable candidates for the new season that weren't elected by their networks

Ed Bark — 2012-05-16T14:20:09-05:00
Devious Maids -- Hard to believe this ever got even partially off the ground. Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry apparently was intent on proving he's a one-trick pony with this serial soap about four ambitious maids working for rich and famous Beverly Hills denizens. ...Friday Night Dinner -- Two multiple Emmy-winning drama stars, Allison Janney (The West Wing) and Tony Shaloub (Monk), would have fronted this adaptation of a British series about an oddball family that gathered for dinner every Friday.

CBS adds four fall newcomers while deleting CSI: Miami and transplanting The Mentalist, Two and a Half Men

Ed Bark — 2012-05-16T08:14:05-05:00
The most notable cancelation, CSI: Miami, will be replaced in its vacated Sunday slot by The Mentalist. CSI: Miami star David Caruso took his shades off and on for 10 seasons before the sun set. In another significant night and time shift, Two and a Half Men will leave Monday nights and move to Thursdays following the network's most-watched comedy, The Big Bang Theory. Rob and Rules of Engagement tried to hold that slot this season, but both had major audience fall-offs.

In defense of Harry's Law and its right to draw an older audience and live to tell about it (which it didn't)

Ed Bark — 2012-05-15T13:37:41-05:00
That's a haul exceeded by only three NBC series this season -- Sunday Night Football, The Voice and Smash, which had barely more viewers (9 million) and likely will drop to Harry's level after Monday's Season 1 finale audience of just 6.1 million is factored in. ...Other NBC renewals dwarfed by Harry's included Parks and Recreation (4.4 million viewers an episode); 30 Rock (4.6 million); Fashion Star (4.9 million); Whitney (5.1 million); Up All Night (5.3 million); Grimm (6.3 million); The Office (6.4 million); Parenthood (6.7 million) and even Law & Order: SVU (7.6 million).

ABC hopes to be country strong with five new fall series, two of them music-themed twangers

Ed Bark — 2012-05-15T10:23:14-05:00
But ABC also is renewing six of this season's freshman series -- Revenge, Scandal, Once Upon a Time, Last Man Standing, Don't Trust the B --- In Apartment 23 and Suburgatory. Tim Allen's Last Man Standing gets moved from Tuesdays to Fridays, where it will be paired with McEntire's Malibu Country, also starring Lily Tomlin. Body of Proof, which got a last-ditch reprieve, won't be back until sometime in midseason, as will Wife Swap.

Spears, Lovato round out new X Factor judging panel

Ed Bark — 2012-05-14T16:36:02-05:00
Confirming all those prevalent rumors, Fox trotted out Britney Spears and Demi Lovato Monday as the two new judges on The X Factor. ...And Cowell remained cocky, saying that X Factor would turn back a challenge from NBC's The Voice, which will move to the fall next season to vie for viewers on Monday and Tuesday nights.

Fox takes minimalist approach with three fall newcomers

Ed Bark — 2012-05-14T07:47:59-05:00
Three of last season's newcomers -- New Girl, The X Factor and Touch -- will be back for sophomore years while American Idol returns for a 12th time in the face of shrinking ratings and some likely new judges. ...The Mob Doctor (drama) -- Jordana Spiro from TBS' My Boys stars as a Chicago sawbones who agrees to work "off book" for the mob in order to pay off her brother's gambling debts.

NBC's new fall lineup tickled by comedies, pickled by the cancellation of its fourth most popular series

Ed Bark — 2012-05-13T15:32:17-05:00
The musical drama Smash likewise is scheduled to begin its second season sometime next year, with its Monday slot after The Voice being taken this fall by a new futuristic drama from producer J.J. ...The Peacock's cancellation corral nonetheless is heavily stocked with last season's flops, although the axed Harry's Law averaged more total viewers (8.8 million) than all of NBC's returning fall series except Sunday Night Football, The Voice and Smash.

Johnny Carson finally gets the retrospective he didn't want in PBS' King of Late Night

Ed Bark — 2012-05-11T12:49:09-05:00
The two-hour Johnny Carson: King of Late Night (Monday, May 14th at 8 p.m. central), airing under PBS' American Masters banner, arrives after years of trying by filmmaker Peter Jones (2009's magnificent Inventing LA: The Chandlers and Their Times). ...People sometimes do forget how very big he was in the television firmament, even those of us who grew up watching him play around with animals, do his Carnac the Magnificent bits, swim and sink his way through nightly monologues, laugh his inimitable full-bodied laugh when a guest amused him and famously ad lib to Dolly Parton, "I would give about a year's pay to peek under there."

Here comes a Stern test of NBC's Talent

Ed Bark — 2012-05-10T17:39:37-05:00
He obviously won't be a namby-pamby judge, which he says is the current problem with Fox's American Idol and with reports that Britney Spears will be a new judge on that network's The X Factor next season. ..."We've gotta be honest, we've gotta be direct and we've gotta help the talent," he said, also noting that "I'm at the point of my life where I'd like to mentor people.

USA's Common Law has a common thread

Ed Bark — 2012-05-10T10:40:55-05:00
Among the attendees are L.A. detective partners Travis Marks (Michael Ealy) and Wes Mitchell (Warren Kole), whose still cranky precinct captain, Mike Sutton (Jack McGee), has already been through this drill. ...And as with last month's first episode of CBS' NYC 22 cop show, many a viewer will be able to deduce the culprit well before the detectives finally zero in on him/her.

BBC America's White Heat a slow-burner about college roommates then and now

Ed Bark — 2012-05-09T09:41:44-05:00
She's soon reflecting on the way they were back in 1965, with an arrogant stud named Jack (Sam Claflin) soliciting roomies for a social experiment in which the emphasis is on group quality of life rather than the needs of individuals. ...Set in the year before the ongoing Season 5 of AMC's Mad Men and airing under BBC America's "Dramaville" banner, White Heat hasn't yet established a firm grip by the end of Episode 1.

Lucky man: New Girl's Jake Johnson does Dallas

Ed Bark — 2012-05-08T09:31:11-05:00
In last Tuesday's episode, he announced his intention to leave this foursome and move back in with ex-girlfriend Caroline (Mary Elizabeth Ellis), with whom he had broken up way back on the show's first episode. ...After about a month on summer hiatus, Johnson says he's already eager to get back to waking up at 3:30 or 4 a.m. for a 5:30 a.m. call and often a 14-hour workday during filming of New Girl.

New joint network by ABC and Univision News will be in English, not Espanol

Ed Bark — 2012-05-07T13:41:26-05:00
Hispanic population, which currently makes up 16 percent of the country's population and is expected to almost double by 2050, according to an ABC News publicity release. ...Bureaus will be set up in major cities throughout the U.S., which almost certainly means that the network will offices in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, one of the country's largest Hispanic population centers.

PBS' Sherlock further livens up Sundays with three more splendid adventures

Ed Bark — 2012-05-04T12:58:01-05:00
Curt as ever but mesmerized by a wily femme fatale, PBS' version of Sherlock Holmes is back with three more brainy whodunits on a night already filled to overflowing with other high-quality options. ...But ample need to activate recording devices when the Sunday night alternatives include AMC's Mad Men and The Killing, HBO's Game of Thrones, Girls and Veep, ABC's Once Upon A Time and CBS' The Good Wife.

Race cards: Ashton Kutcher in light brownface as Raj; Jon Hamm in semi-blackface for 30 Rock's "Alfie & Abner" spoof

Ed Bark — 2012-05-03T13:08:54-05:00
version=3&hl=en_US">Nightline to do. ...So in the end it's anyone's guess how many watched this Washington carnivale, in which the Hollywood contingent held sway while politicians and members of the media scrambled to pose for pictures with the likes of Lohan, Kardashian, cast members of Modern Family, cast members of Glee, George Clooney, Goldie Hawn, Steven Spielberg, Zooey Deschanel, Reese Witherspoon, Charlize Theron, Mary J.

Fox's surprise renewal of Fringe is business as (un)usual

Ed Bark — 2012-04-27T09:08:55-05:00
Fringe, exiled to Fox's longtime forlorn Friday lineup this season, has averaged just 2.9 million viewers per episode, with 2.1 million of them in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49 age range. ...The series wrapped Season 1 earlier this spring and is considered a long shot for renewal despite averaging significantly more viewers (6.7 million) and 18-to-49-year-olds (4.3 million) than Fringe.

Texas two-step: Russell Hantz takes his Survivor villainy to a new venue

Ed Bark — 2012-04-26T12:02:01-05:00
Russell, who supposedly is "gamblin' everything I got to make this work," depicts his older brother as a hapless dummy before the decision is made to buy a run-down one-story home for $225 grand. ..."My and my wife been havin' problems ever since I got back from Survivor," he says, adding that they can't be allowed to get in the way of his new business as a home wrecker/renovator.

Lifetime strikes a few sparks with The Conversation with Amanda de Cadenet

Ed Bark — 2012-04-25T15:11:27-05:00
Premiering Thursday, April 26th (10 p.m. central) on Lifetime, The Conversation with Amanda de Cadenet follows the same night's launch of the network's 7 Days of Sex, a decidedly bland and tedious weekly series in which couples attempt to mend their frayed relationships by doing it for a full week. Judging from an episode sent for review -- which turns out not to be the first one -- this is all going to be about as sexually exciting as Great Aunt Ida's 7 days of Quilting.

Syfy's Total Blackout an eyesore for the ages

Ed Bark — 2012-04-24T11:49:43-05:00
It seems reasonably safe to assume that Alex Trebek wouldn't be interested in hosting a game show in which in-the-dark contestants must, among other things, sniff an obese man's hairy unkempt armpit in pursuit of a measly $5,000 grand prize. ...Wednesday's second episode of Total Blackout has a quartet of couples in pursuit of $5 grand after White helpfully notes that "normally only four contestants are put through our cruel and unusual punishment."

The CW's L.A. Complex: worth watching on a network that's now barely noticed

Ed Bark — 2012-04-23T14:28:07-05:00
But the 2011-'12 TV season has been a hell hole for the increasingly pint-sized network, which now is doing only half as well as Univision in both total viewers and advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds. ...So much so that you actually might develop a rooting interest in one or more of these fame-seekers, most of whom live from hand to mouth in a faded sub-Melrose Place known as The Deluxe Suites.

Fox hits the 25-year mark and salutes itself with a Sunday night anniversary special

Ed Bark — 2012-04-20T14:10:27-05:00
And the network won't mind saying so Sunday night with a two-hour Fox 25th Anniversary Special (7 p.m. central) hosted by the ubiquitous Ryan Seacrest and featuring cast reunions of series ranging from Married . . . with Children to The X Files. ...And on our Back Channels page, you can find a now vintage story on the network's preparations to take a big gamble nationwide while its owned-and-operated station in Dallas (KDAF-TV at the time) exuded high hopes.

HBO's Veep is hardly a Washington monument

Ed Bark — 2012-04-19T13:55:12-05:00
Billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin America airlines is the takeoff point for Fly Girls, which stars five cute 'n' buxom flight attendants named Nikole, Louise, Farrah, Tasha and Mandalay. ...In Wednesday's premiere episode (they mercifully only last a half-hour), Mandalay gets all weepy after Nikole conspires to stand next to Branson atop a fire truck at a big Virgin America "launch party" in Fort Lauderdale.

R.I.P. Dick Clark: Nov. 30, 1929 to April 18, 2012

Ed Bark — 2012-04-18T18:29:39-05:00
Clark's principal legacies are American Bandstand, a staple of teen life in the 1950s and '60s, and the New Year's Rockin' Eve specials that dated to Dec. 31, 1972 and have continued with the part-time presence of Clark after a 2004 stroke forced him to yield the main hosting duties to his modern day equivalent, Ryan Seacrest. His production company also churned out a wealth of game shows (most notably Pyramid with varying cash values); trophy fests (The Golden Globes and the American Music Awards); the TV Bloopers & Practical Jokes series; and numerous made-for-TV movies, some of which proved to be landmarks.

NBC's Parks and Recreation resumes a campaign that doesn't hurt to watch

Ed Bark — 2012-04-17T15:11:01-05:00
This is good news for those who need a break from the interminable presidential campaign and Diane Sawyer's exclusive report (on Tuesday's ABC World News) about how the Romney dog, Seamus, got diarrhea during one of those strapped-to-the-carhood vacation trips that he otherwise "loved." ...The Peacock, which used to flex its Thursday night ratings might with the likes of Friends, Seinfeld, The Cosby Show and Cheers, has been utterly under the radar in recent years with a critically praised but scantly seen rotation.

ABC's GMA dethrones NBC's Today, ending its morning winning streak of more than 16 years; NBC's Nightly News also increasingly challenged

Ed Bark — 2012-04-17T09:59:37-05:00
It continues to trail by a significant gap in total viewers but is making a game of it with 25-to-54-year-olds while remaining the only newscast to register year-to-year gains in both ratings measurements. From April 9-13, Nightly News led in total viewers with 8.160 million, followed by Diane Sawyer's World News (7.203 million) and the CBS Evening News (5.943 million).

Still smokin' hot: Prince's blazing guitar solo at the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony

Ed Bark — 2012-04-13T13:15:16-05:00
All involved will be hard-pressed to top Prince, who celebrated his 2004 induction with a blow-away guitar solo tied to fellow inductee George Harrison's "As My Guitar Gently Weeps." ...version=3&hl=en_US">

ABC's Don't Trust the B looks like a comedy worth keeping (trust me)

Ed Bark — 2012-04-10T12:25:27-05:00
So maybe A(bitch)C has something at least a little special in Don't Trust the B ---- In Apartment 23, its second new series this season with an advertiser-unfriendly word shorn from the title but deployed within the show itself. ...And two upcoming episodes made available for review show that Don't Trust the B potentially has staying power in a season where ABC has found a few modest hits amid big misses such as The River, Charlie's Angels, Man Up!

R.I.P. Mike Wallace: May 9, 1918 to April 7, 2012

Ed Bark — 2012-04-09T10:41:23-05:00
"What I try to do, honestly, is to read everything that's been written about or by the person I'm talking to," Wallace said in our 2005 interview, which preceded his last visit to Dallas on Wednesday, Nov. 9th of that same year. ...I saw him for the last time in fall 2005, just before he went onstage at Highland Park Methodist Church to talk about his new book and his many old adventures within its covers.

Hewitt's treasured chest serves as The Client List's calling card

Ed Bark — 2012-04-06T11:59:50-05:00
Hewitt, the Waco native who first came to fame as a teenager on Fox's Party of Five, had a nice run as the star of CBS' Ghost Whisperer before segueing in 2010 to Lifetime's The Client List movie, one of its most popular ever. ...She leads a karaoke sing-along with her co-workers before Kyle's gentlemanly brother, Evan (Colin Egglesfield), arrives to drive her home, put her to bed and then get some day-after home cookin' after Riley sobers up.

Starz's Magic City rewinds 53 years to a glowingly corrupt Miami Beach

Ed Bark — 2012-04-05T15:24:09-05:00
Danny is enamored of a hotel maid named Mercedes Lazaro (Dominik Garcia-Lorido) while Stevie has the very dangerous hots for Lily Diamond (Jessica Marais), who just happens to be brutal Ben's moll. ...Vera Evans is willful but not evil, a wife who sees only the best sides of her husband while he somewhat reluctantly does what has to be done to keep the Miramar out of financial harm's way.

God is the Bigger Elvis is its own form of Graceland

Ed Bark — 2012-04-04T18:51:03-05:00
So that's the context preceding this brief review of God Is The Bigger Elvis, the Oscar-nominated short documentary film (just 40 minutes) charting the transformation of Dolores Hart from movie star to the current Mother Prioress of the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut. ...And at age 73 she continues to radiate an inner and outer beauty, whether asking her parakeet Toby for a kiss or giving the film its title by telling director/producer Rebecca Cammisa, "The abbey was like a grace of God that just entered my life in a way that was totally unexpected.

ABC's Scandal goofily practices D.C. damage control (when it's not being just plain aggravating)

Ed Bark — 2012-04-04T15:53:11-05:00
And their paths cross anew when Republican prez Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn) asks Olivia Pope (series star Kerry Washington) to intercede on his behalf after a White House intern seems poised to go public with a charge that he had a fling with her. ...This is all in Thursday's frenetically paced opening episode, during which Pope's firm also takes on the case of a much-decorated war hero and resultant conservative "poster boy" who's been accused of murdering his girlfriend by firing three slugs into her head.

Letterman & Olbermann: two pals chortling about the latest Current events

Ed Bark — 2012-04-04T08:37:46-05:00
On Tuesday's Late Show with David Letterman, Olbermann grandly depicted himself as a "10 million dollar chandelier" who was just too ornate for the outhouse Current TV turned out to be. ...***Why couldn't you have been a team player and shown up for work at a time when Current was trying to make a name for itself on the nights of the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary?

NBC's Best Friends Forever is better suited to eternal damnation

Ed Bark — 2012-04-03T13:13:02-05:00
Three's a crowd, with Jessica coaxing Lennon to resume their tradition of watching Steel Magnolias together while Joe starts to feel like a second hand rose. BFF also works in another guy named Rav (Stephen Schneider) -- an old friend of Jessica's -- and sassy Queenetta (Daija Owens), a nine-year-old black girl with a fondness for trash-talking. ...BFF leads into what almost assuredly will be the last two episodes of the exceedingly better Bent, which NBC has thrown away via a six-episode order and a back-to-back scheduling scheme on three successive Wednesdays opposite American Idol.

CBS will do Dave (and Craig) for at least three more years

Ed Bark — 2012-04-03T11:46:53-05:00
CBS announced Tuesday that Letterman's Late Show has been renewed through 2014 as has Craig Ferguson's followup Late Late Show, which will be moving to larger stage at CBS Television City, says the network. ...Letterman began on NBC in 1982 as host of the network's Late Night before making his CBS debut on ug. 30, 1993 after being passed over as Carson's successor.

A Monday morning unlike any other (in quite awhile) on Today, GMA, This Morning

Ed Bark — 2012-04-02T11:10:00-05:00
So NBC's front-running Today wasn't about to just sit there and take it when ABC's onrushing Good Morning America announced Friday that Katie Couric would be hosting a week's worth of shows from April 2-6. ...In the latest national results released by Nielsen Media Research (for the week of March 19-23), Today averaged 4.979 million viewers, with GMA (4.842 million) right behind and This Morning (2.364 million) luring less than half the audience of either show.

The sun rises in the east -- and Keith Olbermann gets fired again

Ed Bark — 2012-04-01T23:12:58-05:00
Asked about this by unclebarky.com during the recent winter Television Critics Association "press tour," Current president David Bohrman gave the implication that the network was powerless to make Olbermann do anything he didn't want to do in return for the handsome salary he had negotiated after being dumped by MSNBC. ...His program premiered in spring 2011, with Gore enthusing, "In a world where there are fewer and fewer opportunities to hear truly distinct, unfettered voices on television, we are delighted to provide Olbermann with the independent platform and freedom that Current can and does uniquely offer."

AMC's The Killing returns with some explaining to do (and does so convincingly

Ed Bark — 2012-04-01T23:08:49-05:00
And its closing scene also raised the ugly possibility that unconventional detective Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman) had gone over to the dark side after working hand-in-hand with stout-hearted detective Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) for the entire run of Season 1. ...Executive producer Veena Sud and AMC programming executive Joel Stillerman have sent an accompanying letter that includes what amounts to a one-sentence mea culpa: "As we've said before, we learned a lot with season one and the reaction generated by the finale."

Game of Thrones returns for more heavy duty evil-doing

Ed Bark — 2012-04-01T23:05:01-05:00
He's the utterly amoral, astoundingly evil, egregiously egotistical teen King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson), the punk who happily presided over the beheading of noble Eddard "Ned" Stark (Sean Bean) near the close of Season 1. ...The younger Stark daughter, Arya (Maisie Williams), has escaped and is masquerading as a boy while oldest brother Robb Stark (Richard Madden) seeks to marshal the forces to overthrow Joffrey and thereby avenge his father's death.

A starring Steven Seagal punches up ReelzChannel's first scripted series (he again plays with guns, too)

Ed Bark — 2012-04-01T23:00:33-05:00
The four law enforcers under Elijah's wing are by-the-booker Andre Mason (William "Big Sleeps" Stewart); sultry, hard-nosed Juliet Sanders (Meghan Ory); quick-tempered Brett Radner (Warren Christie) and plucky rookie Sarah Montgomery (Sarah Lind). ...Reelz publicity materials say that each episode of True Justice will include a "Seagal in 60 Seconds" segment highlighting one of his previous movies and then informing viewers where they can see it via PPV or Video on Demand.

WE tv's Mary Mary turns out to be merry merry

Ed Bark — 2012-04-01T22:55:42-05:00
This is put to the test when Mitchell ramrods Mary Mary into that aforementioned away-from-home Thanksgiving Day gig, which he portrays as a titanic event in the career of the duo. ...And it exudes a top-of-the-marquee positivity that wears well overall, even after Tina baits a little hook in the early going by telling the camera, "I love my sister, but sometimes I wanna punch her in the face."

The discoveries go down easy in PBS' celebrity-stocked Finding Your Roots

Ed Bark — 2012-04-01T22:51:41-05:00
Its host and chief practitioner, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., is about as likable as they come during the course of telling people who and where they come from. ...Sunday's first one-hour episode, which will be immediately followed by another one in this 10-part series, otherwise focuses on two New Orleans-bred musicians of note -- Branford Marsalis and Harry Connick, Jr.

Mad Men takes it easy with leisurely Season 5 start

Ed Bark — 2012-04-01T22:47:46-05:00
Responding to notations that Dusty Springfield's "The Look of Love" wasn't released until roughly six months after Season 5's initial time frame, Weiner said he'll remove the song and substitute another before Sunday's premiere. ...Sunday's re-launch is book-ended -- in a rather contrived way -- by separate but related events that force a change in hiring policies by the renegade ad agency that dapper Don (Jon Hamm) forged at the close of Season 3.

NBC's Bent gets a bum's rush despite being a pretty good sitcom

Ed Bark — 2012-04-01T22:37:13-05:00
Or might Alex instead choose the much stabler Ben (Matt Letscher), a doctor who all in all is not such a bad guy even if the writers can't seem to decide whether he should wear glasses or not. ...NBC is offering back-to-back episodes of Bent on three successive Wednesdays in a time slot also occupied by Fox's American Idol, CBS' Criminal Minds and ABC's already established comedy duo of Modern Family and Happy Endings.

A&E's Duck Dynasty hopes to quack you up

Ed Bark — 2012-04-01T22:31:36-05:00
Publicity materials say that the former Louisiana Tech University quarterback -- and inventor of the ingenious Duck Commander duck call -- "follows a strict routine of no showering, no shaving, and no clothes washing of any kind" during duck-hunting season, which lasts for 10 weeks. ...Although if this keeps up, smaller and small percentages of the American populace will be educated enough to feel "superior" to the likes of rough-hewn Phil, lay-about Si or cocksure Jase, who terms himself a "frog's nightmare.

OWN strikes out again with cancellation of Rosie show

Ed Bark — 2012-04-01T22:25:11-05:00
Which was the case Friday evening when Oprah Winfrey and Rosie O'Donnell jointly announced the cancellation of The Rosie Show, which will air its last hour on March 30th after a final March 20th taping. ...O'Donnell put on a good show at the time, joking that "my agent was thrilled that I wanted to go to basic cable as opposed to one of the major networks."

ABC's Missing pines for a Judd's reunion -- with her fictional son

Ed Bark — 2012-03-15T09:30:45-05:00
Beccca, you see, is a former CIA operative who quit cold turkey a decade ago after her CIA agent husband (a very briefly seen Sean Bean from Game of Thrones) was blown to bits in Vienna while their then eight-year-old son looked on helplessly. ...They tend to be either serial soaps (GCB) or murky mystical tours like The River, which has yet to find more than a very smallish audience for its Lost-like trip to the Congo in search of a missing dad with a voodoo vibe.

NBC's Fashion Star wants you to be ready for a store near you

Ed Bark — 2012-03-09T13:44:19-06:00
And in some ways, Fashion Star amounts to QVC, with fashions from 14 competing designers showcased in mini-runway shows before the three resident buyers decide whether to make an offer to sell these goods virtually on the spot. ...And those who come away without offers from any of the three buyers are up for elimination in a climactic round that ends with one of them being told, "You're not our 'Fashion Star.'

Let it entertain you: HBO's politically charged Game Change is fair game for now (But how about a Barack/Hillary sequel?)

Ed Bark — 2012-03-08T08:31:56-06:00
HBO, for its part, has taken the unusual step of issuing a one-page letter in defense of Game Change, which is drawn from the McCain-Palin segments of the same-named 2010 bestseller by veteran political reporters Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. ...Detractors of Game Change, whether they've seen the film or not, have a point in noting that the book on which it's based in fact devoted more pages to the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination between Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Breaking In goes from locked out to last call on Fox's new comedy Tuesday

Ed Bark — 2012-03-05T12:21:48-06:00
Uncanceled by the same network that exhumed Family Guy, Fox's Breaking In likely will be out of options if it doesn't perform as the caboose on a place-holding comedy Tuesday. ...There are signs of improvement, though, even if Mullally tends to over-do it in the "brash and bold" department while holdover Christian Slater remains in place as the downgraded former head dude known only as Oz.

ABC's GCB gets C-plus for its typical depiction of Big D

Ed Bark — 2012-03-02T06:54:00-06:00
There is some fun to be had, particularly when Annie Potts is on screen as a pistol-packin', creature-comforted, tart-tongued Highland Park mama (for the purposes of GCB it's Hillside Park) whose prodigal daughter Amanda (Leslie Bibb) is back in town 18 years after being a high school bee-yotch. ...And you can always count on Potts to deliver the goods, whether she's cocking a silver-plated shotgun in Episode 2 or telling her daughter in Sunday's premiere, "God often speaks to me through Christian Dior."

Who Shot J.R.'s Facebook page? Nobody. It's now open for bidness

Ed Bark — 2012-03-01T20:39:35-06:00
The network has revved up an official Dallas Facebook page with a timeline that traces the original's 14 seasons and what's happened since the show left CBS in May, 1991. ... Some of what I've posted might shock, or offend you...but if if that's not a good enough reason for exposing my family, I don't know what is."

Davy Jones: Dec. 30, 1945 to Feb. 29, 2012

Ed Bark — 2012-02-29T16:26:59-06:00
Nesmith simply had made a clean break from the group while Jones, Dolenz and Tork continued to turn back the clock to the tune of some still very listenable Monkees hits. ..."Mickey's a little crazier and I'm not any taller," Jones joked after Dolenz wore a rubber cobra and sequined sunglasses for his version of "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone."

NBC's Awake has vital signs amid a veering premise

Ed Bark — 2012-02-28T15:05:42-06:00
But in yet another of the Peacock's seasons to forget, Awake will be the third new drama series to get a Thursday 9 p.m. (central) launch. ...And that by the end of Thursday's premiere, there's a galvanizing oomph to Britten's declaration -- to therapist Lee -- that going nuts "is a price I will happily pay.

Dancing's latest cast has fewer big toes, lotsa little feet

Ed Bark — 2012-02-28T09:12:13-06:00
And when Dancing re-launches on Monday, March 19th, it will be in the cross-hairs of NBC's The Voice, which lately has surpassed Fox's American Idol as prime-time's most popular singing competition. ...Despite all the cooing from GMA co-host Robin Roberts, Dancing has achieved the seeming impossible by making even the cast of NBC's latest Celebrity Apprentice look good.

Oscars fall shy of Grammys but beat last year's total

Ed Bark — 2012-02-27T18:39:01-06:00
"The 2012 Oscars stand as ABC's most-watched telecast in 2 years -- since March 3/7/10," ABC said, neglecting to mention that this was the date of the Steve Martin-Alec Baldwin Oscars, which had an appreciably higher 41.7 million viewers. ...This month's Grammys prevailed by a wider margin among advertiser-courted 18-to-49-year-olds, drawing 18.080 million viewers in this age range compared to the Sunday Oscar haul of 15.003 million.

Oscars come, go with a Crystal chandelier again in place

Ed Bark — 2012-02-27T11:35:38-06:00
Billy Crystal, who eagerly stepped up for the ninth time after Eddie Murphy dropped out, brought a sense of entitlement and his standard opening bits to Sunday night's 84th Academy Awards shebang on ABC. ...The Feb. 12th Grammy Awards, which had their biggest audience in a generation, actually ran longer than the Oscars before getting off exactly as planned after an allotted three-and-a-half-hour slot.

"Not Even Nominated" still a classic Oscar sing-along

Ed Bark — 2012-02-24T12:59:19-06:00
They swung and crooned their way through an astonishing array of standards, including "Singin' In The Rain" and "When I Fall In Love," that somehow were ignored by the austere but often clueless Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. ...version=3&hl=en_US">Big Rich Texas and Jerseylicious are two more gaudy baubles at the expense of states that no self-respecting "reality" TV producer ever wants to take seriously.

Life's Too Short gives HBO another bracing jolt of Gervais

Ed Bark — 2012-02-17T08:43:23-06:00
That will dovetail with the Season 1 expiration date of Life's Too Short, a seven-episode Gervais-Merchant concoction premiering on Sunday, Feb. 19th at 9:30 p.m. (central). ...They include falling out of his oversized car; getting stuck in a dog door while trying to sneak into his former residence; and being put in a trash can because Helena Bonham Carter is creeped out by the sight of him as a stand-in for a small boy in a period piece film she's making.

AMC niftily turns over a new leaf with Kevin Smith's Comic Book Men

Ed Bark — 2012-02-10T08:07:25-06:00
It's an unscripted departure from the likes of AMC's Mad Men, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead, with Smith presiding over his Smodcast Internet Radio podcasts in the company of four chums who run his New Jersey-based comic book shop, Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash. ...But he's a little too busy to run his New Jersey shop, instead leaving it in the reasonably capable hands of Walt, Bryan, Michael Zapcic and Ming Chen.

No more House calls for Fox's classically irascible doc

Ed Bark — 2012-02-08T17:42:23-06:00
Gregory House) said that "the decision to end the show now, or ever, is a painful one, as it risks putting asunder hundreds of close friendships that have developed over the past eight years." ...But NBC entertainment president Bob Greenblatt told TV writers at January's semi-annual network TV "press tour" that both the expense and the age of the show made it unlikely that NBC would pick it up.

Olbermann goes off on Komen while new report says he remains off his rocker

Ed Bark — 2012-02-08T13:41:10-06:00
They respectively host The Young Turks and The War Room as part of Current's "Politically Direct" nighttime bloc of what Gore termed "news and information from a progressive point of view" that's aimed squarely at a "younger demographic." ..."I would like to declare war on the establishment media like CNN because they have their plastic fake robot anchors on there that do not deliver the news," Uygur pronounced in his opening manifesto before questions were taken.

Nice while it lasted: Jerry's Palace Super Bowl nipped nationally by XLVI, which now ranks as most-watched TV program ever

Ed Bark — 2012-02-06T14:22:27-06:00
The New York Giants' 21-17 win over the New England Patriots, which wasn't decided until a climactic "Hail Mary" pass fell incomplete in the end zone, built steadily throughout the early evening and night to average 117.7 million viewers in its final half-hour. ...But the country is more populated than it used to be, making the overall 47.0 household rating for XLVI still only the sixth best on the list.

More stealth promoting for Cougar Town from its renegade producer

Ed Bark — 2012-02-06T12:53:43-06:00
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Bill Lawrence on WhoSay

Eastwood floors it for Motor City and America's "Second Half" while Madonna runs on empty

Ed Bark — 2012-02-06T04:38:10-06:00
Its centerpiece was a nice coup by co-anchor Meredith Land, who coaxed the wives of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Texas Rangers principal owner Nolan Ryan to sit down en masse for an interview about what it's like to be married to these guys. ...version=3&hl=en_US">

Phil Ochs finally graduates to American Masters status

Ed Bark — 2012-01-27T12:00:05-06:00
And in the closing minutes of There But For Fortune, Ochs is shown singing the album's "Jim Dean of Indiana," which he would play for hours on end at the piano during the last year of his life. ...Near the end, Ochs and Dylan performed together at Carnegie Hall in a 1973 benefit concert titled "An Evening with Salvador Allende" (in honor of both the late overthrown Marxist president of Chile and protest singer Victor Jara, a friend of Ochs who was murdered in the aftermath of the military coup).

Made by thoroughbreds, HBO's Luck also can be a daze at the races

Ed Bark — 2012-01-26T09:08:48-06:00
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, John Ortiz, Jason Gedrick, Jill Hennessy, Richard Kind, Ian Hart, Kevin Dunn, Ritchie Coster, Tom Payne, Kerry Condon, Gary Stevens, with recurring appearances by Joan Allen, Michael Gambon, Alan Rosenberg, Ted Levine ...And stuttering Joey Rathburn (Richard Kind), crudely dubbed "Porky Pig" by Escalante, is a jockey agent whose clients currently include an aging drunk (real-life jockey Gary Stevens as Ronnie Jenkins) and an impetuous rookie who has trouble making weight limits (Tom Payne as Leon).

Fox's Touch can be tough to grasp

Ed Bark — 2012-01-23T16:18:56-06:00
Once a "highly paid reporter at the Herald" in the expository words of social worker Clea Hopkins (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), Martin in recent years has been a doorman, a cab driver, a construction worker and now a JFK Airport baggage handler. ...Tim Kring, the Heroes maestro who's also behind Touch, told TV critics during a January "press tour" session that he's a champion of "social benefit storytelling, the idea of trying to use archetypal narrative to create and promote a positive energy in the world."

Winter TV "press tour" picture page (ta-dah)

Ed Bark — 2012-01-19T17:30:47-06:00
James Van Der Beek plays himself, with Krysten Ritter as "The B" in the ABC spring sitcom Don't Trust the B -- in Apartment 23. ...All grown up: Tina Yothers from Family Ties and Tyler James Williams of Everybody Hates Chris.

Motley crew: FX's Unsupervised gives cartoon characters another case of the miseries

Ed Bark — 2012-01-18T18:16:10-06:00
Down and out is also a way of life in FX's Unsupervised, which premieres Thursday, Jan 19th at 9:30 p.m. (central) following the Season 3 launch of the animated spy spoof Archer. ...Schoolmates include gal pal Megan (Kristen Bell taking time away from her new co-starring role in Showtime's House of Lies) and obese black dude Darius (Romany Malco), who's no Fat Albert but lets the sun shine through his basically upbeat disposition.

Curvy women of Cougar Town replacing men in drag of Work It

Ed Bark — 2012-01-18T00:11:44-06:00
So much so that he held his own guerilla party Jan. 9th on the eve of ABC's day-long presentations to TV critics during the just-concluded winter "press tour" in Pasadena, CA. Lawrence and the stars of the show, including Courteney Cox, gathered in a hotel bar to pointedly express their concerns before ABC entertainment president Paul Lee told TV writers on the following morning that Cougar Town was "tentatively in there for March."

Mid-season merry-go-round: Alcatraz gives Fox another prison break

Ed Bark — 2011-12-31T13:11:59-06:00
Premiering Jan. 16th with back-to-back episodes (only the first hour was available for review as of this writing), Alcatraz is the latest serial string-along from creator/producer J.J. ...But in Alcatraz, the guy (who turns out to be Sylvane) leaves all by himself and then murders an old former Alcatraz warden who had made his life a living hell.

Mid-season merry-go-round: Syfy offers another draining ground for Canadian import Lost Girl

Ed Bark — 2011-12-31T11:53:12-06:00
But wouldn't you know, a lippy teen pickpocket named Kenzi (Ksenia Solo) is on the prowl, lifting wallets before attracting the interest of a traveling salesman who drugs her drink. ...Aiding her on the sly is a human doctor named Lauren (Zoie Palmer), who's in servitude to the Faes and would like to have more carnal knowledge of Bo.

Mid-season merry-go-round: House of Lies gives Showtime another batch of scoundrels

Ed Bark — 2011-12-31T09:21:31-06:00
The catch-all title suggests that this could be an espionage thriller or another duplicitous royal drama in league with Showtime's The Tudors or The Borgias. ...So House of Lies it is, with Don Cheadle starring as the ruthless maestro of a team of like-minded management consultants.

Mid-season merry-go-round: Fox's animated Napoleon Dynamite doesn't need to go back to the drawing board

Ed Bark — 2011-12-31T09:27:59-06:00
The Jan. 15th launch is two-pronged, with the "Thundercone" episode airing at 7:30 p.m. (central) and "Scantronica Love" at 8:30 p.m. Dynamite will then return on Jan. 29th in its regular Sunday, 7:30 p.m. slot. The first half-hour shows how much you can do with the absurdity of 16-year-old Napoleon getting an outpouring of zits on his forehead after his twice-as-old loser brother Kip (Aaron Ruell) hits him with some greasy fried chicken skin.

Mid-season merry-go-round: CBS' Rob is typically broad but bracingly diverse

Ed Bark — 2011-12-31T09:27:54-06:00
Rob, premiering Tuesday, Jan. 12th following The Big Bang Theory, is a highly energetic effort to milk laughs out of the title character's attempts to please his new Hispanic in-laws. ...Grandma (Lupe Ontiveros) is pretty much oblivious, but warms to Rob after he accidentally spills hot wax on his genitals and then staggers about her bedroom in a compromising position.

Mid-season merry-go-round: Fox's The Finder has solid characters, shaky storytelling

Ed Bark — 2011-12-31T09:27:41-06:00
Its character mix is its strong point, with Geoff Stults and Michael Clarke Duncan clicking together as a brain-damaged war veteran with "Finder Power" and a level-headed Key West bar owner who joins him on his jaunts. ...All in all, this is a light-hearted series that also looks as though it's going to be light-headed in terms of basic story construction.

Mid-season merry-go-round: Beware of NBC's Are You There, Chelsea?

Ed Bark — 2011-12-31T09:22:53-06:00
Or possibly any series ever, beginning with Chelsea's (Laura Prepon) narrative brag that "I finally power-slurped the worm out of a high-end bottle of tequila." ...In Episode 2, she makes light of a sister who died of smallpox, cheerily noting that dad had the power of attorney and pulled the plug.

Mid-season merry-go-round: NBC's The Firm is a compelling continuation

Ed Bark — 2011-12-29T15:29:33-06:00
Two of them will be filled on Jan. 8th with the continuation of a courtroom drama that began as a John Grisham bestseller before becoming a hit 1993 feature film starring Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Holly Hunter and David Strathairn. ...But it ends up taking a bit too long to re-calibrate and explain itself after a breakneck opening sequence that finds lawyer Mitch McDeere (Lucas) running amid Washington monuments -- and through the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool -- while being pursued by a small group of bad guys.

Mid-season merry-go-round: ABC's Work It a dog in women's clothing

Ed Bark — 2011-12-29T13:00:09-06:00
His desperation is further flamed by a corpulent drinking buddy named Brian (John Caparulo), who drops "mancession" into the conversation while they're joined in knocking down beers by the likewise out-of-work Angel Ortiz (Amaury Nolasco), who had been a mechanic. ...It's then presto change-o, with a newly high-heeled Angel breaking the ice during his interview by telling the pharmaceutical company boss lady, "Your ass looks tight in those pants."

Mid-season merry-go-round: HBO's Angry Boys goes to extremes

Ed Bark — 2011-12-29T10:34:53-06:00
In both cases, Fox4’s news impressively trampolined off a meager lead-in from Fox’s 8 p.m. episode of American Grit, which had 56,659 total viewers and 22,230 within the 18-to-49-year-old motherlode. Thursday also opened the four-week May “sweeps” ratings period, with CBS11’s 10 p.m. newscast striving to suction in viewers with the twin punch of former TEGNA8 chief forecaster Troy Dungan in front of a TV weather map for the first time since July 18, 2007 and Ginger Allen’s investigation of “Exploding Toilets.”

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Season finale

Ed Bark — 2011-12-23T11:35:43-06:00
It's also been 25 years since she first performed "Christmas" in Letterman's presence on the Dec. 16, 1986 edition of his old Late Night show on NBC. ...version=3&hl=en_US">

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 15

Ed Bark — 2011-12-20T18:09:13-06:00
In a pairing almost as odd as Rick Perry putting "presidential candidate" in front of his name, David Bowie and Bing Crosby performed together on the ailing crooner's last Christmas special in 1977. ...version=3&hl=en_US">

First impression: the opening episode of TNT's Dallas re-do shouldn't have anyone hangin' their heads

Ed Bark — 2011-12-19T13:50:32-06:00
And in that context, Dallas will be getting off to a high, wide and handsome re-start, beginning with a jolt of an early scene in which one of the principal characters gets some life-changing news that propels the rest of the action. ...Most of the outdoor action is set at Southfork, site of a big planned wedding for Bobby's adopted son, Christopher (Jesse Metcalfe) and his sexy and seemingly sweet fiancee, Rebecca Sutter (Julie Gonzalo).

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 13

Ed Bark — 2011-12-19T09:30:21-06:00
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Who's Still Standing? gives NBC another holiday game gambit

Ed Bark — 2011-12-19T07:12:31-06:00
Your host is towering, shaved-headed Ben Bailey, a comedian who's also the face of Discovery Channel's Cash Cab but would look equally at home in an extreme martial arts match. ...But Bailey is palatable compared to the irksome off-camera Santa Claus impersonator whose constant "ho ho ho's" might prompt even little Jimmy Skeezicks to finally throw his hands up and declare, "All I want for Christmas is for this guy to shaddup!!!"

Jerry Lewis lionized in Encore's Method to the Madness

Ed Bark — 2011-12-16T14:12:17-06:00
Lewis, 85, is still entirely too adept at making an ugly spectacle of himself, as he did again this past summer during a session at the semi-annual Television Critics Association "press tour." ...The film is determined to prove their points, whether with footage of Lewis' incredibly popular 10-year partnership with Dean Martin ("When they blew up, it was very much like The Beatles," says Murphy) or via film clips that underscore the subject's gift for improvisational physical comedy.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 12

Ed Bark — 2011-12-16T08:27:48-06:00
version=3&hl=en_US">Jackass or those vintage Rupert Jee segments on Late Show with David Letterman, in which the host used to give him silly things to do via remote commands from afar.

"Romney" not only flip-flops, but takes on a different tone

Ed Bark — 2011-12-15T13:27:55-06:00
Boss and HBO's Enlightened, also were ignored by SAG but recognized by the Globes' small, mysterious band of voters. Cable ruled the Globes' list of five best drama series nominees, with four rookies -- Homeland, Boss, FX's American Horror Story and HBO's Game of Thrones joining HBO's second year Boardwalk Empire.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 11

Ed Bark — 2011-12-15T09:47:52-06:00
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Stern measures for America's Got Talent

Ed Bark — 2011-12-15T09:12:04-06:00
So Cowell had a big say in the network's Thursday morning announcement that Howard Stern will be the hit summer show's newest judge, replacing Piers Morgan. ...Stern's "larger-than-life personality will bring a thrilling new dynamic" to the show," NBC programming exec Paul Telegdy huffed in a publicity release.

NBC/CBS sign new 9-year NFL deals -- with sweeteners

Ed Bark — 2011-12-14T15:05:35-06:00
Both NBC and CBS are locked in long-term with the mighty NFL, courtesy of new 9-year deals announced within minutes of one another Wednesday afternoon. ...CBS says that its new agreement will give the network rights to some NFC conference games while also continuing as the main home of the AFC conference.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 10

Ed Bark — 2011-12-14T10:07:21-06:00
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Amanpour leaving ABC's This Week rebooting to foreign affairs

Ed Bark — 2011-12-14T09:23:23-06:00
The network announced Tuesday night that Amanpour will leave the public affairs program to take on a dual role as foreign affairs anchor/reporter for both ABC News and CNN International. ..."We could not be happier that through this unique arrangement with ABC News her experience and global perspective are returning to a nightly news broadcast for our international audience," CNN Worldwide president Jim Walton said.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 9

Ed Bark — 2011-12-13T09:47:21-06:00
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Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 8

Ed Bark — 2011-12-12T10:32:43-06:00
Things had gotten more than a little creaky when Bob Hope, then 90, and his wife, Dolores, welcomed an assembly line of celebrity guests at the start of 1993's two-hour Bob Hope's Bag Full of Christmas Memories. ...version=3&hl=en_US">Dog the Bounty Hunter to Hoarders to Gene Simmons' Family Jewels.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 6

Ed Bark — 2011-12-08T08:15:01-06:00
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NBC offers a Christmas episode four-pack via its Thursday night comedies

Ed Bark — 2011-12-07T11:04:39-06:00
But NBC sent a nice little packet of its ho ho ho Thursday, in which Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office and Whitney all have new Christmas-y episodes. ...But the best line precedes the party, when Stanley (Leslie David Baker) dismisses all of his co-workers' lame-brained holiday theme ideas with a declaration that all he wants is a very basic "baby Jesus lyin' in the manger Christmas."

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 5

Ed Bark — 2011-12-07T09:15:34-06:00
It all begins with Friday and Smith/Gannon informing a priest that they have been unable to track down the thief who pilfered his church's baby Jesus. ...version=3&hl=en_US">

A whole buncha Bowl games worth flushing

Ed Bark — 2011-12-05T13:48:24-06:00
Even more amazingly, the following sponsored bowls not only actually exist but will all be nationally televised in the interest of further proving the NCAA's point that this is far more valuable to the "college experience" than a playoff system. ...Now it's a veritable feast, with no real limits on what might be coming next unless college football's overlords miraculously wake up someday.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 3

Ed Bark — 2011-12-05T10:12:47-06:00
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Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 2

Ed Bark — 2011-12-02T10:18:59-06:00
Lip syncing with all the dexterity of a dog gummin' peanut butter, George Strait sort of performed "When It's Christmas Time In Texas" during what turned out to be Perry Como's last annual special for ABC. ...version=3&hl=en_US">Dynamite, featuring the voices of the original feature film cast, then will move to its regular Sunday 7:30 p.m. slot on Jan. 29th.

Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas -- Episode 1

Ed Bark — 2011-12-01T10:03:30-06:00
It's the bouncy, smile-inducing "I Wish It Was Christmas Today," performed by former Saturday Night Live cast members Horatio Sanz, Jimmy Fallon, Tracy Morgan and Chris Kattan. ...

Fox's I Hate My Teenage Daughter arrives last and least

Ed Bark — 2011-11-29T15:48:54-06:00
Perhaps setting a modern-day sitcom record, the word "bitch" comes into play less than 10 seconds from the start of the show, which will be following Wednesday's 90-minute edition of The X Factor. ...Also part of this mix are Annie's ex-, a vagabond rock band leader named Matt (Eric Sheffer Stevens); and Nikki's former hubby, Gary (Chad L.

Go ahead, laugh: TV Land's The Exes entertainingly colors within the network's established lines

Ed Bark — 2011-11-29T11:24:51-06:00
And Donald Faison is making a rather startling turn to this format after co-starring on the smart, sight gag-driven Scrubs, which was not filmed before a studio audience, had no laugh track, etc. ...In that vein, The Exes is similar to Fox's New Girl, in which Zooey Deschanel plays the "adorkable" new roomie in an apartment otherwise stocked with three set-in-their-ways guys.

Albom on ABC: Have a Little Faith is the network's fourth adaptation

Ed Bark — 2011-11-23T11:30:39-06:00
ABC has scheduled Little Faith on Sunday, Nov. 27th at 8 p.m. (central), when most potential viewers might be ready for a little chicken slop for the soul after eating their way through Thanksgiving leftovers and shopping 'til they drop. ...There is absolutely no oomph to his performance, whether he's learning at the feet of Lewis, coming to the aid of Covington or dully narrating passages such as, "I was seeing those rarest of things -- a changed man."

ABC's You Deserve It another big prize tear-wringer

Ed Bark — 2011-11-21T14:51:43-06:00
Instead it's a five-part progression through raw numbers and clues, with the weepy, excitable and at times somewhat dense Stacey laboring to win the biggest payday possible while members of her family sit nearby for no particular reason. ...Harrison may be the reigning "Most Sympathetic/Synthetic Man in the World," whether presiding over those faux gut-wrenching rose ceremonies or reminding viewers that they've just shared what "has truly been an amazing evening" on Monday's premiere of You Deserve It.

ABC's revised midseason lineup includes spot for Dallas-set GCB

Ed Bark — 2011-11-21T09:17:54-06:00
Adapted from the Kim Gatlin book Good Christian Bitches and initially re-titled Good Christian Belles, the soapy, sin-slaked serial stars Leslie Bibb as a scandalized single mom and former Dallasite who returns home 20 years after her high school graduation. ...***The River, launching on Tuesday, Feb. 7th (in place of Celebrity Wife Swap) stars Bruce Greenwood as a famed explorer who's mysteriously gone missing in the Amazon.

Allen plays along in two-part American Masters documentary on his films and times

Ed Bark — 2011-11-18T14:08:12-06:00
But the matter is addressed in some detail Monday night, with Allen more or less joking that the "juicy story," which included a very public child custody fight, at least served to make him a more colorful figure. ...And in four separate interviews, friends and collaborators (including Keaton) all use the word "compartmentalize" in describing how he's able to focus on the task at hand, which at the time was both the film he was directing and the custody fight he was in.

Christopher McDonald is wild about Harry's and OK with being "Shooter" (although it'd be nice to play the romantic lead for a change)

Ed Bark — 2011-11-16T14:46:28-06:00
Christopher McDonald's latest supporting role, swaggering Tommy Jefferson on NBC's Harry's Law, is doubly par for the course if you remember him (and who doesn't?) ...Harry's Law (8 p.m. central on Wednesdays) arguably is in prime-time's toughest time slot, going against ABC's Modern Family, Fox's The X Factor and CBS' Criminal Minds.

Another attempt to wake up CBS's sound asleep morning ratings

Ed Bark — 2011-11-15T18:16:20-06:00
The latest effort, clearly a move to replicate MSNBC's newsier Morning Joe, is teaming Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Erica Hill as anchors of what the network proclaimed Tuesday as a "more thoughtful, substantive and insightful source of news and information, delivered by a team of experienced journalists." ...Local stations such as D-FW's CBS11 have been in ratings death valleys for decades, with their crack-of-dawn morning shows leading in to a 7 to 9 a.m. network program that hardly anyone watches compared to Today or GMA.

No. 4 NBC offers new dizzying array of midseason changes

Ed Bark — 2011-11-15T07:01:19-06:00
But its only ratings juggernaut, Sunday Night Football and its pre-game show, will be giving way to a lineup of Dateline, The Celebrity Apprentice and a transplanted Harry's Law, relocating from Wednesdays. ...Remaining in place are Parks and Recreation and The Office, followed by the freshman comedy Up All Night (moved from Wednesdays) and the premiere of John Grisham's The Firm.

Crystal back on Oscar track

Ed Bark — 2011-11-10T18:28:11-06:00
"I am doing this so that the young woman in my pharmacy will stop asking me my name when I pick up my prescriptions," he quipped in an ABC publicity release. ...Crystal, who made a crowd-pleasing appearance as a presenter during the latest Oscar-cast, is a generational departure from the "young Hollywood" hosting duo of Anne Hathaway and James Franco.

Joker's wild: Perry will read "Top 10 List" on Thursday's Late Show with David Letterman (updated with video)

Ed Bark — 2011-11-10T11:37:21-06:00
feature on Late Show, will be appearing on the night after he tried and failed three times to recite which three federal government agencies he would cut as president. ...version=3&hl=en_US">

Rangers-Cards World Series gets late-game lift in national ratings

Ed Bark — 2011-11-01T00:02:20-05:00
A Game 7 crowd of 25.4 million viewers, the most for a World Series game since 2004's Boston Red Sox closeout of the Cardinals, swelled the overall average to 16.6 million viewers. ...In 2004, the Cinderella Red Sox erased their longtime "curse" by sweeping the Cardinals after being the first team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in post-season play by shocking the Yankees in the ALCS.

New fall season: Fox's Allen Gregory looks good, feels creepy

Ed Bark — 2011-10-27T09:40:59-05:00
Allen Gregory, which looks great by the way, is soiled by a scene in which its pretentious seven-year-old protagonist swoons in the presence of a super-obese, gravelly-voiced, 68-year-old school principal named Judith Gottlieb (Renee Taylor). ...Returning home to self-important father Richard De Longpre (French Stewart) and his muscle-bound male life partner, a sobbing Allen (Jonah Hill) confesses to having "a broken heart -- and undergarments filled with my own unruly waste."

New fall season: Prospects seem glum for NBC's new Grimm

Ed Bark — 2011-10-25T09:42:02-05:00
Not that you're going to experience any measurable onset of chill bumps. Grimm plays more like a crime procedural set in Transylvania, with Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli) operating as a standard issue detective until learning from his decaying Auntie Marie (Kate Burton) that he's one of the last in a long line of criminal profiling Grimms. ...He'd better work fast, because Grimm's Friday night competition is CBS' long-established CSI: NY; Fox's scarier Fringe; The CW's creepy crawly Supernatural; and ABC's transplanted Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which probably still has a few nails left to pound.

New fall season: ABC boldly tries to make magic with Once Upon A Time

Ed Bark — 2011-10-19T21:37:06-05:00
These recurring fairy tale scenes are sumptuous to behold, giving Once Upon A Time a money-on-the-screen luster that you just can't get from all those spangly costumes on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. They time-share with the present-day, in which an orphaned bail bonds collector named Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) feels lonely and unfulfilled on her 28th birthday, part of which she spends duping a crook into a blind date at a sumptuous restaurant.

New fall season: Grammer a revelation as power-hitting Chicago mayor in Starz's Boss

Ed Bark — 2011-10-19T15:55:24-05:00
George Clooney's new film, The Ides of March, ends up throwing idealism out with the trash. Boss almost makes Ides seem Cub Scout-y with all those phony power-to-the-people pronouncements from Kane, in whom all power resides behind the closed doors of his City Hall temple. ...It all makes for a terrific immorality play within the confines of a city that can't escape its made-for-TV corruption image any more than Dallas can unsaddle itself from the twin tags of conspicuous consumption and cowboy hats.

New fall season -- dropping the balls with ABC's Man Up!

Ed Bark — 2011-10-17T16:50:45-05:00
's star players are weepy Craig (co-executive producer Christopher Moynihan), tantrum-prone Kenny (Dan Fogler) and mild insurance salesman Will (Mather Zickel), whom his wife, Theresa (Teri Polo) chides as "mannish" at best. ...In real life, bearded, chubby bitterly divorced Kenny is the resident Zach Galifianakis, Craig still pines for his newly married ex-girlfriend and Will worries that his bespectacled 13-year-old-son, Nathan (Jake Johnson), is shaping up to be an even bigger wuss.

Soiling Mark Cuban's HDNet with The Super

Ed Bark — 2011-10-17T14:15:45-05:00
While I try to regain my motor skills, let it be noted that the episode of The Super sent to TV critics isn't the one that will launch the series, according to HDNet's programming schedule. ...In the "He Done Got Me in a Bad Mood" episode, Super Dave and company strive to evict a knuckle-dragging, pot-bellied racist a-hole with bad teeth who's been leeching off a pathetic enabling woman who's consequently fallen behind in her rent payments.

HBO's Sing Your Song is music to Harry Belafonte's activist ears and years

Ed Bark — 2011-10-17T08:11:46-05:00
Abundant archival footage is in part a saving grace, though, whether it's from extraordinary late 1950s CBS specials starring Belafonte or from his days of guest-hosting The Tonight Show, when he welcomed the likes of the Rev. ...Belafonte's political activism and humanitarianism span some of the most seminal events of the past half century, including the Freedom Rides through the segregated South; the 1963 "March on Washington" (site of King's "I Have a Dream" speech); and the 1985 "We Are The World" song/video on behalf of starving African children.

The Walking Dead returns to AMC with twice as much time to amble along

Ed Bark — 2011-10-14T08:13:16-05:00
Filling a double order of 13 episodes -- compared to Season 1's six -- likely will mean a more deliberate approach as the series' divisive band of 11 post-apocalyptic survivors make their way from Atlanta to Fort Benning in hopes of finding a reasonably safe haven. ...Zombies abound, too, meaning that ample heads will be blown or chopped off during these first two episodes. The Walking Dead retains its very graphic approach and then tops itself with a seriously gruesome scene in which hillbilly bow hunter Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) guts a dead zombie to see the contents of its last meal.

Michael Douglas, Matt Damon to star in HBO movie about Liberace's "tempestuous relationship" with live-in lover

Ed Bark — 2011-10-11T13:15:10-05:00
HBO announced Tuesday that Michael Douglas and Matt Damon will star in "a behind-the-scenes look at the tempestuous relationship between legendary entertainer Liberace and Scott Thorson, his younger live-in lover." ...*** Following a battle over payments to its voice actors, Fox has renewed The Simpsons for a 24th and 25th season.

New fall season: Tim Allen goes back to his basics on ABC's "new" Last Man Standing

Ed Bark — 2011-10-10T08:33:45-05:00
One of this fall's purportedly manly new sitcoms, CBS' How to Be a Gentleman, already has been sent from Thursdays to Saturdays in preparation for burial after its handful of remaining episodes are burned off. ...Blustering Mike Baxter otherwise is the marketing director for the Outdoor Man sporting goods store, whose sour-tempered owner Ed (Hector Elizondo) demands a halt to his business travels until the company's outmoded website is fixed.

New fall season: Enlightened gives HBO a life-affirming series with just enough edge

Ed Bark — 2011-10-06T16:10:51-05:00
But she's determined to make headway, whether it's befriending a milquetoast co-worker (co-producer Mike White as Tyler), thawing out her mother or dragging Levi along on a kayak trip in hopes of regaining at least a small portion of what they once had. ...Co-producer White, also known for competing twice on CBS' The Amazing Race with his father, Mel, notes in HBO publicity materials that "there are so many anti-heroes populating TV series right now.

HBO's Living in the Material World portrays George Harrison as much more than the "other Beatle"

Ed Bark — 2011-10-05T12:53:16-05:00
That's the usual hook, with Scorsese and co-producer Olivia Harrison (his second wife) sifting through troves of stills, home movies and rare performance videos. Living in the Material World, which is an appreciably better film on Night 2, also includes fresh interviews with McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, George Martin, Eric Clapton and most surprisingly, legendary record producer/convicted murderer Phil Spector, who turns out to be a surprisingly interesting contributor. ...Harrison doesn't say this in the HBO film, but he's been quoted as stating, "I didn't have many tunes on Beatles records, so doing an album like All Things Must Pass was like going to the bathroom and letting it out."

New fall season: FX's uneven American Horror Story scares up a storm of nightmare scenarios

Ed Bark — 2011-10-04T12:08:50-05:00
Are its two lead producers, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, brilliant in their abilities to fashion an adrenaline-pumping, commercially sponsored TV show that manages to get away with murder in virtually every way, shape or form? ...They producers say their influences for Horror Story include Dark Shadows, Rosemary's Baby, The Shining and particularly the comparatively obscure 1973 Nicolas Roeg movie Don't Look Now, which starred Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie as a married couple struggling to recover emotionally from their daughter's drowning death.

Ken Burns' Prohibition a rollicking/sobering look at America's nearly 14-year drinking game

Ed Bark — 2011-09-30T14:02:03-05:00
But speakeasies, flappers, the Charleston and a party girl columnist for The New Yorker -- whose pen name was "Lipstick" -- put a lot of bounce in this long look at the 18th amendment to the Constitution and its eventual repeal via the 21st. ...It was an early, primitive form of women's liberation, marked by considerable bravery on the part of those who dared to make their voices heard after years of staying at home, minding the children and wondering how they'd make ends meet after their husbands drank away the family income.

Dexter keeps up the carnage, spices it with spirituality

Ed Bark — 2011-09-29T14:48:17-05:00
In this context, it's perhaps hard to believe that Sunday's season opener (8 p.m central preceding the new and very much recommended Homeland) comes off as a little sitcom-y at times before later hitting its stride. ...Largely dismissed as a nebbish during his teen years, Dexter's "prestigious" job as a blood spatter analyst -- plus the grisly loss of his own wife at the end of Season 4 -- combine to make him both a sympathetic figure and latter day hunk to many of his former female classmates.

New fall season: Showtime's Homeland stands as the first great freshman drama -- and it's not even close

Ed Bark — 2011-09-29T08:58:50-05:00
That's because Mathison and a bugger for hire have rigged the Brody home with surveillance cameras just before he returns in the company of his wife, Jessica (former V villainess Morena Baccarin), and their children, Dana and Chris (Morgan Saylor, Jackson Pace). ...Co-executive producer Howard Gordon, the principal force behind Fox's 24, told TV critics this summer that Homeland's 13-episode first season will satisfactorily answer the question of whether the freed Brody in fact has been turned.

New fall season: CBS' How to Be a Gentleman aims at male delivery

Ed Bark — 2011-09-28T09:39:23-05:00
He's Houston native David Hornsby (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), who not only stars in but produces and writes the CBS sitcom How to Be a Gentleman. ...On opening night, viewers might find that Bert, Andrew and How to Be a Gentleman go pretty well with a well-mannered slice of brie -- and a bargain bottle of brewski.

Rooney leaving 60 Minutes after Sunday's farewell commentary

Ed Bark — 2011-09-27T16:10:45-05:00
"It's harder for him to do it every week, but he will always have the ability to speak his mind on 60 Minutes when the urge hits him." ...His first commentary for 60 Minutes, in July 1978, was about automobile fatalities on Independence Day, according to the CBS publicity release.

New fall season: ABC's teenage wasteland is otherwise called Suburgatory

Ed Bark — 2011-09-27T13:38:16-05:00
Dad and daughter almost succumb to a full-out shouting match after she keeps calling him "George" while insolently sipping a can of Red Bull at the dinner table instead of eating the meal he's prepared. ...For now, Levy is an OK mix of insolence and vulnerability, Hines is her usual hoot and Sisto shows signs of being nimble on his feet in an arena where he's still learning the ropes.

New fall season: CW's Hart of Dixie goes south without too many hick-ups

Ed Bark — 2011-09-26T12:26:44-05:00
"OK, someone needs to tell the people in this town that it's 2011," she says before dressing down a blonde throwback named Lemon Breeland (Jaime King) as "some southern xenophobe dressed up like a stick of butter." ...Also residing in Bluebell is ladies man and would-be country rocker Wade Kinsella (Wilson Bethel), who tells Zoe she's "drunk as a boiled owl" before she impulsively makes out with him in his -- but of course -- pickup truck.

New fall season: Fox'sTerra Nova goes picturesquely prehistoric but with a prototypical script

Ed Bark — 2011-09-26T08:44:41-05:00
Absent miniseries and all but shorn of made-for-TV movies, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox have long been nickel-and-diming it on the luster front. Terra Nova is a profligate spender, with its futuristic and prehistoric worlds of desolation and dinosaurs. ...They all make it in rather preposterous fashion to Terra Nova, where Josh suddenly cops a 'tude and says it's dad's "own damn fault" for being locked up and "you can't just come back after all this time and start telling me what to do."

New fall season: ABC's Pan Am looks good, but has the dramatic heft of a plywood plane

Ed Bark — 2011-09-22T18:40:08-05:00
Beyond selling the glamour of it all, Pan Am may be very hard-pressed to come up with weekly storylines that impel viewers to climb aboard. The Love Boat had a spacious vessel, numerous compartments and Isaac the fun-loving bartender. Fantasy Island offered scenic beauty and the odd couple duo of Mr. ...And those pale blue Pan Am stewardess uniforms look great when all four principals are marching in lockstep toward a waiting plane while a little girl looks on in awe and dreams of someday being one of them.

New fall season: CBS' A Gifted Man gives the network a ghost of a chance to at last make a medical drama stick

Ed Bark — 2011-09-22T14:01:51-05:00
It's done OK in recent years with the supernatural, though. Ghost Whisperer ran for five seasons on Friday nights and then Medium hung in for a year-and-a-half after CBS rescued it from NBC's cancellation. ...But it's not all there yet with an unwieldy mix that also includes two life-threatening cases, a few scenes with Michael's frazzled sister, Christina (Julie Benz) and her problematic teen son and an attempted exorcism of sorts by a mystic named Anton (Pablo Schreiber).

New fall season: Winging it without a flight plan in ABC's new Charlie's Angels

Ed Bark — 2011-09-21T17:52:39-05:00
But Charlie's Angels surely is a worn-out franchise after the campy, iconic original, two feature films and a pair of failed efforts -- Angels '88 and Angels '89 -- that both fell short of full series status despite the presence of Tea Leoni. ...The acting pretty much dips to the level of the opening night script, which may well be what a reviewer or two said of the 1976 premiere episode of the original Charlie's Angels.

New fall season: NBC's Prime Suspect is an applause-worthy encore

Ed Bark — 2011-09-21T15:33:04-05:00
Well, NBC has taken that dare and done a very decent job of it in a Manhattan-based version starring Pennsylvanian Maria Bello as tough-minded detective Jane Timoney. ...He's the department boss, trying to exercise a firm hand while also allowing his personal office to be an ad hoc bar where the men drink jumbo shots of straight liquor from cartoon-emblazoned jelly jars.

New fall season: CBS' Person of Interest had this person pretty interested

Ed Bark — 2011-09-21T12:31:13-05:00
Jim Cavaziel, beaten to death in The Passion of the Christ, gets a chance to mete out punishment as a presumed dead former government operative who feels betrayed and looks like hell until Michael Emerson from Lost finds him. ...Together they'll be the brains and brawn of this operation in times when the broadcast networks aren't particularly interested in take-charge men with acquired tastes for pounding the hell out of bad guys -- or shooting them in their thighs.

New fall season: NBC's Whitney gets off to a smart 'n' snappy start

Ed Bark — 2011-09-21T08:13:52-05:00
She's also the co-creator and executive producer of CBS' 2 Broke Girls, which rocked the ratings with a Monday premiere that capitalized on the coattails of the preceding debut of Ashton Kutcher as Charlie Sheen's replacement on Two and a Half Men. ...Whitney's so far/so good gal pals include a sardonic divorcee named Roxie (Rhea Seehorn) and the much sunnier Lily (Zoe Lister-Jones), who's proud of her frequent sex with boyfriend Neal (Maulik Pancholy).

New fall season: ABC's Revenge seems fated to plot 'n' plod along

Ed Bark — 2011-09-20T13:01:09-05:00
ABC has strong-willed women at the throttles of all four of its new fall season dramas while men are on doofus patrol in the new sitcoms Last Man Standing and Man Up. ...NBC is still in there punching with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and CBS has transfered CSI: Crime Scene Investigation to Wednesdays at 9 p.m. (central), where it very well could be rejuvenated with redoubtable Ted Danson in the cast.

Two and a Half Men welcomes Kutcher, leaves Sheen decidedly dead

Ed Bark — 2011-09-20T08:50:43-05:00
Few if any TV characters have been dumped more unceremoniously than Charlie Sheen's womanizing Charlie Harper. Two and a Half Men and its creator, Chuck Lorre, saw to that Monday on the hit sitcom's ninth season premiere. ...Two and a Half Men began with a closed casket funeral service for Charlie Harper, with his trademark shirt and shorts as a backdrop and brother Alan (Jon Cryer) trying to get through a eulogy while various attendees ripped on his late brother.

New fall season: Unforgettable gives CBS another sturdy crime hour with a gimmick and two tested stars

Ed Bark — 2011-09-19T16:42:47-05:00
The first episode of Unforgettable also works in a little off-hand plug for CBS' longest-running "procedural," which will be moving to Wednesdays at 9 p.m. (central) this season while Ted Danson joins the cast in place of Laurence Fishburne. ...Given all the on-screen clutter these days, it wouldn't be all that surprising to see a simultaneous pop-up ad for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation touting its new night, time and star.

New fall season: The star of Fox's New Girl isn't conventionally foxy (but that's the point)

Ed Bark — 2011-09-19T13:19:29-05:00
Zooey Deschanel, still on the cusp of being quite famous after her role in Cameron Crowe's 2000 Almost Famous, is far and away the principal selling point of Fox's New Girl. ...The fall season is dominated by new comedies and dramas that will sink or swim on the strength of their featured female characters. New Girl will be asking a lot of Zooey Deschanel, and so far she seems primed and ready to make her mark.

Football night in America: Friday Night Lights scores its first major Emmys on a winning night for broadcast over cable networks

Ed Bark — 2011-09-19T05:04:54-05:00
Besides Mad Men, Comedy Central's The Daily Show won for the ninth straight year in the Variety, Music or Comedy Series competition while CBS' The Amazing Race prevailed for the eighth time in nine tries as television's best "Reality-Competition" series. ...Sheen's former Two and a Half Men co-star, Jon Cryer (whom he had called a "troll"), was shown applauding the fired "Rock Star from Mars" from the audience before he said of Two and a Half Men, "From the bottom of my heart, I wish you nothing but the best for this upcoming season."

Primetime Emmys again will get tackled by Sunday Night Football, but here are my picks anyway

Ed Bark — 2011-09-16T15:59:06-05:00
But for the record, Sunday's scheduled three-hour ceremony (7 to 10 p.m. central on Fox) will be hosted by Glee's Jane Lynch and produced by Mark (Survivor) Burnett. ...So I'm going to go with the highest-rated series in all of television, if only to see the look on Simon Cowell's face if the show wins in its first season without him.

New fall season: It's pretty much bunny ha-ha in NBC's The Playboy Club

Ed Bark — 2011-09-16T09:38:17-05:00
So perhaps the Peacock's easy-on-the-eyes ode to America's first full-figured bunny hatch will draw enough oglers to somehow survive a tough 9 p.m. (central) slot opposite ABC's Castle, CBS' Hawaii Five-O and ESPN's Monday Night Football. ...New bunny Maureen (Amber Heard), fresh from Fort Wayne, quickly ends up on the receiving end of a drooling mobster's advances while she goes backstage at the club to replenish her cigarette case.

New fall season: CBS' greasy spooned 2 Broke Girls has a potential breakout star but a lousy joke menu

Ed Bark — 2011-09-15T13:31:32-05:00
She's already in full command of this sitcom by the time Behrs' Caroline pops in to replace a fired Russian waitress who left behind a stained and smelly uniform after being caught having loud sex with a cook. ...And although she's portrayed as thoroughly street smart, Max nonetheless has fallen for a muscle-headed, live-in boyfriend named Robbie (Noah Mills), who specializes in flaunting both his abs and his butt crack before being further exposed by Caroline.

New fall season: Witches brew hoo hooey in CW's The Secret Circle

Ed Bark — 2011-09-14T12:53:42-05:00
On the contrary, he's got another one for ya. The Secret Circle, premiering Thursday on The CW after Vampire Diaries, presents a coven of teenage witches, none of whom is named Sabrina. ... That's where cutie Cassie Blake (series star Britt Robertson) has come to live with her grams after moms got burnt to a crisp in a house fire started by an evil adult male witch.

New fall season: NBC merits a buyers' market for Free Agents

Ed Bark — 2011-09-13T17:12:08-05:00
The British Free Agents is appreciably more verbally graphic in this respect, although the f-bombs will have to be bleeped for U.S. consumption on an advertiser-supported network. ...Both actresses are very winning in this role, though, with Hahn particularly good in a grocery store scene where she loads up on red wine and upbraids a clerk for asking whether she's having a party.

New fall season: The CW's H8R just might leave you giddy with guilty pleasure

Ed Bark — 2011-09-13T14:58:44-05:00
Now comes The CW's new H8R (short for "Hater"), where Wednesday's opening episode finds -- pause, one-two -- the ubiquitous Pavelka and fellow "reality" show creation Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi confronting commoners who think they're garbage. ...He also takes Danielle on a plane ride, escorts her to the real Bachelor mansion and claims he had a troubled relationship with his father in hopes of turning her into an admirer of his.

New fall season: Up All Night gives NBC a very rare prime-time baby but no cigar

Ed Bark — 2011-09-12T16:29:24-05:00
The onetime network of The Cosby Show instead put almost all of its eggs in the workplace -- or in the hands of singles who gathered in diners and coffee shops. Seinfeld, Friends, Frasier, The Office, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation -- its denizens could be infantile but they never changed any diapers, read any report cards or chaperoned any proms. ...In that respect, it's hardly coincidental that SNL creator Lorne Michaels is a co-executive producer of Up All Night, which also belatedly has added America's Got Talent host Nick Cannon as Ava's "wildly popular co-host."

New fall season: CW's Ringer a splashy double dip for Gellar

Ed Bark — 2011-09-12T13:23:14-05:00
Gellar's return to prime-time, after leaving Buffy the Vampire Slayer behind eight seasons ago, qualifies as li'l CW's biggest fall season event since its 2006 launch as an amalgamation of The WB and UPN. ...The marquee star of the show has become a mom (her marriage to actor Freddie Prinze Jr. endures) who's acted sparingly since Buffy ran its course. Ringer gives Gellar a full-immersion opportunity to re-tune her skills and put some extra bounce into both characters.

Showtime's The Love We Make revealingly documents McCartney's post 9/11 musical masterstroke

Ed Bark — 2011-09-09T08:42:54-05:00
My recommendation is The Love We Make, a new and stellar 93-minute film recapping the eight days leading to The Concert For New York City, an Oct. 20, 2011 magical musical landmark orchestrated by Paul McCartney. ...It's one of the things I'm most proud of, actually, to have lucked out to be in a profession like this where I can help, heal and let people get in touch with their emotions."

Perry under the microscope in MSNBC's "Ponzi scheme" debate

Ed Bark — 2011-09-08T05:10:00-05:00
Perry unflinchingly derided Social Security as a historically fraudulent "Ponzi scheme" and "a monstrous lie to our kids," took a disbelieving weird science approach to climate change and said that President Obama either was either misinformed by inferior "intel" or is an "abject liar" for saying last spring that the border town of El Paso is safer than ever. ...Another candidate currently on the outer rim of the race, former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, had Perry in mind when he said that Republicans "can't run from science" if they want to defeat President Obama.

The new fall season again flies cable's colors

Ed Bark — 2011-09-07T12:59:55-05:00
FX's American Horror Story quickens the pulse while HBO's Enligthened and Starz's Boss offer damaged goods in lead characters played by Laura Dern and Kelsey Grammer. FX/HBO/Starz photos ...It stars Damian Lewis (from NBC's under-appreciated Life) as a presumed dead Marine sergeant who's discovered in captivity and Claire Danes (an Emmy winner for HBO's Temple Grandin) in the role of a mentally unstable CIA agent who thinks he may have been "turned."

FX's Rescue Me puts out its last fire

Ed Bark — 2011-09-06T17:01:05-05:00
Subtitled "Ashes" (9 p.m. central on Wednesday, Sept. 7th), the series finale underscores the plusses and minuses of a dramedy that might have fared better by dousing some of its excesses. ...And that held true to the end, with two kids crying out for help at the close of last Wednesday's penultimate episode while Gavin and five of his colleagues turned deaf ears to their own safety while explosions erupted around them.

Ooh scary? Syfy's Paranormal Witness instead is "Oh, please."

Ed Bark — 2011-09-06T13:07:33-05:00
Paranormal is the new normal on Syfy, which already is the haunted home of Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters Academy, Ghost Hunters International and Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files. ...Then "get ready to be terrified" with this new addition to the network's Wednesday "prime-time paranormal programming block" in league with Ghost Hunters.

FX's Sons of Anarchy gets its bikers back on track

Ed Bark — 2011-09-02T15:08:49-05:00
Last year's Sons of Anarchy averaged 4.412 million viewers per episode, surpassing the season highs of FX stalwarts such as The Shield, Nip/Tuck and Rescue Me, which will have its series finale on Wednesday, Sept. 7th. SOA re-guns a night earlier, on Tuesday at 9 p.m. central. And in the season opener alone, there's a wedding; a gangland-style mass execution; an even more gruesome payback killing in the prison infirmary; a seemingly sincere vow to go straight by the club's featured young lion; and a new, stern sheriff in the northern California town of Charming.

Evening News anchor Scott Pelley pledges allegiance to his Texas-bred news values and value system

Ed Bark — 2011-08-30T11:16:59-05:00
In Pelley's first week as anchor, the CBS Evening News averaged 5.7 million viewers, still a distant third behind the NBC Nightly News (8.2 million) and ABC's World News (7.1 million). ..."Everything that I learned from Marty Haag and (former assignments editor) Bert Shipp at WFAA are lessons I employ at the Evening News every day," Pelley said in a brief post-session chat before being whisked away to do a pre-arranged satellite interview for that night's broadcast.

New cast of Dancing with the Stars has a spiked heel in Nancy Grace

Ed Bark — 2011-08-30T05:54:55-05:00
And there also are some other intriguing contestants, including David Arquette (who remains very publicly separated from Courteney Cox) and LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) rights advocate Chaz Bono, who grew up to be a rather different only offspring of Sonny and Cher. ...An athlete or two invariably make Dancing's Final Four, and Solo looks like a much better bet than fellow contestant Ron Artest, the ever-problematic Los Angeles Lakers forward who apparently is banking either on a continued NBA lockout or an early eviction.

Should Last Man Standing and 2 Broke Girls have checked these particular jokes at the door?

Ed Bark — 2011-08-26T17:17:51-05:00
From this perspective, both easily could be dropped without compromising the "integrity" or varnishing the "edge" off their respective carriers -- CBS' 2 Broke Girls and ABC's Last Man Standing. ...In the pilot for 2 Broke Girls, a greasy spoon cashier played by charter Saturday Night Live cast member Garrett Morris jokes that a new waitress is "workin' harder than Stephen Hawking trying to put on a pair of cufflinks."

Flightmares achieves liftoff as latest network entry from Dallas-based AMS Pictures

Ed Bark — 2011-08-25T15:22:18-05:00
Dallas-based AMS Pictures also keeps it REAL SIMPLE with Flightmares, a one-hour special premiering Sunday, Aug. 28th at 9 p.m. (central) on the Bio cable network. ...But the station made a long-lasting reputation on that day as D-FW's go-to destination for live breaking news while its TV rivals stayed with regularly scheduled entertainment programming in the early going.

MSNBC's hiring of Sharpton gives it yet another left hook

Ed Bark — 2011-08-24T16:08:55-05:00
"When a big event happens, people turn to CNN because they know not only are they going to have people there covering it, but they're going to cover it in a way that's non-partisan, that's not left or right. ... When you're not trying to be partisan but when you're trying to be aggressive just about the facts and what is true, it's often not as entertaining as some of the others -- and they (CNN) have had some trouble with it."

BBC America's exemplary The Hour has a 60 Minutes air in a Cold War era miniseries

Ed Bark — 2011-08-15T10:06:48-05:00
The Hour also is the name of a 60 Minutes-esque TV news magazine that's launched in 1956 as a dig deep alternative to the generic newsreel programs of the day. ...The fits and starts of getting the new program off the ground are intercut with Freddie's dogged investigation of what he believes to be two murders -- of a highly regarded academic and a young woman named Ruthie (Vanessa Kirby) whom he used to know as a kid.

Bravo's Most Eligible Dallas beautifully captures the city's self-entitled, vacuous, money-to-burn singletons (Bravo?)

Ed Bark — 2011-08-14T13:44:17-05:00
Now we're back in the gilded saddle again, with a re-do of Dallas coming next fall to TNT while the likes of creature-comforted Drew Ginsburg proclaim Monday night, "Everyone in Dallas tends to be self-centered and shallow." ...Monday's opening hour, which gifts the city with its very own super-lampoonable Jersey Shore, also features a vagabond ego-centric NFL punter who's been released by 10 NFL teams; a former Bishop Lynch High School star quarterback but University of Texas benchwarmer; a self-described "slave to vanity" and a late-arriving new girl in town who instantly makes her jealous.

HBO's involving Steinem bio gives her the first, last and only words

Ed Bark — 2011-08-12T13:14:17-05:00
Former variety/game show host Garry Moore is recaptured in a 1972 radio interview in which he describes Steinem as "extremely attractive" before adding that "most of the women I see in the women's liberation movement frankly couldn't lure me out of a burning building." ...They were married in 2000, a development that Steinem admits surprised both her and the world at large. In Her Own Words also shows her acting out of character by tap-dancing during a Barbara Walters special at the urging of the host, who sings "Me and My Gal" in accompaniment.

Summer TV "press tour" picture book

Ed Bark — 2011-08-11T15:13:38-05:00
The cast of NBC's Chuck has one last half-season left. Photos: Ed Bark ...It's a geek heaven on earth with the Game of Thrones easy chair.

Lopez Tonight canned, Conan goes on

Ed Bark — 2011-08-10T16:11:56-05:00
In a statement, the network said it had "reached the difficult decision not to order a third season" of the show, which premiered on Nov. 9, 2009 at 10 p.m. (central) before the arrival of Conan O'Brien's Conan pushed Lopez back to 11 p.m. in November of last year. ...In this year's May "sweeps" Nielsen ratings, Lopez Tonight ranked 10th in the key 18-to-49 ratings for late night broadcast and cable programming, averaging 295,000 per show in this age range while Conan placed 8th with 701,000.

Another sojurn out West for the annual Television Critics Association "press tour"

Ed Bark — 2011-07-25T17:55:42-05:00
Forgive your friendly content provider, but it's time to head West again for the annual Television Critics Association summer "press tour," in which networks high and low trot out their new fall lines. ...I've left some stuff behind on unclebarky.com, including the recently posted tome on WFAA8's latter day championing of Rentrak as a possibly better way to measure local newscast ratings than Nielsen Media Research.

No more cash 'n' carry at ABC News

Ed Bark — 2011-07-25T15:22:39-05:00
Howard Kurtz of The Daily Beast reported on the matter Monday, quoting veteran ABC News spokesman Jeffrey Schneider as telling him, "We can book just about anyone based on the strength of our journalism, the excellence of our anchors, correspondents and producers, and the size of our audience. ...ABC anchor/reporter Chris Cuomo recently had told Kurtz, on his CNN Reliable Sources program, that paying for "big-get" interviews through various means had become the "state of play" in network television news.

Entourage ending its run with a welcome fresh start

Ed Bark — 2011-07-21T10:33:54-05:00
An eight-episode Season 8 will bring the grand total to 96 up-and-down half-hours. Entourage has slumped creatively in some of those seasons, but this looks to be a strong final push toward a satisfying Hollywood ending for four guys and a high-strung, vindictive agent with a heart of Ari Gold. ...Entourage navigates Vince's new-found sobriety in a solid season opener (Sunday, July 24th, 9:30 p.m. central) in which Drama fastidiously scrubs their Hollywood home clean of all drugs and alcohol with some half-assed help from Turtle.

The Hasselhoffs of Hollywood and small town Texas work out an agreeable merger in CBS' Same Name

Ed Bark — 2011-07-20T13:06:26-05:00
"I've got four days of heaven, or, I don't know, four days of hell," the Hollywood Hasselhoff says while the Lake Jackson version flies off to the good life in the company of cheese, crackers, sausage and white wine. ...The lessons to live by are that everyone needs a nurturing family unit and that celebrities are people, too, even if Lake Jackson's David Hasselhoff in the end says he has no desire to be one.

Two Murdochs and a shaving cream pie provide the latest cable TV theater

Ed Bark — 2011-07-19T11:58:15-05:00
"This is the most humble day of my life," Rupert said at both the open and close of an almost three-hour hearing that was marred down the stretch by a male spectator who managed to breech whatever security there was and hit the media baron in the face with a tin full of shaving cream. ...But during Tuesday's parliamentary hearing, committee member Louise Mensch dropped Morgan's name and quoted him as saying in his 2005 book, The Insider: Private Diaries of a Scandalous Decade, "that that little trick of entering a standard 4-digit code allowed anyone to call a number and hear all your messages."

You, too, O'Reilly? Fox News Channel's self-proclaimed truth-teller also shrinks from the mushrooming Murdoch scandal

Ed Bark — 2011-07-18T12:27:50-05:00
Mum's also mostly been the word at Fox News Channel, whose two main prime-time personalities -- Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity -- so far have yet to even mention the far-flung phone-hacking scandal that's engulfed Great Britain and World News Corporation chieftain Rupert Murdoch. ...But the newspaper's executive editor, Bill Keller, previously had put his reporters in an awkward position by declaring at a New York Press Club event: "I think if you're a regular viewer of Fox News, you're among the most cynical people on planet earth.

CMT's Texas Women another collection of boobs/boobs

Ed Bark — 2011-07-14T11:10:27-05:00
She's joined by stock contractor Anna Hunt ("I get dirty and sweaty, and I think that's hot"); aspiring country singer Ali Dee, who also does some on-camera work for the Dallas Mavericks; and barrel racer Brooke Jeter, the only married one of the bunch. ...But any "reality" series about either city invariably gets down to boobs with big boobs or self-absorbed Texas goofballs on the order of former Bishop Lynch High School quarterback and University of Texas extra point holder Matt Nordgren, who humbly considers himself "the whole package" in publicity materials for Most Eligible Dallas.

HBO again dominates Emmy nominees while Friday Night Lights finally gets a best drama series nod in its final season

Ed Bark — 2011-07-14T08:07:23-05:00
Also jumping up and down is the fledgling ReelzChannel, which aired the eight-hour The Kennedys miniseries after History Channel produced it and then rejected it as not fit for its "brand." The Kennedys received 10 nominations, among them an "Outstanding Miniseries or Movie" nod in the company of Mildred Pierce, Too Big to Fail, HBO's Cinema Verite, PBS' Downtown Abbey and Starz's The Pillars of the Earth. ...Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones joined FNL as first-time entrants in the best drama series competition, with CBS' The Good Wife, Showtime's Dexter and AMC's Mad Men completing the field. Mad Men has won the Emmy in this category in each of its first three eligible seasons.

HBO's The Curious Case of Curt Flood is about far more than baseball

Ed Bark — 2011-07-12T14:39:09-05:00
HBO's excellent The Curious Case of Curt Flood, premiering Wednesday at 8 p.m. central on the day after the All-Star Game, reminded me anew of Flood's off-field pursuit of free agency in times when team owners had sole control of their players' careers. ...Scarred by racial prejudice as a young ballplayer -- as were many of his black peers -- Flood was just 31 and still at the top of his game when he learned he'd been traded to the Philadelphia Phillies along with Cardinals teammate Tim McCarver.

Roseanne's Nuts falls far short of being even popcorn entertainment

Ed Bark — 2011-07-12T10:43:56-05:00
Back-to-back episodes premiere on Wednesday, July 13th at 8 p.m. (central), with Lifetime mercifully making only the first one available for review. ...This is a very low-rent proposition, with Roseanne firing a shotgun at a wild, nut-eating pig in the early going before later attempting a "psychic interaction" with her nemesis rather than have it killed for dinner by son Jake and son-in-law Jeff.

TNT takes ownership of Mondays with women-powered returns of The Closer and Rizzoli & Isles

Ed Bark — 2011-07-11T08:47:27-05:00
That makes Monday (July 11th) quite a night for both TNT and distaff cops, with Kyra Sedgwick's The Closer (8 p.m. central) tackling a crime scene stocked with seven dead bodies before Rizzoli & Isles (9 p.m.) opts for single-victim car explosions. ...It's the one troublesome aspect of The Closer, whose recurring split seasons no doubt have been confusing/irritating to fans and injurious to the show's overall ratings strength. Rizzoli & Isles, co-starring Dallas native Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander, is now TNT's undisputed ratings champ, setting an advertiser-supported cable network record with an average of 8.8 million viewers per episode in last summer's first season.

CBS veteran Harry Smith opts for possible greener pastures at NBC

Ed Bark — 2011-07-08T17:23:38-05:00
He began his tenure in 1986 as a member of the network's Dallas bureau, and is married to former WFAA8 sports anchor/reporter Andrea Joyce. Smith, 59, had been removed from CBS Early Show team after a lengthy tenure, and recently was interim anchor of the CBS Evening News after Katie Couric's departure.

Syfy's Alphas is too much of a z-z-z-z-z-z

Ed Bark — 2011-07-08T15:44:04-05:00
He likely could blog, tweet, play around on youtube and answer email all at the same time, making Gary an ideal intern for unclebarky.com if he weren't so intent on catching bad guys or getting on Harken's nerves. ...Monday's premiere episode also introduces a grocery store worker named Cameron Hicks (Warren Christie), who initially is programmed to be an assassin by some guy with a bad-looking festering wound on his hand.

It's a star player for Starz with Torchwood: Miracle Day

Ed Bark — 2011-07-07T15:40:31-05:00
Series such as the 10-episode Miracle Day (premiering Friday, July 8th at 9 p.m. central) might well accelerate this quest for parity. ...But Miracle Day is basically chaste so far, with no dicey language and a pair of intertwined sex scenes that likely also would make the cut on advertiser-supported cable networks such as FX or TNT.

So how much did ABC News pay this time?

Ed Bark — 2011-07-07T09:33:21-05:00
The network did it again Wednesday night with a Primetime Nightline edition built around co-anchor Terry Moran's one-on-one sitdown with Casey Anthony trial juror Jennifer Ford. ...But thanks to 20/20 co-anchor Chris Cuomo, it is on the record as saying that such arrangements have become a very common practice in the business of "Big Get" journalism.

We've got Kaboom Town, but . . . how do you top this?

Ed Bark — 2011-07-04T22:21:29-05:00
CBS, NBC and PBS went head-to-head Fourth of July night with The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, The Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular and A Capitol Fourth 2011. ...Or even better if you'd just as soon not battle the traffic, the heat and assorted flying bugs.

Another "Dick"-ensian moment on MSNBC, with analyst Mark Halperin the latest suspendee

Ed Bark — 2011-06-30T16:15:15-05:00
Halperin, author of the best-selling 2008 presidential campaign chronicle Game Change, quickly apologized both on the air and in a subsequent MSNBC news release announcing his indefinite suspension as one of the network's analysts. ...version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0">The Voice.

USA's Necessary Roughness could use a sand-blaster

Ed Bark — 2011-06-28T09:43:55-05:00
Dani is supposed to end up being, as USA publicity materials describe it, "the most sought-after therapist for high-profile clients," with a rich client list of "athletes, entertainers, politicians and others living in the spotlight." Given that setup, it's hard to see how the aforementioned Hawks' triumvirate of Terrence, Nico and Matthew will all somehow fit in and fulfill their billings as the series' three other regular weekly characters.

NBC'sLove in the Wild gives hapless beauties more legs up over just plain folk

Ed Bark — 2011-06-28T07:55:12-05:00
Sometime in the very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very distant future, a group of genuinely ordinary looking singles will star in a network TV "reality competition" show about people who just can't seem to find a sustainable date or mate. ...The latest gambit in this genre, NBC's Love in the Wild, features another collection of sculpted beautiful people who supposedly are doomed to tread water in the universal dating pool unless they're thrown together in a Costa Rica jungle for a series of competitions spiked by snippy comments.

R.I.P. Peter Falk (Sept. 16, 1927 to June 23, 2011

Ed Bark — 2011-06-24T13:51:38-05:00
TV critic colleague Mark Dawidziak, in his excellent 1988 book The Columbo Phile: A Casebook, noted that the character's creators, Richard Levinson and William Link, at first wanted Lee J. ...version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0">True Blood.

Suits suits USA, which again knows how to dress itself

Ed Bark — 2011-06-22T11:58:42-05:00
In the language department perhaps. Suits, which originates from a cutthroat Manhattan corporate law firm, journeys to FX land with early droppings of s-words, a "Goddamn," double dips of "ass" and "rat's ass" plus a "dickhead" and a "douche." ...Suits eventually starts to find its footing after introducing sexy paralegal Rachel (Meghan Markle) -- "Too busy ogling me to hear anything I said" -- and Harvey's sinister law firm rival, a bullet-head named Louis (Rick Hoffman).

Welcome to poo corner with FX's Wilfred

Ed Bark — 2011-06-22T09:11:16-05:00
Wilfred's star canine is a blunt-talking, pot-smoking mutt of some sort with an acquired taste for anal sex and an ability to sniff out excrement in all its forms. ...Lucky for them then, they've discovered a big crop of killer "purple thunder paranoia" marijuana in the home of super-loutish next door neighbor Spencer (guest star Ethan Suplee from My Name Is Earl).

ABC's 101 Ways to Leave A Game Show might also inspire 102 ways to avoid it

Ed Bark — 2011-06-20T13:49:07-05:00
101 Ways, five of which are deployed Tuesday, is touted by host Jeff Sutphen as "the most insane game show in the history of television." ...101 Ways, despite some of its explosive ejections, is gratingly slow-paced and infested by commercial breaks just before host Sutphen reveals who's next to be axed.

ABC's Combat Hospital is a drama without all that Capital T Trauma

Ed Bark — 2011-06-20T11:28:46-05:00
She catches a break, though, when the colonel in charge of Southern Afghanistan's only advanced care surgical hospital turns out not to be a typically blustery, emotionally cold taskmaster. ...ABC plans to air 13 episodes of Combat Hospital, which is without the gallows humor of M*A*S*H and the ramped-up pace of China Beach.

Ryan & Tatum: The O'Neals gives Oprah's OWN a stiff pour

Ed Bark — 2011-06-17T15:49:41-05:00
There's some black carpets," he says during the opening re-introductions of father and daughter, who made Paper Moon together way back in 1973. ...Tatum's earlier 2004 autobiography, A Paper Life, was not received well by Ryan, who said in a statement, "It is a sad day when malicious lies are told in order to become a best-seller."

TNT's Falling Skies is nothing new under the sun, but still an invasion worth investing in

Ed Bark — 2011-06-17T09:13:13-05:00
Thankfully, there's a silver lining. Falling Skies gets better as it goes along, judging from two subsequent one-hour episodes -- "Prisoner of War" and "Grace" -- airing on June 26th and July 3rd in the drama's regular 9 p.m (central) slot. ...Redoubtable Steven Weber (Wings, Brothers & Sisters, etc., etc., etc.) also effectively pitches in as a guest-starring doctor who both knows his stuff and is at odds with Mason because, well, that would be a "spoiler."

Happily Divorced leaves TV Land stuck in clunky retro gear

Ed Bark — 2011-06-14T14:20:43-05:00
Happily Divorced, premiering Wednesday after a new episode of Hot In Cleveland, is Drescher's first weekly series since the now defunct WB nework's short-lived Living with Fran, which was axed in 2006. ...They split up in 1999 after 21 years of marriage, but remain friends and collaborators on Happily Divorced, which co-stars John Michael Higgins (Kath & Kim) as Peter.

Lifetime gets deadly with its first weekly crime series

Ed Bark — 2011-06-09T14:40:42-05:00
The aimed-at-women network of Army Wives, Drop Dead Diva, Love Handles and sob story movies had resisted any previous urges to catch killers on a weekly basis. The Protector alters that course, with the former star of NBC's Profiler at its steering wheel. Ally Walker, who also had featured roles on FX's Sons of Anarchy and HBO's sex-charged but short-lived Tell Me You Love Me, resumes the prime-time grind as Gloria Sheppard, a divorced, do-it-her-way L.A. homicide detective with two young sons.

King of all late night: in key audience demographics, it's Jon Stewart across the board

Ed Bark — 2011-06-08T16:18:05-05:00
In the 18-to-49 demographic, Daily Show averaged 1.344 million viewers in May, barely ahead of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1.340 million) and with a bit more breathing room between CBS' No. 3 Late Show with David Letterman (an average of 1.124 million). ...All of this adds up to higher prices for commercials on The Daily Show, which otherwise trailed both Leno and Letterman in total viewers while still ranking No. 1 in the cable universe with an average of 2.337 million in May. Conan ranked third among cable entries, with its 975,000 viewers edging the E!

Svetlana gives HDNet a singular and single-minded woman of the night

Ed Bark — 2011-06-08T12:31:22-05:00
She's had a small, recurring role on Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm as an Orthodox Jewish woman named Rachel Heinemann while also dropping in as a guest star on episodes of Friends, Commander In Chief and The Big Bang Theory. ...And she's certainly willing to make fair game of herself, whether battling her homemade implant leaks in an earlier "Corkage Fee" episode or going on a crash diet after a corpulent client called the "Commander" tells her, "You let yourself go when I was away.

Scott Pelley sobers up the CBS Evening News on his opening night as anchor

Ed Bark — 2011-06-06T18:16:50-05:00
Pelley's first edition ended with a D-Day anniversary story on a now 89-year-old World War II veteran who journeyed back to the site of his heroics in Normandy with longtime CBS correspondent Anthony Mason in tow. The newest Evening News anchor follows Cronkite (who cut his journalistic teeth in Texas), Dan Rather, Bob Schieffer (both native Texans) and Couric, an Arlington, VA native who failed to lift the program out of third place in her five years on the job.

Couric joins ABC, which will give her both a daytime talk show and visibility on various news programs

Ed Bark — 2011-06-06T12:26:54-05:00
As expected, Katie Couric is taking her talents to ABC, where she'll host a new daytime talk show scheduled to premiere in September 2012 and co-produced by her old NBC boss. ...But the CBS Evening News remained in a ratings ditch throughout her five-year tenure, trailing the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams and ABC's World News, now helmed by Diane Sawyer after Couric initially went into battle against Charles Gibson.

R.I.P. James Arness (May 6, 1923 to June 3, 2011)

Ed Bark — 2011-06-03T15:01:55-05:00
Arness was recommended for the role of Matt Dillon by John Wayne, who didn't want to do a weekly TV series. Gunsmoke was prime-time's last remaining western series when it left CBS in 1975. ...Although he occasionally branched out, Arness' is indelibly linked to Matt Dillon in the same ways that the late Carroll O'Connor will always be Archie Bunker and the still kicking Larry Hagman is really no one other than J.R.

Bobby Fischer Against the World is a thoroughly world class HBO documentary

Ed Bark — 2011-06-03T11:33:00-05:00
Bobby Fischer Against the World also exhibits a treasure trove of still pictures by Life magazine photographer Harry Benson, who was granted up-close access to Fischer during his training for the 1972 matches. ...Nonetheless, the announcement of Fischer's death is poignant, in large part because we've seen the shy kid and young adult he used to be before fame and his own self-destructive demons undid him. Bobby Fischer Against the World shows us all of it, and in never less than riveting fashion.

TNT's Franklin & Bash has a fun time with the law without exceeding the legal limit

Ed Bark — 2011-06-01T01:21:18-05:00
Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Malcolm McDowell and Breckin Meyer star in the appealingly breezy new legal drama Franklin & Bash. ...So here he is again as a lawyer in TNT's Franklin & Bash, a lively, quippy and broadly entertaining new series that premieres Wednesday night in tandem with the returning Men of a Certain Age.

History's Gettysburg graces Memorial Day with a vivid recreation of a pivotal Civil War battle

Ed Bark — 2011-05-27T13:04:45-05:00
Brothers Ridley and Tony Scott are longtime purveyors of visceral, action-fueled entertainment, ranging from Ridley's Gladiator and Black Hawk Down to Tony's The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 and Man on Fire. ...The film compellingly and informatively recaptures the carnage while also going a bit Nova on occasion with explanations and illustrations of the damage that could be inflicted by a "mini-ball bullet" or a well-placed cannon shot.

World survives latest premature obit; media credibility is another story

Ed Bark — 2011-05-23T15:39:20-05:00
Even Nightline bit hard, turning the gibberish of 89-year-old Family Radio bible thumper Harold Camper into its lead story on Friday's edition. ... Instead he can rest in peace on his considerable laurels, knowing full well that his higher-minded Nightline at the very most would have signed off Friday with a wry observation on the order of "We hope to see you on Monday."

HBO's Too Big to Fail is all business in its dramatization of "epochal" 2008 financial crisis

Ed Bark — 2011-05-20T15:58:37-05:00
But a bravura lead performance by William Hurt and some early heavy lifting by James Woods give Too Big to Fail (Monday, May 23rd, 8 p.m. central) enough currency to carry it through this complex tale of 2008's near-collapse of the U.S. economy. ...Too Big to Fail does a solid job of outlining how America got to this near-meltdown of the economy, with a number of real-life TV journalists seen in recurring clips from those times after presidents Bill Clinton and George W.

Couric closes shop with ode to self and no mention of successor

Ed Bark — 2011-05-20T10:45:53-05:00
Couric certainly had some interviews of import during her five years at CBS News, including the sit-down with a fumbling Sarah Palin and New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez lying to her about never using steroids, which he later recanted. ...Earlier in her final Evening News telecast, Couric had an impromptu exchange with veteran correspondent Anthony Mason, whom she had referred to as "The Grim Reaper" in a 2008 edition for his continued gloomy reports on Wall Street.

Selleck again hits the mark in his seventh Jesse Stone film

Ed Bark — 2011-05-20T10:51:05-05:00
The mood-setting cinematography is first-rate, and the early abundant scenes of Jesse and Reggie are effective enough to make one wish they'd just make an entire movie of the two of them together. ... Joe's performance -- and it really qualifies as such -- is pretty special, whether he's trying to cheer Jesse up or staring him down to the point of the inevitable, "What're you lookin' at?"

The CW goes Gellar in new fall season

Ed Bark — 2011-05-19T08:45:31-05:00
That's when "strange and frightening things begin to happen," with Cassie discovering that her new high school friends are all descended from "powerful witches" and have been waiting for her to join them. ...The CW also announced a pair of new unscripted midseason series. Re-Modeled supposedly will "empower models to take control of their careers and lead healthier lives." The Frame is billed as a "wild social experiment" in which 10 teams "face outrageous challenges, punishments, head-to-head competitions and eliminations, all while isolated from the outside world."

Networks showcase new seasons with a little help from some star players

Ed Bark — 2011-05-19T08:05:34-05:00
Television's annual rite of spring, the new season "upfront" presentations to Madison Avenue advertisers, kicked into the usual overdrives this week. ...Clockwise from top left: The new Charlie Sheen-less cast of Two and a Half Men appear together for the first time, dancing to the hit CBS comedy's theme song.

Still flush with "dynamic stability," CBS stays with crime, shifts some returning shows, proceeds without Charlie Sheen in latest fall makeover

Ed Bark — 2011-05-18T08:23:25-05:00
Unforgettable (drama) -- Poppy Montgomery, who co-starred in CBS long-running Without A Trace, returns to the New York crime scene as an "enigmatic" ex-detective with a memory so acute that "every place, every conversation, every moment of joy and every heartbreak is forever embedded in her mind." ...How to Be a Gentleman (comedy) -- It's adapted from a same-named book, with Kevin Dillon of Entourage and Dave Foley (Kids In the Hall/NewsRadio) respectively cast as a "rude, loud and sloppy" fitness center owner and the editor of an etiquette column penned by the show's third lead (David Hornsby from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia).

Sex a big part of the new RX for third place ABC

Ed Bark — 2011-05-17T08:15:29-05:00
Besides pulchritude, ABC is selling a semblance of its old TGIF family-friendly comedy bloc, with former Home Improvement star Tim Allen returning to the network to play an outwardly manly sporting goods store marketing director whose home life is dominated by his wife and their three daughters. ...Last Man Standing (comedy) -- Tim Allen stars as a pickup truck-driving, ESPN-watching sporting goods store marketing director who's something of a pantywaist at home in the presence of his strong-willed wife and their three daughters, two of them teens.

Fox trots out two big splashes and a trio of new comedies for fall

Ed Bark — 2011-05-16T08:54:10-05:00
The No. 1 network among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds (for a record seven consecutive seasons) also has all but axed America's Most Wanted, which has been part of its prime-time schedule for the last 22 seasons. ...The Finder (drama) -- Due on Thursdays in midseason, it's the saga of an Iraq war veteran (Geoff Stults as Walter Sherman) who emerges from a coma with brain damage that somehow has given him a "unique gift to help others recover what they've lost."

NBC is first out of the 2011-12 starting gate with six new fall series after all of last autumn's freshmen fail to graduate

Ed Bark — 2011-05-15T13:42:09-05:00
Whiffing with all of last fall's newcomers but striking it rich late this season with The Voice, NBC hopes to see you in September with a freshman class of six series and fervent hopes that the currently stalled NFL will re-start as scheduled. ...The Voice, which has been a major hit for NBC since premiering in late April, will be held back until mid-season, when it's slated to be paired on Monday nights with Smash, a new Broadway-set musical drama starring former American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee.

Ashton Kutcher's the one for Two and a Half Men (updated)

Ed Bark — 2011-05-13T11:44:32-05:00
He's also starred in a series of feature films -- most of which had less than dynamic reviews and box office returns -- while operating behind the camera on "reality" TV series such as Punk'd and Beauty and the Geek. ...The series has been a linchpin of CBS' Monday night lineup, but a string of reruns in the second half of this season have deflated the ratings for surrounding shows such as Lorre's Mike & Molly and Hawaii Five-0.

Dallas-incubated Jim Lehrer leaving PBS' Newshour (save for occasional drop-ins) after a 36-year tenure

Ed Bark — 2011-05-12T10:07:46-05:00
As of June 6th, he'll no longer be part of the daily anchor rotation team, but still plans to participate on recurring Friday evenings as moderator of the weekly news analysis segment with Mark Shields and David Brooks. ..."I have been laboring in the glories of daily journalism for 52 years -- 36 of them here at the Newshour and its earlier incarnations -- and there comes a time to step aside from the daily process, and that time has arrived," Lehrer said in a statement.

Rather keeps going -- and excelling on HDNet with his two-hour cautionary tale on Detroit's flunking public school system

Ed Bark — 2011-05-10T10:11:49-05:00
For the past four-and-half years, since the Nov. 6, 2006 premiere of HDNet's weekly Dan Rather Reports, he's put his name to more substantive, real journalism than most if not all of the far more visible flag bearers on ABC, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC and, of course, CBS. ...And it initially seemed wiser for him to hang it up rather than report for a network that at times begs the question of "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

Vieira makes her Today departure official, with incumbent Ann Curry taking her spot

Ed Bark — 2011-05-09T15:44:14-05:00
Meredith Vieira, Matt Lauer and Ann Curry mess around a bit at May 9th news conference tied to Vieira's earlier announced departure from the No. 1-rated network morning show. NBC photo ...Her last day with Today will be sometime in June, with longtime news anchor Ann Curry stepping in as her replacement while another incumbent, Natalie Morales, takes over Curry's position as news anchor.

Hey, Paula: Fox's X Factor will reunite her with Simon

Ed Bark — 2011-05-09T05:47:41-05:00
Paula Abdul's rumored addition to Simon Cowell's The X Factor became official late Sunday afternoon, when the network named her as the last key piece of its splashy new talent competition. ...Post-Paula, who left after a contract dispute, the still reigning No. 1 prime-time show made do with Ellen DeGeneres, Kara DioGuardi, Cowell and charter judge Randy Jackson. Idol's ongoing Season 10, the first without Cowell since his heavily publicized departure for X Factor, has been humming along in the ratings with Jackson and well-received new judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez.

Cuban's concluding appearance on Shark Tank comes on a Friday night with bigger fish to fry

Ed Bark — 2011-05-06T09:10:01-05:00
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is a self-acknowledged "bully" on ABC's Shark Tank, but so far has declined to trade jabs with his arch-nemesis in the basketball world -- Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson. ...So if you want him to throw a little money your way, don't begin by saying you were born in a van down by the river and overcame the heartbreak of psoriasis before working your way through college by sweeping up elephant droppings during a summer job with the circus.

No pics of dead bin Laden will be shown, president tells 60 Minutes

Ed Bark — 2011-05-04T14:15:20-05:00
President Obama and his network interviewer of choice, 60 Minutes Steve Kroft, made big headlines Wednesday with his declaration that photos of a dead Osama bin Laden will not be made public. ..."It is important for us to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence -- as a propaganda tool," the president added.

Shout! Factory's Kovacs Collection celebrates the mondo bizarro that became the norm

Ed Bark — 2011-05-04T11:14:25-05:00
Her dedication to saving as much of his TV work as possible-- ABC, NBC and CBS otherwise would have erased it -- finally comes to full life in The Ernie Kovacs Collection, a newly released, six-disc collection from Shout! ...The Kovacs Collection, available at a discount price of $50.99 on amazon.com, is as good a look as we'll have of the master at work -- including some of his hand-made commercials for Dutch Masters cigars.

Former D-FW reporter Scott Pelley named next anchor of the CBS Evening News, replacing Katie Couric

Ed Bark — 2011-05-03T09:51:46-05:00
"Scott has it all," CBS News chairman Jeff Fager said of the San Antonio native, who worked in D-FW at both KXAS-TV (1978-'81) and WFAA-TV (1982-'89) before joining CBS at a time when Dan Rather helmed the Evening News. ...Neither man could be accused of being "avuncular" in the mode of Walter Cronkite or current longtime CBS anchor/reporter Harry Smith, who regularly has subbed for Couric after being transferred from the ratings-starved CBS Early Show.

Networks draw princely sums for royal wedding coverage

Ed Bark — 2011-05-01T13:46:22-05:00
ABC countered by crowing that its special edition of 20/20, subtitled "A Modern Fairytale," outdrew NBC's competing Dateline royal wedding opus by a score of 6.7 to 4.9 million viewers. ...In the cable news universe, CNN said that its 3 to 9 a.m. slice of royal wedding coverage averaged 1.7 million viewers, beating second place Fox News Channel by a 7 percent margin and MSNBC by 164 percent.

Bad form? Couric bypasses CBS, announces her impending departure in People magazine exclusive

Ed Bark — 2011-04-26T14:33:54-05:00
"I'm really proud of the talented team on the CBS Evening News and the award-winning work we've been able to do in the past five years in addition to the reporting I've done for 60 Minutes and CBS Sunday Morning. ...In the latest national Nielsen ratings, released Tuesday, the CBS Evening News averaged 5.7 million viewers for the week of April 18-22), again running well behind the NBC Nightly News (8.4 million viewers) and ABC's World News (7.7 million viewers).

Treme returns to HBO, as good or better than ever

Ed Bark — 2011-04-22T10:22:26-05:00
On other fronts, LaDonna Batiste-Williams (Khandi Alexander) is still struggling to keep her bar/restaurant in business while life-long resident and cultural heritage preserver Albert Lambreaux (Clarke Peters) is increasingly despondent over losing his home and getting diddled by insurance companies. ...The happier side of Treme's ensemble is helmed by radio DJ Davis McAlary (Steve Zahn), who still can't keep a job for very long but is both calmed and rejuvenated by his new live-in relationship with violinist Annie Tee (Lucia Micarelli).

Say it Loud, but not so proud. HBO's Cinema Verite re-tracks "reality" TV all the way back to PBS

Ed Bark — 2011-04-21T14:18:50-05:00
But Cinema Verite's strength is in dramatizing the off-camera seductions and betrayals that led to the Louds being vilified in many quarters before the entire family went on The Dick Cavett Show to both tell their side of the story and confront filmmaker Craig Gilbert (played by a bearded, toupeed James Gandolfini in the film). ...The film implies, but never actually shows, any physical coupling between Patricia Loud and Gilbert, who's portrayed as manipulative in getting what he wants on film but not entirely duplicitous in insisting that An American Family reflect its subjects in good times and bad.

Hi there, my name's David Hasselhoff. What's yours? (Well I'll be damned)

Ed Bark — 2011-04-15T12:18:41-05:00
Depending on how you might feel about such things, David Hasselhoff of Lake Jackson, TX is going to be lucky enough to meet and "trade lives with" the same-named Hollywood celebrity famous for Knight Rider, America's Got Talent and crawling on the floor drunk while eating a cheeseburger in an infamous video made by his daughter. ...The two Hasselhoffs will "live in each other's houses, meet and interact with family, friends and co-workers and experience how the other lives," CBS says.

Friday Night Lights returns to brighten NBC for a fifth and final season

Ed Bark — 2011-04-14T17:21:26-05:00
Those lowly Friday night ratings for Friday Night Lights are going to be looking better and better on a down-and-out network that averaged just 5.1 million viewers in last week's national prime-time Nielsens. FNL should be able to draw that many viewers without breaking a sweat. ...So when it's finally time to officially turn out the lights, FNL will resonate for seasons to come as a stellar series about coming of age in a scrappy small town that just happened to be located in Texas.

HBO's Game of Thrones can't seem to get going

Ed Bark — 2011-04-14T12:19:25-05:00
Starring: Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Michelle Fairley, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Jack Gleeson, Isaac Hemstead-Wright, Kit Harington, Lena Headley, Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner, Harry Lloyd, Jason Momoa and a host of others ...Against the wishes of his wife, Lady Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley), he agrees to replace Arryn as the "King's Hand" of King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy), who's become a corpulent alcoholic in pre-AA times.

Oh yeah, that guy: The Paul Reiser Show begs and borrows from other shows while its star frets about fleeting fame

Ed Bark — 2011-04-13T08:24:45-05:00
Unfortunately it's also transparently derivative of all three shows, with Reiser playing himself as a flustered married father of two sons who wonders what his next act is going to be after becoming duly rich via Mad About You. ...Reiser otherwise seems content to cast himself as something of a hapless has-been whose agent can't get him anything better than a crummy game show with idiot contestants, an overseas spokesman's role for a tool company or a part as a violent drunken fisherman in a movie to be filmed in Iceland, where Mad About You reruns are just now airing.

All in good time: ABC's Happy Endings falters at first, then finds its footing

Ed Bark — 2011-04-11T16:53:28-05:00
Rounding out the cast are Jane and Brad (Eliza Coupe, Damon Wayans, Jr.) -- whose interracial marriage is peripheral so far -- and decimated Dave (Zachary Knighton), the guy who gets left at the altar when a rollerblading dude named Bo rolls into church to proclaim, "Alex, I love you!" ...Happy Endings will move to Wednesdays at 9 p.m. (central) next week, oddly slotted on a newly expanded, wall-to-wall ABC comedy lineup between new episodes of the returning Cougar Town and Modern Family repeats.

NBC's LOLA hopes to return from the near-dead by killing one of its own

Ed Bark — 2011-04-11T10:22:56-05:00
But events take a grim turn, prompting Molina's Morales to quit the D.A.'s office in disgust before quickly rebooting in the "Silver Lake" episode as the co-investigator of a double homicide whose victims are a mother and her young son. ...These are strong, straight-ahead, uncompromising episodes in times when murders most foul already are in abundant supply on the Big Four broadcast networks. LOLA for its part shows signs of getting that old Law & Order moxie back.

Auction Hunters stars shed light on their profession at Garland, TX storage unit

Ed Bark — 2011-04-07T16:47:56-05:00
GARLAND, TX -- It's a warm, breezy late Thursday morning at a storage facility off North First St., where the running mates of Spike TV's Auction Hunters have dropped in to scope out the remains of two repossessed "rooms," as they call them in the trade. ...Of course that's getting harder to do now that Auction Hunters is at the start of its second season (Tuesdays at 9 p.m. central) after drawing 2.3 million viewers for last December's Season 1 finale.

Showtime's Gigolos gives sex a sordid name -- but doesn't scrimp on it

Ed Bark — 2011-04-06T13:09:03-05:00
Paired on Thursday nights with the final season of the scripted Secret Diary of a Call Girl, this cock and bull concoction stars a quintet of purportedly real-life, Vegas-based studs employed by "the largest straight male escort companion company in the United States." ...Besides Steven, their "family" includes bragging Brace ("I've had so many women in my life, it's just a blur"); straightforward Jimmy ("Being a gigolo isn't always easy") and newcomer Vin, who just happens to bear a more than passing resemblance to actor Vin Diesel.

No mas: Peacock lately trailing Univision in key 18-to-49-year-old demographic

Ed Bark — 2011-04-05T13:46:55-05:00
And it happened again this past week (March 28-April 3), when Univision averaged 2.03 million viewers in this key demographic to the Peacock's 2.01 million. ...In this latest ratings week, with results released Tuesday by Nielsen, NBC still leads Univision in total viewers by a count of 5.38 million to 3.97 million.

Harry Smith's the best fit for a CBS Evening News of the near future

Ed Bark — 2011-04-05T09:48:45-05:00
He also would be a calming yet authoritative full-time anchor of the CBS Evening News, where Katie Couric's days apparently are numbered as she plots a future course that likely will land her a talk show of some sort after her contract expires on June 4th. ...It's vaulted from third place in the February 2010 ratings "sweeps" (with an average of 110,811 viewers) to a very narrow first-place finish ahead of ABC's World News with an uptick to 151,673 viewers in the most recent February sweeps.

Breaking In makes it a trifecta the hard way for hapless Christian Slater

Ed Bark — 2011-04-04T15:54:02-05:00
It's an attempted half-hour comedy in which Slater appears to be unclear about whether he's doing a sendup of Jack Nicholson or an amazingly prescient imitation of Sheen in the clutches of his "Violent Torpedo of Truth" tour. ...There are no relatable characters, every joke's a dud and Slater seems to have no earthly idea what's befallen him. Breaking In succeeds only in being a stupendously bad half-hour of television that should be charged with breaking and entering into unsuspecting living rooms.

Fools and their money: Sheen reportedly bombs in first "Violent Torpedo of Truth" outing

Ed Bark — 2011-04-03T15:10:43-05:00
Those holding tickets to Charlie Sheen's scheduled April 27th stop at Dallas' American Airlines Center might want to try unloading them on Mark Cuban in return for a nosebleed seat to one of the sagging Dallas Mavericks' last regular season games. ...The Detroit Free Press account is among several to brand Sheen's discombobulated stage show a disaster that left attendees booing if they hadn't already walked out.

Cardinal's sins: Showtime's The Borgias charts a treacherous path to Popedom

Ed Bark — 2011-04-03T10:18:50-05:00
Now Showtime's The Borgias, premiering Sunday with a two-hour splash, revisits the not so golden olden days of the late 15th century by presenting the Pope and his offspring as "The Original Crime Family." ...As the first four hours show, Pope Alexander also authorizes assassinations of his enemies and has a mistress named Giulia Farnese (Lotte Verbeek), whose marriage is on the rocks.

The Killing gives AMC another prime-time plus

Ed Bark — 2011-03-31T15:31:59-05:00
The Killing, premiering Sunday at 8 p.m. (central) with back-to-back episodes, leaves any sunny dispositions by the wayside during its peel-away reveals of suspects in the drowning death of 17-year-old Rosie Larsen. ...Rosie's parents, Stanley and Mitch (Brent Sexton, Michelle Forbes), are sledgehammered by their daughter's disappearance and murder. The Killing delves deeply into their grief, and how they comport themselves in front of their two young sons.

The Kennedys demands to be seen, but its venue is no easy find

Ed Bark — 2011-03-31T11:59:23-05:00
But it's very ably produced and acted, with at least two strong Emmy possibilities should the seas of political correctness part to the point of recognizing stellar work by Tom Wilkinson as old Joe Kennedy and Barry Pepper as Robert F. ..."Well, I'm not a kid anymore, but I keep acting like one," he tells Bobby after opting out of one his wife's charity functions to watch Spartacus in the White House theater, where a blonde briefly joins him.

Chaos ensues on CBS

Ed Bark — 2011-03-30T13:39:24-05:00
Let it first be said that the new CBS "comedic drama" Chaos is a shock to the network's systematic scheduling of procedural crime or legal dramas in all other one-hour slots not occupied by an unscripted "reality" series or 60 Minutes. ...Good luck remembering that, even though they skip the "h" and it's not nearly the mouthful THRUSH used to be on The Man From U.N.C.L.E. For the record, it stood for the Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity while U.N.C.L.E. was short for United Network Command for Law and Enforcement.

Starz rewinds its way back machine to Camelot during a big month for Arthurs and royals

Ed Bark — 2011-03-30T09:57:09-05:00
April's a big month for Arthurs, with the same-named big screen remake opening on April 8th while Starz takes the reins on Fools Day with the Arthur-fueled, 10-episode Camelot. ...So away we go again, with Arthur, Merlin, Morgan and Guinevere parrying, thrusting and lusting all the way up to and through the latest royal wedding, on April 29th, between Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Coal takes the Thom Beers Deadliest Catch touch to the minefields

Ed Bark — 2011-03-28T16:57:00-05:00
Mines are next, with Spike TV's 10-episode Coal premiering just shy of a year after an April 2010 explosion took 29 West Virginia miners' lives. ...There's genuine poignancy in the plight of night shift digger Randy Remines, a grizzled survivor of three heart attacks who can't hope to be as proficient as Andy Christian Sr. or his boy.

ABC's Body of Proof has a familiar, off-putting stench

Ed Bark — 2011-03-28T11:05:12-05:00
Rewind to the coltish actress of ABC's distinctive and daring China Beach, which ran from 1988-'91 and nabbed her two best actress Emmy Awards as a field nurse during the Vietnam war. ...Please stop. Body of Proof for the most part plays dead within the realm of plausible crime-solving, interesting characters and assumptions that Delany's once-promising career would do more than wither on this vine.

HBO's new version of Mildred Pierce remains as American as its apple pie maker -- and with plenty of crust

Ed Bark — 2011-03-23T15:08:13-05:00
So this far more faithful version is being billed as a miniseries rather than a movie, with Kate Winslet in the title role and her name in suitably bolder caps than the rest of the cast. ...Crawford's Oscar -- and Winslet is almost certain to win an Emmy -- was eclipsed in later years by her daughter Christina's searing Mommie Dearest memoir and the sensationally campy film starring Faye Dunaway. Mildred Pierce is at its core a "daughter dearest" tale, with an enabling mother taking her guff and U-turning back for more of it.

This time it's personal: Charlie Sheen should take a few pages from The Chris Farley Show -- before it's too late

Ed Bark — 2011-03-21T09:37:08-05:00
I lived there for nine years, graduating from the University of Wisconsin, working for The Capital Times newspaper and imbibing enough stuff to perhaps even keep up with Chris Farley on some nights. ...Instead he had me laughing throughout the entire "Giant Baby" sketch, in which Farley crawled around a mock Sally Jessy Raphael set and basically tore it apart while also playfully tearing an arm off a guest.

Herman's hermitage: HBO presents extended Broadway production of Pee-wee's Playhouse

Ed Bark — 2011-03-18T09:55:27-05:00
Although it must be said that the audience in attendance at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre is hyper-enthusiastic throughout this 90-minute re-do of Pee-wee's Playhouse, which originally had a Saturday morning CBS berth from 1986 to 1991. ...Movies allow Pee-wee to get out and about. The Pee-Wee Herman Show on Broadway, stuck within the confines of his playhouse, provides more than a little too much of what used to be a pretty good thing.

Sign o' the times: Sheen still hot

Ed Bark — 2011-03-14T11:23:12-05:00
Still, let it be said that the above is one bitchin' logo for Charlie Sheen's latest enterprising effort -- the sale of official t shirts with communiques ranging from "DUH, WINNING" to "I'VE GOT ONE SPEED. ...As previously posted on unclebarky.com, Cuban's Dallas-based younger brother, Brian, is a recovering addict who has serious issues with Sheen for "outing" Lorre as a member of Alcoholics Anonymous.

First to worst: Has a big-time broadcast network ever been in sorrier prime-time shape than NBC?

Ed Bark — 2011-03-09T12:50:08-06:00
In the latest ratings week (Feb. 28 to March 6), Nielsen Media Research says NBC averaged just 5.5 million viewers in prime-time and a piddling 5 percent share of all TV sets in use. American Idol-fueled Fox had more than twice as many viewers (11.6 million) and double the audience share. ...It got no better for NBC on Monday of this week, when the two-hour return of The Event (after a 13-week absence) drew just 5.2 million viewers in performing below even the previous week's piddling prime-time average of 5.5 million viewers. The Event likewise was a non-event among 18-to-49-year-olds, running fourth in its time slot.

Sheen officially sacked; fires back with with another statment from Planet Looney Tunes

Ed Bark — 2011-03-07T18:38:48-06:00
"It is a big day of gladness at the Sober Valley Lodge because now I can take all of the bazillions, never have to look at whatshiscock again and I never have to put on those silly shirts for as long as this warlock exists in the terrestrial dimension." Whatshiscock no doubt is a reference to the show's executive producer, Chuck Lorre, who now has one more reason to take Two and a Half Men into another season and try to make it work without Sheen's portrayal of prostitute-loving, constantly drinking Charlie Harper.

The needy overcome the contrivances in ABC's Secret Millionaire

Ed Bark — 2011-03-04T09:51:10-06:00
In fact it's hard to envision a worthier twosome than 82-year-old twins Helen and Ellen, who cook and serve meals for the needy and homeless at Knoxville, Tennessee's The Love Kitchen. ...And during the course of Sunday's premiere episode, Johnson writes $100,000 worth of checks to four recipients after first pretending she's part of a "documentary on volunteering," according to Secret Millionaire's very sober-voiced narrator.

New on the menu at ratings-famished NBC: America's Next Great Restaurant

Ed Bark — 2011-03-04T08:12:34-06:00
The investors/judges on America's Next Great Restaurant are (from left) Steve Ells, Bobby Flay, Lorena Garcia and Curtis Stone. NBC photo ...There are too many cooks and not enough time for their presentations before the field is winnowed from 21 to 10 by ubiquitous chef Bobby Flay; "renowned" chef Curtis Stone (NBC's The Biggest Loser); executive chef/restaurateur Lorena Garcia; and Steve Ells, who started the Chipolte restaurants from scratch.

A&E's Breakout Kings doesn't raise the bars

Ed Bark — 2011-03-03T14:57:43-06:00
Also enlisted are former "gang banger" Shea Daniels (Malcolm Goodwin) and con artist Philomena "Philly" Rotchliffer (Nicole Steinwedell), a former Miss Idaho 2001 who lets it be known that she was taunted in school as "Feel my wiener crotch-sniffer." ...Breakout Kings also has a resident computer whiz/researcher named Julianne Sims (Brooke Nevin), who lets her fingers do the walking in much the same way that Penny Garcia does on CBS' Criminal Minds and its new spin-off, Suspect Behavior.

Music maestros: PBS hits high notes with Taylor/King in Troubadours and Harry Connick, Jr. on the Broadway stage

Ed Bark — 2011-03-02T08:15:19-06:00
Troubadours: Carole King/James Taylor & the Rise of the Singer-Songwriter (Wednesday, 8 p.m. central on KERA/13 locally) is hummable, strum-able and wistfully evocative. Harry Connick, Jr. in Concert on Broadway (following at 9:30 p.m.) is a straight-ahead dose of the retro crooner's repertoire. ...Troubadours also includes new interviews with the likes of Jackson Browne ("Running on Empty" sounds better than ever in these surroundings), David Crosby, Elton John, Kris Kristofferson, Steve Martin, Cheech & Chong and a number of producers and musicians from those times.

Russell and Rotolo -- two late women, two lasting images

Ed Bark — 2011-03-01T12:23:22-06:00
Rotolo, the woman clinging to Bob Dylan's arm in his landmark early album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, is better known by that cover art than by name. ...The deaths of Russell and Rotolo remind us that a photo, rather than a youtube video, can still be the very best way to be in the right place at the right time.

Old Kirk livens up Oscars aimed at "desirable demographic"

Ed Bark — 2011-02-28T05:47:00-06:00
Youth was served on Sunday's Oscars, with Anne Hathaway telling co-host James Franco near the start, "You look very appealing to a younger demographic as well" after he told her she looked smashingly "hip." ...Kirk Douglas took the stage, with help from a cane, to eventually present the best supporting actress award to 50-year-old Melissa Leo for her role in The Fighter.

Latest Sheen diatribe prompts CBS and Warner Bros. to end Two and a Half Men production for the rest of this season

Ed Bark — 2011-02-24T19:42:18-06:00
Charlie Sheen's increasingly out-of-control conduct, spiked by Thursday's crazed radio interview, has prompted CBS to end production on prime-time's most popular sitcom through the rest of the ongoing TV season, which officially ends in May. ...Production already had ceased at least temporarily on the series, with CBS resorting to a Two and a Half Men repeat on Monday of this week during the heart of February "sweeps" ratings period.

Hathaway & Franco: Will they indeed freshen up Sunday's really big show?

Ed Bark — 2011-02-23T16:35:42-06:00
OK, here's why these two just might be surprisingly good together as hosts of Sunday's Oscar-cast on ABC. ...version=3">Less Than Perfect, says it's her "absolute privilege" to accompany them on this journey. ...First they'll have to sweat, suffer, "gag vomit" and try on bride/groom attire that doesn't fit them before the big weekly weigh-in sends the two least-losing couples spinning into a climactic " 'Til Death Do Us Part" elimination competition.

Criminy, it's Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior on (where else?) CBS

Ed Bark — 2011-02-14T15:37:42-06:00
OK, recess is over. Suspect Behavior is another wretched excess on a network that just can't help itself in light of its failure to launch a successful hospital drama (Three Rivers, Miami Medical); a musical (Viva Laughlin); a serial soap (Cane) or a bed-hopping period piece (Swingtown). ...And Suspect Behavior is in every way a grind, with even the usually very capable Whitaker looking lost at sea with his halting, stumbling, keep-pausing-for-effect portrayal of crime team head Sam "Coop" Cooper.

Supporting characters offer something to like in CBS' Mad Love

Ed Bark — 2011-02-11T09:48:37-06:00
Mad Love will be nestled between the fading How I Met Your Mother and the Charlie Sheen-fouled Two and a Half Men, which again has stopped production while its star battles or flaunts his various additions, depending on which account one reads. ...All of these comedies are equipped with laugh tracks, with CBS the last of the Big Four networks still steadfastly clinging to that old sitcom religion. Mad Love in fact is hardly a laugh riot, but might well prompt a few chuckles beyond the canned ones.

Former CBS11 anchor Suzanne Sena redeploys as Onion News Network's super-vain Brooke Alvarez

Ed Bark — 2011-02-10T16:33:28-06:00
isVid=1&isUI=1" />Deadwood and Newhart).

ABC's Mr. Sunshine a luster buster for Matthew Perry

Ed Bark — 2011-02-08T13:52:30-06:00
At the same time, his recurring bedmate Alice (Andrea Anders), who's also the marketing director, decides to break it off and instead commit to Ben's assistant, Alonzo (James Lesure), a former basketball star. ...Other less than riveting subplots in the opening episode are an escaped elephant, a rush to rid the arena of hockey ice in time for the circus and Crystal's big showy presentation of a check to the San Diego Kids Club.

Larry the Cable Guy's Only in America further exemplifies History in the remaking

Ed Bark — 2011-02-08T09:24:38-06:00
So the people have spoken, and History accordingly is taking another step beyond its former battleships 'n' brigadier generals motif with a series starring a pathfinder who's perfectly willing to both don a "Bootlegger Bonnet" and jump around with a bullfrog. ...None of this will cure cancer -- or even hemorrhoids. Only in America might qualify as a guilty pleasure, though, with the star of the show agreeably and likably throwing himself into a wide range of activities.

Stop and take a look at Fox's Traffic Light

Ed Bark — 2011-02-08T07:59:31-06:00
Their guy-centric byplay flows nicely, whether they're gang-talking on cell phones or discussing in Episode 2 whether a "burn notice" pact still holds in the case of Mike's wife re-establishing a friendship with a woman whom Ethan dated three years ago. ...ABC's Modern Family and NBC's The Office are very gainful properties but continue to fall well short of the ratings for CBS' Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory.

Super Bowl XLV sets new national ratings high

Ed Bark — 2011-02-07T17:57:14-06:00
Final Nielsen data says the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers averaged 111 million viewers in easily topping last year's record of 106, 476,000 viewers for the game between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts. ...The crowd for Sunday's XLV was 103,219 despite Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' getting extra credit for the thousands of fans who paid $200 apiece to watch the game on a big screen in the Cowboys Stadium parking lot.

Fox's Chicago Code again stirs the city's corruption pot

Ed Bark — 2011-02-04T13:15:45-06:00
But I don't think you can really do a show about Chicago politics and how the police interact with them without acknowledging that this is an element that has existed and still does exist." Chicago Code's Joan of Arc is scrappy police superintendent Teresa Colvin (Jennifer Beals), whose opening narration touches on both the city's long history of shakedowns and her shop owner father's gradual victimization at the hands of various thugs demanding protection payments.

Grace under fire: Two CNN reporters matter-of-factly recount being attacked in Cairo's Tahrir Square by pro-Mubarak gangs

Ed Bark — 2011-02-02T11:36:46-06:00
The Kennedys' executive producer, Joel Surnow, is an outspoken conservative who formerly helmed Fox's 24.

Mess-terpiece Theatre: But that's what Syfy's Mega Python Vs Gatoroid is supposed to be

Ed Bark — 2011-01-28T10:45:53-06:00
Mega Python Vs Gatoroid also includes a buncha knuckle-draggin' hillbillies suitable for snacking and a still-in-there-punching A Martinez (no, there's still no period after A) as a heroic herpetologist who declares, "I just encountered a gator of literally massive proportions." ...A surprise participant in this outing is good ol' Kathryn Joost, a two-time Emmy winner for her guest star role of Karen McCluskey on Desperate Housewives but better known by many as the devoted Mrs.

Star Melissa Peterman makes the best of CMT's shopworn Working Class

Ed Bark — 2011-01-27T14:39:03-06:00
Episodes 1 and 2 of Working Class, co-starring former Reba regular Melissa Peterman and Ed Asner in full grimace, give it the old hee-haw in back-to-back fashion Friday night. ...Peterman soars above her Working Class environment, though, whether eager to please a man who turns out to be her boss or fending off the advances of Buddy in Episode 1 and a dentist who's well-played by guest star Ryan Stiles (The Drew Carey Show) in Friday's second half-hour.

FX's Archer starts Season 2 by successfully getting away with just about everything

Ed Bark — 2011-01-26T15:00:31-06:00
The cartoon teen in Archer's Season 2 opener can do what none of MTV's can -- get naked and be sexually explicit without raising concerns that these might be violations of federal pornography statutes. ...Some of the actors in the cast are under the age of 18, which has put the network on the defensive after the Parents Television Council attacked Skins as a "dangerous" dramatization that includes possibly illegal sexual content involving minors.

Syfy ramps up creature comforts in new competition series starring budding special effects artists

Ed Bark — 2011-01-25T13:02:14-06:00
"It takes a lot of time in your mother's basement when everybody else is out having a party or playing football," is the way judge Glenn Hetrick put it during a recent interview session tied to Syfy's new Face Off competition series. ...They'll get their chances in an array of competitions judged by Hetrick (Heroes), Pirates of the Caribbean wizard Ve Neill and creature designer Patrick Tatopoulos (I Am Legend).

Yes, even Judy Woodruff has opinions -- and expresses them despite saying she doesn't

Ed Bark — 2011-01-24T18:33:25-06:00
And even though it's aimed at Judy Woodruff, it's not entirely meant to single her out for what she said Monday regarding President Obama's impending State of the Union Address. ..."Well, but tons of journalists do," I said, contending that "they have you on those shows not to do a recitation of what's going on in the world but to give your opinion of what you think about it."

Rivers again run shallow in latest mom-daughter "reality" gambit

Ed Bark — 2011-01-24T16:12:02-06:00
The premise: mommy not so dearest relocates from the East Coast to Malibu to get closer to both her 43-year-old daughter and grandson Cooper, who was nine during filming of this eight-part concoction for WE tv. ...Here's also a mother who in next week's Episode 2 incessantly lobbies her daughter to go topless for a Women of Hollywood Gone Wild video being put together by notorious sleaze merchant Joe Francis.

Olbermann out and about again

Ed Bark — 2011-01-22T09:49:00-06:00
Olbermann's sudden and rather shocking last day at MSNBC was Friday, when he said goodbye on his Countdown program by reading a James Thurber story with the motto, "It is better to ask some of the questions than to know all of the answers." ...But there's little doubt that he'd at least double the audience for Parker Spitzer, which on Thursday night had 522,000 viewers to Countdown's 1.1 million while The O'Reilly Factor in turn almost tripled Olbermann with 2.9 million.

Network TV "press tour" photo album -- January 2011

Ed Bark — 2011-01-21T13:20:03-06:00
George Lopez flaunts TCU colors in full view of University of Wisconsin alum who's still smarting from 21-19 Rose Bowl loss. ...Austin bar owner Brad Womack says he found made-for-TV love during his second go-around on The Bachelor.

IFC's Onion News Network an alphabet soup of CNN/FNC/MSNBC

Ed Bark — 2011-01-21T09:30:10-06:00
Trumpeted as "News Without Mercy" and "A 24-Hour Non-Stop News Assault," ONN barges into living rooms with its flagship The Fact Zone, helmed by the convincingly self-important Brooke Alvarez (Suzanne Sena). ...She even has a promo in which a pitchman bellows, "When you follow Fact Zone's Brooke Alvarez, you're following the news anchor with more stalkers than any other major network on-screen personality."

Lights, cameras, carnage, carnality: Starz's Spartacus prequel again bares all

Ed Bark — 2011-01-20T16:36:58-06:00
Compelling storyline: Well, you can't have everything, although in truth there's just enough plot to go around in the Friday, Jan. 21st premiere of Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (9 p.m. central). ...Meanwhile, Gods of the Arena is intended to keep the blood flowing -- and the flesh heaving -- with a flashback to the story of how vainglorious Batiatus (John Hannah) and his wife, Lucretia (Lawless), propelled themselves into the big leagues of the gladiator game.

Fairly Legal gives USA another soft touch

Ed Bark — 2011-01-20T09:43:08-06:00
She plays this lead role with assurance and aplomb, elevating the entire enterprise in the process. Fairly Legal in a sense is Shahi's coming out party as an actress capable of toting the load. ...Their prickly relationship also is complicated by the fact that he's an up-and-coming assistant district attorney who's regularly in a position to help her wade through various legal entanglements.

Perfect Couples: Wow, what a bad show

Ed Bark — 2011-01-19T15:08:44-06:00
Sneak-previewed to disastrous ratings on Dec. 20th, Perfect Couples makes its official debut Thursday as part of an all-night Peacock comedy bloc that also includes the return of Parks and Recreation and new episodes of Community, The Office, 30 Rock and Outsourced. ...During the otherwise wretched excess known as "Game Night," Vance says, "You Seacrest-ed me" after being made to believe he won't be on the same team as one of his friends.

Matched set: TV Land plays it again by pairing new Retired at 35 with returning Hot in Cleveland

Ed Bark — 2011-01-18T16:24:29-06:00
So TV Land will strike again Wednesday night, with the Season 2 premiere of Cleveland (featuring a cameo by Mary Tyler Moore as a jailbird) followed by the launch of Retired at 35. ...It doesn't tell you about another key plot development that involves his parents and frees up Dad to be the recipient of "a toke and a poke" (a pal's shorthand description of medical marijuana and Cialis).

Being Human gives Syfy a supernatural threesome -- all under one roof

Ed Bark — 2011-01-17T17:31:26-06:00
They share an apartment in Syfy's Being Human, a light/dark and fairly diverting melodrama launching in times when fangs seem to be fail-safe. ...The joking and biting occasionally give way to Sally's pining for Danny (Gianpaolo Venuta), who seems to slowly be sensing her presence near the end of next Monday's second episode.

Amid ample minuses, NBC's Harry's Law has a big plus in Kathy Bates

Ed Bark — 2011-01-17T13:19:54-06:00
Both are in abundance when the architect of Ally McBeal, The Practice and Boston Legal goes to court anew with NBC's Harry's Law, an improbably entertaining outing that initially finds Kathy Bates' character reclining at her office desk while smoking pot and bemoaning her fate. ...Walking the streets of downtown Cincinnati, she's then twice knocked flat on her back, first by a drug-addicted college student trying to commit suicide (he instead hits an awning first and lands on her) and then by a hot shot young attorney who hits her with his car.

Showtime scores with Episodes, struggles with Shameless

Ed Bark — 2010-12-30T15:43:39-06:00
Flush with increasing critical respect and an armload of Golden Globe nominations for the likes of The Big C and Dexter, Showtime starts the new year off right -- and very possibly wrong -- with a pair of new series fronted by old familiars. ...But on the other hand, she's also more than willing to drink and smoke pot with her old man, who by all odds should be hunted down by child social services before being thrown kicking and screaming into the clink.

FX's Lights Out gives TV its first standout look at the boxing game

Ed Bark — 2010-12-28T12:51:24-06:00
But the network certainly isn't about to discourage any renewed visions of Rocky Balboa in this new drama series about a retired former heavyweight champ who, in boxing parlance, "wuz robbed" in his last fight. ...Lights Out is in keeping with FX's male-centric motif while also standing out as the first weekly scripted drama series to take a hard look at the boxing world.

Bob's Burgers is way short on comedy condiments

Ed Bark — 2010-12-28T11:42:37-06:00
Youngest daughter Louise (Kristen Schaal) and only son Gene (Eugene Mirman) otherwise match up gender-wise in a dour half-hour that finds the big Labor Day weekend re- re- re-opening of Bob's Burgers jeopardized by rumors that its meat patties are made from human flesh. ...We pause briefly to ruminate on how The Simpsons was branded "subversive" by some in its early years but now is a veritable Mickey Mouse cartoon in comparison to Sunday night running mates Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show and, urp, Bob's Burgers.

NBC's The Cape falls apart at the seams

Ed Bark — 2010-12-28T09:30:12-06:00
The latter is notably superior, even if it's gotten a bit bogged down of late. The Cape, which swoops into its regular Monday 8 p.m. (central) slot on Jan. 17th, is a mash-up of overplayed villains and preposterous goings-on edited disjointedly into an overall slap-happy mess. ...Framed for the dirty deed is dedicated security cop Vince Faraday (David Lyons), a hometown boy and devoted father who clandestinely reads The Cape comic books with his son, Trip (Ryan Wynott), while wife/mom Dana (Jennifer Ferrin) thinks they're doing homework.

King and his court: Larry says "so long" with help from A-list celebrity gaggle

Ed Bark — 2010-12-17T14:10:52-06:00
But the host and one of his many big-name drop-in guests, former president Bill Clinton, combined for at least another mini-headline after King noted that "we're both in the zipper club." ...But hey, it added a little old spice to the sometimes goofy proceedings, during which King courtiers Bill Maher and Ryan Seacrest tried to guide him through a mix of surprise send-offs and a big group of guests in New York that King already knew about.

Showtime outdraws HBO in Golden Globes TV series nominations

Ed Bark — 2010-12-14T09:41:11-06:00
The Globes added an extra contender in the best comedy series competition, where Showtime's The Big C and Nurse Jackie will go against ABC's Modern Family, Fox's Glee, CBS' The Big Bang Theory and NBC's perennial 30 Rock. ...Laura Linney and Edie Falco, the respective stars of The Big C and Nurse Jackie, are joined by Toni Collette of Showtime's United States of Tara, Lea Michele of Glee and Tina Fey of 30 Rock.

HBO's Lombardi is both overdue and missing at least two essentials

Ed Bark — 2010-12-11T12:55:37-06:00
Vince Lombardi, who died of cancer 40 years ago at age 57, also is the subject of a new Broadway play and will be played by Robert De Niro in an upcoming ESPN movie. ...And all these years later, it's still hard to believe they played such a stirring game under nigh impossible conditions, with Green Bay winning 21-17 on a quarterback sneak by Starr with 13 seconds remaining.

TNT's Men of a Certain Age again winningly serves up a triple shot of angst -- but not a lotta whining

Ed Bark — 2010-12-03T09:02:40-06:00
TNT's best ever drama series -- the show that defies all conventional wisdom about what should work on TV -- finds its way to Season 2 Monday night. ...Bakula's Terry initially resonates a bit more than his mates, particularly in a second episode that has him enduring dealership slings and arrows from a ridiculous old commercial that lately has gone viral on youtube.

It's "Bingle" all the way in new collection of Crosby Christmas specials

Ed Bark — 2010-12-02T10:25:54-06:00
Otherwise I'd give this collection a marginal yes, but not because of the Bing-Bowie interlude on an otherwise almost unbearable Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas (which originally aired 47 days after his death on Nov. ...One of the Brits, Ron Moody, also shows up on Crosby's final Merrie Olde Christmas, a positively creaky hour plagued by too little music and way too much lame exposition and comedy.

Babs back in prime-time spotlight with back-to-back specials

Ed Bark — 2010-12-01T17:26:57-06:00
So here comes ABC's "One Night, One Big Event" -- namely back-to-back Dec. 9th Babs specials in which she first spends an hour with Oprah Winfrey and then presents her 18th "10 Most Fascinating People" of the year extravaganza. ...The network warns viewers to "expect an avalanche of laughs as (contestants) take on a spinning ski lift, try to outrun polar bears and avoid hockey pucks to the head -- all in a completely new winter Wipeout Zone and amid a snowy blizzard."

R.I.P. Leslie Nielsen: Feb. 11, 1926 to Nov. 28, 2010

Ed Bark — 2010-11-29T17:04:36-06:00
fs=1&hl=en_US">The O'Reilly Factor. ...Ailes later apologized in a letter to the Anti-Defamation League, saying "I was of course ad-libbing and should not have chosen that word, but I was angry at the time because of NPR's willingness to censor Juan Williams for not being liberal enough."

Glory Daze goes to the back of the class with hackneyed college try

Ed Bark — 2010-11-15T14:12:13-06:00
But this is no Animal House -- because it's not nearly as artful. Daze instead is a truly dreadful one-hour comedy that's clumsily executed on all fronts besides resorting to some truly jaw-dropping racism. It all originates at a fictional Indiana University, circa 1986, where wide-eyed Joel Harrington (Kelly Blatz) is instantly taken with all the writhing, partying co-eds populating the campus grounds.

George W. and Oprah cozy up before Hannity rolls over

Ed Bark — 2010-11-10T07:05:12-06:00
This time around she laughed joyously at his self-deprecating jokes, clasped his hand during an emotional anecdote tied to the war in Iraq and told Bush "I had a good time" before cuddling with him while the closing credits rolled. ...Bush will keep making the rounds, with Fox News Channel's two other prime-time personalities -- Bill O'Reilly and Greta Van Susteren -- in the mix before he eventually turns to CNN's Candy Crowley and Jay Leno's Tonight Show.

NBC takes a few last jabs as O'Brien takes another late night shot with TBS' Conan

Ed Bark — 2010-11-09T07:27:02-06:00
His last Tonight Show was way back on Jan. 22nd, giving O'Brien much of this year to grow a beard, launch a reliably funny Twitter account and hit the road with his Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour. ...Now the war of attrition sets in, with Jon Stewart's The Daily Show and Chelsea Handler's Chelsea Lately directly opposite the first half-hour of Conan before The Colbert Report, Leno's slumping Tonight, Letterman's resurgent Late Show and ABC's sturdy Nightline kick in.

MSNBC's suspension of Olbermann a laughable declaration of principle (updated)

Ed Bark — 2010-11-06T09:31:00-05:00
MSNBC president Phil Griffin, who has orchestrated the network's march toward partisanship, said in a statement: "Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him (Olbermann) without pay." ...The network's president, Phil Griffin, said in a statement: "After several days of deliberation and discussion, I have determined that suspending Keith through and including Monday night's program is an appropriate punishment for his violation of our policy.

Perry on Morning Joe: "I pray for Obama every day" (but with an asterisk)

Ed Bark — 2010-11-05T13:28:56-05:00
His tie was tightened to the hilt and his gray suitcoat buttoned to the max while he sat down next to host Joe Scarborough and assorted other panelists in the show's New York studios. ...Bush also has a new book out, which he'll be referencing on NBC Monday night during a one-hour interview (7 p.m. central) with Today show host Matt Lauer.

Rescued Chilean miner Edison Pena on Letterman: watch for the big finish

Ed Bark — 2010-11-05T08:51:11-05:00
It was all capped by Pena's apparently spontaneous rendition of "Suspicious Minds" after Letterman said he'd heard that some of the miners passed the time by singing Elvis Presley songs together. ...fs=1&hl=en_US">

Rangers-Giants World Series scrapes bottom nationally

Ed Bark — 2010-11-02T23:28:58-05:00
Giants catcher Buster Posey celebrates good times a second or so after Rangers OF Nelson Cruz strikes out to end the 2010 World Series and give San Fran its first national championship. Photo: Ed Bark ...But AMC programming executive Joel Stillerman says in an accompanying publicity release that "this is only the beginning of a long, intense and powerful ride." Walking Dead is adapted from a comic book series by Robert Kirkman.

Kill or be killed in AMC's bitingly bloody Walking Dead

Ed Bark — 2010-10-29T08:11:27-05:00
And so the meat of the story begins, with Grimes spending considerable time on screen as Walking Dead's only fully functioning character before he finally breaks down and cries. ...In just the past four years, AMC has reinvented itself as the Emmy-winning network of Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Rubicon rather than the place where movies are aggravatingly interrupted by commercials. Walking Dead is another very ambitious and provocative series.

Syfy's Hollywood Treasure a nook for schnooks who collect (including Uncle B)

Ed Bark — 2010-10-27T10:00:15-05:00
Joe salivates, but encourages Dawn to wait a bit to capitalize on the "sizzle" of a planned 2011Gilligan's Island feature film that supposedly will star the likes of Zach Braff, Jack Black and Emma Watson as Mary Ann. ...Meanwhile, check out your garage or attic to see if you might have a mint condition copy of William Shatner's The Transformed Man LP or some teeth kicked in by Chuck Norris on Walker, Texas Ranger.

PBS gets cracking with splendid new Holmes in Sherlock

Ed Bark — 2010-10-22T16:03:58-05:00
PBS' Sherlock, airing under the Masterpiece Mystery banner for the next three Sunday nights, is a bouncy and crackling good "re-imagining" of the Baker Street sleuth and his at times reluctant partner, Dr. ...The first case is subtitled "A Study In Pink." which unfolds in 90 minutes time on Oct. 24th at 8 p.m. (central) on KERA/13 in D-FW.

NPR's dopey dismissal of Williams is worthy of a dunce cap

Ed Bark — 2010-10-22T09:14:04-05:00
For this he was fired by NPR president Vivian Schiller, who said in a memo to member stations that "news analysts" (employed by NPR) may not take personal public positions on controversial issues; doing so undermines their credibility as analysts, and that's what's happened in this situation." ...In a very bluntly worded blog posted Thursday on foxnews.com, Williams said that his comments to O'Reilly on Monday night's program "are being distorted by the self-righteous ideological, left-wing leadership at NPR.

NBC News draws the line on election night by separating itself from partisan MSNBC and expanding coverage into late night hours

Ed Bark — 2010-10-21T13:42:53-05:00
The recent debut of Lawrence O'Donnell's 9 p.m. (central) program gives MSNBC a quartet of avowedly left-of-center hosts, with Ed Schultz, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow the incumbents. Hardball maestro Chris Matthews is somewhat more even-handed, but not so much lately. ...During the mid-summer TV network "press tour" in Beverly Hills, MSNBC president Phil Griffin was asked by unclebarky.com whether viewers are really well-served by polar opposite 24-hour news channels offering almost entirely different slants on just about every issue of import.

Frontline begins new season by re-lighting Texas arson execution in Death By Fire

Ed Bark — 2010-10-19T17:41:35-05:00
Whether Cameron Todd Willingham of Corsicana in fact set the Dec. 23, 1991 home fire that killed his three young daughters has been investigated and re-investigated before and after his Feb. 17, 2004 execution. ...Addendum: Here's video of a recent update on the Willingham case, with WFAA8's Jason Whitely doing the off-camera reporting/narration for the Dallas-based ABC station while Fox4's Richard Ray, CBS11's Bud Gillett and an NBC5 microphone can be seen as part of his story.

Sacrilegious? Glee now bigger than The Beatles (with an asterisk)

Ed Bark — 2010-10-07T09:34:05-05:00
Now Fox says that Glee has become more popular than The Beatles -- at least on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. ...The Glee cast of course is cheating a bit by covering a wide range of previous chart-toppers, including Tuesday's performance of The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by cast member Chris Colfer.

Shedding new light on Springsteen's Darkness in superb HBO reprise

Ed Bark — 2010-10-06T13:04:15-05:00
It melds current-day recollections with newly discovered footage, circa 1976-'78, of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band rehearsing, recording and struggling to make a totally different album from 1975's breakout smash, Born to Run. ...The more than 30-year-old footage, of rehearsals in both the studio and Springsteen's home, harkens to times when the music was all that mattered no matter how long it took.

Michael Feinstein's American Songbook is chapter and verse on crooner/collector

Ed Bark — 2010-10-06T08:16:52-05:00
Wednesday's first hour, subtitled "Putting on the Tailfins," finds Feinstein onstage, at an Indiana flea market and knowledgeably dissecting performances from the likes of Frank Sinatra (whom he adores) and Rosemary Clooney (whom he adores even more). ...Kids who came over to the house to play Monopoly were told to go home if they didn't play it Michael's way, his mother, Mazia recalls in next Wednesday's Hour 2 ("Best Band in the Land").

HDNET's Drinking Made Easy hopes to make some viewers fall hard

Ed Bark — 2010-10-05T12:09:41-05:00
Later on, in a not-so-big finish, they arrive in black cowboy garb at Tombstone's Big-Nosed Kate Saloon, where two of the three feign collapsing from too much alcohol before Lamprey has a showdown with Pleepleus the Monkey. ...He's also the author of Three Sheets: 6 Continents, 15 Countries, 190 Drinks and 1 Mean Hangover and has been dubbed "the Indiana Jones of drinking" by someone who must have been under the influence.

Curtis couldn't quite manage any Tony awards on TV

Ed Bark — 2010-10-01T11:44:06-05:00
Curtis also played a Robin Hood-ish con man on NBC in 1975's short-lived McCoy before returning to ABC in 1978 as the recurring character Philip Roth in Robert Urich's Vega$. His made-for-TV movie credits included Agatha Christie's Murder In Three Acts, The Count of Monte Cristo, Portrait of a Showgirl, The Users, Moviola: The Scarlett O'Hara War and Mafia Princess.

Uppers for CBS, NBC; downers for ABC, Fox in first week of new fall season

Ed Bark — 2010-09-29T10:53:33-05:00
On the down side, Fox's made-in-North Texas Lone Star, canceled Tuesday after just two episodes, had a rock-bottom opening night haul of 4.1 million viewers to rank 88th for the week. Other new series with likely short-term futures include ABC's The Whole Truth (79th with 4.8 million viewers); NBC's Outlaw (78th with 4.9 million) and ABC's My Generation (73rd with 5.2 million).

NEW SEASON: Law & Order: Los Angeles impressively wades into Hollywood cesspool

Ed Bark — 2010-09-29T08:06:10-05:00
Paired with the long-running Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in the closing two hours of prime-time, LOLA has a new and very nicely matched pair of crime-busters in detectives Rex Winters (Skeet Ulrich) and T.J. ...Its front page headline, "Media Icon Hit By Crime Wave," has an accompanying picture of a battered NBC Burbank headquarters with its Peacock symbol defaced, the B missing from NBC and graffiti scrawled on the front walls.

NEW SEASON: ABC's No Ordinary Family is no extraordinary series

Ed Bark — 2010-09-28T06:15:09-05:00
Their respective acting U-turns take them to ABC's No Ordinary Family, the network's last realistic chance to emerge with a legitimate hit new fall series after tepid early returns for the likes of My Generation, The Whole Truth, Better With You and Detroit 1-8-7. ...There's always the danger that Fox News Channel will interpret this as an actual event, warning viewers that sinister clones of the President -- manufactured in a secret White House stem cell lab -- are bent on running roughshod over truth, justice and the American way.

Burns' Tenth Inning too often makes errors of omission

Ed Bark — 2010-09-27T12:26:55-05:00
In collaboration with longtime associate Lynn Novick, his four-hour PBS sequel to 1994's Baseball steps to the plate on Tuesday and Wednesday (7 to 9 p.m. central each night on KERA13 in D-FW) as the great game gears up for a post-season that will include the Texas Rangers for the first time in 11 years. ...The Eastern-centric nature of Tenth Inning -- with trips out West only because of Bonds -- mostly deals out the hardy breeds who have lived and mostly died with the likes of the Rangers, the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs, whose last Series appearance was in 1945 and whose last win came in 1908.

NEW SEASON: Selleck puts the iron in CBS' Blue Bloods

Ed Bark — 2010-09-24T14:20:53-05:00
Tom Selleck talks up Blue Bloods, with co-star Donnie Wahlberg (light coat) doing likewise at CBS "press tour" party. Photo: Ed Bark ...The Reagan brood also includes Frank's rather sour father, Henry (a retired cop), his oldest son, Danny (a plainclothes cop) and youngest boy Jamie (a newly sworn in cop to the tune of Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" in a scene-setting opening ceremony).

Zucker will be leaving NBC shortly; Klein already in past tense as CNN head

Ed Bark — 2010-09-24T11:37:16-05:00
Jeff Zucker, the one-time boy wonder of the Today Show -- and still only 45 -- announced to company employees via email Friday that he will leave his position as head of NBC Universal after completion of the takeover by Comcast. ...Klein, who had headed CNN for the past six years, said in a memo to staffers, "It is with a tinge of regret tempered by great expectations for the future . . . that I bid all of you goodbye.

NEW SEASON: ABC's Austin-made My Generation follows the script of our reality-saturated times

Ed Bark — 2010-09-23T15:26:47-05:00
The prying eyes of reality TV cameras weren't nearly as all-seeing back in the year 2000, when a film crew kept close tabs on nine graduating seniors from Austin's fictional Greenbelt High School. A decade later, ABC's My Generation lens and lends itself to another look at them in times when TV has more reality series than the population of Poughkeepsie.

NEW SEASON: NBC's Outsourced deftly finds the funny without being an Ugly American about it

Ed Bark — 2010-09-23T10:44:21-05:00
But in turn, this very promising workplace comedy (which follows The Office on Thursday nights) also jumps at the chance to twit the peculiarities of the American culture as seen through the eyes of the natives populating a call center in India. ...From this perspective it's the new season's most pleasant surprise -- a comedy that on paper is easy to slam but in reality navigates some tricky terrain without getting all clenched up about it.

NEW SEASON: CBS sends Shatner into over-kill with $#*! My Dad Says

Ed Bark — 2010-09-23T09:24:44-05:00
That's pretty much the tenor of Thursday's opener, in which Shatner labors through the rhythms of the live studio audience sitcom format while coughing up a steady stream of pointed and oft-blue insults that would make him a fine nursing home partner for Archie Bunker. ...My Dad Says, which will follow CBS' transplanted The Big Bang Theory, loads up on coarse jokes the way the network's Mike & Molly dished out fat jokes in its Monday premiere.

NEW SEASON: The Whole Truth comes courting on ABC

Ed Bark — 2010-09-22T15:50:22-05:00
Whole Truth is from the increasingly tiresome Jerry Bruckheimer, who already has built a crime series empire on CBS with the three CSI series and has the new police series Chase on NBC this fall. ...Bruckheimer invariably seems to prefer going at least a little over the top rather than depend on audiences to grasp anything resembling subtlety. Whole Truth even includes video snippets of testimony during the attorneys' closing arguments, lest any of the dummies out there forget what they've seen just minutes earlier.

NEW SEASON: ABC's Better With You manages to dodge a snarky retort

Ed Bark — 2010-09-22T15:01:29-05:00
Lacy as Casey is the best reason to watch while Finnegan remains an appealing actress whom some might remember as a dogged prosecutor for two seasons on CBS' Close to Home crime drama. In the end, maybe "agreeable" is a better way to go than "not too bad." Better With You so far is nothing to write home about but maybe worth letting into your living room.

New Idol judges are no surprise, but a botched live webcast provides a rude awakening

Ed Bark — 2010-09-22T12:39:23-05:00
American Idol's new on-air crew couldn't be happier: From left, judges Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler, host Ryan Seacrest, judge Jennifer Lopez and "in-house mentor" Jimmy Lovine. Fox photo ...American Idol's announcement of Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez as the show's new judges became an online fiasco Wednesday when a promised live stream of the event never really materialized.

NEW SEASON: No need to prosecute Belushi again in CBS' The Defenders

Ed Bark — 2010-09-21T16:10:31-05:00
Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell are mockups of real-life Vegas lawyers in the new Wednesday legal drama The Defenders. CBS photo ...It's a Las Vegas-set legal drama that's actually filmed in Southern California and has nothing at all to do with the same-named, Emmy-winning 1960s CBS series that starred E.G.

NEW SEASON: Spies win on style points in NBC's Undercovers

Ed Bark — 2010-09-21T11:46:20-05:00
The mission at hand is sauteed with the Blooms' sexual banter ("You look incredible"/"You look pretty hot yourself") and sweetened by a field agent who greatly admires Steven's previous accomplishments and never misses a chance to tell him so. ...Samantha also finds time to periodically instruct her frazzled sister, Lizzie (Mekia Cox), who's left to cater a big wedding back home while the Blooms globe-trot in search of missing agent Leo Nash (Carter MacIntyre) and his captors.

NEW SEASON: For richer and poorer in Fox sitcoms Running Wilde and Raising Hope

Ed Bark — 2010-09-20T16:04:53-05:00
Fox turns to the certifiable, er, loony, creators of My Name Is Earl and Arrested Development for a pair of new Tuesday night comedies without laugh tracks or perhaps long-term futures. ...For now, though, ABC's The Middle is a notably better and funnier depiction of hard-pressed working stiffs in action. Raising Hope needs a good scrubbing of scripts if it's going to ultimately find its footing.

NEW SEASON: Imperioli's performance spikes ABC's Detroit 1-8-7 cop drama, but who will want to be put through its wringer?

Ed Bark — 2010-09-20T13:03:39-05:00
***Sample Stewart joke from last year: "A lot of people say that this town is too liberal, out of touch with mainstream America, an atheistic pleasure dome, a modern-day, beachfront Sodom and Gomorrah, a moral black hole where innocence is obliterated in an endless orgy of sexual gratification and greed. ...***Finally, announced presenters Sunday night include Tom Cruise and ex-wife Nicole Kidman (separately); Ben Affleck and ex-fiancee Jennifer Lopez (separately); Steve Carell, George Clooney, Cameron Diaz, Will Ferrell, Tom Hanks, Diane Keaton, Tobey Maguire, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet and Reese Witherspoon.

NEW SEASON: It's a North Texas two-step for Monday premieres of Fox's Lone Star, NBC's Chase

Ed Bark — 2010-09-17T13:14:34-05:00
Prologue: By now ya'll must know there's been lots of network TV series production in North Texas this summer -- even though Fox's Lone Star and NBC's Chase in large part are set in no-account Houston. Now the time is nearing for both new dramas to either deliver audiences or go down for the count. Lone Star premieres at 8 p.m. (central) Monday and Chase follows at 9 p.m.

NEW SEASON: Re-married to the mob, HBO walks the walk in Boardwalk Empire

Ed Bark — 2010-09-17T08:40:41-05:00
Add the fact that New Jersey's underside has been very good business for a premium cable network that birthed Tony "The Situation" Soprano and now is investing heavily in the state's formative gangland years with a socko series set in the Prohibition era. ...On the Jersey home front, Nucky also consorts with bimbo mistress Lucy Danziger (Paz de la Huerta), who pretty much fits a vintage nightclub comic's joke about how "my girl is so dumb she thought that daylight savings was a bank."

NEW SEASON: NBC's The Event merits your affirmative RSVP

Ed Bark — 2010-09-16T13:20:45-05:00
A saturation, multi-platformed promotional campaign likely has attuned most potential viewers to the fact that this is another of those peel-away-the-layers, mythology-rich puzzlers determined to string you along week to week without telling too little or too much. ...The producers of the series assured TV critics earlier this summer that they're well aware of all the perils and pitfalls at hand. The Event will have to deliver again and again on the promise of its pilot episode.

NEW SEASON: Making new waves with a Hawaii Five-0 that also takes cues from The A-Team

Ed Bark — 2010-09-16T10:45:49-05:00
Its pacing, quips and vehicle-flying action scenes are reminiscent of NBC's The A-Team, which also assembled a task force of four to fight heavy-duty crime. ...She offers him carte blanche immunity and full backing with no red tape if he'd care to form a task force in the interests of ridding the island of hard-core criminals.

NEW SEASON: CBS' Mike & Molly needs to trim the fat -- from its scripts

Ed Bark — 2010-09-15T14:26:22-05:00
Inheriting Monday night's coveted post-Two and a Half Men slot, it's a sitcom about two very plus-sized people who first begin meeting and bonding at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting. ...The studio audience howls, but we're only scratching the surface. Mike & Molly is never more than a minute or two away from throwing its weight around, whether it's two overeaters impeding Carl's progress down a staircase or one of Molly's nine-year-old pupils wondering, "How can you be a cop and be so fat?"

NEW SEASON: NBC's Outlaw is almost indictable at first, but its second episode makes a much stronger case

Ed Bark — 2010-09-14T08:14:00-05:00
She's in his face and then in his bed sleeping off their sex together while the womanizing Garza watches an old and suddenly cathartic Dateline clip of his deceased liberal father, Francisco, who died in a car wreck while Cyrus sat beside him. ...This Outlaw episode retains some ridiculous excesses, including an ongoing subplot in which young team member/law clerk Mereta Stockman (Ellen Woglom) retains her crush on Garza to the considerable delight of tart-tongued Lucinda.

Finally making the team: Jimmy Johnson talks about surviving his favorite show after getting cut twice (in celebration, he even cut his hair)

Ed Bark — 2010-09-09T16:34:47-05:00
Once, twice, three times a Survivor applicant, former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson at last got what he wanted -- a chance to spend sleepless, shivering nights in the rain on a bamboo bed amid lush but primitive surroundings. "I thought not having food would be one of the more difficult things," Johnson, says in an expansive teleconference tied to the Wednesday, Sept. 15th premiere of Survivor: Nicaragua (7 p.m. central).

NEW SEASON: Latest Nikita re-do a showcase for Maggie Q

Ed Bark — 2010-09-09T08:25:49-05:00
Hard-boiled, hard-bodied Nikita is played by Maggie Q (Maggie Denise Quigley), a 31-year-old veteran of intensive martial arts training who looks suitably smashing in her multiple action scenes. ...One of Nikita's executive producers, McG (Joseph McGinty Nichol), directed both of the Charlie's Angels feature films and also has produced TV series such as Sorority Forever and Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious.

TNT commissions pilot for potential Dallas TV series (2nd update)

Ed Bark — 2010-09-08T14:59:45-05:00
But TNT has ordered a pilot for a potential remake of the Dallas TV series that would focus on "the offspring of bitter rivals and brothers J.R. and Bobby Ewing." The announcement came Wednesday afternoon, with Warner Horizon Television backing a project being developed by executive producer Cynthia Cidre, who wrote the feature film Mambo Kings and created and produced the short-lived CBS serial soap, Cane.

This dog will hunt: FX's likably scruffy Terriers scraps, claws and leaves a mark

Ed Bark — 2010-09-08T10:03:53-05:00
Terriers, premiering Wednesday, makes for a light but hearty meal while also re-pledging allegiance to self-destructive men who live on the edge while walking a ledge between common decency and borderline depravity. If Lifetime is the uplifting network for women, FX is the downshifting destination for testosterone-fueled troublemaking in series such as Sons of Anarchy (which returned Tuesday night), Louie, Rescue Me and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

NEW SEASON: CW's Hellcats bounces into view as yoo rah replica of -- "Gimme a G"

Ed Bark — 2010-09-07T14:35:07-05:00
Gail O'Grady (NYPD Blue, American Dreams) is back in harness as Wanda Perkins, a sloppy drunk who means well but makes her daughter want to run as though she's just seen a giant predatory gila monster. ...So too was the late mega-producer and Dallas native Aaron Spelling (Dynasty, Charlie's Angels, Beverly Hills 90210 , etc), who if he were alive today might be making a series just like Hellcats.

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Season Finale

Ed Bark — 2010-09-03T12:11:48-05:00
For our final pre-fall season installment, we take a return trip to Jack Lord's hair and the ever-pulsating theme song for Hawaii Five-0. ...fs=1&hl=en_US">

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 9

Ed Bark — 2010-08-31T08:50:46-05:00
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TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 8

Ed Bark — 2010-08-30T13:20:33-05:00
Our pre-fall season journeys to TV THEME SONG-ville begin their final week with opening mood music for the classic ensemble police series that paved the way for Emmy caliber descendants ranging from St. ...In June of 1980, during the TV networks' annual summer "press tour" in L.A., it was the first interview session I attended as the new TV critic for The Dallas Morning News.

New era for Emmys, with a hit 'n' miss backstage webcast angling for attention while host Jimmy Fallon flattens out after fast start

Ed Bark — 2010-08-30T01:32:10-05:00
Jimmy Fallon proved to be an OK -- but not A-OK -- host of Sunday night's 62nd annual Emmys ceremony, which pitted the traditional NBC telecast against a companion live backstage webcast on nbc.com and other outlets. ...AMC's Mad Men at the same time extended its best drama series winning streak to three years while Bryan Cranston likewise made it three best actor Emmys in a row for his lead role in the cable network's Breaking Bad.

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 7

Ed Bark — 2010-08-27T09:14:42-05:00
But the narration was backed by a suitably thrilling orchestral backdrop that made virtually every kid of the '50s (guilty, your honor) want to suit up and jump off the family garage. ...fs=1&hl=en_US">

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 5

Ed Bark — 2010-08-25T11:48:57-05:00
Johnny Rivers' rockin', guitar-fused, definitive version of "Secret Agent Man" climbed all the way to No. 3 on the 1966 pop charts as the theme for CBS' Secret Agent, which lasted just one season. Patrick McGoohan, better known as the star of The Prisoner, played British spy John Drake in this offshoot of 1961's Danger Man, in which he was the same character.

Survivor host Probst likely won't deliver on this particular promise

Ed Bark — 2010-08-24T15:28:45-05:00
Jeff Probst (second from left) at January Survivor anniversary party with (from left) hero Rupert Boneham, executive producer Mark Burnett, villains Jerri Manthey and Russell Hantz. Photo: Ed Bark ...BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson's participation in this fall's Survivor: Nicaragua had been widely reported but not yet officially announced when CBS held its latest summer press tour "All-Star Party" in late July.

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 4

Ed Bark — 2010-08-24T09:35:33-05:00
Written by Judy Hart Angelo and Gary Portnoy -- and performed by Portnoy -- "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" graced this classic NBC comedy from its September 1982 premiere to its May 1993 finale. ...fs=1&hl=en_US">

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 3

Ed Bark — 2010-08-23T12:44:07-05:00
We're talking about Henry Mancini's driving music for Peter Gunn, which premiered in 1958 on NBC and Petered out three seasons later on ABC. ...fs=1&hl=en_US">The smoldering debate over public housing gives way in Monday's Part 1 to the good will generated by actor Brad Pitt's "Make It Right" initiative to build affordable, well-made homes in New Orleans still storm-ravaged Lower Ninth Ward.

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 1

Ed Bark — 2010-08-19T09:54:36-05:00
Producers of CBS' new version of Hawaii Five-O, set to premiere on Monday, Sept. 20th, recently told unclebarky.com that the show's iconic theme song will get at least a little room to breathe. ...fs=1&hl=en_US">

Here's to her health: Linney carries Showtime to new heights with bravura star turn in TV's first "cancer comedy"

Ed Bark — 2010-08-13T08:28:56-05:00
In Monday's half-hour premiere episode (9:30 p.m. central), we quickly learn that Cathy has a semi-infantile husband named Paul (Oliver Platt's best role to date) and a rebellious teen son, Adam (Gabriel Basso), who resists any and all of her ham-handed efforts to re-bond with him. ...During a recent interview session with TV critics, Bicks said she made the same deduction in her own life. The Big C nonetheless is walking a tightrope here, striving to make Cathy's point while at the same time not completely ridiculing a true believer who tells her, "When life gives you lemons, squeeze out a smile."

Miniseries maestro: Roots producer David Wolper reigned in times when networks thought bigger

Ed Bark — 2010-08-12T08:43:12-05:00
And so North and South also included the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Gene Kelly, Johnny Cash and Robert Mitchum, who earlier had played super-stoic Navy commander Victor "Pug" Henry in ABC's sprawling The Winds of War miniseries. ...Here was a guy who never shied from trying to knock your eyes out, sometimes to excess but always with the grand/grandiose objective of putting on a really big show.

"Press tour" picture book

Ed Bark — 2010-08-10T15:22:44-05:00
The 2010 network TV summer "press tour" is over and out, leaving your friendly content provider with already foggy memories of 13 days at the Beverly Hilton plus time off for bad behavior. ...Former ER star Laura Innes, now appearing in NBC's The Event, gabs with Peacock programming chieftain Jeff Gaspin.

AMC's Rubicon steps smartly to the head of the intelligence field

Ed Bark — 2010-07-26T16:09:06-05:00
The first two hours precede Season 4's second episode of Mad Men on Sunday, Aug. 1st. Rubicon then will move to its regular Sunday, 8 p.m. (central) slot, giving AMC back-to-back helpings of topflight textured drama for the next several months. ...And being strung along at length during this season and who knows how many more also is a built-in deterrent for many viewers. Rubicon definitely looks like the real deal, though, for those with an appetite for a cerebral spy experience rather than a weekly spy caper series.

P.S. on the Shirley Sherrod "scandal": they're still spouting B.S.

Ed Bark — 2010-07-26T08:33:36-05:00
Anchor Chris Wallace, presiding over Fox News Sunday, and Fox News Channel representative Stephen Hayes on ABC's This Week program repeatedly contended that Fox didn't use Sherrod's name on the air until after she had been forced out by Agriculture Department secretary Tom Vilsack. ...So yes, O'Reilly in fact did rush to judgment, even if his knee-jerk demand for Sherrod's resignation didn't actually air until after Vilsack had knee-jerked her out of the Agriculture Department while the national NAACP also made an ass of itself.

Mad Men's Season 4 makes some new sales pitches. Sold!

Ed Bark — 2010-07-22T16:48:48-05:00
Many are directed at Draper, who's living in a rather joyless apartment while estranged wife Betty (January Jones) still occupies the old Draper homestead with their three kids (including a newborn babe) and her boyfriend, Henry Francis (Christopher Stanley). ...The latter exchange comes in the early minutes of an altogether splendid hour. Mad Men then closes the night's books -- but not this particular sale -- with Draper's full-circle come-around.

FNC's Shepard Smith again a steady hand amid partisan provocateurs on both his own network and MSNBC

Ed Bark — 2010-07-22T12:07:36-05:00
But Smith's two principal FNC venues -- Fox Report and Studio B -- notably did not bite on the much-reported Shirley Sherrod "scandal" that turned out to be a doctored video disseminated by a right-wing blogger. ...Smith, who doesn't have a prime-time forum on FNC, at least has the temerity to both call out his network and hold off on stories of highly questionable origin and veracity.

Pillars of the Earth strives to stand tall, but doesn't live up to its Starz billing

Ed Bark — 2010-07-22T09:13:44-05:00
His vision is shared by the rather amusingly named Tom Builder (Rufus Sewell), whose eventual allies include an accused witch named Ellen (Natalia Worner) and her virginal son, Jack Jackson (Eddie Redmayne), an all-around good guy who also happens to be a helluva sculptor and visionary. ...Co-produced by Ridley Scott of Gladiator fame, Pillars weaves its tangled webs within surprisingly chaste surroundings. Spartacus, easily the most graphic weekly series in TV history, purveyed maximum-strength amounts of blood, gore, expletives and full frontal nudity (both male and female). Pillars comparatively is Candyland, with a few blood squirts/swollen eyes here and there, fleeting glimpses of bared anatomies and a wee pair of expletives.

Haggard twangs his magic twanger in exemplary American Masters film

Ed Bark — 2010-07-21T10:02:34-05:00
Learning to Live with Myself nicely meshes archival footage with current-day interviews in telling the story of a revered twanger who was in the audience for three of Johnny Cash's famed San Quentin concerts. ...

Steinbrenner's death rekindles interest in ESPN's 8-part The Bronx Is Burning -- for $3 at Big Lots!

Ed Bark — 2010-07-13T15:25:34-05:00
The packet I recently bought also included two other ESPN DVDS -- March Madness: The Greatest Moments of the NCAA Tournament and Sportscenter Year in Review -- 2006, which includes both the pulsating Texas Longhorns' Rose Bowl victory over Southern Cal and the stomach-churning Miami Heat comeback against the Dallas Mavericks in that year's NBA Finals. ...

Covert Affairs gives USA network another potential perennial

Ed Bark — 2010-07-12T15:40:41-05:00
Melodically named Piper Perabo gets a much more standard issue TV moniker in USA network's Covert Affairs, which rises a rung or two above the gratingly ordinary. ...This time around, Gorham is CIA agent Auggie Anderson, who was blinded in the act of duty but is still both a playa and Annie's new-found best pal.

TNT's Rizzoli & Isles: Sounds like a pasta dish, but served as a crime drama

Ed Bark — 2010-07-12T09:05:27-05:00
Harmon, veteran of both NBC's long-running Law & Order and ABC's short-lived Women's Murder Club, is joined by NCIS veteran Sasha Alexander as a stylish but capable medical examiner named Maura Isles. ...A particularly notable scene in tonight's opener finds Rizzoli platonically sharing a bed with Isles while they discuss the attributes of a mysterious, hunky new agent who's blown into Boston to help apprehend a very sadistic and twisted serial killer.

The Glades turns out to be an air-freshener for A&E

Ed Bark — 2010-07-09T12:28:41-05:00
In this case it's the discovery of a decapitated woman's corpse by a young dude who begins puking at length while his one-night stand remains asleep in her undies in an SUV. ...Also in the mix is comely nurse Callie Cargill (Kiele Sanchez), who's working her way through med school while also tending to a 12-year-old son after her no-account husband was sent to prison.

The Decision casts "The King" in a better light than expected

Ed Bark — 2010-07-08T21:26:04-05:00
But James seems like their Daddy, a mature-beyond-his-years Sears kinda guy whose outwardly indulgent one-hour ESPN special donated all money from ad sales to five designated Boys and Girls Clubs, including the one in James' hometown of Akron, Ohio. ...He hopes at least some fans will remember his contributions while the city where he became a star now is left with crappy teams in baseball, football and basketball.

Safe Haven? Not on Syfy

Ed Bark — 2010-07-08T12:35:46-05:00
Which means that Haven, Maine, site of Syfy's new Haven, is populated by people with peculiar powers and haunted by a mysterious back story that will be doled out in small doses. ...In future episodes, her character will be torn between Wuornos and Crocker while sticking around a spell to dig deeper into both the town's psyche and that mysterious long-ago newspaper picture of a woman who looks a lot like her.

Love lost is Bachelorette's gain: Jake and Vienna brawl 'n' bawl in close encounter of the lurid kind

Ed Bark — 2010-07-05T22:09:13-05:00
Dallas-bred Jake Pavelka looked vexed for much of his reunion with Vienna Girardi on Monday's festive The Bachelorette. ABC photos ...Pavelka, who was treated like a Nobel Prize winner during two recent guest host appearance on WFAA8's Good Morning Texas, came off as a smug and condescending cad during the first half of his icy cold return engagement with Girardi.

King leaving his court after a quarter century on CNN

Ed Bark — 2010-06-30T08:38:12-05:00
Beset by all-time low ratings, more highly publicized marital woes and the growing perception that time has passed him by, the 76-year-old King announced Tuesday on CNN's Larry King Live that he'll be leaving the show sometime this fall. ...

DVD review: Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story

Ed Bark — 2010-06-29T14:54:20-05:00
Almost benignly profane in the film, Rollins recounts how Atwater "betrayed" him during Reagan's 1984 re-election campaign before eventually getting what he wanted -- full control of George Bush Sr.'s 1988 run. ...And one Republican ally says to this day that Bill Clinton never would have beaten George Bush Sr. had Atwater been alive to run his re-election campaign.

Brace yourselves: FX's Louie can be very dangerously funny

Ed Bark — 2010-06-29T10:08:03-05:00
Louis C.K. fits right in, ending the second episode of Tuesday night's double-barreled premiere of FX's Louie with a riff on how he'd love to be intimate with animals, particularly monkeys. ...HBO took a chance in 2006's Lucky Louie, a profane, hit-over-the-head sitcom that was modeled after The Honeymooners and marked the network's first and so far last show taped before a studio audience.

Get real: Boston Med gives ABC a hospital series with a wealth of unscripted drama

Ed Bark — 2010-06-24T12:41:25-05:00
Next week's Episode 2 both introduces nurse Grabowski and tugs at emotions with compelling stories of an elderly man with a cancerous mass surrounding his lungs and an expectant mother whose husband is stationed in Iraq and who knows that her firstborn son will have a serious heart condition that demands immediate surgery. ...All in all, you'll get more genuine drama in one episode than in an entire summer season of ABC's new Rookie Blue, which premieres on the same night at 8 p.m. Boston Med grabs and holds, gifting viewers with a bracing hot weather "reality" series that for a change gives the genre a good name.

ABC's Rookie Blue clunks into view

Ed Bark — 2010-06-23T10:25:49-05:00
Viewers are soon smelling a bad show, with Andy nervously and breathlessly navigating a first day that includes lethal gunfire from a drug den and her eventual blowing of an undercover cop's cover. ...For now, though, Rookie Blue begins and ends in a bar, where the five newcomers happily get sloshed without any attention paid as to how they'll all get home without hurting themselves or others.

Memphis Beat tries to give Earl star a new acting rhythm

Ed Bark — 2010-06-21T16:23:52-05:00
Produced by George Clooney, Grant Heslov and their Smokehouse Pictures, Memphis Beat finds Lee's character throwing himself into Elvis vocals at a local club when he's not upbraiding suspects for failing to respect the city's traditions and legendary figures. ...Her legacy -- and its importance to him -- has Hendricks pursuing the perpetrator with a zeal that's not initially shared by his new boss, prototypical by-the-booker Tanya Rice (venerable Alfre Woodard).

ABC tries to reinvigorate summertime Sundays with new/noteworthy The Gates and Scoundrels

Ed Bark — 2010-06-18T13:26:41-05:00
That's why ABC's two Sunday night mainstays -- Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters -- are not part of the summer mix while reruns of "procedural," self-contained crime dramas such as the CSI franchise and The Mentalist are very much a part of CBS' year-around programming strategy. ...Scoundrels, starring Virginia Madsen in showy and effective form, premieres at 8 p.m. (central) on Sunday, June 20th in the DH slot. The Gates, with a breakout performance by Rhona Mitra as a seductive vampire, follows at 9 p.m. in place of B&S.

Showtime adds The Real L Word, but subtracts the nudity

Ed Bark — 2010-06-16T12:47:52-05:00
Ilene Chaiken, creator/producer of both versions, had no reservations with the original, telling The Village Voice in a 2005 interview that "lesbians, in particular, have never had their sexual desires represented on screen -- or rarely, I should say -- and they just clamor for love scenes, and diverse love scenes." ...Showtime press materials say that the sometimes intertwined adventures of Tracy, Rose, Mikey, Nikki, Jill and Whitney will show "that these lesbian women can be every bit as fashionable, fabulous and even as cutthroat as those hetero housewives."

Planet Green's Fabulous Beekman Boys makes bid to be gay Green Acres

Ed Bark — 2010-06-15T13:39:18-05:00
Beautifully shot but also more than a bit stagey, Planet Green's The Fabulous Beekman Boys is the saga of two rather proudly prissy gay guys navigating a long-distance relationship under uncommon circumstances. ...And the still fledgling Plant Green channel, launched in June 2008, is hoping that the half-hour Beekman Boys series (with back-to-back episodes on opening night) will help put it on the map the way The Shield did for FX, South Park did for Comedy Central, Queer Eye For the Straight Guy did for Bravo, etc.

TV Land's Hot In Cleveland harkens to The Golden Girls but so far plays at room temperature

Ed Bark — 2010-06-14T12:55:39-05:00
Her three polished co-stars, all with hit sitcoms under their belts, are Wendie (Just Shoot Me) Malick, Valerie (One Day At A Time) Bertinelli and Jane (Frasier) Leeves. ...Still, it's a little bizarre to see Bertinelli's character weeping as though she's a veritable Whistler's Mother after learning she's been intimate with a married man played by the still fit John (Dukes of Hazzard) Schneider.

HBO's True Blood drinks to a third season while keeping Bill and Sookie sip-arated

Ed Bark — 2010-06-11T15:14:04-05:00
They're quickly elemental to the third season of HBO's True Blood, launching on Sunday, June 13th at 8 p.m. (central) with events immediately following the kidnapping of angst-ridden vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer). ...But Bill and Sookie seem destined to do a lot of scenes without each other, which will still hold true by the end of June 27th's "Scratches" episode.

Staying too long at the party: a clear and ever-present danger

Ed Bark — 2010-06-09T13:01:56-05:00
Helen Thomas, until very recently the 89-year-old dean of the Washington press corps, provides the latest cautionary tale of someone who just couldn't let go until her mouth ran amuck on the subject of what Israeli Jews should do with themselves. ...It no doubt felt good to be queen, and even better to be in the presence of presidents who still called on her because she is, after all, Helen Thomas.

Horrid Neighbors From Hell defaces TBS

Ed Bark — 2010-06-07T14:55:39-05:00
Instead someone thought it would be a howl to have the amoral drill company boss (voiced by Kurtwood Smith from That '70s Show) refer to his company's Turkish drillmaster as a "poor little brown ape" among other things. ...We're only scratching the surface of a miserably inept and flat-out bigoted eyesore/earsore that TBS never should have green-lighted for any time of day or night. Neighbors From Hell fails on every level.

HBO's Smash His Camera re-pictures paparazzi potentate

Ed Bark — 2010-06-07T08:57:21-05:00
Famed photographer Neil Leifer, whose work has regularly appeared in Life, Time and Sports Illustrated, still regards Galella as a "bottom-feeder" whose "tactics are despicable." ...His obsession with the glamorous and famous -- mom named him after heartthrob actor Ronald Coleman -- yielded a treasure trove of images while also serving as the carbon footprint for TMZ and the like.

Fox's Good Guys hits its regular time slot running

Ed Bark — 2010-06-04T11:48:44-05:00
Monday's return, in the show's official summertime slot (8 p.m. central following Lie to Me), showcases Stark and straitlaced partner Jack Bailey (Colin Hanks) in another time-shifting, determinedly far-fetched adventure. ...Executive producer Matt Nix (Burn Notice) must first find a way to make this a summertime breeze capable of both finding and keeping a decent-sized audience opposite ABC's The Bachelorette, NBC's Last Comic Standing and formidable CBS repeats of prime-time's two most popular sitcoms, Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory.

CBS, Fox take No. 1 spots at finish line of 2009-'10 TV season

Ed Bark — 2010-06-02T12:07:46-05:00
Its would-be usurper was the season's second edition of ABC's Dancing with the Stars, whose cast included pouty Kate Gosselin, purry Pamela Anderson, unpredictable Chad Ochocinco and former moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, who danced like the Tin Man while gamely smiling and saluting. ...And it wasn't even close among 18-to-49-year-olds, where Idol again ruled the prime-time universe while the performance and results editions of Dancing sagged to 11th and 40th place.

TBS' Are We There Yet? has a not surprising destination

Ed Bark — 2010-06-01T15:04:55-05:00
TBS, also home to Tyler Perry's House of Payne and Meet the Browns, makes it a threesome Wednesday night with the first two episodes of Are We There Yet? ...But it's drawn ample and mostly younger audiences for its two Tyler Perry-produced comedies, both of which also are shot on old-school videotape and affixed with a laugh track.

Idol finale: Paula salutes Simon; Casey James duets with Bret Michaels; Janet Jackson returns to the stage (and oh yeah, Lee won)

Ed Bark — 2010-05-27T08:18:32-05:00
The seven standardbearers, starting with inaugural victor Kelly Clarkson of Burleson, TX, were soon joined by various and sundry Idol castoffs for a group-sing that seemed to make the flinty Cowell just a tad misty. ...Performing with varying combinations of Top 10 finalists were Hall and Oates, Chicago, The Bee Gees, Michael McDonald, Joe Cocker and Alice Cooper, all of whom have moved well north of the show's advertiser-favored target audience of 18-to-49-year-olds.

Little in common except running out of gas: 24 and Law & Order go down for the count

Ed Bark — 2010-05-24T13:27:49-05:00
Both justice-seekers are being terminated after tonight. 24's two-hour series finale (7 to 9 p.m. central) ends the small-screen career of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), with plans to make a big-screen feature set in Europe. ...Meanwhile, Merkerson's character is quietly battling cervical cancer -- and the high costs of medical procedures -- while her two main detectives are constantly thwarted in their efforts to track down a potential terrorist bomber going by the blog name of "Moot."

Lost finds decent national ratings; ABC rediscovers Miss America pageant

Ed Bark — 2010-05-24T12:38:36-05:00
But Lost did win its time slot, beating NBC's runner-up season finale of Celebrity Apprentice by 4.2 million viewers while also dominating among advertiser-favored 18-to-49-year-olds. It's a sign of Lost's declining popularity, though, that the May 23, 2007 Season 3 finale drew more total viewers, as did the Feb. 21, 2008 episode, says ABC.

Jesus take the wheel: Lost ends and ascends

Ed Bark — 2010-05-24T05:50:57-05:00
Father also assured son that "everything that's ever happened to you is real" before they walked into the church and its congregation of beaming couples destined and meant to be together. ...Their Christian Shepherd -- named Christian Shephard -- finally walked between two angels and into a blinding white light before earthly Jack at last let go and expired from his wounds after saving the island from destruction.

CW adds two, plots 10th and last season for Smallville

Ed Bark — 2010-05-20T08:20:12-05:00
Smallville, birthed a decade ago on the defunct WB network, will launch its 10th and final season with an eye toward a "classic reuniting of the timeless romance" between Clark "Superman" Kent (Tom Welling) and Lois Lane (Erica Durance) during their grownup stint at The Daily Planet. ...But two fellow freshmen, Vampire Diaries and Life Unexpected, are getting sophomore years. 90210, Supernatural, One Tree Hill and Life Unexpected all will have new nights in the fall.

CBS' new fall colors include a quartet of high-profile show shifts, new Hawaii Five-O and the returns of Shatner, Selleck

Ed Bark — 2010-05-19T10:02:50-05:00
Mike & Molly (comedy) -- CBS sitcom potentate Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory) notches another one with this saga of a working class Chicago couple whose eyes for each other turn out to be bigger than their stomachs when they first meet at an Overeaters Anonymous session. ...***The Big Bang Theory, which had been safely nestled behind Two and a Half Men on Mondays, will have to fend for itself as Thursday night's new leadoff hitter, with the Shatner comedy following.

ABC's new fall season throws another Texas-made series in the mix

Ed Bark — 2010-05-18T09:57:00-05:00
ABC announced that My Generation, centered on a group of grads from Austin's fictional Greenbelt High School, will be among the seven new series coming this autumn. ...The Whole Truth -- Rob Morrow, former star of CBS' soon-to-be-officially-canceled Numb3rs, immediately rebounds as a rising criminal defense attorney whose chief adversary is a deputy DA played by Joely Richardson from Nip/Tuck.

Two made-in-Dallas series make Fox's fall cut

Ed Bark — 2010-05-17T08:42:14-05:00
It joins Fox's ongoing The Good Guys, which set up shop in Fair Park early this year. Good Guys, which launches with a preview episode on Wednesday, May 19th before beginning a summertime run on June 7th, will then move right into Fox's fall lineup. ...Fox also made other news Monday by announcing that Glee will be next year's post Super Bowl attraction when the NFL's super-powed end game makes its inaugural appearance at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

Peacock goes "back to basics" by re-embracing "quality" scripted series

Ed Bark — 2010-05-16T21:24:24-05:00
NBC's new fall prime-time lineup has both a made-in-Dallas drama and Jimmy Smits in a legal series from the banished Conan O'Brien's production company. ...Kelli Giddish, from the shortlived Fox series Past Life stars as U.S. marshal Annie Frost, described as a "cowboy boot-wearing deputy whose sharp mind and unique Texas upbringing her help track down violent criminals on the run."

NBC cancels Law & Order, keeps Chuck, orders a Law & Order spinoff and a new drama series co-produced by Conan O'Brien (double huh?!)

Ed Bark — 2010-05-14T15:20:12-05:00
Oddly enough, Conan O'Brien also is proving his enduring appeal with NBC, even after leaving in disgust earlier this year rather than have The Tonight Show pushed back a half-hour to make room for a half-hour Jay Leno program that never materialized. ...Plus it's already renewed Law & Order: SVU, Chuck, Parenthood, The Office, 30 Rock, Community, Parks & Recreation, The Biggest Loser, The Marriage Ref, Who Do You Think You Are?, Minute to Win It a non-celebrity version of The Apprentice, a Dateline or two and Woody the Upchucking Woodchuck.

A new window on The Doors in a striking American Masters film

Ed Bark — 2010-05-11T15:46:39-05:00
PBS' latest American Masters presentation, When You're Strange: A Film About The Doors, can't help but be mostly about Morrison, who died in a Paris bathtub in 1971 at age 27. ..."To some, Jim was a poet, his soul trapped between heaven and hell," narrator Johnny Depp says near the end of the 90-minute When You're Strange (Wednesday May 12th, 9 p.m. on KERA13).

Friday Night Lights back in play on NBC

Ed Bark — 2010-05-06T16:28:42-05:00
Stripped of his Dillon Panthers by a power play, Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) now is stuck with the ramshackle East Dillion Lions while wife Tami (Connie Britton) remains as the embattled principal of his old school. Season 4 has 13 episodes, all of which are scheduled to run on Fridays at 7 p.m. central, beginning May 7th. Unclebarky.com reviewed the Season 4 opener when it launched on DirecTV.

Pretty damned Good Guys gets ready to roll through Dallas

Ed Bark — 2010-05-06T08:15:00-05:00
The scheduled 13 episodes of Good Guys, with the first directed by veteran actor Tim Matheson, look as though they're going to be both a boon for the Dallas economy and a bracing departure from broadcast TV's annual hot weather drought. ...And while you're waiting for May 19th, go ahead and click onto Fox's official Good Guys page for a lot of stuff that Stark wouldn't know or care how to access.

Lost finale has another growth spurt

Ed Bark — 2010-05-05T13:23:00-05:00
The 2004 two-hour Lost pilot also will be re-airing, on Saturday, May 22nd from 7 to 9 p.m. ...***Saturday Night Live's May 15th season finale will be hosted by Alec Baldwin, allowing him to tie Steve Martin's record of 15 such appearances.

O'Brien returns to TV as bearded laddy on friendly 60 Minutes turf

Ed Bark — 2010-05-02T21:50:46-05:00
Conan with Kroft and in costume on comedy tour during Sunday's 60 Minutes segment, his first contractually allowed TV appearance since leaving NBC's Tonight Show on Jan. 22nd. Photos: Ed Bark ...So Conan O'Brien picked 60 Minutes Sunday for his first permissible TV appearance since NBC paid him $32 million to go away and give The Tonight Show back to Jay Leno.

ABC's Happy Town is almost anything but -- plausible, absorbing, spooky or entertaining (which is sad)

Ed Bark — 2010-04-27T08:51:07-05:00
Those with exceedingly sharp TV memories will remember that both Stults and Jay Paulson (cast as a deputy named Eli "Root Beer" Rogers) logged time as regular characters on October Road, which lasted for 19 episodes. ...Would it be giving away too much to reveal that a bird flies through a central character's car window at the end of Episode 2 to the tune of Carly Simon's "You're So Vain?"

HBO's You Don't Know Jack -- namely Kevorkian -- moves Pacino further up the pantheon

Ed Bark — 2010-04-22T16:39:45-05:00
The first assisted suicide, with Janet Adkins releasing the medication that quickly kills her, is carried out in the back of Jack's VW bus after Hemlock Society activist Janet Good (a solid Susan Sarandon) belatedly has to renege on an agreement to use her home as an incubator. ...Pacino's full-immersion portrayal is virtually certain to bring him another best actor Emmy to go with the one he took home for his indelible turn as Roy Cohn in HBO's super-acclaimed Angels In America miniseries.

NBC's fourth SNL history lesson passes, yet fails

Ed Bark — 2010-04-15T13:23:28-05:00
Paul Simon's very memorable performance of "The Boxer" added to the overall somberness of the show's early minutes before Giuliani praised SNL as a national institution that both the country and New York couldn't live without. ...Going unmentioned is the fact that the next week's long-scheduled host, New Yorker Ben Stiller, in fact did pull out abruptly and without any apology or explanation, according to the excellent 2002 oral history of the show, titled Live From New York.

"You know what, a Latino and a redhead. It's worked before. Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball"

Ed Bark — 2010-04-13T13:07:11-05:00
And in truth, this just might work like gangbusters on a network that's going to lavish tons of promotion on both shows, pay O'Brien a reported $10 million a year and also give him ownership of whatever show emerges and the freedom to do it as he pleases. ...Idol hasn't had a Madonna week yet, but this year's Season 9 would only suffer in comparison anyway.

TBS coo coo for Coco, with Fox out of the picture

Ed Bark — 2010-04-12T12:08:00-05:00
NBC, in one of the most bizarre ongoing soap operas in TV history, had canceled Leno's 9 p.m. prime-time show after network affiliates threatened to preempt it because of lowly audience lead-ins to their following local newscasts. ...

Bauer bowing out: 24 will call it quits after this season stops ticking

Ed Bark — 2010-03-27T11:27:38-05:00
"While the end of the series is bittersweet, we always wanted 24 to finish on a high note," Sutherland said in a news release that was emailed at 7:20:36 p.m. central time Friday. ..."One of the things that I was always so unbelievably proud of is that you could have our show being discussed by Bill Clinton and Rush Limbaugh at the same time, both using it and citing it to justify their points of view.

Lifetime Movie Network keeps the faith with compelling Amish Grace

Ed Bark — 2010-03-26T15:23:20-05:00
For dramatic purposes, grieving Ida Graber (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) is the lone holdout in Amish Grace after learning that her 14-year-old daughter, Mary Beth (Madison Davenport), was among the victims. ...Gideon, a by-the-book practitioner, reluctantly says that his wife will be "shunned" if she makes good on her vow to leave the Amish community rather than forgive the murderer of their daughter or his widow.

ABC serves Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (but will Americans eat it up?)

Ed Bark — 2010-03-26T10:05:13-05:00
Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution infiltrates the "unhealthiest city in America" in a six-episode effort to wean its denizens -- particularly school children -- off steady diets of breakfast pizzas, chicken nuggets and an overall "Aladdin's cave of processed crap," as he puts it. ..."I'm just feelin' really sad and depressed right now," she says before Oliver digs a backyard grave for the kitchen fryer and pronounces, "We're gonna bury this old grease ball thing, and we're not going to have it anymore."

CW's Fly Girls is grounded in pseduo reality

Ed Bark — 2010-03-23T12:56:56-05:00
Billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin America airlines is the takeoff point for Fly Girls, which stars five cute 'n' buxom flight attendants named Nikole, Louise, Farrah, Tasha and Mandalay. ...In Wednesday's premiere episode (they mercifully only last a half-hour), Mandalay gets all weepy after Nikole conspires to stand next to Branson atop a fire truck at a big Virgin America "launch party" in Fort Lauderdale.

Showtime's Nurse Jackie takes its meds for Season 2

Ed Bark — 2010-03-22T13:34:10-05:00
Starring: Edie Falco, Merrit Wever, Eve Best, Peter Facinelli, Anna Deavere Smith, Dominic Fumusa, Paul Schulze, Ruby Jerins, Mackenzie Aladjem, Stephen Wallem, Arjun Gupta ...Plus he's tweeting -- beginning in Episode 2 -- as part of a new gambit that will play out weekly in real time on the show's newly minted "@DoctorCoop" twitter account.

Breaking Bad snaps into Season 3

Ed Bark — 2010-03-18T16:00:33-05:00
The Cousins, played by Daniel and Luis Moncada, let their carnage do the talking Sunday night in the Season 3 premiere of AMC's devilishly good Breaking Bad. They've crossed the Mexican border to Albuquerque in search of the now desperately unhappy Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a chemistry teacher/meth cooker whose descent into the lucrative drug trade was triggered by a lung cancer diagnosis and his desire to leave a big pile of cash behind for his financially pressed family.

Sy fy fo fum

Ed Bark — 2010-03-17T14:23:44-05:00
Mongolian Death Worm -- A treasure hunter who has been searching for a tomb containing Genghis Khan's treasure teams with a humanitarian UN health worker to stop the Mongolian Death Worms, awakened by experimental oil drilling in the Mongolian desert. ...Stonehenge Apocalypse -- When the giant stones of Stonehenge begin to move and cataclysms occur all over the earth, only a fringe radio talk show host who's an expert in UFOlogy figures out that the ancient monument is really alien technology.

Badge of honor: FX's Justified cools it a bit without losing an edge

Ed Bark — 2010-03-15T17:44:14-05:00
Tuesday's premiere of Justified (the lead character originated in novels by Elmore Leonard) turns out to be notably darker in tone than two subsequent episodes sent for review. ...It's nice to see the network try a little tenderness for a change with a drama that curbs its enthusiasm for aggressively anti-hero males and instead gives viewers an easier to swallow blend of Southern Comfort and lemonade.

HBO's The Pacific joins its already vast collection of finest hours

Ed Bark — 2010-03-12T10:58:37-06:00
By this time, another real-life Marine -- Rami Malek as Merriell "Snafu" Shelton -- has come into full focus as a cynical, almost depraved combatant who in Episode 7 amuses himself by tossing pebbles into a dead Japanese soldier's partially remaining skull. ...The Pacific draws on memoirs by both Leckie (Helmet for My Pillow) and Sledge (With the Old Breed) to retell what they and their fellow Marines went through.

Sons of Tucson comes up stinko

Ed Bark — 2010-03-11T09:52:15-06:00
It's usually not a good idea to replicate a flop, and perhaps no one involved with Sons of Tucson has ever heard of A Family For Joe. ...Fox's Sons of Tucson, premiering Sunday after Family Guy, stars beefy Tyler Labine (Reaper) as lame-brained Ron Snuffkin, who's living out of his car.

Scum rises to the top in CW's High Society

Ed Bark — 2010-03-10T13:00:40-06:00
Being sneak-previewed in half-hour form after Wednesday's America's Next Top Model, this higher-end answer to Jersey Shore does a splendid job of making its real-life characters thoroughly despicable. ...She used to be married to a rich guy, but now can be seen play-sobbing in her Upper East Side loft after her recent separation from fund marketer Robert Livingston "Topper" Mortimer, whose face is digitized in Wednesday's premiere.

DVD review: ABC's Elvis now back in the building

Ed Bark — 2010-03-09T09:34:47-06:00
He's got the voice and mannerisms down, pulling viewers into a nuanced characterization that takes Elvis from a virginal, picked-on high schooler to a darker, insecure commodity who shoots a hole in a Las Vegas hotel TV screen when a local news anchor speculates on whether he can still deliver the goods "after nearly 10 years in seclusion." ...From there it's a leisurely, evocative journey back to the "present," with ample time for the formative music that made Presley an idolized, moneymaking machine whose wealth and generosity took Vernon and Gladys from the family's dumpy, Honeymooners-esque apartment in Memphis to the gaudy environs of Graceland.

Oscar audience up 5 mil from previous year's

Ed Bark — 2010-03-08T15:34:48-06:00
Sunday night's 82nd annual Academy Awards lured 5 million more viewers nationally than the last one, giving ABC its most-watched Oscars telecast in five years. ...The least-watched Oscars were in 2008, when just 32 million viewers cared enough to see No Country For Old Men win for best picture.

Limp Oscars fade away after less than dynamic hosting by Martin/Baldwin

Ed Bark — 2010-03-08T08:16:25-06:00
This year he came as a Na'vi from Avatar, improvising as he went along while joking that it seemed like a much better idea in rehearsals. Avatar director James Cameron agreeably laughed it up, but wouldn't have much to smile about later. ...Whether acting or not, he responded enthusiastically to her win and then had to repeat the process when Hurt Locker also beat Avatar for Best Picture.

The Office "Baby Event" struggles to be a special delivery

Ed Bark — 2010-03-04T15:19:28-06:00
"The One-Hour Office Baby Event," as NBC keeps billing it, seems more than a little too sitcom-y for a series of this caliber. ...Through it all, Dunder Mifflin boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell) as always makes an ass of himself, whether trying to act as a matchmaker or racing off to the hospital with the expectant couple in tow.

Leno re-takes Tonight, knowing that this time NBC will keep its hands off

Ed Bark — 2010-03-02T10:50:19-06:00
Sporting a new desk but sticking to the same format, Jay Leno welcomed Jamie Foxx on his first Tonight do-over Monday. NBC photo ...Yeah, except for her impromptu December appearance on O'Brien's Tonight, during which she mockingly read excerpts from one of William Shatner's books after he mockingly read excerpts from her Going Rogue.

NBC's Parenthood a long-needed feather in Peacock's plumage

Ed Bark — 2010-03-01T16:07:52-06:00
The network's disastrous dalliance with Jay Leno kept intelligent life at bay for what seemed like eight days a week. Parenthood, a very populated second coming of both a 1989 feature film and a short-lived 1990 NBC series, is a firm first step in restoring a little order. ...The drama initially unfolds with few if any genuine surprises, whether it's the grousing, old-school Zeek melting like buttah at crunch time or the insecure Sarah rising to the occasion of an impromptu date with a balding old high school flame whom she initially sees as an even bigger loser.

Young's "Long May You Run" had familiar NBC ring to it; Marriage Ref launch then waylays Olympics' closing ceremonies

Ed Bark — 2010-03-01T00:03:10-06:00
Determined to give Jerry Seinfeld's The Marriage Ref a showcase sneak preview, NBC plopped it in the middle of its live coverage of the Olympics' closing ceremonies Sunday night. ...But a half-hour edition of Marriage Ref, which NBC did not make available for review, instead served as a bridge between the Peacock's prime-time and late night coverage of the Vancouver curtain-closer.

ABC News plans big cuts as part of widespread digital age transformation

Ed Bark — 2010-02-23T17:23:48-06:00
To that end, ABC News will "expand our use of digital journalists" while also embracing "the example set by Nightline of editorial staff who shoot and edit their own material," Westin said. ...He positioned the upcoming bloodletting and leaner ways of newsgathering as a "rare opportunity to get in front of what's coming, to ensure that ABC News has a sound journalistic and financial footing for many years to come, and to serve our audiences even better."

The Olympian hair of Bob Costas: a seminar

Ed Bark — 2010-02-22T12:03:07-06:00
Bob Barker had the fortitude to renounce his hair dye bottle during the height of his fame as host of CBS' The Price Is Right. ...But former Hill Street Blues star Michael Warren took the plunge, as did Newsweek's Jonathan Alter, a frequent guest on TV's innumerable political roundtables.

A sorry apology from Woods? Not in this view

Ed Bark — 2010-02-19T10:37:28-06:00
"Please know that as far as I am concerned, every one of these questions and answers is a matter between Elin and me," Woods said before pointedly scolding those in the media who directed their glares on his immediate family. ...But Woods is absolutely right in his decision to not go public about who he slept with, how Elin found out and all the other attendant juice that has so many media outlets slobbering.

Jerry's Palace anointed anew on truTV's NFL Full Contact

Ed Bark — 2010-02-15T11:24:04-06:00
Those who aren't satiated with Jerry's Palace yet can turn right around and relive the first regular season Cowboys game on the second episode of truTV's NFL Full Contact (Monday, Feb. 15th at 9 p.m. central). "What the Roman Colosseum was to the first century is what Cowboys Stadium is to the 21st century," NBC Sunday Night Football announcer Al Michaels said by way of introduction to the team's eventual 33-31 loss to the New York Giants before an NFL record crowd of 105,121 on Sept. 20th.

Cowboy Colby and friends (and enemies) go back to the bush for Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains

Ed Bark — 2010-02-11T08:14:19-06:00
Heading west to Hollywood, Donaldson took acting lessons and popped up as a guest star on a few prime-time TV series before signing on with 2004's Survivor: All-Stars. ...Survivor host Jeff Probst, who's also been a friend of Donaldson's since the Outback edition, says that an acting career is "vibrant as long as it's vibrant in your heart.

Fox's Past Life needs to find a pulse

Ed Bark — 2010-02-09T12:03:22-06:00
The latest culprit -- and that's the case here -- is Fox's Past Life, which gets the usual post-American Idol launchpad Tuesday night before being sent to Thursdays to fend for itself. ...Ivey's quickly out of the picture, though, leaving Past Life to reach a resolution without enough bite, zip or basic believability to merit your continued patronage.

Super Bowl XLIV mashes M*A*S*H finale, says CBS

Ed Bark — 2010-02-08T14:40:45-06:00
Averaging 106.5 million viewers in the preliminary national Nielsens, the game edges CBS' Feb. 28, 1983 telecast of the M*A*S*H finale, which had 106 million viewers. ...CBS says that the first episode of Undercover Boss is the most-watched series premiere in any time slot since ABC launched the variety series Dolly (starring Dolly Parton) on Sept.

Come together: Letterman and Leno play act with Oprah as buffer

Ed Bark — 2010-02-08T09:36:28-06:00
The surprise spot of Super Bowl XLIV came at the 9:34 mark of the second quarter, when Indiana native David Letterman in a Colts jersey whined, "This is the worst Super bowl party ever." ...

Jobs well done: CBS' post-Super Bowl Undercover Boss pays as it goes

Ed Bark — 2010-02-05T13:39:50-06:00
O'Donnell infiltrates his own company by posing as Randy Lawrence, whose adventures as an entry level worker are being recorded by a camera crew as grist for a possible reality series. ...This provides the star of this hour with some built-in empathy before he tries to master the art of picking recyclable cardboard off a fast-moving conveyor belt while being encouraged by a dedicated employee named Sandy.

Danes in full bloom as autistic heroine of HBO's Temple Grandin

Ed Bark — 2010-02-04T16:32:47-06:00
That's the condensed review of HBO's Temple Grandin (Saturday, Feb. 6th, 7 p.m. central), which on paper has a less than scintillating premise. ...The film begins in 1966, with Temple spending the summer at her Aunt Ann's (Catherine O'Hara) cattle ranch in Arizona before being asked to make an abrupt transition to Franklin Pierce College out East.

Jones 'n' Joplin -- still smokin' after all these years

Ed Bark — 2010-02-04T09:59:53-06:00
For a truly blazin' hot twofer, though, return with us to 1969's This Is Tom Jones, during which the swivel-hipped underwear-catcher smoked TV screens with a wailing Janis Joplin. ...

Lost returns with double shots of intrigue (note: don't read if you still plan to see it)

Ed Bark — 2010-02-03T07:50:43-06:00
Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox); apprehended fugitive Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly); con man James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway); paralyzed John Locke (Terry O'Quinn); former torturer Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews); lottery winner Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia) and husband/wife Jin and Sun Kwon (Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim) were all back aboard their Oceanic 815 flight from Sydney to L.A. ..."I'm sorry you had to see me like that," he told a cowed Ben Linus (Michael Emerson), who's been reduced to his intimidated gofer while fake Locke has emerged as the island's brusque, sometimes brutal overlord.

Better late than never? Conan's last week a ratings triumph (plus, the Grammys get the words out)

Ed Bark — 2010-02-01T00:08:30-06:00
Jay Leno, who had dominated Letterman in both ratings measurements, gets a do-over on March 1st when he returns as Tonight host after a disastrous run in prime-time that will end on the Feb. 11th eve of the Winter Olympics. ...

"Just Jay and Oprah, speaking titan to titan"

Ed Bark — 2010-01-29T11:15:45-06:00
On Thursday's Jimmy Kimmel Live, he rebutted Jay Leno's contention -- on that day's interview with Oprah Winfrey -- that Kimmel had "sucker-punched" him during a "10 at 10" segment in which Kimmel took the opportunity to mock Leno. ...

Spartacus: Blood and Sand spews, spurts and somehow makes it work

Ed Bark — 2010-01-21T15:12:17-06:00
The new Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand is awash in the red stuff, whether it's splattering onto the screen, spewing from mouths or coursing from various severed veins and appendages. ...Balking at contrary orders from Roman commander Glaber (Craig Parker), he eventually is separated from his beauteous wife Sura (Erin Cummings) and sentenced to a kill-or-be-killed life of gladiator-dom.

Leno returning to saddle, Conan hitting the beach

Ed Bark — 2010-01-21T11:14:44-06:00
Jay Leno, pushed into prime-time after O'Brien took over Tonight, will return as the show's host on March 1st after NBC's telecasts of the Winter Olympics from Vancouver. ...Post-Leno -- at least in terms of his prime-time show -- the Peacock will be puttying its 9 p.m. (central) hour after the Olympics with two Law & Order hours, an expanded Dateline NBC, the new scripted series Parenthood and The Marriage Ref, a comedy panel show produced by Jerry Seinfeld.

ABC's The Deep End lawyers up without making much of a case

Ed Bark — 2010-01-20T12:35:37-06:00
There are many characters to digest here, even though one of them, first year associate Malcolm Bennet (Mehcad Brooks from HBO's True Blood), is only fleetingly introduced amid the rapid rush of events at the haughty Sterling law firm. ...Huddle's married -- but not happily so -- to firm partner Susan Oppenheimer (Nicole Ann Parker). Deep End also includes a "mentor" named Rowdy Kaiser (Leo Butz) and an unnamed paralegal (Rosa Pasquarella) whose extracurricular activities are key to the soap opera-ish aspects of the series.

CW's Life Unexpected is another one of life's little disappointments

Ed Bark — 2010-01-18T13:18:23-06:00
Her biological parents are Nate "Baze" Bazile (Kristoffer Polaha) and Cate Cassidy (Shiri Appleby), a well-known morning radio deejay who has an intimate relationship with her on-air partner, Ryan Thomas (Kerr Smith). ...Whatever your age, it's way too hard to swallow the premise that the irresistibly cute and smart Lux went unadopted because she had a hole in her heart that required a series of surgeries until the age of three.

Glee, Mad Men win top TV Globes

Ed Bark — 2010-01-17T23:32:05-06:00
"This is for anybody and everybody who got a wedgie in high school," executive producer Ryan Murphy said after the first-year series won in the best comedy or musical category. ...Cameron said he had to pee really bad, and would be quick with his remarks, which he pretty much was. Avatar also won the night's climactic trophy -- for "Best Motion Picture -- Drama."

Fox's Human Target triggers another alpha male into action

Ed Bark — 2010-01-17T16:00:58-06:00
In Sunday's "special preview event" -- preceding 24's two-hour Season 8 launch -- he's aboard a spanking new San Francisco to L.A. "bullet train" in the company of its comely design team head, whose life is endangered. ...Although his life is constantly in the balance, Chance seems to be having lots more fun than the ever-taut Jack Bauer. Human Target bloodies him up, particularly after Sunday's prolonged kick/punch, semi-cartoonish fight with a would-be assassin.

Which network can't you do without?

Ed Bark — 2010-01-07T16:15:19-06:00
As of this writing, Cablevision is still warring with Food Network and HGTV after dropping them from its systems earlier this month rather than pay the markedly higher carriage fees being sought by their proprietor, Scripps Networks. And at the end of last year, Time Warner Cable and Fox Networks Group had a big bout on a similar front, with their main disagreement over "retransmission" fees for Fox's broadcast channel, home of American Idol, The Simpsons and House.

Look out below: FX's animated Archer is fit for an R-rated review

Ed Bark — 2010-01-07T14:18:23-06:00
ISIS also is populated by the aforementioned lush Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler); plus-sized human resources director Pam (Amber Nash); dutiful secretary Cheryl (Judy Greer) and comptroller Cyril Figgis (Chris Parnell), who is Lana's new boyfriend. ...It's likely to hit the young male demo like a laser beam while also dragging along some older gray mules who can't help but be kind of amused by this equal opportunity offender.

The Simpsons: 20 years, 450 episodes and counting

Ed Bark — 2010-01-07T14:18:00-06:00
The filmmaker ranges fairly far and wide, going to England for a close encounter with a Simpsons collectibles fanatic while also collecting celebrity quotes from the likes of Conan O'Brien (a former writer on the show), Sting, Dan Rather, Brian Williams, Hugh Hefner, Jimmy Kimmel and John Waters. ...This is exactly the kind of cheeky approach that's worn so well, even if the show's maestros more or less acknowledge that The Simpsons perhaps isn't as funny now as it was a decade or so ago.

ABC's love connections are hardly heart-healthy

Ed Bark — 2010-01-03T22:08:51-06:00
For openers, studly Dallas flyboy Jake Pavelka begins sorting through 25 awestruck beauties on ABC's two-hour premiere of The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love (7 p.m. central). ...Then comes Conveyor Belt of Love (9 p.m. central), a one-hour special apparently designed to pound brain cells senseless with a two-by-four before implanting them in Joey Lawrence.

Everyman "Charlie" Gibson signs off ABC's World News

Ed Bark — 2009-12-18T18:13:39-06:00
Gibson, 66, briefly yielded to his emotions before a film clip showed a who's who of dignitaries, including President Obama and the four living former U.S. presidents, saying farewell and wishing him well. ..."Objectivity is not universally in favor in our business today, but it is critically important," Gibson said, a reference to Fox News Channel, MSNBC and a host of partisan talk radio programs. World News must always be relied on to be fair and impartial, he emphasized.

Lights, cameras, pageantry: TCM's Gigantic World of Epics is suitably towering

Ed Bark — 2009-12-17T13:41:18-06:00
Its spotlights shine brightest on Zhivago, Arabia, Gone with the Wind, The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur, for which star Charlton Heston won a best actor Oscar in an epic best known for its unparalleled chariot race. ...The genre fell on hard times after Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) and Cleopatra (1963) burned money without making nearly as much as anticipated. The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) then bombed big-time, souring studios on epics until Dances with Wolves (1990), Braveheart (1995) and Gladiator (2000) successively were critical and commercial successes.

GMA tabs Stephanopoulos, Chang to replace re-assigned Sawyer, Cuomo

Ed Bark — 2009-12-10T14:14:12-06:00
He'll also remain in charge of Sunday morning's This Week With George Stephanopoulos "until a replacement is named," ABC News president David Westin said in a news release. ...GMA also is adding Juju Chang, 44, as the program's news reader, with Chris Cuomo becoming co-anchor of 20/20 with Elizabeth Vargas and also serving as the network's chief justice and law correspondent.

Sign o' the Apocalypse? ABC slots Conveyor Belt of Love after January premiere of new Bachelor

Ed Bark — 2009-12-10T10:18:44-06:00
It's scheduled to follow the season premiere of The Bachelor: On Wings of Love, starring Dallas commercial pilot Jake Pavelka as the latest hunky rose-bestower. ..."If two or more of the women are interested in the same man, the tables turn and the man on the conveyor belt gets to choose which one he would like to wait for."

TNT's Men of a Certain Age gives older guys a welcome new guise

Ed Bark — 2009-12-07T09:56:47-06:00
In a very real sense, the Big Four broadcast networks (and little CW) no longer have any use for a weekly hour without gruesome crime, fantasy mythology or a cast predominated by characters almost a decade older than Brett Favre. ...Braugher, best known for his Emmy-winning work on Homicide: Life on the Street, is getting nowhere fast as Owen, a diabetic, overweight, married father of three who works for his stern father's car dealership.

Syfy's Alice "re-imagines" her as Wonderland-trapped action-hero

Ed Bark — 2009-12-04T14:39:06-06:00
Syfy's four-hour Alice, premiering Sunday at 8 p.m. (central) and continuing Monday at the same hour, bears the stamp of venerable Robert Halmi Sr. as co-executive producer. ...she demands after an elderly, double-ponytailed human form of White Rabbit leads her through the Looking Glass and into a Wonderland that at first seems like something out of the Great Depression.

Talkin' trash and grillin' for a grand prize on TLC's BBQ Pitmasters

Ed Bark — 2009-12-03T15:59:31-06:00
"Everybody's not Michael Jordan, everybody's not Tiger Woods and they damn sure ain't me," he brags in Thursday's premiere of TLC's BBQ Pitmasters. ...BBQ Pitmasters is kind of fun to watch, with the well-fed Mixon mixin' it up and pretty much casting himself as the guy on whom rivals and viewers would most like to bestow a can of whoop ass.

Comcast to take controlling interest of NBC Universal -- including that crummy old, loss-leading broadcast network

Ed Bark — 2009-12-03T11:51:17-06:00
Wearing a baby blue shirt with a buttoned down collar, Leppert solemnly mouths all the standard issue pieties while standing next to what looks like either a jail cell or a window with burglar bars, but is probably neither. ...fs=1&hl=en_US">

Bravo? Not so for Lauer and the Salahis during Tuesday's Today show interview

Ed Bark — 2009-12-01T10:07:11-06:00
It had been reported that Michaele and Tareq Salahi were trying to negotiate a big payday for their first TV interview after bagging out on Monday night's edition of CNN's Larry King Live. ...Representatives of the Bravo cable network, owned by NBC Universal, have acknowledged filming the Salahis on the day and night they successfully made their way into last Tuesday's State Dinner, where they were photographed with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden among others.

Salahis will see Lauer -- apparently for free -- on Tuesday's Today.

Ed Bark — 2009-12-01T00:29:20-06:00
After bagging out on Monday's edition of CNN's Larry King Live, America's most famous uninvited guests, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, instead have granted their first TV interview to NBC's Today. ...The Salahis reportedly were seeking a fee in excess of $100,000 for any TV appearance after canceling their appearance with King. Today, produced by NBC News, has a policy of not paying for interviews, although the network's publicity release makes no such disclaimer.

Latest Kennedy assassination rewind retains a firm grip

Ed Bark — 2009-11-23T10:35:45-06:00
Premiering one day removed from the 46th anniversary of President Kennedy's last day, it's two hours shorter than History Channel's two-part, four-hour JFK: 3 Shots That Changed America, which aired in early October as part of that network's "Kennedy DeClassified Week." ...Most jarring of all, though, is a local TV reporter (again off-camera and unidentified) telling viewers, "The report is that the attempted assassins, we now hear it was a man and a woman who fired the shots were on the ledge of a building near the Houston Street underpass."

Sarah and Oprah -- not really worth bookmarking

Ed Bark — 2009-11-16T18:07:17-06:00
Did Palin feel "snubbed" by The Oprah Winfrey Show after the Queen of Talk very publicly endorsed Barack Obama before deciding against inviting any of the candidates to chat with her? "No offense to you, but it wasn't the center of my universe" at the time, Palin said, prompting Winfrey to look just a bit taken aback before quickly recovering.

Take a number: AMC's The Prisoner strives to be six hours that count

Ed Bark — 2009-11-13T06:40:33-06:00
Six, who despises his numerical designation, has frequent flashbacks to New York, where he worked for a data gathering monolith known as Summakor. The Prisoner slowly unveils layers of his one-night relationship with Lucy (Hayley Atwell), a fellow employee who now distrusts Summakor while Six likewise has doubts about her. ...Other key players are Two's pill-fed, oft-comatose wife, M2 (Rachael Blake); their rebellious teen or twentysomething son 11-12 (Jamie Campbell Bower); and a doctor known as 313 (Ruth Wilson).

Apocalypse -- not now but then

Ed Bark — 2009-11-10T17:19:38-06:00
So it's hard to know how much of Smithsonian Channel's six-hour Apocalypse lives up to claims that most of its footage is hardly same-old, same-old. ...Hour 3 ("Shock"), also sent for review, is starker and more powerful in its footage of the Nazi Army's march toward Moscow in conditions ranging from dusty/bumpy to impossibly muddy to brutally cold.

Yanks-Phils highest-rated Series in five years

Ed Bark — 2009-11-06T17:09:31-06:00
The New York Yankees' 6-game triumph over the Philadelphia Phillies averaged 19.4 million viewers nationally after last fall's rain-soaked Phils-Rays 5-gamer hit an all-time low with 13.6 million viewers. ...Since 1973, when Nielsen Media Research began measuring total viewer ratings, the highest-rated Series is 1978's 6-game faceoff on NBC between the victorious Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Minority report: Lopez, Sykes gear up for after-hours

Ed Bark — 2009-11-06T11:54:54-06:00
"Being of a different ethnicity and a different comedic approach, I don't think we're going after the same audience" as rival late night shows, Lopez says. ...Both late nighters are scheduled opposite local newscasts, with Sykes getting a half-hour head start on NBC's Saturday Night Live and Lopez doing likewise with NBC's Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and CBS' Late Show With David Letterman.

Peacock plucked again

Ed Bark — 2009-11-03T17:14:53-06:00
At the same time it will have to re-program the 9 p.m. (central) hour with scripted dramas in hopes that one or more of them will be a reasonable facsimile of the next ER. For now, though, and likely for the rest of the 2009-10 TV season, NBC can thank its lucky stars for Sunday Night Football while waiting for the roof to cave in after a brief respite with the Winter Olympics.

ABC's V "re-imagines" NBC original -- but with flair

Ed Bark — 2009-11-02T15:59:15-06:00
And when you get right down to it, V then as now is about a clandestine master plan by camouflaged, lizard-skinned "Visitors" to take over Earth after wiping out its inhabitants. ...By hour's end, though, you'll clearly know the good guys from the bad ones. V now will have to keep its ball rolling without resorting to a predictable barrage of weekly shoot 'em ups between "freedom fighters" and the alien menaces among them.

Barry Levinson's Poliwood has less depth than plywood

Ed Bark — 2009-11-02T10:57:36-06:00
Therefore he's heavily interspersed throughout the film, cast as an earnest truth-seeker who climactically speaks at length about himself as a man of humble origins who may have a gardener now but worked at a number of menial jobs before striking it rich. Other celebs making more than cameo appearances include Susan Sarandon, Ellen Burstyn, Matthew Modine, Spike Lee, Anne Hathaway, Josh Lucas, Graham Nash and David Crosby, who tells Levinson that his dad was the cinematographer on the classic 1952 film High Noon before being blacklisted by Hollywood.

24 begins countdown to Season 8

Ed Bark — 2009-11-02T01:48:27-06:00
Season 8 of Fox's 24 begins on Jan. 17th with the traditional two-hour launch. ...) features three fistfights, a volatile parents-principal meeting and a full-blown rage by Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler), who's been exiled via re-districting to butt-ugly, cash-poor, blackboard jungle-ish East Dillon High. ...Other Season 4 additions are Jess Meriweather (Jurnee Smollett), a female East Dillon student with a football mind, and Becky Sproles (Madison Burge), 15-year-old daughter of a bar-tending mom bedded by recent West Dillon grad and star fullback Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch).

And now for something completely stupid -- the Obama administration vs. Fox News Channel

Ed Bark — 2009-10-23T13:46:37-05:00
As deputy White House press secretary Dan Pfeiffer said in the Times article, "We simply decided to stop abiding by the fiction, which is aided and abetted by the mainstream press, that Fox is a traditional news organization." ...It started to get out of hand in mid-September, when President Obama intentionally excluded Fox News Sunday and moderator Chris Wallace from his round of morning news program interviews.

While NBC blows it, sister network USA gives viewers another cool breeze

Ed Bark — 2009-10-22T14:36:37-05:00
The Friday, Oct. 23rd launch of White Collar (9 p.m. central) affords USA another chance to look down its nose at corporate sibling NBC, which used to be somebody in the grand scheme of things. ...But it all comes off quite winningly, giving USA another bright light in its growing galaxy while NBC can do no better of late than to announce a spinoff of The Biggest Loser titled Losing It with Jillian.

Local boy makes good on The Jeff Dunham Show -- which otherwise is terrible

Ed Bark — 2009-10-22T10:58:15-05:00
Finding themselves also agreeing that they "never want to be gay with each other," Jeff and Walter return to the therapist's office to praise him as a "gay yoda" who's brought them together. ...Oddly enough, it's the old-line broadcast networks leading a mini-comedy revolution this season with critically praised newcomers (ABC's Modern Family and The Middle) and holdovers such as NBC's 30 Rock and CBS' The Big Bang Theory.

CNN's Latino In America documentary puts Soledad O'Brien in the midst of minority explosion

Ed Bark — 2009-10-21T13:40:10-05:00
And Isabel Garcia is fighting on her behalf, arguing that it serves no one to send Torres back to a country in which she has no friends and pledges no allegiance. ...O'Brien chummily accompanies the excitable Lorena on her mission to become a Food Network personality, even though she's supposedly already a big star on the Spanish language network's Wake Up America.

Guess you could call it character development

Ed Bark — 2009-10-19T11:36:36-05:00
The November issues of Gentlemen's Quarterly and Maxim perhaps won't be purchased for the articles. Particularly GQ, whose cover girl, January Jones, otherwise emotes as Betty Draper on AMC's Mad Men.

Lifetime's Sorority Wars "rushes" without a football

Ed Bark — 2009-10-16T15:14:16-05:00
Lifetime's Sorority Wars (Saturday, Oct. 17th at 8 p.m. central) sprinkles a few lessons to live by into a pretty entertaining little story about the snippy, snooty Deltas vs. the more down-to-earth but still cute/cool Kappas. ...The Sorority Wars script can be a bit gamey at times, with "dry hump" and "douche" and "less ass-y" also coming into play.

CBS cleans up and shares the wealth with arsenal of hits in last hour of prime-time

Ed Bark — 2009-10-15T17:19:31-05:00
We're talking specifically about late night local newscasts, and a network's ability to help make or break them with the popularity of its 9 p.m. (central) programming. ...Now more than ever, CBS is nurturing its partners while ABC and NBC feed them gruel in the form of struggling series or The Jay Leno Show.

Rock's hard place: it's still a struggle on NBC's weak-kneed Thursday night schedule

Ed Bark — 2009-10-15T10:54:32-05:00
30 Rock, again stuck with a late fall season start, is funny as ever in Thursday's 8:30 p.m. (central) slot, where the Season 4 premiere begins with a cost-cutting "cheesie blaster" staff dinner at a Manhattan eatery. In tough times, bossman Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) has a new "reaching-out-to-the-country" initiative in mind for TGS, the sketch comedy show produced by Liz Lemon (Tina Fey).

Baez then and now in exemplary American Masters portrait

Ed Bark — 2009-10-14T08:00:14-05:00
Joan Baez's most famous lyric -- about Bob Dylan and from "Diamonds & Rust" -- could just as easily be the subtitle of Wednesday's American Masters tribute to her. ...

Yet another JFK assassination special is nonetheless a grabber -- this time on the History Channel

Ed Bark — 2009-10-09T12:03:39-05:00
Premiering Sunday, Oct. 11th at 8 p.m. (central) and continuing at the same hour Monday, 3 Shots is the featured attraction of History Channel's so-called "Kennedy Declassified Week." ...On his old New York-based Tonight Show, he interviewed New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison, whose dogged, but largely discredited assassination investigation was lionized in director Oliver Stone's controversial JFK film.

Worst show on TV? From this view, it's ET

Ed Bark — 2009-10-07T11:50:46-05:00
Or to put it another way, what show curls your toenails, assaults your sensibilities, prompts projectile vomiting and has you screaming like a banshee at your otherwise poor, innocent TV set? ...Through it all, hosts Mary Hart and Mark Steines -- in league with the show's toadying corps of "correspondents" -- unfailingly coo, gush and promote themselves in a manner that almost cries out for repeal of the First Amendment.

Oh what a night: Letterman revisits his sex scandal with jokes/apology; Favre gives the Pack a cheese wedgie; DeLay outscores "The Playmaker" despite dancing on two fractured feet

Ed Bark — 2009-10-06T10:16:19-05:00
"It did not occur to me," he said, that reporters "would start hounding the staff" after he told the world of a $2 million extortion plot tied to his admitted sexual dalliances with several women who had worked for him or, in the case of Stephanie Birkitt, are still Late Show employees. ...Still, Monday's performance only served to raise more questions about the moral compass and overall equilibrium of a 62-year-old man who professed to be surprised that anyone would be interested in which Late Show staffers had sex with him -- and when.

Better than nothing: Curb kicks off Seinfeld "reunion" episodes

Ed Bark — 2009-10-02T14:59:12-05:00
Sunday's third of 10 episodes (8 p.m. central on HBO) puts Curb's mock Seinfeld reunion in motion, with Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards all in the picture as themselves. ...He's referring to the May 14, 1998 Seinfeld swan song, in which Jerry, George, Elaine Benes (Dreyfus) and Kramer (Richards) ended up behind bars serving a one-year sentence for "crimes against humanity."

New season: CBS' Three Rivers is decidedly watery medical drama

Ed Bark — 2009-10-02T09:22:51-05:00
O'Loughlin is cute enough to make a few hearts throb, but his character has no discernible edge other than a sweet tooth and a proclivity to be late for staff meetings. ...In real-life, perhaps we'd all prefer a doctor who always says just the right thing and then benevolently smiles along with you after your life's been saved.

NBC's cancellation of JAG paying off more than ever for CBS

Ed Bark — 2009-10-02T03:55:34-05:00
The Peacock then picked it up and used one of prime-time's all-time ratings juggernauts to club CBS' Magnum, P.I. over the head on Thursday nights. Magnum went from Top 10 hit to a goner after the 1987-'88 season. Cosby led NBC to total dominance on Thursday nights, ranking as prime-time's most popular show from 1985 through 1990. ...The two military-themed dramas also have helped to make a first-year hit of CBS' following The Good Wife, which is easily winning its 9 p.m. (central) time period opposite NBC's The Jay Leno Show and ABC's new The Forgotten.

New season: ABC laughs last with fall's final pairing of new sitcoms -- Hank and The Middle

Ed Bark — 2009-09-29T13:41:04-05:00
Beginning in fall 2011, he'll produce and be a judge on Fox's American version of The X Factor, the hit British talent competition that last year launched the career of Susan Boyle. ...Fox said that Glee likewise will return for a second season and CBS later said in a press release that both NCIS: Los Angeles and The Good Wife will have sophomore seasons.

New season: NBC's Trauma strives to survive with Tyrannosaurus Wrecks

Ed Bark — 2009-09-28T08:46:39-05:00
She protests to no avail until his survivor's guilt claims the finger of an inebriated motorist whose car he sideswipes. Friday Night Lights fans will recognize the actor as the same guy -- Brad Leland -- who plays car dealer/intrusive alumnus Buddy Garrity on the Austin-made series. ...So that won't help its chances on a Monday night when it then must face off at 8 p.m. (central) against CBS' hit comedies and ABC's expanded editions of Dancing with the Stars.

New season: Fox's The Cleveland Show is black and white -- and blue

Ed Bark — 2009-09-27T11:30:24-05:00
The humor is rife with shock value, whether it's Lester and his wife dining on a dead dog named Meadowlark Lemon in Episode 2 or Family Guy patriarch Peter Griffin opening Sunday's premiere episode by chortling, "And that is how I got Liza Minnelli's poop on my shoe." ...Lithgow also can be seen in the flesh on Showtime's Dexter, which returns for a fourth season Sunday at 8 p.m. (central). He's playing the not-so-mild mannered Walter Simmons, dubbed "The Trinity Killer."

New season: Fox's Brothers is mama's family

Ed Bark — 2009-09-25T13:54:44-05:00
But CCH Pounder is the playmaker in this loud, earthy and some might say all-too-prototypical "urban" sitcom. Brothers manages to be fairly amusing, too, with Pounder showing off her range by shifting from the very serious business of The Shield to playing a sharp-tongued but nurturing matriarch in a house full of childish squabblers. ...Brothers, being paired with the return of 'Til Death, isn't likely to rack up any big ratings scores on a night that's long been ice cold for Fox.

New season: ABC's FlashForward bets heavily on its future

Ed Bark — 2009-09-24T07:53:16-05:00
Also, many viewers are unwilling to be strung along at such lengths or be left hanging by an early cancellation, as happened three seasons ago with ABC's unresolved The Nine. ...The world suddenly is in the throes of a two minute, 17 second "blackout" in which just about everyone has their own "flash forward" to April 29, 2010 (or a day later depending on where one is in the world).

New season: it's a threesome on ABC, with still more to come after Modern Family, Cougar Town and Eastwick

Ed Bark — 2009-09-23T12:13:41-05:00
Steven Levitan's credits include Just Shoot Me and last season's under-appreciated Back to You, whose stars -- Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton -- will unveil their separate new comedies next Wednesday on ABC. ...She's sort of aghast, but still doesn't mind detailing Van Horne's member -- "a full-size SUV" -- to new pals Joanna Frankel (Lindsay Price) and Kat Gardener (Jamie Ray Newman).

New season: NBC's Mercy will have to be nursed in a too-early time slot

Ed Bark — 2009-09-23T09:23:00-05:00
They spent some time together out of uniform, too, and his surprise return complicates the budding reconciliation with estranged husband Mike Callahan (Diego Klattenhoff), who comes off as a well-meaning semi-dolt. ...Wednesday's premiere unfortunately ends with an old stereotype -- the three featured nurses all cooing over a hunky neighborhood bartender who has cut his hand breaking up a fight. Mercy is better than that for the most part.

New season: The Forgotten is best left . . .

Ed Bark — 2009-09-22T15:42:39-05:00
Painfully earnest and pedestrian, it returns an on-the-rebound Christian Slater (from last fall's My Own Worst Enemy) to the prime-time rat race as a tightly wound semi-vigilante who heads a team of volunteer gumshoes. ...Alex's helpmates include Candace Butler (Michelle Borth), who's bored with her mundane day job; portly telephone repairman Walter Bailey (Bob Stephenson); "street smart," aspiring artist Tyler Davies, who's been court-ordered to join the team; and homicide detective Grace Russell (Rochelle Aytes), who serves as a liaison to the Chicago cop shop.

New season: NCIS: Los Angeles spins off winningly

Ed Bark — 2009-09-22T09:19:51-05:00
Its principal men of action, played by Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J, are special agents of OSP (Office of Special Projects), which CBS publicity materials say is a division of NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service in case you've forgotten). ...In Tuesday's premiere, the unsolved murder of a seemingly kidnapped Navy officer springs G and Sam into overdrive while a support team of Nate Getz (Peter Cambor), Dominic Vail (Adam Jamal Craig) and Kensi Blye (Daniela Ruah) pitches in on a moment's notice.

New season: CBS' The Good Wife is far superior to its title

Ed Bark — 2009-09-22T15:42:55-05:00
Going against The Jay Leno Show on Tuesdays this fall, here's a crackling good legal drama with a side dish of what it's like to be married to the likes of Mark Sanford, Eliot Spitzer or John Edwards. ...Now Alicia is a junior partner on a trial basis as a defense attorney at a Chicago law firm where one of her ex-classmates, Will Gardner (Josh Charles), has tossed her a lifeline.

New season: Elfman again in overdrive as star of CBS' Accidentally On Purpose

Ed Bark — 2009-09-21T11:33:29-05:00
And if everything comes up roses in a comfy slot between How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men, look for a "very special" season-ending episode in which Billie at last delivers the goods. ...And Fox devotes Monday to a two-hour House in which the not-so-good doctor is not-so-happily inhabiting the Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital after last May's season-ending breakdown.

Primetime Emmys come and go (yawn) during pulsating Cowboys-Giants game

Ed Bark — 2009-09-21T01:25:01-05:00
The respective big wins for NBC's 30 Rock and AMC's Mad Men, both of which repeated last year's triumphs, came during the fourth quarter of a wildly unpredictable, seesaw Cowboys-Giants game attended by the largest crowd in NFL history. ..."I think it's safe to say that the era of TV is over," he said before another Whedon favorite, Nathan Fillion from his short-lived Firefly series, interceded to more or less make the case for the old-school tube over the over-flowing Internet.

New season: HBO's Bored to Death chronicles misadventures of a limp dick

Ed Bark — 2009-09-18T17:13:43-05:00
Created by Jonathan Ames (whose previous works include the graphic novel The Alcoholic), it's the at times amusing tale of two super-nebbishes and an aging, Viagra-dependent Lothario. ...Unable to finish his second novel, Jason spends most of his time smoking pot, drinking white wine and commiserating with best pal Ray Hueston (Zach Galifianakis from The Hangover), a hapless comic book illustrator kept on a short leash by his needy girlfriend, Leah (Heather Burns).

Emmys vs. Cowboys: we'll make our picks anyhoo

Ed Bark — 2009-09-18T14:14:55-05:00
That's what happens when the competition is the first regular season game at Jerry's Palace, with the New York Giants visiting the Dallas Cowboys on NBC's Sunday Night Football. ...And the winner is . . . If Lost takes home just one Emmy Sunday night, then Emerson should get it as spooky, canny, good guy/bad guy Ben Linus.

New season: NBC's Community tries to sell a used Chevy

Ed Bark — 2009-09-17T09:07:20-05:00
Like its companion half-hours -- The Office, Parks and Recreation and in mid-October, 30 Rock -- it's without a laff track and with an ensemble of mostly infantile adults. ...And yes, that includes Amy Poehler's Parks and Recreation, which begins its first full season (at 7:30 p.m. central) in considerably improved form.

The Burning Plain: latest HDNet Movies freebie deftly mixes pain and sexual heat

Ed Bark — 2009-09-16T12:33:53-05:00
The one hour, 40 minute film, from Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's Magnolia Pictures, is an absorbing puzzler that juggles times, locales and ever-popular "forbidden loves" while also keeping viewers guessing about the specifics of a trailer park explosion. ...Burning Plain principally is set in Oregon and the New Mexico border town of Las Cruces, with side trips to Mexico that introduce a crop duster and his pre-teen daughter, Maria (Tessa la).

New season: CW's The Beautiful Life: TBL hits the runway strutting

Ed Bark — 2009-09-15T11:12:38-05:00
Twig-thin model Raina Marinelli (Sara Paxton), an up-and-coming star with a secret past, is still a decent, caring, although highly ambitious human being in Wednesday's premiere of CW's The Beautiful Life: TBL. ...So it's time for a change of pace, and TBL indeed may have legs on a network where just a few million viewers makes you a blockbuster.

Premiere of The Jay Leno Show mixes Kanye, comedy

Ed Bark — 2009-09-15T00:45:13-05:00
It's supposed to be largely a chucklefest, a Monday through Friday respite from cares, woes and all those gruesome but still popular crime series that CBS will be sending against The Jay Leno Show. ...All in all it was a halfway passable first night, with West as second-half bait and Leno's climactic "Headlines" segment as further impetus to keep watching all the way up to late night local newscasts, which begin immediately after the host urges viewers to stay tuned.

What, him worry? Jay Leno prepares to shoulder the biggest burden in prime-time history

Ed Bark — 2009-09-11T10:36:07-05:00
He's just not a deep sea thinker, preferring to do his job, tinker with his cars, work weekends wherever a plane will take him and let others tell him that what he'll be doing in prime-time could change network television forevermore. ...CBS in particular is loading up, and salivating, at the prospect of torpedoing Leno with the likes of CSI: Miami, The Mentalist and a new Julianna Margulies series, The Good Wife, that many TV critics, including this one, see as a can't-miss commercial hit.

Fall season: Next to no juice in CW's The Vampire Diaries

Ed Bark — 2009-09-10T08:16:52-05:00
The ponderous, pretentious opening narration pretty much tells you that this at best will be a pint-sized, junior league version of HBO's True Blood. ...A little bounce is added late in Thursday's premiere when Stefan's super-sinister vampire brother, Damon (Ian Sommerhalder), drops in to sneer and crack wise.

Idol tabs Ellen, officially ending Paula era

Ed Bark — 2009-09-09T23:01:18-05:00
Ellen DeGeneres, a savvy, congenial performer best known as a joker/dancer/talker, has signed to replace Paula Abdul as American Idol's fourth judge of singing talent. Fox made the surprise announcement Wednesday night, with Idol executive producer Simon Fuller praising DeGeneres as a longtime fan of the show whose "love of music and understanding of the American public will bring a unique human touch to our judging panel."

Fox's Glee yearns for you to join its club

Ed Bark — 2009-09-09T09:05:10-05:00
Fox has done just about all it can for Glee, beginning with a saturation promotional campaign for May's sneak preview episode after the final performance edition of American Idol. ...Fox again is the only major broadcast network opting out, instead sticking to its schedule of So You Think You Can Dance's first fall season premiere and Glee's re-launch at 8 p.m. (central).

CW's Melrose Place kicks off fall season with nicely done do-over

Ed Bark — 2009-09-08T10:07:41-05:00
This time she's the 40-year-old landlord, but it doesn't take long for tenants to find her floating face-down in a pool of blood after someone took a stab at her. ...Also in this mix are recovering alcoholic Auggie Kirkpatrick (Colin Egglesfield), now a successful sous chef; medical student Lauren Yung (Stephanie Jacobsen); and sweetie two shoes Violet Foster (Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, who's also Jessica Simpson's sister).

From Woodstock to Manson: another 40th anniversary comes calling on History Channel

Ed Bark — 2009-09-07T10:04:07-05:00
Now comes History Channel's Manson, a two-hour re-dissection complete with Kasabian, Debra Tate, "Family" member Catherine "Gypsy" Share, prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, and a big batch of no-name actors playing Charles Manson and various Manson-ites. ...Davis, a regular presence on the networks' semi-annual "press tours" for TV critics, is credited with laying out "the blueprint for the prosecution" by Aaron Stovitz, whose violation of a gag order resulted in his being replaced as chief prosecutor on the Manson case. Five To Die is a case study in old-school shoe leather reporting, with Davis quickly on the scent as the then West Coast correspondent of The London Daily Express.

Bombshell: Charles Gibson leaving ABC's World News, with Diane Sawyer succeeding him in January

Ed Bark — 2009-09-02T10:35:46-05:00
Succeeding him is ABC veteran and Good Morning America co-anchor Diane Sawyer, leaving two of the three longstanding network dinner hour newscasts in the hands of women anchors when she takes charge of World News in January. ...Gibson had been co-hosting GMA with Sawyer before agreeing to helm World News "during a difficult and turbulent time," Westin noted in an email to staffers.

thirtysomething and thensome in first season DVD set

Ed Bark — 2009-08-25T12:40:40-05:00
"It is so important to say that we did not want to do a television series," Herskovitz recollects in a two-way conversation with Zwick that's included in the three-disc set's bonus features. ...Re-watching the show's first episode is mostly an engaging experience, even though much of the "jeopardy" is over Hope's anxiety about whether to hire a babysitter for the first time so that the Steadmans can join their friends on an impromptu camping trip.

Unable to participate: otherwise Mike Wallace would have been part of Sunday's 60 Minutes tribute to Don Hewitt

Ed Bark — 2009-08-24T12:03:16-05:00
Sunday's 60 Minutes tribute to the program's creator, Don Hewitt, was notable for its absence of new comments from its other driving force, Mike Wallace. ...Wallace, who currently lives on Martha's Vineyard, had triple bypass surgery in late January of 2008, shortly after his headline-making interview with Roger Clemens over allegations that the dominating pitcher had used steroids.

Williams/Goldthwait collaborate in Magnolia's unflinching World's Greatest Dad

Ed Bark — 2009-08-19T14:30:44-05:00
"It's like Dead Penis Society," he recently told TV critics who otherwise gathered to hear about Williams' Dec. 6th HBO standup special and his ongoing recovery from open-heart surgery. World's Greatest Dad, hollowly emblazoned on the central character's coffee cup, can first be seen Wednesday, Aug. 19th on Mark Cuban's HDNet Movies as part of the network's ongoing "Sneak Preview" series.

Mad Men's back, but not quite smokin' yet

Ed Bark — 2009-08-14T09:38:34-05:00
Don Draper and Salvatore Romano wing it under assumed names in "Out of Town" opening for third season of AMC's Mad Men. ...The main focus instead is on a fence-mending sales trip to Baltimore, where Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and the still-closeted Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt) reinforce their agency's fealty to the makers of London Fog raincoats.

Fox Reality Channel's Househusbands of Hollywood gender-bends while copycatting

Ed Bark — 2009-08-13T11:14:09-05:00
So the still fledgling Fox Reality Channel might as well take a shot with Househusbands of Hollywood, which turns out to be a surprisingly watchable and well-produced tagalong to Bravo's Real Housewives franchise. ...Wife Katherine, a "high-powered" attorney, sends him daily to-do lists and also makes him take his "kegerator" (a beer storage facility) out of the kitchen and into the garage, where he constructs a piss-poor "man cave" in retaliation.

Curb appeal: Seventh season will be well-stocked with Seinfeld stars

Ed Bark — 2009-08-11T13:38:34-05:00
The co-creator of Seinfeld has coaxed the show's four principals -- Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards -- to appear as themselves in five of the 10 new episodes. ...Jerry Seinfeld will appear in five of the new season's Curb episodes, with the other cast members "on at least four," David says before immediately recalibrating.

HBO's Nine Lives of Marion Barry hits his many high points

Ed Bark — 2009-08-10T14:05:48-05:00
HBO's The Nine Lives of Marion Barry, premiering Monday, Aug. 10th at 8 p.m. (central), is a revealing, 78-minute look into his life, times and crimes. ...A 1990 sting operation, in which Barry was set up by an ex-girlfriend, yielded blurry black-and-white video of the mayor snorting coke and repeatedly coming on to Rasheeda Moore, who testified against him.

Forgive me for I have sinned by saying, "Bring back Paula"

Ed Bark — 2009-08-05T16:09:06-05:00
Abdul, angling for more money and not feeling the love, had the TV world all atwitter after she announced Tuesday night, "With sadness in my heart, I've decided not to return to Idol. ...The network's official statement, released after Abdul's tweet, judged her "an important part of the American Idol family over the last eight seasons, and we are saddened that she has decided not to return to the show.

A Rivers runs through TV Land's new How'd You Get So Rich?

Ed Bark — 2009-08-05T13:14:14-05:00
ADDENDUM: At the annual network TV "press tour" in Pasadena, Rivers zinged Jay Leno in a way that's likely to merit her a permanent ban from his prime-time NBC show when it cranks up on Sept. 14th. "I think it's brilliant that they put Leno on at (9 p.m. central) now because Americans get bored more easily and go to sleep earlier," she said when asked to assess the changing talk show scene.

Television Critics Association awards hit quarter-century mark; Uncle Barky along for ride

Ed Bark — 2009-08-05T02:53:31-05:00
Grey ghost: Your friendly content provider gabbed about the history of the Television Critics Association, which held its 25th annual awards ceremony Saturday night in Pasadena. Photo: Barry Garron ...Most of my fellow TV critics are still out on "press tour," where one network after another will roll in with a lot of oddly instructive B.S. about new fall programming until Saturday's last dance with ABC.

ABC makes space for intergalactic Defying Gravity

Ed Bark — 2009-07-29T14:23:28-05:00
Not having anywhere that kind of money to spend, the network has gone the inevitable international co-production route, with Fox Television and Omni Film Productions working in association with Canada's CTV and Germany's ProSieben. ...And it has a capable international cast headed by Ron Livingston (Office Space, Band of Brothers) as jauntily named Maddux Donner, a womanizing and somewhat haunted flight engineer who 10 years earlier had to abandon two space colleagues on Mars.

More to Love -- less than meets the eye

Ed Bark — 2009-07-27T16:16:05-05:00
Premiering Tuesday, July 28th at 8 p.m. (central), More to Love is from veteran reality show provider Mike Fleiss, who has already hit the motherlode with ABC's The Bachelor. ...Nary a week goes by in D-FW without a new spate of diet and cosmetic enhancement stories on local newscasts. Biggest Loser also implores its over-sized inhabitants to take it off, as do Oxygen cable's Dance Your Ass Off and VH1's Celebrity Fit Club.

Silverman out in NBC Universal shakeup

Ed Bark — 2009-07-27T10:09:40-05:00
USA in particular has thrived with summer series such as Burn Notice, In Plain Sight and the new Royal Pains while NBC has mostly suffocated with scripted hot weather fare such as The Listener, Merlin, The Philanthropist and its Sunday night disaster-driven miniseries. ...And NBC's hitless 2008 fall schedule, the first with Silverman's full imprint, brought forth ratings clunkers such as Kath & Kim, Crusoe and the aforementioned My Own Worst Enemy and Knight Rider.

NBC's The Storm replete with latter day TV washouts

Ed Bark — 2009-07-24T12:57:09-05:00
Likewise is Van Der Beek, who spends much of this miniseries drenched and on the lam from bad guys while a recurring, grinding rock score pounds bumps on viewers' cerebellums. ...The Storm offers other subplots, including a pregnant woman trapped in a cellar with her "Poppy" (father) and a female bartender whose life is jeopardized while her former lover strives to make things all better again.

Please, please, Mr. Postman: Letterman wins two straight weeks in total viewers for first time since 1998

Ed Bark — 2009-07-23T16:13:59-05:00
No matter how NBC tries to spin it, the old man and the CBS Eye are increasingly taking it to Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show. ...And the Peacock crows that Tonight is still beating Late Show among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, although by just two-tenths of a rating point in the week of July 13-17.

CBS repeats its summertime success -- again with mostly repeats

Ed Bark — 2009-07-22T09:49:03-05:00
On Thursday at 9 p.m. (central) for instance, The Mentalist in what will be its new fall time slot drew 8.37 million viewers opposite Private Practice, on a respirator with just 2.917 million viewers. ...ABC has done all right with new episodes of Wipeout and The Bachelorette, but bombed with the likes of The Superstars, I Survived a Japanese Game Show, Better Off Ted, The Goode Family and burn-off new episodes of Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone and now Dirty Sexy Money.

Eyes wide shut: ABC's Dating in the Dark is for dim bulbs

Ed Bark — 2009-07-20T09:06:07-05:00
Otherwise known as ABC's Dating in the Dark, it premieres Monday, July 20th at 9 p.m. (central) and is scheduled to run for six episodes. ...Programming note: NBC's The Wanted, a controversial pursuit of terrorists produced by the network's news division, premieres opposite Dating in the Dark Monday night.

Walter Cronkite up-close: Memories of the late, great journalist for all seasons

Ed Bark — 2009-07-18T10:03:53-05:00
I just hope we don't get into the business of having to walk onto the set from the shadows and have Dan wearing a big 'CBS Eye' patch on his blazer." ..."I certainly think he (Rather) should be remembered for his career successes," Cronkite told me in a telephone interview shortly before Bob Schieffer began an extended term as interim anchor of the Evening News.

Lohan remains vertical, stays the course in ABC Family's Labor Pains

Ed Bark — 2009-07-17T12:19:58-05:00
Her latter day re-entries, following two DUI arrests and some rehab stints, have been the recurring part of Kimmie Keegan on ABC's Ugly Betty and now the starring role in Labor Pains. ...Labor Pains also is populated by former American Idol dweeb Kevin Covais as a nerdy assistant and ex-Girlfriends star Tracee Ellis Ross (Diana's daughter) as another of Thea's co-workers.

Same old, same old: 30 Rock, Mad Men again head their classes while HBO leads all networks

Ed Bark — 2009-07-16T08:24:25-05:00
Rock led all programs with 22 nods, upping its total from 17 last year. Mad Men replicated the 16 nominations it received in 2008. Grey Gardens, starring Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore as a batty mother-daughter duo, nabbed 17 nominations in supplanting last year's HBO pacesetter, John Adams. ...The surprise new nominee, Fox's Family Guy, joins Showtime's Weeds, CBS' How I Met Your Mother and HBO's Flight of the Conchords among this year's Emmy contenders. Mother supplants CBS' Two and a Half Men, which wasn't nominated after three straight years among the Emmy elite.

CNBC gets porn-y -- but first read this article

Ed Bark — 2009-07-15T13:08:23-05:00
Sounding like Jim Cramer in heat -- at least they don't have him hosting -- the guy figuratively drips drool while enticing viewers with come-ons such as "Up next, the most powerful players in porn -- women on top!" ...says the talking penis of a pitchman); Wicked Pictures vice president of special projects Joy King; Vivid Entertainment CEO Steven Hirsch; and dirty-to-the-touch Paul Little, currently serving 46 months in prison for his activities as "Max Hardcore."

HBO's Ted Williams doc hits the not-so-sweet spots, too

Ed Bark — 2009-07-15T10:35:29-05:00
Williams' youngest of three children, Claudia, has emerged as a defender of her cantankerous old man, who died on July 5, 2002 after a triumphant 1999 return to the All-Star game in Boston's Fenway Park. ...Robert Redford, who worshipped Williams from afar as a kid, says his 1984 baseball film, The Natural, was an homage to the Red Sox legend.

TNT's stark Dark Blue makes it a six-pack

Ed Bark — 2009-07-14T09:57:08-05:00
Suave in ABC's The Practice and suaver in the network's short-lived Big Shots, Dylan McDermott lately speaks in a rasp, eschews suits and sports a little carefully rough-hewn stubble in TNT's new Dark Blue. ...Shaw's other teammates are the recently married Ty Curtis (Omari Hardwick) and the freshly recruited Jaimie Allen (Nicki Aycox), whose ability to lie convincingly is greatly admired by her new boss.

Teddy bear treatment on HBO for the last surviving Kennedy brother

Ed Bark — 2009-07-13T09:08:41-05:00
HBO's 90-minute documentary, premiering Monday, July 13th at 8 p.m. (central), is from the producer of JFK: In His Own Words and Bobby Kennedy: In His Own Words. ...Many of the images still resonate, beginning with a still picture of a smiling little Teddy in short pants as his father and the family arrive in London to begin Joe Sr.'s tenure as U.S. ambassador way back in 1938.

Michael Jackson gets velvet glove treatment on wide array of cable/broadcast networks

Ed Bark — 2009-07-07T15:02:11-05:00
"However they were conceived and whoever their mothers were, he absolutely adored them," said ABC's Martin Bashir, whose much-discussed 2003 documentary on Jackson helped trigger a subsequent child molestation trial in which Jackson was acquitted of all charges. ...The memorial was equally notable for its sentiment and moving performances from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, John Mayer, Usher and Jackson's brother, Jermaine, who sang "Smile" after longtime friend Brooke Shields said it was Michael's favorite song.

Sarah Palin and CNN? Far-fetched maybe, but betcha someone's thought about it

Ed Bark — 2009-07-06T11:13:39-05:00
The network has a 9 p.m. hole in its prime-time schedule after Ed Schultz, Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow take their swings from the left side of the plate. ...Hiring Palin -- and no doubt having to pay a pretty penny for her -- would jolt the cable news world and drive the conversation toward CNN for the first time in recent memory.

Endowment fun: HBO's Hung also scores with appealing sign-of-the-times storyline

Ed Bark — 2009-06-26T17:09:40-05:00
At rope's end, he finds himself heeding the call of a would-be poet and recurring bedmate (Jane Adams as Tanya Skagle), who upbraids him by saying, "You want to be a millionaire? ...Jane, who played Mickey Mantle in the acclaimed HBO movie 61*, manages to play this role -- and do this role-playing -- in an appealing, all-but-guileless manner that's almost guaranteed to make you root for him from start to finish.

Farrah Fawcett dies of cancer

Ed Bark — 2009-06-25T13:42:31-05:00
"I was looking for something to do that was not based on a life-or-death true story, which we've been inundated with in the past couple of years," Fawcett said in a second interview with this writer. ...In later years, Fawcett mostly made news playing herself in attention-getting projects such as 1997's Playboy: Farrah Fawcett, All of Me and the 2005 TV Land reality series Chasing Farrah, which the network will be repeating in part on Saturday night.

Earth shifts: Dave outdraws Conan in third week of late night faceoff

Ed Bark — 2009-06-25T11:22:37-05:00
For the week of June 15-19, Letterman's Late Show averaged 3.463 million viewers to nip O'Brien's Tonight Show (3.320 million). ...CBS says it's the first time Letterman has won since the week ending on December 2, 2005, when Oprah Winfrey made her much-publicized first appearance on Late Show.

NBC's The Philanthropist is a do-gooder that needs to get better

Ed Bark — 2009-06-24T09:27:24-05:00
While scheming to singlehandedly deliver medicine to the Nigerian boy's devastated village, Rist also stays in luxury hotels, demands a more civilized whiskey than Jim Beam and apparently participates in a fivesome after four beautiful young Nigerian women are delivered to his quarters by an influential local. He also meets a conveniently beautiful African doctor (played by Bonnie Henna), who initially views him as a self-centered Good Samaritan who enjoys dirtying his hands a bit before returning home to tell his rich friends "how meaningful his life is compared to theirs."

NBC's Merlin gets olde in a hurry

Ed Bark — 2009-06-18T10:10:18-05:00
In succeeding seasons, NBC has tumbled from first to fourth in the prime-time ratings and lost much of its luster via attractions such as Fear Factor, The Biggest Loser, Deal or No Deal, Celebrity Apprentice and the ongoing I'm A Celebrity . . . ...By the end of Episode 1 -- as in NBC's earlier series Kings -- Merlin gains a position in the royal palace after saving the life of the future king with a major assist from his magical powers.

Here's to his health care: ABC News draws GOP fire for extensive coverage next week of Obama's prescription

Ed Bark — 2009-06-16T10:02:20-05:00
ABC's Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson will be joining President Obama in the White House for a prime-time Q&A on health care. ...ABC also will telecast that day's Good Morning America from the South Lawn of the White House and that evening's World News from the White House Blue Room. Nightline also will join in with a continuation of the prime-time special.

Back on its heals: TNT's HawthoRNe adds more meds to summertime cabinet

Ed Bark — 2009-06-15T16:12:22-05:00
She's all over the role of chief nursing officer Christina Hawthorne, a firm, fair, caustically compassionate caregiver who might want to hook up someday with Edie Falco's pill-popping, hell-on-wheels Jackie Peyton. ...There's also hard luck male nurse Ray Stein (David Julian Hirsch), blubbering rookie Kelly Epson (Vanessa Lengies) and yummy Candy Sullivan (Christina Moore), who otherwise makes a fairly minimal impression in the first two episodes sent for review.

Big Saturday Night dawns on still little GSN

Ed Bark — 2009-06-12T13:18:16-05:00
The two new game shows, respectively hosted by veteran sportscaster Fred Roggin and So You Think You Can Dance's Cat Deeley, will be surrounded by live comedy and music performances and interactive opportunities for viewers to "win big," says GSN. ...GSN doesn't say how much prize money is at stake, but Deeley likely can be counted on to inject this game with the same energy she brings to Think You Can Dance.

Conan twits tweeters -- nets laughs

Ed Bark — 2009-06-03T14:51:21-05:00
And for me, this one worked almost flawlessly, with use of vacuous, real-life celebrity tweets from Ashton Kutcher, Miley Cyrus and Dennis Haysbert. ...

Nurse Jackie the latest big booster shot for Showtime

Ed Bark — 2009-06-03T14:51:33-05:00
Once a Lilliputian to HBO's Gulliver, Showtime has all but reached parity on the series front with Weeds, Dexter, The Tudors, Californication and now Nurse Jackie. ...Falco, her hair very boyishly cut and parted, makes a complete break from Carmela in what's billed as a "dark comedy" but has more meat on it than that.

Royal Pains gives USA network another breezy summertime bright spot

Ed Bark — 2009-06-03T10:20:27-05:00
USA's likable newcomer is Royal Pains, which gives its star, Mark Feuerstein, a third crack at prime-time longevity after flopping in NBC's Good Morning, Miami and CBS' 3 lbs. ...He spends his days drinking beer, watching old movies and seeing most of his belongings repossessed before younger brother Evan (Paulo Costanzo) shows up to inform him that his pad "smells like a moose had sex with a bucket of Chinese food."

NBC's The Listener -- not on my watch

Ed Bark — 2009-06-02T12:41:21-05:00
Premiering Thursday with belatedly scheduled back-to-back episodes, Listener inevitably begins with a slice of narrative from its wan lead character, paramedic Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik). ...In Thursday's scene-setter, Toby and his paramedic pal, "Oz" Bey (Ennis Esmer), are trading lame banter before coming upon an overturned car in what looks to be the middle of Manhattan but actually is cost-efficient Toronto.

So-so, but over and done: O'Brien notches his first Tonight

Ed Bark — 2009-06-01T23:51:14-05:00
Leaning somewhat top-heavily on three taped bits and a star turn by first guest Will Ferrell, he made it to the finish line with his auburn pompadour in full bloom but not his comedic talents. ...O'Brien said he'd be glad to again have Leno as his lead-in, but we'll see about that after the competition for guests inevitably heats up between the two NBC shows.

Goodnight, Tonight. Not his idea, but Leno lets go

Ed Bark — 2009-05-29T23:51:28-05:00
He'll return in the fall with a weeknight prime-time NBC show leading into late night newscasts and then to Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show, which premieres Monday. ...Until late last year, it looked as though Leno would be going to a rival network after NBC chose O'Brien to carry the Tonight baton rather than lose him as it did David Letterman.

HBO's Churchill sequel wades into WWII

Ed Bark — 2009-05-29T08:22:02-05:00
His gruff private demeanor and soaring public rhetoric get another going-over in HBO's Into the Storm (Sunday, May 31st, 8 p.m. central), a followup to the network's 2002 scene-setter, The Gathering Storm. ...Meanwhile, HBO subscribers of a certain age can appreciate both the topic and the heroics of those days, even if Into the Storm falls a bit short on crackle and pop.

ABC's Goode Family is Judged OK

Ed Bark — 2009-05-27T09:06:03-05:00
From Austinite Mike Judge, creator of the dearly departed King of the Hill, comes a new animated brood whose matron wears a "Meat is Murder" T-shirt and whose hybrid is festooned with bumper stickers, including "Support Our Troops and Their Opponents." ...For better or worse, the Goodes consist of college administrator Gerald (Judge); his community activist wife, Helen (Nancy Carell); a teen daughter, Bliss (Linda Cardellini) and the adopted 16-year-old Ubuntu (David Herman), who initially was thought to be black but turned out to be a white South African.

O'Brien's Tonight countdown kicks into full throttle

Ed Bark — 2009-05-26T14:15:54-05:00
O'Brien, as he manfully volunteered during a teleconference Tuesday, is now 46 years old with two kids after first auditioning as a relative 29-year-old nobody to supplant David Letterman on NBC's Late Night. ...Leno's presence in prime-time will mean four nightly doses of comedy/talk on NBC, in addition to O'Brien's competition on CBS, ABC and TBS, which will be launching a new George Lopez talk show this fall.

Fox's Mental has House in mind, but also a mind of its own

Ed Bark — 2009-05-26T09:25:06-05:00
Gallagher is way too likable to attract all that much animosity, whether he's leading patients in a taboo outdoor dance session or sending two interns out on a little detective mission. ...It all makes for a pleasant summertime surprise -- a reasonably literate scripted drama in what will be an oncoming tidal wave of mostly reality swill from the Big Four broadcast networks and li'l CW.

Idol finale crunches competition, comes up short of past glories

Ed Bark — 2009-05-21T17:38:43-05:00
Wednesday night's Season 8 finale of American Idol easily had more viewers than the combined competing programming on ABC, CBS, NBC and The CW. ...The Tuesday and Wednesday editions of Idol remained network television's No. 1 and No. 2 shows for the 2008-09 regular season, which officially ended Wednesday.

The CW cancels comedies and Sundays, shrinks Fridays, adds a vampire show

Ed Bark — 2009-05-21T11:26:12-05:00
And the Wednesday night schedule has another installment of America's Next Top Model and The Beautiful Life, a scripted series about models. ...CW also has a midseason series in mind. Parental Discretion Advised is about a 15-year-old girl named Lux (Britt Robertson from Swingtown) whose quest to became an emancipated minor leads to her bar-owning, infantile father, Nate "Baze" Bazile (Kristoffer Polaha, Mad Men).

Idle thoughts on Idol as the finale nears

Ed Bark — 2009-05-20T13:54:28-05:00
And Wednesday's two-hour finale will trample everything in its wake before the winner is forced to release yet another treacly written-for-Idol ditty -- "No Boundaries" in this case -- as his first post-show single. ...***Don't ever rush the show. Idol ran eight minutes past its allotted time earlier this spring, delaying the start of a returning new episode of Fringe.

CBS adds four newcomers, axes two oldies, rescues Medium

Ed Bark — 2009-05-20T10:12:38-05:00
Three new dramas and a comedy are coming this September while Medium will be compatibly paired with Ghost Whisperer on Friday nights after NBC gave up the ghost. ...This season's biggest freshman hit, The Mentalist, will be moved from Tuesday's at 8 p.m. to Thursdays at 9 p.m., where it will inherit a lead-in audience from the network's still potent CSI: Crime Scene Investigation before going head-to-head with NBC's The Jay Leno Show.

NBC cancels Earl, reprieves Chuck, delays 30 Rock, pushes Friday Night Lights to summer in Phase 2 rollout of new season (updated)

Ed Bark — 2009-05-19T10:32:11-05:00
That's in large part because its prime-time window has been significantly reduced on weeknights with the Monday-Friday 9 p.m. (central) presence of The Jay Leno Show. ...Here's NBC's night-by-night fall schedule, with all times central. (Note: Leno will be at 9 p.m each weeknight, so we're not going to keep typing that in).

ABC's new fall lineup flaunts star-powered comedy

Ed Bark — 2009-05-19T07:12:51-05:00
Cougar Town (comedy) -- ABC is very succinct with its description of this one. Friends alum Cox stars as a "recently divorced single mother exploring the honest truths about dating and aging in our beauty and youth obsessed culture." ...But as ABC describes it, "convincing real-life millionaires to part with their own money is no easy task, because when the idea is poor, the Sharks will tear into the ill-prepared presenters and pass on the idea with a simple, "I'm out!'

Fox's Glee gives it the old golly gee

Ed Bark — 2009-05-19T05:27:09-05:00
For all of its on-air buildup -- including a super-gush by the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post -- Tuesday's "special preview" of Fox's Glee is merely good, not super-duper great. ...But by the end of Tuesday's opener, Finn has unshackled all inhibitions and is singin' up a storm with oft-taunted Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), who at the very least sees herself as the next Kristen Chenoweth.

Fox accentuates African-Americans in new fall lineup

Ed Bark — 2009-05-18T11:16:22-05:00
And So You Think You Can Dance will be in the fall mix for the first time after ending its fifth annual summer run, which begins Thursday. ...The Wanda Sykes Show (comedy) -- She's supplanting MADtv in what Fox describes as a "high-energy one-hour show" featuring "biting commentary (that we've already figured out) and heated panel discussions with recurring personalities."

Brute camp: Spike TV's 4th and Long finds Irvin throwin' down

Ed Bark — 2009-05-17T20:28:31-05:00
There's a whole lotta ralphin' goin' on during Monday's premiere, with would-be Dallas Cowboys receiver Montrell Jones the star player in this particular competition before host/taskmaster Michael Irvin implores him to "get that sickness out of you!" ..."Coach Joe" handles the six receivers, Bates takes charge of the defensive backs and a scowling Irvin presides as Major Payne in a 10-episode series that should have more than enough violence and upchucking to please Spike TV's young male target audience.

Leno announces last Tonight guest, repeats vows to never take a vacation

Ed Bark — 2009-05-14T12:19:30-05:00
Leno, who began hosting Tonight on May 25, 1992, also said he plans to exit in an offbeat manner before gearing up for the September premiere of his new, five nights a week 9 p.m. (central) show. ...NBC, desperate to keep Leno rather than see him return to late night on a rival network, initially proposed a half-hour show that would have aired week-nightly at 7 p.m. (central), Leno said.

Random bursts: Nimoy Treks through Letterman Top 10 list; Rather puts on a 'fro to report on burrito lunch

Ed Bark — 2009-05-09T10:57:50-05:00

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NBC spills beans on part of its new season, promises a second helping in 15 days

Ed Bark — 2009-05-04T10:30:48-05:00
Among the Peacock's six announced newcomers are an adaptation of the 1989 film Parenthood featuring a trio of familiar TV faces and the new comedy series Community, starring graybeard Chevy Chase and Joel McHale of The Soup. ...Also absent from Monday's announcement were nights and times for any of NBC's new and returning series, save for Jay Leno's previously announced entrenchment at 9 p.m. (central) with a new Monday-Friday talk/comedy hour.

Presenting Jimmy Fallon at half his current age

Ed Bark — 2009-05-01T01:51:03-05:00
The 34-year-old Saturday Night Live alum is now in his third month of hosting NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. ...

Leno back among the living; NBC exhales

Ed Bark — 2009-04-28T08:25:14-05:00
Leno's health is of no small concern to NBC, which will be bequeathing him five weekly hours of prime-time next fall after he leaves Tonight in the hands of Conan O'Brien, starting June 1st. ...Before re-taking the Tonight stage, Leno appeared in a wheelchair cradling nine baby dolls while Access Hollywood sycophant Nancy O'Dell asked him for comment.

CNBC's As Seen on TV an info-taining look at infomercials

Ed Bark — 2009-04-21T12:42:12-05:00
The CNBC cable network's latest original documentary, As Seen on TV (Wednesday, 8 p.m. central), manages to be at least as entertaining and informative as sitting through one of Ron Popeil's pitches for the Showtime Rotisserie ("Set it and forget it!"). ...You wouldn't know it from his jet-black hair and beard, but "there's a lot of pressure put on me when people believe that I'm the only one that can take their product to the next level," Mays says.

Fox's Sit Down, Shut Up is best watched on "Mute"

Ed Bark — 2009-04-17T11:33:58-05:00
Attention must be paid to Fox's Sit Down, Shut Up, if only because its behind-the-camera architects include Mitchell Hurwitz of Arrested Development and Eric and Kim Tannenbum from Two and a Half Men. ...Put them all together and then try to pick up the pieces. Sit Down, Shut Up, an animated comedy series set in a Florida high school, does little more than just lay there.

HBO's Grey Gardens finds Drew Barrymore at last in full bloom

Ed Bark — 2009-04-17T11:34:04-05:00
Vivacious Little Edie briefly ends up footloose in NYC, living on daddy's money while he tries to strong-arm her into getting married and in the interim at least holding a steady job. ...And a good deal of Grey Gardens is about the two isolated Beales succumbing to a co-dependence on one another, all the while denying their increasingly desperate straits.

Madden hangs it up; Collinsworth looks like a cinch to replace him on Sunday Night Football (updated)

Ed Bark — 2009-04-16T12:35:33-05:00
He began with CBS, moved to Fox from 1994 to 2002 and spent four years with ABC's Monday Night Football before the network punted the franchise to ESPN. ...NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol said that he "spent all day" Thursday with Madden, and "tried every way I could to make sure he was sure about his decision."

TV Land's The Cougar stars 40-year-old temptress and 20 Jungle Jimmies

Ed Bark — 2009-04-15T08:23:37-05:00
TV Land, which used to be the prime time preserve of evergreen sitcom reruns, takes another tumble into the reality genre Wednesday night (9 p.m. central) with the premiere of The Cougar. ...Her kids also say they're pulling for mom, who in an episode-ending preview of coming attractions is shown sharing a bubble bath with one suitor and a bed with another.

Friday Night Lights closes out Season 3, suits up for two more

Ed Bark — 2009-04-09T19:47:03-05:00
Fans of NBC's best drama series can savor the moments -- if they haven't already on DirecTV -- with the comforting knowledge that at least two more 13-episode seasons are already on order. ...Friday Night Lights, filmed entirely on location in Austin, has not made the mistake of keeping its actors in high school to the point where they look old enough to be returning for a 10th year reunion.

CBS' Harper's Island may just be a killer ap

Ed Bark — 2009-04-09T11:04:12-05:00
It's best not to think too hard about that basic impossibility. Harper's Island isn't overly concerned with making any sense or adding up to much more than a ghoulish guessing game. ... Elimination rounds abound, though, with at least one character getting knocked off each week until the climactic Episode 13 purportedly answers all questions, reveals the killer and leaves just a handful of characters still standing. Clue comes quickly to mind.

NBC tries to rebuild post-ER Thursdays with Amy Poehler-led comedy and ensemble cop drama

Ed Bark — 2009-04-08T14:43:52-05:00
Note to readers: Struggling NBC's Thursday night lineup, without ER for the first time in 15 TV seasons, re-gathers itself on April 9th with a new episode of The Office, the premiere of Parks and Recreation, another new Office episode, a first-run 30 Rock and the premiere of Southland. ...That telegraphs this next sentence, which goes a little something like this: But NBC goes very wrong in the flat and wholly derivative first episode of Parks and Recreation.

FX's Rescue Me blazes anew in Season 5

Ed Bark — 2009-04-07T09:40:20-05:00
Lest we forget, Tommy's still on the wagon and his belittling father remains newly deceased as the series reboots with an episode titled "Baptism" (9 p.m. central, repeated at 10 p.m.). ...That leaves Rescue Me as the envelope-pushing network's signature series, with Leary turning in the most under-acknowledged work of any lead actor in an ongoing television role.

Surviving Suburbia gives Saget another ABC port

Ed Bark — 2009-04-06T10:43:18-05:00
Or could it be that ABC simply has a lingering soft spot for Saget, who drops in Monday night as the still boyish-looking 52-year-old star of a comedy series that even The CW network junked before it could air? ...The show's surprise emergence on ABC -- in a cushy slot following Dancing with the Stars no less -- might remind some viewers that this is the network that once made its bacon with laugh track-driven family sitcoms such as Full House, Growing Pains, Roseanne, Home Improvement, Who's the Boss, Family Matters and According to Jim.

The Tudors and In Treatment are back in play on Showtime, HBO

Ed Bark — 2009-04-03T12:54:12-05:00
Henry, who rid himself of second wife Anne Boleyn at the close of last season, takes on his third wife, Jane Seymour (Annabelle Wallis), at the start of this one. Meanwhile, he's beset by a commoner rebellion of Catholics who resent the destruction of their places of worship at the order of Henry's principal deputy, Sir Thomas Cromwell (James Frain).

ER checks out after lasting long enough to go on Medicare

Ed Bark — 2009-04-02T11:30:00-05:00
Those days are long gone, with NBC estimating that Leno will cost the network roughly one-third or less of what it took to fuel the 9 p.m. hour with scripted drama series. Many of the high-quality, buzz-worthy dramas now are on cable networks, even if their audiences come nowhere near the 30 million viewers per episode that ER averaged in its first four seasons.

Osbournes: Reloaded -- What the @#$%&* was that *&%$#@ pile of #@$%*&?

Ed Bark — 2009-04-01T05:01:04-05:00
Mercifully delayed until 24 minutes past the hour Tuesday, the first Osbournes: Reloaded special spewed onto Fox with all the class and style of Ozzy relieving himself on the Alamo. ...Fox has aired some dreadful stuff over the years, but Osbournes: Reloaded proved to be shockingly inept and unfunny from the instant mom Sharon and daughter Kelly shared ice-breaking bleeped profanities while a studio audience howled with laughter.

Second coming of Cupid lacks that certain some-zing

Ed Bark — 2009-03-30T19:03:51-05:00
Just trying to help out in these sub-desultory economic times, where virtually everyone's budget is stretched far tighter than when ABC's original Cupid series failed to make enough viewers quiver. ...In Tuesday's opener, Trevor strives to hook up an Irish musician named Dave with a woman he met in the old country but hasn't been able to locate in NYC.

Looks like a stinker: Osbournes: Reloaded isn't giving TV critics much of a chance to unload

Ed Bark — 2009-03-30T14:04:58-05:00
Unavailable for review, save for a few unappetizing clips, Osbournes: Reloaded is premiering at the odd hour of 8:20 p.m. (central) following the latest American Idol performance show. ...So far that includes a silhouetted stripping granny (her "boobs were so saggy," Kelly notes); a blindfolded younger guy being duped into kissing an elderly woman; Ozzy spraying the audience with foam; and pint-sized "Littlest Osbournes" dropping bleeped f-bombs while insulting a young woman at a theater box office who tells them they can't see an adult-rated movie.

HBO couldn't be less explicit with first-rate No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Ed Bark — 2009-03-27T11:39:21-05:00
Ladies' Detective Agency, shot entirely in Botswana, Africa and drawn from the nine same-named novels, stars a plus-sized heroine who lives to honor her late, loving father. ...But things don't really get rolling until prim, proper, opinionated Grace Makutsi (Anika Noni Rose) shows up to take the job as secretary of an agency that initially has no clients.

Stay in the womb! ABC's In the Motherhood is coming

Ed Bark — 2009-03-25T12:39:30-05:00
Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) shouts her way through the role of Rosemary, a multi-divorced, self-absorbed mother of a son who goes entirely unseen in the first two episodes available for review. ...Also caught in the pincers of Motherhood is Saturday Night Live alum Horatio Sanz, who's notably trimmer and in a beard (perhaps he didn't want to be recognized?)

George Lopez to take a swing at late night in new TBS talker

Ed Bark — 2009-03-24T10:06:03-05:00
TBS and George Lopez will enter the late night talk arena for the first time this fall in a show set to air opposite local newscasts and the first half-hours of Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show and Late Show with David Letterman. ..."George and TBS are going to change the late-night television landscape and bring a brand new energy to the talk show genre by giving it a street-party atmosphere," says TBS programming head Michael Wright.

Warhorse redux: Rather hits the century mark -- in episodes -- on HDNet

Ed Bark — 2009-03-23T14:02:15-05:00
And each and every one of them is told from the beginning that Mark is prepared to spend whatever we need to get the story, but not one dollar more . . . ...I remain absolutely determined to find out what really happened, and to bring into the sunshine what the public needs to know about how these ever larger corporations are connected to Washington power for the benefit of making money at the expense of truly independent and free journalism.

Dummying it down

Ed Bark — 2009-03-23T10:37:41-05:00
Dallas-born ventriloquist Jeff Dunham (above) has just signed a big deal with Comedy Central, further establishing North Texas as a great place to throw your voice for fun and eventual profit. ...So he now has what Comedy Central describes as a "wide-ranging, fully-integrated, multi-platform initiative which includes a series order, stand-up special, major-market stand-up tour, DVDs and a consumer products partnership."

Better Off Ted has Office politics, but also a few sparks of its own

Ed Bark — 2009-03-17T17:25:09-05:00
But go-along Ted is also a single dad whose curly-haired daughter, Rose (Isabella Acres), looks like Shirley Temple and sometimes makes pop wonder whether he shouldn't be working for the Good Ship Lollipop instead of the Bismarck. ...This also is the Ted where dad brings little Rose to work and let's her sit in with him at a brainstorming session.

Stephanopoulos/McCain: THE TWITTERVIEW

Ed Bark — 2009-03-17T13:26:24-05:00
Now he's twittering with ABC News This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos, who's embraced this new form as if he were a one-year-old in a high chair with his first birthday cake set before him. ...At the network news level, few if any have used it more visibly than Stephanopoulos, who on Tuesday made much ado of his "Twitterview" with McCain.

Sopranos creator going Hollywood for HBO

Ed Bark — 2009-03-16T12:45:00-05:00
Titled A Ribbon of Dreams, the multi-part saga begins in 1913 and follows the cinematic adventures of a college-educated engineer and a "cowboy with a violent past," says HBO. ...But a lot of time will be covered, from 1913 through the "golden era of talkies and the studio system, to the auteur movement to television, and finally to the present day," according to HBO publicity materials.

NBC's Kings a biblical, bounteous feast

Ed Bark — 2009-03-13T11:10:45-05:00
In a thin soup season of low aspirations, Kings delivers an oft-stunning punch, beginning with Sunday night's two-hour "event" premiere (7 p.m. central). ...Egan, who bears a fairly strong resemblance to Matt Damon, is suitably torn between returning to his home of Port Prosperity or serving his king for what he hopes will be the greater good.

By George, he did it

Ed Bark — 2009-03-13T08:42:30-05:00
That's an odd approach to a hallmark series that will sign off on April 2nd after 15 seasons on the same night and at the same time. ER, a top 10 series for much of its run, has been struggling this season on a network whose overall ratings are on life support. ...Doug Ross, is now operating out of the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, whose staff also includes Carol Hathway (Julianna Margulies), his ER wife.

NBC's new summer schedule kicks off early in hopes of helping Conan's Tonight

Ed Bark — 2009-03-12T17:08:19-05:00
So it's come to this: Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) and James Van Der Beek (Dawson's Creek) are in disaster-themed miniseries this summer on NBC. ...O'Brien, who takes over Tonight on June 1st, supposedly will get "the best launch possible" on Monday through Wednesday of that week with 9 p.m. season-enders of Medium, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order.

Chop-chop: Throw another cooking competition on the fire

Ed Bark — 2009-03-11T09:31:02-05:00
Chef Marco Pierre White, the British bloke who hosts NBC's new The Chopping Block, used to have Gordon Ramsay under his wing. But the bombastic star of Fox's Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares got to these shores first, leaving his old boss to serve leftovers on yet another weekly cooking competition devised by an umpteenth U.S. network.

Dancing with the Stars welcomes Bachelor jilt-ee, angers North Texas couple for other reasons

Ed Bark — 2009-03-10T11:32:51-05:00
It was too hard to explain what Jackass was, what Playboy was, and what a number of the other off-hand and off-color remarks were to our nine-year-old daughter, who has been a passionate DWTS fan for the past three seasons. ...The Elons make some good points, particularly regarding Steve-O. DWTS didn't particularly dwell on Madison's Playboy portfolio, but did manage to make a Jackass of itself on several occasions.

Let's make a deal: AMC's Breaking Bad is boldly back in play

Ed Bark — 2009-03-06T14:16:56-06:00
This is Weeds on steroids -- or crystal meth in this case -- with Walt White (Cranston) and former student turned accomplice Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) wheeling and dealing with the most unsavory thugs New Mexico has to offer. ...AMC also has ordered almost twice as many new episodes -- 13 -- giving the show more room to maneuver within a still relatively small universe that also includes Walt's brother-in-law, Hank (Dean Norris), a DEA agent, and his wife, Marie (Betsy Brandt), a chronic shoplifter.

ABC's banter-laced Castle solves crimes without going medieval

Ed Bark — 2009-03-05T16:42:39-06:00
Viewers who began their TV-watching before the Internet hit also might recognize a little/lot of Moonlighting in Castle, which ABC hopes will be catapulted by Monday's preceding two-hour launch of Dancing with the Stars' eighth edition. ...And in a dismal season for both bottom lines and breakout hits, the success or failure of Castle could go a long way in determining whether actors and their roles have a long-term future at any of the Big Four broadcast networks.

Working without the net? Fallon's Web-footed Late Night wouldn't think of it

Ed Bark — 2009-03-02T12:24:28-06:00
And in case you're interested, he'll also be doing a little television show on the side, beginning Monday at 11:35 p.m. (central) on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. ...He'll find out how many people are paying attention after Monday's first actual television outing finds Fallon in the company of Robert De Niro, Justin Timberlake and musical guest Van Morrison, of whom he says, "I can almost guarantee you he has no idea of who I am."

24 cranks itself to the breaking point with full-blown assault on White House

Ed Bark — 2009-03-01T22:54:19-06:00
Monday's two-hour "event" -- covering the 6 to 8 p.m. hours of Season 7 -- finds terrorists breaking into the White House with what seems to be the greatest of ease. ...In Monday night's never-dull two-parter (7 to 9 p.m. central), he again runs afoul of noxious Senator Blaine Mayer (Kurtwood Smith), who wants to lock him up for crimes against humanity.

Tom Selleck still rock-stolid as wrong-righting Jesse Stone

Ed Bark — 2009-02-27T12:26:28-06:00
He'll be playing gruff, hard-drinking, dog-loving police chief Jesse Stone for the fifth time Sunday (March 1st), in CBS' Jesse Stone: Thin Ice (8 p.m. central). ...Leslie Hope, who played Jack Bauer's murdered wife, Teri, on the first season of 24, drops in for a few scenes as a taut-talking internal affairs investigator who of course is not immune to Stone's rough-hewn charms.

March sadness: CBS is the only network on year-to-year upswing, but Fox will have usual finishing kick

Ed Bark — 2009-02-26T16:11:30-06:00
Fox will repeat as the season's No. 1 network among 18-to-49-year-olds, even though its average of 4.2 million per prime-time show is well off last year's 5.4 million at this time of the season. ...ABC used its Oscar-cast to heavily promote four new series coming next month -- Castle (March 9th); Better Off Ted (March 18th); In the Motherhood (March 26th) and Cupid (March 31st). Dancing with the Stars is returning as well, which will help.

Oscar audience grows from last year's all-time low

Ed Bark — 2009-02-23T14:00:10-06:00
Sunday night's 81st Oscar ceremony on ABC kicked up a few notches in the national Nielsens, averaging 36.3 million viewers during its three-and-a-half-hour running time. That's a nice boost from the all-time low 32 million viewers who watched last year's telecast, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Gibson regroups with stunt stint on Kimmel Live

Ed Bark — 2009-02-23T12:29:16-06:00
A goateed Mel Gibson, little seen or heard since his infamous drunken tirade in mid-summer 2006, dropped in on Jimmy Kimmel's post-Oscar show Sunday to announce his next film project. ...

Jackman-led Oscars end up long on ceremony

Ed Bark — 2009-02-23T07:58:35-06:00
ABC's cameramen as usual were on top of all the audience reaction shots, even finding best actress winner Kate Winslet's dad in the cheap seats after she asked him to whistle -- which he did -- to show her where he was seated. ...The age-old comic's use of a derogatory term for gays, most recently in 2007, made him a controversial choice, especially on a night when Penn's portrayal of a slain gay rights activist won Oscar gold.

Sexy women of substance populate BBC America's Mistresses

Ed Bark — 2009-02-20T09:03:01-06:00
So maybe it's time to invest in a new soapy yet seriously sexual drama about four thirtysomething gal pals whose lives are both intertwined and at loose ends. BBC America's 12-episode Mistresses, premiering Friday, Feb. 20th (7 p.m. central), is graced by four of the UK's finest, sturdiest actresses.

Drunk with power: unclebarky.com nails first three Idol finalists

Ed Bark — 2009-02-19T11:33:12-06:00
Top 12 Idol finalists Michael Sarver, Alexis Grace, Danny Gokey ...Which unclebarky.com did by correctly picking the first three American Idol survivors among this week's 12 contestants.

Play @%$!*#% Ball -- HBO's Eastbound & Down throws hard but misses the plate

Ed Bark — 2009-02-13T15:41:08-06:00
Just in time for spring training, here comes HBO's comedy series about a profane, loutish, sexist, homophobic, coke-sniffing ex-Big League relief pitcher who "looks like a big bag of mashed-up asshole" in the view of one cogent observer. ...Eastbound & Out, which has just a six-episode order, is breaking into HBO's usually prestigious Sunday night lineup (beginning on Feb. 15th at 9:30 p.m. central).

Fox's Dollhouse may not play very well

Ed Bark — 2009-02-13T09:45:48-06:00
And of course it almost goes without saying that "Nothing is what it appears to be," which mastermind Adelle DeWitt (Olivia Williams) tells minion Echo (Eliza Dushku) in the opening seconds of Friday's premiere (8 p.m. central). ...But amid all these extracurricular activities, Echo has a somewhat self-contained assignment of the week, whether it's acting as a go-between in a kidnapping or serving as human prey next week for a maniacal bow hunter.

CNBC's House of Cards shows how greed hit home and left the economy humbled

Ed Bark — 2009-02-12T14:26:39-06:00
It's a fine mess we're in, and CNBC's latest new documentary, House of Cards, is better than most at explaining how "the greatest financial collapse since the Great Depression" came to roost. ...He meticulously shows how the bubble burst without being a bubblehead about it in a compelling two-hour film that premieres on Thursday, Feb. 12th at 7 p.m. (central), repeats at 11 p.m. on the same night and also will air on Sunday (8 p.m.) and Monday (7 p.m.).

Oddly unaffecting Two Lovers nonetheless has intriguing big-star cast and free admission on HDNet Movies

Ed Bark — 2009-02-11T16:10:11-06:00
But just in case, here he is in a somber yet semi-uplifting film about a depressed would-be photographer who somehow manages to click with two disparate, attractive women. ...And when Sandra asks him to a party just moments after they make love for the first time, it's even harder to buy into Leonard saying, "I'll check to see if I'm free."

Important Things with Demetri Martin needs more pop but shows some promise

Ed Bark — 2009-02-10T13:04:55-06:00
Wednesday's premiere of Comedy Central's Important Things with Demetri Martin (9:30 p.m. central) brings forth a mop-headed, nimble-brained 35-year-old who looks quite a bit younger than he is. ...Next Wednesday's show, which trades on the word "Power," has appreciably better filmed sketches built around a battle for a parking space and a super hero named the Revenger" who later learns that his father died of Lyme Disease rather than at the hands of violent crooks.

Chuck tries 3D as last resort; House comfortably at home on Fox for Episode 100

Ed Bark — 2009-02-02T12:18:49-06:00
Her eventual diagnosis won't be spilled here, but as usual it takes most of the episode for House to deduce it after his usual verbal abusing of anyone and everyone. ...Chuck on the other hand is stuck as that night's table-setter on downtrodden NBC, which also will be relaunching Heroes and Medium on post-Super Bowl Monday.

Super Bowl XLIII: great game, decent commercials, Bruce cuttin' loose

Ed Bark — 2009-02-01T23:32:12-06:00

An explosive beginning to 21st season of American Experience

Ed Bark — 2009-01-26T12:00:23-06:00
The father of the World War II era atomic bomb was a "frail, frequently sick" pantywaist as a kid, never had a date at Harvard and was derided after the fact by President Truman as "that crybaby scientist." ...The PBS film tells of the constant government scrutiny of Oppenheimer, even while he headed the all-consuming U.S. effort to beat Germany to the atomic bomb punch at the height of World War II.

TNT's Trust Me not as good as advertised

Ed Bark — 2009-01-23T09:54:16-06:00
And the network also has positioned Trust Me to succeed by slotting Monday's premiere (9 p.m. central) after a new episode of its most bankable hit, The Closer. ...Viewers may not instantly be sold, though, on a present-time series about advertising that's set in Chicago and so far lacks Mad Men's delicious devotion to its characters' personal lives.

True story: Fox's Lie to Me looks like a keeper

Ed Bark — 2009-01-21T09:32:06-06:00
Tim Roth might be a bit afraid you won't like him in Lie to Me. ...Other members of the team are lead researcher Eli Loker (Brendan Hines), who has a little 'tude to him, and new recruit Ria Torres (Monica Raymund), plucked from an airport security post because she tested off the charts as a human lie detector.

Oh happy daze: Lost returns Wednesday

Ed Bark — 2009-01-19T13:52:23-06:00
Let the record show that Willie Nelson's heretofore less than hallowed 1973 ditty is spinning on a turntable during the opening minutes of Wednesday's two-hour return engagement on ABC. (8 to 10 p.m. central). ...

Three's company in Showtime's United States of Tara

Ed Bark — 2009-01-16T14:20:32-06:00
The show is United States of Tara, the star is Toni Collette and the execution is so-so in what creator Diablo Cody (Juno) describes as a "sensitive, humorous, humanist" approach to Dissociative Identity Disorder. ...Showtime is returning both The L Word for its sixth and final season (8 p.m.) and Secret Diary of a Call Girl for its second (9:30 p.m.)

Beast of burden: New A&E series a bad vehicle for game Swayze

Ed Bark — 2009-01-15T13:56:10-06:00
In that context it's hard to imagine him making it all the way through 13 episodes of The Beast, which recently completed filming of its first season on A&E. ...He's convincingly intense, whether barking out orders to Dove or shooting himself in the shoulder during next week's Episode 2 as a very odd means to bring a drug ring to an end.

Ricardo Montalban deplanes at age 88

Ed Bark — 2009-01-15T11:08:47-06:00

"I am not a numbuh!" Prisoner star Patrick McGoohan calls it a night

Ed Bark — 2009-01-14T17:23:15-06:00
The 1968 British-made series lasted just 17 episodes on CBS, but its lore lives on. ...

PBS at last plays for laughs in six-hour comedy opus

Ed Bark — 2009-01-14T13:23:02-06:00
Prominently featured are groundbreaking silent film star Harold Lloyd; the early Bob Hope ("a pompous coward trying to win the girl with the wisecrack," says Sedaris); Phyllis Diller; Andy Kaufman; Cheech & Chong; Steve Martin; Woody Allen and the wildly improvisational Winters, who's ordered to "Do something with a stick" during an appearance on Jack Paar's old Tonight Show. ...He has a point, but it would have been good to get a rebuttal from All In The Family creator Norman Lear, who's newly interviewed for Make 'Em Laugh.

Party on: Golden Globes again serve their purpose

Ed Bark — 2009-01-12T11:33:00-06:00
Rock rhymes with Barack -- Tracy Morgan accepted 30 Rock's Globe for best comedy series after explaining, "Tina Fey and I had an agreement that if Barack Obama won, I would speak for the show from now on. ...Suck it to me -- Tina Fey, voted best comedy series actress for 30 Rock, said she's learned that "If you ever start to feel too good about yourself, they have this thing called the Internet."

Jack in a box: 24 returns to re-save the world

Ed Bark — 2009-01-09T11:58:27-06:00
This little sermonette might hold a bit more water if Jack hadn't effectively threatened a scumbag with torture just a bit earlier while under the close eye of comely FBI agent Renee Walker (a strong 24 debut by Annie Wersching). ...Sunday's return engagement also marks the re-appearance of onetime CTU agent Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard), who seemingly died in Jack's arms midway through Season 5. 24 executive producer Howard Gordon, in a form letter to TV critics, says, "Taking some creative license that we hope our fans will appreciation, we've resurrected one of the show's most beloved characters."

Fear Is Real -- add moronic and stupefying

Ed Bark — 2009-01-07T12:44:01-06:00
And perhaps needless to say, the show blows. Fear Is Real (7 p.m. central) has a dirt-cheap look, an antiquated Blair Witch hook and a piddling grand prize of $66,666 for the last contestant standing among 13 lambs to the pseudo slaughter. ...All of this is almost too much for 24-year-old model/hairstylist Lauren, who emotes, "I seriously feel like I'm gonna puke and cry and just like have a heart attack all at the same time --- if that's even possible."

FX's Damages returns in killer form

Ed Bark — 2009-01-07T13:55:54-06:00
Even those who devoured its first season might find themselves a bit disoriented as Season 2 begins Wednesday night (9 p.m. central) with two bangs from a pistol held by avenging young attorney Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne). ...But most of the meat is in its six-month trip back to the present, where Parsons tells her unseen prey, "I lied, too," before pumping those two pistol shots.

Scrubs good as ever, Homeland Security a dud in ABC's new Tuesday pairing

Ed Bark — 2009-01-05T16:18:38-06:00
Tonight's first of two episodes, subtitled "My Jerks," introduces guest star Courteney Cox as new chief of medicine Taylor Maddox while also fleshing out new interns named Ed (Aziz Ansari), Denise (Eliza Coupe) and Katie (Betsy Beutler). ...But Scrubs still carries it off even after J.D. and Turk (Braff and Donald Faison) first relate a vision of the afterlife that segues from a dip in a milkshake pool to longing gazes at a Cloud of Lesbians.

ABC's new True Beauty plays tricks on Dallas magician's assistant among others

Ed Bark — 2009-01-04T19:12:22-06:00
But in ABC promotional clips, Kutcher summons all the wisdom at his command in deducing that "good looking people immediately assume that they are of a different sort of echelon of being than the rest of us . . . ...But he's lately had a trio of bombs -- NBC's The Real Wedding Crashers, ABC's Miss Guided and this season's earlier Opportunity Knocks, which ABC kayoed after just three episodes.

Play it again: compelling ESPN special marks 50th anniversary of "The Greatest Game Ever Played"

Ed Bark — 2008-12-12T07:30:05-06:00
Grandly dubbed "The Greatest Game Ever Played," 1958's Baltimore Colts-New York Giants championship game gave the NFL its stripes in times when baseball still reigned as the king of sports while college football outpaced the pro game. ...He also was involved in a very big way in "The Greatest Game Ever Played," fumbling twice, scoring a touchdown and coming up just inches short -- or so the referees ruled -- of a first down that would have allowed the Giants to run out the clock.

Jay's prime-time gain could be Conan's late-night loss

Ed Bark — 2008-12-10T11:40:58-06:00
The Peacock's blockbuster deal to keep Leno, officially announced Tuesday, will give him an unprecedented Monday-Friday 9 p.m. (central) slot next fall while O'Brien moves West to take over the Tonight Show a few months earlier on June 1st. ...And the GE-owned network's 9 p.m. performance has dimmed to a flicker after the still relatively recent bright years of Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU and ER, which will have its series finale on March 12th.

Redneck scrapper: Dallas-born Christian Kane fights for TNT's new Leverage

Ed Bark — 2008-12-08T15:29:39-06:00
The former high school wrestler is finishing off a second bottle of Bud Light and has a small chaw between his cheek and gum when we meet on a mid-weekday afternoon to talk about his new TNT series Leverage among other things. ...All of this makes him at the very least a Renaissance Redneck who also plays lead guitar in a southern rock band called Kane and proudly does all of his own fistfighting stunts as "retrieval specialist" Eliot Spencer on Leverage.

Brokaw passes Meet the Press baton to Gregory

Ed Bark — 2008-12-07T11:36:57-06:00
"I'm not Tim, but along with this great team, I can just work real hard to make Tim proud," Gregory told Brokaw, who noted that his first Meet the Press appearance was "at the height" of Watergate in 1973. ...Gregory, in his joint appearance with Brokaw Sunday, said that Russert had always counseled him to "be respectful, but ask the tough questions and think of the smart followup and hold 'em accountable" when interviewing newsmakers.

TNT's "high-octane" Leverage not quite a gas, gas, gas

Ed Bark — 2008-12-05T14:27:24-06:00
That might optimize your enjoyment of TNT's new Leverage, which in longer form is The A-Team meets Mission: Impossible meets Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen or how many more of 'em they make. Timothy Hutton, a best supporting actor Oscar-winner at 21 for 1981's Ordinary People, is now the elder statesman maestro of four attitude-infested wrongdoers who say things like, "My money's not in my account.

HBO's House of Saddam could use a fixer-upper

Ed Bark — 2008-12-04T11:43:21-06:00
Those who stay the course might find the opening two hours appreciably more interesting than the concluding Hour 4, which abruptly sends Saddam on the lam and then drearily winds down to his eventual capture by U.S forces. ...Alternately chortling and glowering, his formative Saddam -- the story begins in 1979 -- is bedeviled by both a domineering mother and amoral older son, Uday (Philip Arditti), who in time becomes the headstrong, violence- and drug-addicted Sonny Corleone of the piece.

The Shield goes out like a lion with rousing finale

Ed Bark — 2008-11-25T11:16:20-06:00
Fans of The Shield almost assuredly will not be disappointed by this very satisfying resolution to the series that forged FX's barrier-breaking identity. ...The Shield also restored Chiklis to the good graces of his profession after a dispiriting period where he starred in NBC's mercifully short-lived Daddio sitcom and played Curly in a made-for-TV movie about The Three Stooges.

Colbert Christmas special is jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell mock

Ed Bark — 2008-11-21T14:51:23-06:00
Instead he's trapped in his ridiculously decorated mountain cabin by a ravenous bear that won't let him make it to a presumably festive Manhattan studio where Elvis Costello restlessly awaits as a drummer boy and later a pop-up clown. ...Jon Stewart fails to interest Colbert in Hannukah, John Legend can't sell him on the joys of nutmeg and single-named Feist pretty much falls flat as a tree-topping angel who tries to answer the host's Jimmy Stewart-esque prayer to "show me the way."

24: Redemption movie puts Action Jack back in harm's way before Season 7 follows suit

Ed Bark — 2008-11-21T08:22:07-06:00
From 3 to 5 p.m. in fictional, war-torn Sangala, Africa, Kiefer Sutherland's super-resilient soldier of misfortune has a prolonged gunfight, is tortured, loses another friend to a violent death and gets betrayed by a government official before again sacrificing himself for the greater good. ...24: Redemption, filmed in Cape Town, South Africa and L.A. is a serviceable although not exceptional place-setter that slightly shortens the unplanned, elongated gap between the May 2007 end of Season 6 and January's resumption of hostilities.

Gotta sing, gotta dance. But nearing her first prime-time variety special, Rosie O'Donnell of course slings opinions, too

Ed Bark — 2008-11-19T13:52:24-06:00
She insisted on doing the show live, with the understanding that NBC would order a minimum of six more hours if the Nielsen ratings click their heels on a show that will "be chock full of dancing boys and girls from Broadway." ...Maybe that's why her overriding pitch for Rosie Live -- "Imagine if you took out the judging and put even more talented people on!" -- went unanswered until NBC Entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman finally bit.

What makes NBC's Big Ben tick? For one thing, using NBC shows as "integral pieces of marketing platforms"

Ed Bark — 2008-11-18T16:00:20-06:00
Were Hill Street Blues in Silverman's hands, partners Andy Renko and Bobby Hill might well have driven their GM squad car to an off-duty charitable function that would make both them and their vehicle seem civic-minded. ...He just seemed happy to bask in the presence of a telegenic, supposedly hot-shot programming exec who told him that NBC is in the futuristic driver's seat with shows such as Knight Rider.

Obamas and Steve Kroft spark 60 Minutes to another ratings high

Ed Bark — 2008-11-18T13:12:20-06:00
This time it was a landslide, with 60 Minutes romping over NBC's runnerup Sunday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins (19.3 million viewers). ...CBS and ABC are tied for the lead with 18-to-49-year-olds, but ABC is down 15 percent in this key demographic while CBS has slipped 8 percent.

Einstein's mind is an action hero in new History Channel tale

Ed Bark — 2008-11-17T12:46:19-06:00
This two-hour tale, set against a backdrop of World War I and warring scientists, adds up to a compelling look at how Einstein finally won the day and became an international celebrity whose "wild halo of hair" only made his thoughts seem deeper. ...Tyson -- and we'll have to take his word for it -- says that Einstein's Theory of Relativity had "no wiggle room" in terms of being right or wrong.

The Crash of 1929 -- seems like old times

Ed Bark — 2008-11-10T09:15:47-06:00
The Crash of 1929 (8 p.m. central on KERA/Ch. 13 in D-FW) is a one-hour crash course in events leading to the United States' first stock market-fueled financial crisis. ...It's about the length of time that it requires for a new set of suckers, if you will, a new set of people capable of wonderful self-delusion to come in and imagine that they have a new and wonderful fix on the future."

Tina/Sarah to Tina/Sarah/Oprah to Tina/Oprah -- and Oprah/Tina (updated 4:12 p.m.)

Ed Bark — 2008-11-06T08:59:33-06:00
The most under-appreciated and currently the best comedy series on broadcast or cable television is getting a mega-boost tonight courtesy of a path that has taken star Tina Fey through Saturday Night Live, Sarah Palin and now a highly advantageous outcome of Tuesday's presidential election. ...But in complete overall ratings for the 2007-'08 TV season, 30 Rock in its sophomore year ranked a subterranean 65th among 18-to-49-year-olds (an average of 4.06 million) and a sub-subterranean 111th in total viewers (5.98 million).

History Channels: Television brings home the sights and sounds of Obama's (and America's) night of nights

Ed Bark — 2008-11-05T07:24:14-06:00
"I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences," McCain said of Obama in his final act as a presidential candidate. ...At this point it's noticed that Fox4, still the last major local D-FW station not in high-definition, is unable to retain the Fox network's HD presentation whenever it inserts various local vote totals at the bottom of home screens.

Picky Picky (Vol. 17)

Ed Bark — 2008-10-30T08:38:23-05:00
Joe the Plumber, who by now needs no further introduction or identification, has signed a management deal with an eye toward becoming a show biz personality. "Joe the Plumber is fast becoming a brand," a representative of Nashville-based Pathfinder Management tells The New York Times.

Life's too short to waste on Lifetime's new Rita Rocks sitcom

Ed Bark — 2008-10-20T14:21:38-05:00
Instead she's mostly stuck in prototypical '80s sitcom hell with bratty teen daughter Hallie (Shannen Doherty lookalike Natalie Dreyfuss) and her ever-present, dim bulb boyfriend, Kip (Raviv Ullman), whose first words are "What ups?" ...Sullivan tries awfully hard to make a go of Rita Rocks in times when the once dominant sitcom genre is gasping for air time on both broadcast and cable networks.

Crash emerges as wreckage in weekly Starz version

Ed Bark — 2008-10-17T15:10:51-05:00
Notching another wacko on his bedpost, he has top billing as record producer Ben Cendars, whose first act is to expose himself to his female limo driver before laying a little heavy-duty profanity on her. ...Advertiser-supported AMC's Mad Men, nearing the end of a super-terrific second season, keeps showing how an adult drama should be done. Crash looks like yet another wearisome, pointless wallow.

Mr. Robinson we assume: NBC's Crusoe a truly great escape

Ed Bark — 2008-10-16T15:36:25-05:00
His name is Jeremiah Blackthorne and he's played by durable Sam Neill, last seen as scheming Cardinal Wolsey in Season 1 of Showtime's The Tudors. ...Your time will be well-spent and your brain won't be taxed to the breaking point in trying to figure out who's who, what's what -- or where this show might be going.

David Alan Grier paints it black in Comedy Central's Chocolate News

Ed Bark — 2008-10-15T12:10:51-05:00
Anchor David Alan Grier promises uncompromising dark comedy on the new Chocolate News, touted as "the only source for pure, uncircumcised realness from an Afro-centric perspective." ...Also included: an extended, leaden bit on a "multi-epithet mega-trade" for free use of the n-word and some closing newsreel footage of America's long-forgotten first black candidate for president, straw-hatted Lucius Trenton Johnson.

NBC's My Own Worst Enemy: a brain-twister that ties its knots too tight

Ed Bark — 2008-10-13T16:28:38-05:00
NBC press materials describe My Own Worst Enemy as a tale of "polar opposites who share only one thing in common -- the same body. ..."You ARE the experiment," she tells Henry after he literally poses the same question asked by Ross Perot's running mate James Stockdale, at the start of the 1992 debate with Al Gore and Dan Quayle : "Who am I?

Ex-cellent: The Starter Wife returns in even better form than before

Ed Bark — 2008-10-10T08:13:21-05:00
As USA's The Starter Wife begins a 10-episode first season Friday, its newly divorced heroine is holding to the "virgin queen" vows taken at the end of last year's crowd-pleasing miniseries. ...Her opening night performance in Starter Wife's return is sterling from start to finish, whether she's quipping with pals or turning up the intensity in scenes with her ex-husband and a hoped-for new friend named Liz (Danielle Nicolet).

Fighting crime on CBS: Eleventh Hour is just the latest practitioner

Ed Bark — 2008-10-09T08:30:54-05:00
Nicely nestled behind the godfather of "procedural crime" series, CBS' Eleventh Hour looks like another long-distance runner on a network that shot itself in the foot last season by trying something new. ...The deductions on Eleventh Hour seem somewhat more grounded than those on CBS' new The Mentalist, where the color of one's tie can be clear, incriminating evidence in the eyes of cocksure, pseudo-psychic Patrick Jane.

Kath & Kim: at best it stinks

Ed Bark — 2008-10-08T17:25:13-05:00
Desperately adapted from an Australian sitcom, this half-hour from hell co-stars Saturday Night Live alum Molly Shannon (who's really a very nice person off-camera) and Selma Blair (Hellboy 2). ...Kath & Kim is described in NBC press materials as the saga of a "hilarious and iconoclastic mother-daughter duo" immersed in a "love/hate, push/pull dysfunctional relationship that only a mother and daughter could share."

Life on Mars launches (but can it take off?)

Ed Bark — 2008-10-08T13:12:52-05:00
That's rarely a good sign, but it's not always a death warrant either. Touched By An Angel had its entire pilot scrapped and a new creative team brought in before CBS finally shrugged and put it in play. ..."You look like you've seen a ghost, and he was ballin' your mother," he says by way of greeting the super-befuddled Sam, who becomes a member of the squad because almost everyone apparently knows him although he knows no one.

Tina trifecta: her third Palin sendup in four weeks gets even better with strong support from Jason Sudeikis as bravura Biden

Ed Bark — 2008-10-05T19:57:40-05:00
Tina Fey risks putting herself in a Sarah Palin lockbox with three perfectly played parodies in the first four Saturday Night Lives of the season. ...

Fall TV: Worst Week does its best to break CBS' Monday night comedy mold

Ed Bark — 2008-09-19T13:14:47-05:00
Let's just say that Dick Clayton finds himself with a little down time shortly after deadpanning, "I'm just gonna rinse the urine out of my hair, and I'll be off." ...Doing this every week will be a big challenge, though. Worst Week risks being a one-trick pony if Sam Briggs is fated to make a hapless horse's ass of himself in each and every episode.

Asner still acting and punching with his left as presidential campaign carries on

Ed Bark — 2008-09-18T14:44:04-05:00
Asner doubled-dipped as Lou Grant in two classic TV series. The Mary Tyler Moore Show birthed the character in 1970 as the boss of a Minneapolis television newsroom before Lou Grant made a Los Angeles newspaper editor of him. ...His views of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin are as predictable as Sean Hannity's deferential treatment of her during a Wednesday night interview on Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes.

And the Emmy goes to -- frankly, will anyone give a damn?

Ed Bark — 2008-09-17T11:27:51-05:00
The Emmys, to be hosted by a quintet of reality show hosts, air on the eve of a strike-damaged fall TV season with the fewest new series ever. ... Nor does it help that the three programs with the most Emmy nominations -- HBO's John Adams, AMC's Mad Men and NBC's 30 Rock -- have been seen by only a relative handful of America's TV-watchers.

Otherworldly, overlooked: SNL's night of Sarah-Hillary put the "Space Olympics" into virtual eclipse

Ed Bark — 2008-09-16T17:35:18-05:00
It attracted possibly one zillionth the notice on a night when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler stole the show from the top with their dead-on sendups of Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton. ...

Together again for the first time: Fey and Poehler paint a masterpiece with SNL's Sarah/Hillary sendup

Ed Bark — 2008-09-14T08:44:43-05:00
SNL's "Hillary" returned as a not-so-stiff upper-lipped loser who finally boiled over as "Palin" pronounced, "It's truly amazing and I think women everywhere can agree, that no matter your politics, it's time for a woman to make it to the White House." ...But SNL's Sarah-Hillary sendup had the good grace to be smart, funny and brilliantly acted by Fey and Poehler, the only duo to ever make the show's usual gang of dominant male cast members seem almost impotent.

Gibson vs. Palin -- call it a draw?

Ed Bark — 2008-09-12T07:37:28-05:00
"The Bush doctrine, as I understand it," he told/lectured her, "is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense, that we have the right to a preemptive strike against any other country that we think is going to attack us. ...At the opening bell, though, it wasn't enough for her to basically say, "I'm ready" when asked whether voters should believe she's in fact experienced enough to be McCain's right-hand woman.

Fall TV: Inn-fantile Do Not Disturb leaves no vacancy for brain activity

Ed Bark — 2008-09-10T08:26:44-05:00
Fox's new Do Not Disturb, virtually certain to be fall's worst-reviewed new series, is best watched while repeatedly striking your noggin with a ball peen hammer. ...And it can only be hoped that Do Not Disturb hasn't injected a virus into the computer on which Wednesday's premiere episode unfolded.

Fall TV: To be Somebodies is not a bad thing

Ed Bark — 2008-09-09T11:40:31-05:00
In his on-camera role, he's Scottie, a passive, soft-spoken African-American Charlie Brown who pretty much absorbs life's punches while more or less advancing through college. Somebodies is shot entirely in Athens, GA, home of both the University of Georgia and R.E.M. -- not necessarily in that order. ...Scottie thinks he's got it made after spotting a pair of lush next door neighbors who alluringly wash their car in halter tops and invite him to watch TV with them -- as long as he doesn't mind porn.

Fall TV: CW's Privileged a rich blend of loose ends

Ed Bark — 2008-09-09T06:37:35-05:00
Not that it'll get any special privileges, save for a comfy Tuesday night slot following 90210, which got off to a nice enough start in the ratings last week after CW and the show's producers conspired to make it unavailable for review. ..."I dabble in everything, but I only commit to things that truly matter," she tells Megan by way of asking if she'd like to prepare Rose and Sage Baker (Lucy Kate Hale and Ashley Newbrough) for admission to Duke University.

Fall TV: Fringe takes its crack at sci fi fo fum

Ed Bark — 2008-09-08T13:06:00-05:00
A very bad development at a Chelsea, MA storage facility serves to put Olivia on the scent of jerk-ish Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson from Dawson's Creek), son of the seemingly crazed Walter Bishop. ...Fox will repeat the Fringe pilot on Sunday at 7 p.m. (central) before it's left to do battle on Tuesday nights opposite ABC's Dancing with the Stars results shows.

FNC top dog at GOP convention; McCain's closer nips Obama's

Ed Bark — 2008-09-08T09:20:49-05:00
National Nielsen numbers for simultaneous coverage on eight broadcast networks -- ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FNC, MSNBC, Telemundo and Univision -- say that McCain drew a total of 38.9 million viewers nationally for his closer. Obama's far showier spectacle in Denver, which unlike McCain's also was carried on the BET and TV One networks, had 38.4 million viewers.

O'Reilly vs. Obama: Was it good for you?

Ed Bark — 2008-09-05T10:02:55-05:00
Taped Thursday in York, PA, the pair's first one-on-one encounter will be strung out over four nights on Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor after a Friday night recess. ...But in a post mortem with two analysts who evaluated O'Reilly's performance -- and basically gave it raves -- The big O' said of the big O, "He's a tough guy, Obama. . .

Hoping to suck in viewers, HBO has needed injection in True Blood

Ed Bark — 2008-09-05T10:04:07-05:00
Crafted by Six Feet Under maestro Alan Ball and adapted from the "Sookie Stackhouse" novels by Charlaine Harris, its first two episodes (in an inaugural season of 12) are an intoxicating blend of backwoods Louisiana and blood-sucking outcasts. ...They include best friend Tara Thornton (played with a good deal of sauce by Rutina Wesley); horndog brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten); and small businessman Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell), whose down-home bar/eatery is the Chili's of Bon Temps, LA.

"Now, now, in Dick Morris' defense, he is a lying sack of (*&%@#*@)."

Ed Bark — 2008-09-04T15:49:18-05:00
From Wednesday night's Republican convention edition of The Daily Show (Note: picture takes a few seconds to form.) ...

"A star is born" -- blah, blah, blah

Ed Bark — 2008-09-04T09:36:46-05:00
...

Fall TV:: The Sopranos on hogs -- FX's Sons of Anarchy spins tales of crooked bikers

Ed Bark — 2008-09-03T10:11:02-05:00
Wednesday's premiere also includes rotting Mexican corpses; savage beatings of both a drug-dealer and an Asian Elvis; the point-blank face-shooting of a rival Mayan motorcycle gang member; another dead Mayan with a stick of dynamite protruding from his rear end; and the not-so-gentle twitting of a SAMCRO "prospect" known as Kip "Half-Sack" Epps. ...Still, it'd be nice to take the edge off for a change with a series that actually aspires to be life-affirming without all the attendant dirty laundry of The Shield, Nip/Tuck or Rescue Me.

Oddball out: MSNBC's Olbermann plays chicken with Republicans

Ed Bark — 2008-09-03T06:43:42-05:00
It's a stark contrast from the Democratic convention in Denver, where MSNBC's principal Republican attack dog sat on an outdoor set near a train station and rhapsodized about Barack Obama when he wasn't sniping at his colleagues. ...Olbermann and some of his MSNBC colleagues made much of the fact that President Bush would be addressing the convention from the White House in an eight-minute speech scheduled to end just before the Big Broadcast networks signed on at 9 p.m. (central).

CNN entitled to a St. Paul swagger

Ed Bark — 2008-09-02T12:09:31-05:00
On Thursday's closing night, CNN went where it had never been before -- to the top of the national ratings heap among all news networks during Barack Obama's curtain-closing acceptance speech. ...And on Thursday's closing night, it came within an eyelash of beating FNC in total viewers, losing by a score of 4.2 million to 4.1 million.

FX's The Shield resolutely plays dirty in its seventh and final season

Ed Bark — 2008-09-01T22:55:30-05:00
Absent the success of The Shield and the excesses of rogue cop Vic Mackey, there's no Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me or Damages on FX. The Shield, helmed from the start by creator/executive producer Shawn Ryan, literally badgered its network into branding itself with a hot poker. ...It can be tough-going in Tuesday night's re-start, even for devoted fans. The Shield isn't as densely plotted as Lost, but it's still easy enough to get lost in the transition from season to season.

Lower your expectations for TNT's Raising the Bar

Ed Bark — 2008-08-29T13:21:12-05:00
It's tough to muster much more enthusiasm than that for TNT's Raising the Bar, whose father figure, Steven Bochco, previously has crafted the likes of Hill Street Blues, L.A. ...Premiering on Labor Day, the series otherwise strives to intertwine the lives of defenders and prosecutors, whose clashes by day don't keep them from mixing and mingling nightly at their favorite bar.

Obama's big night: A tale of two networks

Ed Bark — 2008-08-29T08:21:05-05:00
"There was no stone left unturned here," he said before later assuring correspondent Andrea Mitchell that the speech in fact played as beautifully on TV as it did before an estimated 80,000 partisans gathered at Denver's Invesco Field. ...The usually sour-minded Charles Krauthammer likewise used Wallace's words -- "exceedingly smart" -- before also crediting Obama with making "a generic Democratic speech, because he realizes that if he becomes a generic Democrat in this election year, he wins by a landslide."

Katie does a handstand, but CBS isn't turning cartwheels over convention ratings

Ed Bark — 2008-08-28T10:25:36-05:00
But CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, still fighting to have "embattled" removed from most descriptions of her, seems totally oblivious to some of the impressions she's leaving while in Denver covering the Democrats. ...pid=E3aPl8K4bMBQ1cYZ9unAXm4qVpBGwzYP&name=cbsPlayer&allowScriptAccess=always&wmode=transparent&embedded=y&scale=noscale&rv=n&salign=tl' allowFullScreen='true' width='425' height='324' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'>
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Superman swimmer adds another laurel

Ed Bark — 2008-08-27T15:26:31-05:00
Eight-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps will join the growing pool of athlete hosts, with musical guest Lil Wayne. SNL is making an unusually early Sept. 13th return and will have seven new shows before the presidential election, the network says. ...Other prominent athletes who have presided over SNL include Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, Joe Montana, O.J.

Michelle, Teddy keep Dems from dozing before McCain has some last laughs

Ed Bark — 2008-08-26T10:57:21-05:00
More than a little hyper-caffeinated but definitely not lacking self-assurance, Russert reported from the floor early Monday evening on a poll that said potential voters between the ages of 18-to-24 favor Barack Obama over John McCain by a 55 to 32 percent margin. ...Segue to the 200-year-old man with Jay Leno -- In Hollywood for a fundraiser, McCain made what he said was his 13th appearance on NBC's Tonight Show after host Leno first aimed some monologue jokes at his age and the purported seven homes he shares with wealthy wife Cindy.

NBC extinguishes its Olympic torch and fires up America's Toughest Jobs

Ed Bark — 2008-08-22T14:29:16-05:00
On this Monday and next, America's Toughest Jobs will lead directly to NBC's one-hour treatments of the Democratic and Republican conventions, whose nominees will be competing for America's mother of all toughest jobs. ...So for the record, recent college graduate Steven Hopper, 22, of Dallas, and plucky 26-year-old schoolteacher Sandy Gabriel of tiny Winnie, TX (pop. 2,914) are both in the hunt for a growing pot of prize money sponsored by an American truck maker.

PBS again goes old-school gavel to gavel while rival broadcast networks let fly with reruns and reality

Ed Bark — 2008-08-20T14:49:22-05:00
"I would say to them, 'In other words, you are telling the American people that that stuff is more important than an every-four-year event at which the next president of the United States is going to be nominated?' ...Lehrer, 74, figures that his approach is still the best way to cleanse the palate, cut through the noise and accentuate the issues of genuine import before its enlightened recipients "go and listen to the shouting" if they choose.

NBC's Olympian ratings feats

Ed Bark — 2008-08-19T17:03:21-05:00
CBS, ABC and Fox averaged a combined 11.8 million viewers for the week, trailing NBC by a 143 percent margin. ...The overall Olympics audience on all of the NBC Universal networks -- including cable's USA, CNBC and Oxygen among others -- has reached 200 million total viewers and been seen in 83 percent of all U.S. television homes.

Beijing's opening ceremonies a ratings smash for NBC

Ed Bark — 2008-08-11T05:11:02-05:00
But due to ratings inflation over the years, Atlanta's 1996 opening ceremony, with a slightly lower 23.6 household rating, qualifies as the all-time total viewer champ with 39.8 million. ...NBC's Saturday prime-time coverage of the first full day of Olympics competition averaged a hefty 24.1 million viewers nationally compared to 19.8 million viewers for Day One of the Athens Games.

Joshua Allen's amazing feet

Ed Bark — 2008-08-08T06:35:18-05:00
Fort Worth's Joshua Allen made it a North Texas trifecta Thursday night, winning the fourth season of Fox's So You Think You Can Dance over fellow hip-hop/popper Twitch Boss. ...Melissa Lawson of Arlington took NBC's Nashville Star crown on Monday; on the same night, Ally Davidson of Dallas won the women's division of the network's American Gladiators.

HBO's Hard Knocks again shows it's the Fort Knox of sports reality series

Ed Bark — 2008-08-07T07:56:01-05:00
Love or hate the Cowboys, you've got to marvel at the artistry at work while wishing it was your team on display for five episodes stretching to a Sept. 3rd finale. ...Oh how owner Jerry Jones loves this. Hard Knocks had the Cowboys in its sights during the 2002 pre-season before the team came up big losers under head coach Dave Campo.

At last it's Brokaw; again it's Lehrer

Ed Bark — 2008-08-06T13:47:21-05:00
The presidential debate commission's executive director, Janet Brown, said at the time that a star anchorman (Brokaw was still in charge of the NBC Nightly News in 2004) might "overshadow" a presidential candidate debate. ...I hope at this stage of my career I have a certain standing as a political reporter who knows what the issues are and tries to generate a dialogue about them."

Lucy posthumously nears the century mark

Ed Bark — 2008-08-06T10:16:16-05:00
Yipes, I was at the ABC press conference for that one, and also shared a dinner table with Ball and husband Gary Morton during a session for the CBS movie Stone Pillow, in which she played a snarly but kindly bag lady named Florabelle. ...

Gotta move on: Nashville Star winner Melissa Lawson not much longer for Texas

Ed Bark — 2008-08-05T14:43:27-05:00
Lawson's debut single, "What If It All Goes Right," already is in rotation on country music stations after she performed it for the first time at the close of Monday's Nashville Star finale. ..."I love the fact that even with the cameras being around, they've been so casual and so accepting of it," Lawson says of her sons, who joined her onstage during Monday night's triumphant moment.

Two from North Texas prevail in back-to-back finales of NBC's American Gladiators and Nashville Star

Ed Bark — 2008-08-05T06:29:14-05:00
The twin wins on the shows' season finales gave the state more bragging rights in the wide world of TV's reality competitions, where the champs also have included Burleson's Kellly Clarkson on Fox's first American Idol and ventriloquist Terry Fator of Mesquite on last summer's America's Got Talent. Lawson, 32, prevailed over another Texas denizen, Gabe Garcia of Lytle, to win a recording contract with Warner Bros. and a performance slot on Aug. 12th at the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, where she'll sing on NBC's Today show.

VH1's I Want to Work for Diddy raises an overriding question: WHY???

Ed Bark — 2008-08-04T08:50:50-05:00
That's debatable when the opening hour's "art of multi-tasking" challenge includes activities such as taking lunch orders for employees of Diddy's Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group; cleaning his vehicle inside and out; and polishing 20 pairs of his shoes during an around-the-clock gauntlet of menial tasks. ...Anyway, the show's judges -- two of them former personal assistants of Diddy -- eventually team up to banish a gofer after one lucky sap arbitrarily gets dumped before the gofer-ing even begins.

It's "Nazi bitch" flip-off time: McKinney North High's "Fab Five" cheerleader scandal goes under assumed name in cheesy Lifetime movie

Ed Bark — 2008-08-01T12:38:02-05:00
And Lifetime's Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal has plenty more where that came from before the music swells in the service of a tacked-on fairytale ending. ...Fab Five, which starts with a sultry cheerleader routine to the tune of American Woman, is a dumb but enticing enterprise that's sure to inspire numerous viewing parties in and around McKinney.

North Texans vie in three reality competition finals

Ed Bark — 2008-08-01T04:21:54-05:00
Monday's two-hour climax of NBC's American Gladiators (7 to 9 p.m. central) finds Ally Davidson of Dallas toughing it out in hopes of becoming the show's top woman challenger. ...And Fort Worth's 19-year-old Joshua Allen, whose specialty is hip-hop/popper, is one of four finalists trying to win Fox's So You Think You Can Dance.

Edd "Kookie" Byrnes turns a crazy cat 75

Ed Bark — 2008-07-30T00:01:11-05:00
Edd "Kookie" Byrnes played a comb-wielding, super-cool car parker on ABC's 77 Sunset Strip, a breezy private eye drama that ran from 1958-'63. ...

AMC's Mad Men still has ad-itude

Ed Bark — 2008-07-25T10:10:01-05:00
It deserves all of them for an evocative, provocative first season that rewound almost a half-century to a circa 1960 Madison Avenue advertising agency populated by thin-tied, vice-laden, tight-suited salesmen and makeup-lathered women who wore the hell out of their form-fitting dresses and rigidly constructed undergarments. ...These first two episodes of Season 2 also will reveal the whereabouts of Peggy's baby and depict a newly minted "Bohemian" lifestyle on the part of ad copywriter Paul Kinsey (Michael Gladis), who now has a beard and a black girlfriend.

Heidi Heidi Heidi ho'

Ed Bark — 2008-07-21T15:19:25-05:00
The former "Hollywood Madam," who served a 37-month sentence for "pandering" until her release in September 1999, is the focus of HBO's notably stuporous Heidi Fleiss: The Would-Be Madam of Crystal. ...Filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, earlier responsible for the likes of Inside Deep Throat and The Eyes of Tammy Faye, follow a none-too-steady Fleiss on her quest to establish a thriving "Stud Farm" on 60 acres of property that she managed to buy dirt cheap.

Leno's lame duck clock officially ticking to finish line (updated)

Ed Bark — 2008-07-21T15:20:08-05:00
But the Peacock has for the first time given official days and dates, with O'Brien to step in as only the fifth host in Tonight Show history on June 1, 2009. ...Poehler's former running mate on SNL, Tina Fey, stepped into prime-time two seasons ago with 30 Rock, which last week received the most single-season Emmy nominations of any comedy series in history.

Elder acting Brolin turns 68 before Barbra Streisand's eyes

Ed Bark — 2008-07-18T09:10:16-05:00
Brolin later stepped into the role of an inept, laughable Ronald Reagan in the controversial 2003 miniseries The Reagans, which was made for CBS and then dumped on sister network Showtime after an outcry on Fox News Channel among others. ...

30 Rock, Mad Men, John Adams set the pace for prime-time Emmys

Ed Bark — 2008-07-17T08:03:34-05:00
30 Rock sent a single season record for comedy nods, Mad Men led the drama series contenders and HBO as usual dominated the movie and miniseries categories in nominations announced Thursday for the 60th annual prime-time Emmy Awards. ...A new Emmy category, "Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program," is populated by Tom Bergeron (the likely winner for ABC's Dancing with the Stars); Heidi Klum (Bravo's Project Runway); Howie Mandel (NBC's Deal or No Deal); Jeff Probst (CBS' Survivor) and Ryan Seacrest (Fox's American Idol).

Comedy Central fires up a putrid new Gong Show, then saves face with Reality Bites Back

Ed Bark — 2008-07-16T17:26:50-05:00
The thing premieres at 9 p.m. (central), with Attell and judges Steve Schirripa, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and Brian Posehn (wow, what star power) kicking things off with an aging female impersonator who sings about her "cute, hot pussy" while cradling a short-haired cat on a leash. ...Following in no particular order are a super-fatso with man boobs the size of half-inflated beach balls; a "mystic" who shoves a giant needle through his arm; and a young performer from "the great state of Texas" whose gimmick is kicking himself in the forehead.

Generation Kill (or be killed) --in Iraq

Ed Bark — 2008-07-11T14:52:53-05:00
And just at this point, some might tune out in disgust rather than endure this "gritty, uncompromising account" adapted from Rolling Stone contributor Evan Wright's same-named book and brought to HBO by the team behind The Wire. ...Steven Bochco's relatively recent Over There series, killed by low ratings after a single season on FX, tried hard to get at the undersides of American soldiers in Iraq while also telling some rather lame homefront stories.

CBS' Flashpoint not your typical summertime dim bulb

Ed Bark — 2008-07-11T12:00:26-05:00
Then comes a relatively brief flashback that both shows how the assailant got there and introduces SRC member Ed Lane (Hugh Dillon), who's got a cute son, a cuter wife and apparently some commitment problems. ...For now at least, Lane is a very intriguing head case, Parker's a sturdy team leader, Jules Callaghan (Amy Jo Johnson) knows she's cute and Sam Braddock (David Paetkau) has the assignment of hunky newcomer.

Ted Koppel and Discovery rechristen China "The People's Republic of Capitalism"

Ed Bark — 2008-07-08T15:37:59-05:00
A still intrepid Ted Koppel discovers that it's tough to make a clean break after digging deep for dirt in a Chongqing coal mine. ...For four nights and as many hours, Koppel and his longtime producing partner, Tom Bettag, examine in depth what's become of Chongqing, China, a southwestern industrial megaplex with a population of 13.5 million and growing.

The Peacock plucks another cable property

Ed Bark — 2008-07-07T06:54:28-05:00
The Weather Channel is its latest acquisition, with NBC Universal president and CEO Jeff Zucker delivering another dollop of network-speak in a statement released Sunday. ...Under NBC Universal ownership since 2002, Bravo has been shorn of any art house ambitions and become home to a glut of gut-level reality series ranging from the bad (The It Factor) to the ugly (Being Bobby Brown) to the pretty good Project Runway).

Geraldo Rivera: Born on the Fourth of July and now Medicare-ready

Ed Bark — 2008-07-03T09:46:24-05:00
But Rivera is still right in proclaiming that The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults was and likely always will be the most-watched syndicated program in TV history. ...

Spike TV's low-overhead Factory punches in and works a funny shift

Ed Bark — 2008-06-27T15:01:29-05:00
From there it's quickly open season on his job, with pals Gary (Mitch Rouse), Gus (Jay Leggett), Smitty (David Pasquesi) and Chase (Michael Coleman) all in the running. ...In the show's July 6th second episode, he manfully carries a good deal of the action after buying a used car for $2 grand from town shyster/sight gag Tovar Plotts (Mark Beltzman).

Ross Perot: 78 RPMs

Ed Bark — 2008-06-27T11:44:56-05:00
Perot's much-parodied brand of belligerent, pie chart politics got him 19 percent of the vote in a three-way match with victor Bill Clinton and President George H.W. ...

Gray area: Not much separates fictional Grey's Anatomy from real-life Hopkins

Ed Bark — 2008-06-25T14:11:21-05:00
Replete with originally composed music and a soap-ish storyline tied to a hunky resident's troubled marriage, Hopkins is an ABC News production aimed at those who supposedly won't sit still for one of those unadorned, old time religion news docs. ...Hopkins, premiering Thursday, presented in high-definition and scheduled to run for six weeks, mixes state-of-the-art medicine with the out-of-hospital angst of cardiothoracic surgeon Brian Bethea.

Survey says: Celebrity Family Feud is kinda cringe-worthy

Ed Bark — 2008-06-23T16:17:03-05:00
NBC has moved Celebrity Family Feud up a week from its original premiere date to take on the premiere of ABC's Wipeout, which leads into the network's unveiling of I Survived A Japanese Game Show. Neither of these summertime dollops was made available for review, but promotional clips from the shows leave no doubt that each gleefully trades in fall-down-go-boom contestant humiliation. Wipeout has them tumbling into putrid-looking mud-water. Japanese Game Show coats them in various other goops.

Fabric softener: Michelle Obama guest hosts The View

Ed Bark — 2008-06-18T17:34:14-05:00
The gabfest's grande dame, Barbara Walters, displayed the front page article -- "After Attacks, Michelle Obama Looks for a New Introduction" -- after the wife of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama sat down and immediately said with a big smile, "I have to be greeted properly. ...Impeccable in a flattering black-and-white print dress, Michelle even praised First Lady Laura Bush for defending her hotly debated comments at a Wisconsin campaign rally where she said, "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country."

West Texas awl bidness gets reality check on truTV's Black Gold

Ed Bark — 2008-06-18T06:44:13-05:00
That's pretty much the basic drill in truTV's Black Gold, where the narration and production values pretty much match the crudeness of the oil and the West Texas roughnecks going after it. ...Their work is both important and expensive in times when gas prices are making many consumers bleed money. Texas Gold is pretty good at detailing the costs -- up to $60,000 for a "high-end" drill bit -- and the risks to oilmen Mike LaMonica and Autry Stephens, who are bankrolling the three rigs during their journeys to the center of the earth.

Katie gets slapstick-y on own youtube channel

Ed Bark — 2008-06-17T12:13:57-05:00
Still, it's a game effort, on Couric's part at least, to "humanize" herself in the eyes of those who see -- or don't see -- that side of her on the Evening News. ...

Showtime's Secret Diary of a Call Girl neither takes off -- or takes off

Ed Bark — 2008-06-16T11:29:20-05:00
Previous Showtime series, including The Tudors, Californication and The L Word, have been explicit in both words and deeds. Call Girl, with its first eight episodes written by women, is more likely to fleetingly show male clients' backsides than star Billie Piper's (Dr. ...We learn that she doesn't drink on the job, uses men's deodorant but not perfume, has a friend, Ben (Iddo Goldberg), who's apparently clueless about her profession and has "never been a very good girlfriend in real life."

Carvey's still got a little somethin' somethin'

Ed Bark — 2008-06-13T14:34:10-05:00
His Saturday, June 14th HBO special (9 p.m. central and repeated throughout June) returns him to the living after a bungled heart surgery and a desire to spend more time with his family kept him mostly out of public view for the past decade. ...Thankfully, Carvey doesn't dust off that relic, but eventually gets around to an array of politician impressions, including both George Bushes, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Ross Perot, Dick Cheney, Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Hillary and sexism. Couric and Matthews. Showing and telling

Ed Bark — 2008-06-13T11:28:46-05:00

A commentary on Fox News Channel's history of not commenting

Ed Bark — 2008-06-12T14:33:25-05:00
FNC averaged 1.703 million viewers in prime-time for that eventful political week, with CNN close behind at 1.418 million and long-downtrodden MSNBC making a little noise with an average of 1.016 million. ...In both instances, FNC's numbers are up from a comparable week one year ago (June 4-10, 2007), when it averaged 1.564 million viewers in prime-time and 897,000 for the total programming day.

Funny business: Bill Engvall cut his comedy teeth in Dallas before taking a bite out of big time

Ed Bark — 2008-06-11T17:50:11-05:00
That's a nice-sized hit by basic cable standards, giving the 50-year-old star another comfortable hammock in addition to his standup comedy act and recurring appearances with Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy on "Blue Collar Comedy" tours. ...Viewing isn't heavy-lifting. The Bill Engvall Show, which co-stars Saturday Night Live alum Tim Meadows as a family friend/hair replacement specialist, equips its episodes with broad comedy strokes and a frequently deployed laugh track.

Fox's Dance finalists include six feet from North Texas

Ed Bark — 2008-06-10T13:12:49-05:00
She also hit hardwoods as a member of the 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks dancers and has a bachelor's degree in business administration/marketing from the University of Texas at Dallas. ...***There's also a Texas dog/human duo in CBS' upcoming Greatest American Dog, scheduled to premiere on Thursday, July 10th.

Swingtown flops around in a sea of sex, drugs and dreary characters

Ed Bark — 2008-06-05T09:42:12-05:00
Its principal provocateurs, Tom and Trina Decker (Grant Show, Lana Parrilla), have an "open" marriage that initially permits hubby to lure an airline stewardess to their lair while flying high on July 2, 1976. ..."Saturday in the park, every day's the Fourth of July" plays on Bruce Miller's convertible radio as he and wife, Susan (Jack Davenport, Molly Parker), leave their old neighborhood behind with a holiday block party in progress.

Chill in the air: Fear Itself registers on 'ooh scary' meter

Ed Bark — 2008-06-04T08:51:53-05:00
These are key indicators that NBC's new Fear Itself, a 13-episode suspense/horror anthology series, is making a pretty good stab at delivering on its title. ...So he sets up shop and soon starts hearing voices from within the spooky dump. Fear Itself doesn't scrimp when it comes to houses housing dark secrets.

What were the odds? TV wild man Chuck Barris turns 79

Ed Bark — 2008-06-03T11:12:13-05:00
Here's a clip from his last episode of The Gong Show, which NBC canceled on July 21, 1978 after recurring battles with the host over the show's less than rarefied content. ...

Warning: this look at Lost's season finale discusses major plot points in case you haven't seen it yet

Ed Bark — 2008-05-30T06:38:05-05:00
A still distraught Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox), whose ridiculous, glued-on jet black beard got a facelift for later scenes, broke into a mortuary to get another look at what turned out to be Locke/Bentham (Terry O'Quinn) reposing in a coffin. ...The show's late season episodes, after settlement of the writers' strike, have given the faithful a supercharged series of head-spinning twists and turns. Lost doesn't dally anymore -- or at least it hasn't of late.

Souped-up Password returns: Uma/Oprah; egg/yolk

Ed Bark — 2008-05-29T12:36:57-05:00
So here comes Million Dollar Password for at least a six-week summer run after premiering on CBS in 1961 with bespectacled Allen Ludden in its driver's seat. Back then, during the show's breathtaking "Lightning Round," commoners and their celebrity partners could amass a swingin' sum of $250 if they connected in one minute's time on all five words given to them.

Back to basics: 2007-08's big winners recall TV's formative years

Ed Bark — 2008-05-28T17:10:45-05:00
Rounding out the top 10 were ABC's Desperate Housewives (17.3 million); Fox's House (16.2 million); CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (16.1 million) and NBC's Sunday Night Football (15.9 million). ...Then came House; Desperate Housewives; ABC's Grey's Anatomy; Sunday Night Football; Fox's Moment of Truth; Heroes; ABC's Lost and fall's Dancing with the Stars performance shows.

Same old story: McCain's age his overriding issue on late night monologues

Ed Bark — 2008-05-27T08:56:55-05:00
Otherwise you risk letting your opponent -- in this case, Letterman -- define you as "the guy at the hardware story who makes the keys, the guy who can't stop talking about how well his tomatoes are doing, the guy who goes into town for turpentine . . ."

HBO's Recount expertly paints by the numbers

Ed Bark — 2008-05-23T08:44:23-05:00
Recount otherwise has a good number of "name" actors on-screen in this superb re-rendering of how Al Gore eventually "lost" the presidency to George W. ..."The guy's so tight he probably eats his M&Ms with a knife and fork," Whouley deliciously tells Gore's former chief of staff, Ron Klain (Kevin Spacey).

Idol finale ratings inch upward

Ed Bark — 2008-05-22T17:46:34-05:00
American Idol's Season 7 finale Wednesday drew 31.7 million viewers nationally, up a notch from the 30.8 million for 2007's closer. That's a tonic for Fox, which plans to give the show a limited makeover for next season after overall ratings for the still No. 1-rated series dropped about eight percent from last year's.

Idol: Do you smell what the Cook's rockin'?

Ed Bark — 2008-05-22T06:18:15-05:00
"I think I was verging on disrespect for you, and I don't think you deserved that," he said in apologizing to David Cook seconds before host Ryan Seacrest anointed him the seventh winner of American Idol Wednesday night. ...The two-hour extravaganza reunited the show's top 12 finalists and included appearances by ZZ Top (with whom Cook performed "Sharp-Dressed Man"), Donna Summer, Seal, Bryan Adams, Graham Nash, One Republic, Mike Myers (in costume to crassly promote his new film The Love Guru), Jimmy Kimmel, previous Idol champs Carrie Underwood and Jordin Sparks, and most notably, George Michael.

Simon/Davids: Idol rings out the 2007-'08 TV season with its seventh coronation

Ed Bark — 2008-05-21T10:18:33-05:00
Idol's previous six champs have a checkered record, with inaugural winner Kelly Clarkson reigning as the show's biggest star until being eclipsed in the past year by fourth season queen Carrie Underwood. ...Alas, he's become Idol's resident non-person of late, shuffled to the bottom of the deck while that season's fourth-place finisher, Chris Daughtry, lights up the charts.

Fox adds a couple for fall, puts 24 in play with two-hour prequel

Ed Bark — 2008-05-15T11:25:22-05:00
The big twist is 24, which makes an early return on Nov. 23 with a self-standing, two-hour Sunday night movie that Fox says "will set the stage and raise the stakes" for January's launch of the show's "Day 7" on Monday nights. ...Fox's tentative January plans include removing two fall returnees -- Prison Break, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles -- and replacing them on Monday nights with 24 and the new Dollhouse from Buffy, the Vampire Slayer maestro Joss Whedon.

Laughter still an option on CBS

Ed Bark — 2008-05-14T09:08:36-05:00
The Mentalist (drama) -- Simon Baker, featured in two previous CBS dramas (The Guardian, Smith), returns to the fold as detective Patrick Jane, who solves crimes by using his "razor sharp skills of observation." ...Eleventh Hour (drama) -- Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, whose string of CBS hits includes Without A Trace and all three CSI series, strikes again with the saga of a "brilliant biophysicist and special science advisor" who investigates various crises and oddities.

CW adds three new fall series while outsourcing Sunday

Ed Bark — 2008-05-13T18:11:22-05:00
Also added is Surviving the Filthy Rich, starring JoAnna Garcia (Reba) as a Yale-educated journalism grad who finds herself "slaving away at a tabloid rag" until getting fired. ...Incredibly, One Tree Hill is still part of the schedule while the network's remaining comedies, headed by Everybody Hates Chris, get shuffled from Mondays to Fridays.

ABC's "new" fall season -- more or less

Ed Bark — 2008-05-13T09:04:43-05:00
They'll have a chance to win an array of prizes packed into a semi-truck, but first must answer trivia questions "based directly on their lives, each other and articles found in and around their home." ...ABC's cancelation corral houses the aforementioned Men In Trees, plus Women's Murder Club (somewhat surprisingly), Miss Guided, Big Shots, Cavemen, Carpoolers, Notes from the Underbelly, October Road, Cashmere Mafia and the big-money game show Duel.

Jimmy gets the job

Ed Bark — 2008-05-12T11:48:06-05:00
He's the hand-picked choice of SNL creator Lorne Michaels, who also tabbed a then virtually unknown O'Brien to replace David Letterman when he jumped to CBS in 1993. ...That was an impressive feat, considering that Letterman's show made a separate agreement that allowed him to book big name guests while Leno persevered without his writers and with little star power.

Idol: Evicted Jason Castro seems glad all over

Ed Bark — 2008-05-08T06:58:25-05:00
"Someone told me that I shot the tambourine man yesterday," he told host Ryan Seacrest Wednesday, referring to the lyrics he forgot before judge Simon Cowell began lowering the guillotine by telling him, "Jason, I'd pack your suitcase." ...Castro had greased his skids with recent comments in Entertainment Weekly, where he admitted to struggling with Neil Diamond's songs the previous week and not really caring all that much how his performance fared.

Babs and Oprah: two queen bees spoonin' the honey

Ed Bark — 2008-05-07T09:41:29-05:00
Copies of Walters' Audition assuredly are already flying off bookstore shelves, in no small part because the most potent bookseller in the land -- Oprah Winfrey -- ordered her viewers at show's end to "Go get it." ...Yes, they definitely got the job done during a genuinely intriguing hour in which Walters decorously dished about Star Jones, Rosie O'Donnell, Donald Trump, her mentally challenged sister, Jackie and most important of all, her two-year affair in the mid-1970s with then U.S.

That's my boy: Son's troubled presidency burnishes his father's

Ed Bark — 2008-05-05T16:48:25-05:00
It is in large part rehabilitative, though, with critics far outnumbered by admirers, including Barbara Bush, their son, Jeb, and their only daughter, Doro Bush Koch in new interviews for this film. ...The Presidents , presented under the long-running American Experience series umbrella, previously has looked in-depth at the formative years and administrations of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry S Truman, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

Idol: Burbling Brooke's out, Rockwall's Castro in Final Four

Ed Bark — 2008-05-01T03:38:57-05:00
"Just for the record, the rumors are not true (about Abdul)," said host Ryan Seacrest, apparently referring to a report that she may have been a bit tipsier than usual. ...Castro and Mercado join David Archuleta and David Cook in the show's home stretch competition to be Idol's seventh big winner.

New series review: Farmer Wants a Wife (The CW)

Ed Bark — 2008-04-30T10:45:11-05:00
Farmer Matt has the charisma of skim milk, whether on a backyard "date" with lucky Christa ("I've had an absolute pleasure with you tonight," he tells her) or detailing the rules of a chicken-chasing competition that ends in a "coop off" between two women battling for opening night immunity. ...Farmer Wants a Wife, yet another U.S. import adapted from a "smash hit" in Europe, will be plowing little CW's north 40 into June if all goes as planned.

Idol: No thanks for the Memory, but Rockwall's Castro climbs another rung

Ed Bark — 2008-04-23T21:28:41-05:00
Carly Smithson, who had washed out with a previous professional recording contract, graciously left Idol's national stage after being paired with Bottom Two frequenter Syesha Mercado. ..."It came over as a young guy being forced by your mum and dad to sing a song at a wedding that you didn't want to sing," said Cowell.

"In honor of the WWE, you can call me 'Hillrod.' "

Ed Bark — 2008-04-22T08:30:03-05:00
That's because the three senators battling to succeed him were all appearing on WWE's Monday Night Raw, otherwise populated by the likes of Umaga the Samoan Bulldozer, Hardcore Holly, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Super Crazy and The Undertaker. ...Over on USA network's Raw, also owned by NBC Universal, the three presidential candidates stooped to conquer another potential voting block -- the mostly young males who avidly watch the show's ring fakery, comedy, babe-a-licious "divas" and big-time bloodletting during pay-per-view events.

Let's play two

Ed Bark — 2008-04-21T07:34:28-05:00
It takes the field on Monday at 8 p.m. on KERA-TV (Channel 13) as part of a doubleheader that also includes Roberto Clemente at 9 p.m. under the umbrella of PBS' long-playing American Experience series. ...It's good to have all of this history in a tidy, one-hour documentary that might be just enough to spur a few trips to the Cats' home field, rebuilt on the same hallowed grounds as the old one.

ABC debate brings Dems into sharper focus on both issues and gaffes

Ed Bark — 2008-04-17T09:33:13-05:00
Furthermore, during the debate's first 52 minutes, they "dwelled entirely on specious and gossipy trivia that already has been hashed and rehashed, in the hope of getting the candidates to claw at one another over disputes that are no longer news." ...That's a far better course than rolling over and playing dead with a question on the order of, "Senators, for those who haven't heard it yet, could you please detail at any length you please your proposals to achieve national health care for all Americans?"

Idol: Kristy Lee Cook(ed); Castro now in Final 6

Ed Bark — 2008-04-17T07:41:41-05:00
Cook, 24, said goodbye by sitting next to judge Simon Cowell, her biggest tormenter, and singing, "Those days of love all gone, our time is through" from Mariah Carey's "Forever." ...She might barely make it, but look for Idol's first all-male Final 3 of Archuleta, Castro and David Cook.

Ha! The pathetic spectacle of Chris Matthews

Ed Bark — 2008-04-14T07:23:49-05:00

Tell a friend: VH1's telenovela competition is juice-a-licious

Ed Bark — 2008-04-11T15:52:02-05:00
Which means that it doesn't -- not even for a minute -- as 12 flesh-baring, egocentric "hot mamis" and "hot papis" convene at the show's "Casa De Locos" in hopes of mastering the "7 Deadly Sins of Telenovelas" in pursuit of mucho dinero ($100 grand) and a "breakout role" on one of Telemundo's upcoming sudsers. ...The others then decide who should oppose that person in a climactic "Duel" presided over by a champagne-swigging Alonso, co-host Carlos Ponce and, on the first episode, a stuntman.

Johns out while Jason's stock rises

Ed Bark — 2008-04-10T20:40:42-05:00
But Castro's rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," in which he used a dinky, newly purchased ukulele, won his strongest comments yet from the only judge who really matters. ...Thursday's vote-off, delayed a night by Wednesday's Idol Gives Back special, also made room for several previously announced celebrities who instead were missing in action.

30 Rock returns to roll the dicey

Ed Bark — 2008-04-10T14:08:50-05:00
Austin-based businessman and bar owner Brad Womack will be the first rose-bearer to get a "second chance at love" on ABC's next edition of The Bachelor, due in January. ...Yeah, well, good luck with that. Bachelor viewers currently are on the rebound from the tattered "love" story of Dallas flyboy Jake Pavelka and Vienna Girardi, who broke up bitterly shortly after giving their hearts to one another.

DVD review: John, Paul, Tom & Ringo (Shout! Factory)

Ed Bark — 2008-04-08T12:19:21-05:00
Factory's latest vintage DVD release, John, Paul, Tom & Ringo, is mainly worth having for Snyder's now historic one-on-one with Lennon, who later was joined by his immigration attorney, Leon Wildes. ...The host also quizzes Lennon about rock groupies, his current musical tastes, the heavily-publicized "bed-in" with wife Yoko Ono ("We were just promoting peace like you promote any product") and life in New York City as one of the most famous and deified celebrities in the land.

Seeing stars: Mega-watt Idol Gives Back ranks as season's biggest celebrity-fest

Ed Bark — 2008-04-08T11:16:03-05:00
Taped Sunday at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre, Fox's second Idol-infused charity special shapes up to be more star-studded than the Oscars, the Emmys or -- dare it be said -- Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice awards. ...This year they're shooting for $100 million on behalf of The Children's Defense Fund; The Children's Health Fund; The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Make It Right; Malaria No More; and Save the Children's U.S.

Last blasts for 'Frakkies'

Ed Bark — 2008-04-04T14:44:17-05:00
It returns for its fourth and final season Friday (9 p.m. central), with sinister Cylons still standing in the way of a return home for Admiral William Adama (Edward James Olmos), President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) and assorted underlings aboard the good ship Galactica. ...Suffice it to say -- or say it to suffice -- there's a pretty showy space battle between the good guys and the Cylons, who then suddenly retreat to the puzzlement of Adama.

Idol: Eight is enough, and Jason Castro is one of 'em

Ed Bark — 2008-04-02T23:42:52-05:00
Another lashing from judge Simon Cowell didn't deter Rockwall's Jason Castro from making American Idol's Elite Eight Wednesday. The 21-year-old also dodged a second consecutive trip to the Fox show's so-called silver "Stools of Shame, reserved weekly for the Bottom Three vote-getters.

New series review: Bingo America (GSN)

Ed Bark — 2008-03-28T14:48:19-05:00
In an opening episode sent for review, though, he doesn't flex any of the quick wit he's shown as both a talk show guest and on Bill Maher's now defunct Politically Incorrect. ...Most quizzes in recent years have been hosted by a comedian -- Drew Carey, Bob Saget, Howie Mandel, Jeff Foxworthy, Wayne Brady, Dennis Miller, Jimmy Kimmel, etc. -- or a flamboyant Brit (Ed Sanders emceed ABC's bingo show).

New series review: Tracey Ullman's State of the Union (Showtime)

Ed Bark — 2008-03-28T12:38:05-05:00
Ullman also portrays an undocumented Bangladesh woman working three menial jobs in Manhattan; a dutiful Nebraska housewife with "restless leg syndrome"; a Latina morning anchor with an exaggerated way of introducing herself; and a Middle Eastern pharmacist who's being robbed at her workplace. ...And she's still twice as good and daring at it. State of the Union further embosses Ullman as a true original in what's mostly been a man's world.

All lathered up anew: Showtime's The Tudors still cleans up nicely as a hot-blooded, post-medieval soap

Ed Bark — 2008-03-27T14:04:50-05:00
Starring: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Natalie Dormer, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Jeremy Northam, Peter O'Toole, Nick Dunning, James Frain, Henry Cavill, David Alpay, Hans Matheson ...Maria Doyle Kennedy again is superb as the exiled Queen Katherine while Natalie Dormer comes to full flower in the role of throne-thirsty Anne Boleyn.

Idol: Nine remain after Chikezie sings his last

Ed Bark — 2008-03-27T01:21:27-05:00
Rockwall's sleepy-time Jason Castro survived another beating from the judges, but first had to sweat it out in American Idol's Bottom Three during Wednesday's latest vote-off. ...Chikezie's previous night's rendition of Luther Vandross' "If Only For One Night" had been deemed "very cheesy" and unoriginal by judge Simon Cowell.

South Park from ground zero to now

Ed Bark — 2008-03-25T12:29:04-05:00
Click on the video below and thrill to the first documented killings of Kenny -- at least far as I can tell -- on the first episode of the first season of Comedy Central's South Park. ...

Idol: Rockwall kid in Top 10 while resident rocker goes home

Ed Bark — 2008-03-19T22:06:18-05:00
The former failed MCA Records artist, who used to be Carly Hennessy, remains on her second voyage of "discovery" after her previous label reportedly spent $2.2 million trying to make her a star. ...Tuesday's latest performance show drew 27.3 million viewers in the national Nielsens, crushing opposition in its second hour from ABC's Dancing with the Stars.

New series review: I Know My Kid's A Star (VH1)

Ed Bark — 2008-03-19T14:13:46-05:00
Ridiculous when it's not being reprehensible, VH1's eight-episode I Know My Kid's A Star reeks of exploitation, Danny Bonaduce, an execrable mom named Rocky and a kid spewing vomit in the early going. ...They're one of 10 parent-child teams vying for reality show chump change of $50 grand plus the right to be represented for a year by "a real bitch on wheels" named Marki Costello.

The long and winding 12 Miles of Bad Road

Ed Bark — 2008-03-18T14:47:50-05:00
It's no particular surprise to Harry Thomason and Linda Bloodworth that HBO leaked word Monday night of its decision not to air their broad but often very funny series about a Dallas realtor and her dysfunctional brood. ..."12 Miles represents the seemingly broad, but heavily researched and authentic world of Dallas billionaires, who think nothing of paying a million dollars for a Hannah Montana appearance at a child's birthday party, dispatching a private jet to England to deliver dry rub barbecue to Prince Charles or giving a trip to the moon as a wedding present.

New series review: Miss Guided (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2008-03-17T14:31:58-05:00
Latently attractive without her industrial strength braces, Becky's otherwise an unsympathetic and utterly incompetent advice-giver who fits right in with the rest of the school's idiot faculty. ...Miss Guided is without a laugh track -- the show's only good call -- and constantly has its aimless characters talking to the camera rather than amongst themselves.

HBO's Adams family is a revolutionary concept

Ed Bark — 2008-03-14T11:05:32-05:00
Now HBO is weighing in with a sumptuously produced, seven-part John Adams miniseries -- "He United the States" -- from the high-wattage team of Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman (HBO's exemplary Band of Brothers). Its first two chapters, premiering Sunday, March 16th and running from 7 to 9:45 p.m. (central), accentuate the title character's unbending will and enduring love of his devoted, yet strong-willed wife.

New series review: The Return of Jezebel James (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2008-03-13T11:26:04-05:00
Lead character Sarah Tompkins (Parker Posey) is a gratingly discombobulated children's book editor who's long been estranged from rebellious sibling Coco (Lauren Ambrose from Six Feet Under). ..."I want it in writing that if this baby comes out buck-toothed with crossed eyes, she's not gonna stick me with it," Coco rages.

New series review: Canterbury's Law (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2008-03-07T09:26:13-06:00
The mysterious disappearance of their son has rendered Canterbury both guilt-ridden and prone to lashing out at both her staff and the hapless D.A., who in turn brands his adversary a "bottom-feeding bitch." ...An upcoming episode -- but not the second one -- finds Canterbury defending a throughly spoiled gossip girl whom many might want to see thrown in jail with a sadistic pack of she-wolves.

Lone Star? A single Texan remains in Idol's Final 12

Ed Bark — 2008-03-06T20:41:10-06:00
A lone Texan still stands among American Idol's Final 12 after Thursday's herd-trimming left Houston's Kady Malloy on the cutting room floor. Jason Castro, 20, of Rockwall (but born in Dallas, raised in Rowlett) rode Tuesday night's rave reviews to the hit Fox show's promised land.

New series review: High School reunion (TV Land)

Ed Bark — 2008-03-05T12:31:30-06:00
Just trying to sink to the level of TV Land's High School Reunion, which turns out to be not all that bad a level in which to sink. ... Pearce High School's Class of 1987, here's a reality series that knows how to squeeze the juice, strum the heartstrings and tease with the laughably somber intensity of a defrocked National Geographic Channel spokesman.

New series review: New Amsterdam (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2008-03-03T15:16:22-06:00
Four hundred is the new thirtysomething on Fox's New Amsterdam, whose ageless hero has got a lot more living to do unless he finds true love. ...Thirty-five years later, as a Dutch soldier, he had a pointed experience with a sword while trying to save the life of a young Native American woman during an attack on her tribe.

New series review: Oprah's Big Give (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2008-02-29T14:35:50-06:00
Oprah's Big Give, sandwiched between the like-minded Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and something called Here Come the Newlyweds, spreads its do-goodism thicker than Britney Spears' skull. ...It's nice when Joe and Josette Blow -- in this case paraplegic Carlana and university researcher "Sheg" -- can call on Jamie Foxx to drop $50 grand toward payment of an idealistic med student's school loans.

News series review: Unhitched (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2008-02-29T13:14:44-06:00
It's not exactly Frasier when your comedy opens with a newly divorced guy in his 30s encountering a date who has a pet monkey and wants him to go ape with her -- literally. ...His best pals, forming something of a Seinfeld-esque quartet, are ill-kempt Tommy (Johnny Sneed), refined Kate (Rashida Jones) and the still socially awkward Dr.

One Tex out, two graduate to Idol's sweet 16

Ed Bark — 2008-02-28T20:22:29-06:00
Dubbed dull and ordinary for two weeks running by arbiter Simon Cowell, wobbly American Idol hopeful Jason Yeager of Grand Prairie took a knockout punch on Thursday's second vote-off show. ...Jason Castro, 20, of Rockwall and Houston's Kady Malloy, 18, survived to be among Idol's final 16, although the latter earlier was left dangling next to Whitaker as one of the show's lower vote-getters.

New series review: quarterlife (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2008-02-26T16:04:44-06:00
The quarterlife orbit also includes young filmmakers Danny and Jed (David Walton, Scott Michael Foster), bust-thrusting bartender/actress Lisa (Maite Schwartz), lovelorn Debra (Michelle Lombardo) and so-called "geek extraordinaire Danny (Kevin Christy), who easily is the least fleshed-out in Tuesday's opener. ...quarterlife excels because it speaks the language, hits the nerve spots and gets at the essence of what it's like to love/like someone who feels the same way not about you, but your closest friend.

ABC's Raisin In the Sun fullfills any and all grape expectations

Ed Bark — 2008-02-25T13:31:00-06:00
This is a business, after all, and the big broadcasters seldom are in any mood to "give back" anymore with productions that simply aspire to be great without any anticipated big payoff at the Nielsen box office. ...Rashad, so familiar to audiences as Clair Huxtable from The Cosby Show, is especially unforgettable as a nurturing but no-nonsense matriarch whose late husband's life insurance policy will be netting the family a $10,000 windfall.

Stewart shines as Oscar host on a night when most of the winners are great unknowns

Ed Bark — 2008-02-24T23:53:37-06:00
"All I can say is thank God for teen pregnancy," Stewart said after referencing the year's "slate of psychopathic killer movies (No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Sweeney Todd)." ...Odds are that this Oscar-cast, with so many unfamiliar winners and films, will have a hard time measuring up to most other ceremonies in the unforgiving Nielsen ratings.

Championing Joe Louis

Ed Bark — 2008-02-23T11:59:38-06:00
After a humiliating defeat at the hands of Rocky Marciano, who would never lose a fight, Louis turned to wrestling, product endorsements, casino-greeting and just about anything else to pay off his debts to the government. ...America's Hero also includes current-day interviews with Louis's son, Joe Jr. (who laments never really getting to know his dad), Jimmy Carter (who has a really neat boyhood anecdote), Bill Cosby, Jerry Lewis (needlessly) and a collection of lesser known old friends and historians.

CNN's Obama-Clinton Texas throwdown puts her one step closer to throwing in the towel

Ed Bark — 2008-02-21T22:29:41-06:00
"The implication is that the people who've been voting for me or involved in my campaign are somehow delusional . . . that somehow they're being duped and eventually they're going to see the reality of things." ...She later had a bad moment, even drawing some boos on the subject of Obama's alleged "plagiarizing" of words used in an earlier speech by Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, who's also a national co-chairman of his campaign.

Idol's three Texans punch tickets to next round

Ed Bark — 2008-02-21T21:47:33-06:00
Two of the three had taken a lashing from Simon Cowell, but none felt the sharper sting of eviction on American Idol's first viewer vote-off. Jason Castro, 20, of Rockwall, Jason Yeager, 28, of Grand Prairie, and Kady Malloy, 18, of Houston survived the winnowing of 24 contestants to 20 during Thursday night's typically prolonged nail-biter.

Two Jasons from North Texas at opposite ends of Idol's teeter totter

Ed Bark — 2008-02-19T21:35:44-06:00
Maybe the American Idol audience has gotten old enough over the years to actually be in tune with Jason Yeager's treacly rendition of "Moon River" on Tuesday's male-only performance show. If not, the 28-year-old Huckleberry Friend from Grand Prairie might well be a goner when fans of the Fox mega-hit trim the field from 24 to 20 on the first results show Thursday.

Stars and bars: Prison Break ends its third and likely last season

Ed Bark — 2008-02-17T20:54:11-06:00
Monday's third season finale (7 p.m. central) caps a strike-shortened, 13-episode run that again finds brothers Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) and Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) on the outside looking in. ...Dwindling ratings and sagging creativity make it unlikely that the mostly made-in-North Texas drama will find its way to Season 4. PB currently ranks a still halfway decent 45th among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds.

Idol goes with two Jasons from North Texas, and so far it's no horror film

Ed Bark — 2008-02-13T20:34:16-06:00
At least three notable ones, I'd say, with the closest call resulting in a no-go for bespectacled Buddy Holly lookalike Kyle Ensley, a junior at Oklahoma State who auditioned in Dallas. ...But Tuesday night's two-hour warmup drew 30 million viewers nationally and had its best showing among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds since this season's premiere.

Blast from the past: Jericho rides again

Ed Bark — 2008-02-12T08:34:51-06:00
Played by Alicia Coppola (no relation to Francis Ford), she crackles in every scene while her earnest, but sometimes gullible farmer boyfriend, Stanley Richmond (Brad Beyer), gamely tries to keep apace. ...This time it's for keeps, with CBS very unlikely to yield a second time to fan pressure if the show can't govern itself in the Nielsen ratings.

Bigger underdogs than the Giants -- which means there's always hope

Ed Bark — 2008-02-08T10:02:10-06:00
There's a fair chance the walkout will come to an end next week, which would give Lights a chance to gear up for a handful of new episodes before the TV season officially ends in May. ...If not, it's been a pleasure to be among the relatively few who never miss an episode of Friday Night Lights and its fractious Dillon Panthers.

New series review: Lipstick Jungle (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2008-02-06T18:38:17-06:00
Jungle is drawn from the novel by Candace Bushnell, who once collaborated with Cashmere Mafia maestro Darren Star on HBO's Sex and the City. ...Mafia, listless in the ratings since premiering on Jan. 6, has its season -- and almost assuredly series -- finale on Feb. 20th. Jungle arrives Thursday in NBC's ER slot.

New series review: Welcome to the Captain (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2008-02-04T13:43:01-06:00
Welcome to the Captain, which has nothing to do with a cruise, the military or Tennille, daringly and perhaps suicidally joins the network's Monday night lineup without benefit of any artificial additives. So you'll have to laugh entirely on your own at a show that aims to be in the vein of Arrested Development and also has one of that late, great comedy's crazier cast members in Jeffrey Tambor.

Hill and Dave: Together again for the 9th time

Ed Bark — 2008-02-03T15:20:18-06:00
Hillary Clinton is smart to be with David Letterman on the night before the "Super Tuesday" primaries have a big say in who will get the Democratic presidential nomination. ...

New series review: Eli Stone (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2008-01-30T08:59:55-06:00
Or as network entertainment president Stephen McPherson put it to TV critics last summer, "I don't think you're going to see a lot of dark, dark cop dramas or really serious and downtrodden material from us." ...Thursday's premiere begins in a snowy Himalayan village, where a few sight gags hit the spot before the show shifts back in time to the San Francisco law firm headed by imperious Jordan Wethersby (Victor Garber), whose beauteous daughter, Taylor (Natasha Henstridge), is engaged to Eli.

At a loss with Lost

Ed Bark — 2008-01-29T12:06:58-06:00
It's probably safe to say they're in color, have spoken words and represent one-quarter of eight episodes that were completed before the writers' strike kicked in. ...Also, Lost will have two more 16-episode seasons -- at least that's the plan -- before calling it a wrap during the 2009-'10 TV season.

New series review: In Treatment (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2008-01-25T12:11:58-06:00
And In Treatment's opening night head case, a self-absorbed young anesthesiologist named Laura (Melissa George), is easily the worst foot forward in a series that dramatically improves the very next night with the entrance of Blair Underwood as a combative Navy pilot. ...Having seen a night's worth of each, I'd personally opt for Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, even though the latter night probably would work better if you've seen all that Weston has been through.

Fox crushes life out of competitors in runaway week

Ed Bark — 2008-01-23T17:29:03-06:00
Paced by the one-two punch of American Idol and the biggest NFC championship audience in 13 years, Fox played Goliath in the latest ratings week while rival networks shot themselves in the foot with their slingshots. ...For the week of Jan. 14-20, the once upstart network averaged 24.3 million viewers nationally in prime-time to beat the three-network totals of runnerup CBS, NBC and ABC (23.7 million combined).

Liar liar, should Fox burn in hellfire?

Ed Bark — 2008-01-22T14:20:57-06:00
Here's a basic, bare bones query for Fox entertainment chairman Peter Liguori: "In your heart of hearts, are you proud to have The Moment of Truth on your network? This is, after all, the big-money game show that deploys lie detectors in tandem with questions such as, "While at your current job, have you ever touched a female co-worker inappropriately?"

Dwindling supplies of scripted series put the major broadcast networks in various states of disrepair

Ed Bark — 2008-01-21T10:25:07-06:00
But even with a quick resolution, it will be at least until spring before new episodes are ready to roll on established hits such as ABC's Grey's Anatomy and CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. ...Its running mate, Law & Order: Criminal Intent is new only if you haven't seen the episodes shown earlier this season on NBC Universal cable arm USA. Law & Order: SVU is fresh out of first-run hours.

American Idol: Back to the drawling board

Ed Bark — 2008-01-17T05:49:20-06:00
And 24-year-old Angela Reilly isn't going to Hollywood after performing "Baby Love" and then "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" in the company of her professional model husband, who hand-picked them for her. ...But he was too good/bad to pass up, and his performance of the supposedly self-written "We're Brothers Forever" had Jackson and judge Paula Abdul dancing along with him while Cowell no doubt correctly predicted, "I have a horrible feeling it's going to be a hit."

Coming off a B-flat year, Simon says Idol's back in better voice

Ed Bark — 2008-01-14T16:22:08-06:00
But again, it's a blur," Cowell says of the Dallas leg, which began in the sweltering August heat of Texas Stadium before Cowell and co-judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson listened to selected hopefuls weeks later in the cool, cool, cool of a North Texas hotel room. ...Cowell may view himself as a "little more tolerant," but hopes people "realize that I know what I'm talking about and that it's actually more cruel to lie to someone or give them false expectations rather than tell them the truth."

Absent dinner, drinks and Hollywood swells, it's just one big golden glob

Ed Bark — 2008-01-14T08:24:41-06:00
NBC padded its coverage to a full-hour, meaning that its announcement of the climactic "Best Motion Picture" award (for Atonement) came a half-hour after E! ...Peacock hosts Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell, from Access Hollywood, anchored NBC's Golden Globes Winners Special live from a satellite studio.

New series review: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2008-01-11T07:41:28-06:00
Scheduled at 7 p.m. (central) but subject to any football runover, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles quite possibly has more action than any series pilot in TV history. ...The Cameron character, an obvious salute to Terminator franchise creator James Cameron, turns out to be a robot sent from 2027 to protect John and also track down and thwart whoever built a Sky Net computer system that blows up the world at some point down the road.

Miniseries review: Comanche Moon (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2008-01-10T13:35:46-06:00
Disparate Texas Rangers Woodrow Call (left) and Gus McCrae (right) flank the fractious Sculls in CBS' Comanche Moon, a 6-hour prequel to author Larry McMurtry's classic Lonesome Dove. ...Still, Texas author Larry McMurtry's 1997 extension of his Lonesome Dove saga clearly sags in comparison as both a novel (which I recently read) and as a television "event" that's notably short on star power or truly memorable performances.

The Jewish Americans: a great first impression

Ed Bark — 2008-01-09T13:49:19-06:00
Grubin's previous work for public television includes Napoleon, The Secret Life of the Brain, Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided and multi-part biographies of Presidents Lyndon Johnson, Harry S Truman, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt under the esteemed American Experience banner. ...Interviewees in Wednesday night's premiere include Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, playwright Tony Kushner, comedian Sid Caesar, producer/actor Carl Reiner and former Picket Fences co-star Fyvush Finkel, who joyously recalls the exploits of America's first Yiddish theater star, Boris Thomashefsky.

Last call: Comedy Central's The Daily Show and Colbert Report make it a full house in late night

Ed Bark — 2008-01-08T10:37:41-06:00
Comedy Central's The Daily Show and The Colbert Report otherwise were back in business with strikingly dissimilar approaches to the ongoing impasse between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. ...But it's hard to imagine any threats coming Stewart's way, even though he admitted to being perplexed about why Comedy Central's two franchise players were unable to reach separate agreements with the writers in the same way David Letterman's WorldWide Pants company has.

Returning series review: The Wire (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2008-01-04T13:45:20-06:00
HBO's concluding fifth season of The Wire (Sunday, 8 p.m. central on HBO) looks like a lock to end its run without ever receiving a best drama series Emmy, let alone even a nomination. ...They also share the byline of creator David Simon, a former reporter for The Baltimore Sun who grimly sees his city in ways that its Chamber of Commerce never can.

New series review: Cashmere Mafia (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2008-01-04T11:23:47-06:00
ABC's Big Shots, no longer in its longterm plans, presented a quartet of nakedly ambitious male Manhattan CEOs who conspired and drank a lot together in very expensive locales and wardrobes. ...And even without an over-sexed Samantha, it's hard to see how he's doing much more than repeating himself with this scratch-and-claw soaper centered on four "fabulous, high-powered women."

Help them make it through their nights

Ed Bark — 2008-01-03T13:59:29-06:00
Letterman and his followup act, Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, are the haves in this quintet after Letterman's Worldwide Pants company reached an eleventh hour independent agreement with the Writers Guild of America. ..."I just think at a certain point you back off a little bit," Kimmel said after noting that some hosts had been paying writers out of their own pockets.

PBS' Pioneers of Television: See-worthy but not must-see

Ed Bark — 2008-01-02T10:25:56-06:00
Randolph is the lone surviving cast member of The Honeymooners, which also starred Gleason, Art Carney and Audrey Meadows. Pioneers' first of four weekly chapters also looks back fondly upon I Love Lucy, Make Room For Daddy, The Andy Griffith Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show. ...Their reminiscences are chopped into mostly parsley-sized sound bites. I Love Lucy, all of whose principals are deceased, is bequeathed to Barbara Eden, who guest-starred as an ingenue.

Turn of the year -- with no end in sight

Ed Bark — 2007-12-31T12:51:42-06:00
Broadcast networks in particular seem ready, willing and even eager to see how well they'll do with a mix of unscripted reality concoctions, holdover new episodes of some scripted series, awards shows, big-ticket sports programming and a few "events" (CBS' six-hour Commanche Moon miniseries for one). ...Fox also has the Super Bowl this year, as well as seven fewer prime-time hours a week to program. Idoltakes care of two nights and the longstanding Saturday night lineup of COPS and America's Most Wanted is unaffected by the strike.

Year in review: Top 10 prime-time series

Ed Bark — 2007-12-27T11:12:19-06:00
Alas, it may be too late for that, but Lights still has enough pre-strike new episodes in the can to fill all of January (beginning on the 4th) and at least the first Friday in February. ...Her life unraveled and regrouped in a series of flashbacks while the shrewish Hewes kept tightening screws. Damages also had the year's best supporting performance by Zeljko Ivanek as Frobisher's many-shaded attorney, Ray Fiske.

Documentary review: The True Story of Charlie Wilson (The History Channel)

Ed Bark — 2007-12-21T13:15:29-06:00
Come listen to this story about a -- deep breath -- "womanizing, boozing, Cowboy congressman from Texas" who deployed a glamorous Houston socialite and an accomplished belly dancer to seduce support for rag-tag Afghan rebels fighting with archaic "Davy Crockett rifles" to rid their country of the mighty invading Soviet Army. Sounds like it would make a helluva Hollywood movie, and by now you probably know they've made one. Charlie Wilson's War, opening Friday, Dec. 21st, shouldn't be seen without at some point seeing The True Story of Charlie Wilson on The History Channel (Saturday, Dec. 22nd from 7 to 9 p.m. central).

Stewart, Colbert join late night returnees; Celebrity Apprentice makes another date -- again

Ed Bark — 2007-12-20T23:11:24-06:00
Too late for the Jan. 3rd Iowa caucuses but better late than never, both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report will resume production on Jan. 7th without their writing staffs. ...NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O'Brien earlier announced Jan. 2nd returns, as did ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live.

New series review: Duel (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-12-17T13:45:19-06:00
Its contestants laugh and cry, but they'd better not kiss their brains goodbye during this cerebral buildup to a winner-takes-all giant jackpot at the end of a six-episode arc. ...There are 24 prospective contestants, and six episodes building to a Sunday grand finale after ABC skips Saturday night. Duel's executive producers, Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun, respectively are the former entertainment presidents of Fox and ABC.

Play ball: Leno, O'Brien returning to work as strike goes on

Ed Bark — 2007-12-17T10:42:00-06:00
O'Brien, far more expansive, said his choices were "either go back to work and keep my staff employed or stay dark and allow 80 people, many of whom have worked for me for 14 years, to lose their jobs. ...Leno said in part: "Now that the talks have broken down and there are no further negotiations scheduled, I feel it's my responsibility to get my 100 non-writing staff . . . back to work.

Raggedy Andy -- Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2007-12-14T13:10:45-06:00
This all could have ended very darkly, with fame-seeking Andy Millman (Gervais) succumbing on all fours while his faithful friend and companion, Maggie Jacobs (Ashley Jensen), ended up destitute after wasting her time with him. ...The lump-in-the-throat moments largely go to Jensen's hard-pressed Maggie, who steals the finale with a performance that's both huggable and indomitable. Extras is fresh off two Golden Globe nominations for best comedy series and Gervais' lead acting.

Idol's head Brit wants no part of "Brit"

Ed Bark — 2007-12-13T14:11:50-06:00
Another window of opportunity has at least temporarily closed for the sad spectacle known as Britney Spears. American Idol doesn't want her in its upcoming seventh season as either a performer or celebrity "mentor." ...Hmm, one of Lythgoe's big favorites last season was 16-year-old Baylie Brown of Krum, TX, who made it to Hollywood but got bounced after forgetting lyrics during a preliminary round.

Hulu? Who knew?

Ed Bark — 2007-12-12T13:34:13-06:00
For no charge, you can dial up the complete premiere episodes and more of Emmy caliber series such as Hill Street, Doogie, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Miami Vice, The Practice, St. ...

New series review -- Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants (The CW)

Ed Bark — 2007-12-11T16:12:07-06:00
Unfortunately, though, Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants is a harbinger of what's coming in a strike-damaged season that soon will be pimpled with an array of reruns and cheaply produced reality hours. ..."We're celebrating what it means to be a modern beauty, where spirit, intelligence and heart are as meaningful as a pretty face," she tells the excited contestants before they burst into the show's "Pageant House" to eat, drink and gush.

Movie review -- Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom's For One More Day

Ed Bark — 2007-12-07T12:17:59-06:00
ABC's Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom's For One More Day is a collaboration of a best-selling author and someone who makes best-selling authors with her periodic "Book Club" pronouncements. ...The network's Tuesdays with Morrie, which starred the late Jack Lemmon, deservedly won an Emmy in 2000 as the season's best made-for-TV movie. The Five People You Meet In Heaven, with Jon Voight, premiered in 2004 to less acclaim.

Documentary review: 1968 (The History Channel)

Ed Bark — 2007-12-06T13:17:15-06:00
Sporting a coat, tie and short-clipped hair, "I was the freak," Brokaw says of his long-ago visit to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, then the epicenter of the counter-culture movement. ...Other notables interviewed for 1968 include James Taylor, Tommie Smothers, Andrew Young, Michelle Phillips, Jon Stewart, Mark Rudd and former Olympic decathlon champion Rafer Johnson, who was at Robert F.

Holiday punch: TNT's The Closer re-opens for a Christmas special

Ed Bark — 2007-12-03T11:59:35-06:00
Subtitled "Next of Kin," Closer begins at home, with Deputy police chief Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) none-too-happily helping to trim a Christmas tree with live-in boyfriend/FBI agent Fritz Howard (Jon Tenney). ...But that's not in the cards, and all concerned wind up in the elder Johnsons' big-as-a-house RV for a hasty trip back to L.A. with fugitive in tow.

Still kicking -- both Don Hewitt and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular

Ed Bark — 2007-11-30T12:26:56-06:00
Hewitt, who plans to turn 85 on Dec. 14th, now is producing the first-ever telecast of New York's trademark holiday high-kicker, which is in its 75th anniversary year. ...That's exactly what this has been (since 1933)," says Hewitt, who views the show's signature Rockettes as the West Point Cadets of show biz.

As the stomach turns: Notes from the Underbelly back for more

Ed Bark — 2007-11-26T14:16:17-06:00
Its lead-ins are the fall season's final performance edition of Dancing with the Stars followed by a new episode of the bonafide hit comedy Samantha Who? ...Both returnees stand to make more of an impression in times when the writers' strike will be reducing most ongoing series to reruns after the November "sweeps" ratings period ends Wednesday.

Made-for-TV movie review: A Grandpa for Christmas (Hallmark Channel)

Ed Bark — 2007-11-23T10:28:16-06:00
24), Borgnine makes the most of a starring role in the Hallmark Channel's A Grandpa for Christmas (8 p.m. central. ...Meanwhile, old Bert also must find a way to make amends with daughter Marie, who still resents him for "walking out" on her.

New series review -- Frank TV (TBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-11-19T15:34:21-06:00
But the device is awkward at best, as are the star's repeated introductions of himself starring in the show's succession of sketches. ...Caliendo also brings in Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as hosts of an At the Movies-esque show titled Go Or Don't Go.

Movie review: More of Me (Lifetime)

Ed Bark — 2007-11-16T13:58:30-06:00
Shannon, best known from her SNL tour as creepy Catholic schoolgirl Mary Katherine Gallagher, doesn't exactly get the role of a lifetime in More of Me. She's Alice McGrath, a do-it-all mother of six-year-old twins who's lately obsessed with saving an historic old tree in danger of being uprooted by a bridge.

WRITERS' STRIKE: Fox stops the clock on 24, makes a date with Idol

Ed Bark — 2007-11-08T07:21:36-06:00
Fox announced Wednesday that "Day 7" of 24, originally set to launch with a two-hour, Jan. 13th premiere, has been postponed indefinitely so that the series can air uninterrupted in its entirety. ...***Three previously announced scripted series -- Unhitched, The Return of Jezebel James and Canterbury's Law (starring ER alum Julianna Margulies) -- respectively are supposed to premiere on March 2nd, March 7th and April 11th.

Williams gets his SNL fix

Ed Bark — 2007-11-05T18:27:11-06:00
His best moments on SNL were as "Principal Jeffries" on a mock CW show and as a non-plussed $15 million Publishers Clearing House winner who later got excited when a pizza deliveryman told him that free cheesy bread was included. ...Williams wasn't a part of that one, but did play himself in a later bit in which he prepped an inept group of Democratic candidates for a debate while telling them that "all of us in the media want her (Hillary) to be the nominee."

WRITERS' STRIKE: First casualties are late night talkers

Ed Bark — 2007-11-05T18:27:17-06:00
Strike proof: CBS' six-hour Commanche Moon, co-starring Wes Studi (left), is already on DVD discs sent to critics; NBC's announced new version of American Gladiators, hosted by Hulk Hogan, is unscripted. ...So in a way NBC might welcome the chance to make a big splash with reality programming. Deal or No Deal clearly would get multiple nights, and the Peacock also has a new version of American Gladiators in production.

Retro-cooler than William Shatner? Robert Goulet gave it his best shot

Ed Bark — 2007-10-31T13:05:44-05:00
Singer Robert Goulet, a staple of vintage prime-time variety series, has died of lung cancer. ...

Finding another vain: Nip/Tuck's docs leave Miami for L.A.

Ed Bark — 2007-10-29T18:01:49-05:00
Creator Ryan Murphy wanted to change things up and does so without enough dexterity in the first two hours sent for preview. Nip/Tuck has never been inhibited in its approach to anything, but a little basic believability wouldn't hurt the overall cause. ...The first two episodes also accommodate an aging actress enduring a facelift against her better judgment; a younger Hearts 'n Scalpels thespian who's ashamed of her gastric bypass scar; two dueling Marilyn Monroe impersonators demanding boob jobs and a studio executive who's badly pockmarked with wounds inflicted by his dominatrix.

What About Brian? Is hosting Saturday Night Live a gravitas offense?

Ed Bark — 2007-10-29T10:42:38-05:00
Brian Williams knows how to be a good talk show guest, but is hosting Saturday Night Live going more than a little too far? ...He'd already proved to be a glib and nimble guest, notably on the night when Cher observed during a 1996 Tonight Show that Williams was undeniably handsome but looked "too Republican" in his usual suit and tie.

Cuban's out, but so is Kym. No fair

Ed Bark — 2007-10-24T16:07:37-05:00
As you've likely read here or elsewhere, Mark Cuban's finally a goner on ABC's Dancing with the Stars after bouts with the fox trot, mambo, jive, Viennese waltz and samba. ...But Kym's the show's sim sala bim, and Cuban couldn't have had a nicer, suppler woman to baby-step him through Dancing's first four rounds.

No longer a shoe-in: Cuban's Dancing daze is over

Ed Bark — 2007-10-24T01:55:15-05:00
But he seemed relieved to be going home after a previous night's intendedly comical samba tied Osmond for the lowest score from Dancing's three judges. ...He cast himself as a nerd for his final dance, wearing taped-at-the-bridge glasses and a standard issue white shirt while Johnson made Barbara Eden look like Roseanne Barr in her fetching I Dream of Jeannie outfit.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Viva Laughlin (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-10-12T18:06:23-05:00
He's a swarthy, not very likable guy who's thrown for a loss after one of his biggest backers, Buddy Baxter (Wings Hauser), belatedly welshes on a deal to help him build his palace. ...Cops are called, and the lead investigator is handsome Peter Carlyle (Eric Winter), who hopes to get to the bottom of this by making a play for Ripley's frustrated wife, Natalie (Madchen Amick).

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Samantha Who? (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-10-12T16:38:31-05:00
She comes to full bloom as a lead comedic actress after breaking in as the bratty teen tease of Fox's Married . . . with Children before slogging through NBC's very forgettable Jesse. ...Samantha gradually learns that she's an alcoholic, has $30,000 in credit card debt and broke up with her boyfriend, Todd (Barry Watson), who's now trying to re-extricate himself.

Price check: Drew Carey's on the money

Ed Bark — 2007-10-12T15:47:15-05:00
Absent Bob Barker for the first time in 35 years, The Price Is Right begins putting its money on a chunky, bespectacled newcomer Monday (10 a.m. central time on CBS). ...He seems a bit nervous and abrupt at first, immediately getting down to the business of bidding on a scuba diving kit enroute to a chance to win a new Jeep.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Wizards of Waverly Place (Disney Channel)

Ed Bark — 2007-10-12T09:13:44-05:00
Dallas-born Selena Gomez stars as a kid who sometimes spells trouble on Disney Channel's new Wizards of Waverly Place. ...Its new Wizards of Waverly Place, premiering Friday, already seems effortlessly cute, reasonably funny and certain to join the network's fave rave hit parade of Hannah Montana, the High School Musical movies, That's So Raven, The Cheetah Girls movies, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Lizzie McGuire, etc.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Women's Murder Club (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-10-11T13:34:07-05:00
Poor Kyle Secor, once a central character on NBC's former Friday night mainstay, Homicide: Life on the Street, has two fleeting appearances as a guest star. ...But WMC stands to make a killing anyway in a soft Friday night slot also occupied by CBS' sub-lame new Moonlight and NBC's criminally under-watched Friday Night Lights.

Still on his feet: Cuban cleared for a fourth round on Dancing

Ed Bark — 2007-10-10T06:29:57-05:00
"I think it's important to live life, not exist in it," he said before he and Burke went through the motions of their last dance. ...Despite receiving generally low scores from Dancing's three judges, Cuban now has successfully navigated the fox trot, mambo and jive in outlasting one-quarter of the show's original 12-celebrity field.

Those sinking feelings: Big Four networks' new season numbers are down, down, down, down

Ed Bark — 2007-10-09T13:36:37-05:00
ABC's Private Practice and Pushing Daisies were the only new shows to hit prime-time's top 25 in Week 2 of the new fall season. ...Only two series, ABC's Pushing Daisies and Private Practice, made the week's Top 25 in both total viewers and with 18-to-49-year-olds.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Cavemen

Ed Bark — 2007-10-08T14:24:44-05:00
The Joel-Kate pairing will continue, though, since the actress playing her is listed as a series regular. Cavemen might hang in there a while, too. Paired with the not so bad Carpoolers as part of ABC's "Man Date" night, it's visually hairy without being demonstrably harebrained.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Life is Wild (The CW)

Ed Bark — 2007-10-05T14:17:36-05:00
Danny's blood kids are good-natured Katie (Leah Pipes), who's also the show's narrator, and her little brother, Chase (K 'Sun Ray). Life is Wild also throws in a cranky, oft-drunk grandpop named Art (David Butler). ...But it will get no lead-in help at all from CW ratings bomb Online Nation, which couldn't even be called comatose with 690,000 viewers nationally for last Sunday's premiere.

FALL TV PREVIEW: NBC promos take the football out of Friday Night Lights, but the series is better than ever

Ed Bark — 2007-10-04T17:05:26-05:00
The Panthers' new coach, dubbed "The Tennessee Tyrant," is a stone cold disciplinarian who quickly puts the team's fate in the hands of brash running back "Smash" Williams (Gaius Charles) rather than still introverted quarterback Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford). ...But you won't be missing a thing, regardless of gender. FNL is filled with terrifically played off-the-field scenes by all of its principal characters.

FALL TV PREVIEW: Seinfeld revisits Thursday on 30 Rock

Ed Bark — 2007-10-03T17:03:26-05:00
Star Tina Fey, always happy to joke about 30 Rock's dirt-poor first season ratings (No. 137 with just 5.4 million viewers per episode), is at it again in a form letter sent with a review DVD. ...NBC owns a wealth of old clips from Seinfeld, and Donaghy is just the guy to digitally use Jerry as a pitchman in clips for Heroes, Deal Or No Deal and a sendup of CBS' Kid Nation.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Pushing Daisies (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-10-03T11:36:49-05:00
On Wednesday's premiere, narrator Jim Dale (voice of the Harry Potter audio books) spends nearly six and a half minutes setting up the story, which originates in the peaceable earthly kingdom of Couer d' Couers. ...There's lots to digest here, not including Ned's pies. Pushing Daisies has more crust than any series since ABC's Twin Peaks, which gorged on Agent Cooper's cherry pie addiction. Peaks badly crumbled in its crazed second season, and you wonder if Pushing Daisies might be tempting a similar fate.

Cuban avoids a knockout and can still come out swingin'

Ed Bark — 2007-10-02T21:37:50-05:00
The Dallas Mavericks owner and pro partner Kym Johnson learned midway through the show that they'd been "saved" instead of again relegated to Dancing's Bottom Two scorers. ...The Cuban-Johnson mambo rated just an 18 score the previous night from Dancing's three judges, leaving only lumbering Wayne Newton further down the ladder with 15 points.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Carpoolers (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-10-02T09:42:39-05:00
You wonder how they can build a sitcom around HOV lane-ing by four office building mates. Carpoolers does have a little something under the hood, though, even if its main men collectively are more than a little weak downstairs -- and up top. ...Goofier than Goofy, Carpoolers won't be measuring up to any classic comedies but at least can play in the same league with How I Met Your Mother.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Aliens In America (The CW)

Ed Bark — 2007-10-01T12:50:43-05:00
This sends fictional Medora, Wisconsin's Justin Tolchuck (Dan Byrd) running home in horror and humiliation while his protective mom Franny (Amy Pietz) schemes to somehow make him cool in the eyes of teen sadists like the Palladino twins. ...Dad then spends the rest of the episode in inconsolable Jeffrey's corner while Justin learns that distancing himself from true-blue Raja is hurting him more than he'd thought.

FALL TV PREVIEW: Returning series -- Dexter (Showtime)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-28T15:35:11-05:00
Newly impotent in his own uniquely shivery way, "America's Favorite Serial Killer" is having a tough time cutting it as Showtime's Dexter returns for a 12-episode second season. ...Also returning to the series is Dexter's still traumatized foster sister, Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), a fellow cop who unknowingly had been dating the "Ice Truck Killer" before nearly becoming his victim.

Cops: 20 seasons of Saturday night takedowns

Ed Bark — 2007-09-28T09:41:14-05:00
Now in its 20th season, it's been a no-frills Saturday night mainstay on Fox since the days when competition included the likes of Empty Nest, Mr. ...That leaves Fox as the only purveyor of totally first-run programming, with Cops leading off and America's Most Wanted closing out.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Moonlight (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-27T15:06:48-05:00
CBS canceled the far superior Close to Home to accommodate Moonlight, deemed to be a better Friday night follow up act this season for a darkened Ghost Whisperer. ...But it is particularly inept in its flashbacks, murder mystery of the week and just about any other measure of whether a series will merit your time.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Big Shots (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-27T09:08:05-05:00
Big Shots, fronted by Dylan McDermott (The Practice), is supposed to provide a peephole into what it means to be a man these days. ...So on this show she makes a modicum of sense when asking, "What kind of a man would be so deceitful as to lie to the woman he's cheating on his wife with?"

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Dirty Sexy Money (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-26T12:38:31-05:00
The show's a grandstanding show-off, too, and that's meant as a compliment. Dirty Sexy Money puts its money on the screen in Wednesday's premiere episode. Wisteria Lane is pretty and all, but has no real scope. DSM looks cinematic, feels big and even has latter day suer Dan Rather cameo-ing as himself and asking one of the rich, spoiled, Manhattan-based Darlings whether he'll make a run for the U.S.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Life (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-26T11:42:09-05:00
Sarah Shahi, now and then, co-stars in the new NBC series Life. ...NBC's Life is a multi-layered original in its own right, though, largely because star Damian Lewis plays detective Charlie Crews with such distinctive precision.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Private Practice (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-26T10:36:58-05:00
Another familiar face, Paul Adelstein, is segueing from the second season of Fox's Prison Break, where he got killed, to the role of pediatrician Cooper Freedman, whose hobby is serial Internet dating. ...But she launched Grey's with a mostly unknown cast that initially would obey all orders. Private Practice doesn't afford her that luxury.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Bionic Woman (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-26T08:37:45-05:00
That's a good thing for this first episode, which is greatly energized by a stormy night catfight between stalker Sarah and game Jaime, who's still testing her abilities to run like the wind, leap tall buildings in a single bound and use her fists as sledgehammers. Supporting players include top-secret technology overlord Jonas (inevitably played by the always grim-faced Miguel Ferrer) and Jaime's biotech boyfriend, Will Anthros, (Chris Bowers), who operates on her after a near-fatal car accident.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Cane (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-25T09:08:25-05:00
He deeply resents Alex's rise to prominence, and as payback is in consort with the sinister Samuels family and in bed with tarty Ellis Samuels (Polly Walker of Rome). ...Cane will have to be able to stitch this all together both plausibly and compellingly in a challenging time slot opposite NBC's Law & Order: SVU and ABC's Boston Legal.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Reaper (The CW)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-25T08:06:38-05:00
This is the best of the new crop, a darkly funny fable about a 21-year-old semi-loser who learns that his soul now belongs to the devil. ...And Harrison's Sam (Grounded for Life) is a welcome addition to the new season's shopping bag full of sad sacks.

Talkin' junk: Cuban leads with mouth before stepping out

Ed Bark — 2007-09-24T20:48:57-05:00
On an earlier taped segment, he twitted "all the pretty boys" he'll be up against, although Wayne Newton doesn't seem to fit that description. ...However he fares Tuesday night, Cubes should be able to outlast model Josie Maran, who scraped bottom with a 16 score and likely is little known to the masses.

FALL TV PREVIEW: Battle of the Network Nerds -- Chuck (NBC) vs. The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-24T06:54:25-05:00
NBC's Chuck stars Zachary Levi as computer geek Chuck Bartowski, whose best pal, Morgan Grimes (Joshua Gomez), works with him as part of the Buy More store's "Nerd Herd." ...Co-creator Chuck Lorre also has Monday's following Two And a Half Men in play, so he knows how to make a sitcom pop.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Journeyman (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-24T05:44:23-05:00
Instead he'll jump through several more back-and-forth hoops, at one point encountering his old self with dead fiancee Livia Beale (Moon Bloodgood from last season's similarly constructed Day Break). ...McKidd, one of several sturdy Brits starring in new dramas this fall, has migrated from the lusty lad trappings of HBO's Rome.

FALL TV PREVIEW: The War (PBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-21T15:28:40-05:00
But in the end -- for those who stick it out -- it's impossible not to salute him for a monumental melding of images, music, eyewitness recollections, writing (by longtime collaborator Geoffrey Ward) and narration (again from the redoubtable Keith David). ...In Wednesday night's Chapter 4, WWII veteran Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, a U.S. senator since 1963, talks matter-of-factly about the elation he experienced after drawing a bead on a German soldier and then claiming him as his first combat kill.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Kid Nation (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-19T20:23:10-05:00
Mike manned up, Sophia won a $20,000 gold star and little Jimmy up and called it quits on the premiere episode of CBS' Kid Nation. ...Little eight-year-old Jimmy of Salem, N.H., Kid Nation's youngest "pioneer" and first voluntary quitter, pretty much summed up what faces CBS during the opening bus ride into deserted Bonanza City, New Mexico.

Giving himself a black eye: Rather sues CBS long after his fall

Ed Bark — 2007-09-19T15:47:45-05:00
Rather and his attorneys filed a $70 million lawsuit Wednesday afternoon, contending that CBS brass, led by Leslie Moonves, had railroaded him in the aftermath of a Sept. 8, 2004 investigative report that questioned President Bush's Texas National Guard service during the Vietnam War era. ...Others prepared it, and he simply recited their words on the air after being persuaded by CBS News management to devote most of his time to Hurricane Frances and Bill Clinton's heart surgery.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Back to You (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-18T21:10:43-05:00
Add a crack-up Fred Willard and get ready for Anchorman with a firmer foundation. Back to You is broad in approach but built to last. ...Also, McGinley tries to figure out how a magician made an orange materialize in a man's shorts while Carr says at a news meeting, "I think Montana should cover the pumpkin festival."

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Kitchen Nightmares (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-18T16:29:45-05:00
Ah, but he means well, even when he's telling you to shove that spatula up your bleepin' bleep and get the bleep outta here before I bleepin' stick your bleepin' hand in the mixin' bowl and serve it as bleepin' blood sausage. ...But this absurdity is kind of fun to watch, whether it's Peter trying to pummel bill collectors or Ramsay gagging his way through the rotting kitchen produce.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Gossip Girl (CW)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-18T14:39:03-05:00
Adapted from the series of "young-adult" novels by Cecily von Ziegesar, it's producer/writer Josh Schwartz's followup to The O.C. Oh see if you can stand his new set of "privileged prep school teens" and the unseen but regularly heard blogger who chronicles their single-minded pursuits of self-gratification. ...CW seems to think it has a hot property in Gossip Girl, which supposedly speaks to a new generation of younger viewers to whom Rolling Stone might as well be Reader's Digest.

Censors have a Field day on Fox Emmy telecast

Ed Bark — 2007-09-16T23:02:20-05:00
The Sopranos took three major Emmys overall, tying AMC's Broken Trail, NBC's Tony Bennett: An American Classic and PBS' Prime Suspect: The Final Act for the night's top prize-winners. ...Many in the audience were faced with watching presenters' and performers' backs, prompting lead actor in a drama series James Spader (Boston Legal) to grouse, "I've been to thousands and thousands of concerts in my life.

FALL SEASON PREVIEW: Fox's Prison Break goes directly to jail again, does not collect $200

Ed Bark — 2007-09-14T13:01:16-05:00
Fox's Prison Break gets back to basics with a vengeance Monday, beginning its third season within the sub-filthy confines of a no-holds-barred Panama prison run by a select few of its inmates. ...This time they want him to arrange the escape of James Whistler (Chris Vance), who's well-hidden within the prison walls and allegedly killed the mayor of Panama City's son in a bar fight.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series--K-Ville (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-14T11:01:06-05:00
And the climactic, ridiculous gun battle in K-Ville, preceded by two briefer ones, sets the wrong tone for a series that's supposed to be about much more than that. ...But next Monday's second episode shows some signs of improvement, so let's pause briefly to hear what series creator Jonathan Lisco says he wants K-Ville to be.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Nashville (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-13T14:08:47-05:00
Some don't, or at least that's the built-in storyline for Rachel Bradshaw, daughter of Hall of Fame quarterback and star Fox football gabber Terry Bradshaw. ...But he's down on his luck after making it all the way to the Grand Ole Opry stage and then havin' his recordin' contract kicked out from under him.

Documentary review: Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-07T14:00:15-05:00
But one of the documentary's more affecting moments comes when Jay Wilkerson, previously an Army staff sergeant, talks about trying to regain his memory after taking shrapnel in his cheek that then lodged in his brain. ...For the first time in American history, some 90 percent are surviving their injuries. Alive Day Memories powerfully tells a very small fraction of their stories, ending with that of former Marine staff sergeant John Jones, 29.

New series review: Tell Me You Love Me (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-07T10:47:07-05:00
"I wouldn't even think about having actors do it," said Showtime entertainment president Robert Greenblatt, whose network doesn't spare the skin in series such as The L Word, The Tudors and its new Californication. ...The series' other two couples are Palek and Carolyn (Adam Scott, Sonya Walger), who long to have a child, and the aforementioned Jamie and Hugo, whose engagement can't withstand her jealousy and his lukewarm commitment to monogamy.

Returning series review: Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-06T15:59:32-05:00
In the country's No. 1 and 5 TV markets, Curb will be competing with the Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants game on opening night of NBC's Sunday Night Football. ...David has made the usual 10 episodes and of course is coy on whether he'll ever make another one. Curb does, however, help to pay the rent, even if the star already is beyond wealthy with residuals from Seinfeld.

Katie Couric goes to war

Ed Bark — 2007-09-05T12:21:55-05:00
Previous attempts to make the CBS Evening News breezier or more appealing to younger audiences have been scrapped in favor of attracting a larger percentage of those older, "core" audiences for dinner hour newscasts. ...It's yet to be seen if Couric's trip to Iraq nudges the ratings meter upward or builds a firmer foundation for her second year in the CBS Evening News anchor chair.

Mark Cuban and Kym Johnson: He's lovin' it

Ed Bark — 2007-08-30T11:05:05-05:00
Dancing with the Stars pro Kym Johnson has made both Jerry Springer and Joey Fatone look good. ...Dallas Mavericks owner and Dancing with the Stars contestant Mark Cuban had his first close encounter Wednesday with Kym Johnson.

TV movie review: The Murder of Princess Diana (Lifetime)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-24T15:55:48-05:00
Or to put it another way, Lifetime is going to burn viewers Saturday night with its thoroughly shoddy and ridiculous The Murder of Princess Diana. ...Lifetime certainly plays along, putting pretty blonde investigative reporter Rachel Visco (Jennifer Morrison) in close proximity to the car crash that took the lives of Di and playboy boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed.

Putting Anchorwoman in its place

Ed Bark — 2007-08-24T09:52:30-05:00
Fear-mongering and laughable consumer tips are running rampant at the expense of reporting that requires more than camping out near a police scanner or spending an hour with Dr. ...Most viewers decided to look elsewhere before slogging through their late night newscasts in order to see what the next day's weather will be.

Kid Nation "controversy" -- if only some people would grow up

Ed Bark — 2007-08-22T14:12:02-05:00
This hasn't stopped The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times from recently running lengthy stories questioning whether all of this amounted to child abuse or neglect on the part of Kid Nation's producers. ...During a mid-July "press tour" interview session with Kid Nation's producers, some TV critics were skeptical as to whether the young stars were really roughing it at all.

New series review: Anchorwoman (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-21T15:34:41-05:00
Fox provided only the first half of Wednesday's one-hour premiere, leaving TV critics hanging on the countdown to Jones' on-air debut from the KYTX anchor desk after just six days of training. ..."Journalistic credibility is what everything I do here stands for," asserts Petralia, who arrived at KYTX in 2004 after working at two New York City TV stations.

Disney's High School Musical 2 tackles Cowboys ratings record holder for loss

Ed Bark — 2007-08-20T10:43:39-05:00
23, 2006 Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants game on ESPN's Monday Night Football had been the previous champ with 16 million viewers. ...Disney Channel also cleaned up Friday night with a sneak preview of its new Phineas & Ferb animated series (10.8 million viewers nationally) and a new episode of Hannah Montana (10.7 million).

High School Musical 2 could make ratings history for Disney Channel, basic cable

Ed Bark — 2007-08-16T16:06:45-05:00
Disney also is layering this cake with a sneak peek at its new Phineas and Ferb animated series (8:45 p.m.), followed by a new episode of Hannah Montana (9:15 p.m.) with guest stars The Jonas Brothers. ...He's not wrong about that, and so it won't really matter that Disney has decided to keep review copies of HSM2 out of the hands of TV critics for fear of piracy.

Merv Griffin: singer, talker, gamer (1925-2007)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-13T11:05:46-05:00
A 2006 three-disc DVD set contained highlights from interviews with the likes of Richard Burton, Jane Fonda (with her then husband, Roger Vadim), Ingrid Bergman, Martin Luther King Jr., Grace Kelly, Orson Welles, Richard Pryor (whom he discovered), Tom Hanks, Jerry Seinfeld and Sophia Loren. ...Every guest who appears on my show is researched by my staff, pre-interviewed for pertinent facts about his or her current activities, and then just prior to show time the talent coordinator responsible for a particular guest's appearance gives me a quick briefing."

New series review: Californication (Showtime)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-12T19:30:01-05:00
Hank not surprisingly is played by David Duchovny, who's been wandering in a wilderness of bad career choices before and since The X-Files left Fox five years ago. ...Hank also has a 12-year-old daughter, Becca (Madeleine Martin), who was born during his years with Karen (Natascha McElhone), who's now engaged to another man.

New series review: Flash Gordon (Sci Fi Channel)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-09T17:08:20-05:00
Birthed in a 1934 comic strip, Flash (Eric Johnson) returns in present times on the Sci Fi Channel to battle bad-nasty Ming (John Ralston), who's had "The Merciless" subtracted and doesn't look very menacing either. ...Ming and his minions are determined to find Earth's very valuable "Imex," though, so Flash is soon on a torture rack.

New series review: Power of 10 (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-08T08:55:12-05:00
Carey, prepping for his day job as Bob Barker's replacement on The Price Is Right, looks as though he'll be TV's most jocular comedian-turned-game-show-host in a field that already includes Howie Mandel, Bob Saget, Jeff Foxworthy, Jimmy Kimmel and Dennis Miller. ..."I'm genuinely nervous for ya," he told the kid just before he won $100,000 by coming within 20 percentage points of America's answer to, "What percentage of Americans said in a duel with Dick Cheney, they would probably get shot by the Vice President instead of the other way around?"

Miniseries review: The Company (TNT)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-03T14:45:09-05:00
Beginning in 1954 and stretching to 1991,TNT's six-hour The Company has a phenomenal and revelatory performance by Michael Keaton as anal, taciturn James Jesus Angleton. ...The Company begins in Berlin, 1954, with crusty, hard-drinking agent Harvey "The Sorcerer" Torriti (Molina) schooling kid McAuliffe in how to be an effective operative at the height of Cold War tensions.

New series review: Masters of Science Fiction (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-03T12:11:00-05:00
Like its competitors, the Alphabet Network so far has been stocking June, July and August with cost-effective, unscripted escapism such as The Next Best Thing, American Inventor, Ex-Wives Club, Family Secrets and Shaq's Big Challenge. Masters of Suspense is almost prehistoric in its approach, harkening to the days when The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents kept viewers spellbound with a conveyor belt of cautionary spine-tinglers starring a passing parade of capable actors.

New series review: Jekyll (BBC America)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-03T10:51:04-05:00
Veteran British thespian James Nesbitt has the challenging title role, with NBC's upcoming Bionic Woman, Michelle Ryan, striving to cope as psychiatric nurse Katherine Reimer. ...Nesbitt's acting isn't the problem, nor is Ryan's nicely showcased curvature. Jekyll instead falls victim to a far more sinister force -- lame, unfocused storytelling.

New series review: Murder (Spike TV)

Ed Bark — 2007-07-31T16:56:26-05:00
Arlington-based detective Tommy LeNoir and wife Pauline after a Beverly Hills press conference for Spike TV's Murder. Photo: Ed Bark ...You are their only avenue to justice," LeNoir says after the teams have traipsed through the remnants of a blood bath that took the lives of a middle-aged couple given the pseudonyms of Allen and Diane Walker.

Tom Snyder: He laughed, he smoked, he drank, he listened

Ed Bark — 2007-07-30T20:30:05-05:00
His last television outing, CBS' The Late, Late Show with Tom Snyder, remained in progress when we talked for the last time. ...He had a brother, John, who'd live in Dallas for 20 to 25 years and was still "in the wholesale carpet business" at the time of our interview.

New series review: Damages (FX)

Ed Bark — 2007-07-24T14:44:08-05:00
Frobish's attorney, Ray Zisk (Zeljko Ivanek), puts the stakes in stark terms to his client: "She's on a mission here, and she won't stop until you're strung up in the public square." ...Rebounding from ABC's cancelation of last season's Help Me Help You, he's taking on his first dramatic series role after decades of sitcom work, most notably in Cheers and Becker.

New series review: Saving Grace (TNT)

Ed Bark — 2007-07-23T13:19:13-05:00
Creator Nancy Miller also throws in a search for a missing 10-year-old girl, a coarse, womanizing millionaire cattleman and an ongoing mythology involving a prisoner (Bokeem Woodbine) on death row who's having the same "dream" as Grace. Between drinking, sex, etc., Grace finds time to get all buttery with her grade school age nephew (Dylan Minnette), whose mother died in the Oklahoma City bombing.

New series review: Mad Men (AMC)

Ed Bark — 2007-07-19T17:05:28-05:00
Thursday's premiere of Mad Men fittingly enough begins in a bar, where Draper is drinking, smoking and kicking around a new way to sell Lucky Strike cigarettes. ...But whether it entirely works or not, it's still cool-sounding when Draper tells a strong-willed woman client, "What you call love was invented by guys like me to sell nylons."

59th Annual Primetime Emmys: Goodbye Sopranos, hello 30 Rock

Ed Bark — 2007-07-19T10:14:02-05:00
Among other freshman entries, ABC's Ugly Betty had 11 nods and NBC's Heroes, eight. Betty star America Ferrera and 30 Rock's Tina Fey also received lead actress nominations. ...ABC's Lost again failed to make the cut in the best drama series division, where it should have supplanted the network's Boston Legal. Lost did get six nominations overall, though, including two in the supporting actor category.

Miniseries review: The Bronx is Burning (ESPN)

Ed Bark — 2007-07-08T12:40:57-05:00
The Yanks' march to another World Series appearance shared a not-so-grand stage with the "Son of Sam" serial killings, a heated mayoral race and a power blackout during scorching summer temperatures. Bronx Is Burning recaptures it all in sharp focus: the turmoil, the excitement, the godawful clothing. ...This might seem like too broad and sprawling a canvas, but director/producer Jeremiah Chechik and editor Jerry Greenberg stitch it all together while still keeping the Yankees as their prime focus. Bronx Is Burning has a semi-documentary feel without ever seeming either too dry or overly turgid.

Olbermann: This time he's really pissed

Ed Bark — 2007-07-04T11:09:22-05:00
Keith Olbermann's Independence Day-eve "Special Comment" on MSNBC's Countdown is a classic no matter what you think of him or his opinions. ...

The late, great Beverly Sills: She put her stamp on TV, too

Ed Bark — 2007-07-03T15:01:15-05:00
She also popularized it in unprecedented ways, appearing on numerous talk and variety shows while guest-hosting Johnny Carson's Tonight Show more than a dozen times by her count. ...Born in Brooklyn, Sills had an oft-stern stage mother and a father who balked at her hitting the road as a 15-year-old singer/entertainer.

New series review: Hey Paula (Bravo)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-27T12:52:34-05:00
But everyone else doesn't get invited to the Grammys -- it takes four hours for Abdul's handlers to prepare her -- before taking a red eye from Los Angeles to Philadelphia to hawk her line of jewelry in the wee hours on QVC. ...It's a good thing that Abdul has a loyal Latina maid, Marina, to scoop up the "big-ass poop" that the star insists is not the product of pet Chihuahuas Bessie Moo, Chomps, Thumbelina or Tulip.

Summing up summertime's newbies

Ed Bark — 2007-06-27T07:28:53-05:00
So You Think You Can Dance and America's Got Talent are the only first-run summer series averaging more than 10 million viewers. ...***Ex-Wives Club (ABC) -- Its "series finale" on Monday (June 25th) couldn't come soon enough for a network that resisted divorcing it earlier despite a puny average of 4.8 million viewers per hour.

Going to Graceland: Simon gets a Gershwin

Ed Bark — 2007-06-26T14:59:08-05:00
A hoped-for redemption would have been Garfunkel returning to the stage for a final medley or at least the pair's first big hit, "The Sound of Silence." ...But you might come away from this special thinking about how it went on a little too long before sagging near and at the finish line.

New series review: Shaq's Big Challenge (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-25T16:51:17-05:00
That's what makes the first two episodes of this reality series easier to swallow than one of those baby carrots that one kid says he's never had. Shaq's Big Challenge, premiering Tuesday at 8 p.m. (central), is involving, inspiring and surprisingly touching at times. ...Also on board are hard-core fitness taskmaster Tarik Tyler, nutritionist Joy Bauer and O'Neal's former Lousiana State University basketball coach Dale Brown, all of whom provide the show's star with extra moral support and muscle.

New series review: Age of Love (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-18T14:00:48-05:00
Tongue-twisting tennis pro Mark Philippoussis encounters middle-aged Dallas "cougar" Jodie Fisher on NBC's new Age of Love. ...Cribbing from ABC's The Bachelor and NBC's earlier Average Joe, the eight-episode series puts 30-year-old Australian tennis pro Mark Philippoussis in the midst of seven potential senior partners, including 46-year-old Jodie Fisher of Dallas.

TNT brings The Closer back in hopes of opening a new front

Ed Bark — 2007-06-18T09:46:19-05:00
The Closer, a basic cable ratings-setter in its first two seasons, has Kyra Sedgwick going for it and doesn't need much more. Heartland, following in her wake, gives Treat Williams another go as a doctor after his Everwood series went under. ...Nathaniel Grant (Williams), a risk-taking organ transplant surgeon whose ex-wife, Kate (Kari Matchett from Invasion), still has to deal with him in her job as an "organ-donor coordinator."

Bizarro worlds: HBO's Flight of the Conchords and Showtime's Meadowlands are invitations to go mental

Ed Bark — 2007-06-15T14:19:02-05:00
Following John From Cincinnati and new episodes of Entourage, it stars two young New Zealanders who sing a bit like the Bee Gees but can claim only a lone, pathetic groupie. ...Conchords' two leads, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, are flailing and failing in New York, where they can't seem to get girls, gigs or anything resembling a decent meal.

Acid redux: VH1's Monterey 40 is worth a trip

Ed Bark — 2007-06-15T12:15:21-05:00
But Monterey also brought The Who to stateside prominence during a three-day blowout garnished with performances by The Byrds, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Buffalo Springfield, Canned Heat, Simon and Garfunkel, The Animals, Booker T and the MGs, Ravi Shankar and The Mamas & The Papas. ...The one-hour film, airing under the network's "Rock Doc" banner, both recaptures the festival and recalls it via fresh interviews with the likes of Shankar, David Crosby, Grace Slick, Michelle Phillips, Pete Townsend, record industry magnate Clive Davis and Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner.

Price cut: Bob Barker's end game

Ed Bark — 2007-06-14T12:46:37-05:00
Taped earlier this month, Barker's 6,586th and final show will air at its regular morning hour (10 a.m. central on June 15th) and then be repeated at 7 that night as an appetizer for The 34th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards. ...Barker says he hasn't been asked for any input, but did volunteer to fill in for a brief time if CBS and FreeMantle Media can't decide on a new host by the time Price's summer reruns are through.

"Tart" assessment: Dan Rather's riff on Katie Couric is deemed "sexist" by his old boss

Ed Bark — 2007-06-13T15:00:38-05:00
"However," he added, "it was clear at the time and I think it has become even clearer that the mistake was to try to bring the Today show ethos to the Evening News and to dumb it down, tart it up, in hopes of attracting a younger audience." ...CBS News president Sean McManus, in an interview with unclebarky.com at the January press tour, said he wasn't sure whether Couric's gender had anything to do with how many people were watching her newscast.

Rescue Me: Fourth season premiere (FX)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-13T10:50:01-05:00
Softie: Firefighter Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) cradles his estranged wife's newborn son while wondering whether he might be impotent during the fourth season return of FX's Rescue Me. ..."I can't believe that I'm finally the moral compass here," he tells his estranged wife, Janet (Andrea Roth), with whom he's been living platonically after she birthed a boy that's either his or his recently deceased brother's.

New series review: Lil' Bush (Comedy Central)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-12T16:37:59-05:00
On Wednesday's premiere, "The One Where I go to Iraq for Some Reason" shares billing with "The One Where Pop's Got to Smoke Lil' Cheney Out of a Hole." ...But then Lil' Bush goes even farther, with George Sr. taking his wife to an abortion clinic to have Lil' Cheney removed from her stomach, where he's been using one of her kidneys as a beanbag chair.

Tony award: Season finale of The Sopranos rules Sunday night ratings but doesn't set record

Ed Bark — 2007-06-12T12:59:00-05:00
HBO's The Sopranos bowed out with 11.9 million viewers nationally Sunday night, easily outpointing Game 2 of the NBA Finals and almost outdrawing all of the week's prime-time programs. ...Originating from Dallas, although with no contestants from the city and very few from Texas, Talent lured 13 million viewers according to Nielsen Media Research. The Sopranos slipped into the No. 2 spot, ahead of CBS' Two and a Half Men repeat (11.3 million viewers).

Big Love: Second season premiere (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-11T09:40:56-05:00
But first a word from Bill Paxton, who spoke volumes about his network's immediate future prospects during the lead-up to Sunday's finale of The Sopranos. ...We've gotta go about our business as if everything was normal," his character, Bill Henrickson, said in reference to The Sopranos no longer being among HBO's living.

One last shot: The Sopranos lets us off its hook

Ed Bark — 2007-06-08T13:44:59-05:00
Over the years, The Sopranos in fact became bigger than HBO, with Chase telling the network how many episodes he'd do, when he'd do them and when he needed to quit. ...Tony's hot-and-cold relationship with wife Carmela and their unruly children, A.J. and Meadow, drove The Sopranos as effectively as who'd be the next in line on the show's hit parade.

News series review: John From Cincinnati (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-08T10:45:12-05:00
Starring: Rebecca De Mornay, Bruce Greenwood, Ed O'Neill, Brian Van Holt, Austin Nichols, Greyson Fletcher, Luis Guzman, Keala Kennely, Luke Perry, Matt Winston, Willie Garson ...This is Milch's Twin Peaks, and the guess is that most viewers will take a peek and then tune it out after Sunday's series finale of The Sopranos.

New series review: Fast Cars & Superstars -- Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-06T10:37:22-05:00
Boston Legal's ubiquitous Shatner, who bombed earlier this season as host of ABC's Show Me the Money, is not involved in the first two time trials on Fast Cars & Superstars. ...Sunday night's second episode will feature a celebrity threesome of skateboarder Tony Hawk, rodeo champ Ty Murray and actress Krista Allen, who got her start in the business as the disrobing star of the adult Emmanuelle In Outer Space series.

New series review: Tyler Perry's House of Payne (TBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-05T16:13:56-05:00
Worse yet, the self-described "Very Funny" network, TBS, already has ordered 100 episodes of a show that manages to make UPN's old Homeboys In Outer Space sitcom seem positively Cosby-esque. ...In what's apparently supposed to be a riotously funny scene in a school principal's office, Madea threatens to slit the big belly of the show's central character, Curtis "Pops" Payne (LaVan Davis).

Much room for improvement: Grading the 2006-07 seasons of the six major networks

Ed Bark — 2007-06-05T12:31:46-05:00
Rundown -- CBS' three-pronged CSI franchise remained strong, but the fourth-ranked Thursday night mothership lost a whopping 5.3 million viewers from last season in direct competition with ABC's transplanted Grey's Anatomy. ...For the first time, though, Idol's audience levels sagged down the stretch, with overall ratings dropping slightly from last season's in both total viewers and among 18-to-49-year-olds.

New series review: Creature Comforts (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-03T14:29:40-05:00
Because pigs, alligators, horses, bees, owls, dogs, cats, monkeys, rabbits and other non-humans prove to be very able stand-ins for America's upright citizenry. ...They're all brought to life by Aardman Animations, which also made the much-praised feature films Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

New series review: Army Wives (Lifetime)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-01T15:16:20-05:00
Odds are that many a viewer will both hoot and root for hot 'n' saucy Roxy LeBlanc (Sally Pressman), a deep-fried, Kellie Pickler-ish Alabaman who actually gets away with saying stuff like, "Well, if I didn't just serve up toe jam on an idiot cracker." ...The homefront emphasis makes Army Wives frothier, sexier and far more accessible to viewers of both sexes. Over There had an almost exclusively male audience that dwindled week by week.

New series review: Hidden Palms (The CW)

Ed Bark — 2007-05-30T11:51:13-05:00
Austin's Amber Heard doesn't have to do much to get noticed in Hidden Palms, a new CW series from the creator of Dawson's Creek. ...Alas, he's far more entranced for now with Greta, who runs fetchingly through golf course sprinklers, sunbathes whenever she can and snitches Johnny's camera before later telling him, "I hope you don't mind, but I got creative with your outlet."

Requiem for NBC's Reilly

Ed Bark — 2007-05-29T17:40:23-05:00
Reilly's replacements are incumbent NBC Universal executive Marc Graboff and program producer/executive Ben Silverman, whose name has been attached to series ranging from The Biggest Loser to Ugly Betty. ..."Kevin has given us some incredibly important, high-quality new series in recent years, and his legacy will be evident for many years to come in NBC's primetime schedule."

Teen Idol: Jordin Sparks takes the sixth

Ed Bark — 2007-05-23T22:51:04-05:00
This year's Idol hasn't matched last year's late-in-the game ratings, and Wednesday's finale will be very hard-pressed to get in the vicinity of the 36.4 million who watched Taylor Hicks win in spring 2006. ...Idol at last had secured rights to the Beatles songbook this season, but couldn't get either Paul McCartney, Ringo Star or producer George Martin to be a "mentor" during one of the weekly competitions.

Athletes' feats: Apolo succeeds Emmitt as Dancing's sole survivor

Ed Bark — 2007-05-22T22:48:23-05:00
Host Ryan Seacrest had the most memorable line of the night -- and also a very odd one -- after judge Paula Abdul recapped earlier reports that she had hurt her face tripping on her little dog, Tulip, who emerged unscathed. ...Whatever happens, here's a prediction. Dancing with the Stars is starting to wear better than American Idol, and at some point next season will be bringing in more viewers.

Made-for-TV movie review: Jesse Stone: Sea Change (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-05-21T18:17:40-05:00
CBS' Jesse Stone: Sea Change premieres on the penultimate night of the May "sweeps" in times when broadcast networks have all but dry-docked their once thriving made-for-TV movie franchises. ABC made none this year, NBC contributed only a Christmas movie and Sea Change (8 p.m. central on Tuesday, May 22) will be just CBS's fourth.

New series review: National Bingo Night (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-05-18T08:18:44-05:00
Most at-home players will be able to claim a $5 Kmart gift card (for the Red Card game) or a Rascal Flatts' Me and My Gang CD (for the White Card game). ...But the climactic Blue Card game allows winners to enter grand prize drawings for a "VIP Fantasy Experience" to the 91st Indy 500, a trip to New York to visit the set of The View or a $50,000 cash jackpot.

The CW announces new fall lineup

Ed Bark — 2007-05-17T14:18:11-05:00
Its six-pack includes a teen version of The Odd Couple and a drama starring a slacker who learns that his parents sold his soul to the devil. ...***Life Is Wild (drama) -- A Manhattan family is uprooted by a veterinarian dad who wants to spend a year in South Africa in a broken down lodge called The Blue Antelope.

Fox announces new fall lineup

Ed Bark — 2007-05-17T11:52:14-05:00
Kelsey Grammer, Patricia Heaton and Fred Willard triple-team Fox's Back to You, the network's only new fall comedy series. ...Anchorwoman doesn't have an air date yet, but here's another news flash: "Lauren will struggle not only with the news team and an unfamiliar town, but also with the not-so-Hollywood news stories -- covering bake sales, cowpie-tossing contests and county fairs like they were Watergate.

CBS announces new fall lineup

Ed Bark — 2007-05-16T09:03:35-05:00
No. 1 in total viewers and second this season among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, CBS is adding five new series while trading places with two popular returnees. Without A Trace gets its old Thursday slot back, with the freshman hit Shark moving to Sundays following Cold Case. ...CBS also will launch a new big-money game show this summer. Power of 10, hosted by Drew Carey, polls thousands of Americans on questions such as "Are you smarter than the president?"

ABC announces new fall lineup

Ed Bark — 2007-05-15T07:53:36-05:00
And dinosaur Dan Rather will guest-star in the premiere episode of Dirty Sexy Money, which moves into Lost's Wednesday slot this fall. ...***Private Practice (drama) -- Test-driven earlier this month to a lukewarm reception from many fans and critics, the Grey's Anatomy spinoff sends skitsy Addison Forbes Montgomery (Kate Walsh) to Los Angeles after failed relationships with both ex-husband "McDreamy" and ex-lover "McSteamy."

King of Queens has last laughs

Ed Bark — 2007-05-14T15:59:44-05:00
The beefy star of CBS'The King of Queens bellows a last time Monday (May 14) on a one-hour series finale of the show that made a name for him. ...Not that you're going to be deprived of a happy ending. King of Queens says goodnight after hitting some nice little high notes, even if Arthur still can't seem to get his personal life in order.

NBC announces new fall lineup

Ed Bark — 2007-05-14T08:49:10-05:00
My Name Is Earl has a 25-episode order, with its namesake beginning the show's third season behind bars. Scrubs and 30 Rock also will remain on Thursdays, joining ER for its 14th season. Another NBC evergreen, Law & Order, will return for an 18th season, but not until midseason on Sunday nights after football ends. Law & Order: Criminal Intent is moving to the NBC Universal-owned USA network, with repeats available for airing on NBC. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit remains in place on Tuesday nights.

7th Heaven reaches prime-time's pearly gates

Ed Bark — 2007-05-11T14:33:25-05:00
Annie and Eric Camden (Catherine Hicks, Stephen Collins) prepare to christen their land-lubbing ark on Sunday night's 7th Heaven finale. ...Not so The WB, which always tended to treat 7th Heaven as an interloper amid magazine cover-ready darlings such as Dawson's Creek, Felicity, Smallville and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

New series review: Traveler (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-05-09T16:12:53-05:00
Hoping to pull off a jaunty prank before blowing the Big Apple, the boys lace on their rollerblades and see who can skate the fastest out of a stately art museum. Security guards take exception, but Jay and Tyler make it out of the building just in time to get a cell phone call from Will Traveler.

Record-setter: Atlantic founder Ahmet Ertegun loved the sounds of music more than cash registers

Ed Bark — 2007-05-02T16:09:05-05:00
Ertegun's life story as a hitmaker consumed far more by the music than its bottom line is nicely reprised in PBS' two-hour Atlantic Records: The House that Ahmet Built. ...Filmmakers reunited him with a number of the artists he helped bring to prominence, including Mick Jagger, Wynton Marsalis, Bette Midler, Phil Collins, Aretha Frankin, Eric Clapton, Robert Plant, Kid Rock and the late Ray Charles.

Marlon!!! Turner Classic Movies gives Brando a few hours of its time

Ed Bark — 2007-04-30T13:06:18-05:00
TCM also is filling out those nights with some of his vintage classics (A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, The Wild One, The Men) and lesser films (Sayonara, Guys and Dolls, The Missouri Breaks and The Teahouse of the August Moon). ...From 1950 to 1960, in the flower of his youth and masculinity, he made a dozen features that marked him for life as an artist who had set new gold standards.

Wow, what took so long? Just 18.5 months before election day, it's the "First in the Nation" presidential candidate debate

Ed Bark — 2007-04-26T21:11:17-05:00
Then they analyzed it ad nauseum far into the night after invading the campus of South Carolina State University with Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, Joe Scarborough, Tucker Carlson, Andrea Mitchell and debate moderator Brian Williams among many. ...Even Matthews had a little trouble rousing himself in the early aftermath of the 90-minute close encounter among Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel.

Sweet charity: Idol gives back -- and no one gets sacked

Ed Bark — 2007-04-25T23:36:21-05:00
And when momentum-rich Jordin Sparks stood alone at the end, it seemed that a big jolt in fact had been delivered by more than 70 million voters. ...Ellen DeGeneres ably co-hosted the event from the nearby Walt Disney Concert Hall, site of live performances from inaugural Idol Kelly Clarkson of Burleson, Il Divo, Rascal Flatts, Earth, Wind & Fire, Annie Lennox and most notably, Josh Groban singing "You Raise Me Up" with the African Children's Choir.

She never promised them a Rosie garden: O'Donnell leaving The View

Ed Bark — 2007-04-25T10:39:42-05:00
ABC daytime programming president Brian Fons told ABCNews.com: "Going in we knew we would have an amazing year with her, and that anything beyond that would be gravy. ...Once dubbed the "Queen of Nice" by Newsweek, O'Donnell has added spice to The View, helped drive the ratings up and periodically been the bane of Trump, Kelly Ripa, Catholics, Asian-Americans, the Bush administration and a wealth of conservative commentators.

In memoriam: David Halberstam (April 10, 1934 to April 23, 2007)

Ed Bark — 2007-04-24T11:13:35-05:00
Halberstam, who in 1972 wrote the seminal book The Best and the Brightest about the road to the Vietnam War, had a special disdain for "these God-awful news magazines," which flourished and multiplied in prime-time during the mid-to-late 1990s. ..."I think CBS would be a lot better off developing their own young talent the way great journalistic institutions traditionally have, and not just hiring them based on their cosmetic attractiveness," he said.

Melting pot: San Francisco's hippie trippy shakeup

Ed Bark — 2007-04-23T15:08:32-05:00
The neighborhood's brief heyday as a tie-dyed utopia is reprised in Summer of Love, a new American Experience presentation in which a very young Jerry Garcia says, "We would all like to be able to live an uncluttered life." ...Tour buses tripped, too, taking vacationers to the zoo so to speak. Summer of Love includes telling footage of old ladies and business-suited men being schooled in hippie-speak and the like from the safe confines of a Gray Line cruiser.

The Sopranos: too close for comfort

Ed Bark — 2007-04-23T01:26:16-05:00
In a featured storyline, a still addled Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese) had a precarious friendship with fellow mental ward patient Carter Chong (Ken Leung), a young Asian with serious anger management problems. During one of their conversations, Chong recalled how his demanding father asked him where the other four points were after he came home with a 96 on his report card.

Haw, that's Rich: Little to laff about at White House correspondents gala

Ed Bark — 2007-04-22T18:05:05-05:00
But WHCA president Steve Scully of C-SPAN, who looks ready to join the Mounties, said it's good to break bread rather than bust chops on at least one night a year. ...Award recipient Martha Raddatz of ABC News, a very capable reporter who won one of the night's awards, looked not ready for prom night in a laughable black strapless gown with oversized white polka dots and a pink sash.

New series review: Wife, Mom, Bounty Hunter (WE tv)

Ed Bark — 2007-04-19T14:35:10-05:00
Substitute "pathetic and harmless" to get much closer to the truth of Wife, Mom, Bounty Hunter, a less than spine-tingling new reality series premiering Friday on WE tv. ...In WMBH's opening hour, our heroine and her two burly assistants, J.D. and Theresa, arrest a cadaverous, joke-crackin' bag and a very meek guy, both accused of drug possession.

American Idol: Sanjaya and Simon both say goodbye to all that

Ed Bark — 2007-04-18T21:37:31-05:00
Prime-time's most popular show went to extraordinary lengths in its opening minutes to derail a mostly Internet-fed "controversy" over whether Cowell had disdainfully rolled his eyes Tuesday night after singer Chris Richardson expressed sympathy for the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre. ...The contestant who was "in your own universe," as Cowell put it, has been brought down to earth before he could seriously threaten Idol's reputation as a marketer of million dollar babies fronting bestselling CDs.

New series review: Martin Lawrence Presents 1st Amendment Standup (Starz)

Ed Bark — 2007-04-17T17:18:22-05:00
Williams, who both hosts and throws out a few opening jokes, welcomes the very profane Donnell Rawlings, the less so Ian Edwards and the very profane Sheryl Underwood to Wednesday's opening show. ...But he feels free to lob a crude joke at one of the world's most prominent black persons: "Some people don't think Condoleezza Rice is ugly.

Anchors away to Blacksburg -- except for one

Ed Bark — 2007-04-16T20:31:20-05:00
NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams interviews two Virginia Tech students who lived to tell about Monday's horrific events on campus. ...The NBC Nightly News anchor stood outdoors in strong winds, giving viewers a tangible feel for the university and its vast green lawns while interviewing four key witnesses to the "deadliest shooting rampage in American history."

Wedding bell ding-dongs: Ashton Kutcher finds something new to punk

Ed Bark — 2007-04-16T09:13:16-05:00
"I think that might be a little morbid for my taste," says Ashton Kutcher, whose new The Real Wedding Crashers is set to premiere April 23 on NBC in place of The Black Donnellys. ...But Kutcher says he doesn't mind efforts to mess with his head because "if you're going to dish this out, you have to be able to take it."

Turning 50: Larry King, 73, celebrates a half-century in broadcasting

Ed Bark — 2007-04-16T06:13:36-05:00
CNN is makin' a little somethin' out of this with a week-long salute to King, who's been asking questions in public for 50 years since breaking in at a small Miami Beach radio station. ...That year's race for the White House seemed to revolve around his show, so much so that King wrote a book titled On the Line: The New Road to the White House.

New series review: Drive (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2007-04-13T14:06:42-05:00
Drive's two-hour opener sets up "The Race," otherwise known as a "secret, exclusive and illegal cross-country" competition with a $32 million prize at its finish line. ...We'll know in a hurry, because three hours are coming at you in two nights, including Monday's regular time slot debut in Prison Break's old haunt.

New series review: Notes From the Underbelly (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-04-11T17:25:07-05:00
That's odd and uncalled for because Underbelly turns out to be ABC's best new half-hour comedy series in a season that's already had some pretty fair ones in the since canceled Help Me Help You, Big Day and The Knights of Prosperity. Even Underbelly's early spring premiere comes after ABC announced and unannounced at least three different time slots for the show in just the past few weeks.

Imus antidotes: a coach and a candidate accentuate their positives

Ed Bark — 2007-04-10T13:31:38-05:00
But then the media onslaught began, robbing the underdog team of the afterglow it had earned by getting all the way to the NCAA women's championship game before losing to perennial powerhouse Tennessee. ...I could use some now," Obama riposted before they segued to a lengthy session of the ongoing war in Iraq and what to do about it.

New series review: Thank God You're Here (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2007-04-09T11:14:01-05:00
TGYH's sole judge and jury is the by now very tiresome Dave Foley, a former Kids in the Hall stalwart who also brightened Newsradio before becoming a self-important lout and poker commentator. ...NBC press materials labor to rekindle television's sometimes storied past with this hoary, preposterous come-on: "Recalling a family-friendly, old-school television flavor, one can imagine the likes of golden age television legends and experts at the improvisational ad lib such as Milton Berle, Jack Benny, Imogene Coca, Lucille Ball, Bob Hope and George Burns smiling down on these modern-day stars as they tackle the high wire act known as improv -- without the safety net of a script and a director to guide them."

A hard reign's gonna fall: Underappreciated King of Queens nearing closure

Ed Bark — 2007-04-09T11:31:05-05:00
Meanwhile, you'll have to look long, hard and futilely for the flip side -- a chunky wife married to a svelte spouse. Roseanne provided one of the very few litmus tests, but she got the even beefier John Goodman. ...Production already is completed on the show's remaining seven episodes, with James content to be remembered as the star of a reliably amusing half-hour that remained "under the radar" for its entire nine-season run.

The Sopranos: Count your blessings nine last times

Ed Bark — 2007-04-05T13:03:35-05:00
It's the day that Tony tromps through the snow and away from New York boss Johnny Sack's (Vincent Curatola) house when he sees the cops coming. ...The second episode also has guest appearances by Geraldo Rivera (seen only through a TV screen as himself) and director Sydney Pollack as a defrocked doctor administering to an infirm Johnny Sack.

Rock solid

Ed Bark — 2007-04-04T11:47:42-05:00
"From the beginning, 30 Rock has proven to be the kind of quality comedy that doesn't come around very often," NBC entertainment president Kevin Reilly said in a statement. ...Starring Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan (pictured above) and co-created by Saturday Night Live maestro Lorne Michaels, Rock returns on Thursday (April 5) with a new episode titled "Fireworks."

Project runway? Miss America again walks the plank

Ed Bark — 2007-04-02T11:01:44-05:00
The network's entertainment president, Kevin Reilly, might have been under heavy sedation when he issued this statement last week: "NBC is proud to maintain this unique American cultural tradition as a viable series of competitive programming specials that continue to be a popular source of family entertainment." ...But there's something wrong with a picture that has Miss America panhandling again while Trump crows, "With each passing year our ratings continue to get better because of the beautiful and intelligent women who participate in our competitions."

Returning series review: The Shield -- Season 6 (FX)

Ed Bark — 2007-04-01T20:59:13-05:00
Pit Bull, a k a Vic Mackey, returns for a sixth season of mayhem Tuesday, April 3 on FX's The Shield (9 p.m. central, 10 eastern). ...You can smell the stench and cringe at the decay of inner city L.A., where rogue Mackey and his two remaining loyalists might as well prowl the streets on all fours.

New series review: The Tudors (Showtime)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-29T16:27:20-05:00
The man who will be King: Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Showtime's Henry VIII and earlier as Elvis in a CBS miniseries encoring Saturday. ...Rhys Meyers previously earned favorable reviews in Woody Allen's Match Point and as the star of the 2005 CBS miniseries Elvis, which will be reprised on Showtime from 7 to 10 p.m. (central) on Saturday, March 31.

TV special review: Fired! (Showtime)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-28T15:04:26-05:00
To her credit, Gurwitch also ranges farther afield to interview an array of non-show business firees, including former White House chef Walter Scheib III, ex-United Auto workers union official Tiny Sherwood and onetime insurance company employee Anita Epolito, who declined to be tested on the job for nicotine levels. ..."It's not great to get fired, but it gives you a chance to move on," says Garlin, who's landed firmly on his feet as Larry David's manager in HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm.

New series review: Planet Earth (Discovery Channel)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-22T19:33:26-05:00
Five years in the making and narrated by Sigourney Weaver, Planet Earth takes its cameras to 204 locations, from the highest mountains to the deepest depths of the oceans. ...The sun disappears for four months in the "high arctic," though, forcing polar bears underground and into hibernation. Planet Earth first visits this venue, with a mama polar bear shown greeting the sun's return by happily sliding down a snow hill.

New series review: October Road (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-15T08:41:12-05:00
All of his friends gather to send him off with a song. October Road has lots and lots of background music, just in case you don't quite get the moods they're trying to set. ...This is the kind of series where a stern small college dean (ex-24 star Penny Johnson Jerald) relents and gives Nick a teaching job after he throws rocks at her window in the dead of night and then sings a stanza from Oliver Twist.

Dicks on your box: Two new NBC series spotlight offbeat gumshoes

Ed Bark — 2007-03-14T10:57:25-05:00
Everyman Andy Richter goes first, playing an accidental private eye in Andy Barker, P.I. It's getting 30 Rock's 8:30 p.m. central slot, but only through April 12. ...Co-created and produced by Conan O'Brien, Andy Barker plays like an extended version of one of their old Late Night sendups.

New series review: Halfway Home (Comedy Central)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-13T12:26:55-05:00
Premiering Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. central after a new South Park, it's a good bet to join Comedy Central's growing list of go-to series. ...The show's other three denizens, who also have issues with Alan, are volatile Serenity Johnson (Octavia Spencer), trash-talking Sebastian "Sea Bass" Yates (Jordan Black) and the relatively sedate Carly Barzak (Jessica Makinson).

New series review: The Riches (FX)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-12T06:14:12-05:00
Monday night's first episode otherwise is rich (slap my face) in possibilities, with stars Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver introducing viewers to an almost unearthly world of "Travellers" living off others' gullibility. ...After a one-sided fight, Wayne retaliates by stealing the family fortune and hitting the highways again with Dahlia, Dehliah, oldest son Cael (Noel Fisher) and pre-pubescent Sam (Aidan Mitchell), who like Izzard in real life is very fond of women's clothing.

TV movie review: Life Support (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-09T09:21:24-06:00
The movie eventually earns its stripes, though, thanks to some take-charge acting by Queen Latifah and effective performances by Anna Deavere Smith, Wendell Pierce and Rachel Nicks as her on-screen mother, husband and estranged daughter. Premiering Saturday (March 10) at 7 p.m. central, Life Support is drawn from the real-life AIDS activism of HIV-positive Ana Wallace (Queen Latifah), whose brother, Nelson George, directed and co-wrote the film.

Singing and slinging: Rosie vs. American Idol

Ed Bark — 2007-03-07T17:17:03-06:00
The show's executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe, blistered O'Donnell in a statement Wednesday after she questioned why the show had booted previous contestant Frenchie Davis but not current hopeful Antonella Barba after nude photos of each emerged. ...Barba, who has been one of Idol's lesser semi-finalists in the judges' view, is scheduled to perform Wednesday night (March 7) before two men and two women are voted off on Thursday's results show.

New series review: The Wedding Bells (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-05T13:59:16-06:00
All you need to know is that oldest sister Jane (Teri Polo) is halfway happily married, middle sis Annie (KaDee Strickland) is loveless and kid sister Sammy (Sarah Jones) sleeps around a lot, sometimes with one of the groom's attendants. ...Amanda gets this from her domineering mother, Stella (guest star Delta Burke), a self-described "acquired taste" who slips Sammy Bell $500 to get the minister to say "Jesus Christ" twice during Amanda's "I do's" to a Jew.

New series review: Robin Hood (BBC America)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-02T16:53:42-06:00
But as you may have heard, there've been some despotic changes made by the Sheriff of Nottingham (Keith Allen) and his head henchman, Guy of Gisborne (Richard Armitage). ...Still, she helps him pull off the first episode's great, grandiose escape, after which Robin and his yet to be defined merry men head off into Sherwood Forest.

New series review: The Winner (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-02T14:29:05-06:00
As when Glen (Rob Corrdry from The Daily Show) fantasizes the girl of his dreams telling him, "Let's get married so you can comb my hair and touch my vagina." The show's co-producers are Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame and the seriously bent Ricky Blitt, whose savaging of Faye Dunaway at the January TV critics' "press tour" already has made him a near-mythical figure.

Back from the brink: ABC's Bob Woodruff at last can tell his story

Ed Bark — 2007-02-27T09:28:55-06:00
His triumphant return to ABC comes after more than a year of recuperation from a Jan. 29, 2006 roadside bombing attack in Iraq that obliterated part of his skull and put him in a coma for 36 days. To Iraq and Back: Bob Woodruff Reports (Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 9 p.m. central) tells both his story and those of U.S. soldiers with similar injuries. ...Woodruff had to start almost from scratch, re-learning how to talk and how to relate to his four children. GMA played a touching clip Tuesday of his twin six-year-old daughters, Claire and Nora, teaching him how to say "belt buckle" while dad wore Mickey Mouse ears in bed.

Sunday's stately Oscars: Without a pulse or a pause that refreshed?

Ed Bark — 2007-02-25T23:29:55-06:00
But it's a pretty tame affair when tongues are left to wag about best supporting actor Alan Arkin's decision to put his Oscar on the floor before fixedly reading his acceptance speech from a piece of folded paper. ...The home stretch -- and who didn't need a stretch by then? -- retained some buoyancy with Scorsese's long overdue win and a terrific performance of a Dreamgirls medley by Hudson, Beyonce and Anika Noni Rose.

New series review: The Black Donnellys (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2007-02-25T13:06:09-06:00
So NBC's Hell's Kitchen-set crime saga likely will have a fight on its hands as the Peacock's Monday night replacement for the audience-rejected Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Donnellys' premiere episode is a jumble at times, with swerving narration from the jailed "Joey Ice Cream" (Keith Nobbs) used and sometimes abused as a storytelling technique.

Oscars: We see a lot of new faces -- especially on the old faces

Ed Bark — 2007-02-23T17:13:31-06:00
***Sample Stewart joke from last year: "A lot of people say that this town is too liberal, out of touch with mainstream America, an atheistic pleasure dome, a modern-day, beachfront Sodom and Gomorrah, a moral black hole where innocence is obliterated in an endless orgy of sexual gratification and greed. ...***Finally, announced presenters Sunday night include Tom Cruise and ex-wife Nicole Kidman (separately); Ben Affleck and ex-fiancee Jennifer Lopez (separately); Steve Carell, George Clooney, Cameron Diaz, Will Ferrell, Tom Hanks, Diane Keaton, Tobey Maguire, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet and Reese Witherspoon.

Review: The 1/2 Hour News Hour (Fox News Channel)

Ed Bark — 2007-02-18T12:50:56-06:00
But 1/2 Hour News Hour does have its moments, with fake news anchors Kurt McNally and Jennifer Lange (Kurt Long, Jenn Robertson) offering an amalgam of The Daily Show, Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" segment and maybe even a smidgen of Real Time with Bill Maher. ...Among the targets: Air America, the ACLU (in two very heavy-handed fake commercials), actor/activist Ed Begley, Jr. (an announced guest who never makes it), liberal-leaning children's books and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Review: News War (PBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-02-13T17:38:34-06:00
A Frontline documentary, as Bergman notes, also fell for the idea that Saddam Hussein's "smoking gun" easily could become a "mushroom cloud," as then national security advisor Condoleezza Rice so effectively put it. ...Bergman also will examine the changing face of news in times when a New York University study says that a majority of Americans under 25 catch up on current events via The Daily Show and/or the Internet.

Grammys go long, stay on track

Ed Bark — 2007-02-11T23:33:00-06:00
The Grammys are the place to play your hardest, whether you're Chris Brown ramping it way up for "Run It" or The Police reuniting at show's start for a rousing "Roxanne." ...But 18-year-old Robyn Troup of Houston may have gained the most by winning the show's American Idol-esque "My Grammy Moment" contest.

Down and dirty: Lost's Josh "Sawyer" Holloway back for more murk

Ed Bark — 2007-02-07T06:30:08-06:00
Not to give away too much, but the show's creators are intent on reuniting the cast on their main island after an early, heavy focus on Sawyer, Kate and Jack. ...Lost is still less than one-third of the way through its third season, and Holloway says he's given up on trying to deduce how it all will end.

Super Bowl XLI, etc.: X lasting impressions

Ed Bark — 2007-02-04T21:53:27-06:00
But you might have thought it was a beautiful day until Simms finally acknowledged he'd been wrong in saying that "the rain would not be a factor in the game." As an oft-opinionated, former Super Bowl winning QB, Simms should have lashed Bears signal-caller Rex Grossman for handing a close game to the Colts with two very poorly thrown interceptions in the fourth quarter.

New series review: Rules of Engagement (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-02-02T16:07:41-06:00
His name is Patrick Warburton, and he's back as a deadpanning big lug of a married man on CBS' new Rules of Engagement. ...As Rules' sometimes painfully earnest straight man, he's mostly on the receiving end of laconic knockdown punches from the other two men in this show's life.

New series review: The Sarah Silverman Program (Comedy Central)

Ed Bark — 2007-01-31T12:22:40-06:00
This really is an all-powerful Supreme Being from on high who had a "really, really good time" with Sarah and wants to take her on a second date to heaven, where he'll introduce her to Thomas Jefferson. ...It won't get any tamer in next Thursday's second episode, which bitch-slaps viewers with this opening ditty from the comedian also known as Jimmy Kimmel's girlfriend: "I always wake up with the morning sun.

"From zeros to Heroes:" Sudden success beats the alternative

Ed Bark — 2007-01-28T21:31:10-06:00
On the same night he'll be sharing scenes on a new Heroes episode with Star Trek's George Takei, who is playing Hiro's father. ...A small role in 2000's Remember the Titans brought her a bit of recognition, but Heroes is "the deciding factor that really got me over that hump, which often you catch yourself on."

Oscar's TV past: Will SNL finally break through?

Ed Bark — 2007-01-23T12:42:48-06:00
Of more interest is Eddie Murphy, who has to be the early favorite in the best supporting actor category for his showy role in Dreamgirls. ...Will Smith, who starred for six seasons on NBC's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, seems like a longshot to win for The Pursuit of Happyness.

New series review: Armed & Famous (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-01-07T13:15:35-06:00
Seriously, though, there oughta be a law against making cops of Erik Estrada, La Toya Jackson, Jack Osbourne, former wrestler Trish Stratus and skateboarder Jason "Wee-Man" Acuna. ...We then learn that one of them, La Toya, has long yearned to both work at a McDonald's and be a police officer.

New series reviews: The Knights of Prosperity and In Case of Emergency (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-01-03T08:03:01-06:00
Dolts, Incorporated: Donal Logue and David Arquette keep screwing up in ABC's The Knights of Prosperity and In Case of Emergency. ...Even so, he's listed as one of Knights' executive producers, along with David Letterman and Rob Burnett (producer of Letterman's CBS Late Show). Knights' theme song is by Letterman sidekick Paul Shaffer.

New series review: Dirt (FX)

Ed Bark — 2006-12-31T11:28:15-06:00
Starring: Courteney Cox, Ian Hart, Josh Stewart, Laura Allen, Jeffrey Nordling, Shannyn Sossamon, Rick Fox, Alexandra Breckenridge, Timothy Bottoms, Grant Show, Carly Pope, Will McCormack ...Dirt star Courteney Cox is the first female protagonist in the network's signature line of provocative dramas. The Shield, Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me, Lucky and Over There put flawed, combustible men at the hearts of their darkness.

James Brown: Prisoner of Love

Ed Bark — 2006-12-29T13:26:47-06:00
But it's nice to have that lasting memory of the "Godfather of Soul," who's being laid to rest this week after a hard-driving life that in 1988 found him on smoking tire rims after leading police on a two-state car chase. ...Serving the third month of a later commuted six-year term, Brown talked in passing about an upcoming Legends of Rock 'n' Roll TV special that had been taped less than a month before his sentencing.

Kyle Howard finally sticks it in TBS' My Boys

Ed Bark — 2006-12-28T11:19:18-06:00
At the time he didn't know the fate of TBS cable's well-received My Boys, in which he plays a Chicago sportswriter moving within the orbit of series star Jordana Spiro. ...Besides that quickly capsized new version of Love Boat, he's been a regular on Opposite Sex, Grosse Pointe, Run of the House and Related, none of which lived to see a second season.

TV year in review: Top 10 developments of 2006

Ed Bark — 2006-12-20T09:27:21-06:00
Fox's campaign ad in support of stem cell research drew fire from Rush Limbaugh, who told his radio listeners that the Parkinson's-afflicted actor appeared to be putting on an act for the cameras. ...Even more impressively, the Peacock has shown patience with ratings-starved newcomers such as Friday Night Lights, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and 30 Rock, all of which have received full-season orders. 30 Rock is newly a part of NBC's rebuilt Thursday night, which also houses three other Emmy-caliber comedies -- The Office, My Name Is Earl and Scrubs.

New series review: Identity (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2006-12-15T12:25:10-06:00
At one end of the teeter-totter are Deal or No Deal, 1 vs. 100 and the new Identity, premiering Monday (at 8 p.m. central) and then scheduled to run an hour earlier on Tuesday through Friday. ...Nicci can win half a million bucks if she can correctly identify, one-by-one, a sushi chef, alligator wrestler, bouncer, opera singer, fitness model, break dancer, CSI investigator, kidney donor, Vegas showgirl, the world's fastest man, the creator of Spider Man and the youngest of the bunch.

Golden Globes: No longer a laugh

Ed Bark — 2006-12-14T09:08:10-06:00
Another HBO darling, Deadwood, came up completely empty, but the premium cable network's freshman series Big Love deservedly made the cut in the best drama series division. Bill Paxton, who plays the show's lead polygamist, also is cited. ...NBC's Heroes and ABC's Ugly Betty respectively are finalists in the drama and comedy series categories. Betty star America Ferrera got a lead actress nomination and fan fave Masi Oka rightfully is in the best supporting actor hunt.

We wish you a Mondo Christmas

Ed Bark — 2006-12-13T15:55:31-06:00
If so, yule be very entertained Thursday night (Dec. 14) with The Office's one-hour Christmas show and then the guest star-soaked, still vibrant Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special. ...And a breast-plated Grace Jones gives "Drummer Boy" a decidedly different interpretation during Pee-wee's 1988 Christmas show, which lives again Thursday on the "Adult Swim" arm of Cartoon Network (9:30 central, 10:30 eastern).

Rene Syler's next chapters: New book, life-changing surgery

Ed Bark — 2006-12-08T11:41:41-06:00
On Jan. 9, the 43-year-old former Dallas anchor will undergo a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy rather than live in constant fear of breast cancer, for which she's at high risk. ...The example I want to show my kids is that your character is not about who you are when times are good.

Bush under fire: Network newscasts make it plain in coverage of Iraq Study Group's report

Ed Bark — 2006-12-06T22:29:29-06:00
Topic A on Wednesday's network newscasts was the long-awaited release of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group's report to President Bush and the nation. ...She then personalized the report's potential import: "With each death, with every passing day, so many of us ask, 'Is there any way out of this nightmare?'

Soap duds? MyNetworkTV lathers up anew

Ed Bark — 2006-12-06T09:36:07-06:00
This sets up a triangle, with Jack spread-eagled between his duties and his desires. Dynasty vet Catherine Oxenberg and her real-life husband, Casper Van Dien (Starship Troopers) co-star as Michael's chief aide and "top assassin." ...Then again, America at large is going to be otherwise occupied with various Christmas preparations and parties. Wicked Wicked Games at least has a little holiday punch to it, and a better promotional campaign, too.

Must-see TV: No, really

Ed Bark — 2006-11-30T09:54:44-06:00
Rivals have taken most of Thursdays away from NBC and are beating the Peacock over the head from 7 to 9 p.m. (central time) with the likes of Survivor, Grey's Anatomy, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and the new Ugly Betty. ...NBC's hit comedies of yore all had laugh tracks and were shot on sound stages before live studio audiences. Earl and company are bracingly without laugh tracks, marking the first time any network has dared to offer a back-to-back quartet without any background noise.

New series review: Big Day (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2006-11-28T11:32:32-06:00
But after some tough sledding in the "dry ice game" and a little hand-modeling on the side, Garf thinks he's found his niche as a foot massager. ... This leads to a truly inspired double entendre retort from her hubby after "The Garf" puts on a tux in hopes of making amends for getting off on the wrong foot.

New series review: My Boys (TBS)

Ed Bark — 2006-11-27T11:44:22-06:00
An appealing cast and the bracing lack of a canned laugh track make up for an error here or there. My Boys easily is the best comedy ever developed for TBS. ...As when PJ says in Episode 2: "If you're going for the ball and you don't see the warning track, chances are you're going to run right into a brick wall."

Come again: Match Game, CBS Sunday Night Movie reconnect for a night

Ed Bark — 2006-11-25T09:20:58-06:00
Cable's GSN, where old game shows still make whoopee, goes a bit deeper than usual with The Real Match Game Story: Behind the Blank (7 p.m. central, 8 eastern). ...Still, you've got to be far more subtle and lots more dynamic to really pull it off. Candles in fact does have a tearjerking, uplifting finale in store for viewers willing to go the distance.

Ted Koppel: Free to be afoot in Iran

Ed Bark — 2006-11-19T12:36:41-06:00
"If I were to say I feel liberated, that would make it sound as though I'm so glad to be out of the clutches of ABC News," Koppel says in a telephone interview. ...All these years later, as he notes Sunday night, the U.S. still defines Iran as part of the "axis of evil" while that country in turn indoctrinates its children to chant "Death to America" as part of their school curriculum.

Dan Rather: Re-starting from scratch

Ed Bark — 2006-11-13T16:59:20-06:00
Rather's new venture, which will detail him in high-definition for his first time, has the added burden of premiering opposite Tuesday night's performance finale of ABC's Dancing with the Stars (7 p.m. central, 8 eastern). ...Rather risks being judged on the basis of the one story that took him out -- a campaign 2004 investigation that questioned the length and depth of President Bush's Texas Air National Guard service.

Ed Bradley: Goodnight and Godspeed

Ed Bark — 2006-11-12T19:25:32-06:00
7. Arsenio Hall -- Late night television's one and only successful black host endured for five years (1989-94) during times when Johnny Carson was winding down and Jay Leno and David Letterman were winding up. ...5. Flip Wilson -- No black performer had fronted a successful variety series until NBC's The Flip Wilson Show rocketed to prime-time's No. 2 spot in its very first year on the air (1970).

Review: Prime Suspect: The Final Act (PBS)

Ed Bark — 2006-11-12T11:47:11-06:00
Final Act is driven by Mirren's ebbs and flows but also has standout performances from Gary Lewis as Sallie's surly father, Tony, and Stephen Tomkinson in the role of school headmaster Sean Philips. ...She has been on thrones of late, both in last year's Elizabeth I , for which she won an Emmy, and the current The Queen, for which an Oscar nomination is likely.

Koppel to Kerry: Can the comedy

Ed Bark — 2006-11-09T17:51:01-06:00
Koppel, who's readying a two-hour special on Iran for the Discovery Channel, also spent considerable time embedded with U.S. troops while still with ABC's Nightline. ...Kerry took a pasting from Republicans and Democrats alike when he recently said at a college rally, "Education -- if you make the most of it and you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well.

"Danisms" and elephant dung: Comedy Central's Midterm Midtacular

Ed Bark — 2006-11-07T22:49:14-06:00
Its latenight Midterm Midtacular, co-anchored by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, dressed up the standard graphics and mug shots of winning and losing candidates. ...Rather was billed as "Global correspondent, HDNet," a role he'll assume Tuesday as anchor of the weekly Dan Rather Reports on Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's fledgling high-definition channel.

Review: Directed by John Ford (Turner Classic Movies)

Ed Bark — 2006-11-06T21:58:45-06:00
Ford won four directing Oscars, a record still unmatched, for The Informer, The Grapes of Wrath, How Green Was My Valley and The Quiet Man. ...It's a warm talk between two old friends who know how their games are played. Directed by John Ford fully captures the man and the screen legends who willingly became his minions.

Man law: Is there one against watching Dancing with the Stars?

Ed Bark — 2006-11-06T10:20:10-06:00
As a Dallas-based writer, I've got a built-in local angle in Emmitt Smith, the former Cowboy who's ventured all the way to the show's crunch time with partner Cheryl Burke. ..."If someone came up to me and said, 'Real men don't dance,' I'm going to say to them, 'Real men try to do things that they think they cannot do,' " he said.

Making an impression: SNL's Darrell Hammond stays on and on

Ed Bark — 2006-10-31T12:00:14-06:00
"I would call that the great disappointment of my career," Hammond says in a telephone interview tied to his one-man SNL show this Saturday (Nov. ...The vice president is "the guy that ended up being the most charming and forthcoming about it, and the most fun to talk to about it," says Hammond, who's attended one of Cheney's Christmas parties.

DVD Review: That's My Bush!

Ed Bark — 2006-10-25T17:12:18-05:00
The president and his First Lady had inhabited the White House for barely two-and-a-half months when this sendup of a '70s sitcom portrayed him as a dumb, amiable bumbler and her as his understanding but often unfulfilled wife. ...Timothy Bottoms' portrayal of a hapless but well-meaning Bush proved to be comedy gold in a series that ended on May 23, 2001 after Comedy Central said it cost too much to make.

A Rivers goes with her flow

Ed Bark — 2006-10-22T16:13:37-05:00
Best known these days as a red carpet fixture, Rivers, 73, gets back to where she still belongs as the leadoff hitter on Bravo's Funny Girls, a new series of standup specials premiering Tuesday night, Oct. 24 (9 central, 10 eastern). ...She now incorporates him into her act, joking that his other car is a gas chamber and that he has an "I (heart symbol) Hitler" license plate.

Peacock plucked? NBC will start writing off scripted shows

Ed Bark — 2006-10-19T18:31:17-05:00
Advertiser interest in them is waning, Zucker contended, citing the $2.6 million cost for one episode of Friday Night Lights versus the $1.1 million NBC spends on Deal or No Deal. ...It's been a tough fall for NBC in the 7 to 8 p.m. leadoff slot. Friday Night Lights, which opens Tuesday nights and will get a test run at 9 p.m.

Clinton and Wallace: This time it's personal

Ed Bark — 2006-09-25T01:07:40-05:00
Then he threw something of a right-cross, telling the ex-president that many emailers wanted this question answered: "Why didn't you do more to put bin Laden and Al Qaeda out of business when you were president?" "I'm being asked this on the Fox network," Clinton began before also chiding "their little Pathway to 9/11" miniseries on ABC, which provoked a storm of controversy earlier this month.

Review -- Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater

Ed Bark — 2006-09-18T00:15:16-05:00
Barry Goldwater, branded a mad bomber in the 1964 presidential campaign, is seen in retrospect as a politician who actually had the courage of his convictions. ...It's appropriate then that longtime Democratic strategist James Carville sees him as "clearly John the Baptist to (Ronald) Reagan," who won the presidency in 1980 as a conservative Republican cast in the Goldwater mold.

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All hail Season Two of Amazon Prime's <i>The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel</i>

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