In this era of peak TV, there are more shows than ever that we devour, that we obsess about and are thrilled by and that shock us and tear us apart.  There are fewer, however, that we simply love.  Julian Fellowes’s DOWNTON ABBEY was a canny mix of the old-fashioned and new-fangled, aristocracy porn […]

  INCORPORATED:  Wednesday 10PM on Syfy – Change the Channel INCORPORATED is one of Syfy’s periodic big swings.  Although produced in Canada, it’s backed by the CBS and Syfy in-house studios, rather than a low-cost pick-up or license arrangement like the ones that finance Z Nation, Van Helsing and the like.  Enough money has been put behind […]

  NEBRASKA:  Buy A Ticket – A Lovely, Tart Slice of Americana An unusually strong season for American movies continues with the arrival of the simple and profound NEBRASKA, directed by Alexander Payne from a marvelous script by first-time feature writer Bob Nelson.  Among its other virtues, it manages to feature within its 114 minutes […]

  In its second season, THE AMERICANS continued to be a expertly crafted saga of betrayals, both political and personal.  Tonight’s chilling season finale, written by series creator Joe Weisberg and his co-showrunner Joel Fields, and directed by Daniel Sackheim, brought all its themes together brilliantly, and set the stage for what should be an […]

At this point in movie history, it’s beside the point to ask why we even need a new film version of GREAT EXPECTATIONS when David Lean’s 1946 masterpiece still exists.  (And for those who want a different slant on the story, there’s Alfonso Cuaron’s 1998 modern-day revamp.)  The industry feeds itself on a diet of […]

  THE BLACKLIST adequately completed the first act of its season’s mission with tonight’s fall finale–but the tough part is still to come.  NBC largely adopted a conservative schedule this season–a new sitcom after Tuesday’s The Voice and a couple more thrown away on Thursday, another fantasy thriller after Grimm, a third old-skewing procedural to […]

    THE CARRIE DIARIES: Monday 8PM on CW – Change the Channel   THE CARRIE DIARIES is CW’s last big gun of the season (Cult, still forthcoming, is smaller caliber), the show that the network hopes will inherit Gossip Girl‘s place (Carrie just so happens to be produced by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage […]

  LEGENDS OF TOMORROW‘s destiny as the goofball discard pile of CW’s DC/Greg Berlanti universe may have reached its apotheosis with tonight’s Season 3 finale, written by co-creator/Executive Producers Matt Guggenheim and Phil Klemmer.  It featured a family-sized box of former series regulars and guest stars from throughout the run of the series, but its […]