There’s a reason CBS is as successful as it is.  PERSON OF INTEREST is just a procedural–albeit one with an unusually complicated premise–but it mixes solid plotting, well-paced action and just enough character backstory to give it a little substance, and the result is an hour of television that works.   Person starts with […]

  Although both fairy-tale inspired dramas that were introduced to network TV last fall have been renewed for 2d seasons, there’s no comparison in quality between Once Upon A Time and GRIMM.  Once has created a captivating, complex narrative of parallel universes and the loves and hates that reach across them, while Grimm is far […]

      Where were Jack and Sawyer?  Embracing the idea of “go big or go home,” the 8th season finale of GREY’S ANATOMY opened like the pilot for Lost, in the aftermath of the horrible crash of a plane on which several of our main characters had flown.  Shonda Rhimes is not against shaking […]

      The crazier SCANDAL has gotten, the better it’s been.  Although the Shonda Rhimes soap only had a 7-episode run this Spring, it’s managed to find its footing quickly.  The first few episodes were forgettably glib, scandal-of-the-week hours that were far-fetched and overly jocular (the worst was the one about the Supreme Court […]

  NBC’s marathon 90-minute festival of new COMMUNITY episodes tonight (interrupted by the 30 Rock season finale at 8:30) was less an expression of love from the network than a who-cares approach to the night, scheduled that way  because The Office and Parks & Recreation aired their season finales last week, and Community, kept off […]

    The dirty little secret at the heart of 30 ROCK has always been that it doesn’t really have one–a heart, that is.  That doesn’t make the show any less brilliantly written or superbly performed, but it explains why despite all its massive acclaim and zillions of awards, in 6 years on the air […]

    THE NEW NORMAL:  Tuesdays 9:30PM on NBC   WHAT IT’S SAYING:  A new kind of family sitcom:  gay couple, surrogate mother, her daughter–and her bitchy, bigoted (but, you know, funny) grandmother.  Grandma’s practically Sue Sylvester!  And what a coincidence, Sue’s creator Ryan Murphy is behind this too.

      BATTLESHIP:  Not Even For Free – Watch a Transformers DVD Instead   For about half an hour, BATTLESHIP could fool you into thinking it’s not the movie you were expecting it to be.  It begins as the story of Alex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch), a good-looking, unmotivated screw-up who lives with his straight-arrow […]