> NBC’s WHITNEY hasn’t really had much of a midseason break, but tonight marked its move from a cushy home on Thursday night, where it aired behind the network’s only hit, The Office, to the much more challenging job of opening Wednesday nights and clearing the way for new sitcom Are You There, Chelsea?  So […]

  PARENTHOOD:  Tuesday 10PM on NBC   WHERE WE WERE:  The wedding of Crosby (Dax Shepard) and Jasmine (Joy Bryant), an event long in coming, considering that they’ve been raising Jabbar (Tyree Brown) together and were initially engaged two seasons earlier.  The joyous event was made more joyous when Mark (Jason Ritter) asked Sarah (Lauren […]

  SUBURGATORY:  Wednesday 9:30PM on ABC WHERE WE WERE:  Meeting Grandma.  In the season finale, having survived her first year in the titular Chatswin, Tessa (Jane Levy) met her long-absent mother’s mom–on Mother’s Day, no less.  Also, Tessa’s best friend Lisa (Allie Grant), who had spent most of the season thinking (hoping) that she’d been […]

  ORPHAN BLACK:  Saturday 9PM on BBCAmerica – Potential DVR Alert BBCAmerica’s second foray into original scripted drama, ORPHAN BLACK, while less inherently prestigious than Copper–lacking as it does that show’s historical setting and Tom Fontana auspices–is at least in its first hour a considerably more diverting entertainment. The first sequence is a grabber.  Petty […]

  DEXTER:  Sunday 9PM on Showtime Here we are, once again at the outset of the declared final season for a long-lived, successfully distinctive TV series.  The conclusion of DEXTER won’t compare to the upcoming end of Breaking Bad later this summer (or to next year’s exit of Mad Men) in terms of passionate expectations, […]

  EASTBOUND & DOWN:  Sunday 10PM on HBO EASTBOUND & DOWN is an acquired taste that, to be honest, I’ve never quite acquired.  Not that the show hasn’t made me laugh, not that I fail to recognize the glory that unbridled Danny McBride can be and the show’s terrific supporting cast and guest stars–but a […]

  SHAMELESS:  Sunday 9PM on Showtime The Gallagher family is undergoing transitions as Season 4 of Showtime’s SHAMELESS begins, and the tone is considerably less rambunctious than in previous seasons.  That’s not to say that bad behavior doesn’t still abound, but it’s a less brazen and unfettered, and comes labored with thoughts about consequences. As […]

  BLACK BOX:  Thursday 10PM on ABC – Change the Channel In ABC’s (partial) defense, BLACK BOX wasn’t intended to run during the regular broadcast season.  It was meant to be seen in summer, when standards are lower, but the network was caught flat-footed when Kerry Washington’s pregnancy caused Scandal to cut its season by […]