Posts Tagged ‘tv review’
 

 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “Copper”

  Throughout its first season, COPPER has almost never been as vivid as it seemed like it should be.  The show’s premise and auspices were promising:  the lead producers were Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana, who apa...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Premiere Review: “The Americans”

  THE AMERICANS:  Tuesday 10PM on FX THE AMERICANS is inevitably one of those pieces of pop culture that feels more queasily topical these days (in this case, despite its 1980s setting), with its tale of Russian agents in...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED’S PILOT + 1 REVIEW: “1600 Penn”

  1600 PENN:  Thursday 9:30PM on NBC A lot can happen between the creation of a TV pilot in the spring and the production of episodes for the regular season: a writing/producing team is hired, audience focus groups weigh ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Finale Review: “Hannibal”

  In real life, serial killers are not infrequently foiled by mistakes as mundane as unpaid traffic tickets, and while Hannibal Lecter may be eternal, the NBC television series version of Hannibal–despite an inexpens...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Premiere Review: “Killjoys”

  KILLJOYS:  Friday 9PM on Syfy – If Nothing Else Is On… KILLJOYS is yet another sparse, grungy Syfy Canadian cheapie, although it has a bit of B-movie verve.  It concerns a pair of galactic bounty hunters, t...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “Boardwalk Empire”

  The Season 3 finale of BOARDWALK EMPIRE, like the season itself, was an exercise in patience and a mix of satisfaction and anti-climax.   Written by series creator Terence Winter and Executive Producer Howard Korder, a...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: SNL with Ben Affleck

  In contrast to last week’s Kristin Wiig-fest, tonight’s season finale of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE didn’t give victory laps to all the franchise characters Bill Hader and Fred Armisen have contributed to the ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Premiere Review: “Good Girls”

  GOOD GIRLS:  Monday 10PM on NBC – Potential DVR Alert GOOD GIRLS is one of the more promising pilots of the broadcast season–even if it’s itching not to be a broadcast series.  Jenna Bans’ scrip...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED’S PILOT + 3 REVIEW: “The Newsroom”… and “Broadcast News”

  HBO has been airing a spiffy HD edition of James L. Brooks’ 1987 BROADCAST NEWS  in its recent rotation (it’s next scheduled for July 20 and 24), and that makes sense, since the Brooks film is one of the ack...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Fall Finale Review: “Agents of SHIELD”

  For its fall finale (the show is taking a relatively brief break, returning on January 7), AGENTS OF SHIELD turned to its continuing storylines, such as they are.  The script by Co-Producer Shalisha Francis, directed by...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Premiere Review: “Zoo”

  ZOO:  Tuesday 9PM on CBS – Change the Channel Of all the broadcast networks, CBS is the biggest fan of branding.  It has its procedural hours during the regular season, its working-class half-hours (which are eit...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “Guys With Kids”

  It won’t surprise anyone if last night’s episode of GUYS WITH KIDS turns out to be not just its season finale but its farewell to the airwaves.  The show has struggled with ratings in the low 1s all season, ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Series Finale Review: “Copper”

  Road trip!  It was a decidedly odd way for COPPER to exit the scene, even if last night’s episode was intended just as a season finale, not as an end to the entire series.  (BBCAmerica didn’t cancel the low...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED SEASON PREMIERE REVIEW: “Shameless”

  SHAMELESS:  Sunday 9PM on Showtime SHAMELESS often feels like the raging id of its showrunner and (US) creator, pillar of the Hollywood establishment John Wells.  Wells is the man behind ER, the senior producer who gui...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Midseason Finale Review: “Beauty & the Beast”

  New showrunner Brad Kern (working with series creators Sherri Cooper and Jennifer Levin) has made plenty of changes to BEAUTY & THE BEAST, but mostly they haven’t been improvements.  The gothic romanticism of ...
by Mitch Salem