Fall TV 2019: What looks good, and what doesn’t
Fall TV preview: After watching the trailers, I’m excited about some of the fall 2019 television premieres, not so much others.
NBC
John’s top 10 TV shows of 2018
It’s never before been so hard to pick the 10 best shows of the year, as streaming services deliver strong short series on a regular basis, and cable and network TV have mostly kept pace […]
10 shows featuring today’s biggest stars … that you can never watch again (TV commentary)
It’s not as bad as the case of the old “Doctor Who” episodes that were intentionally destroyed after their broadcast, but in this age where it’s easy for a streaming service to make something available […]
First episode impressions: ‘I Feel Bad’ (TV review)
“I Feel Bad” meets my first requirement for a modern sitcom: It doesn’t have a laugh track. Unfortunately, I wasn’t supplying many laughs of my own during the first two episodes, which are available on NBC.com. […]
First episode impressions: ‘This Is Us’ Season 3 (TV review)
My TV-watching buddy Shaune says of “This Is Us”: “Even when it’s happy, it’s sad.” That contradictory statement perfectly sums up TV’s most emotionally draining show, which is up to its usual tricks in this […]
First episode impressions: ‘Manifest’ (TV review)
“Manifest” (10 p.m. Eastern Mondays on NBC) isn’t quite the “What does it all mean?” “Lost”-style mystery I thought it would be. Then again, it’s not exactly original, either. It’s just that the TV shows […]
Fall TV 2018: Thoughts on 8 new shows and how long they will last (Commentary)
There are more good shows on TV than ever, but the traditional fall season has become the dumping ground for the least exciting new series – perhaps because they need the extra buzz of Fall […]
First episode impressions: ‘Rise’ (TV review)
I was never involved in theater in school, but I learned to appreciate it during my years covering arts and entertainment for newspapers (even if my love of music, movies and TV was why I initially […]
‘quarterlife’ review
“quarterlife” (2007-08, quarterlife.com, NBC) – Yet another Marshall Herskovitz/Edward Zwick TV series has been canceled by a network, but this time, it’s not bothering me or other fans one bit. In fact, many fans of […]
‘Life’ Season 1 review
“Life” Season 1 (2007, NBC) – “Life” stars two unconventionally attractive leads – Damian Lewis (“Band of Brothers”) as Charlie Crews, freshly released after being wrongfully imprisoned for 12 years; and Sarah Shahi, who looks […]