Archive: January 2011 (1-10 of 45)

Jan 31 2011 11:27 PM ET

'Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story' review: Mawkish, melodramatic, but completely compelling

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Categories: Controversy, Dramas, In the News, Love & Marriage, Television, TV Review

It’s not a surprise that Monday night’s Lifetime network production Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story would attract a substantial audience: It was a fact-based story about a nightmare that any parent might both fear as a reality and revel in as entertainment. The tale of Tiffany Rubin (Taraji P. Henson, excellent in a carefully calibrated performance) and her search for the son her ex-husband essentially kidnapped, was compelling, all the more so for being based on true events. READ FULL STORY »

Jan 31 2011 11:14 PM ET

'Skins' review: You can't keep a good kid down, but he did try duct tape...

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Categories: Controversy, Dramas, In the News, Television, TV Recap, TV Review

We reached the third episode of Skins on Monday night, the one The New York Times highlighted as the hour that demonstrates just how much MTV has miscalculated the degree of controversy the network can court without losing both advertisers and viewers. READ FULL STORY »

Jan 30 2011 10:29 PM ET

'Downton Abbey' finale review: How much did you love it, and what did you think of that ending?

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Categories: Dramas, PBS, Television, TV Review

Downton Abbey has come to an end, and with it, so must our blissful immersion in the intricate lives of the upstairs-downstairs characters presented on this PBS Masterpiece. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t had so much TV fun on Sunday nights since READ FULL STORY »

Jan 30 2011 08:32 AM ET

'Saturday Night Live' recap: Jesse Eisenberg enjoys some good sketches and Mark Zuckerberg

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Categories: In the News, Music, Politics, Saturday Night Live, Television, TV Recap, TV Review

Saturday Night Live didn’t waste any time in making good on the rumor that Jesse Eisenberg might play host to a special guest: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg showed up during Eisenberg’s opening monologue. (“I invented poking.”) The multi-billionaire — whose life, as depicted in The Social Network, helped score Eisenberg an Oscar nomination — admitted to the actor that the movie was “interesting.” Turns out playing awkward wasn’t much different from just being awkward, even with Andy Samberg thrown in doing his Zuck impersonation. At the end of the show, READ FULL STORY »

Jan 29 2011 11:03 PM ET

'Mega Python Vs. Gatoroid' review: So bad, it was... pretty bad. Putting the squeeze on Debbie Gibson and Tiffany...

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Categories: '70s/'80s Nostalgia, Dramas, Dumb or Smart?, Fights, Movies, Sci-Fi, Television, TV Review

Mega Python Vs. Gatoroid could have been the perfect Saturday-night SyFy movie. It had what its title promised: mega-sized pythons and gigantic alligators, eating people and each other. It had this genre’s requisite washed-up star-power in ’80s pop singers Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. Gibson played a radical animal-rights activist. Tiffany portrayed a park ranger with her uniform sufficiently unbuttoned to reveal that she may have been trying to smuggle newborn twins into the Everglades. The horror started out promisingly in the opening moments, when a python ate a dog and then vomited out the remains. So far, so good. READ FULL STORY »

Jan 29 2011 07:11 AM ET

'Saturday Night Live' with host Jesse Eisenberg and music guest Nicki Minaj: Your opinion is desired.

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Categories: Controversy, In the News, Movies, Music, Saturday Night Live, Television, TV Tonight

Jesse Eisenberg, Oscar-nominated for his role in The Social Network, is the host of Saturday Night Live this week. Should we presume we’re in for READ FULL STORY »

Jan 28 2011 11:39 PM ET

'Fringe' recap: Peter gets 'weaponized'

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Categories: Dramas, Fringe, Sci-Fi, Television, TV Recap, TV Review

This week’s Fringe, an episode titled “Reciprocity,” was about breaking codes and breaking down defenses. It began on a rather light note, when it was revealed that our heroes had cracked the encryption code on the alternate-world-Olivia’s case files. (In deference to Walter, who this week started using the widely-employed fan term “Fauxlivia,” that’s what I’ll call her here.) What was the key to the code? READ FULL STORY »

Jan 27 2011 10:38 PM ET

'Archer' season premiere review: Is this the best (adult) cartoon on TV?

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Categories: Cartoons, Television, TV Review

After seeing the second-season premiere of Archer, I think the primary question to be asked is: Is this the best adult-aimed cartoon on television right now? You can have your Bob’s Burgers and your Family Guy (please, and please); South Park is very hit-or-miss. But Archer, taking full advantage of FX’s mature-content flexibility, isn’t just funny — it boasts solid plotting, vividly distinct characters, and some of the most unexpected punchlines and sight-gags in prime time. READ FULL STORY »

Jan 26 2011 11:56 PM ET

'Criminal Minds' review: Working the AA steps by thrill-killing

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Categories: Dramas, Friday Night Lights, Television, TV Review

Criminal Minds took a well-worn plot — a couple on a killing spree — and turned it into a shrewd, intentionally appalling and well-acted story about alcoholism taken to murderous extremes. Adrianne Palicki, Friday Night Lights‘ Tyra and all-too-briefly a star on Fox’s canceled Lone Star, joined with Jonathan Tucker (The Black Donnelleys) to portray a couple “working the steps” in a perverse manner. READ FULL STORY »

Jan 26 2011 10:25 PM ET

'Friday Night Lights' recap: The thrill of victory, the agony of everyday life

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Categories: Dramas, Friday Night Lights, Sports, Television, TV Recap, TV Review

The return of Tim Riggins — freed from jail last week, with not a little help from Coach Eric Taylor’s character-witness testimony before a parole board — set this week’s Friday Night Lights into emotional motion. What was striking was that, as superb as Taylor Kitsch has always been in this role, FNL has raised a supporting cast during his absence that has risen to the challenge of this terrific series. READ FULL STORY »

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