Archive: July 2011 (1-10 of 19)

Jul 31 2011 11:54 PM ET

'Downton Abbey II' and the problem(s) with PBS

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“A gift from God,” is the way Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton described Downton Abbey, whose sequel will premiere Jan. 8 (ten hours of English country house huggermugger spread over seven weeks). Eaton was addressing TV critics at the Summer TV Press Tour in Los Angeles on Sunday, bubbling with delight that The Series Formerly Known As Masterpiece Theatre had seen a 43% ratings increase in the past year thanks to Downton, Sherlock (three more of those coming up in May 2012), and the updated Upstairs Downstairs (six more episodes will air in 2013). READ FULL STORY »

Jul 29 2011 09:24 PM ET

'ThunderCats' premiere review: Lion-O and Mumm-Ra were back... but different

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The new version of ThunderCats that premiered Friday night on the Cartoon Network is both faithful to the original 1980s-era, charmingly schlocky cartoon series, and a rather canny rethinking of a series that probably didn’t take a lot of thinking to conceive in the first place. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 25 2011 10:38 AM ET

'Curb Your Enthusiasm' review: Did Larry David, 'social assassin,' solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict?

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Last night’s episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm found Larry David in moods that are least like him (at least on TV): cheerful and open-minded. Enthused about the chicken served at the Palestinian-owned Al Abbas Chicken restaurant, Larry is busy converting his mostly-Jewish chums to the establishment. One joke among these jokesters is that the restaurant would be an ideal place to conduct an affair, since so few Jews patronize the place. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 24 2011 11:13 PM ET

'Entourage' season premiere review: The final season began with anger, sobriety, and girls, girls, girls

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As Entourage began its final season, Vince is living the sober life, graduating from rehab with cavalier insouciance, and is eager to write and direct. Johnny seems on the verge of third-tier stardom as the lead voice in a new cartoon series. Juicy subplots abound: Andrew Dice Clay, playing himself as Johnny’s co-star, doesn’t shy away from his former-super-star-comedian status. Scott Caan is back to push his pectorals around as E’s management partner, and Rex Lee’s Lloyd is trying to sign Modern Family producer Steve Levitan. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 18 2011 02:04 AM ET

'Breaking Bad' season premiere review: Fear the box cutter

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“Get back to work.” So spake Gus, giving the order to Bryan Cranston’s Walter White and Aaron Paul’s Jesse, in the season premiere of Breaking Bad. Getting back to work — resigning oneself to a life of both rigorous tedium and unnerving danger — is as good a way as any to think of the theme developing this season. The shoot-’em-up action thriller has always resided around the edges of Breaking Bad, with a few notable exceptions (the shoot-out in the parking lot in the “One Minute” episode; Mike’s masterly clean-up of some Mexican cartel thugs in last season’s climactic “Full Measure”) rarely at its center. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 15 2011 11:21 PM ET

'Friday Night Lights' series finale review: 'Clear eyes, full hearts'? More like teary eyes, broken hearts for fans

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Friday Night Lights wrapped up its season and the entire series on Friday night. If I told you how many times my eyes welled up watching the finale, you’d think I was a terrible pushover. But man, that was one fine, emotional, intelligent, and satisfying ending.

It was Christmastime in Dillon, Texas, and Eric and Tami Taylor were still fighting over their conflicting job offers. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 14 2011 01:48 PM ET

What I got wrong, and right, in my Emmy predictions

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Never have I been so glad to be wrong… in just a couple of Emmy categories. I’m certainly not going to whine about not predicting such superb surprise nominations as Louie CK, Timothy Olyphant, and Walton Goggins.

Yes, I’m doing my due diligence in following up on my Emmy predictions post yesterday; I owe it to you to own up to my miscalculations… and crow about my perspicacity! READ FULL STORY »

Jul 13 2011 04:51 PM ET

Review: 'Damages' returns tonight, just as Arthur Frobisher escapes to 'CSI'

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Damages returns tonight. It will spend its fourth season on DirecTV, and feature John Goodman as its biggest-name guest star. Meanwhile, Arthur Frobisher — a.k.a., Ted Danson — has eluded death only to take over as boss at CSI this fall. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 13 2011 08:30 AM ET

My Emmy nominee predictions in all major categories: Here's what you can expect tomorrow

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The Emmy nominations will be announced tomorrow morning, and you know who’s going to do well with multiple noms? Modern Family! Mad Men! 30 Rock! Boardwalk Empire! And what shows won’t get enough of the respect they deserve? Fringe! Justified! Community! But it doesn’t take a wizard to hazard those guesses, does it? So I’m going to take a much deeper dive into speculating on just which shows will fill out the nominations in every major category. Ready? It’s a long list. I’m pretty confident about these predictions. Hold your nose and take the plunge with me. READ FULL STORY »

Jul 11 2011 10:55 PM ET

TNT's 'Dallas' preview during 'The Closer' and 'Rizzoli and Isles': It looked pretty dang fun: VIDEO

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TNT provided a preview of its Dallas sequel during the season premieres of The Closer and Rizzoli & Isles. It’s impossible to judge any show on the basis of a one-plus heavily-edited minutes, but given the mix of Dallas stars old and new, Dallas redux looks… READ FULL STORY »

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