Television

The Perverse Pleasures of 'Downton Abbey,' Where Progress Is The Enemy

Key to the enjoyment of "Downton Abbey" is the fact that the way of life it depicts is long gone, leaving us free to admire it in all of its antique-linen-and-silver-dinner-service gorgeousness without having to think too hard about its implications.

5 Best Bets on TV This Week: Kevin Bacon's Return to the Small Screen and the Finale of 'American Horror Story'

Sure, Sunday tends to be overcrowded with high-end TV, including "Downton Abbey," "Shameless," "Girls," Californication," "Enlightened" and more, but what to watch the rest of the time? Every Monday, we bring you five noteworthy highlights from the other ...

'Catfish: The TV Show' Is Making a Name for Itself, But Is Its Premise Unraveling?

"'Catfish' the film was about me. 'Catfish' the TV show is about you," says Nev Schulman in the intro of the MTV docu-series he currently hosts, an unscripted show based on the hit Sundance doc of the same name in which he was one of the main subjects.

The Buzziest Thing at Film Festivals? It Might Just Be TV

On Sunday, January 20th, "The Piano" director Jane Campion returns to the Sundance Film Festival, where her first feature "Sweetie" screened 23 years ago. This time, however, it's with a miniseries, not a movie -- "Top of the Lake," which is co-directed by Garth Dav...

'Scandal' Provides TV's Response to the 'Zero Dark Thirty' Torture Debate

The other week, as the debate about the depiction of torture in "Zero Dark Thirty" raged on, I chatted with Alex Gibney about his upcoming HBO doc "Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God" and the piece he wrote in Salon about his issues with Kathryn Bigelow's film, whi...

Thoughts On BET Premieres Of 'Second Generation Wayans' & 'Real Husbands of Hollywood'...?

From Vic Ferrari to 'Do No Harm': Six Highlights From TV's Long Love Affair With Multiple Personalities

NBC's new drama "Do No Harm," which premieres on the network January 31st but is current being offered up for preview on Hulu, is a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde variation starring Steven Pasquale ("Rescue Me") as neurosurgeon Dr. Jason Cole, who from 8:25pm to ...

5 Best Bets on TV This Week: Carrie Bradshaw as a Teen, Archer as an Amnesiac

Sure, Sunday tends to be overcrowded with high-end TV, including "Downton Abbey," "Shameless," "Girls," Californication," "Enlightened" and more, but what to watch the rest of the time? Every Monday, we bring you five noteworthy highlights from the other ...

The Golden Globes Are Still a Bewildering Award Show, But This Year, They Made For Great TV

As a meaningful measure of film or television quality, the Golden Globes are and continue to be goofy and erratic at best. But as an awards show, last night's iteration was uncommonly entertaining, filled with weirdness, humor and poignance, along with the usual back-patting.