David Bianculli

David Bianculli reviews the television show "Damages."

Fresh Air's guest host and TV critic recaps the best of last night's salvos from the talk-show wars — which are getting fiercer with every passing hour.

Late-night television is at war ... with itself. The Tonight Show's Conan O'Brien has drawn a line at 11:35 p.m. and says that he won't cross it — not for Jay Leno and not for NBC.

The economy may have hit the broadcast business hard, but TV critic David Bianculli says the future is looking bright — for cable, anyway. He joins Terry Gross to talk about the best and the worst television of '09 and what we can look forward to in '10.

Terry Gilliam's new film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, is another entry into his long line of dream-like films. But it's also the final performance of the late Heath Ledger. Gilliam joins host Terry Gross to talk about the personal and professional challenges of creative filmmaking.

For those looking for gifts for the holiday season, TV critic David Bianculli has a few suggestions—recently released DVD sets of old and new TV shows. Match the right shows to the right recipients, he suggests, and the gift becomes hours and hours of passive pleasure.

After a lifetime of acting, the 84-year-old Hal Holbrook is still racking up new accomplishments. Last year, he received his first Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for his performance in Into The Wild. This year, he stars in a new film, That Evening Sun.

In the late 1960s, Tommy and Dick Smothers challenged those who tried to tame their wildly popular show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. TV critic David Bianculli joins host Terry Gross to talk about the legendary comedy duo who tackled political issues and censorship.

The seventh season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm capped a year-long storyline about Larry finally agreeing to a produce a reunion episode of Seinfeld when he co-created with Jerry Seinfeld. TV critic David Bianculli explains how both programs -- the show and the show within the show -- were a comedic cop and a perfect end to the season.

AMC's newest miniseries is an ill-advised attempt at a reboot of the cult-hit '60s spy series: A man known as Six (Jim Caviezel) finds himself trapped in a strange desert village, dogged b y a mysterious watcher (Ian McKellen's elusive Two). Critic David Bianculli says that despite McKellen's captivating performance, the remake has none of the curious genius of the original.