Television

Television Critic David Bianculli discusses the progress of the new shows and the history of how television's top programs fared in their first year.

Critic-at-Large Laurie Stone will discuss the interaction between women and hairy monsters as seen in the new television shows "Werewolf," and "Beauty and the Beast."

Critic-at-Large Laurie Stone discusses soap operas, why she loves them, why she hates them.

Guest commentator David Marc will tackle the argument that television is to blame for the decline in reading.

Guest critic David Marc looks at the growing popularity of 1950s TV sitcoms. He thinks the trend reveals a troubling desire for an idealized suburban culture where whiteness and paternal authority ruled.

TV critic David Bianculli has been following the networks' coverage of Oliver North's congressional testimony on the Iran-Contra affair. While each station uses the same camera feeds, they deploy commentary and supplementary information in different ways, in alternately successful and distracting ways.

Film critic Stephen Schiff believes that the proliferation of film critics on television, whose insights he believes are often superficial, has led moviegoers to believe that emotional manipulation is the sole criterion for great cinema.

TV critic David Bianculli offers his guidelines for identifying programs worth skipping -- even without watching a single episode.