Television

Twenty-two years after its debut on ABC, the iconic TV drama about yuppie family life is back — in DVD form. Critic David Bianculli reviews the first season of thirtysomething, and reflects on what made the show both infuriating and fascinating.

The Emmy-darling AMC TV series devotes an almost fetishistic attention to style. But is there any substance beyond the surfaces? Critic-at-large John Powers goes looking — and comes back with one especially well-rounded answer.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews last night's Emmy awards — and considers the future of broadcast television in light of what the results revealed.

In remembrance of M*A*S*H creator Larry Gelbart, we listen back to a 1996 interview with the comedy writer. Gelbart died Sept. 11, 2009 at the age of 81.

The TV star has been captivating audiences for over 20 years — ever since he ran a little bar called Cheers on the famous TV sitcom of the same name. This fall, the actor stars as an aging hotshot in need of a little spice in the new HBO series Bored to Death.

For all the claims to the contrary, The Jay Leno Show is as close to a clone of The Tonight Show as it can get without being sued.

Writer-director Mike Judge — the creator of Beavis and Butt-Head and King of the Hill, and the director of the cult-classic workplace comedy Office Space — has a new movie out. It's another satirical look at life on the job; called Extract, it stars Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck and Kristen Wiig.

When last we saw the ad men and women of AMC's Mad Men, the firm had just been bought by a British company and the Cuban missile crisis was underway. Critic David Bianculli offers a sneak peak at what additional drama the new season might hold.

Colette Burson and Dmitry Lipkin are the writers behind HBO's series Hung, about a hapless schoolteacher — with one substantial asset — who finds an unorthodox way to make ends meet.

Playing Shakespeare, a 1984 series in which actors dissect some of the Bard's most famous works, shows how crucial an understanding of Shakespeare's language and versification are to conveying the meaning — and power — of his scenes.