Television

Fresh Air's TV critic rounds up the hottest and the hottest of the year that was. Worth watching? A BBC America import about a choir director teaching people to sing. Jersey Shore? Makes Bianculli want to shower.

Actress Melissa Leo won the Best Supporting Actress Award this week from the New York Film Critics' Circle for her performance in the new film "The Fighter," which opens wide tomorrow. That performance also received a Golden Globe nomination this week.

Fresh Air jazz critic Kevin Whitehead picks CDs, books and a DVD for the jazz lover on your list this holiday season. His selections include a book of Sonny Rollins photographs and music from the first season of the HBO series Treme.

Critic John Powers has a theory about movies: The best gifts to give aren't necessarily the most recent hits. His 13 picks for the 2010 holiday season include a Charlie Chaplin classic, a Charles Laughton masterpiece and one of the greatest documentaries ever produced.

After a lengthy hiatus, Conan O'Brien made his return to TV last night as the host of Conan, his new talk show on TBS. David Bianculli says that a guy who had months to prepare should have had a better and funnier opening night.

In HBO's In Treatment, Gabriel Byrne stars as a psychotherapist who is working through some serious issues of his own. Executive producers and writers Anya Epstein and Dan Futterman discuss the show's third season.

On Halloween, a new show about a sudden infestation of zombies premieres on AMC. TV critic David Bianculli says the spooky series works because it's "beautiful and foreboding all at once."

Evening Primrose, Stephen Sondheim's made-for-TV musical about a poet and the girl he discovers living after hours in a department store hasn't been been televised since its 1966 premiere. David Bianculli says the musical, out Tuesday on DVD for the first time, showcases Sondheim's "early brilliance."

On Oct. 24, a TV drama featuring a modernized Sherlock Holmes is set to debut on the PBS series Masterpiece Mystery. David Bianculli says the newest incarnation of the iconic detective is "terrific and inspired."

After starring in movies like Rushmore and The Darjeeling Limited, Jason Schwartzman decided to move to TV. He talks about playing a novelist moonlighting as a private detective on HBO's Bored to Death -- and details what it was like to work with Wes Anderson on several films.

But the article does. TV critic David Bianculli shares his thoughts on the season finales of AMC's Mad Men and Rubicon -- and wonders whether he should be talking about this at all. Obviously: Spoilers ahead.

David Bianculli laments the silence that greeted the golden anniversaries of classic shows such as My Three Sons and The Andy Griffith Show -- and wonders why TV doesn't have an equivalent to Turner Classic Movies.

James Franco doesn't just spend his time acting in the movies. The star of Milk, Howl and the forthcoming 127 Hours is also an accomplished writer and graduate student. He explains how he juggles his many roles — and why he continues to take on new challenges.

In an interview with Terry Gross, taped in front of a live audience in New York City, the Daily Show host deconstructs his upcoming "Rally to Restore Sanity" on the National Mall and explains how The Daily Show comes up with material.

HBO's Boardwalk Empire, set in Atlantic City in the 1920s, is about organized crime in the era of Prohibition. Series creator Terence Winter, an Emmy Award-winning writer for The Sopranos, details his enduring fascination with New Jersey gangsters.

Jim Parsons won the 2010 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of Sheldon Cooper, the socially awkward theoretical physicist in the venerable CBS nerd-comedy. He joins David Bianculli for a discussion about playing the eccentric prodigy.

The fifth season of Dexter, which premieres Sunday night, is better than ever, says TV critic David Bianculli, who calls it "one of the most inventive and exciting shows on TV."

Today is the official start of the 2010-11 TV season, and for the first time in many years, all of the major networks are unveiling most of their new and returning shows in a single, event-packed week. Our TV critic, David Bianculli, is impressed by the effort -- but not, this year, by the results.

The new series is set in Atlantic City in the 1920s -- where corruption and organized crime run as freely as the banned booze. Critic David Bianculli is impressed by the cast, which includes Steve Buscemi and Kelly Macdonald, and says the emotionally intense drama is worth adding to your must-see list this fall.

The plot shakeups at the beginning of this season's Mad Men have left Jon Hamm's character Don Draper a broken man. Hamm talks about Draper's evolution, details how he auditioned for the role and talks about his newest movie, Ben Affleck's crime thriller The Town.