Television

The new reality TV series, Family Bonds follows Evangelista's bail bonds business. Evangelista lends money to post bond, and if the customer doesn't pay up, he tracks them down. The show airs on HBO Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.

Critic David Bianculli has some thoughts about the fall season and cable's impact on network television. He says ABC may have the year's two best shows: the prime-time soap opera Desperate Housewives and the action/suspense show Lost.

Richard Pryor calls Dave Chappelle his favorite comedian, and Chappelle himself claims he's America's No. 1 source for offensive comedy. Chappelle's Show is Comedy Central's top-ranked broadcast. Season one is now out on DVD, and it is uncensored.

World-renowned master chef Julia Child died Thursday at the age of 91. She spent three decades explaining the mysteries of classic French cuisine to modern American audiences. Child hosted several cooking shows on public television, earning Peabody and Emmy Awards in the process, and wrote nine cookbooks.

TV critic David Bianculli on the upcoming coverage of the Olympics.

He was the Weekend Update anchor on Saturday Night Live from 1998 to 2000, and was known for his satirical coverage of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. He's now starring in Comedy Central's Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. It airs on Comedy Central (Monday through Thursday, 11:30 p.m. EST).

Maher hosts the HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher, which just began a new season. Like his previous show, Politically Incorrect, he features a roundtable of guests who make jokes and talk politics. The show is broadcast Friday nights at 11 p.m. Maher is also the author of When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the coverage of the Democratic National Convention, or lack of it.

Critic at large John Powers considers the latest programming from the cable network. HBO has become a perennial Emmy winner for shows such as The Sopranos. New offerings this season include Entourage, about a rising Hollywood actor and his childhood friends.

TV critic David Bianculli has a report from the 25th Anniversary of the Banff Television Festival. About 1,300 television professionals from around the world came together from June 13-17 to award prizes to the best in international TV programming.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the final episode of Fraiser.

Television critic David Bianculli reviews last night's series finale of the hit NBC sitcom Friends, and looks at the history of series finales.

David Bianculli reviews the final episode of The Apprentice.

Actor Ricky Gervais stars in, writes and directs the hit BBC sitcom, The Office. The show can be seen in the United States on BBC America. Gervais stars as the self-obsessed middle manager David Brent. The satirical The Office is shot in documentary style and follows the goings-on at a suburban paper company where life is stationary. It was just awarded the prestigious Peabody Award. The second season of The Office is available on DVD this month.

From Showtime's drama The L-Word, actor Jennifer Beals and creator Ilene Chaiken. Beals became a star for her role in the 80's dance classic, Flashdance. She's also starred in Devil in a Blue Dress, The Last Days of Disco and The Anniversary Party. On The L-Word, she plays Bette Porter, a gay art curator. Chaiken's previous TV work includes writing Damaged Care and Dirty Pictures. The L-Word wraps up its first season this weekend.

He is the creator, executive producer and head writer of the new HBO series Deadwood, a western drama set in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Milch left a teaching job at Yale University to go to Hollywood and work on the show Hill Street Blues. He also worked on NYPD Blue, for which he won two Emmys. Milch is a former heroin addict and alcoholic.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews Deadwood the new TV series - a Western — on HBO by writer David Milch who brought us NYPD Blue and Hill Street Blues.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg on the use of profanity.

Winfield was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Sounder. He appeared in many television shows, and was a voice on The Simpsons. He died at the age of 62 from a heart attack.

Weide is executive producer and a writer for HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. The show stars Larry David, who co-created Seinfeld, as himself. One reviewer calls Curb Your Enthusiasm "a comedy of hostility, resentment, paranoia and obsessiveness." The show is currently in its fourth season.