Television

The creator of the Simpsons Matt Groening talks with TV critic David Bianculli about the series. This month, TV's longest running animated series will broadcast its 200th episode. The Simpsons were first featured during episodes of the Tracey Ullman Show. The Simpsons own prime time series premiered in 1990. Groening has a new book called "The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family."

TV critic David Bianculli reviews "Teletubbies" the British TV series geared for children, one to three years old, which premieres on PBS this week.

Actor, director and producer Tom Hanks and writer Andrew Chaikin talk with Terry Gross about HBO's 12 part mini-series "From Earth to the Moon" which begins this Sunday. Hanks was the executive producer for the project. Chaikin, a consultant on the series, wrote the book "A Man on the Moon" which program is largely based on. Hanks also starred in the film "Apollo 13". Hanks received Academy Awards for his roles in "Forrest Gump," and "Philadelphia."

TV Critic David Bianculli previews the new PBS series "Moyers on Addiction: Close to Home". Journalist Bill Moyers takes an unprecedented look at addiction and recovery in America with the five-part series Moyers On Addiction: Close To Home, premiering March 29, 1998, at 9 p.m. (ET) on PBS. (Check local listings.)

Betty DeGeneres talks about her life before and after her daughter Ellen Degeneres publicly announced that she is a lesbian. Betty DeGeneres is now the spokesperson for the National Coming Out Project for the Human Rights Campaign. HRC is the nation's largest national lesbian and gay political organization. National Coming Out Day is celebrated every October 11.

TV Critic David Bianculli reviews a cooking show from Japan called "Iron Chef". It is shown in New York and San Francisco. The show features Japan's top chefs in the heat of competition.

T.V. critic David Bianculli previews Sunday's episode of "The Larry Sanders Show" on HBO; this will be the show's final season. And he reviews the telemovie on ABC tonight, "Crimes of Passion: One Hot Summer Night," starring as a homicide detective, the prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson trial, Christopher Darden!

Political satirist Al Franken. He was one of the original writers for Saturday Night Live. He won four Emmys for his writing on the show. His most popular character was Stuart Smalley, the new age cable TV host. He's also the author of "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations." His newest endeavor is the sitcom "Lateline" which premieres next Tuesday on NBC about the behind the scenes of a late night news show.

T.V. critic David Bianculli reviews "The Con" the new telemovie which premieres on the USA cable network tonight. It was written by actor William H. Macy.

T.V. critic David Bianculli reviews two new shows starring Ann Margaret and Tom Selleck.

TV critic David Bianculli on the coverage of the Olympics.

Frontline correspondent and Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Gates hosts a Frontline segment called "Two Nations of Black America" which airs Tuesday night on PBS. Today, America has the largest black middle class in its history, yet half of all black children are born into poverty. (Interview by Barbara Bogaev)

TV critic David Bianculli comments on the coverage of the Clinton scandal.

TV critic David Bianculli on what's up at NBC now that "Seinfeld" is in it's last season.

Comedienne and actress Tracey Ullman. Earlier this week her HBO series "Tracy Takes On" (Sundays at 10 PM ET/PT) began it's third season. Each week she features a gallery of her characters talking about a topic, such as families, sex, money and crime. She also has a companion book "Tracey Takes On" (Hyperion), and there's a HBO home video release of her previous shows. Ullman is a native of England. She got her start in the U.S. with The Tracey Ullman Show, and has since won several Emmys and Cable Ace awards.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg on the controversies of the 1950s over the grammar of commercials.

TV Critic David Bianculli previews tonight’s presentation of “South Park” on cable TV’s Comedy Central.

A 1995 study by the American Psychiatric Association reports that families play a significant part in the recovery of depressed people. Mary Wallace and Rose Styron are the wives of journalist Mike Wallace and writer William Styron, who both suffered from bouts of depression. They'll talk about what it was like to help their husbands thru depression. Mike Wallace and William Styron will appear in the upcoming documentary "Dead Blue: Surviving Depression"

Bill Nye, The Science Guy. Through his long-running PBS show, Nye continues to teach kids about the fun and magic of science. The show "Bill Nye the Science Guy" is also in syndication and Nye has released a series of themed videos culled from his shows. (Interview by Barbara Bogaev)

Rock historian and writer Robert Palmer died yesterday at the age of 52. He was the New York Times's first full-time rock critic writing from 1981-1988, and was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine since the 1970s. He's wrote several books on blues and rock and roll, and was the writer and music director for the award-winning documentary films, "The World According to John Coltrane," and "Deep Blues." He was chief advisor to the 1995 ten-part PBS documentary, "Rock & Roll: An Unruly History,".