Television

TV critic David Bianculli reviews "The Jacksons: An American Dream," about Michael Jackson and his family. He says it suffers from strange narrative choices and missed opportunities.

Reiser was a stand-up comedian for years and was in the sit-com "My Two Dads." He's the creator and co-star of a new show, "Mad About You," a Seinfeldesque comedy on NBC, about a married couple. Helen Hunt plays Reiser's wife.

The comedian plays the sensitive twelve-stepper Stuart Smalley on "Daily Affirmations with Stuart Smalley" -- a Saturday Night Live skit based on Franken's own experience with a 12-step group. Franken is a co-producer of SNL and works on the cable network "Comedy Central," where he anchored the Democratic and Republican Conventions for "Indecision '92." He has a new book (written by Stuart Smalley) called "I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me."

TV critic David Bianculli considers the strange trends in this year's election, among which involves all three major candidates making an unprecedented number of television appearances. He thinks this is overall a good thing, and will become the new normal in future elections.

TV critic David Bianculli review the original pilot of "Gilligan's Island," which will be broadcast for the first time. He says it might be worse than the original.

Actor Rocky Carrol, who plays Joey Emerson on the popular sitcom, talks about the show's recent change to a live broadcast format. He says it works because Carroll and his costars have ample experience in theater.

TV critic David Bianculli takes another look at the documentary series. His only quibble is in the billing: unlike the broadcasting company, the show is only 18 years old.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews a new documentary about the Beatles' classic album on the Disney Channel. He says it covers familiar ground -- but producer George Martin's segments breaking down each song's elements make it worth checking out.

English actress Helen Mirren. She stars in "Prime Suspect," a three-part thriller premiering this week on public television's "Mystery" series. Mirren has preformed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the films "The Comfort of Strangers," "Age of Consent," "The Long Good Friday," and "Excalibur."

Stiller is the son of the comedy team of Jerry Stiller & Anne Meara. He's acted in the Lincoln Center's revival of "House of Blue Leaves," and appeared in the films, "Fresh Horses," "Stella," and "Empire of the Son." He's got a new comedy show "The Ben Stiller Show," which grew out of his work as a writer-performer with "Saturday Night Live."

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the season opener of "Murphy Brown," and he previews the premiere of "Mad About You," which he says is the best of all the new fall shows.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews "The Kennedys" a new documentary on PBS about the political family. He says it evokes not just their history, but the many television shows made about them.

Alderman's new book is about mostly conservative pundits -- the likes of George Will, Sam Donaldson, and William Safire -- who appear on TV and write newspaper columns, affecting political discourse in this country. Alterman's new book is called "Sound and Fury: The Washington Punditocracy and the Collapse of American Politics."

TV critic David Bianculli says that most of the over thirty shows premiering this season aren't worth watching; the ones that are don't fit neatly into the molds networks have been pushing this year..

Television critic David Bianculli previews the new comedy-drama series, "Going to Extremes," by the same team that created "Northern Exposure," and "St. Elsewhere."

TV critic David Bianculli considers network TV's new trend of premiering new shows up to a month earlier than they used to. That, combined with the constant schedule changes, is contributing to a changing television landscape.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new ABC police-themed show, "Arresting Behavior," which pokes fun at so-called reality shows.

TV critic Bianculli reviews the new HBO show, as satirical comedy that feeds off the current talk show frenzy.

TV critic David Bianculli previews public television's "P.O.V." episode called "Dream Deceivers," an analysis of a Nevada court case in which the heavy metal band Judas Priest was sued by the parents of two teenagers who shot themselves after listening to the band's music.

TV critic David Bianculli takes a look at the proliferation of coverage of the Democratic National Convention and the election more broadly.