The Weight of the Nation

Sun, 13 May 2012 17:46:01 +0000

TV Reviews: At more than four hours, "The Weight of the Nation" -- HBO's do-gooder documentary about the U.S.' obesity epidemic, mounted in concert with multiple health organizations -- is, pardon the expression, a little flabby.

Johnny Carson: King of Late Night

Sun, 13 May 2012 17:41:48 +0000

TV Reviews: "Johnny Carson: King of Late Night" is a documentary worthy of its subject -- a comprehensive "American Masters" celebration of the host's seemingly effortless skills without whitewashing his personal peccadilloes.

Common Law

Wed, 09 May 2012 17:38:58 +0000

TV Reviews: While USA has a genuine knack for wringing maximum effect from such light-hearted concepts, this one ought to come with a prenup.

White Heat

Mon, 07 May 2012 18:35:18 +0000

TV Reviews: An interesting if familiar premise -- focusing on a group of London flatmates, cutting between then and now, beginning in 1965 -- "White Heat" hardly merits the name, proving more plodding and cliched than anything else.

Sherlock

Fri, 04 May 2012 14:53:13 +0000

TV Reviews: Even better than the first time, Masterpiece Mystery's second flight of "Sherlock" -- consisting of three 90-minute movies that migrate the 19th-century sleuth into a modern setting -- is great fun, and vastly superior to Warner Bros.' recent features.

Treasure Island

Thu, 03 May 2012 18:00:14 +0000

TV Reviews: Some might admire how seamlessly Eddie Izzard's leg is removed, but the digital wizards might as well have gone a few steps further and erased the whole thing.

Uprising: Hip Hop and the L.A. Riots

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 17:20:00 +0000

TV Reviews: The animus between African-Americans and the Los Angeles Police Dept. is explored in fascinating detail by "Uprising: Hip Hop and the L.A. Riots," marking the 20th anniversary of the widespread unrest unleashed by the "not guilty" verdict in the Rodney King beating.

My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:05:24 +0000

TV Reviews: Aside from consciously evoking a popular movie title and giving headline writers fits, "My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding" is just TLC's latest subcultural oddity -- presented, much like "Sister Wives," as the TV equivalent of a carnival sideshow.

Duke

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:37:18 +0000

TV Reviews: Based on true events, Michael J. Murray's script tugs the heart with such precision it might touch even the hardest of them.

With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:31:16 +0000

TV Reviews: The 80-minute film is sort of a wonderful mess -- disjointed, poorly ordered, but like Lee himself, irrepressible and bubbling with energy.

Total Blackout

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:00:20 +0000

TV Reviews: Described as an "international hit," "Total Blackout" has the makings of a U.S. success by Syfy's standards as well.

Birdsong

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 08:55:04 +0000

TV Reviews: Sebastian Faulks' "Birdsong" comes to PBS as a two-part, three-hour, stubbornly old-fashioned melodrama.

The L.A. Complex

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:15:39 +0000

TV Reviews: A Canadian import airing on CW, "The L.A. Complex" borrows from "Fame" and "A Chorus Line," unexpectedly emerging as one of the best things the netlet's offered in ages. It's an affectionate, amusing, sometimes surprising takes on would-be stars, as well as the established luminaries and has-beens who pass through their orbits.

Firelight

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:33:31 +0000

TV Reviews: "Firelight" is merely earnest and mildly uplifting, if wholly predictable in an especially tired way.

Veep

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:29:34 +0000

TV Reviews: Essentially a limp version of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" against a D.C. backdrop, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus gamely playing to the absurdity of the situations, but yielding only modest returns.

Titanic

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:53:47 +0000

TV Reviews: With James Cameron's epic currently playing in 3D, this "Titanic" comes across as a ponderous, decidedly two-dimensional retelling.

The Legend of Korra

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:49:58 +0000

TV Reviews: Certainly, this represents a bit more ambitious storytelling for older kids, and perhaps a few adults with the geek gene.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:44:38 +0000

TV Reviews: Not everything about the production works, but it's certainly not a bad way to spend a couple of hours.

NYC 22

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:40:46 +0000

TV Reviews: A Robert De Niro-produced hour set in New York's moderately mean streets.

Girls

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:41:07 +0000

TV Reviews||Recently Reviewed: Producer Judd Apatow told journalists it's OK not to like the characters in "Girls," and thank God for that. Self-absorbed and self-indulgent, these slightly adrift twentysomethings have completely unglamorous sex, compare themselves to "Sex and the City" characters and feel few compunctions about sponging off Mom and Dad years removed from college. Still, if "Tiny Furniture" filmmaker Lena Dunham's series is in places too mannered, it's also fresh, honest and raw. And if she's not the voice of her generation, as her character tells the folks, she's certainly a voice -- one worth hearing, and right at home on HBO.