The Daily Reviewer | NYT

‘Her Name Was Steven’ on CNN Presents

Mar 12, 2010 11:07pm

Reviews of new programs on Ion, Animal Planet and CNN. ...

Arts, Briefly: CBS Wins, Despite ‘Idol’

Mar 12, 2010 9:40pm

CBS edged past Fox in the ratings on Thursday night even as an episode of Fox’s “American Idol” that sent home four contestants garnered the largest audience in prime time. ...

Television Review | 'Who Is Clark Rockefeller?': Pretend Rockefeller Could Sell a Bridge Over the East River

Mar 12, 2010 9:21pm

The Lifetime movie “Who Is Clark Rockefeller?,” which makes its debut on Saturday night, is about a German man who fooled flocks of Americans with his invented personas. ...

Television Review | 'The Pacific': First Marine Division in Gruesome World War II Battles

Mar 12, 2010 10:17am

“The Pacific,” a 10-part World War II mini-series that begins on Sunday on HBO, follows a Marine division through tropical battlegrounds that have since faded from the collective memory. ...

Television Review | 'Sons of Tucson': What a Charming Loser on New Fox Sitcom

Mar 12, 2010 7:16am

“Sons of Tucson,” a new sitcom beginning Sunday night on Fox, is about a good-natured loser and congenital liar who’s hired by three boys to pose as their father. ...

Arts, Briefly: St. Olaf to New York: White to Host ‘SNL’

Mar 11, 2010 8:25pm

Betty White will be hosting “Saturday Night Live” on May 8, a pre-Mother’s Day episode also featuring appearances from six “SNL” alumnae. ...

Arts, Briefly: Conan O’Brien Announces Details of National Tour

Mar 11, 2010 8:24pm

The fans of Conan O’Brien will not have to wait much longer — though they may have to wait in long lines — to see their favorite late-night comedian perform again. ...

Corey Haim, Actor, Dies at 38

Mar 11, 2010 9:09am

Mr. Haim was an actor whose status as a teenage heartthrob of the 1980s gave way to substance abuse and rehabilitation as an adult. ...

Snooki Slept Here. Your Turn.

Mar 10, 2010 9:33pm

The Seaside Heights house used in the first season of “Jersey Shore” is for rent — for $2,500 a night. ...

Does Seacrest Need a Lesson in Fashion Reporting?

Mar 10, 2010 5:52pm

Ryan Seacrest failed to ask celebrities on the Oscars red carpet what they were wearing. Does he need a lesson in fashion reporting? ...

South by Southwest to Honor Film and TV Title Sequences

Mar 10, 2010 7:55am

In a competition at the South by Southwest festival, film and television titles get the credit(s). ...

The TV Watch: Supersizing Oscar and Repudiating Austerity of Last Year

Mar 9, 2010 7:30pm

Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony was one enormous Hollywood stimulus package. ...

The Academy Shows Two Faces on Oscar Night

Mar 9, 2010 7:23pm

The Oscars telecast exposed an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in identity crisis: the ceremony was big and commercial; the winners were small and arty. ...

TV Providers Seek New Federal Rules on Retransmission Rights

Mar 9, 2010 6:40pm

With a petition to the F.C.C. and a letter to Congressional leaders, cable and satellite providers said the current rules were “broken and in need of repair.” ...

Advertising: ‘Mad Men’ Dolls in Barbie’s World, but Cocktails Stay Behind

Mar 9, 2010 6:30pm

Mattel is planning versions of Barbie and Ken styled after four “Mad Men” characters in a promotion for the television series as well as for Barbie. ...

Cablevision and ABC Leave Viewers Without the Oscar Channel

Mar 9, 2010 9:52am

Cablevision customers in the New York area faced the prospect of Oscar night without Channel 7, the Oscar channel, because of a contract dispute. ...

Disney-Cablevision Fight Is Far From the Last

Mar 8, 2010 12:57pm

The companies’ feud, most recently exemplified by a Disney move that temporarily prevented Cablevision customers from viewing the Academy Awards, promises to spread across the country to other cable providers and stations. ...

ITVS to Offer Short Films to Draw Young Viewers

Mar 7, 2010 8:10pm

An attempt by a public television stalwart to bring the young into the fold with punchy takes on social issues. ...

Television Review | 'Magic & Bird': Still Going One on One and Giving No Ground

Mar 5, 2010 9:42pm

Every once in a while someone says something amazing in the HBO documentary “Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals.” ...

Television Review | 'Running With Wolves': Taking on the Wilderness, Both Without and Within

Mar 5, 2010 9:42pm

On Sunday the Smithsonian Channel offers “Running With Wolves,” a film about Gudrun Pflueger, who has been researching wolves in Canada for years. ...

Video Game Review | BioShock 2: Making Another Dive Into Evils of the Deep

Mar 5, 2010 9:38pm

BioShock 2 is fun, but it is also a bit stagnant in its creative ambition. ...

The Spirit of Freaknik Comes to TV

Mar 5, 2010 9:25pm

The rapper T-Pain’s bawdy, animated “Freaknik: The Musical” brings pointed commentary on race to the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. ...

Cablevision May Lose ABC

Mar 4, 2010 12:46pm

If a fight over money is not resolved, it could affect the ability of 3.1 million Cablevision customers to watch the Academy Awards. ...

Front Row: Extra Points for Good Catwalking

Mar 4, 2010 8:30am

Fans who cannot watch enough of “Project Runway” can now get their fashion fix on a new video-game version, released for the Wii system. ...

A Last Bow at the Oscars for Walters

Mar 4, 2010 6:47am

There will be a Barbara Walters pre-Oscar interview on Sunday, but it will be the last. ...

Noticed: Why His Face May End Up in Webster’s

Mar 3, 2010 10:05pm

The word “prehab” enters American vernacular thanks to Charlie Sheen. ...

Television: Is Your Family Tree Just a Shrub?

Mar 3, 2010 9:20pm

A new show on NBC traces seven celebrities back through time, revealing interesting ancestors and stories from their families’ pasts. Would your family history measure up? ...

With Leno, Palin Pushes Back Against 'Family Guy'

Mar 3, 2010 9:20am

In an interview on "The Tonight Show," Sarah Palin once again criticized "Family Guy" for a joke she believed was directed at her family and rebuked the news media for not giving her the opportunity to fully explain her opinions on that show. ...

Television Review | 'Parenthood' and 'The Marriage Ref': A Family Affair, From Acne to Arthritis

Mar 3, 2010 9:03am

The new NBC shows “Parenthood,” beginning on Tuesday, and “The Marriage Ref,” which had its premiere on Sunday, rise above flimsy formats with good writing and exceptional casts. ...