Entertainment » James Poniewozik

Idol Watch: Are You In a Rut, America?

James Poniewozik — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:53:28 +0000

Spoilers for last night’s American Idol finale below: Was anyone surprised? I don’t want to take anything away from Phillip Phillips. Though his music is not to my taste, I came to appreciate over the American Idol season that he does what he does well, and between him and the powerful but generic Jessica Sanchez [...]

Glee Watch: NYADA, NYADA, NYADA

James Poniewozik — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:24:53 +0000

Spoilers for the season finale of Glee below: One beef I often have with Glee episodes is that they move too fast, go in too many directions, try to cram in too much at once. You might say that about “Goodbye,” the season 3 finale, but in this case that approach seemed about right. It’s [...]

Idol Watch: The Sing-Off

James Poniewozik — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:31:57 +0000

I’m not convinced that American Idol finale performances actually mean anything. They don’t happen in a vacuum; fans have the whole season to base their votes on, and they’ve already fallen into camps. I’ve seen enough Idol finales where an underdog had a great night–and lost anyway. Still, there are the casual viewers you can [...]

Girls Watch: A Spartan Existence

James Poniewozik — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:25:30 +0000

Hannah comes home to East Lansing and visits the netherland between college and full-fledged, independent adulthood, in an outstanding episode co-written by Judd Apatow.

Breaking Bad Returns for (Half of) Its Last Season July 15

James Poniewozik — Mon, 21 May 2012 19:59:24 +0000

Walter White will be the one who knocks on your TV screen July 15, when Breaking Bad returns for its fifth and final season on AMC July 15. But you won’t have to say goodbye too soon, because the show will re-return for the same final season next summer: confirming what has been an open [...]

Game of Thrones Watch: Suffer the Children

James Poniewozik — Mon, 21 May 2012 10:24:55 +0000

A setting-things-up episode involved a lot of storylines about children and parents, the complicated ways in which characters hurt the ones they love and how the ones you love can be used to hurt you.

Community Without Dan Harmon? Suits Axe Auteur, and Fans Lose

James Poniewozik — Sat, 19 May 2012 21:30:18 +0000

Harmon was one of a small but growing number of TV creators who are inseparable from their shows. He was also, admittedly, a royal headache of an employee. But by making the show without him, the studio and NBC may be punishing the audience most.

Dead Tree Alert: Summer TV Preview; Plus, the Shows I’m Most Intrigued by for Fall [VIDEO]

James Poniewozik — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:34:40 +0000

In the new print issue of TIME, we have our summer Arts preview (subscription required), in which I blurb 11 summer TV shows I’m most interested in seeing. This is not to say the “best” shows of the summer, because they’re shows that I have not yet watched (the new series, like The Newsroom), whose [...]

Upfronts Watch: The CW: More Beauties, More Beasts

James Poniewozik — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:15:48 +0000

The last of the networks to present, on Thursday, revamped its schedule in a way that even more clearly focused on its specific specialties: soap, relationships and fantasy.

Upfronts Watch: CBS: Eye on the Prize

James Poniewozik — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:30:20 +0000

Getting a show on CBS is a bit like taking a job with an old-line Fortune 500 company instead of a startup; a little stodgy, maybe, but with a nice pension and good benefits, and hey, where are you going to find that anymore?

Mad Men Character Study: Sympathy for Betty

James Poniewozik — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:47:07 +0000

Sue me, but I like Betty Draper/Francis as a character. The problem is that Mad Men doesn't. Betty's not the worst character on the show, but she's probably the worst-served.

Upfronts Watch: ABC: Once More, With Feelings

James Poniewozik — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:32:28 +0000

In its latest turn of branding, ABC is about feelings. Or as President Paul Lee put it in his address to advertisers at the network’s upfront, “Why just watch, when you can feel?” Right now, every president of a porn network is kicking himself for not having that slogan first.

Upfronts Watch: Fox Tinkers, NBC Laughs Through Its Tears

James Poniewozik — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:42:20 +0000

I was out of town yesterday as broadcast-network upfront season began, with NBC and Fox announcing their new fall schedules for advertisers. I’ll be attending and/or following the remaining announcements this week, and I’ll have some more thoughts on the new NBC and Fox shows later, when I’ve seen pilots, but here’s the quick-and-dirty on [...]

The Morning After: Smash Ends Its Season, With a Bombshell and a Whimper

James Poniewozik — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:24:06 +0000

Quick spoilers for the season finale of Smash below: …and so Smash concludes its first season as it began, wildly applauding for itself. The season-ender (NBC has announced the show will return in midseason next year) wrapped up the Karen-or-Ivy question by declaring itself Team Karen, and, apparently, assuming that we all were too. As [...]

Game of Thrones Watch: Prisoners and Free Folk

James Poniewozik — Mon, 14 May 2012 10:18:36 +0000

One issue resonates through this thrilling, horrifying episode: there are many ways to be imprisoned, and taking prisoners does not necessarily mean you are entirely free yourself.

Programming Note: Out of the Office, and Out at the Upfronts

James Poniewozik — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:23:01 +0000

I’m going to be away with the Tuned In family for a long weekend through Monday night, so I’m going to miss the first day of Upfronts Week, in which the major networks (on Monday, NBC and Fox) announce their fall schedules for advertisers. Fortunately, NBC and Fox have obliged me by announcing many of [...]

Dead Tree Alert: Mad Men—Now in Color!

James Poniewozik — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:43:42 +0000

My column in this week’s print TIME (subscription required) is a midseason update on Mad Men. In it, I look at how the show’s (literally) brighter, bolder 1966 color palette reflects (figuratively) the less subtle times it’s dealing with as well as the show’s bolder, more formally daring–and sometimes also less-subtle–storytelling this season. The show, [...]

TV Tonight: Around the World in 80 Plates

James Poniewozik — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:09:17 +0000

What do you get when you cross Top Chef with The Amazing Race? Sadly, disappointed.

NBC Gets a Jump on Upfronts with J.J. Abrams, Lots of Comedy

James Poniewozik — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:46:58 +0000

You may have heard that the NBC network has had a touch of trouble in the ratings lately. A slew of its new shows failed this season; Smash and Grimm will be back but have been, at best, far less than a smash and just better than grim; and its once must-see Thursday now does [...]

Girls Watch: You Gonna Put Up With That?

James Poniewozik — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:28:29 +0000

"Hannah's Diary" was themed around the question of how much the characters were willing to put up with in order to get something they need.