Bill Goodykoontz predicts curtains for "Inside Schwartz," "Bob Patterson," "The Ellen Show," "Wolf Lake," "Pasadena," and "Emeril." Get details on his educated guesses.
Alan Sepinwall thinks the show's "unexpected hiatus is yet another sign that 'reality' isn't an automatic ratings grabber anymore." See his other picks for casualties.
Tube maven Wanda hints at what's in store on "Ed," "ER," "Frasier," "Friends," "Buffy," "Charmed," "Roswell," "Felicity," "Sabrina," "Angel," and 15 other popular shows.
Alan Sepinwall mourns the late Carroll O'Connor, Imogene Coca, Ray Walston, Perry Como, Dale Evans, Troy Donahue, Arlene Francis, Ann Sothern, Whitman Mayo, and others.
John Carman shows why 9 P.M. Thursdays is "the toughest time slot," and tells why "it's conceivable that that time period will yield four Nielsen top-20 shows."
Tim Goodman provides evidence for why he thinks "This season, men are the trend." See what shows are "tapping into the testosterone" during fall 2001.
John Carman comments on the suspension of disbelief inherent in new shows like "Smallville," "24," "Thieves," "Wolf Lake," and "Alias," and old ones like "The West Wing."
Tim Goodman sees curtains for "UC: Undercover," "Men, Women & Dogs," "Off Centre," "Raising Dad," "Reba," "Bob Patterson," "Emeril," "According to Jim," and "Wolf Lake."
Tim Goodman guides viewers to the best shows on HBO, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, Animal Planet, E!, ESPN, VH1, and MSNBC.
Article identifies most of the 21 purported Canadians starring in American series debuting during fall 2001. Try to determine if it's a Great White North invasion.
Find five picks each from the San Francisco Chronicle's two television critics, and learn their reasons for choosing these predicted winners.
Scan a list of John Carman's capsule reviews for 33 new shows and see if the ratings icon of the little man is sleeping or leaping out of his chair.
Two government agencies present differing conspiracy theories in an effort to capture the Sunday 9 P.M. time slot. See if newcomer "Alias" can defeat "The X-Files."
First semester report card identifies hits, misses, winners, losers, and other qualifiers for 2001-02 television shows and their networks. Find out what to watch in 2002.
Alan Sepinwall explains how the shows that have dealt best with the themes and questions raised by 9/11 were those that did so obliquely. Find out which ones they are.
See what shows ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PAX, UPN, and the WB will be airing, and click on series titles to access episode guides. Includes a clickable list of cancellations.
View the prime time schedule for every night of the week, and click on show titles for their episode guides. Networks listed are ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, PAX, UPN, and the WB.
Tim Goodman hints at what's in store for fans and foes of domestic comedies during the 2001-02 television season. Get his picks for keepers.
Andrew Wallenstein passes judgment on the survival likelihood of "Ananda," "Iyanla," "Caroline," "The Other Half," "The Fifth Wheel," "Rendez-View," and "Colosseum."
Christine Champagne provides plot summaries plus air dates and times for a selection of new and returning shows.
Eric Mink designates "the season of the comedy turnaround," due to singular single camera sitcoms "Scrubs," "Maybe It's Me," "Bernie Mac," "Undeclared," and "The Tick."
Eric Deggans singles out NBC's "Scrubs," "Third Watch," and "ER," plus Fox's " 24," Lifetime's "Any Day Now," and HBO's "Oz" for reflecting America's growing diversity.
Tim Goodman reports on whether the "tinkering" helped improve NBC's "Emeril," ABC's "Bob Patterson," FOX's "The Tick," and CBS's "Wolf Lake."
Tim Goodman asserts that as far as creative TV programming goes, "There's never been a better time to be a kid." See his guide to the best shows.
Tim Goodman discusses the current crop of series and which show promise of sticking around because of what comes out of their characters' mouths.
Jeff Simon discusses why "Tuesday night at 9 has become a kind of nasty programmer's joke on TV watchers."
View an attractive maternal tableau. Click on each TV mom to find out about her show, her character and whether or not she has off screen kids.
See celebrities' children and siblings and find out what shows they're on. Surnames include Campbell, Jones, Patrick, Ross, Dillon and Williams.
Tim Kiska writes about "the most competitive time slot in network TV," and quotes network executives on how "the Tuesday night traffic jam happened almost at random."
Tim Goodman says 2001 will go down "as the fall season that didn't start, as the TV season that apologized for being mere entertainment in a new, more serious landscape."
Alan Pergament gives a sneak preview of both casualties and midseason replacements, and discusses schedule shifts that will hurt promising series like "That's Life."
"Viewers face tough decisions on Tuesdays," says Tim Goodman, with competitions between FOX, UPN, and the WB at 8 p.m., and the WB, UPN, NBC, FOX, CBS, and ABC at 9 p.m.
Chuck Barney discusses why "viewers seem to be embracing the familiar and snubbing the unknown... no new series seems to be accompanied by truly big-time buzz."
Tim Goodman discusses rampant age bias on TV, and offers examples that CBS, home of many post-Boomer-skewed series, is targeting younger viewers.
Joanne Weintraub surveys the reality scene and describes what's on offer here and what shows are "sizzling right now on the other side of the Atlantic or Down Under."
Chuck Barney discusses why this season "the networks aren't really going overboard, instead placing the emphasis on their established series."
Eric Mink reveals why sitcoms like NBC's "Scrubs," CBS's "Danny," WB's "Maybe It's Me" and Fox's "Undeclared," "Bernie Mac" and "The Tick" favor a single camera format.
Rob Owen picks some deserving series on ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, UPN, and the WB that need more viewers if they're to last the entire season.
Alan Pergament contends that "networks use different scoring systems" to determine which shows place first. See his thoughts on each new program from ABC to the WB.
Joanne Weintraub writes about the reasons for the younger versions of "Bonanza," "Superman," and "Star Trek," namely "The Ponderosa," "Smallville," and "Enterprise."
Rob Owen offers a reality check about the twice annual Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, which has been called "a death march with cocktails."
Richard Huff discusses the tradition of debuting new series in mid-September, and why it may be outmoded for the six broadcast networks.
Joanne Weintraub maintains that "Reality TV isn't the real thing, just a distant reminder of it. That's what makes it bearable to watch."
Antonia Zerbisias observes "It seems viewers want to slip into familiar TV la-la-land where every ending is happy and the good guys always win." Bye-bye reality shows.
Bill Goodykoontz chats up the trend of "the same-sex lip-lock, often with a big-name guest star involved in the puckering-up." See his suggested kisses for November 2001.
See what's in store for new seasons of "The Invisible Man," "The Chronicle," "Outer Limits," "The Division," "Queer as Folk," "Chris Isaak," "Sex and the City," and "Oz."
John Carman surveys what ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, UPN, and the WB will program during the sweeps month of November instead of the special events audiences expect.
Compare the strengths of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" against "Gilmore Girls," and get odds on whether there will be a win or a draw for the 8 P.M. Tuesday time slot.
Tim Goodman pays props to Nickelodeon, ESPN, PBS, and Animal Planet, as well as a few veteran series and a couple of "unheralded stars."
Elaine Liner discusses how TV "is finding success with shows starring women characters of varying ages, types, and professions."
Alan Sepinwall says "a TV drama is not lke a Web page" in his complaint about clutter, and rails against time crunching and scheduling six worthy shows on Tuesdays at 9.
Assess both shows and decide if viewers will choose "Will & Grace's" "gay men and the women who love them," or the "sun, sex and sleaze" of "Temptation Island 2."
Will "Smallville's" adolescent Man of Steel leap over the competition of "Roswell's" spacey teens? See if Krypton's boy wonder can stake a claim on Tuesdays at 9 P.M.
Alan Sepinwall reveals which executives, actors, producers, and hand puppets will be interviewed at the semi-annual Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena.
Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz debate the merits and distractions of the letterbox format as viewed on television.
David Bianculli compares the glut of reality shows to Westerns in the 1950s, and discusses why, in spite of a number of recent flops, the genre "still bears watching."
Alan Sepinwall talks about the high value of second bananas Bryan Cranston, Tyne Daly, Miguel Ferrer, Victor Garber, John C. McGinley, Kurtwood Smith, and Debra Jo Rupp.
Mark McGuire laments over the wealth of shows on at 9-10 p.m. on Tuesdays, namely "24," "Frasier" and "Scrubs," "The Guardian," "NYPD Blue," "Roswell," and "Smallville."
See results from a pre-season viewers' poll for "what will rank, and tank" among 35 new offerings.
John Carman quotes some unguarded remarks spoken by loose lips among network executives, producers, writers, and performers during the end of the Pasadena press tour.
In addition to Dad figures, find saints, smart-alecks, soccer, and scary dads, plus ruling-class and dearly departed dads among others.
Amy Amatangelo provides her pick of the 2001-2002 litter of new shows, as well as "a slew of spoilers," gossip, and fun facts about returning series.
Find out why John Carman is looking forward to FOX series "24," "Bernie Mac," Ally McBeal," "Boston Public," and "The Tick." Read about failed and fading shows.
Alissa MacMillan designates her picks for "ten fresh series stars of 2001-2" named Baker, Baruchel, Blalock, Braff, Cuthbert, Garner, Mac, Maguire, Neis, and Welling.
Kay McFadden compares and contrasts how CBS and NBC cater to their viewers. Find out which network she thinks is doing a better job.
Tim Goodman offers a preview of United Paramount Network shows premiering in January 2001 and shortly thereafter.
Details on the huge "Buffy Lives" promotional campaign.
John Levesque tweaks the titles of recently cancelled shows in a tongue-in-cheek attempt to prove that fame is the game of the name.
Tim Goodman argues that because "narrowcasting has split families," game shows are the only programs fit for viewing by the whole family. See his profiles of networks.
Tim Goodman blames familiarity, formula, weak writing, hyper-sophisticated viewers, better dramas, reality television, and recent good times.
John Carman quotes the cable entity's president of original programming, Chris Albrecht, on why "good trumps popular" at "creator-dependent" HBO.
Joanne Ostrow reports on the freshman shows that will survive, those that will soon die, and others that have gone on hiatus.
Joanne Ostrow discusses "a new wave of kung-fu keister-kicking women on the small screen" starring on "Alias," "Crossing Jordan," "Thieves," and "UC: Undercover."
Tim Goodman supports his argument that "when reality rules and sitcoms tank, it's no time to go on strike." Find out why writers have bad timing.