Television

TV critic David Bianculli reviews "Debt" the new cable game show. He thought it wasn't worth writing about until it started gaining an audience.

In the 1950s, Gelbart he was part of a team of television writers that included Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, and others who wrote for Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour." Gelbart went on to develop and write for the television version of "M*A*S*H. Also, he wrote the screenplays for "Oh, God!" and "Tootsie," and the stage play for "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" There's a new PBS special about Sid Caesar's comedy team, "Caesar's Writers."

TV critic David Bianculli reviews this week's edition of the PBS summer series "P.O.V."

TV critic David Bianculli assesses the nationalistic coverage of this year's Olympics on television, which went against the Games' international spirit.

TV critic reviews MSNBC--NBC's new cable news channel made with Microsoft.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new three part series on PBS, "Signal to Noise: Life with Television." It's the kind of thing that should have excited him -- but ultimately made him ill.

Fresh Air's TV critic, David Bianculli. His new book is "The Dictionary of Teleliteracy: Television's 500 Biggest Hits, Misses, and Events" (Continuum). It explores the shows and events that have had the biggest impact--good and bad--on American culture. From the funeral of JFK to Hee Haw, the book provides background and context for the America's most memorable TV moments. Bianculli also reviews television for the New York Daily News.

Fresh Air's television critic, David Bianculli, reviews the final works of British TV producer Dennis Potter.

Host of Comedy Central's "Politically Incorrect," Bill Maher. The former stand-up comic's new book is "Does Anybody Have a Problem With That: Politically Incorrect's Greatest Hits," (Villard) With panelists of diverse ideologies (Patty Hearst to Al Sharpton to G. Gordon Liddy...) and sometimes explosive conflicts, the show has been described as "the McLaughlin Group on acid." Beginning in January, "Politically Incorrect" will air right after Nightline on ABC.

TV Critic David Bianculli tells us about "Xena."

Filmmaker Carma Hinton talks about "The Gate of Heavenly Peace" a film she co-produced with her husband Richard Gordon. The film chronicles the Chinese democracy movement that began in the spring of 1989 and ended in the Tiananmen Square massacre. The film will show on PBS' Frontline program on Tuesday, June 4, 1996 which marks the 7th anniversary. Hinton and her husband run a production company called Long Bow Group, Inc in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Host of ABC'S "Nightline" Ted Koppel. He has a new memoir about his 16 years with the news show and his life before journalism. It's called "Nightline: History in the Making and the Making of Television" (Times Books, by Ted Koppel and Kyle Gibson).

Film critic Lisa Schwarzbaum reviews the BBC movie "Cold Comfort Farm."

TV critic David Bianculli reviews "Walter Cronkite Remembers" on CBS tonight.

David Bianculli reviews "Dead Man's Walk" the TV adaptation of Larry McMurtry's novel which will be shown on ABC on Sunday night.

Jazz musician, Bob Dorough, musical director of the 1970s educational TV series, "Schoolhouse Rock" and composer of the popular song "Three is a Magic Number". A new CD, "School House Rock Rocks", has been released with contemporary artists such as Blind Melon, Lemonheads and Pavement, playing the old songs. Also, just published, "School House Rock: The Official Guide". (Hyperion Books) by the creators of the series, Tom Yohe and George Newall.

Lou Barlow, whose group The Deluxx Folk Implosion perform the contemporary version of "I'm Just a Bill" on the new release of School House Rock.

British detective author, Lynda La Plante, who created the TV detective series, "Prime Suspect" which stars Helen Mirren as Superintendent Jane Tenneson. La Plante has also published a new crime novel, "Cold Shoulder" about a woman cop on the skids. (Random House) (Interview by Maureen Corrigan)

Documentary producer, Glenn Holsten who's recent documentary, "Mothers who March" focuses on the lives and commitment of four mothers who've lost children to Aids. It debuts on PBS television nation-wide tonight (Tuesday May 7).

T.V. critic David Bianculli comments on the launch of Nickelodeon's new network T.V. Land.