Television

Vietnamesse-American Pham Thanh and American filmmaker Elizabeth Farnsworth. As a child, Thanh was seriously injured when the Americans bombed his village. He eventually was brought to America and raised by foster parents. Farnsworth has made a documentary about Thanh's life, and the legacy of the Vietnam war on that country's children. It's called "Thanh's War," and it's being shown this week on PBS.

Winnie Holtzman and Richard Kramer write for the popular TV show. A new book collecting some of their scripts is titled Thirtysomething Stories.

Television critic David Bianculli takes a break from talking about his current favorite show to review the season premiere of "Northern Exposure."

Television critic David Bianculli reviews Paul McCartney's performance on "Unplugged." It's a weekly show on MTV that features rock musicians playing acoustic instruments before a small audience.

Grier is a regular cast member of the popular sketch comedy show, which has been hailed as a black alternative to Saturday Night Live.

Television critic David Bianculli previews three shows worth catching this week...David Frost's interview with General Norman Schwarzkopf, Bob Costas' interview with musician Paul Simon, and the political comedy "House of Cards," premiering this week on Masterpiece Theater.

The PBS program marks its first decade on the air with the showing of two broadway productions: Steven Sonheim's "Into the Woods," and John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath." Television critic David Bianculli reviews them both.

Television critic David Bianculli reviews "Of Moose and Men: The Rocky and Bullwinkle Story," about the critic's favorite childhood cartoon. It airs this week on many public television stations.

Television critic David Bianculli reviews "Darlings of the Gods," a TV miniseries about the real life romance between two of this century's greatest actors; Lawrence Oliver and Vivian Leigh.

Television critic David Bianculli reviews three of the network's specials that feature some of the best moments from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "All in the Family," and "The Ed Sullivan Show."

Actress Blair Brown of the Lifetime cable sitcom, "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd." She plays a single, divorced woman living in New York. The show is in its last season; Molly, who is white, is forty and pregnant with the child of her late boyfriend, who is black.

Lloyd Schwartz previews the next Dance in America presentation, highlighting works by choreographer Peter Martins, which the critic says often excel in irony.

The 60's soap opera "Dark Shadows" returns from the dead this weekend. Television critic David Bianculli says the original, like a vampire, bites and sucks. The reboot remains, at best, a guilty pleasure.

Television's "second season" is underway, and television critic David Bianculli reviews a couple of new shows: "Sons and Daughters" and "Undercover."

Rock critic Ken Tucker comments on the success of white rapper Vanilla Ice's debut, To the Extreme, and The Simpsons Sing the Blues, a compilation performed by the voice actors of the popular animated show.

Magnuson starred in the movies, "Making Mister Right," and "A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon," and on the TV series, "Anything But Love." She's had numerous one woman monologue shows in Manhattan. She joins Fresh Air for an interview, and shares an excerpt of one of her life performances, about groupies following Doors' frontman Jim Morrison.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz tries his hand at television reviewing. He turns to one of his favorite Norman Lear shows from the late 70s, "Fernwood 2-Night," a satirical talk show whose edgy humor still resonates today. It airs nightly on cable TVs Nick-at-Nite.

Television critic David Bianculli reviews the new Masterpiece Theatre series, "Scoop," based on the Evelyn Waugh novel of the same name. It's about a young, inexperienced foreign correspondent in 1935.

Television critic David Bianculli reviews the newest installment of the documentary series, "The Koppel Report." It presents a savvy, unexpected, and often sad picture of sexuality abroad.

Classical Music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the Great Performances telecast of Peter Sellars' production of "The Marriage of Figaro." It airs this Friday night on PBS.