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Fair warning: here comes We Are Men

CBS’ latest new comedy series clunks into view Monday night. Our review of We Are Men is here.
Ed Bark

Cowboys and Rangers, with Breaking Bad for dessert

The weekend D-FW Nielsen ratings were eventful, with the Cowboys and Rangers in the afternoon/early evening mix before AMC’s finale of Breaking Bad came calling. We’ve got all the numbers on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Ed Bark

A detailed look at the Breaking Bad finale

If you haven’t yet seen it and still plan to, don’t read unclebarky.com’s detailed review of Sunday night’s Breaking Bad finale. But if you have . . . then you might want to go here for our blow-by-blow assessment of one of TV’s all-time great dramas.
Ed Bark

Two more fall newcomers: ABC's Betrayal and HBO's Hello Ladies (plus the return of Homeland)

It’s been a super-busy week here at unclebarky.com central. One new fall series after another, some with multiple episodes to watch. And here we go with two more reviews. You can find ABC’s Betrayal here and HBO’s Hello Ladies here.

Plus, since I’m pretty gassed at this point, I’m going to link you to a Homeland piece I wrote on the summer TV “press tour” for tvworthwatching.com. One can’t give away too much, but I do like the way the series has rebooted into this pivotal Season 3. And as previously noted on the Network News & Reviews page, Homeland and Showtime’s new Masters of Sex on Sunday nights give the network this season’s best one-two drama series pairing.
Ed Bark

Showtime's Masters of Sex: you'll want to watch

Showtime couples the Season 3 return of Homeland with the premiere of Masters of Sex on Sunday, Sept. 29th. The latter drama series is the fall season’s best newcomer in this view, whether you watch it for the articles or otherwise. Our review is here.

Also, it was no contest between Robin Williams and Michael J. Fox in Thursday’s D-FW Nielsen ratings. Then again, Williams had a lot of help. The hour-by-hour results on Night 4 of the new season are on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page, where you’ll also find a tidbit on NBC5’s one-day retro gambit with meteorologist David Finfrock.
Ed Bark

Reunited they stand: Michael J. Fox and NBC

Michael J. Fox returns to NBC, which launched him in Family Ties, as the star of a new sitcom that starts solidly and then hits some ruts in Thursday’s second episode. Our review is here.
Ed Bark

It's Riffin' Robin -- to the detriment of CBS' The Crazy Ones

Robin Williams returns to series TV on Thursday, Sept. 26th, reigning over the CBS sitcom The Crazy Ones. If only he could also rein himself in. Our review is here.

Plus, we have the D-FW Nielsen ratings for Night Two of the new TV season.
Ed Bark

ABC's Back in the Game: a diamond in the rough

Those looking for a guilty TV pleasure could do far worse than ABC’’s Back in the Game, in which James Caan comes to play as another of TV’s growing crop of Neanderthal dads. Our review is here.
Ed Bark

ABC's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a pain to keep typing

ABC is banking most heavily on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D among its eight new fall series. But the network also has made access to the premiere episode far more difficult than it should be. In any event, our review is here.

Also, we have the first night of the new season D-FW Nielsen numbers, including a 9 p.m. showdown between two taut new drama series -- NBC’s The Blacklist and CBS’ Hostages.
Ed Bark

ABC rolls dice with lottery-themed Lucky 7

The rich get richer, but not in ABC’s new Lucky 7. Its group of lottery winners are all up-against-it employees of a Queens, NY gas station/convenience store. The series premieres at the end of the network’s all-new Tuesday lineup, which launches on Sept. 24th. And our review is here.
Ed Bark

Title star of Trophy Wife gets passing grade

ABC’s new Trophy Wife, premiering Tuesday, Sept. 24th, is watchable because of its winning title character. Our review is here.

Also, the Dallas Cowboys soared on the field of play Sunday, but unaccountably drooped a little more in the D-FW Nielsens. Our complete look at the Cowboys, Emmys and other notable weekend programming is in the latest ratings “snapshot.”

Emmy night: they have to fix this thing

The Emmy Awards had lots of surprise winners Sunday night. It would have been nice to hear everything they had to say, but producer Ken Ehrlich too often had other ideas -- including two production numbers that would have been better suited to the Tonys. Our review is here.
Ed Bark

An up-to-date index of our new fall series reviews

The broadcast networks’ new fall series are coming fast and furious at this point -- as are the reviews on unclebarky.com. So in case you’d like to catch up, here are the links to what’s been posted so far:

Sleepy Hollow (premiered Monday Sept. 16 on Fox)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (premiered Tuesday, Sept. 17 on Fox)

Dads (premiered Tuesday, Sept. 17 on Fox)

Mom (premieres Monday, Sept. 23 on CBS)

The Blacklist (premieres Monday, Sept. 23 on NBC)

Hostages (premieres Monday, Sept. 23 on CBS)

The Goldbergs (premieres Tuesday, Sept. 24 on ABC)
Ed Bark

Shout-out: ABC's The Goldbergs

Calling all eardrums. You need to get in shape for the very loud Tuesday, Sept. 24th premiere of ABC’s The Goldbergs. Our review is here.
Ed Bark

Hallmark Channel again means well with The Watsons Go to Birmingham

The Hallmark Channel seldom spares the syrup with its assembly line of made-for-TV movies. The Watson Go to Birmingham likewise is life-affirming but less cloying and certainly more substantive. It premieres on Friday, Sept. 20th, and our review is here.

Also, Thursday’s D-FW Nielsen ratings are posted.
Ed Bark

CBS takes Hostages to Monday's final prime-time hour

CBS’ Monday night replacement for Hawaii Five-0 (which is moving to Fridays) is the decidedly less picturesque Hostages. Our review is here.

Plus, what’s up with AMC’s latest programming strategies? Desperate or savvy? We look closer on the Network News & Reviews page.

Also, Wednesday night’s D-FW Nielsen ratings are dominated by CBS while two competing high-profile talent competition shows take their lumps.
Ed Bark

NBC's The Blacklist awash in sinister overtones

James Spader quickly returns to prime-time Monday in a new NBC action puzzler called The Blacklist. Our review is here.
Ed Bark

That's his final answer: Emmy producer says Larry Hagman will not be included among five special "In Memoriam" tributes spread throughout Emmy telecast

Let’s not equivocate. It’s an egregious oversight not to include Larry Hagman among Emmy night’s five special “In Memoriam” tributes. In a teleconference Wednesday, the show’s executive producer, Ken Ehrlich, made it clear that it was his call and he knows not everyone will be happy about it. Our complete story is on the Network News & Reviews page.
Ed Bark

CBS tries a Monday night Mom-com

Immeasurably better than Fox’s Dads, here comes CBS’ Mom to the network’s comedy-centric Monday night lineup. Our review is here.

Plus, how did Fox’s rebuilt Tuesday night comedy lineup do in its season debut? The latest “Local Nielsen ratings snapshot” tells the tales.
Ed Bark

Rowlett signing off anew, this time from KTXD's The Texas Daily after one-year stint (updated with Dungan's decision to join him)

KTXD-TV’s The Texas Daily will be without its most prominent “pundit” when the program goes into syndication on other Texas stations early next month. Former WFAA8 and CBS11 anchor Tracy Rowlett is leaving after a one-year stay.

His longtime friend and colleague, ex-WFAA8 weathercaster Troy Dungan, decided Tuesday evening to also leave KTXD due to a financial impasse. Many more details on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.

Also, Monday’s D-FW Nielsen ratings show how Fox’s Sleepy Hollow fared in its first outing opposite the return of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.
Ed Bark

Coming this week: Season 3 of Key & Peele

Comedy Central’s Season 3 of Key & Peele launches on Wednesday, Sept. 18th with more episodes than ever before. Our review is here.
Ed Bark

Cowboys lose ground and some ratings punch

The Dallas Cowboys’ Game 2 loss at Kansas City barely cracked the one million viewers mark Sunday. Early afternoon games face bigger ratings challenges, but the drop-off from last year’s blowout loss at Seattle was surprising nonetheless.

Our weekend Nielsen ratings snapshot also has the D-FW numbers for Saturday’s big Alabama-Texas A&M showdown on CBS.

Plus, a reminder that our previously posted review of Fox’s new Sleep Hollow -- first new series of the fall season -- can be found on the Network News & Reviews page.
Ed Bark

Fox adds Brooklyn Nine-Nine & Dads to Tuesday comedy lineup

Fox continues its early start to the latest fall season with a pair of new Tuesday comedy entries. Andy Samberg stars in the far better outing, Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Our review is here. The dud that’s Dads leads into it. Our review on that one is here.

Plus, Wednesday’s D-FW Nielsen ratings highlight a battle between Fox’s Season 3 premiere of The X Factor and CBS’ still very formidable Big Brother.
Ed Bark

Breaking Bad will get a prequel spinoff series

Just three episodes remain in Breaking Bad’s two-part 5th and final season. But the acclaimed AMC drama will live on via the previous life of Bob Odenkirk’s oily attorney character, Saul “Better Call Saul” Goodman. Details and other small-screen tidbits are on our TV Bulletin Board page.
Ed Bark

Fox goes to head(less) of the class with new Sleepy Hollow

TV’s latest fall season won’t officially start until the week of Sept. 23rd. But Fox is getting an early jump next week with a trio of new series premieres. First out of the chute is Monday’s Sleepy Hollow, and our review is here.

Also, Tuesday’s D-FW Nielsen ratings are posted on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Ed Bark

Reviewing the new Arsenio Hall Show

Arsenio Hall returned to late night TV Monday, and didn’t have much to show for it in terms of high wattage guests. We take a look on the Network News & Reviews page.

Plus, Monday’s D-FW Nielsen ratings provide opening scorecards for Monday Night Football and several noteworthy premieres, including The Arsenio Hall Show and WFAA8’s inaugural 4 p.m. local newscast.
Ed Bark

This just in: a review of WFAA8's new 4 p.m. news

WFAA8 birthed its 4 p.m. local newscast Monday, joining rivals NBC5 and CBS11 in that genre after many years of relying on high-priced syndicated programming. Jason Wheeler and Collen Coyle are the anchors, and our first impressions are here.
Ed Bark

New York, New York: NBC's latest Cowboys-Giants prime-time showcase outdraws last year's in D-FW Nielsen ratings

The Dallas Cowboys’ raggedy 36-31 win Sunday night over the fumbling, stumbling New York Giants ranked higher on the D-FW ratings meter than last year’s. But it fell short of the 2011 season opener against New York’s other pro football team. All three games benefited from NBC’s bright prime-time lights, and we have complete details on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Ed Bark

Fox4 reporter Emily Lopez saying goodbye

Veteran Fox4 reporter Emily Lopez is leaving the Dallas-based station, with her last day on Sunday, Sept. 8th. More details on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Ed Bark

Lightning strikes twice in NBC's NFL kickoff game

A 33-minute lightning delay messed with the scheduled starting time of NBC’s Thursday night NFL kickoff game. Then Broncos QB Peyton Manning lit up the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens with a record-tying 7 TD passes. How did all of this play out in the D-FW Nielsen ratings? Our latest “snapshot” is right here.

Also, Arsenio Hall returns to late night on Monday, Sept. 9th (10 p.m. in D-FW on CW33). His original show premiered in 1989, when Johnny Carson still reigned. We look at then and now on the Network News & Reviews page, which also includes a TV critics “press tour” interview and picture of the host.
Ed Bark

Dome up in D-FW with blackout lifted

CBS’ Labor Day edition of Under the Dome aired just a few hours after the Time Warner blackout went away. And coincidentally or not, the hit summer series had its best D-FW Nielsens since early July. More details on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.

Plus, the TV Bulletin Board page has a wealth of new tidbits, with Valerie Harper’s inclusion on Dancing with the Stars the headliner.
Ed Bark

Hot In Cleveland reunites five leading ladies of MTM show

Not one, not two, but all five female stars of The Mary Tyler Moore Show are together again on the Wednesday, Sept. 4th episode of TV Land’s Hot In Cleveland Our review is here.

Plus, if you’d like, check out your friendly content provider’s cnn.com piece on the enduring influence of the late David Frost.

Also, as a new month begins, please help shepherd unclebarky.com toward its 7th anniversary (on Sept. 17th) by clicking on any of our amazon.com ads on any page before making the purchases you were going to make anyway. There’s no extra cost to you, but a small commission comes our way. The amount is tied to how much or little you buy, but it all counts. Thanks as always for your support and readership.
Ed Bark

Blackout ends, with CBS and Time Warner back in business

The month-long blackout of CBS programming came to an end on Labor Day, restoring CBS11, TXA21 and Showtime to Time Warner Cable subscribers in D-FW. New York and Los Angeles were the other major TV markets affected by the stalemate. More details are on the Network News & Reviews page.
Ed Bark