The trend of so-called "hate-watching" is hardly a new TV phenomenon. We've been doing it with the Oscar show for years: picking apart the fashions, groaning at the witless banter, griping as we drift through the seemingly endless midsection where no awards of major consequence are presented, and nearly always regarding the unlucky host as a piñata ripe for the bashing.
This year's tuneful but torturously overextended production (ending just past the three-and-a-half-hour mark) was much the same. With one major exception: The musical numbers were no joke, especially when mighty divas as legendary as Barbra Streisand and Shirley Bassey and as electrifyingly current as Adele and Jennifer Hudson took the stage. No Rob Lowe-Snow White fiascos this time.
Want more TV news and reviews? Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!
read moreQuestion: I hope you'll mention the passing of one of my favorite shows, Eureka. With all the hoopla around the finale of The Closer and the buzz about new and returning summer shows, the final episode of this quirky and creative Syfy gem will probably go unnoticed by most. Over the years it's become one of my favorites, serving up some high concept sci-fi stories with a healthy dose of humor and heart. Although I knew it was ending, the announcement last week of the July 16 "series finale" made me sadder than I expected. It's like nothing else on TV and I will miss all these wonderful, eccentric characters and this charming, if sometimes dangerous, town. Thanks for your insightful columns and recommendations! — Lenoreread more
Decades before his Oscar-winning career as the director of such films as A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13 and Cinderella Man (not to mention two of my favorites, Cocoon and Splash), Ron Howard's creative mind began taking shape playing the only child of a widowed sheriff on The Andy Griffith Show. After Griffith's passing on July 3, Howard spent his Independence Day holiday reflecting on the happy days he shared in Mayberry with a man he would always treasure. In his own words, Howard shares with TV Guide Magazine what Andy Griffith meant to him:
"Andy's passing and the outpouring of love and appreciation from fans and the media has caused me to...read more