CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
ABC
TV Review: Twisted Guilty Pleasures of ABC’s ‘666 Park Avenue’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 29, 2012 - 3:23pmCHICAGO – It is far from the new TV season’s most creative or engaging show (both “Last Resort” and “Vegas” are notably better) but there’s something about ABC’s “666 Park Avenue,” debuting tonight, that could make it the year’s most delightful guilty pleasure.
TV News: CBS Wins Thursday Nights, Audiences Check Out ‘Elementary,’ ‘Last Resort’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 28, 2012 - 9:35amCHICAGO – Two of our most promising new shows of 2012 were respectably sampled last night on the first Thursday of the Fall season as viewers turned “Elementary” into a solid first-week hit and enough people checked out “Last Resort” opposite the #1 show of the evening to call that a success as well. CBS won the night easily while ABC has plenty to be happy about. FOX should be more concerned and NBC may just want to go dark on the night that they used to own in the ratings.
TV News: NBC Struggles on Wednesday Nights, CBS Wins Close Ratings War
Submitted by BrianTT on September 27, 2012 - 11:42amCHICAGO – The first new Wednesday of the Fall 2012 season told a predictable story — CBS and ABC are doing well, FOX is still under-delivering, and NBC is in dire shape. As for new shows, “The Neighbors” was well-sampled out of mega-hit “Modern Family” but we’ll see if that lasts while “Animal Practice” and “Guys with Kids” can practically feel the blade of the cancellation axe already.
TV Review: ABC’s Tense ‘Last Resort’ Delivers on Amazing Set-up
Submitted by BrianTT on September 27, 2012 - 11:27amCHICAGO – It may not look as post-apocalyptic as “Revolution” or “The Walking Dead,” but Shawn Ryan’s excellent “Last Resort,” debuting tonight, is just as much about the end of the world as those programs. It’s about what happens when training fails, structure collapses, and human emotion betrays.
TV News: CBS Leads First Tuesday Night, FOX Plummets
Submitted by BrianTT on September 26, 2012 - 10:25amCHICAGO – Network ratings continued to erode across the board on the first full Tuesday of the Fall 2012 schedule but the news is relatively good for fans of the new show “Vegas” and not so good for anyone who likes what FOX is doing on Tuesday nights with “New Girl,” “Ben and Kate,” and “The Mindy Project.” Meanwhile, NBC’s “Go On” and “The New Normal” appear to have stabilized to the point that they will likely stick around for awhile.
TV Review: ABC’s ‘The Neighbors’ is Worst New Show of the Season
Submitted by BrianTT on September 26, 2012 - 9:55amCHICAGO – And the award for the worst new show of the season goes to…drum roll please…while “Guys with Kids,” “Partners,” and “The Mob Doctor” put up a Hell of a fight, “The Neighbors” wins in a landslide.
Blu-ray Review: Emmy Award-Winning Season of ABC Hit ‘Modern Family’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 25, 2012 - 6:44pmCHICAGO – In the days since this year’s Emmys, I’ve been probably asked this question more than any other — “Do you think Modern Family is the best comedy on TV?” The answer is an undeniable no. But I usually add the disclaimer that this doesn’t mean it’s not a good show. It may not have been the best choice for the 2011-12 season (that would be “Louie,” “Girls,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Veep,” or “Community”) but it also wasn’t the worst.
TV News: CBS Struggles on Most Competitive Night of the Week
Submitted by BrianTT on September 25, 2012 - 9:35amCHICAGO – “Dancing with the Stars,” “The Voice,” “Castle,” “2 Broke Girls,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Hawaii Five-O,” “Bones,” “Revolution” — Monday nights have officially become the most crowded and competitive night of the week. And, as is often the case when a night gets overcrowded, ratings dropped across the board last night, the first official night of the Fall TV season.
DVD Review: Funny ‘Suburgatory: The Complete First Season’
Submitted by BrianTT on September 19, 2012 - 6:01pmCHICAGO – NBC has long owned Thursday night comedy but ABC has staked claim to Wednesday nights in the last few years with a two-hour block of comedy anchored by the highly-acclaimed and beloved “Modern Family.” While that Emmy winner is an undeniably great show, the rest of last year’s line-up was underrated including the reliable “The Middle” and the increasingly funny “Suburgatory,” a show that started off with a few problems but ironed them out to become one of the funnier shows on TV this spring.
Blu-ray, DVD Review: First Seasons of ABC Hits ‘Revenge,’ ‘Once Upon a Time’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 30, 2012 - 10:28amCHICAGO – Why on Earth is ABC/Disney releasing “Revenge” on DVD-only but “Once Upon a Time” on Blu-ray and DVD? It doesn’t make any sense. Both shows were surprisingly robust hits this year for ABC and are clearly building buzz as they head into their sophomore outings in a few weeks. Wouldn’t fans of “Revenge” deserve to be treated as well as “Once Upon a Time”?