State of Television Address: New fall shows (Commentary)

Here’s a look at the noteworthy premieres of the fall season. I’m skipping over the bland sitcoms (even if they’re based on a clever Twitter feed or star Joanna Garcia) and the procedural remakes (“Hawaii Five-O”) and spinoffs (like the one for “Criminal Minds”). But I encourage you to check out Zap2It’s guide for a more comprehensive

Summer movie preview: 10 movies John wouldn’t mind seeing (Commentary)

Sorry I’m late with my summer movie column this year. But at least I’m getting it out by Memorial Day, which used to mark the end of the TV season and the start of the summer movie season. Now, of course, summer movies start in April and TV finales sometimes air in June.

Fall TV 2009: 7 new developments on old shows (Commentary)

Here are seven plot developments I’m looking forward to on old favorites this fall season. (Technically, TV’s best show, “Friday Night Lights,” is a fall returnee — Oct. 28 on DirecTV — but I’ll be blogging about Season 4 next spring when I see the episodes on NBC. I’m very interested to see what Coach

Fall TV 2009: 6 new shows to watch (Commentary)

Here are six new shows you might want to check out: 1. “Community” (8:30 p.m. Central Thursdays on NBC, starts Sept. 17) — When I first heard about this show about a hodgepodge of students at a community college, I thought it’d be like a lower-class “Bedford Diaries.” It turns out, though, that it’s a half-hour sitcom,

Fall movie preview: 3 with Jason Bateman, and 4 others (Commentary)

Here are seven fall films you wouldn’t have to drag me to: “Extract” (Friday) — This is “Office Space” turned on its head: Here the bosses are sane, and the employees are nuts. So, obviously, this is less realistic than “Office Space,” but it’s still from Mike Judge and it stars Jason Bateman (“Arrested Development”) and

5 big, obnoxious movies I want to see this summer (Commentary)

You’re going to hear lots of hype in the months ahead, but it’s sometimes hard to know which summer movies you should ignore and which you should embrace. Give your brains a rest, because I have the answers: See these five movies. “Terminator Salvation” (May 21) — In the first post-Judgment Day movie, I see no sign