- John Hansen
- June 1, 2017
‘Manchester by the Sea’ a brutal tale of loss and recovery (Movie review)
There are safe tear-jerkers, like TV’s “This Is Us” (where we kind of chuckle at the fact that it makes us cry), and then there
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- John Hansen
- May 26, 2017
One-season wonders: ‘Swingtown’ (2008) (TV review)
I like “Swingtown” (2008, CBS, available on DVD and Amazon streaming) almost entirely for the way it recreates the Summer of 1976, yet it’s totally defensible as
- John Hansen
- March 21, 2017
‘This Is Us’: The best show on TV, or one big manipulative trick? (Commentary)
Having already been renewed through its third season, “This Is Us” is a show we’ll be talking about for a while. After last Tuesday’s Season 1 finale,
- John Hansen
- November 30, 2016
‘A Year in the Life’ puts beautiful bow on ‘Gilmore Girls’ saga
Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino warmly invite fans back into Lorelai and Rory’s world in “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” four 90-minute episodes that hit
- John Hansen
- November 28, 2016
‘Relativity’ (1996-97) the lost gem from H&Z, Katims
Coming after “Thirtysomething” and “My So-Called Life” (their biggest commercial success and biggest cult hit, respectively) and before “Once and Again” (their most acclaimed series), “Relativity” (1996-97,
- John Hansen
- October 12, 2016
First episode impressions: ‘Frequency’ (TV review)
“Frequency” (9 p.m. Wednesdays on The CW), in its original incarnation, was a pretty good 2000 movie starring Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel that I don’t
- John Hansen
- September 25, 2016
Once-great ‘Summerland’ suffers a fall in Season 2 (2005)
Other than the animated “Ewoks” series, I haven’t encountered a more extreme example of a good show going bad in its sophomore year than “Summerland” Season
- John Hansen
- September 21, 2016
First episode impressions: ‘This Is Us’ (TV review)
It was already a strong show for its first 41 minutes – and had firmly earned a Week 2 return from me – but in
- John Hansen
- September 19, 2016
‘Summerland’ Season 1 (2004) a great beach watch
In the category of TV shows that were never made available for purchase after their original airing, it’s hard to find one more popular than “Summerland.” It
- John Hansen
- March 19, 2015
First episode impressions: ‘The Returned’ (TV review)
“The Returned” (9 p.m. Central Mondays on A&E) takes “mystery” to a whole new level. Traditionally, a mystery show is something like “Gracepoint,” where we try