May 25, 2012
'Idol' Winner Had Surgery for Kidney Stones
The father of Phillip Phillips reportedly says his son underwent eight surgical procedures during the competition.
HBO
Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen in “Hemingway & Gellhorn,” directed by Philip Kaufman.
“Hemingway & Gellhorn,” starring Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman as the title characters, has its premiere on HBO.
Television Review
Guns, Bad Blood and Something About a Dog: Inflaming a Family Feud
By MIKE HALE
“Hatfields & McCoys,” a History mini-series starring Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton, is a perfectly respectable piece of work about those two 19th-century feuding families.
With a Job Like His, You’d Brood Too
By MIKE HALE
Kurt Wallander, the brooding fictional police detective, shows another side of himself in some new DVD releases.
May 28, 2012
'Mad Men' Watch: Girls, You Really Got Him Going
On a significant episode of "Mad Men," Don loses, in one way or another, the main women in his life.
May 25, 2012
'Duck Dynasty' Also a Power in the Ratings
On Wednesday, the Season 1 finale reached new series highs, with 2.6 million total viewers.
Quick Getaways, at the Divorce Hotel
By JANET MORRISSEY
The Dutch entrepreneur behind Divorce Hotel, a weekend program for couples looking to end their marriages quickly, wants to introduce the concept to the United States.
Al Gordon, Skit Writer for Benny and Burnett, Dies at 89
By PAUL VITELLO
Mr. Gordon also came up with jokes for the Smothers Brothers, Flip Wilson and Carol Channing.
Seeing HBO’s ‘Girls’ Without Buying a Television
By BRIAN STELTER
What do you do when you don’t have a TV set but want to watch an HBO show? Call your parents and ask for the password.
Television Review
One More Reason to Fear the Beach
By NEIL GENZLINGER
The film “Mermaids: The Body Found,” on Animal Planet, takes on the feel of “The Blair Witch Project” as it hunts down the title creatures.
Advertising
Battle Over Dish’s Ad-Skipping Begins as Networks Go to Court
By BRIAN STELTER
The major television networks are fighting to preserve the traditional model of paying for their programming.
Critic’s Notebook
‘Idol’ Winner Cloaks His Talent in Modesty
By JON CARAMANICA
If Phillip Phillips had been craving a victory on “American Idol,” he did an outstanding job of hiding it. But on the show’s 11th season, he performed as if there were no competition.
Advertising
When Marketing Links Web and TV Dramas
By ANDREW ADAM NEWMAN
“Daybreak,” a Web-only series from the marketers of AT&T;, will be promoted with a 15-second commercial during the season finale of “Touch,” on Fox.
Television Review
Single Again, and Embracing Playtime
By NEIL GENZLINGER
Four men in “Men at Work” are on the payroll of a magazine even though they rarely seem to do any work. They’re too busy talking about women.
Eugene Polley, Conjuror of a Device That Changed TV Habits, Dies at 96
By MARGALIT FOX
Mr. Polley, a Zenith engineer, invented the Flash-Matic remote control for television, and spent years reminding people he was the device’s sole inventor.
‘Idol’ Grapples With Its Own Competition
By BRIAN STELTER
“American Idol” lost nearly a quarter of its still-huge audience this season, and people involved with that Fox show are asking what went wrong.
Television Review
How the West Became the World’s Alpha Culture
By NEIL GENZLINGER
Niall Ferguson hosts “Civilization: The West and the Rest,” on PBS, a program that explores why Western culture became dominant in the world.
From Opinion
Room for Debate
Whitewashing on the Small Screen
Should there be more of a push to feature minorities in lead roles, or does this get in the way of truthful storytelling?
From the Sunday Magazine
Can ‘The Killing’ Make a Comeback?
By ADAM STERNBERGH
Veena Sud’s show, ‘The Killing,’ wasn’t the first one to anger its audience. But it’s the first to alienate a new breed of viewers with the power to fight back.
TV Highlights
Multimedia
'Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt'
This is the eighth television movie in which Tom Selleck stars portrays Jesse Stone.
A Radio Talent Turned TV Talent Judge
Howard Stern, the controversial but popular radio host, will join NBC’s popular summer competition, “America’s Got Talent,” as its latest judge.
Sherlock in the Spotlight
“Sherlock” has raised the profile of its star, Benedict Cumberbatch, who has upcoming roles in “The Hobbit” and the sequel to “Star Trek.”
What’s On Tonight
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