Why, on my mother's birthday, am I thinking about 'Father Knows Best?' At our house, mother knew best at least as often… — Tom Shales Copy Share Image
Gimmicks come and go; the cop show seems one genre that will never leave - not as long as people like to… — Tom Shales Copy Share Image
In the 500-channel universe, which may, of course, contain many more channels than 500, the fun never stops - fun at such… — Tom Shales Copy Share Image
Maybe Larry Kings cannot thrive or even survive in a world where the norms for discourse are rage, vehemence and character assassination.… — Tom Shales Copy Share Image
In city after city, newspaper after newspaper has diminished its staff of critics, sometimes to zero. Film and T.V. critics have been… — Tom Shales Copy Share Image
In the realm of pop celebrity, the bar has been lowered so far that there is no bar. People can be famous… — Tom Shales America Copy Share Image
"More fun than a barrel of monkeys." Has anyone ever stopped to think how cranky, if not downright vicious, a barrelful of… — Tom Shales Copy Share Image
Revisiting 'Leave It to Beaver,' and seeing it in the pristine visual clarity of digital restoration, are mood-altering if not quite mind-altering… — Tom Shales Copy Share Image
Your humble critic confesses that he has been wrestling with 'weight issues' since leaving college lo these, uh, several years ago, so… — Tom Shales Copy Share Image
Perhaps unscripted reality shows and written fiction have already blurred together into some new amalgamated mush, just as the line between commercials… — Tom Shales Copy Share Image
People of a certain age look back on the Mayberry of 'The Andy Griffith Show' and become almost as homesick for that… — Tom Shales Age Copy Share Image
'Minute to Win It' is a variation on a game show from the 1950s called 'Beat the Clock,' in which contestants won… — Tom Shales Copy Share Image
It might be hard to remember this far back, but once upon a time, some of us hoped that public TV would… — Tom Shales Copy Share Image
The original and very basic 'Law & Order' series has always seemed to me to be 100-percent exposition, with no filler, no… — Tom Shales Copy Share Image
