Dallas-Fort Worth Entertainment Columnist Tom Maurstad | News for Dallas, Texas

02/26/2010

'FlashForward' DVD precedes series return
When the ABC series FlashForward returns on March 18, three months will have passed since the last episode.

02/19/2010

TV on DVD: A pair of first-season releases couldn't be more different, but enjoy them both

Courtesy

The first seasons of Nurse Jackie, starring Edie Falco, and Superjail are out on DVD next week

If you want an easy, vivid demonstration of how much and how variously the television landscape has changed in the age of cable, check out two new TV on DVD releases Tuesday. Both are first-season collections, and both are adult entertainment; beyond that, they are about as different as two shows on the same medium can be.
New to Video, DVD and Blu-ray
TV listings

02/12/2010

Relive the 1970s with 'Barnaby Jones' and 'Cannon'
The first season of Barnaby Jones is out on DVD. For anyone born before, say, 1965, these four discs will be like a time machine. For anyone born after, they will be like a time capsule. Either way, it's a trip worth taking.

02/08/2010

The Who is upstaged by stage at Super Bowl halftime show

TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images

Roger Daltrey, left, and Pete Townshend of The Who perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XLIV.

The Who was the band, the What was the halftime show of Super Bowl XLIV, and you already know the Where and When. But the Why is a little trickier to answer.

Quoted: What they're saying about this year's Super Bowl ads
You Tube: Choose this year's best Super Bowl commercial

Tom Maurstad: Assessing Super Bowl XLIV ads
A football game broke out intermittently during the annual collection of Super Bowl commercials.

02/05/2010

'Tim' and 'Sarah Silverman' DVDs let you see what you've been missing - or not

Sarah Silverman and The Life and Times of Tim

Comedy Central and HBO

Sarah Silverman, left, and The Life and Times of Tim

Most of the time, the release of a TV show on DVD is an opportunity to indulge an already established enthusiasm.

But a DVD collection also can be a chance to reconsider a show. I did this with two shows to be released Tuesday: HBO's The Life & Times of Tim: The Complete First Season and Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program: Season 2, Volume 2.

Quoted: What they're saying about Sarah Silverman
Blog: More on TV

01/22/2010

'Damages' returns to FX with the twists and turns you've come to expect

AP Photo

Glenn Close

To critics of TV's serialized storytelling trend, FX's Damages is everything that's wrong with this approach.

Episodes are interfused and story arcs stretch out over a season (or more), dropping off here, popping back up there. Time isn't linear. Past, present and future are forever slipping in and out of one another, so that the viewer can never settle into a certain and stable "now." Or rather, it's always "now," it's just always changing.
Quoted: What they're saying about Glenn Close
Blog: More on TV

01/21/2010

TV on DVD: Shift your attention to British TV's 'Top Gear'

AP Photo/BBC Worldwide

Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson navigates his self-designed amphibious pickup truck across the English Channel.

Top Gear is a British TV show that originally began in 1977, but has become a national hit and an international cult phenomenon since it relaunched in 2002. It's estimated to have 350 million fans worldwide. It's an hour-long show in which three guys talk about cars, drive cars, smash them, and generally have fun with them.
Blog: More on TV

Television review: 'The Deep End' is shallow on storytelling

ABC

Matt Long, left, and Billy Zane in The Deep End

Think of The Deep End as a cafeteria-style TV show: It offers up a little bit of everything so viewers can have their choice.

The new ABC drama is full of young, attractive people with montages of fast cars, cool clothes and hip clubs.
David Hemingson, creator of ABC's Deep End, draws on his experiences as a young lawyer
Blog: More on TV

01/18/2010

Golden Globes: All seemed on their best behavior, and that's too bad

AP Photo/NBC

Ricky Gervais

The Golden Globes awards show was hilarious fun, full of not-ready-for-prime time silliness and open-bar-primed celebrities. At least it used to be, back before the Oscars-industrial complex turned it into the official warm-up event of Hollywood's big night.
Quoted: What they're saying about the Golden Globes
Relive the night: The show | The red carpet
Link: GoldenGlobes.org

01/15/2010

Critics give their Golden Globe predictions

Courtesy

Clockwise: John Hamm in Mad Men, Lea Michele in Glee, George Clooney in Up in the Air and Zoe Saldana in Avatar.

Sunday night's Golden Globes awards show for movies and TV is considered the fun one. The booze flows freely, and a looser, table-hopping vibe prevails. Here are the nominees, with predictions and picks for movies from critic Chris Vognar and TV from critic Tom Maurstad:
Shopping Blog: Fashion writers' views of the Sunday red carpet
Movies Blog: Join the Golden Globes discussion at 7 p.m. Sunday
List: Nominees and winners

01/14/2010

'Mad Men' creator scheduled for advertising federation event in Fort Worth
There's one thing Matthew Weiner wants to be sure you understand: He doesn't want to come across as defensive or sound like he's complaining. Several times over the course of an hourlong phone conversation, he stops for a moment, to make sure he isn't crossing that line, and to interpose a reminder that he doesn't want to.