Tonight at 9PM, The Sopranos will air its final episode on HBO. It marks six seasons over eight years where viewers got to know NJ mob boss Tony Soprano, his blood family and his mob family. Creator David Chase filled each episode with enough angst, passion, violence, and intensity to make pretty much anything else on TV seem half-hearted. As we approach the final hours before we say good bye to Tony, Carm, Paulie......

Last night, Katie Couric made her CBS Evening News debut. Overall, the newscast was perfectly fine - no banter, a long Lara Logan feature on going in Taliban-run Afghanistatn, an interview (sorta like The Daily Show, just without the humor) with the NY Times' Thomas L. Friedman, a segment from Morgan "30 Days" Spurlock, and what the public has really been waiting for, pictures of baby Suri Cruise (she has a crazy head of hair!).......

Artie, who knew? Actor John Ventimiglia who plays tortured Vesuvio chef-owner Artie Bucco on The Sopranos was pulled over for a DWI and drug possession in Park Slope! The Post says the police pulled him over when they "spotted him with his headlights off and weaving in and out of the oncoming traffic lane on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope at around 1AM," and Ventimiglia admitted to having four glasses of wine in Manhattan before......

Tonight is the last episode of NYPD Blue. Once upon a time, NYPD Blue was known as the "other cop show" against fellow newbie (it had been one season) Law & Order, but quickly, NYPD Blue emerged as a sadder, more complicated, and even more intimate companion to creator Steven Bochco's Hill Street Blues. Gothamist had watched NYPD Blue in the early days, from David Caruso's naked butt to Jimmy Smits (always Victor Sifuentes in......

The reviews are out, and Chris Rock is getting a mixed bag of feedback for his duties as the MC of the Oscars. The NY Daily News' David Bianculli says he wasn't edgy or funny enough, Variety says his opening monologue was great (subscription required), the Hollywood Reporter says that Rock wasn't on a roll, and the Washington Post's Tom Shales says Rock was strangely lame and mean-spirited. Gothamist wonders if there's a generational divide......

Gothamist is still excited about the prospect of Conan O'Brien being the new Tonight Show host - though we'll have to wait until 2009 for it to happen. Since we ate up the Letterman-Leno saga when Johnny Carson stepped down from the Tonight Show, we've been obsessed with this news and found this Business > Media & Advertising > O'Brien to Succeed Leno on 'Tonight' Show" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/28/business/media/28nbc.html?hp">tidbit from Bill Carter's NY Times article fascinating:But the......

Tonight at 9PM, PBS (Channel 13) will air the Frontline documentary, sacred ground, by Nick Rosen and Kevin Sim about the wrangling to develop a tower for the redesigned World Trade Center. At the heart of the documentary are Daniel Libeskind, the chosen master planner of the whole site, and David Childs, the architect brought on to steer the design of the Freedom Tower. Gothamist will be watching, because we've been following the redesign drama......

A few major telelvision critics weigh in about the Democratic National Convention coverage so far: The Daily News' David Bianculli like old footage of Tom Brokaw on the convention floor in 1976 (the election is Brokaw's swan song, before he retires) but didn't like how CNN showed the empty seats at the Fleet Center; he also notes that Fox News covered the disappearance of pregnant Lori Hacking a lot. The Washington Post's Tom Shales thought......

Tomorrow night, Everyday People premieres on HBO, and Gothamist doesn't think there could be a timelier film, about a day in the lives of people who work at or frequent a Brooklyn diner, whose owner is contemplating selling it to a developer. It's a film about race, class, and making it in the world. We've been hearing great things about it, from the honest depictions of human relationships and situations to being a great ensemle......

It's official: Dennis Farina will be joining the cast of Law & Order in the role of the older, wiser, been-around-the-block detective, as announced at NBC's unveiling of their new fall schedule. Law & Order producer Dick Wolf says, "I've known Dennis for 20 years, and he's a terrific actor, a consummate professional and a truly nice guy." The new line-up also includes a boxing reality show (zzzz), a show starring Melissa Etheridge's wife, the......

Tonight, ABC will air an adaptation of the beloved Madeleine L'Engle book, A Wrinkle in Time. It's a three hour film, from 8PM till 11PM, and ABC has a psychedelic site for it. A Wrinkle in Time was one of Gothamist's favorite books when we were growing up, so we were surprised by how deep (and religious) it is when we re-read it again last year. We're definitely curious about this adaptation, especially with Alfre......

So, Ross woke up and found himself next to Suzanne Pleshette. Joey found the one-armed man in the basement of Central Perk. The Korean War ended. And the rest of the Friends got sucked into the Hellmouth, after realizing that their little NYC was actually all set in a snowglobe. No, not really. The AP Arts > Ross, Rachel Together in 'Friends' Finale" href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts/AP-TV-Friends.html">promptly covers the finale's details. The best quote comes from Ellen DeGeneres:......

Leave it to the Times' Alessandra Stanley to give Gothamist a reason to even think about watching Call Me: The Heidi Fleiss Story, with Jamie-Lynn "Meadow" DiScala, on USA tonight. Stanley writesDiScala interprets the role of the 27-year-old brothel owner with coy vacancy, and her flat affect seems part of a broader postmodern approach to the material. "Call Me" is less a made-for-television movie than an extension of the 50's French nouveau roman; Fleiss's immorality......

It had to end this way. Carrie, back in NY, without the Russian, sort of with Big. While the first 15 minutes were slow and rather heavy, it was an overall satisfying episode. Most loose ends were tied up on positive, if not exactly happy, notes. Highlights: - The French bookstore employees saying they have "zee Sex!" There's something funny about the French taking pointers from Carrie Bradshaw. - Even though Big has been......

HBO has been hyping their $60 million epic film, Angels in America, for weeks and weeks, and it seems that the hype of seeing Tony Kushner's Pulitzer and Tony–winning play on screen, directed by Mike Nichols, with performances by Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Emma Thompson, Mary Louise Parker, and Jeffrey Wright is justified. Gothamist read Angels in America ten years ago, so we've been eagerly awaiting the adaptation (buy Angels in America: The Millennium......

Gothamist like military night vision home video fine, but we think we might like Paris Hilton's actual upcoming Fox television program, The Simple Life, with Nicole Richie better, if the Daily News' David Bianculli's review is any indication: "If you're looking for entertaining television, look no further. I don't know what her sex tape makes her look like, but 'The Simple Life' makes her look like an idiot." Brilliant! Bianculli also notes after Paris and......

One word: Boring. Okay, maybe seeing Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci together is cute, and we liked that Fred Rogers got two shout-outs, but come on - Doris Roberts for the third year in a row? Tyne Daly again? Gothamist spent our childhood watching Tyne Daly rack up FOUR Emmys for Cagney and Lacey - hey, Television Academy, she's talented, but spread the love. This is why no one cares about the Emmys, when......

Tonight marks the premiere of Comedy Central's new show, I'm With Busey, where a Busey fan hangs with Gary Busey. Phil Gallo of Variety says it might be addicting: "In the first two episodes, much is made of Busey's fascination with Native American culture and eating foods that leave drippings on one's face (oysters, ribs and, what else, roasted donuts). He also gets in touch with his feminine side when he goes clubbing in......

Jake's favorite Channel 11 reporter (possibly favorite reporter of all time), Toni Senecal, is hosting a program about Broadway theater tonight on at 7PM on Channel 11. We expect Jake to set the TiVo about 1.4 seconds after reading this, tripping over his skates in his excitement to reach the TiVo control. The Daily News' David Bianculli thinks the special is all right but says Toni is an enthusiastic guide.......

Victorian lesbians make it here tomorrow night with the premiere of Tipping the Velvet at 10PM on BBC America. The Post's Linda Stasi thinks it's funny that television doesn't know what to do with women...who kiss...each other... and think the TV drama is great. David Bianculli loves it, too. Gothamist knew to look forward to BBC America's airing of Tipping, thanks to Dahl. Gothamist wrote about master TV writer Andrew Davies, who adapted Tipping as......

Law & Order turns 300 tonight, and over the past few years and after successfully extending the brand, everyone has been tripping over themselves to explain exactly why Law & Order been so successful. The Los Angeles Times has a pretty comprehensive piece about its staying power. Brian Lowry's gives Gothamist interesting observations, like how L&O subverted the movie-of-the-week genre and a subhead that says, "The by-the-book crime show has undermined TV movies, figured......

Tonight we say good-bye to Buffy Summers, Xander Harris, Willow Rosenberg, Rupert Giles, Dawn Summers, Anya Jenkins and Spike. We'll have many memories. Finale coverage from the L.A. Times plus notes on the wrap party and where some of the stars will be watching the finale, CNN (with interactive guides), Zap2It, Salon's Laura Miller, and the Daily News whose David Bianculli gives it 4 stars. TV Gal's Top Buffy Moments. E!'s Kristin asks a......

Tom Fontana on TV
Tom Fontana (St. Elsewhere, Homicide, Oz) spoke at the IFP From Script to Screen Conference and Gothamist listened....

This positive review for NBC's "Mr. Sterling" from David Bianculli of the Daily News surprised me, because I've found Josh Brolin pretty wooden. A reviewer likened his looks to being "Cro-Magnon" which aplies to his acting, too, except in Flirting with Disaster. He should play gay federal agents more often. Though my fingers are crossed because it also stars Audra McDonald, the luminous Broadway actress, I don't know if I can actually bring myself to......

This review of The Sopranos season finale is interesting, because the critic thinks Meadow kills herself. NY Daily News - Entertainment - David Bianculli: Season's end a shot in the heart I think she's very upset, but she seems too important to be dead next season.......