Chris Vognar

Will McAvoy’s series-opening ‘Newsroom’ rant echoes through the years - The Boston Globe This episode, more than any other in the series’ three seasons, taps into Sorkin’s affinity for the rat-a-rat dialogue and screwball dynamics of classic Hollywood.

Few series came in as hot as The Newsroom, which I look at in my latest Autopilot installment. We could use a little Will McAvoy right now.

50 years later, the movie ‘Network’ looks scarily prescient about television - The Boston Globe As televised news goes through the wringer, what started as a satire lands more like a prediction.

If Howard Beale were truly the Mad Prophet of the Airwaves he might have foreseen…2026. I looked at the prophecies and gonzo entertainment value of Network, 50 years later.

Are things terrible, or is humanity on an upswing? Yes, says Rebecca Solnit. - The Boston Globe Rebecca Solnit sees reason for hope. Not the Pollyanna, “It’s all going to be OK” hope, but an optimism born of perspective.

The only constant is change, even when progress moves too slowly for us to pay attention. Wrote about Rebecca Solnit’s new book, The Beginning Comes After the End.

Tracy Morgan returns (with Daniel Radcliffe) in the winning fall-from-grace mockumentary ‘Reggie Dinkins’ - The Boston Globe Having ruined his reputation with a gambling scandal, former football star Dinkins is eager for redemption.

The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins has Italian neorealist jokes and Sinners jokes and Moby Dick jokes, and a lightning-quick “Epstein Island” gag that revolves around an optometry office. And Tracy Morgan is still one of those guys who makes damn near everything he says sound funny. I dug it.

A new Sun Ra documentary makes (some) sense of a singular cultural figure - The Boston Globe In "Sun Ra: Do the Impossible," PBS aims to tell the story of a man who defied conventionality as naturally as he breathed

Space, still the place: a new Sun Ra doc tries to make sense of an epically out-there artist — and largely succeeds. Just an endlessly fascinating dude.

‘Wuthering Heights,’ the novel, is weirder (and kinkier) than you remember - The Boston Globe Emerald Fennell's new movie could never be as weird as Emily Brontë’s book.

I’ve been a little taken aback by the idea that Wuthering Heights (the novel, that is) is some staid, musty artifact. It is, in fact, freaky, and kinky, as all get-out, even more so than the new movie.

‘Soul Power’ tells the story of how the ABA helped create the modern NBA - The Boston Globe A new Prime Video docuseries, out Feb. 12, delves into the history of the league that first incorporated the three point shot.

Three cheers for the red, white and blue (ball): The new documentary series Soul Power shows how the high-flying ABA shook up the sports world — and shaped the NBA that we know today.

‘The Friends of Eddie Coyle’ is a beloved Boston movie. The book has an immortal gift of gab. - The Boston Globe In the first installment of our new One Special Thing feature, TV critic Chris Vognar goes deep on the beloved Boston crime novel.

We’re starting a new series at the Globe, One Special Thing. Every week one of our arts writers will share their passion for a great work. I get the party started here with The Friends of Eddie Coyle, George V. Higgins’ Boston crime novel known for its mastery of dialogue. The film ain’t bad either.

Kate Hamill’s ‘Little Women’ adaptation imagines a Jo March with more options - The Boston Globe Actors' Shakespeare Project's production of the Louisa May Alcott classic imagines a Jo who more closely resembles Alcott herself.

Keeping my theater chops sharp: I enjoyed Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of Little Women. Kate Hamill’s adaptation unfolds as a sort of dialogue between Jo March and her creator (Alcott, that is), on ambitions, options and identities for women in 19th-century New England.

Death became them: ‘Six Feet Under’ reminded us that no one here gets out alive - The Boston Globe The HBO series came out at a time when the network had quite a few zeitgeist-defining shows.

Death became them: I look back at the beginning of Six Feet Under in my new Autopilot column.

A revamped TV take on ‘The ‘Burbs’ is a suburban satire for these times - The Boston Globe The movie, which starred Tom Hanks, gets a TV adaptation starring Keke Palmer.

I liked the new TV take on The ‘Burbs and it’s witty band of outsiders. The lazy-of-mind might even call it “woke,” a word that has ceased to mean much of anything.

In ‘Black and Jewish America,’ Henry Louis Gates Jr. explores a rich, complicated relationship - The Boston Globe The PBS series airs on Tuesdays throughout February.

Black and Jewish America traces an interlocked history of hope, cooperation and contention. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is good at this stuff, and he gets good help here from Tony Kushner, Cornel West and many others. Highly recommended.

Anti-ICE AI slop videos fulfill fantasy — and distract from reality - The Boston Globe As video proliferates on social media claiming to depict current events in Minnesota and beyond, it gets harder to know what’s real.

One video shows New York police officers handcuffing an agent in a subway station as bystanders cheer. This, and others like them, are fake. And this is a problem, as so much other video of citizens fighting back is very real, and very important. Yes, AI slop has come for the resistance.

Tina Fey thought ‘30 Rock’ started off ‘sweaty’ - The Boston Globe Fey's view of the pilot in her memoir may be a bit self-deprecating, but the DNA that would make "30 Rock" a success was there.

Tina Fey thought the 30 Rock pilot was sweaty. I love it. So I featured it in this week’s Autopilot.

In ‘Rise of the 49ers,’ a look at the NFL’s other dynasty through the eyes of someone who’d know: Tom Brady - The Boston Globe Brady, a 49ers superfan in his youth, executive produced the docuseries, which examines the Niners' championship runs, quarterback controversies, and '80s milieu.

Me and Tom Brady, we have stuff in common. For instance: we both grew up rooting for the ‘80s 49ers of Joe Montana. Brady’s new documentary series, Rise of the 49ers, is a return to the sports nirvana of my youth. Hard for me to be objective here, but I had a blast watching.

In Oscar-nominated ‘Arco,’ future worlds have lonely fears, wild imagination — and a tender heart - The Boston Globe The film tips its hat to a variety of animated forebears, including the works of celebrated director Hayao Miyazaki.

I dug the Oscar-nominated Arco, an imaginative time travel fantasy about loneliness and connection.

New Elie Wiesel documentary reminds us why we must bear witness - The Boston Globe Wiesel is the focus of a new "American Masters" documentary, "Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire," airing Tuesday on PBS.

Wrote about the excellent new Elie Wiesel doc on PBS, and the importance of bearing witness — which feels quite relevant right now.

How to survive the snowpocalypse, one show or movie at a time - The Boston Globe Take some viewing advice from TV critic Chris Vognar to occupy your hours during Boston's biggest snowstorm in several years.

To quote Game of Thrones, winter is coming. As we prepare for Snowpocalypse ‘26 I put together a little streaming guide to get you through the next few days. Everything from the excellent Seymour Hersh doc on Netflix to Prime Video’s cheeky look at the DeAndre Jordan free agency drama of 2015.

At the Moby-Dick Reading Marathon, the greatest American novel still draws a crowd - The Boston Globe For the last 30 years, fans of Herman Melville's 1851 novel have gathered for a live, 25-hour reading of the whole book.

Among the Melvillians: I spent a weekend in New Bedford, where they “portion off their nieces with a few porpoises a-piece,” for the Moby-Dick Reading Marathon. Call me inspired. To finish the book.

A superb HBO documentary spotlights Mel Brooks, ‘The 99 Year Old Man’ - The Boston Globe Directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, the two-part series, which premieres Jan. 22, is loving but not fawning.

The new HBO doc Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! is loving but not fawning, exhaustive but never exhausting. A treasure of deftly structured archive material and new interviews, and a real mitzvah from directors Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio.

Watching the first episode of ‘The Sopranos’ was like finding an undiscovered country - The Boston Globe The therapy session, the ducks, the narcissistic mother, the pummeling of the gambler. They all played a role in the launch of prestige TV.

Woke up this morning (OK, yesterday morning) and wrote about the pilot episode of The Sopranos, the first shot in the revolution of prestige television.

A 100th birthday show for Coltrane and Miles comes to Scullers - The Boston Globe Together, Davis and Coltrane redefined what was thought possible for jazz. Two special shows at Scullers this Friday celebrate the centennial of both artists' birth.

Miles Davis and John Coltrane were both born 100 years ago. Few musicians have meant more to me. I wrote about the centennial and the special tribute shows at Scullers Jazz Club this Friday.

Less is more in the jocular ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ - The Boston Globe The first season of the new series is only six episodes long, with each episode clocking in under 40 minutes.

I am a mere Game of Thrones fan, not a hardcore fanatic. So keep that in mind as I enthuse over the charming A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which I enjoyed writing about largely because it let me use the word “Rabelaisian.” Score one for English majors.

10 new and returning shows to watch this winter - The Boston Globe There's plenty of exciting TV to check out this winter, including a new show from Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan, and Bill Lawrence teaming up with Steve Carell.

The Comeback is coming back. So is Paradise. And Tracy Morgan. Ryan Murphy and Taylor Sheriden — shocker — have some new series. I look ahead at the next coupla months on the tube.

At the frivolous Golden Globes, an open bar goes a long way - The Boston Globe The annual awards show works best as a chance to watch some stars have a party together.

See BS News: Wrote about the verve of Nikki Glaser, the appeal of drunk celebs, and the frivolous, compromised Golden Globes.

Want your vintage MTV? There’s an app for that. - The Boston Globe The new MTV Rewind offers the chance to see more than 35,000 videos.

Warning: MTV Rewind is a highly addictive reminder of when MTV focused on music videos. And we have a heroic, industrious coder to thank for it.

Why TV loves hospital shows — and why ‘The Pitt’ is the best one ever - The Boston Globe The Noah Wyle drama returns for its second season.

The Pitt returns with compassionate intensity, staking its claim as the greatest hospital show ever.

A new doc reveals that Chevy Chase is still a, er, not very nice guy - The Boston Globe The CNN documentary “I‘m Chevy Chase and You’re Not” delves into the comedian's history of clashing with colleagues.

He’s Chevy Chase. You’re not. And for that you should be grateful.

The blazing beginning and unfulfilled promise of ‘Brooklyn South’ - The Boston Globe Sometimes, a great pilot leads to a great TV show, but not every time.

Not every great pilot leads to a great series. In this week’s Autopilot I look at the blazing beginning of Brooklyn South.

The overlong ‘Stranger Things’ is just one sign of the larger TV bloat plague - The Boston Globe The new series proves that longer seasons are leading to worse television.

In the wake of Stranger Things I wrote about the plague of TV bloat. Overlong episodes, overlong seasons, overlong series.