The Rise and Fall of the British Judge
When the 10th season of "American Idol" begins in January, it will be for the first time it comes without a British accent. It's been known for nine months that…
‘Detroit 1-8-7’ Minus Its Docu-Style
It would have been the trend of the fall TV season: The influence of docu-drama reality show techniques on actual dramas; the blurring of the two by using nonfiction storytelling…
The First Dance of Bristol Palin and The Situation
In addition to propping up sagging careers and boosting network numbers, “Dancing with the Stars” may also prove useful in helping cut down young tabloid stars to size. The 11th…
Taylor vs. Kanye at the VMAs: In Song
You know this isn’t anywhere near the best MTV Video Music Awards, as some backstage twerp was insisting, if the biggest part of the show Sunday came in responding to…
‘Stand Up’ to Sour Notes
When it first appeared a couple of years ago (also on the same of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon), “Stand Up 2 Cancer” seemed a sleek, succinct way to raise…
‘Nikita’ Star Learning American Action
“I’ve done action movies,” Maggie Q, the striking star of “Nikita” says. “I have never done TV, but we’ve never done an action-television show, which is a whole other deal.”…
Behind ‘Hellcats:’ Clark Kent
The biggest star involved in “Hellcats,” the new series that started this week to what The CW called “solid” ratings, may be the one behind the camera. Tom Welling, star…
America Loves Its Poppycock
And we’re just not talking Glenn Beck here. We’re talking Prince Poppycock, a full camp operatic singer who dresses like a fop, who has ascended to the “America’s Got Talent”…
Old Cat, New Hat
One of the quirks of my mother growing up is that she didn’t like Dr. Seuss books. We never had any in the house. The ones at school were looked…
Lone Dawg
Let’s see: Kara DioGuardi is officially out as “American Idol” judge as of today. Ellen DeGeneres quit in July. Simon Cowell put in his notice in January. Paula Abdul quit…