Jon Hamm in Mad Men courtesy AMC
You could get vertigo tonight, scaling the heights of the finale of Mad Men on AMC, and then plumbing the depths of the tone-deaf misfire that is Viva Laughlin, premiering on CBS in the plum slot after CSI before moving to Sundays. There, only those with the most morbid curiosity to watch a show’s slow yet hopefully quick death are likely to follow (unless every critic I know is totally off the mark).First, a salute to the best and most fascinating new show to arrive on TV this year (and I’m even including my quirky new treasure Pushing Daisies in that equation). Mad Men, so hypnotic in its look and style as it recreates a classic movie-worthy image of 1960 Manhattan, is a period piece that says volumes about today, or about any era in which salary and status is tied to self-worth and where people construct a false reality to sell themselves on the American dream.Don Draper (instant star Jon Hamm) would seem to have it all. Besides the movie-star looks, he enjoys upward mo...
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January Jones in Mad Men courtesy AMC
Favorite line on any show I've seen all week: "Peggy, this isn't China. There's no money in virginity." That's Joan talking, the sexiest secretary in all of '60s New York advertising, once again stealing a scene in AMC's dazzling Mad Men with aplomb. Christina Hendricks, I salute you.It was another intensely enjoyable episode this week, which also grew my estimation for the performance of January Jones (what a name) as Don Draper’s quietly simmering, drop-dead-gorgeous Grace Kelly look-alike wife, Betty. How happy was she when, at intermission at Broadway’s Fiorello!, the ad guy wooing Don to jump agencies to the big time offered her a chance to get back into modeling (with the pause that refreshes). How fooled were we that this was just another ploy to lure Don away from “the tiny store” of Sterling Cooper? Not very. And neither was Don fooled. Betty, however? Very fooled. And very crushed when the opportunity vanishes once Don turns them down.Who can blame her ...
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Joanie Dodds, America's Next Top Model
Also be sure to check out the Insider Q&As with Top Model champ Danielle and runner-up Jade.
Perhaps no contestant on this season's America's Next Top Model suffered more for her art than Joanie Dodds, the snaggle-toothed 24-year-old who spent a day — literally, a day! — in the dentist's chair getting her smile straightened out. But although the results were stunning, she still finished second. Is she bitter? Angry? Ready to bare her fangs? Hardly. She remains the easygoing Grace Kelly look-alike who charmed the judges with her good humor and dazzling presence.
TVGuide.com: In your first meeting
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Question: Who costarred on the old TV show To Catch a Thief with Robert Wagner? I say it was Eddie Albert, but my husband insists it was Norman Fell. Thanks much.
Answer: Well, I insist that both of you need a little straightening out, Ms. Wendy. For one thing, To Catch a Thief was the Hitchcock film that starred Cary Grant and Grace Kelly as a former high-class thief and the socialite who had designs on him. It Takes a Thief was the Wagner vehicle that swiped the basic concept and made it into a series, which ran on ABC's schedule from January 1968 to September 1970. The general setup was that high-end thief Alexander Mundy (Wagner) was cooling his heels in prison but was offered a chance to work for the government on clandestine operations. Since tooling around Europe and living the high life with various gorgeous babes was more
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