A true child of television, David Hiltbrand spent his childhood in Brooklyn in front of the set watching Sky King and Roy Rogers. He wanted to grow up to be Peter Gunn or T. Hewitt Edward Cat, but instead became an entertainment writer. Hiltbrand is the author of the Jim McNamara mystery series.
His column "Dave on Demand" appears every week in Saturday ReViews.
CBS provided the big TV event of the week by having the producers of its biggest sitcom, Two and a Half Men, trade places with the producers of its biggest drama, CSI. I'm just curious: Who was the genius at the network who thought this sounded like a good idea?
There is some debate about whether this has been the strangest season of American Idol to date. But there's no question it has seemed like the longest.
- Jerry Spinelli writes books that win awards and droves of young readers. When he needs an idea, he returns to his roots.Don't tell Jerry Spinelli you can't go home again. The popular and prolific author of more than 20 young adult novels regularly makes the trip across the Schuylkill to Norristown, the working-class community where he was born and raised.
- Just how was the "American Idol" judge able to comment on a song before it was sung?I blame Ryan Seacrest. If you give someone as wifty as Paula Abdul a regular routine, there's about a 40 percent chance she will be able to follow it. (Every time she launches into a comment about one of the performances on American Idol, don't you find yourself rooting for her, praying that she will be able to locate and complete a coherent thought?)
- With all the cast-shuffling, they should call it "Project Law & Order": One day they're in, the next they're out.With all the cast-shuffling, they should call it 'Project Law & Order.' The long-running drama has had more turnover than the Dallas Cowboys' coaching staff.
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Alicia Keys brought her soul revue to the Liacouras Center on Monday night, a show that struggled to be all things to all people.
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Growing up in Scotland, and after he moved to Australia with his family as a teenager, Colin Hay was always a keen observer and admirer of American culture.
- Jordin Sparks was the youngest winner ever, recorded several big hits, opens for Alicia Keys on tour. And she's all of 18.Jordin Sparks vividly remembers where she was last year at this time: buried in the pack of American Idol finalists.
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Heavy weighs the karaoke crown. Many weeks, American Idol has ranked No. 1, 2 and 3 in the Nielsen ratings. But are cracks appearing in the crown?
- Covering "DWTS" in L.A., a print reporter feels like a tiny dancer indeed.LOS ANGELES - Ballroom dancing is one of those activities, like stargazing or jewel thievery, that are perhaps best pursued under the canopy of night.
- Jeff Kinney was a failure as a cartoonist, but his million-selling "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books are being compared to "Harry Potter."Why buy a ticket, goes the old argument, when you can get in for free? Jeff Kinney can provide you with more than a million reasons.
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We all lost a little sunshine when ABC's ballroom blitz, Dancing With the Stars, jettisoned Steve Guttenberg this week.
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