Joshua Alston

Rue McClanahan, who died Thursday morning at 76, won an Emmy for her uproarious work as an over-the-hill flirt. But how does McClanahan's Blanche compare with her most prominent descendant, Samantha of "Sex and the City"?

The latest benefactor of the digital hive mind is Donald Glover, the African-American star of "Community" and former "30 Rock" writer who, through a series of comment discussions on a blog, found himself the people's choice to star as Peter Parker in the forthcoming "Spider-Man" reboot from "(500) Days of Summer" director Marc Webb.

Hiding your sexuality in social media can be a full-time job. It can also provide a life-changing opportunity.

Gary Coleman's name became a stand-alone punchline, but that was no fault of his own. Granted, there was some unpleasantness later in his life by his own doing, but he had already made his biggest mistake, which was becoming a child star to begin with. Is there any other arc for child stars?

A few weeks ago, Howard Gordon, longtime producer of Fox's real-time thriller 24, said that audiences shouldn't expect a happy ending for its central antihero, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland).

The 'Lost' finale will cause endless debate. In that way, it was a perfect encapsulation for the entire series.

In "The Man From Tallahassee," the 13th episode of the third season of Lost, tropical shyster Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson) conducts a mental exercise with island devotee John Locke (Terry O'Quinn). "Picture a box," says Linus. "What if I told you that somewhere on this island, there's a very large box, and whatever you imagined, whatever you wanted to be in it…when you opened that box, there it would be."

And to think, they almost got away with it. Law & Order, Dick Wolf's crime procedural, was canned by NBC last week, killing its chances of beating Gunsmoke for the title of longest-running prime-time drama.

As a general rule, American Idol seasons end up informally labeled with the names of their winners. Season one is the "Kelly Clarkson season," season four the "Carrie Underwood season," and season six the "Jordin Sparks season." But for this, the current ninth season of Idol, I propose a break from tradition and submit that it be forever known as the "Murphy's Law season," because it seems at this point that any component of the Idol machine that can break down will do so, inevitably and...

When capitalists of every stripe descended on Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, shareholders were treated to the premiere of Warren Buffett's long-gestating animated series for kids, Secret Millionaires Club. In it, a multicultural trio of wealthy kids—Elena, Jones, and Radley—hang out with the Oracle of Omaha in an underground lair, talking strategy on earning and saving money.

Warren Buffett is trying to make frugal investing and thrifty living palatable to the Happy Meal set. A buy, sell or hold?

It's 2010, and there's another Freddy Krueger movie. Do you know where your children are?

Twenty years after the David Lynch series debuted, ABC unveils 'Happy Town.' It looks familiar—and that's not good.

Wednesday's 'South Park' episode was so controversial, it gleaned death threats—so Comedy Central scrapped it. What that decision means for the faltering show.

At 88, White is an unlikely candidate for Hollywood's buzziest actress, and yet here she is in the thick of an irony-free resurgence. Hot on the heels of her ballyhooed Super Bowl commercial for Snickers, she's got numerous film and television appearances lined up, including a hosting gig next month on Saturday Night Live and a starring role in a new sitcom, Hot in Cleveland.

Fox's musical -show could use a little less music—and a lot more action.

O'Brien moves his late night show to basic cable. You call that a step up?

The locale isn't the only thing that's headed south in David Simon's 'Treme.'

Used to be paying the doctor's bills was a key source of dramatic tension on medical dramas. So how will the shows cope under Obama's new law?

On Friday, Fox announced that this season of the real-time thriller 24 would be the last. Immediately, the conversation seemed to turn toward whether the current political climate was too inhospitable toward 24's deeply entrenched Bush-era themes to last in an Obama age.

Why topical, weekly humor shows must adapt, or face the wrath of the channel-change button.

I've heard the one about God opening a window when he closes a door. I've heard the one about an angel getting her wings every time a bell rings. But I'm not familiar with the saying about a reality-television career beginning when a political career ends.

The toast of British food TV thinks he can revolutionize the way Americans eat with ABC's Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Why his revolt has more to do with economics than Doritos.

Harlan is not the charming, genteel Mayberry you'd expect from a small town in Kentucky with a population around 2,000. At least not in Justified, the new FX series starring Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens, a maverick U.S. marshal dispatched to Harlan after he gets trigger-happy on a suspect in a Miami restaurant.

'Who Do You Think You Are?' NBC's new genealogy-themed reality show, dredges up details about celebrity's ancestors. How race casts a gruesome shadow on the results.

Forget the Cleavers, the Tanners, and the Cosbys of yore: NBC's family sitcom Parenthood argues that normalcy isn't entertaining. Why we don't buy it.

'Family Guy' creator Seth MacFarlane is the latest TV personality to take aim at Sarah Palin. Why the jokes—and his brand of topical humor—fall short.

On reality TV, mundane behavior nets you fame and fortune. When did scripted shows become the standard bearer for America's elbow-grease ethic?

Sade: The improbable luxury brand.

ABC's matchmaking show features all-white contenders. Why that won't change for a while.