Issue Date: November 19, 2006
I like Judi Dench in "As Time Goes By" on PBS. Will there be any new episodes?
Yvonne Dunham, Fremont, Calif.
The series finished in 2002, but PBS has the rights to run two post-series specials through 2012. For your fix of the timeless Dame Judi, 71, see the new James Bond movie, "Casino Royale." As tough boss M, Dench may well be the only Bond "girl" to leave 007 shaken and stirred. She says she bonded with co-star Daniel Craig: "Daniel taught me [poker], and it was lovely. We didn't play for money."
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John Tesh still sometimes thinks of himself as "the goofy guy who used to read the celebrity birthdays" on "Entertainment Tonight." The reality is, he's a syndicated radio personality and successful musician whose Christianity shapes his work. Tesh, 54, always dreamed of becoming a musician, but the radio show he calls "Music and Intelligence for your Life" and concentrating on "purpose" are who he is now. "My beliefs, the books I read and the messages I allow into my heart shape the show," Tesh says. His message? "Live outside yourself. Do something every day for other people."
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Blair Tindall is an oboist, journalist and author. Her 2005 book "Mozart in the Jungle" (now in paperback) exposed an unseemly side of the classical music world. Now she's an advocate for stricter general education requirements for music degree candidates. "A career is difficult to develop, even for the brightest talents," says Tindall, 46. Having other education would prepare them to make a living. She has no trouble with that: She's selling real estate and just debuted a one-woman show.
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It has been 27 years since American hostages were seized in Tehran and Ted Koppel debuted what later became "Nightline" on ABC. Tonight on the Discovery Channel, Koppel takes viewers back to Iran for an in-depth look. "I've been in lots of totalitarian countries, and you can feel it by osmosis. There's something about them," Koppel tells me. "I didn't feel that way in Iran." Access was monitored during his two-week stay but varied by "where you were and who you were with." Koppel says if he could tell us one thing about Iran, it is this: "Don't generalize. They have some legitimate grievances, but we're so busy depicting each other as evil and Satan, a lot is getting lost."
Former "JAG" star David James Elliott is now in the cast of Close to Home. Can you elaborate?
Marion Biggs, Wallingford, Conn.
Let's let Elliott do it. "It's the best of both worlds," he says about his role on the CBS hit. "I like to work, and I like television." But after 10 seasons heading up "JAG," he wanted to try life as a co-star. "I have time to be with my little pal Wyatt," Elliott, 46, says about his son, 3. His 16-hour days on "JAG" were hard on his relationship with daughter Stephanie, who is now 13. "Yes, I was making a lot of money," he says, "but I was selling my soul."
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Forget Stacy and Clinton: Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine are the original "What Not to Wear" women, and in their new book, the Brit fashion mavens Take on America. Like their old BBC show and the segments they do on "Oprah," the book is full of practical advice. I'm keeping it near my closet for reference. What it boils down to, the ladies tell me via trans-Atlantic conference call, is "fear." Fear? "Women fear that improvement is unattainable," Woodall says. "They think they must be perfect, and if they can't, 'Well, what am I supposed to do?' " The answer is, "At least try." With these ladies' advice, there's no doubt you'll succeed.
Tim Gunn is the best part of "Project Runway."
Tell us about him.
Susan LeMaire Marietta, Ga.
Gunn, 53, who has a style book of his own coming next spring, says he acts virtually the same at Parsons The New School for Design, where he's fashion department chair, as he does on "Runway." The difference is he's able to tell students exactly how "to make it work." Off the runway and outside of a classroom, Gunn reads biographies and walks the streets of New York to clear his head.
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BIRTHDAYS
November 19: Jodie Foster, 44; Meg Ryan, 45; Allison Janney, 46; Ann Curry, 50
November 20:Bo Derek, 50
November 21:Troy Aikman, 40; Nicollette Sheridan, 43; Goldie Hawn, 61
November 22:Scarlett Johansson, 22; Jamie Lee Curtis, 48
November 23:Steve Harvey, 50
November 24:Katherine Heigl, 28
November 25:Barbara Bush, 25; Jenna Bush, 25; Christina Applegate, 35
Contributing: Gayle Jo Carter, Jon Tollestrup
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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