Issue Date: November 16, 2008
Jacqueline Bisset, who made men melt in 1977's "The Deep," plays a grandmother in Hallmark Channel's "An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving" next Saturday. Her beauty has matured, and she remains stunning at 64; the 19th-century costumes only help. The movie is a tale about a rich woman and her poor daughter and granddaughter. "It's a reminder that maybe we don't need everything we think we need," says Bisset, a Brit who calls Thanksgiving "the best American holiday, ... a concept that you can try and keep in your heart."
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Birbiglia, 30, now spends his nights off Broadway. Check out show info and more at birbigs.com.
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Comedian Mike Birbiglia has turned his sleep disorder into fun and profit. His new off-Broadway show, "Sleepwalk With Me," stems from Birbiglia's real sleep experience. For years, he avoided medical treatment and told stories onstage about waking up in strange places. But while working on a one-act play (which eventually became the new show), he had a close call. In his sleep, he jumped out of a closed second-story window and ended up getting 30 stitches in his leg. "I thought it was a subconscious manifestation of what was going on in my life at the time," he says dryly. What's going on now is success.
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For a long time, my husband and I watched "Inside the NFL" on HBO. Why did it move to Showtime?
Vanora Smith, Sweet Home, Ore.
HBO -- after 31 years -- decided the market was saturated with such shows. Showtime picked it up, retaining HBO holdover Cris Collinsworth as an analyst. The 49-year-old sportscaster tells us he was upset when HBO pulled the plug on the show: "It was personal because HBO offered me my first job in broadcasting."
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Can you tell me if CBS' "Swingtown" will return? The story line was just getting hot when the show abruptly ended.
Teresa Burlew, Woodbridge, N.J.
Was it ever! As of press time, CBS had made no decision on a second season for the sexy series. But Bravo had plans to air the first 13 episodes this fall. Watch your local listings.
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Will TV networks ever develop an accurate ratings system? It's frustrating to see favorite shows canceled when ratings aren't accurate. Does Nielsen reflect DVR or Internet viewing?
Beth Tilove, Rochester Hills, Mich.
DVR viewing is tracked for up to seven days after recording, but Internet viewing is not. And network big shots are as frustrated as you are. Alan Wurtzel, NBC's research guru, tells us that today's Nielsen system is "a vestige of the 1970s that has outlived its function. But it's the only currency that exists." Wurtzel wants you to know that NBC is working to address ratings concerns. For the summer Olympics, the network tried to measure more than just TV viewership, such as video on demand, Internet and mobile usage. "People are consuming content across many platforms," Wurtzel says. "Now we have to develop a new way to track them."
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Listen to "The Traditional Country Soul of Patty Loveless: Sleepless Nights," new this fall, and you know that you're hearing a woman raised on true country. Loveless tells me that as a girl, she listened to legends like George Jones and Patsy Cline and got to see the greats at the Grand Ole Opry. "It was that kind of influence that I wanted to bring to this record." Loveless, 51, says even her band wasn't used to hearing her sing songs like those, but "hopefully, young people with dreams of getting into country music might be inspired to revisit some of the past."
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Seven episodes of AMC's "Breaking Bad" were not enough. What's going on with the show?
Randy Housley, Ogden, Utah
It returns in early 2009. Last season was short because of the writers' strike, but it was enough to earn star Bryan Cranston an Emmy. Cranston (formerly on "Malcolm in the Middle") once told us he had no plan to return to weekly TV: "Who am I to deserve another good series?" he said.
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BIRTHDAYS
November 16: Lisa Bonet, 41; Marg Helgenberger, 50
November 17: Danny DeVito, 64; Martin Scorsese, 66
November 18: Chloe Sevigny, 34; Owen Wilson, 40
November 19: Jodie Foster, 46; Meg Ryan, 47; Larry King, 75
November 20: Sean Young, 49; Bo Derek, 52
November 21: Ken Griffey Jr., 39; Goldie Hawn, 63
November 22: Scarlett Johansson 24; Jamie Lee Curtis, 50
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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