I swore I was only going to watch it once — and I had myself convinced that I was telling the truth. The idea of a Beverly Hills 90210 spin-off made little sense to me, and it was pretty much a given that it was going to be bad.

And, of course, it is kind of bad. The girls are too skinny, and the student population is too white. The school seems to have only one teacher. The brilliant Jessica Walter is reduced to a cartoon Lucille Bluth. And where’s the West Beverly Gay-Straight Alliance?

Nevertheless, 90210 has been on long enough to find its groove, and I’m hooked.

I do take a little comfort in the knowledge that there’s at least one person I respect who also likes the show. Diablo Cody wrote a paean to 90210 in Entertainment Weekly a few weeks ago, complete with suggestions to make it edgier. (Her primary suggestion is to “Brendify” it, i.e., to increase the stupid behavior/self-destruction quotient.)

I read last week that Grammy Award-winner Gretchen Wilson just passed her GED exam and will participate in a graduation ceremony this coming Thursday.

As someone who perhaps overvalues education, I certainly respect that she had the guts to go back and finish up high school at this stage in her life. And I think it's particularly great that she did so to set an example for her 7-year-old daughter.

(Since I read this, however, I cannot shake the image of the Happy Days episode in which Fonzie graduates from night school and has to get his diploma delivered by the mailman at the graduation ceremony.)

Reading news like this reminds me not only how much I value education, but how much I take it for granted. The vast majority of people I know went to college, and I possibly know more people with advanced degrees than without. But I guess that's not the case for everyone. Apparently, in Gretchen Wilson's home state of Tennessee, a full 20 percent of the population doesn't have high school diplomas.

And, after doing a little research, it seems that the high school graduation rate in Hollywood is pretty low too. I guess I shouldn't really be surprised by this. It certainly makes sense that a lot of young actors don't complete formal education. (And then a lot of young actors burn out or self-destruct. Hmm.)

Now, I was not surprised to learn that Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Simpson are among the young actors who never graduated from high school. But here are some who did surprise me.

Well, it's here — the announcement you've all been anticipating. The Outer Critics Circle Award nominations have been announced! What? You you've never heard of the Outer Critics Circle Awards? Well, that puts you in stead with everyone else in the world that doesn't follow New York theater closely. These awards could really use a good PR campaign.

Laurie Metcalf in November

To clarify the confusion, these are the Golden Globes of the New York theater. Just as the Golden Globes are predictive of and broader (movies and television) than the Oscars, these are predictive of and broader (Broadway and Off-Broadway) than the Tony Awards. But they really need a catchier name. If the Golden Globes were called the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Awards, I don't think so many stars would show up and get publicly drunk at the ceremony. 

Given that I do follow New York theater somewhat closely, I care about the Outer Critics Circle Awards. And one good thing about this year's awards is how well women are represented in non-acting categories. Half of the nominees for Outstanding Director of a Play and Outstanding Choreographer are women. Half. Compare that to, say, the Academy Awards where there appears to be an unwritten rule against nominating women for Outstanding Achievement in Direction.

And there are some amazing women nominated for the acting awards, though there are not, to the best of my knowledge, any lesbians nominated. (Cherry Jones, Cynthia Nixon and Sarah Paulson didn't do theater this year, and director Leigh Silverman was working too far off Broadway.) However, there is one nomination for a lesbian character! (I know, it's sad to get to excited about that, but I need to grasp on to something.)

Let's take a quick look at some of the highlights, shall we? (And by highlights, I mean categories in which I know enough to have an opinion.) 

When I read that HBO was running a Monday night documentary series this summer (beginning June 9), my first thought was that they'd be having a slate of earnest, humorless programming — which I suppose I should like, being a lesbian and all. Then I wondered why I had that stupid knee-jerk reaction. I mean, whether or not you like Michael Moore's self-importance and self-indulgence, there's no denying that he's made documentaries a commercially viable form of entertainment.

And documentaries are not inherently about dry, boring topics. In fact, they're as likely to be about sex, drugs, violence or McDonald's as any other type of programming. And even when they are about drier, sciency subjects, they get popular artists to record Academy Award–winning soundtracks and thank their lesbian spouses at the Oscars.

Photo credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

If you take a look at the HBO slate, the movies hit a wide range of subjects. (You can find the list and a short description of each one here.) A little depressingly, I suspect the big hit is going to be Heidi Fleiss: The Would-Be Madam of Crystal.

I hate writing this post. Or more accurately, it makes me sad that speculation about Katie Couric's tenure at as anchor of the CBS Evening News is one of the hot topics in the news these days.

Photo credit: John Paul Filo/CBS

If you haven't heard the story by now, Couric, her agent, the president of CBS news and the chairman of CBS met in late February and discussed Couric's future at the network. The CBS Evening News' ratings were low when she got there, and her presence and performance have not had the desired effect of elevating them. Consequently, her tenure at CBS — already referred to as "the Katie experiment" — is not really expected to last much longer than the 2008 presidential election. Sigh.

OK, "Come on, Get Happy" — otherwise known as the Partridge Family Theme Song — is from the '70s, not the '80s. But if you were listening to music in the 80s, you have to admit that a lot of it was up-tempo, pretty happy stuff. With that in mind, several months ago, the Stuck in the '80s blog asked readers to submit the happiest songs of the '80s. The readers submitted their suggestions and the site winnowed them down to the 80 happiest songs of the 1980s.

I was an adolescent in the '80s, so I'm reasonably familiar with the music of the decade. Consequently, some of the songs that made the list perplex me. For example, I certainly like No. 32 "Jenny 867-5309" (Tommy Tutone) but I don't know that I'd call this song about obsession with a stranger happy. And I probably wouldn't include Cheap Trick's similarly themed "She's Tight" (No. 25). I might be OK with the inclusion of Irene Cara's "What a Feeling" (No. 21) if I didn't associate it with my grandfather's death. But I definitely cannot see the Violent Femmes' "Blister in the Sun" in the top 10. I mean, it's a great song, but not the 10th happiest song of the 1980s.

Had I been compiling their list, I would have dictated some basic criteria for inclusion:

1. The lyrics need to be positive and upbeat.
2. The music needs to be light and up-tempo. It should probably make you want to dance.
3. The video (this was the decade of the music video) should reinforce the happiness inherent in the song.

Of course, after being critical, I had to compile my own mini-list of the happiest songs of the '80s. So here they are — in no particular order — starting with the ones the Stuck in the '80s blog got right:

"New Song" – Howard Jones

This was No. 1 on the Stuck in the '80s list, which is higher than I would have rated it. But there's no denying that it is a happy, upbeat, quintessentially '80s song. The video not only features classic '80s hair and clothes, but also includes a chained mime who seems awfully happy to be there.

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" – Cyndi Lauper

Stuck in the '80s brings this one in at No. 5, and I definitely agree with it's inclusion in the top 10. This was Cyndi Lauper's first big hit, and its title spawned a happy movie with Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt.

And the video, featuring her real-life mother and wrestler, Captain Lou Albano, was a huge hit and a veritable happy-fest. The irreverence, the dancing, the big party … all of this screams HAPPY.

I swear I meant to see the Broadway revival of Maury Yeston's Nine in 2003.

It had one the best casts ever: Jane Krakowski, Mary Stuart Masterson, Laura Benati, Chita Rivera. But despite my best intentions, I was a big loser and I never got around to seeing it. Alas.

Now I know next to nothing about the show, just that it's based on Federico Fellini's 8½, which I've never seen. I also know that the show features only one man and the rest of the cast is women. (And the New York Times review made it clear that the heart of the show was the women.) Basically, I wish I had not passed up the chance to see another Chita Rivera show, and I'm sorry that I missed Mary Stuart Masterson and Jane Krakowski onstage. And, of course, Laura Benati has been fantastic every time I've seen her on Broadway.

But now I — and everyone else who missed it — will have an opportunity to see a different version with a cast full of amazing women. Rob Marshall (Chicago) is directing a film version, tentatively scheduled to begin production in the fall.

Who could be the next Jodie Foster? That's the question that MSNBC is asking its readers these days. (Click here to vote and see current poll results.)

It's kind of an intriguing question — and one that I've actually considered independently. (But I'll get back to that later.) Of course, Jodie Foster is a unique individual who cannot be replicated, but I'll assume that the folks at MSNBC are speculating about which young, talented actress will successfully transition to a working adult actress.

Of course, they could be asking which young, talented actress will grow up to have a happy, private, lesbian family.

Kathie Lee Gifford is known for a lot of things. She was the Carnival Cruise Lines spokesperson. She was a vocalist on Name That Tune. She's the wife of Frank Gifford and the mother of Cody and Cassidy. She was an unwitting sweatshop labor beneficiary. And of course, she was the perkier half of Live With Regis and Kathie Lee.

Now, however, she's getting ready to be known for a new gig: Beginning next Monday, she'll joining the crew of the Today Show.

Sort of. She won't actually be on the air with this crew most of the time. She'll be on the relatively new fourth hour of the show with co-host Hoda Kotb.

I know I've been writing about Dolly Parton too much lately, but I swear I'm not obsessed. Yes, I listen to her music frequently and I own dvds of a couple of her movies. And there was that pilgrimage to the Dollywood gates when I was in Tennessee last year. (It was getting ready to close for the day, but we took pictures of the sign.) But really, I'm just a sane, appreciative fan who's very excited about seeing her in concert in a few weeks.

But when I stumbled upon Entertainment Weekly's Dolly quotes (a.k.a. “17 Quips We ‘Idol'-ize” in honor of her appearance tonight and tomorrow on American Idol), I shrieked a little and knew I had to share this bonanza. The thing that's so great about Dolly is that she takes her talent seriously, but pretty much nothing else. And that is just so appealing.

So, here are a few choice samples:

ON HER ABILITY TO READ MEN
''When I talk to a man, I can always tell what he's thinkin' by where he's lookin'. See, if he's lookin' at my eyes, he's lookin' for intelligence. If he's lookin' at my mouth, well, he's lookin' for wit and wisdom. If he's lookin' anywhere else except my chest... he's lookin' for another man.'' — Onstage at Dollywood, date unknown

ON WHAT SHE'D DO IF SHE WEREN'T A SINGER/SONGWRITER
''If it hadn't been for music, I'd have been a beautician.... Even if I wasn't in show business, I would have wanted all the glamour — and that's about the only way a girl in a small Southern town is going to get it, being a beautician. Or maybe I'd have been a missionary; I thought about that too, but where would I get my hair done?'' — To the Saturday Evening Post, 1989

Patti LuPone is the toast of Broadway right now, and with good reason.

Her turn as “Mama Rose” in the current revival of Gypsy is drawing comparison's to Ethel Merman's original characterization of the stage mother of all stage mothers. I've always been envious that my mother saw the original run of Gypsy, but not anymore. (Well, at least not as much as before.) I think Ben Brantley of The New York Times summed up Lupone's performance beautifully.

“When Ms. LuPone delivers “Rose's Turn,” she's building a bridge for an audience to walk right into one woman's nervous breakdown. There is no separation at all between song and character, which is what happens in those uncommon moments when musicals reach upward to achieve their ideal reasons to be.”

And that's what I love so much about musical theater – those moments when the actor, the character and the song all merge together into one utterly captivating entity. It's a combination of the strength of the performance and of the material. (For the record, I did not experience any moment like that when I saw David Hasselhoff in Jeckyl and Hyde.) These moments are why I rail against stunt-casting. I don't want to see performers who are a curiousity; I want to see performers who make me get lost in the show.

I had been wanting to see Patti LuPone in a Broadway show for ages. I saw 12 zillion Evita commercials when I was a kid, and she was always this Broadway great that I had never seen.

So, I'm thrilled to have finally seen her in all her greatness. Of course, over the years I've seen my fair share of great performances. And I'm going to indulge myself by reminiscing about a few of them.

Hey! Tim Allen is set to make his directorial debut – and star – in an independent movie about an ex-con whose life gets “crazy” after he gets out of prison, Crazy on the Outside. He tries to seduce his parole office and his life is manipulated by his sister. Doesn't this sound great? Yeah, I didn't think so either.

But then I heard about some additional casting. Jeanne Tripplehorn has signed on to play the single-mom parole officer who is the object of Allen's affections.

All I can say about that possible pairing is…ew. (And grossness aside, the ethical violation inherent in such a love match horrifies me.)

Of course, this wouldn't be her first movie pairing with an icky guy. She was with Michael Douglas in Basic Instinct and Tom Cruise in The Firm. And she's wife #1 in Big Love.

Hubby Bill Paxton is not icky, but the situation certainly is. Regardless, she's pretty much always watchable regardless of her romantic partner.

And even more watchable is the other actress who just joined the cast as the manipulative sister, Sigourney Weaver.

I'm trying to think if I've ever disliked her performance in a movie…and I'm coming up blank. I haven't liked every movie she's been in – and I was utterly perplexed that she had a throw-away part in Be Kind, Rewind, which I'm embarrassed to admit I saw a few weeks ago. But Weaver is always good. So, she might even make this wacky, ex-con comedy watchable.

One amazing thing about her is how versatile an actress she is.

It's a big political year in the U.S., and after the Democratic Convention this summer, I'll be stumping for either Hillary or Obama. But in the meantime, I'm stumping for somebody else — Dolly Parton. Now, Dolly is not running for President — or any political office, for that matter — but she does have a campaign to get back on country radio, and she needs our support.

Dolly's certainly doing her part. After 10 years with no major label support, she decided to release a mainstream country album, Backwoods Barbie, on her own label, Dolly Records. As she put it, “I'm looking at it like an investment. I thought, 'I've made enough money. I can afford to invest a little in myself.”

She's doing plenty of press, and she'll be a mentor on American Idol next week! She'll be performing a song from her new album — I suspect it will be the first single, “Better Get to Livin',” rather than the second single, “Jesus and Gravity” — and the contestants will perform Dolly Parton classics. This could be scary, but it will give her plenty of exposure and likely drive album sales.

If you haven't seen it, check out the video for “Better Get to Livin',” featuring Amy Sedaris.

First, let me establish that I am a Bradyphile. After a few child-specific shows (Sesame Street, The Electric Company, The Magic Garden), The Brady Bunch was my first great TV love. And it proved to be an enduring love.

If you weren’t around for TV in the '70s and early '80s, I don’t believe you can appreciate how frequently The Brady Bunch aired in syndication. One could watch it daily. And I did.

Over time, I developed an encyclopedic knowledge of the show. When my family moved to California in the '80s, I had a moment of truly pathetic excitement when I was watching one of the “Grand Canyon” episodes and realized that it was a different edit than my old station had aired — I was seeing a scene I had never seen before! I’ve watched the show in every incarnation and have seen stage versions, and every time I’ve gone to Hawaii, I’ve sent my brother a postcard of Diamond Head with the message, “That’s Diamond Head, dumbhead.”

So, when my brother sent me an article about an upcoming Brady Bunch musical, I read it warily. And then I quickly concluded it sounded like a very bad idea. Here’s the ill-advised plot:

"Through a misunderstanding, the Brady kids overhear a loud argument between their usually perfectly-in-love parents. The kids think their parents might be heading for a divorce and dig in to raise money to obtain marriage counseling for their woe-stricken parents. Greg operates a car service; Marcia dates for money; Peter and Jan put on magic shows; and Bobby and Cindy look for money in couches. Did you ever imagine what the Bradys might look like in a holding cell at the local police station? Somehow even Alice gets in some legal trouble for fraud. All the while Mike and Carol are desperately trying to have sex, something they have never done since they’ve always had six kids in the house and have never had any alone time."

The plot sounds pretty stupid to me, but that’s not really the problem. (I’ve waxed rhapsodic about Grease 2 a few too many times to make a compelling case that I’m above stupid plots.) The problem is that not only is it just tired to rehash and revisit The Brady Bunch, but there’s also just something inherently disrespectful and cheap — base, really — in this particular idea. And I’m a little surprised by how much it bugs me.

Last spring, scribegrrrl blogged about the 2008 inductees to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and noted that Angela Bassett — owner of one of the best sets of biceps in Hollywood — was slated to be among them.

Well, yesterday was her big day.

Wearing a dress that lay bare her biceps, Angela Bassett tearfully acknowledged the honor.

"Who would have thought that a little girl in pigtails from St. Petersburg, Florida, would grow up to find herself gazing at a star with her name on it, on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? This day is so, so special to me."

Although it's hard to take the Hollywood Walk of Fame too seriously, especially given the ambiguous criteria for selection, I don't find it difficult to appreciate anything that makes Angela Bassett happy. Because the Yale grad is brilliant, and very lovely. And it makes me happy to take any excuse to look at pictures of Angela Bassett.