Ryan Murphy

Fans of "Glee" have long suspected that there was something special going on between Santana and Brittany, the show's mean girl/dim girl cheerleading duo. There were the goo-goo eyes and the intertwined pinkies, the back rubs and flirty duets. The relationship might have been just another inside joke on a show full of inside jokes, but fans wanted more. They dubbed the pair "Brittana," and tweeted and blogged endlessly about how great it would be if the two became a real couple. Of course, fans known as "shippers" have fantasized for years about imaginary trysts between their favorite characters.

When John Landgraf joined FX as head of entertainment, he smugly figured he'd landed in the catbird seat. After all, the News Corp.-owned cable network had two hit dramas on the air and a hot prospect about to premiere. It quickly dawned on him that he could easily fall on his face. "I'm the schmuck who's supposed to replace 'The Shield,' 'Nip/Tuck' and 'Rescue Me,'" Landgraf recalled thinking when he was hired in January 2004. Not only was Landgraf going to have to develop FX's next set of hits, he was also going to have to find a way to make money from them.

"Tell me what you don't like about yourself." When "Nip/Tuck" opened with that line in the summer of 2003, the television universe had no idea what it was in for. Alternatively emotional, outlandish, sexual, graphic, tongue-in-cheek and gothic, the story of two handsome Miami plastic surgeons (Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon) "sucking the champagne and caviar out of life" was a breakout hit, and not just in terms of its own fledgling network, FX. With its cultural statement about society's obsession with youth and its underlying message that "beauty is a curse on the world," "Nip/Tuck" resonated with aging baby boomers and younger viewers.

Beach reading recommendations are a summer tradition: With vacations offering extra leisure time, everyone wants to know what books will help them pass the hours. But many pop culture fans now devour television with the same kind of intensity: They buy box sets, Netflix or download whole seasons, treating TV series like "The Wire" and "Breaking Bad" as if they were meant to be watched in five-hour stretches. Claire Danes, who began her career in "My So-Called Life" and returns to TV this fall in "Homeland," pinpointed the phenomenon recently.

RYAN MURPHY was on a mission. But so was Augusten Burroughs. "Running With Scissors" had been on the bestsellers list for weeks, and Murphy, the creator of FX's acclaimed and provocative "Nip/Tuck," was determined to adapt it for his first film. Burroughs was just as resolute about never selling the rights to his book. He feared his tragic yet humorous coming-of-age memoir would surely be interpreted by the Hollywood studio system as campy and quirky.

Actress-producer Jodie Foster has listed her Beverly Hills estate for sale at $9,975,000, the Multiple Listing Service shows. Climbing vines and red brick accents give the seven-bedroom, eight-bathroom compound an East Coast vibe. Encompassing nearly an acre of land, the compound includes a 1949 main house, a tennis court, a swimming pool and a guesthouse. Foster, 48, won her Oscars for roles in "The Accused" (1988) and "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991). She stars in and directs "The Beaver," released Friday, and will star in the upcoming "God of Carnage.

When John Landgraf joined FX as head of entertainment, he smugly figured he'd landed in the catbird seat. After all, the News Corp.-owned cable network had two hit dramas on the air and a hot prospect about to premiere. It quickly dawned on him that he could easily fall on his face. "I'm the schmuck who's supposed to replace 'The Shield,' 'Nip/Tuck' and 'Rescue Me,'" Landgraf recalled thinking when he was hired in January 2004. Not only was Landgraf going to have to develop FX's next set of hits, he was also going to have to find a way to make money from them.

Without disputing the place of "Nip/Tuck" in the history of basic-cable envelope-pushing, with its graphic scenes of cosmetic surgery and its myriad crazy sexcapades, I must say I have never been especially attached to this show, which begins its nine-episode seventh and final season tonight. (Its final episode will be its 100th.) I have checked in over the years, professionally, but it is not something that calls me back to watch for pleasure. At the same time, I understand it's the sort of show that best rewards the dedicated viewer, because its plot lines -- which have involved porn, prostitution, drug addiction, kidney stealing, Scientology, serial rape/disfigurement and at least a couple of homicidal maniacs in a story about a couple of plastic surgeons -- are so relentlessly outrageous that to stand outside it at all is to see the whole business as silly beyond belief.

IN the annals of dysfunctional families, a definite subgenre of American literature, few families are quite as loopy as the Finches in Augusten Burroughs' memoir, "Running With Scissors." The mom ate dog kibble. The dad was a quack of a psychiatrist who doled out pharmaceuticals like Chiclets. And the house was a ludicrously messy pink monstrosity with bric-a-brac strewn across the front lawn and a permanently installed Christmas tree. This is where Burroughs' mother dumped him -- Dr.

Let's pretend we're standing at the water cooler: Did you watch "Nip/Tuck" last night? Dios mio! There was Sean, laying in bed, gun in hand, waiting for his second round with the Carver, the Miami serial rapist who preys on the beautiful because "beauty is a curse on the world." But in the season finale's last moment, the masked Carver broke into Christian's bachelor pad instead. And that's how it ended!

Fans of "Glee" have long suspected that there was something special going on between Santana and Brittany, the show's mean girl/dim girl cheerleading duo. There were the goo-goo eyes and the intertwined pinkies, the back rubs and flirty duets. The relationship might have been just another inside joke on a show full of inside jokes, but fans wanted more. They dubbed the pair "Brittana," and tweeted and blogged endlessly about how great it would be if the two became a real couple. Of course, fans known as "shippers" have fantasized for years about imaginary trysts between their favorite characters.

Actress-producer Jodie Foster has listed her Beverly Hills estate for sale at $9,975,000, the Multiple Listing Service shows. Climbing vines and red brick accents give the seven-bedroom, eight-bathroom compound an East Coast vibe. Encompassing nearly an acre of land, the compound includes a 1949 main house, a tennis court, a swimming pool and a guesthouse. Foster, 48, won her Oscars for roles in "The Accused" (1988) and "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991). She stars in and directs "The Beaver," released Friday, and will star in the upcoming "God of Carnage.

"Glee" mastermind Ryan Murphy has sold a Sunset Strip-area home for $2,775,000, the Multiple Listing Service shows. The Carl Maston-designed Midcentury Modern was built in 1947 and restored. Wood-framed glass walls open to a swimming pool, lawn and outdoor entertaining space, which includes a barbecue and fire pit. The 3,210-square-foot gated house has a library/office, an eat-in kitchen, three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Murphy, 45, is the creator of such hit shows as "Glee" (2009-present)

"Glee" mastermind Ryan Murphy has purchased actress Diane Keaton's Spanish Colonial Revival in Beverly Hills for an undisclosed amount, public records show. Keaton restored the Ralph Flewelling-designed hacienda, which she bought in 2007 for $8.1 million. It first came on the market in March 2009 priced at $12,995,000 and was most recently priced at $10.95 million. It could be months before the prices of September sales appear on public records. The courtyard-style house, built in 1927, has an oversized front door that opens to a hall with a library.

If a musical is ever made about Ryan Murphy and his amazing Technicolor cast creating "Glee," the big climax at the end of the first act should correspond to this particular moment in time. The show has reached a peak, in terms of popularity and artistic ambition. In the last two weeks it's tackled two of the most controversial subjects of our time: religion and Britney Spears. The ratings are through the roof, the iTunes downloads just keep coming, and celebrities such as Amy Adams, Javier Bardem and future guest star Gwyneth Paltrow have all publicly expressed their enthusiasm for "Glee.

"Glee" mastermind Ryan Murphy has purchased actress Diane Keaton's Spanish Colonial Revival in Beverly Hills for an undisclosed amount, public records show. Keaton restored the Ralph Flewelling-designed hacienda, which she bought in 2007 for $8.1 million. It first came on the market in March 2009 priced at $12,995,000 and was most recently priced at $10.95 million. It could be months before the prices of September sales appear on public records. The courtyard-style house, built in 1927, has an oversized front door that opens to a hall with a library.

If a musical is ever made about Ryan Murphy and his amazing Technicolor cast creating "Glee," the big climax at the end of the first act should correspond to this particular moment in time. The show has reached a peak, in terms of popularity and artistic ambition. In the last two weeks it's tackled two of the most controversial subjects of our time: religion and Britney Spears. The ratings are through the roof, the iTunes downloads just keep coming, and celebrities such as Amy Adams, Javier Bardem and future guest star Gwyneth Paltrow have all publicly expressed their enthusiasm for "Glee.

"Glee" mastermind Ryan Murphy has purchased actress Diane Keaton's Spanish Colonial Revival in Beverly Hills for an undisclosed amount, public records show. Keaton restored the Ralph Flewelling-designed hacienda, which she bought in 2007 for $8.1 million. It first came on the market in March 2009 priced at $12,995,000 and was most recently priced at $10.95 million. It could be months before the prices of September sales appear on public records. The courtyard-style house, built in 1927, has an oversized front door that opens to a hall with a library.

The second season of "Glee" is going to be much harder to pull off than the first. It's not that the knives are out — although having a special issue of People devoted to the show was truly weird and annoying. It's just that while the glorious and joyful noise of the first season rocked most everyone back on their heels, we're all caught up on the soundtracks and the live shows, Jane Lynch and Ryan Murphy have got their Emmys and now we're looking forward to "Glee's" becoming a real television show.

"Tell me what you don't like about yourself." When "Nip/Tuck" opened with that line in the summer of 2003, the television universe had no idea what it was in for. Alternatively emotional, outlandish, sexual, graphic, tongue-in-cheek and gothic, the story of two handsome Miami plastic surgeons (Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon) "sucking the champagne and caviar out of life" was a breakout hit, and not just in terms of its own fledgling network, FX. With its cultural statement about society's obsession with youth and its underlying message that "beauty is a curse on the world," "Nip/Tuck" resonated with aging baby boomers and younger viewers.