Reuters - With a huge sense of irony, Beck kicked off his triumphant homecoming show Saturday at the Hollywood Bowl with his 1993 slacker anthem "Loser." A decade and half after gaining notice with that breakthrough hit, he has the clout to handpick openers Spoon and MGMT and to share the stage with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra Strings, conducted by his father, David Campbell.

Reuters - Judging from the part of the ad that says, ". . . from the author of 'The Notebook,'" you might suspect that this particular Richard Gere-Diane Lane reunion isn't going to be the torrid affair that was 2002's "Unfaithful," and of course you'd be quite right.

Reuters - Dane Cook is never quite as convincing as when he's playing a total jerk, and the comedian gets to do so in spades in "My Best Friend's Girl."

Reuters - Let's get this one out of the way: You can put lipstick on a male chauvinist pig, but . . . he's still a pig.

AP - Are the TV writers still on strike?

AP - "The Given Day" (William Morrow, 704 pages, $27.95), by Dennis Lehane: It's the fall of 1918, and the nation is in chaos.

Reuters - I've watched "Worst Week" three times, and I've laughed through each viewing. That makes me nervous. Can any show that cleverly plotted, written, directed and performed -- and especially one adapted from the Brits -- sustain that high a level of humor week after week?

Reuters - Finally, a cop show for skeptics.

AP - The fall TV season officially starts Monday, and NBC will pop the cork with its returning "Heroes" (a two-hour opener airs Monday at 9 p.m. EDT). CBS is ringing in the new year with "The Mentalist" (premiering 9 p.m. EDT Tuesday) and "Gary Unmarried" (8:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday). NBC hits the road with its new-model 'Knight Rider' (8 p.m. EDT Wednesday).

AP - And so begins the finale.

Reuters - Apparently operating under the assumption that Broadway will be bereft without a French Revolution musical, "A Tale of Two Cities" has arrived to fill the void left by the recent closing of the "Les Miserables" revival. (And before the mail comes pouring in, yes, we are aware that "Les Miz" actually is about the student revolt).