Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

It didn't start out that way. The NBC series, which revolves around the making of a Broadway musical about Marilyn Monroe, premiered in February to 11.5 million viewers, a godsend for a network whose prime-time lineup is holding on by a thread or, more specifically, a mindless singing competition ("The Voice").

NBC quickly renewed "Smash" for a second season and executives almost certainly began plotting "Law & Order: Broadway."

Even pitchers who embrace the philosophy of pitching to contact admit it is, at best, counterintuitive.

LOS ANGELES -- Ask Teri Hatcher to select her favorite moment from eight seasons of "Desperate Housewives," and she'll most likely reminisce about the time she bared it all.

"There was a new wardrobe girl and at 6 in the morning she came over to me, introduced herself and said, 'Can we please take some gaffer's tape and cover your nipples and crotch?'" said Hatcher of the Season 1 episode in which her character, Susan, locked herself out of the house without a stitch of clothing.

When the Fox network celebrates its 25th anniversary tonight, there's one show that probably won't get a shout-out. "Mr. President," which debuted in 1987 alongside "Married ... With Children" and starred a particularly grumpy George C. Scott, lasted less than a year, furthering the notion that politics and prime-time entertainment usually make disastrous bedfellows.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Like many young men counting down the days until they can drive, David Hastings has March 15 circled in red: It's the day he takes his behind-the-wheel driver's test. Is he confident he'll pass the test? "Yes, I am," he announced firmly.

Hastings had to master more than the usual challenges to get to this point. For one thing, he's 22, not 16. And he has autism.

Traditional driver's education classes haven't worked well for him.

But now that he's studying to be a graphic designer, he figures he needs a car for independence. He's determined that his form of autism, Asperger's, won't stop him from achieving either goal.

LOS ANGELES -- In a hilarious scene from the new series "Life's Too Short," Liam Neeson botches an improvisational exercise with writing partners Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant by trying to mine AIDS, stomach cancer and famine for comedy gold.

Merchant finally finds the courage to suggest to the deadly serious actor that such subjects don't lead to laughs.

Neeson points to Gervais.

"Then how does he get away with it?"

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- My daughter circled the sun, bobbing around the yellow mosaic tile work at the bottom of the pool. Everywhere in the Royal Baths, the water was no deeper than 3 feet, which meant that my 9-year-old could touch the bottom wherever she happened to float.

I felt no need to play lifeguard. My iced coffee was within arm's reach. A newspaper, unopened, lay at the foot of the lounge chair. I closed my eyes, preparing to take my own dive, not into water but deep relaxation, the tropical kind that leaves you sweating, listless and absolutely blissful.

That's when I heard the shriek.