Courtney Thorne-Smith

According to Jim: The Complete First Season
$39.98
Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 10/21/2008

Summer School
$14.95
A weak, lazy comedy about an easygoing teacher (Mark Harmon, whose movie career never had the kind of trajectory that his TV work did) who is forced to teach--you guessed it--summer school. What's worse, he gets exactly the kind of kids you'd expect: the losers and slackers who are forced to make up the work they didn't complete during the year. He tries to duck work and let them fend for themselves. But in this mushy Carl Reiner film, the teacher offers some life lessons to his band of delinquents and--surprise, surprise--the kids impart a lesson or two to their teacher, as well. Harmon coasts through the film on his good looks, which are considerable. --Marshall Fine

Melrose Place - The Second Season
$29.99
In its second season, Melrose Place turned up the heat, resulting in a funnier, sexier series. Alison (Courtney Thorne-Smith) continues to see Billy (Andrew Shue), Jake (Grant Show) moves in with Jo (Daphne Zuniga), and Jane (Josie Bissett) divorces Michael (Thomas Calabro), who shacks up with Kimberly (Marcia Cross). That leaves Matt (the underused Doug Savant), who has an affair with a sailor; Amanda (Heather Locklear), who sets her sights on Jake; and Sydney (Laura Leighton), who sets hers on Michael. A lot changes during the year: Sydney turns to prostitution, Jo kills in self-defense, Amanda and Jo catch a voyeur in the act, and Michael and Kimberly end up in the hospital when he crashes their car. Though Michael recovers after a few episodes, Kimberly slips into a coma and then disappears. Michael is told she's died; fortunately for fans, he was misinformed. Kimberly eventually returns, but though she looks the same, she isn't. Turns out, she's now a certifiable loony--and she intends to make Michael pay. As she memorably tells Sydney in the season finale, "You're looking at human garbage... when Michael's dead, God's gonna do a jig." By the end of the second year, one marriage will have taken place, while another will be called off at the last minute. After an entertaining, if overly earnest first season, Melrose Place had found its footing. The acting isn't always first-rate--the crying scenes are particularly unconvincing--but 31 episodes in one year must have been draining on the cast (most dramas top out at 23). Guest stars include Parker Stevenson as a high-tech millionaire, Gina Gershon as a waitress/call girl, Linda Gray as Amanda's estranged mother, and future X-Men star Famke Janssen as a high-class hooker. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Outside In: A Novel
$14.00
From one of America’s most beloved television actresses: A sharply observed, comedic novel about the flipside of fame—and a fresh take on Hollywood in all its outrageous, entertaining glory.

On the outside, Kate Keyes-Morgan seems to have it all: a starring role on the hit television series Generations, a handsome husband who is also her manager, a stick-thin figure, and a career that, after a Kirstie Alley-style slide, is finally back on track. At the age of thirty, Kate knows what it’s like to have the tabloids turn on you, and she never wants it to happen again. Thank goodness her husband, Hamilton, is there to manage her every move—even if the strict dieting and morning weigh-ins are becoming more than she can manage.

But when Hamilton leaves her for another actress on Generations, the ruthless diva Sapphire Rose, Kate suddenly finds herself in charge of her own life. Now she must decide whether she’s ready to stop playing by the Hollywood rulebook and discover who she really is. With the help of her wise-cracking friend and tough-love hairstylist, Paige, and Michael, a high-powered film agent who secretly dreams of becoming a novelist, Kate begins to question her role in an industry that venerates appearance, money, and fame above all else, and that applies ceaseless pressure on women to always be thinner, younger, and more beautiful, at any cost.

From high fashion to on-set antics to the real-life whispers about celebrities that even the tabloids never tell, Courtney Thorne-Smith depicts the entertainment world as only an insider can. Yet beneath the glamorous facade lies a natural-born writer with a gift for comic timing and shaping memorable characters. If you’ve ever wanted to experience life in the spotlight or wondered what goes on behind dressing room doors, Outside In is your invitation into the glittering world of Hollywood’s biggest stars.