The True American Idol

The most perfect woman I have ever met was a grad assistant at UGA back when I was in grad school. Brains, beauty, a real sense of panache, she had it all.

She was a big Tony Bennett fan. Back in the early 90s, Bennett was being introduced to the MTV generation thanks to a series of concerts and collaberations with modern music stars. In fact, MTV aired a live TV special with Bennett and others.

Me being me, I dutifully taped the special and gave it to the woman unbidden in hopes she might like me more.

Nothing ever developed between she and I, but I did expand my musical tastes from 1960s and 70s British rock bands to include Tony Bennett, thanks to her.

I bring this up because tonight is "Tony Bennett: An American Classic" (NBC, 8 p.m.) in which the icon performs both solos and duets with some of the music industry's biggest stars, including Barbra Streisand, k.d. lang, and Diana Krall, among others.

This is the sort of reality TV I can get behind, and it's a perfect holiday gift for anyone who appreciates good music.

NEW 'BREAK': Fox has seen the folly of ABC and "Lost" and will bring its own hit, "Prison Break," back earlier than expected. "PB" returns Jan. 22 with a one-hour special that recaps the first 13 episodes of this season. The back nine debuts a week later, Jan. 29. Last year, "PB" fans had to wait until March to watch the remaining episodes, and it looked to be the case this season.

BSG ON THE MOVE: Speaking of shows in January, Sci-Fi will switch "Battlestar Galactica" from Fridays to Sundays when 2007 begins. On the one hand, I'm used to it having its own slot on Fridays, but hopefully, this move will help - not hurt - the ratings for TV's best-written show.

'KIDNAPPED' PLOT UNCOVERED: Thanks to one reader of the blog, viewers who want to catch the webisodes of "Kidnapped" on the impossible-to-navigate NBC.com may be able to do so.

Sharp-eyed Savannah Dorman e-mailed me these links to the episodes online.

rtmp://cp23371.edgefcs.net:1935/ondemand/nbcu/nbcrewind/64_E09C3326_C775D_B1199_68000_3BA864B05_0700.flv
rtmp://cp23371.edgefcs.net:1935/ondemand/nbcu/nbcrewind/64_20F65326_C775D_B1199_6B000_3BA864B05_0700.flv
rtmp://cp23371.edgefcs.net:1935/ondemand/nbcu/nbcrewind/64_F0A392C4_D575D_B119B_9C000_3BA864B05_0700.flv
rtmp://cp23371.edgefcs.net:1935/ondemand/nbcu/nbcrewind/64_E0510725_C775D_B1199_5F000_3BA864B05_0700.flv
rtmp://cp23371.edgefcs.net:1935/ondemand/nbcu/nbcrewind/64_509CBA25_C775D_B1199_62000_3BA864B05_0700.flv
rtmp://cp23371.edgefcs.net:1935/ondemand/nbcu/nbcrewind/64_60EB01C6_D575D_B119B_A3000_3BA864B05_0700.flv

I haven't had a chance to try them out yet, but hopefully other fans and I will be able to catch up and get some closure on the series.

RIP ROBERT ALTMAN: I'm not the biggest Altman fan, but the director did produce greatness with "M*A*S*H" and "The Player," maybe the best film ever made about the inside workings of Hollywood.

TONIGHT'S BEST BET: One of the odder guest-star roles of the season occurs tonight when Patty Hearst appears on "Veronica Mars" (CW, 9 p.m.) as a member of the family that founded Veronica's fictional Hearst College. "VM" has had some interesting guest stars over the years, from the superbly-cast Charisma Carpenter to the what-were-they-thinking Paris Hilton, so it kind of remains to be seen how tonight's episode turns out.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS: I'll probably be pretty spotty the rest of the week updating the blog. Enjoy your turkey, enjoy football and go out and get some fresh air.

For all those that e-mailed me about my Sylar theory on "Heroes," I suppose we will find out a lot more this coming Monday.