Taking the temperature of pop culture

Harry Potter conjures record sales; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory cooks up big box office. Kid power, indeed.

Fanboys literally weep (in a good way) as Superman Returns footage unspools at Comic-Con.

Obsessive-compulsive Monk fans give the premiere its series-best: 6.38 million viewers.

See reports of Apple planning a video-playing iPod. See hipster walk into telephone pole.

The live-action Star Wars television series won’t arrive until 2008. Rush not, George.

Suzanne Somers’ one-woman Broadway show, The Blonde in the Thighmaster — er, Thunderbird — gets trashed by critics.