TV
Don Draper without Betty? That's the scenario as the fourth season of "Mad Men" begins. It's not the only change in our boy's life. Sterling Cooper as we knew it is now gone, and Don is now a partner in his own new, hastily formed startup, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. How will he find the right path in this new life? Pour yourself a classic 1960s cocktail and straighten that tie, it's back to the 1960s once again. (July 25, 10 p.m., AMC)
People who love Ken Follet's novel "The Pillars of the Earth" REALLY love it. The gigantic 1989 novel is ostensibly about the building of a cathedral in the 13th century, but it's really a rich soapy adventure story. Now the book has been turned into an eight-hour TV series starring "Deadwood's Ian McShane and Donald Sutherland, among others. The book has earned such a following that there are even related travel packages, including guided tours of American and Canadian cathedrals, being offered by certain Loews hotels. (July 23, 10 p.m., Starz)
The next James Bond movie is in limbo, but fans can mix up a shaken-not-stirred martini and tune in to some of the classics. BBC America is featuring a James Bond marathon, showing "Goldeneye," "Tomorrow Never Dies" and "The World Is Not Enough." That last one is the film featuring Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist — yeah, that was believable. (July 25, 10 a.m, BBC America)
Movies
Angelina Jolie's spy movie "Salt" couldn't have picked a better release date. Just as the Russian spy scandal heated up in headlines, "Salt" hits theaters. If you've seen the ever-present promos, you know the basics: Jolie plays a CIA agent who's accused of being a Russian double-agent and must go on the run. Jolie has earned praise for being one of the few women who can carry an action film, and now we'll see if she deserves it. (Opens July 23.)
What girl didn't love Beverly Cleary's books about Ramona Quimby and big sister Beezus? It remains to be seen if the wonder of the books can be translated to the big screen, but Joey King (as Ramona) and tween queen Selena Gomez (as Beezus) will give it a shot with "Ramona and Beezus," which as dedicated fans will know, reverses the two girl's names from the 1955 book title. (Opens July 23.)
DVD
Kristen Stewart was already well known for her portrayal of Bella Swan in the "Twilight" series when she took on the much tougher role of Joan Jett in the music biopic "The Runaways." The movie, also featuring Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie, earned solid reviews, with the San Francisco Chronicle saying the film "conveys precisely what it was like to be young in the mid-1970s." (Out on DVD July 20.)
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper is msnbc.com's movies editor. You can follow her at www.popculturejunkmail.com or www.genxtinct.com.