The 1 thing
Globe writers on the one thing you must do, see or hear this week
THE 1 FREE ACTING CLASS
James Franco has generously decided to show us how on earth he does it. I've frequently wondered. The tears, the rage, the hair - he's quite something. In a series of endearing homemade tutorials, the "Spider-Man" costar shares his secrets. He instructs his little brother Dave on how to act before a green screen, and they do a scene from "Rebel Without a Cause." It's all priceless. Afflecks: your turn. The clips are available at funnyor die.com/videos/f22e3ff675. - WESLEY MORRIS
THE 1 COVER GUY
No magazine has ever had a run quite like Esquire's during the '60s, and in large part that's owing to its art director. "George Lois: The Esquire Covers," which runs at New York's Museum of Modern Art through March 30, is full of work that seems startling now - and must have looked positively extraterrestrial back then. Muhammad Ali as St. Sebastian, Sonny Liston as Santa Claus, Andy Warhol drowning in a Campbell's Soup can. Maybe you can't judge a book by its cover, but with Lois around you could definitely judge (and want to get your hands on) Esquire. - MARK FEENEY
THE 1 ILLUSTRATED MUSIC LESSON
Fans of SciFi's "Battlestar Galactica" have a long wait for new episodes after the recent midseason finale. But they can pass the time with a stunning lesson from series composer Bear McCreary. At bearmccreary.com/blog, McCreary offers fascinating details about the instrumentation that lent such emotion to the finale. (For instance: he wrote a war chant, had it translated into Samoan, and hired a choir to perform it.) It's worth watching the episode again just for the score, with the blog as a scene-by-scene guide. - JOANNA WEISS
THE 1 SONG ON REPEAT
On the substance-free single "Damaged," Danity Kane's computer-assisted vixens wail that they need a first aid kit because their hearts have been hurt, although the danceable rhythm would suggest otherwise. Somewhere between a vapid Britney B-side and an Anastasia break-up anthem, this one is meant to be played 100 times in a row and then never again. Of course, father figure P. Diddy closes the song with this deep spoken-word contribution: "Sometimes you've gotta go through the pain to experience the joy. This too shall pass." Ain't it the truth. - MEREDITH GOLDSTEIN
THE 1 SECRETLY EMPOWERING PRE-FEMINIST BEACH MOVIE
It's 1959 in sun-splashed So-Cal, and the tomboyish title character in "Gidget" (played to perky perfection by 17-year-old Sandra Dee) doesn't fit in with the curvaceous bombshells frolicking beachside. Instead of fretting over her wardrobe or honing her flirting skills, Gidget hitches her wagon to the local beatniks and learns to surf. Love conquers all in the end - it was the '50s for pete's sake - but "Gidget" reminds impressionable teens that they don't have to play by the girly gamebook to get the guy. - JOAN ANDERMAN
THE 1 COMPLICATED TV MARRIAGE
With the return of "Mad Men" still a month away, fans of couples with complex chemistry can enjoy Bruce and Susan Miller, the boundary-testing suburbanites on CBS's compelling "Swingtown." Jack Davenport is wryly funny as the stock-trader husband nervously unbuttoning his gray polyester suit. But it's the sphinx-like Molly Parker, as his wife, who grows more unforgettable every week. With sexual revolution in the air, Parker is torn - but ready to breathe deep. - SCOTT HELLER
