VIDEO: American Idol Top-5 (with Neil Diamond)

I'm getting so tired of "American Idol" (can we just skip the next two shows and get to the two Davids finale?), that I'm almost too lazy to post these videos. After all, the best 60 seconds of last night's tedious and overstuffed Neil Diamond telecast belonged to Paula Abduloopy.




Jason Castro, "Forever in Blue Jeans"



David Cook, "I'm Alive"



Brooke, "I'm a Believer"



David Archuleta, "Sweet Caroline"



Syesha Mercado, "Hello, Again"



Jason, "September Morn"



David C., "All I Really Need Is You"



Brooke, "I Am, I Said"



David A., "America"



Syesha, "Thank the Lord for the Nighttime"



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TV Ratings: Monday (April 28)

FOX's House returns strong in a Monday night timeslot; CBS' "The Big Bang Theory" bounces back, and "One Tree Hill" sheds some eyeballs matching "Gossip Girl's numbers.

ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" was of course the big winner of the night. The contest ran 6 minutes into "Samantha Who's" timeslot giving the freshman sitcom an artificial boost.

"The Big Bang Theory" recovered after falling below 8 million viewers last week, but its lead-out "How I Met Your Mother" continues to eclipse its ratings performance. With Britney on the way back, that may stay the same for the remainder of the season.

The Eye network has a reason to be worried about its 10pm drama "CSI: Miami" which, for some reason, continues to be the most popular series in the CSI franchise internationally. The drama dropped over 3 million viewers year-to-year. I suppose people are finally getting tired of David Caruso.

Finally, Hugh Laurie's beloved character was back with a bang on FOX, as the most watched telecast of the evening among adults 18-49 (rating: 5.7). For comparison, "Dancing with the Stars" scored a 4.4 rating in the demo.

ABC:
8:00pm Dancing With the Stars (17.92 million)
9:32pm Samantha Who? (12.74 million)
10:02pm The Bachelor: London Calling (7.79 million)

CBS:
8:00pm The Big Bang Theory (8.16 million)
8:30pm How I Met Your Mother (8.87 million)
9:00pm Two and a Half Men (12.86 million)
9:30pm Rules of Engagement (10.39 million)
10:00pm CSI: Miami (13.59 million)

NBC:
8:00pm Deal or No Deal (9.89 million)
10:00pm Medium (9.63 million)

Fox:
8:00pm Bones (9.68 million)
9:00pm House (14.51 million)

CW:
8:00pm Gossip Girl (2.51 million)
9:00pm One Tree Hill (2.50 million)

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Gale Harold Joins "Desperate Housewives" (Spoilers Inside)

Brian Kinney's back! Former "Queer as Folk" star Gale Harold, who most recently guest starred on ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and fronted FOX's failed abduction thriller "Vanished" in the fall of 2006, joins "Desperate Housewives" in the May 18 finale. Unfortunately, he won't be playing Andrew Van De Kamp's new sugar daddy. Bummer.

According to a TV Guide report, Harold will play a "quick-witted, charming and buttoned-down suburbanite" along the lines of a young Jack Lemmon who "could return next season in a recurring capacity."

Last week, Kristin of E!Online wrote that "we'll meet a new character by the name of Ken in the finale. He'll initially come off as the perfect, straight-laced husband type. However, he'll have something to do with next year's big mystery."

According to casting sides, in the second half of the May 18 finale (simply titled "Free"), Ken approaches his overprotective wife Linda standing in the schoolyard, leaning against a play structure, watching their son MJ.

Ken was called to the scene by the school principal to calm Linda down and get her to go home. Linda is filled with fear on her son's first day of school, but Ken's loving and confident manner gives her the strength to let her son out of her sight.

Would the mystery have something to do with why Linda became so overprotective? Or, if the show shifts five years into the future - as it has been rumored - will we find this family in a very different situation and wonder how they got there?

In any event, I applaud the casting of Gale Harold who has a very loyal fanbase and may bring additional viewers to Wisteria Lane, but I also cautiously hope DH doesn't turn into "Lost" laced with flashbacks of the 5 years gone by.

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TV Ratings: April 25 & 27, 2008

ABC's combo of "Desperate Housewives" and "Brothers & Sisters" rises, "Big Brother" goes out with a whimper, and CBS's procedural "Cold Case" continues to do well airing opposite the mysteries of Wisteria Lane.

On Friday night, CBS ruled the airwaves with its returning line-up which included an all-new "Moonlight." The show has averaged 7.5 million viewers this season. Although it did a little better this Friday, its low 2.1 rating among adults 18-49 remains troubling.

Meanwhile, ABC might be better off airing repeats of "Grey's Anatomy" instead of its lackluster game show "Duel" which scored a 1.0 rating among adults 18-49. Time for the axe to swing.

On Sunday night, ABC dramedies both gained about a million viewers.


FRIDAY:


ABC:
8:00pm America's Funniest Home Videos (R) (5.02 million)
9:00pm Duel (3.73 million)
10:00pm 20/20 (4.98 million)

CBS:
8:00pm Ghost Whisperer (9.00 million)
9:00pm Moonlight (7.99 million)
10:00pm NUMB3RS (9.61 million)

NBC:
8:00pm Most Outrageous Moments (R) (3.96 million)
9:00pm Dateline (6.69 million)

Fox:
8:00pm MOVIE: 13 Going on 30 (R) (3.80 million)

CW:
8:00pm Friday Night Smackdown! (4.21 million)


SUNDAY:


ABC:
7:00pm Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (7.11 million)
8:00pm Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (12.04 million)
9:00pm Desperate Housewives (16.21 million)
10:02pm Brothers & Sisters (11.55 million)

CBS:
7:00pm 60 Minutes (9.65 million)
8:00pm Big Brother 9 (FINALE) (6.65 million)
9:00pm Cold Case (11.48 million)
10:00pm Dexter (R) (6.53 million)

NBC:
7:00pm Dateline (6.87 million)
8:00pm Monk (R) (5.77 million)
9:00pm Psych (R) (3.44 million)
10:00pm Law & Order: SVU (R) (6.46 million)

Fox:
7:00pm King of the Hill (R) (3.20 million)
7:30pm Simpsons (R) (4.65 million)
8:00pm Simpsons (7.69 million)
8:30pm King of the Hill (6.53 million)
9:00pm Family Guy (8.49 million)
9:30pm American Dad (6.73 million)

CW:
7:00pm America's Next Top Model (R) (1.02 million)
8:00pm Everybody Hates Chris (1.28 million)
8:30pm Aliens in America (R) (1.04 million)
9:00pm The Game (1.55 million)
9:30pm Girlfriends (R) (1.39 million)


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"Lipstick" Star Brooke Shileds Leaves Hospital

"Lipstick Jungle" star Brooke Shields left a Los Angeles hospital on Friday on crutches following a foot surgery she underwent to correct a chronic foot injury she sustained while performing on stage.


Due to the surgery, Shields was recently forced to bow out of the Carnegie Hall production of the classic children's book "The Runaway Bunny."

Her NBC dramedy will return in September for a 2nd season, in a new timeslot Wednesdays at 10:00pm.

"Lipstick Jungle" has averaged 6.97 million viewers on Thursday nights earlier this year, ranking 97th for the season.

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Dimples Galore: More Cibrian "Betty" Stills

As you know, ABC's favorite guest star Eddie Cibrian is making a special appearance on the award-winning comedy "Ugly Betty" this May playing Justin's gym instructor Coach Diaz and his funky mama Hilda's potential love interest. Here are the latest images taken from the episode "Betty's Baby Bump" (airs May 8).

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Jack Chambers Wins "So You Think You Can Dance" in Australia

We're less than a month away from an all-new season of FOX's blockbuster summer dance contest "So You Think You Can Dance" and I can't contain my excitement especially after seeing these clips of Australia's first SYTYCD winner Jack Chambers who took top honors at last night's series 1 finale on Network Ten.




Following three months of intense competition the Brisbane funk/hip-hop dancer claimed victory over fellow contestant Rhys Bobridge. Both dancers posed for a photo call in Sydney on Monday. Scroll down for some of Jack's most recent performances, and don't forget season 3 of SYTYCD launches on FOX Thursday, May 22.

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Becki Newton & Michael Urie at GLAAD Awards

"Ugly Betty's" fabulous and hilarious duo of Becki Newton and Michael Urie (a.k.a. the 2 Reasons I Never Miss A Single Episode Of The Show) stepped out at the 19th annual Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Media Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on Saturday night.


The gay-friendly show which features Urie's flamboyant character Marc. St.James who is finally dating a man this season (although we don't get to see them together too often) and Rebecca Romijn's transgender editor Alexis Meade (although her role is about to get scaled back) won the show an award for outstanding comedy series.

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New "Gossip Girl" Promo Stills

The CW has released new images promoting its delicious and supposedly controversial teen drama "Gossip Girl" which is now paired off with "One Tree Hill" on Monday nights. New stills of the show's seductive central troika of Chace Crawford, Blake Lively and Penn Badgley, after the jump.

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Eva Longoria Promotes Magnum in Mexico

Desperate housewife Eva Longoria, the face of the Magnum ice cream brand produced by Unilever, made an appearance at a press conference and photocall In Mexico City on Friday to promote a new flavor called "Devotion."


Longoria, who recently hosted a media launch in Cannes at the "Magnum Manor", a villa that has been hired to promote the brand, endorses Magnum Ice Cream across the world.



Most recently, a new 7 million pound campaign for the "Mayan Mystica" flavor (a blend of cinnamon, honey and nutmeg) was launched in the UK.



The spot features Longoria in a Mayan temple, alluding to chocolate's supposed origins in the Mayan civilisation 2,500 years ago.

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"Dirty Sexy Money" DVD Arrives September 16

Just days before the premiere of season 2 of ABC's ritzy-blitzy "Dirty Sexy Money," a sudsy drama about America's wealthiest family inspired by its predecessors from the greedy 80s, all 10 scandal-filled episodes of season 1 will be released on DVD along with a bunch of special features.

The bonus features will include a VIP set tour titled "Enter the Penthouse" exposing the lavish Manhattan residence of the Darlings built on a Hollywood soundstage; a piece titled "Dressing the Darlings" that peaks into those overstuffed closets filled with overpriced clothes; a feature about making of the show called "Road to Excess"; a profile of transgender actress Candis Cayne, bloppers, deleted scenes and more.

It may have been a very short season for TV's most upscale family, but the 3-DVD box set will nevertheless be stuffed with goodies. Walt Disney Studios has also announced DVD releases for season 1 of "Private Practice" (9 episodes) and "Samantha Who" (15 episodes) also set for September.

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TV Ratings (April 17-24, 2008)

As promised here are the ratings results for April 17-24 beginning with the latest report for Thursday night featuring the return of ABC's hit line-up. Weekend ratings (Friday to Sunday) will be posted on Monday afternoon.

Recent behind-the-scenes changes at "Ugly Betty" may be an indication how unhappy ABC honchos are with the show's declining ratings and they won't be any happier after this week's disappointing return. Year-to-year the show is down 19% in the demos.

The return of the 9pm battle between blockbuster dramas "Grey's Anatomy" and "Crime Scene Investigation" was quite worrying as both shows fell considerably from their spring 2007 levels (-25 and -20% respectively among adults 18-49).

NBC's attempt to give "30 Rock" a boost by swapping timeslots with Scrubs wasn't successful as "The Office" fell in the once-again ultra-competitive Thursday at 9pm timeslot.

There was also bad news for CW's "Supernatural" which scored one of the worst results in its 3-year run.

"Lost" won the 10pm timeslot among adults 18-49, although CBS' old-skewing "Without a Trace" was dominant in overall viewers.


THURSDAY (April 24)


ABC:
8:00pm Ugly Betty (8.52 million)
9:00pm Grey's Anatomy (16.02 million)
10:02pm Lost (12.33 million)

CBS:
8:00pm Survivor: Micronesia (12.98 million)
9:00pm CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (16.74 million)
10:01pm Without a Trace (13.58 million)

NBC:
8:00pm My Name Is Earl (6.06 million)
8:30pm Scrubs (5.30 million)
9:00pm The Office (7.56 million)
9:31pm 30 Rock (5.54 million)
10:01pm ER (7.35 million)

Fox:
8:00pm Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (8.64 million)

The CW:
8:00pm Smallville (3.56 million)
9:00pm Supernatural (2.27 million)


WEDNESDAY (April 23)


ABC:
8:00pm Wife Swap (5.89 million)
9:00pm Supernanny (5.42 million)
10:00pm Men in Trees (5.21 million)

CBS:
8:00pm Big Brother 9 (6.70 million)
9:00pm Criminal Minds (R) (9.02 million)
10:00pm CSI: NY (R) (7.73 million)

NBC:
8:00pm Deal or No Deal (9.89 million)
10:00pm Law & Order (12.63 million)

Fox:
8:00pm 'Til Death (6.16 million)
8:30pm Back to You (7.27 million)
9:00pm American Idol (22.62 million)

CW:
8:00pm America's Next Top Model (4.23 million)
9:00pm Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious [season 2 finale] (2.30 million)


TUESDAY (April 22)


ABC:
8:00pm According to Jim (4.29 million)
8:30pm According to Jim (R) (4.07 million)
9:00pm Dancing With the Stars (17.48 million)
10:02pm Boston Legal (10.52 million)

CBS:
8:00pm NCIS (14.09 million)
9:00pm Big Brother 9 (6.74 million)
10:00pm Shark (R) (4.80 million)

NBC:
8:00pm Most Outrageous Moments (4.20 million)
8:30pm Saturday Night Live (R) (3.92 million)
10:00pm Law & Order: SVU (11.50 million)

Fox:
8:00pm American Idol (24.00 million)
9:02pm Hell's Kitchen (11.56 million)

The CW:
8:00pm Beauty and the Geek (1.56 million)
9:00pm Reaper (2.40 million)


MONDAY (April 21)


ABC:
8:00pm Dancing With the Stars (17.82 million)
9:32pm Samantha Who? (10.13 million)
10:02pm The Bachelor: London Calling (7.66 million)

CBS:
8:00pm The Big Bang Theory (7.51 million)
8:30pm How I Met Your Mother (8.52 million)
9:00pm Two and a Half Men (13.28 million)
9:30pm Rules of Engagement (10.63 million)
10:00pm CSI: Miami (14.42 million)

NBC:
8:00pm Deal or No Deal (10.02 million)
10:00pm Medium (9.54 million)

Fox:
8:00pm Bones (8.64 million)
9:00pm House (R) (8.04 million)

The CW:
8:00pm Gossip Girl (2.44 million)
9:00pm One Tree Hill (2.82 million)


SUNDAY (April 20)


ABC:
7:00pm America's Funniest Home Videos (R) (7.06 million)
8:00pm Oprah's Big Give [season 1 finale] (10.03 million)
9:00pm Desperate Housewives (15.58 million)
10:02pm Brothers & Sisters (10.50 million)

CBS:
7:00pm 60 Minutes (10.56 million)
8:00pm Big Brother 9 (6.75 million)
9:00pm MOVIE: Sweet Nothing in My Ear (8.14 million)

NBC:
7:00pm Dateline (5.10 million)
8:00pm Monk (R) (5.73 million)
9:00pm Psych (R) (4.02 million)
10:00pm Law & Order: SVU (R) (5.95 million)

Fox:
7:00pm King of the Hill (R) (2.62 million)
7:30pm American Dad (R) (2.96 million)
8:00pm Simpsons (R) (5.30 million)
8:30pm King of the Hill (R) (4.52 million)
9:00pm Family Guy (R) (5.51 million)
9:30pm American Dad (R) (4.94 million)

CW:
7:00pm America's Next Top Model (R) (1.21 million)
8:00pm Everybody Hates Chris (1.26 million)
8:30pm Aliens in America (R) (1.20 million)
9:00pm The Game (1.53 million)
9:30pm Girlfriends (R) (1.39 million)


SATURDAY (April 19)


ABC:
8:00pm MOVIE: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (R) (3.95 million)

CBS:
8:00pm Cold Case (R) (4.16 million)
9:00pm 48 Hours Mystery (R) (4.42 million)
10:00pm 48 Hours Mystery (5.92 million)

NBC:
8:00pm Law & Order: CI (R) (3.25 million)
9:00pm Law & Order: CI (R) (4.23 million)
10:00pm Law & Order (R) (5.12 million)

Fox:
8:00pm Cops (4.96 million)
9:00pm America's Most Wanted (5.37 million)


FRIDAY (April 18)


ABC:
8:00pm Desperate Housewives (R) (3.14 million)
9:00pm Duel (3.29 million)
10:00pm 20/20 (5.30 million)

CBS:
8:00pm Ghost Whisperer (R) (6.74 million)
9:00pm Moonlight (R) (5.28 million)
10:00pm NUMB3RS (R) (6.82 million)

NBC:
8:00pm Most Outrageous Moments (R) (5.45 million)
9:00pm Dateline (7.12 million)

Fox:
8:00pm House (R) (4.98 million)
9:00pm Canterbury's Law [season 1 finale] (4.68 million)

CW:
8:00pm Friday Night Smackdown! (4.07 million)


THURSDAY (April 17)


ABC:
8:00pm Lost (R) (3.74 million)
9:00pm Lost (R) (4.49 million)
10:00pm Eli Stone [season 1 finale] (6.13 million)

CBS:
8:00pm Survivor: Micronesia (12.09 million)
9:00pm CSI: (R) (10.69 million)
10:01pm Without a Trace (R) (9.47 million)

NBC:
8:00pm My Name Is Earl (6.77 million)
8:30pm 30 Rock (6.42 million)
9:00pm The Office (9.81 million)
9:31pm Scrubs (7.31 million)
10:01pm ER (7.75 million)

Fox:
8:00pm Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (9.19 million)
9:00pm Don't Forget the Lyrics! (9.53 million)

CW:
8:00pm Smallville (3.49 million)
9:00pm Supernatural (R) (2.10 million)

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Rebecca Romijn Demoted on "Ugly Betty"

In an interview with New York Post, Rebecca Romijn reveals extensive behind the scenes changes at "Ugly Betty" and says her transgender character Alexis Meade will be back next season on a recurring basis.

The actress says: "They made a tremendous amount of changes, especially with the writing staff [during the writer's strike], and while I know I'll be coming back next season, with all the changes, I'm not sure they can take care of my character they way they have been. So I'll be leaving, back in a recurring capacity, but it's time for me to leave and find something else."

I really adore Rebecca and I thought her Alexis was a great addition to the show, especially since it broke new ground for transgender characters on television. But the writers did seem to have run out of fresh ideas for her this season.

I am eager to learn more about the changes and what it will mean for other characters on the show. "Ugly Betty" has softened in the ratings this year and I wonder what ABC execs are attributing those losses to.

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VIDEO: Nicolette Sheridan on Ellen's 800th Show

Wisteria Lane's most wicked desperate housewife Nicolette Sheridan appeared on Ellen Degeneres' 800th show to give the beloved comedian and talk show host some silly string action.

Ellen played Nic's classic Martini commercial, we learned what Nic did with Michael Bolton's toes, and to top it all off, Slash made a special appearance to help Nicolette sing a song for Ellen.

Rumors have recently surfaced (fueled by "Desperate" camp) that Nicolette's time on "Housewives" is about to expire as her character Edie will "cross a huge moral boundary that she's never crossed before and it will have devastating consequences for her."

I am a little annoyed by how nasty the writers have tried to make Edie over the years. Her being rude to Susan was priceless, but burning down houses or torturing Carlos not that much.

I do hope whatever moral boundary Marc Cherry and the gang will make her cross this time it won't mean the end of Edie Britt, and the time-shifting twist at the end of the season will allow for her return.





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Parents Television Council Attacks "Gossip Girl" OMFG Campaign

Those pathetic losers from the Parents Television Council who don't seem to know how to use their remote controls are on the warpath again, this time taking issue with "sexually suggestive photo showing a teenage boy kissing a girl’s cleavage" as part of CW's "Gossip Girl" current print campaign. OMFG! How shocking.

The wingnuts have recently filed "indecency" complaints over a partially blurred image of a nude model on "America's Top Model," a scene of a man groping woman's breasts on "My Mame Is Earl" and Pfizer's Viagra ads.

In a statement regarding "Gossip Girl," the PTC says: "The Parents Television Council deplores the CW’s deliberate use of profanity and sexual imagery to exploit and further corrupt young viewers, and has warned its members about the show and the new ad campaign."

"Gossip Girl" returned last Monday with second-best ever ratings in target demos. I certainly hope PTC's wretched efforts will add even more eyeballs to the show as many right wing campaigns of this kind are known to spark controversy with boomerang results.

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"Desperate Housewives" Spoilers #414 "Opening Doors"

I've already posted several images from the "Opening Doors" episode of ABC's "Desperate Housewives" (airs Sunday, May 4 at 9/8c) featuring the return of Wisteria Lane's gay couple. Now, here are the rest of the images from the episode along with some scoop.


According to an official ABC press release, Lynette finds out who was responsible for starting the fire at Rick's restaurant, Bree gives Orson an ultimatum and Susan reconnects with her ex-husband, Karl (guest star Richard Burgi, pictured above with Teri Hatcher).



Little Kayla (Rachel Fox) will be revealed as the mastermind behind the fire at Rick's restaurant. Lynette takes her to see a psychiatrist, after it is revealed she manipulated her brothers into setting the fire (I can't imagine those little devils being entirely innocent, though).





Obviously, the boys were scared by the sight of their parents fighting (in last Sunday's episode). But since the obvious first suspect was her father Tom, the only member of the Scavo family she appeared to actually care about, what was Kayla trying to accomplish?



Susan will bump into Karl at a Lamaze class, where hex ex-husband comes with his pregnant girlfriend.

Susan is embarrassed because of her old clothes and Mike not being by her side (he is being recognized for staying off drugs for 30 days). She makes sure Mike accompanies her to the next class dressed to the nines.

As I mentioned in the earlier post, Justine Bateman ("Family Ties") will guest star in the episode as part of Gabrielle's storyline.

Gary Cole returns as Katherine Mayfair's ex-husband.

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Updates Return Saturday Morning @ 9:00am

Despite my best efforts I was regretfully forced to take some time away from the blog again. I am happy to say though, the hiatus is finally over. The updates will resume this Saturday morning at 9:00am Eastern. I'll begin with...

...a review of the past week including my take on Luke and Noah's new kiss, James Van Der Beek's "Mother" appearance, OMFG Gossip Girl controversy, Lucy Liu's Dirty Sexy role, hot spoilers from Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Lost (and more), TV ratings for the entire past week and celeb news including hot new pics of Lipstick Jungle hunk Robert Buckley, Ugly Betty's fab vixen Becki Newton, and Wisteria Lane's sexiest housewife Eva Longoria Parker.

All this and much more will be posted in the course of the weekend and then beginning Monday you'll be able to see regular daily updates (promises, promises... right? ...LOL...)

Apologies to all of you who regularly check this blog for your daily fix of TV related news and pictures. And many thanks for coming back.

Justin