Who knew ?

American apparently loves tin foil aliens more than sexy vampires.

Which means that for the first time in weeks, Jason and Caitlin weren’t in danger. (Caitlin seemed stunned to learn they were actually safe, didn’t she?)

And for some reason, “SYTYCD” fans, you really, really don’t like Kayla.

Luckily, the judges saw fit to keep Kayla on the show, because hello?, she’s amazing. They kept partner Kupono, too.

Phillip and Jeanine were saved as well – and like Mary, I can’t figure out how you people liked their inferior Broadway and tango numbers, but didn’t care for last night’s great ball-and-chain routine.

So who did we say sayonara to?

Karla and Vitolio.

It couldn’t have been much of a shock to them, since they’ve been the usual suspects in the Bottom Three since the competition began. Their time finally ran out.

Anyway, except for Jeanine, whose solo Nigel deemed “brilliant,” the judges were quite stern with those that they saved.

Phillip needs to do a lot more work on genres besides hip-hop. Kupono has to show more passion – and more actual dancing! – in his solos. Kayla needs to pull herself together when dancing alone in the future.

So what did you think? Did the right dancers go home? Who should get the boot next?

Either way, this means we’re nearing the half-way point of the season: We’ve almost got a Top 10! I’m on vacation next week, but feel free to check in here and use the “SYTYCD” space to comment on the week’s performances…

Until then, keep on dancin’…

(Photo courtesy of FOX)

Couldn’t help but be saddened by the passing of Karl Malden, along with all the recent celebrity losses. My sisters and I would always watch “The Streets of San Francisco,” in part because they were in love with Michael Douglas. Malden, however, was terrific there as in everything.

I’m glad some bloggers have mentioned his demonic sheriff in the underrated western “One-Eyed Jacks,” as his best performance, though. There he once again played against Brando (in his only directorial effort.) Malden excelled at decent guys like Mitch in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and Father Barry in “On the Waterfront.” But it was that very decency, that very Mitchness that made him so chillingly terrifying as the outlaw-turned-smiling-sheriff who betrays and brutalizes Brando, his former partner in crime, in “Jacks.” And you’ve got to think that Gene Hackman’s sheriff in “Unforgiven” owes something to Malden’s work.

Anyway, rest in peace.

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that the former Lizzy McGuire is indeed joining the cast of “Gossip Girl” for multiple episodes next season.

Duff will play a movie star who just wants to be a regular college girl at NYU. (Is Hollywood life really that hard?)

She’ll be Vanessa’s new roommate. (Sigh, I’d hoped V had disappeared somewhere along her Eastern European vacay with Nate..)

And according to E! Online, Duff also may be a possible love interest for Dan Humphrey. It seems that Mr. Clueless will have no idea she’s famous.

Will you be glad to see Ms. Duff leave La-La-Land for the Upper East Side? She’s expected to hit “GG” in its fourth episode, on Oct. 5.

My, my, it was an action-packed two hours on “So You Think You Can Dance.”

Mia made Brandon cry.

An alien tried to impregnate Jason.

Nigel confirmed that Katie Holmes will indeed do a song-and-dance number on the July 23 episode, the show’s 100th. It’s in honor of the launch of a new charity, the Dizzy Feet Foundation, that will give dance scholarships to at-risk and underprivileged kids. (More on that later.)

Now, I hate to rain on the parade after that warm-and-fuzzy announcement, but one other thing happened last night, too.

The show all but announced that it’s fixed.

That’s right. You heard me. Because I find it way too much of a coincidence that the show’s very first ballerina contestant just happened to draw the show’s very first classical ballet routine out of the hat. Please. What would happened if, say, Phillip and Jeanine picked that one instead of Ade and Melissa?

Two words. Do. over.

Well, now that I’ve got that out of my system, on with the couple-by-couple breakdown. And as much as I personally LOVED that wacky, weird alien routine by Jason and Caitlin, I suspect it will land them in the Bottom Three.

Again.

I’ve been spending more time watching “The Mentalist” of late, and I must say I find myself in the camp of viewers who think Rosalind is not the girlfriend of serial killer Red John but Red John him (her) self.

Think about it: Rosalind is a redhead. John could be a boyfriend’s name, a maternal surname or a nickname. The blue-and-white teacup balanced on the TV where Red gets his (her) joliies watching the victims (s)he tortures is the same as the set in Rosalind’s house.

Plus, Rosalind could easily pretend to be blind to suggest that she is just another victim of the serial killer’s con. As for why the Holmesian Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) would be thrown off the scent and see her as a victim, well, his judgment could be clouded by the fact that his wife and baby were murdered by John. (The victims are all women or children, easier for a woman to overpower.)

Also, women often draw smiley faces (Red John’s calling card). And anyway, who’s better at mind games — or more to the point — who is more likely to have to use mind games to get what he or she wants, men or women?

Thoughts anyone?

Lost-philes, rejoice!

We’ll be getting one more episode of “Lost” than originally planned for the next – and last (sob!) – season.

That’s according to the Hollywood Reporter, which quotes an insider who says the show’s producers (Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof) asked ABC for an 18th hour because “they had some extra story to tell.”

You think? The countdown is on for the series’ end, people!

And after that lollapalooza of a season finale – Jughead went off! Ben stabbed Jacob! The real John Locke is really dead! The Man in Black found the loophole! – I’d imagine that the “Lost” writers are in a tizzy right now, trying to figure out how to tie everything together.

Now, you might be asking, why the odd episode number of 18?

If you’ll recall, once the showrunners decided on a “Lost” end date, the decision was made to have each of the final three seasons run 16 episodes long. Then the 2007-08 writers’ strike happened, resulting in a shortened Season 4. The missing hours were supposed to be made up in seasons 5 and 6, with 17 eps each.

So let’s get to speculating everyone! What does it mean if Darlton asked for more time? Are they indeed trying to get Maggie Grace and more of the original cast members back to the island?

Either way, who cares? I’ll take every extra second of “Lost” that I can get!

(Photo courtesy of FOX)

I know this is supposed to be a recap, but I have to start with the part that struck me the most. And it’s not a scene that has much to do with the main plot of “Chuck Versus the Sizzling Shrimp,” but rather a secondary storyline that has more to do with establishing the main characters and with one of the show’s overarching themes.

It’s also one that calls for a bit of a mea culpa on my part—just a tiny bit.

For Chuck and Ellie, Mother’s Day is about as significant a day for them as a family as there is on the calendar. And through much of this episode, we’re left to wonder why, especially as Chuck finds himself not finding time for Ellie (or Morgan, for that matter) because the government is taking all his time.

So, jumping right to the end, the Mother’s Day dinner finally comes together. And defying tradition, Ellie has invited Morgan and Sarah along.

This sets up a useful bit of exposition in which Chuck explains to Sarah about Mother’s Day, Bartowski-style. For them it’s the anniversary of the day their mom left. Sure, their dad was there (as we’d later learn), but he was never really there. So that was the day they learned to rely on themselves.

That’s so much more than we ever usually learn about any character in one shot, isn’t it? The writers subtly summed up everything you need to know about who Chuck and Ellie are as people and why they’re so close.

Now, about that mea culpa. Read more of this entry »

Ladies of “Desperate Housewives,” get ready to rumble.

Drea de Matteo, an Emmy winner for “The Sopranos,” is joining the cast of the ABC drama, according to Entertainment Weekly. Looks like she’ll be filling the slot vacated by Nicolette Sheridan’s recently deceased Edie.

De Matteo will play the mom of an Italian family – of course – that just moved to Wisteria Lane. The show is still searching for actors to play her landscape designer husband and their “tightly wound” son.

Can’t wait! Knowing what de Matteo brought to the role of Adriana, this addition should add some extra spice to “DH,” don’cha think?

By the way, this is turning out to be a good month for de Matteo. Only two weeks ago, she got engaged to singer Shooter Jennings, her longtime boyfriend and baby daddy of daughter Alabama.

Congrats on all counts, Drea!

A crazy week kept me from sharing my thoughts on this week’s Weeds until now, which is too bad. It was probably the best episode in a while.

I didn’t think I’d take to an entire season of Nancy looking over her shoulder all the time, but the fear and tension mixed with the occasional aloofness and ambivalence about her situation is turning out to be fun.

And I don’t see that tension lifting any time soon with warnings from Esteban that she’d better relax or there’ll be consequences. Andy’s right. He is going to be a great dad. Andy really lightened the heavy mood in this one, and I think the result was a great balance.

“SYTYCD” broke apart one couple last week, and the show did it again this time around.

So with the departure of Asuka and Jonathan, we’ve got the new pairing of Vitolio and Karla to look forward to next Wednesday.

This performance round was tough to call; aside from the train wreck of a hip-hop routine by Jonathan and Karla, the rest were pretty much status quo. To me, it seemed like it all came down to personalities – since, as Nigel pointed out, the same six folks keep ending up in the Bottom 3. (Folks sure do love that Phillip, don’t they? How else to explain him never ending up in danger?)

As for the girls, it wasn’t too surprising to see Asuka go: She’s been hanging on by her fingernails for awhile now. As Nigel pointed out, she’s really not growing as a performer at all.

It was a bit of a tougher call with the boys – and the judges’ call wasn’t unanimous. (Considering the stern face on Mary Murphy as the trio took their seats again, I’m guessing she was the odd person out in this decision.)

Nigel chewed out Jason a bit before sending him to safety, but as I’ve said before, he gets a lot of screams from the studio audience. So I don’t see them sending him home before they absolutely have to.

That brought it down to Vitolio and Jonathan. Right call? Absolutely. Vitolio might still be finding his footing in the competition, but as far as dancing for one’s life? The boy exploded off those stairs, making me say, “Now that’s how you rock a solo.”

Did the judges cut the right dancers? Let me know in the comments section below.

And by the way, anyone else thinking that the incredibly sexy group number by Tabitha and Napoleon (what WAS that, a Spanish bordello?) was the night’s highlight?

Except, of course, for the cutie patootie from the Rage Boyz Crew who flew through the air. I wanted to scoop him up and carry him around in my pocket…

(Photos courtesy of FOX)

The Jay Leno Show premieres Sept. 14 at 10 p.m. ET. Other shows will air too, but none of them will devour fully one-third of NBC’s prime time schedule (though Sunday football comes close) and none of them feature a star who retired from a prestigious gig only to resurface months later and steal the thunder of their successor.

OK, got that out of the way.

NBC released its fall premiere schedule today, and there’s a few interesting items of note.

The Thursday comedy lineup debuts Sept. 17, with SNL Weekend Update Thursdays, Parks & Rec, The Office and newbie Community. I’m particularly interested in that last one, starring Joel Mchale. The preview looks hilarious.

30 Rock is out until Oct. 15, following mini-SNL’s run and bumping Community to an earlier time slot.

The Sept. 21 Heroes premiere will be a two-hour event. Debuts for Parenthood and Trauma follow on   Sept. 23 and 28, respectively. And the other Saturday Night Live is back Sept. 26.

And hey, Law & Order is back for a 20th season, albeit on Friday nights starting Sept. 25.

The premiere schedule appears after the jump, with new programs in all caps…

It’s lame that it’s two days late, but this recap of “Chuck Versus the Wookie” is inspired by my being reminded what an awesome episode this was.

You had surprisingly little Casey for all the funny moments he had, and you had Morgan daring to aspire to a woman light years out of his league. You also had that moment, at the very end, when we learned one true thing about Sarah.

And that’s where I have to jump in, because I’d never realized that Chuck never heard her whisper “Lisa.” It’s really obvious that he’s out of earshot, so I don’t know why I thought he heard it. Anyway, the build-up to that scene came earlier in the episode in the two scenes where, while eating pizza, Chuck noticed Sarah picking the olives off.

I wondered who keeps ordering pizza with toppings they don’t like, but why question it? It was all he knew about her to that point, and the theme of the episode was the idea that she can never give him any more.

I guess it says something about the quality of the Top 16 dancers when I honestly can’t pull out serious contenders for the Bottom Three tonight.

Sure, the judges (especially that cranky ol’ Nigel!) blasted Jonathan and Karla’s hip-hop, so those two will probably be in trouble. But otherwise? Anything goes.

And now that I’m thinking about it, does that say something about how great the dancers are, or how blah the routines were?

If pressed, I’d say the best were the sexy rhumba by Ade and Melissa and the butt-obsessed contemporary number by Evan and Randi.

Yet neither one exactly wowed me: Focusing on Randi’s tush was oddly fun, but for the usually wacko Mia Michaels, this routine was unusually tame.

(Also, the judges’ code word for “boring”  is now “simple.”)

So in the following breakdown, you won’t see a single “totally safe” in my predictions. And my picks for the Bottom Three are totally tentative.

Ah well, maybe next week will be more exciting…

At 9 tonight on THIRTEEN, PBS’ “Great Performances at the Met” airs Giacomo Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” which was part of its “Live in HD” series this past season. The production itself — by the late Anthony Minghella, who directed the overrated “The English Patient” — is a mixed bag. But the singing, particularly by soprano Patricia Racette as the doomed Cio-Cio-San, more than makes up for it. Read more of this entry »

With only two exceptions, CBS wil launch its entire fall slate of shows during the week of Sept. 21.

There will be a pre-season debut of “Survivor: Samoa” on Sept. 17, and newbie medical drama “Three Rivers” (starring Alex O’Loughlin of the late, lamented “Moonlight”) kicks off Oct. 4.

The rest of the premieres will be crammed into that third week of the month.

Monday and Wednesday nights are reserved mostly for CBS’s comedies, including freshman sitcom “Accidentally On Purpose” with Jenna Elfman. (And we’re still wondering how “Gary Unmarried” won a stay of execution.)

As for the rest, click through to get a complete look at the premiere schedule…

It seems that Little J has quite the exciting summer vacation going on: Taylor Momsen of “Gossip Girl” is currently on tour with her band.

Momsen fronts The Pretty Reckless, which is the opening act for Australian pop-rock duo, The Veronicas.

And you know what?

As much as I wanted to slam Momsen for being yet another actress-turned-talentless-singer – and believe me, given how much I hated Little J and her raccoon eyes on “GG” last season, I REALLY wanted to trash her -  she’s actually not half-bad.

Especially given that she’s only 15.

Certainly better than anything Miley Cyrus is putting out. And dare I say it? Momsen reminded me a wee bit of a young Lita Ford.

Judge for yourself from this snippet of the band’s first-ever show last month at New York’s Annex:

And go here to check out a clip of their recent performance in Houston.

Little J isn’t the only one from “GG” trying out a music career.

Queen Bee Leighton Meester plans to release a debut album this fall, and Ed “Chuck Bass” Westwick is in the British band The Filthy Youth.

Go here to sample Meester supposedly singing “Bette Davis Eyes,” and check out Westwick’s punky stage presence here.

Now, who’s the best “GG” singer of them all?

“Gossip Girl” returns for Season 3 on Sept. 14.

(Photos courtesy of the CW)

R&B artist Eve is set to blow ya’ mind on FOX’s “Glee” in two episodes this fall as the coach of a rival glee club.

Rumor had it that the show’s producers wanted Whitney Houston for the part, but the troubled songstress turned ‘em down.

So now Eve has stepped in to stir up some trouble for McKinley High when the musical dramedy officially premieres on Sept. 16.

She won’t be the only fun guest star appearing throughout the season, either: Josh Groban, Kristen Chenoweth and Victor Garber are all confirmed to appear as well.

This is great news for other reasons, too. It’ll hopefully give a PR boost to a fledgling show that’s different from anything else on network television right now, but definitely deserves to have folks tune in.

Seriously, if you missed the unofficial debut after “American Idol” last month, check it out on Hulu. Unbelievably quirky, fun and hilarious. It’s sure to make you smile – “Glee” is an apt name for it!

Can’t want to see more, and can’t wait to watch Eve shake her tambourine on a high school stage…

(Photos courtesy of FOX and the Associated Press)

I don’t know about you, but my experience of billionaires so far has been limited to Tony Stark (enchanting but admittedly fictional) and TV sightings of Mayor Mike Bloomberg (seemingly extremely capable although a tad crotchety.)

NBC is seeking to change all that with “The Philanthropist,” bowing at 10 tonight on Channel 4 locally, with the sensual James Purefoy (Mark Antony in HBO’s “Rome”) as the Tony Stark-like protagonist. As presented in the pilot, however, he’s more Tin Man than Iron Man. Read more of this entry »

This needs no intro.

I Chuck, therefore it’s Monday.

That was a stab at being philosophical. Deep, huh? It’s full of truth too, because tonight we take a gander back at “Chuck Versus the Wookie,” an excellently titled episode that for some reason makes me chuckle (no pun intended) just thinking about.

It’s been more than a month since I last watched it, but if I remember right Sarah gets a little competition, Morgan gets a little lucky and a very hairy man hosts a pool party.

Chuck faces an unusual task, when Sarah’s hot colleague from the CIA shows up requesting help for a mission. Morgan tries to get Chuck to set him up with Sarah’s new friend. When Chuck finds out that a million dollar diamond hidden in a Malibu mansion is being used to help fund terrorists, he must help these two beautiful women steal it back. Chuck is finding out that Sarah’s job of living a double life, which she is all too good at, is really preventing him from getting to know who she really is.

There’s been some Chuck in the news of late.

For starters, Matt Roush of TVGuide.com took some Chuck Q’s in his recent Q&A. Read more of this entry »