It's safe to say American Idol's five best female contestants outshine and outclass all of Tuesday night's dudes. I don't mean to downplay the fetal finesse of Aaron Kelly or the Kodiak growls of Lee Dewyze, but the ladies have a lock on season nine. Their rankings -- and my confusion with the judges' love of a certain wizardress -- after the jump:
There's something about Chelsea Handler that brings out the creepy old man in Jay Leno. During one of the only memorable episodes of the Jay Leno Show, the host led Handler onto a vibrating bed where the pair shared an intimate book read. Last night, Leno upped the sleaze ante by taking her on a Bachelor-worthy date and inviting her to be a member of the mile-high club. Click through for that clip, as well as the other highlights you missed last night while exhaustively bidding on that Danny Zuko-inspired Alec Baldwin portrait.
NBC, always so good at making decisions! See if you can follow along in this new, instant classic example: The network had Kathy Griffin guest-starring on Law and Order: SVU, and the episode had already been attracting attention for its same-sex smooch between Griffin and Hargitay. NBC stoked that buzz by releasing an advance clip of the kiss, which snagged its fair share of headlines but also a bit of grumbling about Hargitay's last line in the scene, which felt vaguely homophobic.
So what did the network then do when the episode aired last night?
While in Los Angeles to make her stand-up debut on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Sarah Palin is shopping a reality series around town with the help of super-producer Mark Burnett. The project, which Palin and Burnett pitched to three major networks already this week, is being described by some executives as "Planet Earth meets Alaska meets the Palins." The series would include footage of the former governor of Alaska's family. [EW]
· This morning, a veteran sitcom star returns to the network mix. Debra Messing, last seen in USA's The Starter Wife, has been cast as the lead in ABC's comedy pilot Wright vs. Wrong. The half-hour project, written by Stephnie Weir (MadTV) centers on a driven conservative pundit who tries to maintain her public persona despite facing her own vulnerabilities. Messing will also executive produce the project. [THR]
NBC finds the next black president, Shit My Dad Says casts another star, and more TV Bites after the jump.
Hey, can someone help me figure out Rob Lowe? The actor has left two shows with sprawling ensembles (Brothers & Sisters and The West Wing) because he felt he wasn't getting enough screen time, and now Michael Ausiello is reporting that Lowe will join the cast of Parks & Recreation. I mean, it's a great comedy and all, but is there going to be very much room for him? This is a show that has the fantastic Rashida Jones in its cast and in some episodes, she gets little more than three lines and a reaction shot. I'm wary! [EW]
Previously, on Lost: Sayid is shot by Ben Linus's dad! Then he dies. For two hours. Then he un-dies. Sort of. The bearded Temple Master is angry. Claire looks disheveled. The Thing That Looks Like Locke But Is Not Actually Locke glares at her. Hurley snacks on a Dharma Initiative-supplied, generic Toaster Strudel. People live similar, but significantly different, lives on the flash-sideways timeline. You wish no one would ever use the words "flash-sideways" or "timeline" again. In the Lost writers' office, a balding man in glasses draws a red line through a whiteboard entry for "Ep. 606: Sundown." The other writers nod ominously.
Please join us as we once again attempt to answer a fresh batch of questions baked up in last night's episode, pulled piping hot from the island's wood-fired mystery-oven. [Oh, yeah: SPOILERS. You know what that means by now.]
After each Winter Olympics, American athletes typically get two weeks of residual attention before they disappear back into obscurity. That is not the case for Johnny Weir, the flashy figure skater from Coatesville, Penn., whose star has only grown brighter since the games ended on Sunday. Weir's docuseries, Be Good Johnny Weir is just over halfway through its first season on the Sundance Channel, and the skater, whose disappointing sixth place finish last week was largely believed to be political, is busy planning his future in skating, fashion and television.
Moveline caught up with the Olympian after a whirlwind day of press to discuss his experience with reality television, his friendship with Lady Gaga and the one clichéd performance that he still wants to try.
After Crystal Bowersox staged her own demise and tricked the ever-unprepared male contestants into performing last night, I expected the first day of Idol's Top 10 performances to go over like a lead balloon with Randy Jackson dancing the tarantella on top. Instead, the cooing little bandits improved! I rank the night's performances from worst to best after the jump, where you'll soon find yourself suffering from fetus envy.
The promos for Zach Galifianakis's SNL-hosting stint are online, and it's looking as though we're off to a great start. This is just the platform he needs to get noticed by a wider audience! [NBC.com]
And on the second day of the encore iteration of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Sarah Palin made her stand-up debut. A "big get" booking by Leno's talent department that was rivaled on CBS by David Letterman's interview with another Republican expected to run for presidential consideration in 2012, Mitt Romney. Both potential candidates were charming, both took swipes at themselves (Palin explained the writing-on-her-hand incident, Romney explained scuffle he had on a flight home from Vancouver) and both stayed on air for two lengthy segments. Click through for those clips, as well as the other highlights you missed while searching the Jackson compound for a stash of stun guns.
· This morning, Matt LeBlanc welcomes a trio of actors to his Showtime/BBC comedy series Episodes. Brit thesps Claire Forlani and Stephen Mangan have been cast as a successful English husband-and-wife comedy team set on taking their hit series to America, until a smart head of programming in Hollywood (Kathleen Rose Perkins of Trust Me ) forces them to replace the British male lead with U.S. comedy star, Matt LeBlanc, who is playing a version of himself. The series, from Friends co-creator David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik (Mad About You) will start production in May. [THR]
A Sopranos star moves to Detroit, Comedy Central invests in Workaholics, and more TV Bites after the jump.
When Lost premiered in 2004, there was a chance that the series could change television forever. In a certain sense, it did -- the show ushered in several more dramas that emulated Lost's winning formula of flashbacks, mythology, and diverse casting -- and yet many of the would-be heirs to Lost's throne didn't last a season, and the few that are still around today are struggling as Lost barrels toward its conclusion. Here are five that tried and failed to unseat the big daddy of serialized storytelling:
Just as quickly as the Winter Vancouver Olympic coverage (temporarily) saved NBC from fourth-place ratings, the peacock transitioned out of icy sports and into celebration-mode. After Jay Leno and Jamie Foxx sprayed down the Tonight Show audience with champagne (more on that later), Jimmy Fallon fêted his one-year anniversary at Late Night and his most-frequent visitor. But just because NBC had mostly forgotten America's great athletic feats in Vancouver did not mean other networks had. David Letterman welcomed Olympic ski accident survivor Bill Murray, Stephen Colbert wrapped up his Vancouver coverage and George Lopez chatted underwear with Olympic beauty Julia Mancuso. Those clips, as well as the other highlights you missed while rehearsing that foxtrot, after the jump.
You can't watch a two-hour Southern epic like The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love without analyzing it like a gumshoe stewing around Tara's charred remains. Here's what I noticed: After 120 minutes of family interactions, Skittle-colored flora, and five-minute helicopter trips, Texan bachelor Jake Pavelka chose between nice girl Tenley and "confrontational" Vienna. Three questions remain: 1) Did he make the sane choice? 2) Do we see a future for the new couple/PR duo? 3) What do we make of Jake's sudden gig on Dancing with the Stars? Julie Miller and I hash it out after the jump. Spoilers ahead!
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