Gone With The Stars

Six Questions Lost Fans Should Ask Themselves

2010-05-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the first night you'll notice it's really gone. It's Tuesday, the night Lost fans made excuses not to leave the house for the past dozen-and-a-half weeks. But come 9pm, we won't be glued to our TV screens, we'll be trying to fill the empty hole in our hearts that once belonged to Jack, Hurley, a four-toed statue, a donkey wheel, and a lush paradise simply known as "the island."

The divisive finale left some blown away and others wishing they'd blown themselves away. Like with a gun. The debate over its quality rages on, but the healing process must also begin. We're here to help you find closure with six therapeutic questions all Lost fans should be asking themselves (I'll answer them, too!). Write down your answers in the comments section below, and let the healing begin!

What's the "next Lost"? What's your next obsession?

For me, there simply isn't another show on TV right now that's as wonderfully demanding as Lost. While I think Breaking Bad and Supernatural are just as good in quality, if not better, neither really merits being an obsession. So to answer my own question, I think the "next Lost" is yet to come.

Will you ever re-watch the series now that you know what happened?

No. I'm done with it. It was a great ride, but I don't feel the need to re-watch any part of it. (I've already watched the thing through twice.)

Would you recommend Lost to those who haven't seen it?

Without a doubt, yes. Even though I had my issues with the finale and parts of Season 6, it's still an excellent show. That said, I'd probably tell people that it's okay to quit sometime around Season 4 if frustration sets in.

Do you think the writers knew where they were going the whole time?

I'm struggling with this. I do believe they knew what the final scene was (Jack's eye closing), but that's hardly a surprise, and something that any junior film student could have come up with. However, I'm not totally convinced they had the final 10 minutes planned from the get-go.

Did the finale improve or hurt your impression of the series overall?

I wrote my opinion on this already, but I'll say it again. It didn't sway me either way. I remember the things I loved about Lost, and to me, it remains one of the best shows I've ever seen. I'd say I got my money's worth and then some.

Do you think it ended at the right time? Did you want the show to go on longer?

Honestly, I think the show would have been a lot tighter and would have been better served if it'd been shorter. I think four seasons would have been enough to tell the whole story; condense it, trim the fat, and please leave Ilana, Nikki, Paulo, and Zoe out of the new version.

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Real line up Mourinho as Pellegrini sacked

2010-05-26T18:49:00.000-07:00

Real Madrid opened the way for Jose Mourinho to take over as coach after they sacked Manuel Pellegrini on Wednesday.

Florentino Perez, president of the Spanish giants, said that a need for change had necessitated the dismissal of the Chilean incumbent and the courting of Mourinho from Inter Milan.

"We have dedicated the last few weeks to analysing and reflecting upon the past season. And we have decided to bring to an end Manuel Pellegrini's time at the club," Perez told a press conference here.

"We want to thank him and his team for their hard work, professionalism and conduct.

"The board also agreed to contract Jose Mourinho as the new coach of Real Madrid once his contractual relationship with Inter Milan has been resolved."

Mourinho has long been in Real's cross-hairs, none more so than after he guided Inter to a unique treble this season of the Champions League, Italian league and Italian Cup.

Perez added: "It's not been an easy decision to reach but we're 100 percent behind the need for a change.

"We're very happy that Jose Mourinho will be the man to take over the reins of Real Madrid for the coming years - he's won everything possible.

"We want to have the best person in every position out on the pitch and in the dug-out - we want to sign one of the best managers in the game."

Italian news agency ANSA earlier reported Mourinho as saying that he was heading off on holidays before going "to work in Spain".

"Now I'm on holidays. Then I'll go to work in Spain," Mourinho said, accompanied by his agent Jorge Mendes, after meeting Inter Milan official Rinaldo Ghelfi, who is in charge of finances at the Italian club.

"With Inter it's not yet over, but everything is going well and there are no problems," Mourinho later told journalists.

Asked by journalists: "Is it possible that you'll stay at Milan?" Mourinho replied: "It's impossible."

According to media reports, the transfer to Real Madrid will only be completed when Inter are certain of recuperating the 16 million euros stipulated in the get-out clause for the coach whose contract runs until June 2012.

Pellegrini, 56, spent just one season with Real after arriving from Villarreal, ultimately paying the price for again finishing behind Barcelona in La Liga and their round-of-16 exit from the Champions League.

He had one year on his contract to run.

Mourinho backs himself and Van Gaal for football history

2010-05-21T19:29:00.000-07:00

Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho believes both he and Bayern Munich counterpart Louis van Gaal will join a select group of Champions League winners with two different teams, but hopes he'll be first.

The two charismatic coaches go head-to-head in the Champions League final at the Santiago Bernabeu with the winner joining Ottmar Hitzfeld and Ernst Happel as winners with two different clubs.

But Mourinho believes whoever losses on Saturday will still make history as a two-time winner at a later date.

"Tomorrow myself or Louis van Gaal will for sure become the third man in that group," he said.

"Hopefully, and I speak for myself and also for Louis because I saw him today and he seems to be in very good shape, if we continue in our jobs the one who doesn't do it tomorrow (Saturday) will do it in the future.

"I feel we will both join that group, one tomorrow and one later."

Mourinho won the European title with Porto in 2004 while Van Gaal triumphed with Ajax in 1995.

Despite the success of both men, Mourinho, who like Van Gaal has won titles in three different countries, admitted that he will still be nervous on the morning of the match.

"I will feel the pressure because I know myself, I know how my day before and during the event goes," said the Inter boss.

"Tomorrow morning I'll wake up and know that in a few hours we'll be playing the Champions League final.

"My heart will beat a bit faster and the temperature of my body will go up a bit and then I'll go to work and prepare the game and when I arrive at the stadium and step off the team bus, everything begins.

"That's the bit I like, my natural habitat, without pressure or tension."

Earlier in the day Van Gaal had said he felt that despite reaching the final, Inter and Bayern were still not at the same level as Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona.
But Mourinho disagreed.

"When the season starts and the Champions League starts it's normal for everyone to look around and say these are the strongest teams with the most quality and tradition and the best chances to do it," he said.

"That's why you go to the bookmakers and see there's different percentage levels of success.

"Barcelona are a super team, Real Madrid with the possibility to play the final at home were there, Manchester United got to two consecutive finals and Chelsea were in the semi-final or final four or five times in five or six seasons.

"Of course Bayern had a new team and a new coach and were not there, Inter were not there because we couldn't even reach the quarter-finals for several years.

"But step by step, this is the Champions League, it can happen and it didn't happen by chance.

"Because Inter and Bayern can both do the treble as they've won both domestic competitions.

"No doubt we are great teams and that's why we're in the final. Are other teams better than us? I dont know."

Mourinho once again batted away any speculation about his future, particularly those rumours linking him with a move to Real Madrid next season.

"I don't know Real, I don't know their mentality or their philosophy, I only know their history.

"And really today not I'm not concerned with knowing it. My concern is Inter and the final."
The final will have a special significance for Inter captain Javier Zanetti who will play his 700th game for the club in a glittering nerazzurri career that began 15 years ago.
"If I think about all those games in this shirt it fills me with desire and of course playing in one as important as tomorrow night in which we could enter into history (as first Inter or Italian team to win the treble)," he said.

"It's down to lots of hard work and having faith in myself, day after day in training.

"The belief that I can do well and give my best for Inter, that's what interests me the most."

Ballack out of World Cup

2010-05-17T18:52:00.000-07:00

Germany captain Michael Ballack has been ruled out of this summer's World Cup following scans on an ankle injury.

The midfielder suffered the knock during Chelsea's FA Cup final victory over Portsmouth at the weekend after a clash with Kevin-Prince Boateng.

He went for a scan in Munich on Monday morning but the German Football Federation (DFB) has confirmed that the results mean he will play no part in South Africa and will not train for eight weeks.

It is a huge blow for Germany as Ballack has been an integral part of their side in the last decade and is nearing the 100 caps mark.

The 33-year-old has played in every major tournament since 2000 and has enjoyed a successful season with Chelsea this term, clinching a Premier League and FA Cup double.

But his campaign has ended prematurely and Germany coach Joachim Low will have to alter the shape of his team with under a month until the start of the competition.

A statement from the DFB said: "National team captain Michael Ballack is out of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

"This is the result of an MRI on Monday morning in Munich. A tear of the medial collateral ligament of the right ankle was found.

"The right ankle is immobilised in a plaster. He will have to wear a special shoe for two weeks.

"After the diagnosis of national team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt today, a complete healing of the injury is expected.

"Ballack's return to training is possible at the earliest in eight weeks."

Germany have been drawn in Group D alongside Australia, Ghana and Serbia, who may be buoyed by the news.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Winner Revealed

2010-05-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains came down to the final five finalists in competition for the Sole Survivor title and the $1 million prize.

After 37 days and the return of 20 of the game's most memorable players, it was four against one as lone remaining Hero Colby Donaldson (The Australian Outback) battled four Villains: Jerri Manthey (The Australian Outback), Sandra Diaz-Twine (Pearl Islands) , Parvati Shallow ( Cook Islands) and Russell Hantz ( Samoa).

Colby was arguably one of the series' original heroes after his honorable game play in Season 2. Unfortunately, almost ten years after his rise to reality TV fame, Colby proved a lackluster physical competitor, and ultimately one of the biggest surprises of the season. After his poor performances in challenges throughout the season, Colby needed an immunity challenge win to stay in the game against the Villains' strong alliance.

Given those facts, it was perhaps unsurprising that Colby was the first eliminated. Despite his best efforts to sway Russell, only Villains remained in the running for the $1 million prize.
The final physical challenge, in which the players were forced to make their way through a maze blindfolded, was based on luck rather than will and determination. Russell beat Parvati and Jerri by a hair to claim a spot on his second final tribal council.

Sandra convinced Russell to take her to the final three with the argument that the jury would never vote for her since she already won the million dollars. The past winners argument is a strong one — who really wants to give someone else another million bucks? — and made Parvati a logical choice for the final three as well. But at camp, Russell sounded intent on taking Jerri with him to the end.

At the penultimate tribal council, Parvati seemed truly nervous she would fall short of the final council, despite her close (but complicated) alliance with Russell. But Russell surprised viewers and took Parvati to the end, pitting two previous winners against one of Survivor's most notorious villains.

At the final tribal council in front of the jury (consisting of five Heroes and five Villains), Russell, Parvati and Sandra each made similar arguments that they played the best game. Sandra said she had no alliances to rely on and was truly a sole survivor. Russell acknowledged his betrayals, but also argued he made it to the end solely on his big game and not on luck (pretty much his argument last season). Finally, Parvati said she was the best because of her physical prowess and because she was able to use Russell as her "pet" from Day One.

Even though he's never won the prize, most of the jury was still out for Russell's blood, especially since he played a role in most of their exits. The jury members argued Parvati was a strong player, but Candice and Rupert, among others, condemned her for her alliance with Russell. In the eyes of the jury, Sandra sometimes did not give 100 percent in the challenges, but proved herself to be very loyal, and, as Candice said, more of a Hero than most of this season's contestants.

And so the winner of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains is: Sandra! She beat out runner-up Parvati and Russell to become the first person to ever win twice.

However, Russell didn't walk away empty handed. For the second season in a row, he won the fan vote for Sprint Player of the Season and $100,000, defeating Rupert Boneham.
Finally, Jeff Probst announced that Season 21 of Survivor will take place in Nicaragua.
Do you think the right person won?

Messi adds Golden Shoe to trophy haul

2010-05-16T20:27:00.000-07:00

Lionel Messi added the European Golden Shoe to his growing list of awards after scoring twice against Real Valladolid on Monday, to finish the La Liga season with 34 goals.

The rankings on www.eurotopfoot.com showed the Argentina striker had amassed 68 points, 10 more than his closest rivals Didier Drogba of Chelsea and Antonio Di Natale of Udinese who scored 29 each.
Messi netted Barca's third and fourth goals in a 4-0 victory over Valladolid that delivered Barca their second consecutive league title on Sunday.

"Messi is the best I have ever seen, of this there is no doubt," Guardiola told reporters on Monday.

"As well as being a winner he has great ambition. At 3-0 up, with the league in the bag, he continued chasing as hard as anyone else. He's impossible to emulate."

His haul of 34 in the league matched the club record set by Brazilian striker Ronaldo in the 1996-7 season, when he also won the Golden Shoe.

Atletico Madrid's Uruguayan striker Diego Forlan won the shoe last season with 32 goals.

Messi : Argentina Not One-Man Team

2010-05-16T20:20:00.001-07:00

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi says Argentina is not a one-man team and believes the South American outfit can succeed at this summer's World Cup, despite a disappointing qualifying campaign under coach Diego Maradona.

"Argentina is not just Messi," he told CNN in an interview. "In the national team there is not one sole leader; we are a group, like at Barcelona."

And Messi hopes both he and Argentina go on to do well this summer, adding: "Let's hope this is my World Cup and Argentina's World Cup. We didn't qualify in the best way, but we can be the surprise team.

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2010-05-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

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"I will coach Real": Mourinho

2010-05-13T19:36:00.000-07:00

Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho has revealed he will coach Real Madrid, in an interview to be published in Friday's Panorama news magazine.

The Portuguese boss has long been linked with a move to the Spanish giants next season although he has, until now, refused to speculate on his future.

But while the former Chelsea and Porto chief admitted he will be heading to the Spanish capital, he did not say when.

"What they are writing that I have a foot half in Spain and half in Milan is false. It's true I will coach Real Madrid," says Mourinho.

"I've coached a big club in England, I'm coaching a big club in Italy and I will coach one in Spain.
"I've won everything in three countries (Portugal, England and Italy), there's nothing missing for me.

"But it makes me laugh when certain club chairmen compare me to their coaches who haven't even won a Cup of Tuscany or Reggio Calabria."

In his two years at the Porto helm, Mourinho won two league titles, one cup and both the Champions League and the UEFA Cup.

At Chelsea he won two titles, the FA Cup and two League Cups while he has one title and one Cup in Italy with a second title likely to be secured on Sunday -- they lead AS Roma by two points with one match left.

He could also add a second Champions League crown to his resume as Inter play Bayern Munich in the final in Madrid on May 22.

Both in Italy and in Spain, the press seem sure that Mourinho will take over the reins at Real next season but the man himself said earlier this week that he has had no contact with other clubs while Inter reiterated that he has a contract which lasts two more seasons.

But Mourinho has made no secret of his dislike both of Italy as a country and Italian football in particular.

"People who come up to me and give me a pat on the back, smile and say, 'you're the best, you're great, keep going', and then as soon as they can they attack me," said Mourinho.
"They ask me for an autograph, a photo with them and then suddenly they change. I don't like this, even some coaches do this."

Forlan's late strike gives Atletico Europa League title

2010-05-13T19:29:00.000-07:00

Atletico Madrid won the inaugural final of the Europa League on Wednesday as Diego Forlan struck an extra-time goal that broke Fulham's hearts and secured a 2-1 win.

Having already scored the crucial goal at Anfield that knocked Liverpool out at the semi-final stage, Forlan was on target in the first half and then slipped his marker to score in the 116th minute to send the title to Madrid.

"I am very happy that my goals helped the team, it is good to have the golden shoe, but it is better to win titles with the team," said the 30-year-old, who won the European Golden Boot for the second time last season.
"I just hope the volcano allows us to get home safely now and that Madrid will dress in red and white when we get back."

This was Atletico's first European title since they won the now defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1962, also on German soil, when they beat Fiorentina 3-0 in Stuttgart. They face Sevilla in the Spanish Cup final on May 19.

For Fulham manager Roy Hodgson, this was the second time he has finished on the losing side in a European final after he lost the 1997 UEFA Cup final with Inter Milan.

"The players are obviously very disappointed, but we put in a valiant performance," said Hodgson.

"It was a bitter blow to concede such a late goal. I thought the game was heading to penalties, we were looking good despite the tiredness and holding our shape.

"Forlan scored a typical goal-scorer's goal and we simply didn't have enough time to recover, but I am tremendously proud of what those players have achieved."

Coach Quique Sanchez Flores started former Manchester United forward Forlan up front alongside Argentina's Sergio Aguero and it was Forlan again who played the hero for his side as his two goals gave Atletico the title.

Hodgson fielded Bobby Zamora, despite the ex-West Ham striker struggling with an Achilles injury, playing in front of Hungary's Zoltan Gera after the pair's 14 goals had helped put Fulham in the final.
The London club came to the Hamburg Arena having already knocked out Juventus, Hamburg, UEFA Cup holders Shakhtar Donetsk and Wolfsburg on the way to the final in what has been a remarkable run.
Atletico reached the final having won just two previous games on their European journey, with a win at Galatasaray in the round of 32 and then a 1-0 victory at home to Liverpool in the semi-final first leg.

Atletico opened the scoring when left winger Simoa Sabrosa controlled the ball with his chest before Aguero's mis-hit shot found Forlan, who slotted in his fifth goal of the competition on 32 minutes.

Fulham were back on level terms just five minutes later after Zamora won possession on the edge of the penalty area, Gera chipped in a cross and Welsh midfielder Simon Davies drilled home a fine volley.

But Forlan was a constant threat and Schwarzer had to push his shot around the near post just before the break as it stayed 1-1 at half-time.
Hodgson took off Zamora, who had not looked sharp, on 55 minutes to give United States winger Clint Dempsey a chance up front and he immediately combined with Gera to test de Gea.

It remained 1-1 after 90 minutes and as the game went to extra time, Atletico had the best chance of the first period as Gera was dispossessed, but Forlan could not get his shot past Schwarzer.

On the stroke of the extra-time changeover, Aguero hit the side-netting from close range after Forlan had broken through again past a tiring Fulham defence.

With both sides flagging, Forlan finally slipped his marker to give the Spaniards their first trophy since 1996 and claim his sixth goal of the tournament as well as his fourth in his last three European games.

Golden Globes: Which Show Do You Want to Win Drama Series?

2010-01-07T18:26:00.000-08:00

Break out your ballots and sharpen your pencils! Awards season is in full swing and the 67th annual Golden Globes ceremony is fast approaching — which means it's time to make your picks.

First up: drama series. Two-time defending champ Mad Men, the only past winner in the category, is up against Big Love, Dexter, House and True Blood.

So tell us: Which show do you want to win? Do you want a Mad Men three-peat? Are you hoping lone network nominee House will trump its cable rivals? Or would you like to see Dexter ride its killer season finale buzz to victory?

The Golden Globes ceremony, hosted by Ricky Gervais, airs live Sunday, Jan. 17 at 8/7c on NBC.
Watch Live at the Golden Globes Red Carpet with Carrie Ann Inaba and Chris Harrison, Sunday, Jan. 17, at 6 ET/3 PT on TV Guide Network, and watch live fashion cam video of all the red carpet arrivals on TVGuide.com starting at 6 ET/3 PT.

Which show do you want to win the Golden Globe for drama series?

Which Couple Will Make It Work in 2010?

2010-01-03T19:32:00.000-08:00

Holiday stress can be tough on a marriage. Just ask Tiger Woods, whose cheating ways came to light after his infamous Thanksgiving-night Escalade crash, and Charlie Sheen, who allegedly threatened wife Brooke Mueller with a knife on Christmas.

But now that those unfortunate (okay, terrible) incidents have passed, and the New Year's perennial promise of renewal beckons, we have to ask:

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Battlestar Galactica

TV Top 10: From `Mad Men' to `Glee,' there was plenty to cheer on cable and broadcast television in 2009

2009-12-27T17:39:00.000-08:00

It was the year of Tigergate, "Jon & Kate" and a "Late Show" confession by David Letterman. Tawdry tabloid topics seemed to dominate the television landscape in 2009, heating up the water-cooler talks and providing constant fodder for monologue jokes.

The scandals formed a non-stop conga line parading across our TV screens in 2009. You'd think these were plots concocted for a soap opera: a South Carolina governor vanishing to be with his mistress; a former Illinois governor indicted on corruption charges; Kanye West declaring Taylor Swift an unfit award winner; the Heenes launching a balloon hoax that snared the 24-hour news channels; the Salahis crashing the White House dinner; Serena Williams threatening to shove a tennis ball down a line judge's throat.

Was there no place for challenging, compelling, sharp-witted, innovative viewing choices in 2009? There was. It was a refuge called cable.

Even with such landmark dramas as HBO's "The Wire" and FX's "The Shield" calling it quits in 2008, cable channels continued to set the bar for quality television in 2009. And that bar was set dazzlingly high.

It's not that network television didn't serve up some classy choices. The networks' fall crop included such promising newcomers as ABC's "Modern Family" and "FlashForward," NBC's "Community" and Fox's "Glee."

But in drama and comedy, cable series were at the head of the class in 2009. Here are my top 10.

"Mad Men" (AMC): Both the advertising agency and the Drapers' marriage fell apart in the cable drama's stirring third season, but executive producer Matthew Weiner's series held together and held true to its remarkable vision of America in the '60s. Television just didn't get any better in 2009 . . . except, perhaps for . . .

"Damages" (FX): Well, it's a close call, primarily because Glenn Close is so frighteningly good as high-powered lawyer Patty Hewes. After the riveting first season, even diehard fans wondered if this legal drama could hit the reset button and come back anywhere near as strong. It did, leaving us with great expectations for the third season, which begins Jan. 25.

"True Blood" (HBO): It's true. Executive producer Alan Ball's vampire series became a richer, sharper, more intriguing metaphoric mix in its second season. The peripheral characters grew in number and complexity, but the heart of the story remained the romance between telepathic Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) and vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer).

"Dexter" (Showtime): The just-concluded fourth season was the most chilling and suspenseful yet, thanks to former Akronite John Lithgow's eerie portrayal of Arthur Mitchell, the serial killer known as Trinity. It was an artfully constructed ride through dark territory, inviting us to grapple with the meaning and appearance of normality.

"Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO): Executive producer and star Larry David brilliantly combined the mock-documentary premise with a "Seinfeld" reunion, giving delighted fans two wickedly funny shows for the price of one. Textured into the "Curb" storyline, the faux "Seinfeld" reunion was more satisfying than the series finale that NBC aired in 1998.
"Battlestar Galactica" (SyFy): Television's best science-fiction series ended its run with an exciting and provocative payoff that brought the show's mythology full circle. It was a stunning finale for a series that always aimed for the stars while probing the grand questions of human history.

"Rescue Me" (FX): With so many high-caliber shows on cable these days, there is a tendency to overlook Denis Leary's series about New York firefighters. There have been off-seasons for "Rescue Me," but this sure wasn't one of them. Leary and company (and guest star Michael J. Fox) caught fire, splendidly mixing outrageous humor and heart-wrenching drama.

"The Daily Show" (Comedy Central): There also might be a tendency to take Jon Stewart's faux news show for granted, but the comedian had a sensational year, skewering hypocrisy, pomposity, quackery and duplicity. With his sights mostly set on politics, he obviously never lacked for targets.

"Breaking Bad" (AMC): Bryan Cranston continues to amaze as Walter White, the mild-mannered chemistry teacher turned drug dealer. He's swimming in morally ambiguous waters that always threaten to drown him. And you can't help being fascinated by the dangerous currents sweeping him along to oblivion.

"Glee" (Fox): Part high school drama, part goofy comedy, part Broadway musical, this freshman series is the lone network representative on this year's list. The glee-club misfits make for great company in this edgy hybrid that hits one soaring high note after another in the halls of Lima's fictional William McKinley High School.

'The Sopranos,' 'Lost,' 'American Idol' among decade's best TV

2009-12-18T19:19:00.000-08:00

'THERE'S NOTHING good to watch on TV."

It's a familiar complaint, voiced repeatedly since mom and pop purchased their first black-and-white Philco. But if you uttered those words over the past 10 years, you weren't paying close enough attention — or didn't have cable.

This, after all, was the decade in which television raised its game — when TV junk food gave way to brain food.

That might sound ludicrous considering the decade tortured us with "Temptation Island," "Joe Millionaire" and hundreds of other reality TV nightmares. Yes, prime time, as always, served up its share of schlock.

But it also served up "The Sopranos" and "Lost" and "Mad Men" and "The Wire." It gave us shows that were audacious and ambitious, artful and sophisticated. Shows that embraced mature themes and challenged us to actually think.

Give some credit to pop-cultural fragmentation. As television splintered off into an array of niche channels, it may have lost some of its electronic-hearth power to gather the multitudes in communal unity. On the other hand, the dynamic enabled a new wave of TV auteurs to express their visions without being beholden to the masses.

David Simon, for example, could push boundaries with "The Wire" on HBO while averaging only 1.6 million viewers per episode, which would have earned him a quick cancellation on a broadcast network. And Joss Whedon took advantage of the relative obscurity of the WB (and later, UPN) to offer a very offbeat twist on the teen drama with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

That's not to say the major networks couldn't occasionally still attract the masses with high-powered programming. ABC's "Lost" completely rattled our notions of what television could be. Meanwhile, "American Idol" (Fox) and "Survivor" (CBS) proved that reality TV — when wedded to a great concept — could hold us in thrall.

Here are our picks for the best TV shows of decade — choices that were made on the basis of artistic achievement, originality and cultural impact. Feel free to disagree and let us know your thoughts.

1. "The Sopranos" (HBO, 1999-2007): Creator David Chase gave us a protagonist like none we had ever seen: A beefy, baggy-eyed mobster (and family man) with a hair-trigger temper, a weakness for the ladies and some very serious mommy issues. Impeccably played by James Gandolfini, Tony Soprano was both revolting and riveting. Chase surrounded him with a superlative cast, including the fabulous Edie Falco, and took them all on a wild ride with more twists and curves than a Bada-bing girl. Many shows later would deploy their own Tony-like anti-heroes, but none quite managed to replicate "The Sopranos" stimulating blend of social commentary, wicked humor, psychological depth and violent intrigue.

2. "Lost" (ABC, 2004-present): It's the Rubik's Cube of TV shows. This plane-crash survival drama has had fans obsessed with trying to crack its numbers-crunching, monster-chasing, time-tripping mythology. But in addition to an intricate mystery, "Lost" has offered us a compelling web of personal stories tied to a diverse and ever-engaging group of island castaways. We can hardly wait for the final chapter to unfold.

3. "The Wire" (HBO, 2002-08): At a time when quick-and-tidy procedural cop dramas were spreading like a virus, Simon's grim urban masterpiece resisted the simplistic approach, unfolding in novelistic leisure while deftly exploring its flawed characters and pertinent social issues. The result was a monumental achievement that was as rewarding as it was challenging.

4. "Mad Men DVD Box Set" (AMC, 2007-present): Creator Matthew Weiner could have immersed his 1960s-era drama in sugarcoated nostalgia. But to his credit, he instead plunged us deep into the dark side of the American dream, exposing the lies behind our idealized pop-cultural imagery and the emotional scars that come with unbridled self-indulgence. Don Draper and his booze-guzzling, skirt-chasing cohorts not only demonstrate how much we have changed as a society, but how much we haven't.

5. "American Idol" (Fox, 2002-present): Not even Simon Cowell could have predicted how big this show would become. Blending glitzy entertainment with heart-tugging stories, a parade of deluded oddballs (Bless you, William Hung), and a heaping dose of Simon's snark, "Idol" became No. 1 with a bullet. Along the way, it changed not just television, but the music industry and the star-making process.

6. "Deadwood" (HBO, 2004-06): At first glance, David Milch's violent and vulgar saga recalled a TV era when the Western was king. But this complex series shot gaping holes in all the innocent illusions, cartoonish heroism and open-range romance traditionally associated with the genre. At its heart was Milch's wonderfully theatrical dialogue and an astonishing performance by Ian McShane as the grotesquely sinister Al Swearengen.

7. "Sex and the City" (HBO, 1998-2004): Yes, much of it was about the shagging and the shopping. But Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her sassy gal pals also gave us a moving portrait of all-for-one friendship — the unbreakable bond shared by four soul mates. And that's something every viewer can admire, even if they don't wear Manolo Blahniks.

8. "Arrested Development" (Fox, 2003-06): A perfect show for the post-Enron era, this sitcom about a family of wealthy buffoons done in by their own greed was so fresh and bizarre and bubbling with larcenous wit that we were stunned to find it on broadcast television. No wonder it didn't last long. Let's hope the Bluths wind up on the big screen very soon.

9. "Friday Night Lights" (NBC/DirecTV, 2006-present): We're still leading the cheers for this big-hearted football drama that happens to be about so much more than football. "Lights" deftly delves into the hopes and dreams of its small-town characters with the kind of emotional honesty rarely seen in prime time. Meanwhile, Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton have given us television's most natural and realistic depiction of marriage.

10. "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central, 1999-present): The smirky Stewart may not have been the show's first anchor, but under his reign, the faux newscast gained a sharper edge and greater cultural relevance. In skewering the media and the people the media cover, he and his band of merry jesters have not only amused us, they've informed us.

11. "Freaks and Geeks" (NBC, 1999-2000): This tragically short-lived high school drama dispensed with the genre's typical glamour and gloss to capture the true essence of teen life — zits and all. It also gave us our first glimpse into the comedic genius of Judd Apatow and launched the careers of Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jason Segal and others.

12. "The West Wing" (NBC, 1999-2006): Aaron Sorkin's White House drama might not have always depicted what public service in Washington was really like, just what we wanted it to be like. The show followed high-minded and harried staffers who were fiercely loyal to their feel-good president (Martin Sheen). This romantic idealism, blended with sharp acting, a breakneck pace and Sorkin's erudite banter, made for a winning campaign.

13. "The Office" (NBC, 2005-present): We scoffed when NBC announced plans to remake the British classic. But the Steve Carell-led version did the unthinkable by eclipsing the original and developing TV's most adorable couple in Jim and Pam. With their distinct comedy of discomfort, the oddball paper-pushers of Dunder Mifflin continue to have us wincing while they work.

14. "30 Rock" (NBC, 2006-present): Behind-the-scenes shows about show business too often disappoint. That's not the case with Tina Fey's delightfully demented satire, which accents the screwball wackiness with sly social commentary and a barrage of zingers delivered by a hilarious cast. The show's best-comedy Emmy is at three and counting.

15. "Survivor" (CBS, 2000-present): "Gilligan's Island" was never this much fun. When Mark Burnett tossed out the script and plopped a group of strangers on tropical turf near Borneo, he paved the way for a new brand of TV celebrity. There was naked Richard, mouthy Sue, cranky Rudy and all the others. Countless reality copycats have followed, but none have been able to outwit, outplay or outlast the original.

16. "Battlestar Galactica" (Sci Fi, 2004-09): To call "BSG" a successful remake would be selling it short. It was a total re-imagining of the cheesy 1970s original. To call it the best sci-fi show of the decade is even more of an insult. It was one of the best shows, period. Dark, moody and stylish, "BSG" was an out-of-this-world saga that hit close to home.

17. "The Shield" (FX, 2002-08): "Al Capone with a badge." That's how a superior described Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), an L.A. cop who was brutally corrupt and ceaselessly fascinating. With its raw violence and edgy language, "The Shield" pushed the basic-cable boundaries and then sealed its place in TV history with one of the best series finales ever.

18. "Dexter" (Showtime, 2006-present): Build a drama series around an emotionally detached serial killer? It seemed like a preposterous notion. But Michael C. Hall's nuanced and chilling performance had us hooked before the first drop of blood hit the floor. In the hands of a lesser actor, this dark drama would have been dead on arrival.

19. "CSI" (2000-present): We thought we had seen TV cops of every stripe, but along came a show that put the focus on the science geeks and their high-tech wizardry. Who knew maggots could be mesmerizing? "CSI" became so popular that it spawned two spin-offs and a mind-numbing slew of crime procedurals. But we won't hold that against it.

20. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (The WB/UPN, 1997-2003): Long before the arrival of "Twilight," this cult favorite had the audacity to weld vampires with teen angst while speaking volumes about the demons we face in everyday life. Whedon gave us a female hero (Sarah Michelle Gellar) who was smart, funny, strong and sexy. He also gave us the kind of hip and witty dialogue that made the show as much fun to listen to as watch.

Lifetime Announces New Project Runway Cast

2009-12-16T18:29:00.000-08:00

Project Runway is back — already! Sure, Season 6, the first season to air on Lifetime, just ended with strong ratings, but the network has announced the 16 designers who will compete on the show's seventh season.

The designers range in age from 21 to 47 and are from all over the U.S. and from countries including China, the Philippines and the Dominican Republic. Interestingly, none of the contestants are from New York or Los Angeles, a Project Runway first.

The new season of Runway returns to New York City, where the designers will eat, sleep and breathe fashion in the Parsons workroom. Heidi Klum will host, Tim Gunn returns as the contestants' mentor, and Klum, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia will sit on the judging panel. The whole family back together again!

Season 7 premieres Thursday, Jan. 14 at 10/9c, followed by the second-season premiere of Model of the Runway (11/10c).

Are you excited for the new season of Runway?

Love and Life

2009-12-15T19:07:00.000-08:00

It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone. But it takes a lifetime to forget someone.

Don’t go for looks; they can deceive. Don’t go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile. Because it only takes a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile.

Maybe god wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one. So that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift.

It’s true that we don’t know what we’ve get until we lose it, but it’s also true that we don’t know what we’ve been missing until it arrives.Giving someone all your love will not provide assurance that they will love you back. Don’t expect love in return. Just wait for it to grow in their hearts.

But if it doesn’t, be content it grew in yours.Always put yourself in others’ shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person, too.There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real.May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trails to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that come along their way.Happiness are for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched, and those who have tried because only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you are the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

Miley Cyrus Song Pulled From Grammy Nomination

2009-12-10T17:36:00.000-08:00

A song performed by one of the world's top tween pop singers gets a Grammy nomination – only to be taken out of the running days later. No, it's not a plotline for an episode of Hannah Montana, it's what has really happened to a song performed by her real-life counterpart, Miley Cyrus.

The 17-year-old singer's single "The Climb," featured heavily in Hannah Montana: The Movie and written by Jessi Alexander and Jon Mabe, is no longer up for Grammy consideration for best song written for a soundtrack. That means that the song's nomination will go to the entry with the next highest number of votes, "All Is Love," by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and written for Where the Wild Things Are.
Since she didn't write the song herself, Cyrus was never personally nominated.

A source inside the Cyrus camp says the sudden swap was hardly a surprise and that the song was submitted in the category by mistake. The source says "The Climb" was withdrawn from the competition a day later.
A source inside the Cyrus camp says the sudden swap was hardly a surprise and that the song was submitted in the category by mistake. The source says "The Climb" was withdrawn from the competition a day later.
In an interview with Better Nashville, Alexander said that she came up with the song while driving to work.

Watch the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards on Jan. 31 at 8 p.m. ET/PT,live on CBS – and catch up on all the news and style from the show on PEOPLE.com!

2010 TV Preview: 'Ashes To Ashes 3'

2009-12-09T17:34:00.000-08:00

After three series (or five, if you count the two from predecessor Life On Mars), Ashes To Ashes will finally come to a conclusion next year with a final episode that the creators promise will answer all of the show's many questions. Who is Gene Hunt? What's really going on with Alex Drake? And whatever happened to Sam Tyler? In the next of our 2010 TV Previews, Tube Talk sat down for a chat with exec producer Matthew Graham to find out more about the highly-anticipated swansong.

Where does series three pick up?

"Series two ended on a cliffhanger with Alex in the present day. Or as far as we're aware, the present day! So series three is pretty much a direct pickup from the cliffhanger - obviously we deal with that. I know what the fans are fascinated by, and nervous about, is that we're not going to go back to the '80s, but 1983 is the featured year this time. So although we have this cliffhanger that brings us into the present day, very early on in series three you're going to see what we've been doing and what the twist is. We will find ourselves eventually in 1983."

Where are you at with production at the moment?

"We've finished filming episodes one to four, we're currently filming episodes five and six, then we start filming episodes seven and eight in January. We're doing our last ever read-through on December 14. That's the last time we sit down with the cast and read the scripts, which is obviously quite a momentous occasion for us."

What prompted your decision to end the show after three series?

Was it purely creative reasons?"Yes, it was totally creative. There were no mitigating circumstances. We had always hoped to do a third series of Life On Mars but the workload was too much of a burden on John Simm, so we agreed to bring it to an end. With Ashes, right from the start we always said there would be a three-year plan. The idea was to get darker with each series: series one would be quite frothy and iconically '80s, then series two we would peel back the layers and get a bit darker, then series three we would get right down to the nitty gritty and all the deep stuff we have to go through to get all the revelations we want."

Did you always know from the start of Ashes exactly how you would end it?

"Yes. From the start of Life On Mars, no - we evolved. We knew how Life On Mars would end, but it was never going to end with any revelations about Gene Hunt. It was always going to end with discovering whether Sam was in a coma or not, because that was the journey we focused on. With Ashes, we set out to explore what this world meant, who Gene was and what he represented. Along the way, we have come up with new aspects to that character and the show that we didn't have right at the start, but the basic end point has always been the same."

A few times previously you've hinted that there's a big revelation to come about Gene. What does that mean?

"Well, it is a revelation but it's really about finally drawing a line under Gene as a character and saying 'this is what he is'. If you think of this as a show set in the '80s about a brutish, anachronistic, maverick cop, then you don't need a revelation, that's just who he is. But we've always had this esoteric, supernatural aspect to the show which has been a very strong thread that ran through it. So we don't feel we've ever fully explained that. If you talk to any fan of the show, they still have conflicting theories about where Alex is and who Gene is, so in a way what we're saying is that we're going to finally explain the mythology we've created. And in theory, there will be no mystery left."

The ending of Life On Mars was somewhat ambiguous.

So you're saying that Ashes will have a more definite explanation?"Not only that, but it will also hopefully explain the ending of Life On Mars as well. The idea is to unify the two shows. Series three unifies Life On Mars and Ashes To Ashes and makes them one show. By the time you get halfway through series three of Ashes To Ashes, you will actually feel like you're watching series five of Life On Mars!"

So with that in mind, can we expect Life On Mars characters to come back in Ashes series three?

"Umm... you can!"

How about a specific character...?

"Umm.. no! Hahaha! But you can expect Life On Mars to be bleeding in to Ashes To Ashes. I think that's a better way to explain it."

Old characters aside, are there any big new characters this series?

"We have a fabulous new character played by Daniel Mays, who is just awesome. I can't tell you anything about his character at the moment, but I can tell you he's a big, strong presence in the show - as big as Supermac - but running right through the series to the climax. He's crucial and integral to the mythology of the show, and he's amazing. Daniel has something of the John Simm quality to him, in that every scene he's in, he's magnetic. He roots everything in an amazing emotional truth - very centred, very focused, very real."

As far as you're concerned, will Ashes series three be the absolute end of the franchise?

Or could there be another spinoff, in the '90s?"No. No, no, no. I will go on record now and say there will be no other spinoff. This is it, this is the end, I've written the last ever lines I will ever write for Gene Hunt. The BBC are fine with that too. When we were doing series two of Ashes, they asked if we could carry on after series three, but we said 'please can we just end at series three? We're ready, the cast are ready, everyone is emotionally ready to finish the story.' It's the kind of premise that demands an ending. There's no way we could do another series of Gene Hunt after this. There would be no mystery left. So yep, this is it."

If you could sum up the conclusion in three words, what would they be?

"'A dog's breakfast!' No, how would I sum it up? 'It's very sad'. It is sad!"

Will people cry?

"I hope people will be crying, yes. I cried while we were making it, but that was for budgetary reasons more than anything else! But I hope so - I hope people are moved by it. The ending of Life On Mars turned out to be quite emotional and I hope we deliver something along those lines."

Do you think the time is right to end Ashes To Ashes? What are your theories on the real meaning of the show? Is Gene Hunt a real person? Add your comments to this entry below!

'Doctor Who': Dreamland - The Verdict

2009-12-06T18:38:00.000-08:00

Move over Mulder and Scully! The Doctor is in Roswell's Area 51, armed with his sonic screwdriver and plenty of one-liners in this highly-watchable and undemanding animated adventure. About the length of your average television episode, it breezes along at a breakneck pace and never fails to entertain, despite some fairly bland companions and each character having about two facial expression settings.

Writer Phil Ford crams plenty of amusement into The Doctor's dialogue, and one can sense David Tennant's glee as he rattles them off throughout the adventure. Lines like "you never know when you might need to escape in a box" go down a treat, along with The Doctor's momentary confusion that The Reds are more of a Mancunian footballing threat than a nuked-up Soviet one.

Doctor Who DVD Box Set

It's also just as well that The Doctor drops in a reference to Aliens early on, as the story rips off pays huge homage to James Cameron's mighty movie with the Viperox Queen laying her egg pods underground. 'Dreamland' plunders other past material, too, but does so with enough gusto and pace to get away with it. However, the lightweight nature of the two makeshift companions Jimmy and Cassie isn't quite so forgivable, as neither makes an impression.

Animation allows a wider visual scope than the television series could feasibly realise, and this is taken advantage of through the exhilarating opening UFO chase and crash - and the epic sequence of the freshly hatched Viperox bursting through the desert terrain from their underground lair. Also, the 'camerawork', or whatever the animation equivalent term is, avoids many static shots and nicely roves around the landscape to give the action more of a dynamic feel.

On the visually negative side, the characters suffer from a severe lack of facial movement - even by animation standards. There's certainly an incongruous juxtaposition between Tennant's energetic vocals and The Doctor's expressions - which closely resemble Roger Moore doing his wooden eyebrow raising in the James Bond movies.

An over-reliance on the Sonic Screwdriver frustrates at times, but the story comes together in a satisfying manner and contains a range of well-worked cliffhangers. The emotional and moral nature of the revived Doctor Who is also well represented throughout, via the depiction of the two warring alien species and the repercussions of their conflict.
Overall, 'Dreamland' is certainly a worthwhile endeavour despite the flaws, and boasts fine vocal turns by Tennant and the imperious David Warner as Lorz Azlok. Anything that easily kills some time until 'The End Of Time' is most welcome indeed.

Top 10 most-watched shows of the decade

2009-12-04T17:48:00.000-08:00

A list of the most-watched TV episodes of the decade reads like an exercise in nostalgia. Only one telecast aired after 2006. With the increasingly fractured TV universe, we probably won't see a list quite like this again. Excluding duplicate titles, here are the Top 10 TV series episodes since 2000:

1. FRIENDS
* Airdate: May 6, 2004
* Viewers: 52.5 million

Titled "The Last One," the "Friends" series finale closed a modern-day Golden Age of comedy TV -- and marked the end of NBC's "Must-See TV" era. At the time, the final "Friends" was the most-watched entertainment telecast in six years, and it has never been surpassed. A finale that stayed true to the series, the "Friends" closer was well liked by fans and concluded with slow pan across Monica and Chandler's empty apartment.

2. SURVIVOR: PALAU
* Airdate: August 23, 2000
* Viewers: 51.7 million

"Survivor" was a new series that premiered in the dead of summer, yet that didn't stop its August finale from nearly toppling "Friends" as the most-watched telecast of the decade. During its riveting two-hour closer, audiences expected tough whitewater rafting guide Kelly Wiglesworth to triumph over scheming corporate trainer Richard Hatch for the show's $1 million prize -- and then were stunned to discover that in this new TV genre called "reality," sometimes the villain wins.

3. JOE MILLIONAIRE
* Airdate: February 17, 2003
* Viewers: 40 million

Fox put a deceptive twist on the reality TV genre with "Joe Millionaire." Why tell contestants the truth when fooling them is so much more fun? With women vying for the attention of fake millionaire Evan Marriott, millions watched the season finale to see which bachelorette he would choose and, more important, how she would react when she learned the truth about his identity. Marriott's relationship with winner Zora Andrich didn't last and, once the show's twist played out, neither did "Joe Millionaire."

4. ER
* Airdate: February 17, 2000
* Viewers: 39.4 million

A car crash the previous week left Lucy Knight and John Carter gravely injured after they were attacked by a schizophrenic patient. A massive audience tuned in for this episode, "All in the Family," to see who would survive. Considered one of the most tragic episodes of the series.

5. AMERICAN IDOL
* Airdate: January 16, 2007
* Viewers: 38.1 million

The "American Idol" sixth-season premiere marked the pinnacle of the show's popularity, back when each season brought in a higher number than the one before. The Minneapolis episode opened a season that Jordin Sparks would go on to win, and introduced millions to the name Sanjaya.

6. GREY'S ANATOMY
* Airdate: February 5, 2006
* Viewers: 38 million

Code black! This post-Super Bowl episode of ABC's medical soap was jam-packed with attention-getting drama for the football crowd -- supply-closet sex, a doctor giving birth, a lesbian shower scene and guest star Christina Ricci as a paramedic with her hand on the trigger of a bomb that's also inside her patient. The episode sealed "Grey's" hit status and proved girly shows can score ratings touchdowns after the Big Game, too.

7. WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE
* Airdate: May 3, 2000
* Viewers: 36 million

Three "Millionaire" episodes from the same week in May are clumped together on the most-watched list, as Regis fever swept the country. ABC was criticized for airing this flashy new game show three or even four nights a the week, though we'll never know if the network's scheduling saturation was to blame for the show's demise two years later or if the game show's popularity with viewers was destined to be short-lived.

8. FRASIER
* Airdate: May 18, 2000
* Viewers: 33.7 million

The seventh-season finale of "Cheers" spin-off "Fraiser" promised to end the suspense over Niles Crane's swooning over physical therapist Daphne Moon. Niles confesses his love for Daphne on the eve of her wedding, only to be rejected ... or so it seemed at first.

9. EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND
* Airdate: May 16, 2005
* Viewers: 32.9 million

The series finale for Ray Romano's long-running sitcom went off the air as a top 10-ranked show among total viewers. The episode was only subtly climatic, with Ray Barone's routine surgery resulting in a moment where his family thought he might have died. The episode concluded with the Barones talking and laughing around the dinner table.

10. SPIN CITY
* Airdate: May 24, 2000
* Viewers: 32.8 million

Yes, we were surprised, too -- and the ratings coup is not for the series finale. This was the final episode starring Michael J. Fox, who left the show because of his worsening Parkinson's symptoms. Charlie Sheen took the lead role for two more "Spins" seasons, and Fox had a brief return in the final year.

Sons of Anarchy Creator on Season 2: Family Comes First

2009-12-02T18:43:00.000-08:00

Don't call Sons of Anarchy gritty.

It's not that the word doesn't accurately describe the show's bloody violence and testosterone-fueled moral darkness. Rather, Sons creator and executive producer Kurt Sutter just thinks the word has been used to death. And, Sutter says, all the gun-running and motor-revving is really just background noise to the show's family drama.

That was never clearer than in the show's 90-minute Season 2 finale, in which a son loses his father, a father loses his daughter and two fathers have their sons taken from them. The most emotionally gripping of those losses: Jax (Charlie Hunnam) crumples into the arms of his former nemesis/stepfather Clay (Ron Perlman), as they watch kidnappers speed away in a boat with Jax's son.

"There was something fascinating about finding some organic way to put the family in a crisis that they've never been in before," Sutter tells TVGuide.com. "You can see the look on Jax's face, the look on Clay's face, that what has happened to Abel is not in any of their handbooks. This season has been about trust and loyalty and testing those loyalties and ultimately bringing that all to a head.

"Ultimately, when a brother says, 'I need you,' everything else takes a back seat. Whether it's vengeance, whether it's money...everything else falls away," Sutter says. "The wounds right now between Jax and Clay are put aside to deal with the crisis at hand, but those wounds will always be present, and there will be times in the series when those scabs will be ripped open. But brotherhood and family is more important than that vengeance."

Sutter is fond of making sure viewers understand that "nothing happens in a vacuum," and he says that Abel's kidnapping reinforces that notion. The great irony, however, is that Gemma (Katey Sagal), who carried the painful secret of being gang-raped for most of the season, set off that chain of events by killing the woman who helped set up the attack.

"Had Gemma not decided to go after Polly [Sarah Jones], she wouldn't have potentially created that circumstance that allowed Stahl [Ally Walker] to put out the lie that then triggered Cameron [Jamie McShane] on his quest of revenge," Sutter says. "Although Gemma isn't directly responsible for what happened to Edmond [Callard Harris], her need for vengeance is what set it all in motion. Violence begets violence. You can't seek out vengeance with one hand and then expect the other hand not to get bloody."

With Gemma now on the lam, she's unaware of her grandson's kidnapping, which Sutter says will provide great drama in Season 3. But he also says it was important for Gemma to get a sense of healing, even if it was through a misguided faith.

"Even though she's got these circumstances at hand, emotionally she feels like she's taken back that part of her," Sutter says. "Only a Machiavellian personality and a megalomaniac like Gemma would be on a journey of faith that would bring them to redemption and remorse. Gemma tends to manipulate it, and now thinks she's got, essentially, God on her side to do whatever the f--- she wants. She's even more dangerous than she was.... [But] it was important to me to see that satisfaction with her at the end. Ultimately there's emotional relief for Gemma."

Gemma's actions also brought into sharp focus where exactly Tara (Maggie Siff) stands in her journey. After decking a hospital administrator in Episode 12, it seemed Tara had begun to accept the club's way of life. Tara's reaction to witnessing Gemma's revenge mission and the kidnapping of Abel, however, changes that, Sutter says.

"By the end of the episode, she's in absolute distress by the circumstances, and it was important for me that we show that she hadn't evolved yet to that point where she could roll with it," Sutter says. "She doesn't know how to deal with that. Even though she was a perpetrator of some violence the week before, she doesn't know what to do really with that violence, when someone puts a gun to her head, when someone's killed in front of her. These guys see it every day, but it's not who she is yet."

Sons of Anarchy DVD Box Set

To be sure, there were plenty of casualties. Sutter says Half Sack's exit was born of actor Johnny Lewis' behind-the-scenes desire to move on to other things. The death of A.J. Weston (Henry Rollins), however, was a no-brainer. "I think if Weston didn't take a bullet, I may have," Sutter says with a laugh. "I think that price had to be paid."

So why let SAMCRO's archnemesis Ethan Zobelle (Adam Arkin) get away (mostly) unscathed? "The sadness is that guys like Zobelle get away," Sutter says. "As frustrating at it is, guys like him are simply out of the reach of guys like Clay and Jax. I think you see the blow about his daughter's death in the deli, and it does strike him. I do think he's hurting... but he's also not the kind of guy who's going to stick around and try to figure it out at this point. He's going to flee."

Zobelle may still have his day with Clay & Co., though. "I don't think we've seen the last of Zobelle," Sutter says. "I don't know if it will happen next season, but I do think it's an interesting character and guys like him can potentially show up in almost any scenario because of the associations they make and the worlds that they navigate in. These guys will continue to thrive at the business they thrive in. There's a strong possibility of him showing up again."

Even though nothing is official, Sutter is confident the show, which hit record ratings and has an ever-increasing, obsessive fan base, will return for a third season. He says the resolution to the Jax-Abel cliff-hanger could lead the charter on a chase to Ireland, and he'd love to bring back guest stars Titus Welliver and Kenneth Johnson.

But more important than the chase, Sutter wants to explore family and the background of the club. "Next season we will perhaps learn some more history of the Teller family," Sutter says. "I'm fascinated by the mythology of the club, and when I have an opportunity to organically reveal those bits and pieces, it's fun for me. And I think the fans really enjoy being able to get that information and put those pieces together."

Christmas in Rockefeller Center Special May Go Dark Over NBC Union Dispute

2009-12-01T18:07:00.000-08:00

It may not be a very merry Christmas for NBC.

Roughly 3,000 of NBC's producers, writers and technicians threatened to pull the plug on the network's annual holiday special, Christmas in Rockefeller Center, by striking during the live broadcast.

Battlestar Galactica

The employees, all members of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, say NBC has stalled contract negotiations. The union, also known as NABET-CWA, says since the most recent contract expired in March, little progress has been made toward a new deal. In a statement, NABET-CWA accused network management of "ignoring the concerns" of union members.

"We can't let the Grinch at NBC steal another Christmas from thousands of honest working people," said NABET-CWA Local 11 President Ed McEwan. "This charade must stop. Christmas is supposed to be a time of goodwill, but the network's management is trying to hide behind their fancy lights while leaving their employees in the dark."

NBC released a statement blaming the NABET-CWA for the lack of a new contract. The network said the union canceled three days scheduled for negotiations in mid-November. "Since that time, despite the company's availability for meetings, the union has failed to offer alternative dates, as promised, and is apparently unwilling to meet with NBC Universal," the statement read. "Progress can only be made in labor negotiations when the parties are negotiating. It is unfortunate that the union is resorting to threats as opposed to meeting its obligation to engage in collective bargaining."

Battlestar Galactica Seasons 1-4 DVD Boxset

NABET-CWA also launched the website NBCStoleChristmas.com Tuesday in hopes of pressuring the network into a deal before the special's scheduled airtime of 8/7c on Wednesday.

The union wants contract negotiations expanded to include NBC employees who primarily perform technical duties. "This would protect NBC's flexibility by letting non-union employees do technical work, provided it doesn't become their primary job," McEwan said. "This is an enlightened way forward for both the company and the union. It provides job security for our members and flexibility for NBC as the TV industry continues to rapidly change."

30 Rock's Jane Krakowski and Zachary Levi of Chuck are set to co-host Christmas in Rockefeller Center, featuring performances from Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Michael Bublé and more.

2010 WCup stadiums almost ready - S.African officials

2009-11-29T19:09:00.000-08:00

Once a headache for the local organising committee, the 10 South African stadiums for the 2010 World Cup are now pride and joy as they are set to be ready on time for the football extravaganza.

Stadium construction faced many challenges, including strikes in July when more than 70,000 workers asked for salary hikes, countrywide blackouts in January 2008 that crippled the economy, budget deficits and sometimes unpredictable weather.

"It has been a roller-coaster ride. Sometimes we were happy and most times saddened by the criticism and the pessimism but we always knew we would be ready on time," local organising committee spokesman Rich Mkhondo told AFP.

Mkhondo said five new and five renovated stadiums were now more than 95 percent complete and the final touches were being applied, such as security barriers, planting trees, roads leading to the stadium and parking lot paving.

To win confidence of the local and international community in advance was not easy as many times the capacity of South Africa to deliver world-class tournament infrastructure was scrutinised.

The country's readiness for the world's biggest sports spectacular was also questioned when the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium in Port Elizabeth, which cost 2.1 billion rand (282 million dollars, 189 million euro), missed its construction deadline for the curtain-raiser Confederations Cup during June.

Instead, renovated stadiums such as Pretoria, Rustenburg (north-west) and Bloemfontein (central) stole PE's limelight.

Since then the stadium was the first to be ready for the World Cup.

Other challenges the stadiums faced were public protests.

Greenpoint stadium in Cape Town, one of the semi-final venues, faced fierce competition when residents opposed the development and took the municipality to court.

"We overcame tremendous challenges because in the beginning some residents were opposed to the development (stadium) and tried to stop construction through legal process but lost," Cape Town World cup 2010 spokesman Pieter Cronje said.

In Nelspruit, township residents protested outside the stadium, demanding a school be built as theirs was used as offices during the construction of the stadium with children taught in containers.

Authorities said construction of a new school would start this week and finish in March.
The stadium architecture had an African feel with roof poles resembled giraffe while criss-crossed black and white seating resembled zebra prints.

Soccer City in Johannesburg, venue for the June 11 opening match and the final on July 11, will seat 91,000 spectators and resembles a calabash while Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane is inspired by the locally iconic Baobab tree.

However, there are question around government spending about 10 billion rands (857 million euros), excluding host city contributions, in a country where poverty affects 43 percent of the population.

Mkhondo said all the stadiums had sustainability programmes beyond 2010.

"Before we gave the go ahead to cities to build stadium we asked them (about) long-term plans to utilise them and were satisfied. Most of them will be turned into multi-purpose centres," he said.

Tiger's Wife Helped Free Him from Vehicle After Crash

2009-11-27T19:34:00.000-08:00

Tiger Woods is not the only member of his family with a good golf swing. His wife, Elin Nordegren, used her husband's golf clubs to rescue him after the vehicle he was driving got pinned to a tree in an early morning accident the day after Thanksgiving.

Windermere Police officers were the first to respond to the scene that was "spitting distance" from the golfer's home in the gated community of Islesworth, Fla., according to Windermere Police Chief Daniel Saylor.

"When they got there, he was laying in the street," Saylor told PEOPLE. "His wife had broken out the back window with a golf club to get into the vehicle and pull him out."

Saylor did not know how Nordegren managed to pull her husband out, but she was determined to do so. "She used two golf clubs," Saylor says. "She bent one and used another one."

Woods, 33, first hit a fire hydrant and then smashed into a tree, according to two Windermere patrolmen who arrived first at the scene.

"When they got there, they noticed he had lacerations to his lower and upper lip and blood in his mouth and he was in and out of consciousness," Saylor says.

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Officers Jason Sipos and Branson McDonald treated Woods before the ambulance arrived. Officer McDonald is a paramedic and began administering first aid. They worked on Woods for 10 to 15 minutes before the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the ambulance arrived, the chief adds.

"They were holding him down because he kept trying to get up and he kept going in and out of consciousness," Saylor says. "They held his head stable for him and basically made sure he didn't move."

The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash, which took place outside Wood's home. No charges have been filed at this time. It remains unclear what Woods was doing out at that hour.
Windermere Mayor Gary Bruhn told PEOPLE on Friday afternoon that Woods had been treated and released from Health Central Hospital in Ocoee, just outside of Orlando and Islesworth.
Bruhn called the injuries "minor."

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Is this a fatal moment for 'Heroes?'

2009-11-26T18:56:00.000-08:00

It's no secret that Adrian Pasdar is departing Heroes in the not-too-distant future, but what's not yet known is how we'll be saying goodbye to Nathan. With that in mind, Tube Talk has done some digging and found these rather exciting pictures from next week's episode. Could a roof-top fall be death?

It's also worth noting that the episode in question, 'The Fifth Stage', will serve as the midseason cliffhanger before Heroes returns in 2010 in a new timeslot. What better hook than killing off the criminally underused Nathan?!

Peter and Nathan share a tender moment...

...before Nathan goes hurtling over the edge of the roof.

"I've got you Nathan!"

"Wait.. no, I haven't! D'oh!"

Episode 12 of Heroes airs Monday, November 30 at 8pm on NBC.

Do you think Nathan will die as a result of the fall? How would you like to see the character leave? Add your comments to this entry below!

ABC Cancels Adam Lambert's Good Morning America Performance

2009-11-24T19:01:00.000-08:00

Adam Lambert's Good Morning America performance scheduled for Wednesday has been canceled in light of his sexually charged number at the American Music Awards, TVGuide.com has confirmed.

"Given his controversial live performance on the AMAs, we were concerned about airing a similar concert so early in the morning," an ABC News rep said.

The American Idol runner-up will instead perform on CBS' The Early Show, Us Weekly reports. CBS and Lambert's rep did not immediately return calls.

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ABC received more than 1,500 complaints following the 27-year-old singer's S&M-themed performance at Sunday night's ceremony, during which he flipped off the audience, kissed a keyboardist and fondled several of his backup dancers. Lambert also pulled the head of one dancer into his crotch.

Lambert made no apologies for the risqué performance, saying the number was a chance to "promote freedom of expression and artistic freedom."

Jackson, Swift face off at American Music Awards

2009-11-22T18:45:00.000-08:00

Janet Jackson kicked off the American Music Awards with a medley of some of her biggest hits, but it was her late brother Michael who was poised to be one of the night's big winners, up for five American Music Awards, including entertainer of the year.

Jackson's performance didn't acknowledge her late brother, as she did at the MTV Video Music Awards, but it did remind fans of her own long career, and perhaps of her just-released greatest-hits album, "Number Ones."

Incidentally, Michael Jackson's nominations are for his 2003 album of the same name, which surged in popularity after he died in June at age 50. Country cutie Taylor Swift topped the King of Pop with six nominations, and she won one for best pop/rock female in the show's first hour. Both are up for the night's biggest honor — artist of the year — along with Kings of Leon, Lady Gaga and Eminem.

The Black Eyed Peas and Rascal Flatts were also early winners Sunday, named best pop/rock and country groups respectively.

Even more than awards, the AMAs is about performances, and they came back to back to back Sunday. After Janet Jackson's show-opener, which featured four familiar hits and her new single, Daughtry, Keith Urban and Shakira performed. The Colombian songbird was flanked by a dozen dancers in tiny black bodysuits. Kelly Clarkson performed a stripped down version of her hit "Already Gone," backed by a string quartet.

The American Music Awards honor the year's top-selling artists in the categories of pop/rock, country, rap/hip-hop, soul/R&B, alternative, adult contemporary, Latin and contemporary inspirational. Fans voted online to select the winners.

"The AMAs are like the loose, crazy cousin of the music awards," said rocker Melissa Etheridge, who was to be a presenter on the show, shortly before it began. "They've been around a long time, and they tend to go with whatever is really popular. It's everything. It's a whole big pot all stuck in together, and I love that."

Swift has enjoyed a chart-topping year with her crossover album "Fearless," is up for favorite album in the pop/rock and country categories among other awards.

Jackson is nominated for male artist and favorite album in the pop/rock and soul/R&B categories.

Eminem has four nominations: Pop/rock male artist and rap/hip-hop artist and album for "Relapse," along with artist of the year. Lady Gaga and Kings of Leon have three nods each. She's up for female artist and album for her debut, "The Fame," and the Nashville quartet is up for alternative artist and favorite pop/rock band.

Other triple-nominees include Beyonce, the Black Eyed Peas and T.I.

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Ireland renews appeal to FIFA for France replay

2009-11-20T18:38:00.000-08:00

Irish football chiefs renewed Friday an appeal for FIFA to order a handball-marred World Cup playoff with France to be replayed, after Thierry Henry said a re-match would be the "fairest solution."

The Football Association of Ireland "called on the French Football Federation ... to join with it and the captains of both the French and Irish teams, Thierry Henry and Robbie Keane, to request a replay from FIFA," it said.

Earlier Friday the French captain repeated his admission that he had controlled the ball with his hand before the decisive goal in Wednesday's disputed match in Paris, but insisted it had been an "instinctive" reaction.

In a statement released in Dublin after a meeting of its management board, the FAI said that only a replay "would protect the integrity of the game worldwide and the pride of the French national team".

It noted that the French Football Federation had said it would "comply with whatever FIFA decides and welcomed the French team captain's statement that a replay would be the fairest solution".

"Lastly, the FAI's Board of management noted FIFA's earlier response on the issue and has sent a separate reply," it said, referring to a FIFA statement saying that it would not order a replay.
. Irish captain Keane also welcomed Henry's admission that a replay would be the fairest option. "As captain of the French team, to make such a statement took courage and honour, and all of us recognise that," he said.

"As captain of the Republic of Ireland team, I would also be happy for a replay to happen in the interest of fair play so

that whichever team qualifies, can do so with their heads held high.

"We can only hope that the French Football Federation might accept the wishes of both captains in the best interests of the game," added Keane.

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Report: Minority, Female Writers in TV Still Underrepresented

2009-11-19T19:04:00.000-08:00

Female and minority writers are still underrepresented in television, according to the statistics released Wednesday by the Writers Guild of America.

In the 2009 Hollywood Writers Report, the guild shows that women's employment in TV has remained at 28 percent from 2005 to 2007 while minority groups' share of employment declined 10 percent to 9 percent.

Among minorities, Asian TV writers' employment increased the most (from 24 people to 54) and African-American writers took the biggest hit (from 168 to 143).

The report attributed this decline, at least partially, to the closure of UPN, which was home to a number of primarily African-American series. The UPN merged with the WB in 2006 to become the CW, which employed the biggest share of minority staff/writer-producers for the 2007-2008 season. ABC owner Disney — which employs the highest number of TV writers overall — and CBS boast the largest rosters of female TV writers in the industry.

During the 2007-2008 TV season, the report found some series still fail to employ minority or female writers altogether. Thirty-three percent of series had no minorities on staff and 11 percent of shows had no women on staff. The shows with the most minority and female writers, such as The Game and The L Word, respectively, are no longer on the air.

For TV writing staff positions, the news was slightly better for minority writers. Their share of all staff/writer-producer positions increased slightly during the 2007-2008 season in comparison to the 2005-06 season. For TV comedies in particular, minority writers held an equal chance of working on comedies but women were less likely to work on the staff. As far as leadership positions, both female and minority writers were half as likely as their white male counterparts to be showrunners on a series.

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The report noted that both minority and female writers have narrowed the earnings gap with white males but a notable difference still exists among these three groups. The report states minority writers earned $75,658 and women took home $82,604 in 2007, compared to $87,984 for white men.

The report notes that female and minority representation remains dismal compared to the demographics of the nation's population. In the U.S., more than half of the population is female and almost one-third is non-white.

"Breaking out of the stagnation in writer diversity ... will require bold, new approaches," the report states. "Only then will we begin to make appreciable progress toward catching up with a changing America. Only then will we move closer to making sure that all of our stories are told."

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Confident Irish ready to fight for World Cup place

2009-11-17T19:27:00.000-08:00

Irish eyes should be smiling ahead of the Republic's World Cup playoff clash against France here on Wednesday despite the visitors trailing by a goal, according to team manager Giovanni Trapattoni.

"I'm confident, because in football every match is different. From the opponents to the circumstances, nothing's ever the same," Trapattoni told reporters here on Tuesday.
"I've told all my players to be confident. We can believe in ourselves."

Statistics are firmly against the men from the Emerald Isle, who haven't beaten France away since 1931 and, notably, haven't beaten a top ranked team in official competition since a win over Turkey in qualifiers for Euro 1992.

But with a place in the World Cup at stake, it's no surprise the Republic - aiming to qualify for the first time since 2002 when they made it to the second round - want to believe in a dream finale to their campaign.

While France coach Raymond Domenech says his charges are "impatient" to show their superiority, the Irish know they have everything to win.

"The pressure's on the French," said the Republic's captain Robbie Keane. "They're playing at home and the home fans will be expecting them to play well.

"We've got nothing to lose, and everything to win," added the Spurs marksman, one of the few survivors from the 2002 vintage.

Trapattoni hopes to send out the same team that lost 1-0 at Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday, when a deflected shot from France striker Nicolas Anelka gave 'Les Bleus' a first leg advantage.
"Prior to yesterday (the final training session) I wanted to make some changes," added the Italian.

"But I want all the same players to be given their chance again. They've all recovered and I'm sure they'll be ready to go another 90 minutes."

An Irish goal at the Stade de France would change the landscape dramatically for Trapattoni's men and add impetus to their bid for a place at the World Cup finals in South Africa next summer.

It needs not be said that a France goal would put Raymond Domenech's France side firmly in the driving seat, and make qualifying even more of a formality.

France and Barcelona striker Thierry Henry warned they would not be sitting back and waiting for the Irish to attack.

"We've won over there but we still have a battle on our hands. And it won't be easy because they're a tenacious side," he said.

"But when we start playing, it will be to win. We won't be sitting back relying on the goal we have from the first leg."

Despite that pledge many France players, including Henry, will be aware that the Stade de France, and its fans, have been fickle partners in the past.

Scotland striker James McFadden hushed the Stade scoring one of the goals of his career in a 1-0 win over France in September 2007.

And, it is only since a 1-1 draw with Romania earlier this year that France has lifted its game in the stadium.

Also looming is the dark memory, still talked about by many French football fans, of Les Bleus' failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup after being eliminated by Bulgaria.

Needing only a draw from their final two qualifiers, Israel beat Gerard Houllier's France 3-2 at home despite France leading 2-1 seven minutes from the end.

Bulgaria then pounced on a fluffed cross from second half substitute David Ginola to go up the field and score their second goal to hand them a 2-1 win thus eliminating France.

That exit came 16 years ago, almost to the day, on November 17. But Domenech insists it is not on his mind: "The past is the past."

But in the back of his mind Domenech, whose wacky ways with the media has led to him having a love-hate relationship with the French public, must be praying his team of mostly world class players come good on the night.

Prompted that it could be his last match in charge, the Frenchman was his typical evasive self saying: "I'm not wavering from what my job is, which is to prepare the players for the match - not for before the match or after the match."

Lindsay Lohan Balks at Picking Up the Bill

2009-11-16T19:18:00.000-08:00

Hide your valuables and lock up your liquor: Is that the warning that should herald a visit from Lindsay Lohan? Based on her reputation for having allegedly sticky fingers – with the latest claim from a bar that was nearly left holding the bill for bottles of bubbly – that may not be such a bad idea.

Lohan, 23, was partying at the Crown Bar in Los Angeles Nov. 6, and, according to one onlooker, caused quite a scene when asked to ante up for her drinks.

"Lindsay stormed into the kitchen and grabbed two bottles of really expensive champagne. She finished both bottles with a friend. When the bartender gave her a bill, she had a meltdown," says the source. "She was yelling at him and screaming profanities at everyone. The bar insisted she pay, so she had to call a friend with her credit-card information."

Before the actress left the club around 2:30 a.m., the onlooker says, "She was crying and wanted to go home. She kept saying 'I don't pay for drinks! This is ridiculous! I'm freaking out!' "

Past Incidents
This wasn't the first time Lindsay has been at the center of a sticky-fingers controversy. Some $40,000 worth of Dior baubles went missing from Lindsay's U.K. Elle cover shoot in July, though her mom, Dina Lohan, maintained her daughter's innocence, and Elle later stated the magazine staff "had no reason to believe that Lindsay Lohan was in any way responsible."

In May 2007, Lohan avoided felony grand theft charges when there was insufficient evidence to back a woman's claim that the star had stolen her clothing.

There was, however, no escaping eyewitness reports of Lohan "stealing" Paris Hilton's boyfriend in spring 2006. She and Stavros Niarchos were first spied together five days before he and Hilton broke up – hooking up at the Manhattan clubs Butter and Bungalow 8.

Minks and Marilyn
Drinks and dudes aren't the only magnets for Lohan. She has also been accused of lifting the formula for a fake tan spray, a stranger's mink coat and even looks for her photo shoots (take that Marilyn Monroe!).

Inevitably, what goes around comes around, and this year Lohan found herself a victim of a robbery in her Hollywood Hills home while she was in New York. "The safe was ripped out of the wall, and the door was off the hinges and door handles removed," her mom told PEOPLE in August. "Bags, shoes and jewelry were taken too. Thank God she wasn't home."

A group of mostly teenagers have been arrested as part of an alleged burglary ring that targeted the homes of Hollywood stars.

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Top Moments: Glee Makes Us Cry, Dancing Makes Us Squirm and More!

2009-11-13T18:21:00.000-08:00

There were a lot of surprises on TV this week. We learned that The Chief is a secret drinker who has fallen off the wagon on Grey's Anatomy. Dexter killed an innocent man. On 90210, Jackie threw Silver the birthday party of a lifetime — and then gave her a surprise of a different sort. And Glee's Sue Sylvester made us see something deeper about the emotional terrorist in a track suit. Welcome to Top Moments: Surprise Party Edition.

12. Worst Walkout: During a Larry King Live interview, former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean told King he was being inappropriate when he asked why, if religious freedom is so important to her, did she settle her lawsuit against the pageant? When King moved on to a take a call from a gay viewer who asked about her stance on same-sex marriage, Prejean took off her mic and said she was going to walk off. But she had a new book to plug (Google it), so she wasn't going anywhere. Way to take a stance, Carrie!

11. Most Sobering Moment: Grey's Anatomy finally gets to the bottom of what's been eating at the Chief. At the end of an episode in which he botches a routine surgery and Adele accuses him of being unfaithful again, we learn that the Chief's mistress actually comes in a bottle. Someone alert Joe the bartender, the Chief is off the wagon.

10. Best Lie: On House, the cranky doc wants to prove to Cuddy that he's reliable by offering to babysit. Cuddy lies and says she brought the baby to day care, but as House leaves, he hears baby noises coming from the other room. Busted! House enters to find Lucas — his former P.I. — watching the baby.

9. Best Way to Get Fired: After learning that the Brits are planning to sell Sterling Cooper, Don begs Lane Pryce to fire him, Roger and Bert so they can break their contracts and go out on their own. In exchange, they make Lane a partner in their new firm. This sets into motion a caper-like plot that re-energizes Mad Men, as Don & Co. recruit a skeleton crew to steal and move their client files over to the new headquarters of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Very good; happy Christmas!

8. Biggest Tear Jerk: At Khloe Kardashian and L.A. Laker Lamar Odom's rehearsal dinner, which was broadcast on E!'s Keeping Up with the Karsdashians: The Wedding, Bruce Jenner, Khloe's stepfather, gave a surprisingly sincere, moving speech that honored Robert Kardashian, Khloe's late father.

7. Best Mistake: On Dexter, our favorite serial killer offs a man who he believes murdered a model. But he second-guesses himself when police arrest the man's assistant for the same crime. For the first time, Dexter has broken his code and killed an innocent man. He's just like any other murderer now.

6. F for Effort Award: Is Heroes even trying anymore? In a Fight Club-like twist, Matt Parkman throws himself in front of a hail of gunfire, making the ultimate sacrifice to rid the world of Sylar. It's a sad moment, as the episode ends with Parkman in pretty rough shape. It would be quite a cliff-hanger... if the previews for next week didn't then show Peter healing Matt. Add "suspense" to the list of things the show has given up on.

5. Best Metaphor: What is it with Brits and cheeky descriptions of panna cotta? After testing Robin's ultra-blah attempt at the Italian dessert on Top Chef, guest judge Nigella Lawson informs us that a perfect panna cotta should have the "quiver of a 17th-century courtesan's inner thigh." This vivid description is reminiscent of Jay Rayner's similar analogy on Top Chef Masters, during which he said the ideal panna cotta should "wobble like a woman's breast." It's just custard, people. Settle down!

4. Best Birthday: On 90210, Silver's mom, Jackie, surprises her daughter with an impressive half-birthday celebration, in which she restages all the birthdays she missed over the years because she was too drunk or stoned to remember them — including the ones when Silver wanted to be an astronaut and when she wanted to go camping. The sweetness of Jackie's tender apology is short-lived, as just hours later, Silver finds Jackie, who is now undergoing cancer treatment, unconscious in their tent and calls for an ambulance.

3. Best Dead Horse: Kanye-gate jokes are so five minutes ago. Even Taylor Swift mostly avoided them on her recent SNL appearance. But the CMAs send the bit out with a bang. As Carrie Underwood tells co-host Brad Paisley that he had the best video of the year, 88-year-old country legend Little Jimmy Dickens bum-rushes the stage to voice his support for — you guessed it — Swift. "I'll let you finish later," Dickens tells Paisley with a twang. "I know you had a nice video and all, but Taylor Swift made the best video of all time. Of all time! You go, girl!" (OK, let's make it official: Kanye-gate jokes are over.)

2. Worst Metaphor: As winners of Dancing with the Stars' Design-A-Dance, ex-partners in dance (and love) Mark Ballas and Sabrina Bryan leave little to the imagination with an overtly sexual paso doble that makes us oddly uncomfortable. We want these three images Cloroxed from our brains: a mouth-agape-at-the-crotch maneuver, a Kama Sutra-inspired straddle-somersault combo and a classic face-in-the-bosom.

1. Squishiest Reveal: Glee showed us a softer side of Sue Sylvester this week. When forced to hold open auditions for the Cheerios, Sue selects Becky, a student with Down Syndrome, for the squad — much to the befuddlement of everyone. The principal tells Will that Sue has paid to install wheelchair-access ramps at the school. And at the episode's close, we meet Sue's mentally disabled sister, and for the first time, we see compassion flow like honey from McKinley High's torturer-in-chief.

CMA Awards Leads ABC to Top Honors

2009-11-12T18:47:00.000-08:00

A Taylor Swift-dominated Country Music Association Awards dominated the rest of its TV competition, according to early Nielsen estimates.

The 43rd Annual CMA Awards averaged 16.8 million viewers over its three-hour telecast and was the most-watched CMA Awards in four years. ABC also won every half-hour in the adults 18-to-49 demographic.

Although CBS ran a distant second, the lack of ABC's comedy block helped boost sitcoms The New Adventures of Old Christine (7.6 million viewers) and Gary Unmarried (7.7 million viewers). Christine pulled its best demo score since the season premiere, while Gary's was at its highest in almost a year. Criminal Minds (12.3 million viewers) lagged a bit, but Part 2 of the CSI trilogy crossover lead CSI: NY (13.9 million viewers) to its best numbers since September.

Also gaining Wednesday was NBC's Law & Order: SVU (8.8 million viewers), which matched its season-high in the demo. Lead-in Mercy (6.8 million viewers) was also up a bit, and The Jay Leno Show earned 4.6 million viewers at 10/9c.

Fox got off to a slow start with the first So You Think You Can Dance dedicated results show of the season (5.5 million viewers), but improved with Glee (7.3 million viewers). On the CW, America's Next Top Model (3.2 million viewers) was down, and a Vampire Diaries repeat earned 1.2 million viewers.

Fox Cancels Dollhouse

2009-11-11T19:37:00.000-08:00

Fox has canceled Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, TVGuide.com has confirmed.

The sci-fi series, which stars Eliza Dushku, is currently filming its 11th episode and will complete its 13-episode order.

Though Dollhouse saw a ratings bump from DVR viewing after a grim performance in the fall, Fox pulled the cult favorite from its November-sweeps schedule after four episodes.
Fox pulls Dollhouse off November sweeps schedule

Whedon took to his fan site to post the following:

"I don't have a lot to say. I'm extremely proud of the people I've worked with: my star, my staff, my cast, my crew. I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you'll agree in the coming months. I'm grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again.

I'm off to pursue internet ventures/binge drinking. Possibly that relaxation thing I've read so much about. By the time the last episode airs, you'll know what my next project is. But for now there's a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear."

A source close to the production told that Fox will air the remaining episodes starting Dec. 4 and that the series finale is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 22.

Are you sad to see Dollhouse go?

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Britney Spears 'Upset' By Lip-Synching Flap

2009-11-09T19:07:00.000-08:00

Britney Spears is hopping mad about the furor in Australia over her lip-synching at a concert on her "Circus" tour, her tour promoter says.

"Britney is aware of all this and she's extremely upset by it," Paul Dainty told The Australian.
What really put Spears, 27, over the edge were reports that fans walked out of the show in Perth on Friday, something Dainty calls hogwash.

"It's the biggest lie I've ever heard," he said. "I'm so angry. We can take heat if there's something wrong and people can review shows badly – that's something you have to live with – but to say people stormed out of the show was an absolute fabrication."

The show, at which prime seats went for up to $1,300, was supposedly so lackluster that fans fled by the third song.

But Spears's manager said nearly 20,000 Britney fans can't be wrong.

"Its unfortunate that one journalist in Perth didn't enjoy the show last night," Adam Leber Tweeted on Spears's Twitter account. "Fortunately the other 18,272 fans in attendance did."

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A Little Piece of Me

2009-11-08T22:05:00.000-08:00

When he told me he was leaving I felt like a vase which has just smashed. There were pieces of me all over the tidy, tan tiles. He kept talking, telling me why he was leaving, explaining it was for the best, I could do better, it was his fault and not mine. I had heard it before many times and yet somehow was still not immune; perhaps one did not become immune to such felony.

He left and I tried to get on with my life. I filled the kettle and put it on to boil, I took out my old red mug and filled it with coffee watching as each coffee granule slipped in to the bone china. That was what my life had been like, endless omissions of coffee granules, somehow never managing to make that cup of coffee.

Somehow when the kettle piped its finishing warning I pretended not to hear it. That's what Mike's leaving had been like, sudden and with an awful finality. I would rather just wallow in uncertainty than have things finished. I laughed at myself. Imagine getting all philosophical and sentimental about a mug of coffee. I must be getting old.

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And yet it was a young woman who stared back at me from the mirror. A young woman full of promise and hope, a young woman with bright eyes and full lips just waiting to take on the world. I never loved Mike anyway. Besides there are more important things. More important than love, I insist to myself firmly. The lid goes back on the coffee just like closure on the whole Mike experience.

He doesn't haunt my dreams as I feared that night. Instead I am flying far across fields and woods, looking down on those below me. Suddenly I fall to the ground and it is only when I wake up that I realize I was shot by a hunter, brought down by the burden of not the bullet but the soul of the man who shot it. I realize later, with some degree of understanding, that Mike was the hunter holding me down and I am the bird that longs to fly. The next night my dream is similar to the previous nights, but without the hunter. I fly free until I meet another bird who flies with me in perfect harmony. I realize with some relief that there is a bird out there for me, there is another person, not necessarily a lover perhaps just a friend, but there is someone out there who is my soul mate. I think about being a broken vase again and realize that I have glued myself back together, what Mike has is merely a little part of my time in earth, a little understanding of my physical being. He has only, a little piece of me.

Five Mad Men Spin-Offs We Would Totally Watch

2009-11-05T18:31:00.000-08:00

So the Mad Men season three finale airs on Sunday and it's promising to be a corker. The characters are perched precariously on the brink of a new and frightening America. Marriages are crumbling, secrets are being unearthed, and minds are stumbling into whole new ways of thinking. It almost feels as though the show is... gulp... wrapping up. Don't get scared, it's definitely not. But what if it were? If you wanted to see a Mad Men character developed further in some sort spin-off—the way we followed Frasier Crane out of the Boston bar and over to Seattle—who would it be? Where or when would it be set? Here are some of our ideas.

Carla

How the other half lives
Though the Drapers' black nanny/maid Carla has been a presence since the first season, she loomed a lot larger in this year's episodes. She became something gently symbolic, a haunting and evocative reminder of the other, bigger conflicts raging outside of the Draper household. So we'd totally watch a show all about who Carla is—a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead about strata of class and race in 1960s New York. Where does Carla live? How is she with her own children? What does she say about the Drapers and their selfish, inward lives when she's out of the uniform and home with her family? We haven't had many shows about the black civil rights movement told from an African American perspective—though the terrific I'll Fly Away comes to mind (also about a housekeeper), many of the rest of these stories are told from the lens of confused white middle class suburbia. A Carla spin-off could offer some much needed balance.

Sal

Birth of a movement

Think of Sal's spin-off as the TV version of the recent (and soon-to-be ongoing) off-Broadway play The Temperamentals (featuring Ugly Betty's Marc!). Basically, once the closeted art director has stopped reeling from the whole Sterling Cooper firing him thing, and when he blessedly untethers himself from his poor wife, he gets in with a group of smart, driven gay men who are tired of living in secret. Thus, through Sal's eyes, we see the foment of the gay civil rights movement, up to Stonewall and beyond. Love, life, revolution—all that good stuff would be bundled up into a stirring, rabble-rousing drama series. Plus we'd finally, finally get to see Sal a little happy and in love. Maybe with some dashing, tweedy Columbia professor. Or a beatnik-turned-hippie intellectual. Oh the possibilities!

Pete & Trudy

Are you going to San Francisco?

During last week's Kennedy assassination episode, we reveled in the brief moment where stuffy weasel Pete Campbell seemed to suddenly blossom into someone more thoughtful and compassionate. He spoke about his disgust with the unfeeling corporate world, with cynical conservatism. His timid sparrow of a wife Trudy got on board with him, staging their own little boycott against a tony society wedding. Is our once-prudish young couple turning into a pair of hippies? We hope so! Their spin-off would find them entering the world of free love and anti-war rebellion, from the smoky enclaves of Central Park to the wastoid recesses of the Haight. Think Hair, only probably with less singing.

Sally Draper

Mr. Warhol, I presume?

This season we learned that Don and Betty's daughter is a mite bit... troubled. Well, maybe not troubled exactly, but she certainly marches to the beat of her own drummer. So we think it'd be pretty fascinating to take a look at a teenage/early-twentysomething Sally on the loose in New York City. We envision her stumbling through the cokey heyday of disco and Studio 54, rubbing elbows with the glamorous cultural elite, haunting The Factory like some skinny wraith. As a rich girl from Ossining, she wouldn't really need to work. No, her Barnard degree is all for show. She spends her time merely trying to survive the Me Decade, unaware that the whole post-war party is swiftly going to dissolve into the bleak Reagan years.

Roger

Paris, je t'aime

Remember a couple weeks ago when bossman Roger and that dog food lady reminisced about their heady days as young expats in pre-WWII Paris? Wouldn't you just love to see more of that story? Well, we would. Cast some suave kid to play the young Sterling, haul the crew to Paris, and just have at it. Romance, philosophy, the impending clouds of the world's near-destruction, fabulous costumes... It could all be done in a beautiful, wistful manner befitting the most beautiful, wistful city in the entire world. Think The Talented Mr. Ripley set in 1930s Paris instead of 1950s Italy. And, you know, with a lot less killing.
And there are loads of other possibilities. We certainly wouldn't object to something about Joan, or even one of the other ad guys. What about you? What eras and characters would you like to see the terrific Mad Men creative team explore?

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Who Will Be Absent From Lost's Final Season?

2009-11-04T19:25:00.000-08:00

If you've kept yourself completely in the dark on what's ahead for the sixth and final season of Lost, then God bless you and your inhuman willpower—but by all means LEAVE NOW! Not that we've got any real spoilers to share, since this info has been readily bandied about on the Web and at Comic-Con. But still, we've got your best Lost-viewing interests at heart.

This is what we do know: A ton of former Lost characters, both "dead" and alive, will return next season (the consensus is that we will see what would've happened if Oceanic 815 wasn't torn to pieces over the Pacific). A promotional poster has shown regular cast members alongside dead Losties—including Charlotte, Ana Lucia, and Mr. Eko—and it's no secret that Ian Somerhalder (Boone) and others have been filming scenes in Hawaii for the final season.

Okay, now that that's out of the way, there appears to be one actress who won't be returning, but it's her choice. Actress Maggie Grace, who plays the spoiled bitch dearly departed Shannon, has not signed on for the final season, according to E! Online.

If, like me, you're wondering w
hat's going on in this girl's head to deny an opportunity to finish out Lost, here's the deal: Apparently, her work schedule is pretty manic at the moment, and she can't make the time to head back to Hawaii to film a few scenes for the show that made her famous. But still, not finishing off Lost? You have to be 10 types of crazy not to want to be part of that (or upset you were killed off early).

If she stays away, she'll join Harold Perrineau, who played Michael "Waaaaalt!" Dawson, as the only (known) former character not returning (we'll see who makes the final cut). Perrineau apparently has not been asked to return... yet?

In other Lost news, Jeff Fahey and Zuleikha Robinson, who played wacky pilot Frank Lapidus and bounty hunter Ilana, respectively, have been upped to regular status. My question is this: Will Ilana finally have a purpose this time around?

I know Shannon wasn't exactly a fan favorite, but don't you think she should be back with the rest of the cast?

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Former NCIS Star Joins New TNT Cop Show

2009-11-01T21:43:00.000-08:00

...Comedy Central has ordered six episodes of a new sketch show starring Nick Swardson--who played Terry, everyone's favorite roller-skating meth-addicted street hustler, on Reno: 911!. The show will feature sketches, digital shorts, and man-on-the-street interview stuff. And you can bet there will be lots of gay jokes. [Variety]

...Sasha Alexander, who you probably know from NCIS (she played Kate) but should really remember as Pacey's sister on the experimental art-house series Dawson's Creek, is joining the cast of that TNT/Angie Harmon show Rizzoli. Also in the cast will be veteran actor Bruce McGill, who you probably saw in... everything. [THR]

...As if we needed more proof that mediocrity can flourish in America, Fox has ordered a sixth, count 'em sixth, season of their animated groanfest American Dad!. Upon hearing the news, Arrested Development was seen stomping out of the room and sulking alone by the pool for an hour. [Variety]

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...Oh, that's too bad. The fun and flamboyant Hugh Jackman will not be hosting next year's Oscars, it seems. He didn't want to do it two years in a row. I know many of you will think "Oh, now Neil Patrick Harris can do it!", to which I say "Pah!" What it really means is that now Conan O'Brien can do it. Pleeeease? [EW]

...Ah yes, here's that whole mediocrity thing again. Josh Heald, writer of the upcoming film Hot Tub Time Machine--starring Helen Mirren and Stephen Dillane--has two TV projects currently in development. One is called Sausagefest and stars Norm MacDonald. This bodes well for the success of my original pilot script, Farts!, starring Jim Breuer. [THR]

...HBO is developing a series based on The Follower, a novel about a stalker in New York City. The show will be sort of a really dark comedy, about the love lives of busy New Yorkers as seen through the eyes of a guy that's stalking all of them. So, wait... heh. Is this based on truth? Because, hah. Um... how did... I mean, I'm not stalking, it's just... I have an active interest in... Sigh. OK, fine. I'll move.

Daytime TV shows celebrate Halloween a day early

2009-10-30T20:18:00.000-07:00

Halloween hit the daytime talk shows a day early as TV personalities dressed up in costume Friday.

NBC's "Today" went with a "Star Wars" theme. Matt Lauer dressed as Luke Skywalker, Meredith Vieira as Princess Leia, Al Roker as Han Solo and Ann Curry as Darth Vader. Kathie Lee Gifford dressed as C-3PO and Hoda Kotb as — you guessed it — Yoda.

"Live! with Regis and Kelly" chose a tongue-in-cheek reality show route. They showed off 20 costumes during the one hour show, although some changes were taped ahead of time.

Highlights included Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa as Jon and Kate Gosselin. Philbin wore an Ed Hardy T-shirt while Ripa had the Kate Gosselin wig, a short skirt and high heels. The two spoofed the Gosselin's battle over money by splitting a pile of cash between them.

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They also recreated the infamous "table-flipping" scene from "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" with Ripa as Teresa Giudice and Philbin dressed in drag as Caroline Manzo.

The show's program director, Art Moore, played the part of Richard Heene, the Colorado father accused of orchestrating the recent "balloon boy" hoax. Executive producer Michael Gelman was the boy, Falcon Heene.

"The View" ladies showed their fangs with various vampire costumes, including Elisabeth Hasselbeck as "Countess Chocula," complete with a giant cereal box over her head.

Rachael Ray hit the yellow brick road as Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz" with guest Rosie O'Donnell as Glenda the Good Witch.

Wendy Williams of "The Wendy Williams Show" did her best Dolly Parton impression with a big, blonde wig and cleavage to match.

Martha Stewart chose a "Where the Wild Things Are" theme and dressed as Queen of the Wild Things.

Who's Returning to Smallville?

2009-10-29T22:42:00.000-07:00

Over Smallville's nine-year run, the show's universe has fittingly expanded; yet, fans would like to see a few characters come back.

Though we haven't see her in quite a while, Martha Kent (Annette O'Toole) is still alive and well. Even though Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) is presumably dead, the Superman mythos would have to disagree. Jimmy Olson (Aaron Ashmore) was also lost last season, but the real photog and eventual best friend to Clark Kent (Tom Welling) is still running around somewhere.

Executive producer Kelly Souders discusses the fate, fortune or future of various Smallville characters who've been missing in action.

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Perry White: "We would love for [Michael McKean] to come on right now, he's in a Broadway show. For now, it's a no."

Martha Kent: "We have the coolest idea for her to come back, so you never know. Hopefully in the future."

Lex Luthor: "There's no plans at the moment. [Rosenbaum's] got a rather busy schedule at the moment, but I know he'd love to be back and we'd love to have him back."

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The real Jimmy: "By the end of the series, I think it's quite possible that you will see another Jimmy."

Old Jimmy: "That's always possible, too."

Davis Bloom: "Davis is buried very deep in the Earth, but we love [Sam Witwer]. I never say never."

Dr. Emil: "Yes."

Metallo: "We don't have anything concrete, but we would love to have [Brian Austin Green] back."

Zatanna: "I don't know if I can say ..."

Kara: "Not presently."

Sam Lane: "You know what, you never know when you get in the writers room and suddenly Sam Lane [Michael Ironside] is going to be the answer to all of our problems."

Lucy Lane: "We don't have any plans to see Lucy [Peyton List] right now but we know fans would like more of Lois' personal life explored."

Who would you like to see return?

Is Your Favorite Show in Danger?

2009-10-28T19:53:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year: The networks are looking ahead to January and their midseason schedules, but some fall shows will have to be canceled to make room for the new stuff. Here's our list of 15 at-risk shows, many of which have posted significant ratings declines. Others are expensive to produce, a little long in the tooth, or just aren't performing as well as their timeslot competition — or even other shows on their own networks. Read about the issues each faces and then weigh in on which deserve to stay — or go.

(We'll keep updating the list of renewals and cancellations at the bottom of the page, so check back for the latest scheduling news.)

Brothers (Fridays at 8/7c, Fox)
Issues: This family sitcom hasn't connected with an audience, nor has its timeslot-mate, 'Til Death.

Cold Case (Sundays at 10/9c, CBS)
Issues: Show sources say that this is the final season of Cold Case. It's losing to Brothers & Sisters regularly.

Dollhouse Season 1 DVD Box set(Fridays at 9/8c, Fox)
Issues: Fox yanked the show from its November lineup. Executive producer Joss Whedon has hinted that the party's over after Fox burns off the rest of the show's 13-episode run in December.

Eastwick (Wednesdays at 10/9c, ABC)
Issues: Is nobody watching TV at 10 p.m. anymore? Not only are Leno's ratings tanking, so are those of his competition.

The Forgotten (Tuesdays at 10/9c, ABC)
Issues: Its title may have become its destiny. Even star Christian Slater couldn't bring eyeballs to the Jerry Bruckheimer drama.

Fringe Season 1 DVD Boxset (Thursdays at 9/8c, Fox)
Issues: It's been consistently fourth in its extremely competitively timeslot (opposite Grey's Anatomy, The Office and 30 Rock, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Supernatural), despite actually posting gains for Fox on Thursday nights over last season. But the relatively healthy Tuesday audience it used to have is shrinking.

Gary Unmarried (Wednesdays at 8:30/7:30c, CBS)
Issues: Its ratings are decent, but nowhere near those of CBS' top sitcoms.

Gossip Girl (Mondays at 9/8c, CW)
Issues: Gossip Girl has always done extremely well in the 18-to-49 demographic, but with so few viewers overall, it may not matter.

Hank (Wednesdays at 8/7c, ABC)
Issues: ABC has announced pickups for Modern Family, The Middle and Cougar Town (the rest of its Wednesday-night comedy block), and Hank's absence from that list speaks volumes.

Law & Order (Fridays at 8, NBC)
Issues: It's losing to Ghost Whisperer, and it's been on the air for 20 years, which is about 140 in TV years. If it completes this season, it will tie Gunsmoke as the longest-running drama in history. NBC wouldn't pull the plug before that achievement, would it?

Melrose Place (Tuesdays at 9/8c, CW)
Issues: Yes, the CW has ordered 18 episodes for this season. Two cast members have been fired, and producers say they plan to change direction from the new Melrose Place's dark murder mystery. Will it be enough?

New Adventures of Old Christine (Wednesdays at 8/7c, CBS)
Issues: See above for Gary Unmarried.

Three Rivers (Sundays at 9, CBS)
Issues: Critics hated it, despite their ongoing love affair with star Alex O'Loughlin (Moonlight). And it's getting clobbered by Desperate Housewives.

'Til Death (Fridays at 8:30, Fox)
Issues: It's never been a ratings barn-burner, and its pairing with Brothers hasn't helped.

Trauma (Mondays at 10, NBC)
Issues: It's an expensive show, what with all the explosions. NBC has only committed to airing three more episodes and has already announced full-season pickups for Parks and Recreation, Community and Mercy, perhaps indicating those are the network's keepers.

CANCELED/NOT RETURNING (most recent first)Southland (Oct. 8, 2009)
The Beautiful Life: TBL, drama (Sept. 25, 2009)

PICKED UP FOR FULL SEASON
Community (Oct. 23, 2009)
Mercy (Oct. 23, 2009)
Parks and Recreation (Oct. 23, 2009)
Melrose Place (Oct. 21, 2009, 18 episodes)
The Vampire Diaries (Oct. 21, 2009)
Castle (Oct. 20, 2009)
FlashForward (Oct. 12, 2009)
Cougar Town (Oct. 8, 2009)
The Middle (Oct. 8, 2009)
Modern Family (Oct. 8, 2009)
The Good Wife (Oct. 7, 2009)
NCIS: Los Angeles (Oct. 7, 2009)
One Tree Hill Seasons 1-6 DVD Boxset(Sept. 23, 2009)
Glee (Sept. 21, 2009)

Real Cup-hijacked by third division minnows

2009-10-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

Real Madrid were given a Spanish Cup shock on Tuesday when third division minnows and unheralded city neighbours Alcorcon dished out a 4-0 drubbing to the nine-time European champions.

The tiny provincial side, with a miniscule annual budget of just 1.2 million euros - 300 times less than their esteemed visitors - added a notable footnote to their modest history in front of their home fans at the 3,000-capacity Estadio Municipal de Santo Domingo.

Real were undone by the club which was only founded in 1971 with an own goal by former Liverpool defender Alvaro Arbeloa, Borja Perez's brace, and Ernesto Gomez.

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Not pleasant viewing for Real president Florentino Perez and club director Jorge Valdano watching from the stands.

If they fail to overturn the lopsided scoreline in the second leg of this Last 32 tie it will by no means be the first time Real Madrid have bid a hasty farewell to the Copa del Rey.

The Spanish giants, who last collected the title way back in 1993, were kicked out of Spain's premier cup competition in 2008 by Third Division side Real Union, a loss that triggered the dismissal of coach Bernd Schuster.

Real's embarrassing defeat on Tuesday came despite the presence of Raul and Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini welcoming back injured strikers Karim Benzema and Ruud van Nistelrooy but Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain, who also missed the club's 0-0 draw with Sporting Gijon last weekend, were still sidelined.

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Frenchman Benzema was injured in both feet while Dutchman van Nistelrooy has been out for several weeks with a thigh muscle injury.

Pellegrini elected to rest several top players, including Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso and Kaka, for the match.

Tuesday's reverse came after a bad seven days which started with Real losing to AC Milan in the Champions League and then the goalless draw at Gijon.

Alcorcon's achievement meanwhile knocked a sizeable dent in Pellegrini's pre-match assertion that Real's ambition was "to win every competition".

Living life over

2009-10-26T20:44:00.000-07:00

If I had my life to live over...I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was strained and the sofa faded.

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I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while watching life.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding patter if I were not there for the day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, would not show soil or was guaranteed to last a life time.

There would have been more "I love yous" ... more "I'm sorrys"... but mostly, given another shots at life, I would seize every minute... look at it and really see it...live it...and never give it back.

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Five TV Shows We'd Love to See on the Big Screen

2009-10-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

With the Arrested Development movie in development, a second Sex and the City movie in production, and rumors about a movie version of Friends, the Hollywood remake machine is shifting its focus to television. Although we have grave doubts about how well most TV shows work as movie adaptations, studio heads seldom return our phone calls, so even more adaptations are probably on the way. Not every TV show can successfully become a movie, (see: Hazzard, Dukes of) but if this trend is fated to continue, here are a few shows we'd love to see on the silver screen.

Dollhouse

Friday's episode was the lowest-rated ever, with only 2.1 million viewers. The show has 11 episodes left on its current order, and there's a chance that the end is near. The excellent bonus episode "Epitaph One" proved that the show's writers have a long-term direction in mind, but they won't have time to get there if the ratings don't improve. Like Serenity, the movie version of Joss Whedon's last show, Firefly, a Dollhouse movie could satisfy viewers who will want more if the show gets canceled. Plus, 2 million people is a pretty good opening weekend for a movie. We kind of don't want this movie to happen, because it probably means the show had been canceled, but if it does, we'll buy the popcorn.

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The West Wing

Our favorite show ever wrapped up with a new president (Jimmy Smits) taking office. In the same way that the show drew material from events of the Clinton and then Bush administrations, it would be easy to adapt more recent political events into a compelling movie drama. The parallels are already there, with a president from a minority background and Josh Lyman, the character originally based on Rahm Emanuel, becoming Chief of Staff -- the same position Emanuel now holds. Bring back series creator Aaron Sorkin to write the screenplay, and we'll see you at the Oscars.

30 Rock

Tina Fey's so-funny-it-hurts brand of humor is the type that's missing from current movie comedies. Every time a new Judd Apatow or Todd Phillips movie is released, critics complain about the lack of likable female characters. Liz Lemon would silence those critics, and we would get the chance to see if a female lead who is not in a romantic comedy can draw an audience the same way the male-dominated comedies do.

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There were no winners by the time The Shield ended, which means there is still plenty of conflict left to be mined. We're sure Vic Mackey didn't suddenly resign himself to a squeaky-clean life behind a desk at ICE, and we're sure he still wants to find his family. What he wants to do to them once he does is up in the air. The only drawback here is that they killed most of the Strike Team by the time the show ended, but Ronnie will probably still be pretty pissed off if he ever gets out of jail. The Shield was a fantastic crime series, it and could be the best crime movie since The Departed.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

What if the stupidest, most objectionable characters on television were given two hours and an R rating? The mind reels at the possibilities. This would be the most offensive movie since Triumph of the Will. And we mean that in a good way.

Which TV shows would you like to see on the big screen? Let me know in the comments!

If the Dream is Big Enough

2009-10-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

I used to watch her from my kitchen window, she seemed so small as she muscled her way through the crowd of boys on the playground. The school was across the streetf rom our home and I would often watch the kids as they played during recess. A sea of children, and yet to me, she stood out fromthem all.I remember the first day I saw her playing basketball.

I watched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids.She managed to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net.The boys always tried to stop her but no one could.I began to notice her at other times, basketball in hand, playing alone.She would practice dribbling and shooting over and over again,sometimes until dark.

One day I asked her why she practicedsomuch. She looked directly in my eyes and without a moment of hesitation she said, “I want to go to college. The only way I can go is if I get a scholarship. I like basketball. I decided that if I were good enough, I would get a scholarship. I am going to play college basketball. I want to be the best. My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don't count.” Then she smiled and ran towards the court to recap the routine I had seen over and over again.

Well, I had to give it to her—she was determined.I watched her through those junior high years and into highschool.Every week, she led her varsity team to victory.

One day inhersenior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled inherarms. I walked across the street and sat down in the cool grass beside her. Quietly I asked what was wrong. “Oh, nothing,”came a soft reply. “I am just too short.” The coach told her that at 5’5”she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team—muchless offered a scholarship—so she should stop dreaming about college.She was heartbroken and I felt my own throat tighten as I sensed her disappointment.

I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet. She lifted her head from her hands and told me that her father said those coaches were wrong. They just did not understand the power of a dream. He told her that if she really wanted to play for a good college, if she truly wanted a scholarship, that nothing could stop her except one thing — her own attitude. He told her again, “If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count.”

The next year, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was seen by a college recruiter. She was indeed offered a scholarship, a fullride, to a Division I, NCAA women’s basketball team. She was going to getthe college education that she had dreamed of and workedtoward forall those years.It’s true: If the dream is big enough,the facts don’t count.

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Michael Jackson Honored On 'Dancing With The Stars'

2009-10-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday (October 20), "Dancing With the Stars" featured a performance by Norah Jones and the elimination of Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin and partner Alec Mazo. But the real highlight of the night came when the show's professional dancers took time out of their busy competing schedules to pay tribute to Michael Jackson, who had a tremendous influence on dance culture during his career.

Host Tom Bergeron noted that throughout the show's four-year history, Jackson's songs have been used by the contestants 17 times. Pro dancer Louis van Amstel reflected on Jackson's influence: "It's really important to do this tribute because he pretty much opened doors, and I thank him for opening doors for all of us."

Mark Ballas loved channeling Jackson the several times he danced to his tunes on the show. "It just felt so great to dance to MJ songs and feel his moves," he said. "He's just an inspiration to all of us. He will be missed."

"He gave the world so much happiness and joy, and his music will live forever," fellow dancer Kym Johnson added.

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As several Jackson family members sat in the audience, including Jackson's mom, Katherine, and siblings Jermaine and La Toya, the dancers took the stage to pay a special ballroom tribute to the late superstar. "Michael Jackson was a major loss to the entertainment community 'cause he inspired them to step up," Jermaine said in a pre-taped interview. "It just wasn't about the movement, it was about the feeling. There will only be one Michael Jackson forever."

"Michael liked all kinds of choreography. He liked 'Dancing With the Stars,' " La Toya revealed. "He was a fan of the show."

Dancer Karina Smirnoff noted that his influence was far-reaching. "He influenced not only dancing itself, but choreography. We lost not only an icon, but we lost the father of dance and choreography," she said.

La Toya introduced the tribute in a royal-blue gown, noting that her brother would be proud to see his legacy live on. The dancers, decked out in MJ garb, including short pants, white socks, single white gloves, red leather jackets and sparkles, kicked things off with the vintage Jackson 5 hit "I Want You Back."

They then slowed the pace down a bit with "Man in the Mirror," performing it as a very fluid ballroom dance mixed with ballet. Then came one of MJ's most iconic dance moments as the group danced to "Thriller," even reenacted the famous zombie dance moves from the video.
Dancer Cheryl Burke, who left the show after her partner, Tom DeLay, was injured earlier in the season, returned for the big tribute. In the days leading up to the show, she gushed to MTV News about the chance to honor her hero on "DWTS."

"He was a huge influence for me in my dancing career," she said. "I think a lot of us professional dancers can say the same. So we're really excited about it. ... 'Thriller' is one of my favorites of all time."

Don't miss "Michael Jackson's This Is It" Premiere Special, airing on MTV and VH1 on Tuesday, October 27 at 8:30 p.m. ET! "Michael Jackson's This Is It" opens in a limited engagement on October 27 and wide on October 28.

Check out everything we've got on "Michael Jackson's This Is It."

Two Jokes

2009-10-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

1. One day an Indian boy asked his father why they have such long names? The dad answers, "Well son whenever a Indian baby is born the father would go outside and name the baby after the first thing he sees... Why do you ask Two Dogs Fucking."

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2. A young couple gets married, and the groom asks his bride if he can have a dresser drawer of his own that she will never open. The bride agrees. After 30 years of marriage, she notices that his drawer has been left open. She peeks inside and sees 3 golf balls and $1,000.She confronts her husband and asks for an explanation. He explains "Every time I was unfaithful to you, I put a golf ball in the drawer." She figures 3 times in 30 years isn't bad and asks "But what about the $1,000?" He replied "Whenever I got a dozen golf balls, I sold them"

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Depp, Richards light up Spike TV's 'Scream 2009'

2009-10-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

A larger-than-life snowglobe filled with murderous little girls, a "Battlestar Gallactica" spaceship and comic-book legend Stan Lee flying overhead on a bouquet of giant balloons — just a few signs that Spike TV's "Scream 2009" is different from other awards shows.
The star-studded event, held Saturday at the Greek Theatre, honors the best in sci-fi, horror, fantasy and comic-inspired movies and TV shows.
Fans voted online for the winners, so some of the year's most popular programs and big box-office hits took home trophies, including "Transformers," "Twilight," "True Blood" and "Star Trek." Stars of those properties and other surprise guests appeared throughout the 3 1/2-hour ceremony.
And then there was Keith Richards. Fans welcomed the Rolling Stones guitarist with a standing ovation as Johnny Depp presented him with the Rock Immortal award.
"I liked the living legend, that was all right, but immortal is even better," Richards said in an interview before accepting the honor.
Quentin Tarantino continued the celebration of the immortal as he paid tribute to "Night of the Living Dead" director George A. Romero with the Scream Mastermind award.
Tobey Maguire presented the Comic-Con Icon award to Lee, who waved and smiled from his spider-shaped balloon platform on his way to the stage. He thanked Spike TV "for creating the Scream awards and for telling the world how cool comic books are."
Jessica Alba, Kate Bosworth, Harrison Ford, Justin Long and Christina Ricci helped present the spike-shaped trophies. Morgan Freeman presented the Ultimate Scream award (essentially best in show) to "Star Trek" — and William Shatner shocked fans when he stepped on stage to accept the trophy.
"J.J., I'll handle this," Shatner said to J.J. Abrams, seated in the audience, who also won best director and best sci-fi movie for "Star Trek."
"This movie was big," Shatner said. "Imagine how big it could have been with me in it? ... I'll be waiting for your call."
HBO's "True Blood" was a four-time winner, taking honors for best TV show, along with best villain for Alexander Skarsgard and best horror actor and actress for co-stars and real-life couple Steven Moyer and Anna Paquin.
"Twilight" also collected four awards: Best fantasy film, best fantasy actors for stars Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart (who weren't in attendance Saturday) and breakout performance for co-star Taylor Lautner, who introduced world-premiere footage from the film's next installment, "New Moon."
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" won three prizes. The film was honored for its special effects, while star Megan Fox was voted best sci-fi actress and Isabel Lucas was recognized for her breakout performance as an evil shape-shifting robot.
Since the ceremony wasn't televised live, stars were free to use four-letter words — and Tarantino, Woody Harrelson and "True Blood" creator Alan Ball did. "Scream 2009" will be edited into a two-hour special set to air on Oct. 27.
Hundreds of fans dressed as vampires, zombies, mummies and monsters filled the seats inside the amphitheater. "Scream" is their show, said executive producer Casey Patterson.
"It's fun because of the fans. You couldn't point to a group more passionate, more invested, or more deserving," she said, noting that sci-fi, horror and fantasy films are often overlooked at other awards shows. "These fans have waited a long time to see their heroes honored."

My Favorite TV Shows

2009-10-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

Battlestar Galactica
The second war against the Cylons is over and The Twelve Colonies have been destroyed. Now Commander Adama of the Battlestar Galatica and President Laura Roslin lead a ragtag fleet of refugees in a supposed search for the fabled lost thirteenth colony, Earth. However, the dangers they face are many which compound an already difficult situation. In addition to the Cylons hunting and attacking the fleet in space, their infiltrator units carry out a more subtle plot even as their former unwitting pawn, Gaius Baltar, helps in the hunt for them while hiding both his own guilt and the strange presence that haunts his every thought. If that wasn't enough, the fleet also faces internal political conflict in which the rabble-rousing figure, Tom Zarek, is merely the loudest dissenting voice. In the midst of these trials however, clues begin to appear that suggest that Adama's simple bluff about Earth may be more truthful than anyone could have guessed...

Ghost Whisperer

Melinda Gordon inherited her "gift" -- the ability to see and talk with the spirits of dead people -- from, and was coached it its use by her grandmother. Running an antique store in a small town, newly married to a paramedic, Melinda helps the ghosts wandering around who are trapped between worlds by helping them to resolve unfulfilled aspects of their former life.....Ghost Whisperer DVD

Lost

After a mysterious and bloody airplane crash, 48 survivors are left stranded on a Pacific Island... miles off course. It soon becomes apparent that they will not have to cope only with the forces of nature, but with the island's secrets, including the Dharma Initiative, the 'Lost Numbers', the "others" (or hostiles) and the strange black smoke- to name a few. There is also much more than meets the eye, as it becomes apparent that everyone is connected in some way and that everyone has a purpose to live on the island... and for some, to die...

Battlestar Galactica

2009-10-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

Where do we start? Ok,In my opinion, Battlestar Galactica is one of the greatest science-fiction television series to ever hit the screen.It has, over the last four years, proven to be a new milestone for the very idea of sci-fi television and, outside of "genre" standards, has still shown itself to be one of the strongest shows on television through consistently powerful acting, writing, and directing.

Unlike most shows on television (cable, anyway), Battlestar Galactica is ambitious and unique. While most shows bow to studio demands and demographics, this show has no problem making its audience, at times, disgusted and queasy with the "good guys" and sympathize with the "bad guys".
Each story is carefully planned out, with a purpose.

Battlestar Galactica DVD

What can I say! No matter you love or you don't love it,the series is now over.I know most people love it .To me,the show is brilliant and belongs to the pantheon of "all time best shows" along with The Sopranos, The Wire, The West Wing.....It is really really fantastic.I recommend it to television fans, whether you generally enjoy science fiction or not.

Michael Jackson hits the charts on Halloween costumes

2009-10-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

Don't be surprised if Michael Jackson moonwalks into your Halloween party.

The king of pop is making his first appearance this year on Yahoo's Top 10 most-searched Halloween costumes. He ranks second only to the vampire, a perennial Halloween favorite, according to Yahoo Inc., the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Internet media company.

With Halloween consumer spending forecast to be down this year, some retailers also are latching onto the recently deceased star's widespread appeal to jump-start sales.

Battlestar Galactica

Angels Fancy Dress Shop, a London-based costume store and online merchant, is calling on Michael Jackson fans to sign up for what the shop bills as the world's first Twitter seance, or "Tweance" on Oct. 30. Psychic Jayne Wallace will question the spirits of four departed celebrities nominated by Twitterers and tweet their responses, according to the company's Web site.

Meanwhile Party City is running a "Dressed to Thrill" TV ad campaign that re-creates Jackson's iconic "Thriller" music video. The party store chain built a haunted forest at Universal Studios Orlando, hired 43 dancers, dressed them in costumes and rechoreographed Jackson's zombie-like dance.

Elvis is still hot, ranking No. 9 in Yahoo's Top 10 costume searches for babies. Yoda, the Star Wars Jedi Master, topped the list as most popular costume for dogs.

Gone from the top 10: Barack Obama and Sarah Palin.

Microsoft at the mall: Microsoft Corp. plans to open its first retail stores in coming weeks in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Mission Viejo, Calif., a spokeswoman for the Redmond, Wash.-based software company said, confirming a Thursday report in The Wall Street Journal. The stores are timed to debut with the launch of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system, the report said.

Microsoft disclosed its intention to move into retail earlier this year when it hired former Wal-Mart Stores Inc. executive David Porter as head of retail stores. It confirmed the location of the stores this summer but has released few details.

The Wall Street Journal report, citing an unnamed source, described the stores as "spacious" showcases for laptops running Windows 7, mobile phones running Microsoft software and Xbox 360 game consoles. They also will have a counter where people can get technical help, the report said.

The company won't say whether it is looking for a Chicago outpost, Microsoft spokeswoman Elizabeth Herrera Smith said.

Rival Apple Inc. operates about 200 stores nationwide and 40 outside the U.S.

Battlestar Galactica DVD

Argentina scrape into World Cup finals

2009-10-14T20:31:00.000-07:00

Argentina scraped into the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Uruguay as Diego Maradona finally celebrated mission accomplished after a stumbling, lacklustre qualifying campaign.

The two-time champions needed a goal by substitute Mario Bolatti on Wednesday six minutes from time to earn the three points and secure the fourth and final qualifying spot from South America.

Brazil, Chile and Paraguay had already made sure of their places in the finals.
Uruguay finished in fifth and now face a play-off against Costa Rica, who finished fourth in the CONCACAF region behind USA, Mexico and Honduras, to decide their World Cup fate.

In a poor match with few opportunities, the crucial moment came when Uruguay were reduced to 10 men when Martin Caceras was red-carded for a foul on Jonas Gutierrez.

Battlestar Galactica

From the ensuing free-kick, Juan Sebastian Veron had a shot charged down, but Bolatti, on the field for just four minutes after replacing Gonzalo Higuain, reacted quickest to the loose ball to beat Nestor Muslera in the Uruguayan goal.
Maradona, who had used over 70 players since taking over a year ago, opted to leave Carlos Tevez on the bench alongside Martin Palermo, who grabbed the last-minute goal which saw off Peru on Saturday.

I thank the team and the fans, who crossed the River Plate, for the privilege of taking Argentina to the World Cup," said Maradona, who was in combative mood at his post-match news conference.

"But there were people who did not believe in us and who treated me like rubbish."

Uruguay, needing a win to make sure of automatic qualification, were on top early with Argentina unsurprisingly nervous and defender Gabriel Heinze picking up a booking after just nine minutes.

Andres Scotti almost gave the home side the lead at the famous Estadio Monumental, but his header slipped by Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero's post.

Lionel Messi, who has yet to shine under Maradona despite his scene-stealing performances for Barcelona, attempted to catch out Muslera with a long distance free-kick.

The goalless half-time stalemate suited Argentina as Ecuador, the only other rivals for the last qualifying spot, were also being held 0-0 at the interval by Chile in Santiago.

The low-quality affair continued after the break with the first opening not coming until the 73rd minute when Diego Lugano headed wide from a pinpoint Diego Forlan free-kick.

Uruguay continued to press against an Argentine team happy to pack seven defenders behind the ball as the clock ticked down before Bolatti, in just his third international, put his country into the finals.

In Santiago, Chile took the lead against Ecuador thanks to a 51st-minute strike from Humberto Suazo. Ecuador, who had Segundo Castilla sent-off, needed to win to keep their qualifying hopes alive.

Five-time champions, and group winners, Brazil were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Venezuela and they too finished with 10 men after Sao Paulo defender Miranda was red-carded.

Battlestar Galactica DVD

Paraguay also ended on a low note, losing 2-0 at home to Colombia.
Rock-bottom Peru completed their programme with a 1-0 win over Bolivia, who had defeated Brazil at the weekend, thanks to a second-half strike from Johan Fano.

It was Bolivia's 38th qualifier away from their high-altitude fortress of La Paz without a win.

Fano, meanwhile, was later sent-off.

From http://news.yahoo.com/

Ghost Whisperer highlights Halloween TV

2009-10-14T20:01:00.000-07:00

It's Halloween! But oddly, only the cable channels seem to be celebrating. Other than Ghost Whisperer, airing on CBS, none of the big five networks bothered to dress up for this night of fright.

Look, up in the sky! It's...Oliver Queen? Clark Kent's secret was nearly revealed on Smallville last night thanks to Jimmy Olsen's drive and determination. So, Clark gets Oliver to play the phantom protector for one night just to prove Jimmy's got the wrong guy. The trick worked but maybe too well, for the first time Clark is around to see the applause and the hopeful smiles of those who witnessed the rescue. Looks like it's the start of a new chapter for the man of steel.

Supernatural presented us with the true, gruesome story of Halloween and it wasn't exactly what I had hoped for. The episode got bogged down in this season's mythology, introducing the new angel Uriel and putting Dean to a test. I was excited about the way things began but I'm looking forward to some basic brotherly monster hunting, which I think we're going to get next week.

Tonight On TV - Friday, October 31

CBS begins with a trip back to high school on Ghost Whisperer, then it's an NCIS rerun to replace the canceled Ex-List, and finally the criminals have a "Charlie" of their own on Num3brs.

NBC starts with Deal or No Deal, there are more pirates on the island on Crusoe, and Lipstick Jungle replaced Life which was moved to Wednesday. (Still with me?) ABC goes reality all the way with Wife Swap, Supernanny, and a new 20/20. The CW will get you laughing with Everybody Hates Chris, and The Game, then its a repeat of America's Next Top Model. Fox will challenge your skills with Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? and Don't Forget the Lyrics!

Over on cable

Want to see something really scary? Here's a rundown of tonight's tricks and treats. ABCFamily has Poltergeist while AMC continues the frightfest with Resident Evil and House on Haunted Hill. TCM goes with two unusual movies, The Shuttered Room and The Dunwich Horror and FX has Halloween H20 and Ghost Ship. E! has an interesting new special called Doomed to Die? Most Shocking Hollywood Curses and Travel Channel goes with a marathon of Ghost Adventures.

SCI FI Channel follows The Ghost Hunters Live all night long and even WE has a series of haunted specials including Ghost Moms and Extreme Ghost Stories.

For the kids, Cartoon Network has a Goosebumps marathon and Disney is showing R.L. Stine's Mostly Ghostly.

News and notable Fox ordered another season of American Dad but has canceled King of the Hill...again.

Bravo is in development on two new fashion-themed shows, Celebrity Sew-Off will have designers working with celebs to create the ultimate garment and Fashionality will serve up the dish on what's hot and what's not in fashion.

Bravo also announced an open call for their new series The Fashion Show, where young designers compete will compete to have their clothing sold in stores. Sound familiar?

West Wing star Bradley Whitford has been cast in a new NBC comedy called Off Duty.

Rumor also has it that Mad Men's John Hamm may be joining 30 Rock for a recurring part as Tina Fey's love interest.

Excerpted From DVDProStore.com

The Ghost Whisperer

2009-10-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

I never really watched Ghost Whisperer before Season 4. I thought it seemed like a silly premise. But then I caught the end of one of the shows on regular television, and I thought it looked sweet. A couple weeks later, I saw that Jim had been killed off. The fact that he died confused me since it didn't coincide with the earlier show I saw. So I began to watch it just to understand what had happened, and was amazed at the concept. I am now a really big fan of the show, and I have just finished watching all of the earlier seasons.

Battlestar Galactica

I'm here to make a conclusion of the show.wanna say,Ghost Whisperer is no Six Feet Under, where conversations with the dead, may or may not be conversations with ourselves, and where these interactions only complicate questions about the nature of the universe in a way that makes loving the living in the here and now seem that much more important. It's not even Medium, which offers a few cheap scares amid the purgatorial backtalk. Here Melinda's acquaintances get their dead-o-grams and move on, serene again even though we know their pain can never fully heal. There's no bottom to this show's sentimentality. If Ghost Whisperer has anything to say, it's that we probably should live with fewer secrets and more honestly, so that we can cleave less desperately to our necessary losses.

Uruguay-Argentina, a final with the World Cup at stake

2009-10-13T00:20:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Argentina and Uruguay countries will face each other in the South American World Cup qualifiers. while the loser may well miss out on the major event in South Africa altogether. In South America's qualifiers, Brazil, Paraguay and Chile have already secured World Cup berths.

Argentina currently have 25 points, Uruguay have 24 and Ecuador have 23. Venezuela trail on 21 and still have a chance of reaching the play-off, but it is very remote.

The winner of Uruguay-Argentina will come fourth in the qualifiers. The loser could be overtaken by Ecuador - if they in turn win their game in Chile - and be left empty-handed.

Battlestar Galactica

The most unexceptable thing is Argentina loses, however, and Ecuador wins at Chile (which has already qualified), Argentina will be out and Ecuador will play either Costa Rica or Honduras in a playoff for one of the final spots in South Africa.But in my view, this will not happen.It's no doubt Uruguay-Argentina is going to be a great game. Please rememer that the coach of Chile (Marcelo Bielsa) is Argentine, so even though Chile has already qualified, he may push his team to beat Ecuador.
As a die-hard fan of Agentina, I have no doubt that Agentina will finally catch the bus of 2010 World Cup. Messi didn't played well in recent matches, howecer,messi is messi, the best player in this planet,maybe he will play the most important role,who knows?!

I know there are so many fans like me,how do you think? Now,let's prey for my favorite team!

Don't Cry For Me, Agentina!