Sorry everybody, no time for frills today! Wanted to blog more about last week's Top Chef, but there just wasn't time. No time for photos or proofreading either, so please forgive.

The fur really flew last night on Bravo during the Real Housewives of Atlanta Reunion. And I loved it!
Let’s see, where to begin … the host stared off with a bang, stating that they received an overwhelming number of emails from viewers who don’t believe that blonde babe Kim isn’t really 29. She says she’s 30 now.
Next it was revealed that CNN’s Anderson Cooper loves loudmouth NeNe.
Who responded with much love for Anderson. Viewers also emailed over NeNe’s “saggy boobs,” saying she should dress more appropriately. And NeNe confirmed that she hasn’t been in touch with Curtis (who she believed was her father), since the paternity test resolved that he wasn’t.
After being asked the identity of Big Poppa, Kim revealed that he’s legally married and seeking a divorce. Which really set NeNe off! Calling Kim a liar and saying, “close your legs to married men!”
Kim replied with “grow up and you’d better back your ass up!”
Lots of bleeped cursing followed with NeNe boasting Kim’s a “trashy hooker” and wears a wig. Lisa climbed onto NeNe’s lap to keep her from getting up.
The host, looking nervous, took the show into commercial. After the break, he asked Kim if she was wearing a wig. To which she replied, that 3 years ago she found out that she got sick and found out she had cancer. NeNe apologized, saying she didn’t know about the cancer. About a minute later, Kim said she didn’t have cancer, that it was something else she didn’t want to talk about it. (It still wasn’t confirmed she wears a wig, but I can totally see it now.)
Following brief summaries of Sheree, DeShawn and Lisa, the show got back to the battle between Kim and NeNe, with the host bringing up NeNe’s song about Kim. I don’t remember what Kim said, but Lisa totally flew off the handle, calling Kim a “liar who needs medication.”
Then when Kim responded, Lisa said, “You don’t want to start with me, I’ll flip you over that couch!”
The show closed on an up note with the addition of NeNe’s gay boyfriend Dwight, who brought some all too needed comic relief. The show will repeat numerous times over the weekend. Check it out! Or you can watch it here http://www.bravotv.com/ Real_Housewives_Of_Atlanta/season/1/index.php

The Foo Fighters stop by Top Chef tonight on Bravo at 10.
Last week’s episode concluded with Fabio winning with his spericle olives, and Jill going home from making a bad quiche from Ostrich eggs. Sorry, there wasn’t time to post more ..

And to all my Twilight fans out there, don’t miss The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight. Robert Pattinson, aka Edward Cullen, stops by to spend some time on the couch.
Summit Entertainment has announced the Twilight's sequel, New Moon, will begin filming in March (hopefully with a November release date).

Sorry folks, but I just can't ignore the really big TV news from last night ....

SPEIDI ELOPED!

Yes, that cute, lovable couple Heidi Montag and her always charming (gag!) boyfriend Spencer Pratt tied the knot last Thursday at a resort near Cabo San Lucas. (Please, keep your vomit to yourself.) It was officially announced during MTV's popular Hills aftershow last night, airing, ironically, right after this week's new episode of The Hills.

The couple's much on- and off-again relationship was documented during The Hills last season. So far, there has been no comment from Heidi's former BFF Lauren Conrad, who started feuding with Montag shortly after she began dating Pratt. The relationship between the threesome has been the main focus of the popular show.

The former BFFs

And apparently, it was all a secret to the couple's families, with Montag's father, Bill, telling People mag, "I would be upset if she got married and didn't invite me."

According to celeb blogger Perez Hilton, the limelight-loving duo were married on the beach and decided to exchange vows on a whim in a 15-minute ceremony. OK, anyone believing this wasn't planned?

The duo are scheduled to appear in January on CBS' popular sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and first met while filming The Hills in 2006. They got engaged and split in December of '07 and were re-engaged last May. And I'm sure they'll live happily ever after ... probably on their own MTV show.



AI SPOILERS:

American Idol has just finished taping its first "Hollywood week," and according to the NY Post, the approved candidates include an Osmond nephew, the reigning Miss New York USA and Jason Castro's little brother. The "Idol Boot Camp" roughly included 200 contestants chosen from eight audition cities and were shrunk down to half that number.

Among them was David Osmond, Donny and Marie's nephew and son of Alan Osmond, one of the original Osmond Family Singers. He is also the lead singer of the New Osmonds group. And according to mjsbigblog.com, he's also battled West Nile Virus, which left him with a form of muscular dystrophy.

Also there was Michael Castro, younger bro of last year's dreadlocked finalist Jason Castro (who could forget that guy?).

Anna Kaelin, daughter of David Archuleta's vocal coach, is also said to be a Boot Camp survivor.

Among the other noteworthy contestants are Miss New York USA 2008 Danielle Roundtree; Jackie Tohn, an actress who has been working since age 9 and has appeared in TV, i.e. The Nanny and The Sopranos; and for the first time, a husband and wife, Tom and Jennifer Korbee, have made it to the Hollywood round. Season 8 kicks off on Fox Tuesday, Jan. 13.



Tonight at 10 p.m. FX bids farewell to the show that put this station on the map - The Shield.
Never your usual cop show, The Shield made its mark on its first episode which featured star Michael Chiklis' Vic Mackey murdering an undercover federal agent (March 12, 2002). The Shield went on to redefine network cop shows, for better or worse, as to what was permissible on advertiser-supported TV.
A NY Post critic calls tonight's finale "the finest series finale since The Sopranos." I don't really know if that's a glowing review. I really detested the finale of The Sopranos ... one can only hope The Shield doesn't end with Chiklis sitting in a diner and playing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" on the jukebox!


Atlanta's wives
My evening will be occupied by real housewives on Bravo. Starting with the Real Housewives of Atlanta Reunion show at 9 p.m. and followed by the return of the "original" real housewives - The Real Housewives of Orange County at 10 p.m. Yes they're tacky and mostly classless, but it's a guilty pleasure I just can't deny!
Tonight's reunion show looks like things get real heated and I'm not surprised. When we last left the ladies (last week), Kim, Sheree and NeNe refused to make-up, and according to the promos, there's going to be lots of yelling, maybe some hair-pulling too! Nothing like a bunch of seemingly refined (who am I kidding), well-dressed, perfectly manicured "ladies" going at it.
The wives of Orange County are a much more refined group, choosing to politely insult each other over expensive champagne and canapés. But they still have their crass moments, to go along with their fake tans and boobs!
Personally, I have to say that the Real Housewives of New York are my favorite, maybe because I live in the northeast. I find them almost relatable.
And Bravo already has filmed a version of The Real Housewives of New Jersey (that outta be great!). Maybe Bravo should just change their name to the Real Housewives channel.

Elsewhere on TV tonight: Just in time for the holiday, ABC will present a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving at 8 p.m., followed by, what else, the Dancing with the Stars results show. Fox offers up another new episode of its hit(?) Fringe. I have to admit, I'm so over this show. I haven't been able to watch the last 2 eps., and I really liked it at the beginning. I guess it just lacks the character interest I have in Lost (JJ Abrahms other hit show). And it doesn't have Fox Mulder (X-Files' David Duchovny) to hold my interest either. Anyone else have an opinion on this one?

Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith takes hold of Spike TV at 7 p.m., and the third flick in the popular trilogy of Jason Bourne, The Bourne Ultimatum re-airs on HBO at 8 p.m. I give both films high regards.



DVD This Week: Will Smith's summer hit Hancock hits the rental and retail shelves today. It's a dark story about a boozy superhero who despises the people he's bound to protect. Jason Bateman costars as the guy who tries to give the hero a makeover to improve his public image.



And last year's Christmas hit, Fred Claus is also available today, just in time for the big holidays. It features the hilarious Vince Vaughn as Santa's black-sheep brother, who's bailed out of his latest jam by his saintly sibling (Paul Giamitti) and forced to work off his debt at the North Pole, where he learns to re-evaluate his conniving ways as a heartless efficiency expert (Kevin Spacey) plots to put St. Nick out of a job. A story I think we can all relate too, considering the nation's economy. But, hopefully, this one will make you laugh ...

TV on DVD: Just 24 hours after it's network broadcast, 24: Redemption hits DVD. Which is how I'm going to watch the second hour, since Sunday night I committed a cardinal sin of videotaping - I taped the wrong channel! So, after turning off 24 to catch the dull season finale of HBO's True Blood (yes, Sookie and Bill got back together, and the real killer was exposed and killed by Sookie), I completely missed how Jack fought off the African terrorists and saved those poor kids!

A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All comes to DVD also days after premiering on TV. Stephen Colbert gets his own holiday show featuring him riding out a snowstorm in his cabon. Colbert celebrates the holiday with songs and silliness featuring Elvis Costello, Willie Nelson, Toby Keith, John Legend, Feist and, of course, buddy Jon Stewart.


Freaks and Geeks: Yearbook Edition. Big-screen comedy kings Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow, along with James Franco, Jason Segel and Linda Cardellini, scored an early critical success with this short-lived series about a gang of high school kids in 1980. I personally loved this show, but it never found it's niche on network TV. If you love Rogen and Apatow's later collaborations - Anchorman, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad - you're sure to enjoy this one.

That should keep you busy tonight!

Many apologies to everyone who reads this blog for keeping you hanging for a few days. Things have been very busy around here, and with this being a Holiday week, things are even busier, so I may have to post at night this week.

Twilight's Edward & Bella
Anyway, this is just a little heads up to what’s been goin on lately. Of course, I saw Twilight, and I will give my opinion in a separate post so as not to bore those who aren’t interested.
I will, however, take this moment to say --- $70.6 million!!! Take that James Bond!! That’s Twilight’s estimated weekend gross so far. And just to put that in perspective …
Going into the weekend, Twilight was expected to take in a big $50 million.
Of the Top 30 openers of all time, of which Twilight is now one, only seven cost less than $100 million to produce. And only one, The Passion of the Christ, cost less than the $35 million Twilight.
According to Box Office Mojo, Twilight has unseated Hugh Jackman’s Van Helsing as the top-opening vampire movie of all time.
Twilight also bested Iron Man for top opening day ticket sales, selling $35.7 million to Iron Man’s $35.2 last May.
And at one point on Friday, Fandango reported selling five Twilight tickets per second.
Should be very interesting to see how sales go over the big holiday weekend. See if the fangirls flock back to see the inhumanly gorgeous Edward Cullen, the way they returned over and over to see Titanic’s Jack Dawson. God knows I did, Twilight got my money Friday, Saturday and Sunday, despite the fact that it wasn’t the greatest movie I’ve ever seen. I paid for two uninterrupted hours of Robert Pattinson …
Of course, Summit Entertainment responded on Saturday by immediately green-lighting Twilight’s first sequel New Moon, details to follow …

Two Hours of Pattz -- Priceless!

Last week’s Top Chef didn’t disappoint, long story short, Jill was told to pack her knives and go. I’ll save my rehash for Wednesday before the new episode airs.

Last week’s Survivor offered up an incredible episode that I will recap prior to this week’s. Yes, there will be a new episode airing Thanksgiving night. Not to keep you in suspense, but Randy was ousted. It was one of the great coups in Tribal Council history.

Bye-Bye Randy


This isn’t a new direction for this blog, I will try to continue posting these recaps in a more timely manner, things just got behind last week.

Here’s some TV news to keep you updated.

The LA Times and TV Guide report this week that ABC has failed to order any new episodes of Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money, effectively canceling them when their 13 episodes run out this season.

Scrubs, ending their run on NBC last season, will be seen on ABC beginning Jan. 6 with back-to-back episodes airing for at least the first weeks.

ABC will move Private Practice to 10 p.m. Thursdays, following Grey’s Anatomy. (Yes, I have more to say about the Denny-Izzy storyline, but it will have to wait till later.)


Showtime's Dexter
Everyone’s favoite serial killer, Dexter will continue to keep up his murderous mayhem for Showtime for at least two more seasons! A total of 24 episodes have been ordered up for their top-rated drama. The show is also the network’s best-selling DVD title.
And speaking of Dexter Morgan, Canadian filmmaker Peter Twitchell, an avid Dexter fan, was charged by Edmonton police with the Halloween murder of a man who he lured to a garage through the Internet. The man, Johnny Altinger, reportedly thought he was meeting a women he encountered online. The body hasn’t been found, but police arrested Twitchell after finding a script, in which a male killer lures a cheating husband through an Internet dating scam and decapitates him with a power saw, according to the Vancouver Sun.The killer in Twitchell’s script works for the police, as does Dexter, a Miami blood splatter analyst who moonlights as a serial killer.

Fox has ordered nine more episodes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

And so has NBC, keeping Knight Rider around a little while longer.

According to the NY Post, the creator of NBC’s ailing Heroes, Tim Kring, says the series could move away from its serialized format. They’re hoping to entice fans back by offering stand alone episodes, instead of the current format, where if you miss one week, you’re lost.

And speaking of Lost … ABC is gearing up for the Jan. 21 premiere with great gusto. I’ve seen many promos for it in the past week … and I can’t wait!! You can catch a Lost fix tonight over on the Sci-Fi channel, which is continuing its Monday night minithons from 7-11 p.m.


Serial Billionaire-Dater Padma
Heads-Up Elfman! The NY Post’s Page Six reports today the no man can resist Top Chef hostess Padma Lakshmi (of course, you already knew that). It seems she traveled to Rochester last week to see the Foo Fighters (who are appearing on this week’s episode), and was delighted when Dave Grohl dragged her onstage and introduced her to the audience. Lakshmi stayed on to play tambourine with the band. Backstage, spies reported that drummer Taylor Hawkins “vied for her attention all night.” Sadly, she didn’t give him her number – doesn’t he know she ONLY dates Billionaires!!

Stylist and Bravo reality star Rachel Zoe is looking for a new home. Seems she is totally freaked out after thieves broke into her West Hollywood home and studio last month. Thousands of dollars worth of dresses and merchandise were taken, yikes!

And in Life Immitating Art News: It appears Sopranos’ star Jamie-Lynn Sigler has gotten close with Jerry “Turtle” Ferrara while filming her guest shots on HBO’s Entourage. She’s been appearing as herself on the hit show, and dating Ferrara’s character Turtle. Last week the couple were photographed leaving a pat at the Chateau Marmount in Hollywood holding hands.


Nazi Cruise?
On TV Tonight: If you’re interested in Tom Cruise’s new film Valkyrie, which is due to open in December, you might want to check out the History channel’s Valkyrie: The Plot to Kill Hitler at 10 p.m. It documents the true story on which the film is based.

Over on MTV at 10 p.m. is yet another new episode of that borefest The Hills. Isn’t this season over yet? Oh well, for some reason beyond explanation, I can’t seem to stop watching that utter jerk Spencer Pratt, what will he do next?

The boys on Prison Break seem to be gearing up for some serious action tonight on Fox at 9 p.m. Will they ever get the final pieces of Scylla? The season’s winding down and will end before Christmas to make room for Jack Bauer’s next 24 hours. And speaking of Jack Bauer, I’ll have a 24: Redemption review soon …


Hiya Hugh!
And the sexiest man alive, Hugh Jackman, will sit down with Conan O’Brien tonight to talk up his latest flick opening Wednesday, Australia.
Cheers!

"I had to spit it out into my napkin," Padma Lakshmi, in Bravo's promo for tonight's episode of Top Chef. I don't know about you, but unless she said that after the quick fire challenge, whoever's food she's referring to is going home ...
This is exactly what I love about this show ... the judges' snarky comments! That's what last week's opener was missing, so I'm glad to see it's starting already. Whatever the dish is, I wonder if it'll compare to Season 3's notorious broccolini side dish. I can't remember who made it, but head judge/chef Tom Colicchio called it "the single worst dish in Top Chef history." While guest judge chef Anthony Bourdain said it was "horrifying!" Really, horrifying!! Food? (Dibs to Elfman for reminding me about the "horrifying" quote, thanks).
Top Chef airs tonight at 10 p.m.

So here it is already Wednesday, and I'm still catching up from the weekend. Long story short, dating couple Terence & Sarah were the unlucky last place finishers on the Amazing Race this week. They were eliminated.

Terence & Sarah
Lots of mistakes were made as the season winds down. A Fast Forward was offered at the beginning of the leg, and although they made it there first, Terence & Sarah had to opt out since Terence is vegetarian and it involved eating meat. This ultimately led to their demise. (Nick & Starr easily finished it and came in first again.) Ken & Tina forgot to read a clue at the bottom of a glass of milk, then returned their cow costumes and had to go back for them. And frat boys Andrew & Dan took a cab to the Pit Stop instead of going on foot (as the clue advised) and had to go back to the last challenge and walk it in.
During a commercial break, we got a promo for this week's Survivor, which has Randy thinking of asking Bob for his "immunity idol." Bob's idol is fake, he made it while on Exile Island last week. Should be interesting ...

Over on Wisteria Lane, the Deperate Housewives' lived thru a nightclub fire that saw the demise of Edie's creepy husband's mysterious doctor - at Dave's hands no less. Everyone else survived, making the episode quite a yawn. The most exciting thing for me was near the end when ABC chose to give us a promo for LOST, starting Jan. 21! Mark your calendars ...

HBO's True Blood was equally boring. Bill completed his sentence, turning the young girl into a vamp. Seems the vamps in this series can only be turned by being burried after they're bitten. Sookie and Sam got closer. Tara got arrested on suspicion of DUI and is bailed out by a strange woman whose agenda we don't know yet. Jason's new girlfriend got murdered by the mystery killer, while the two were tripping on vampire blood. Jason asked to be locked up, believing that he did it and must have been the killer all along. And Sookie rescinded her invitation to Bill after he ruffed up Jason, when he came home to find them together (remember, a vampire must be invited into your home or he can't enter). This Sunday is the finale and we're supposed to find out who the killer is ...

And what the hell is going on over at Seattle Grace? While I'm enjoying Grey's Anatomy again, and I love Denny Duquette, how are they going to explain last week's ending. Izzy, who is desperately trying to let her dead fiance, Denny, go, finally gave in at the end and touched him .... WTH? Can't wait to see where this goes tomorrow night.

Bye-Bye Cody
Last night saw Hannah Montana costar Cody Linley leave the dance floor for the last time on Dancing with the Stars. I guess Julianne Hough didn't have to speed thru her surgical recovery afterall.

Bravo's Real Housewives of Atlanta came to a impasse last night with the show culminating in a dinner where the girls tried to get Kim, Sheree and NeNe back together as friends. It didn't work. Which leaves everything open for an all out brawl next week on the Reunion show (Tuesday, 9 p.m., Bravo).The only other highlight was Project Runway's Mychael Night showing up to offer some fashion design tips to Sheree. Next week, following the reunion, the original real housewives are back for season 3 of the Real Housewives of Orange County.

FX's Sons of Anarchy builds to next week's finale tonight at 10 p.m., while over on Comedy Central, the boys of South Park skewer Twilight.

Over on PBS tonight is the second episode of Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work. I'm totally into this one. It's a guilty pleasure I can't deny (hey, I admit it, I just love the way they talk). And tonight's episode is supposed to feature preparations for the Queen's birthday celebration and a visit by Tony Blair and his wife to the Queen's Balmoral estate.

And speaking of lovely-voiced Brits, Twilight star Robert Pattinson stops by the Today show tomorrow to promote, what else, the most anticipated movie of the holiday season. His co-star Kristen Stewart will appear as well. Today airs from 7-11 a.m. on NBC.

Yeah, just another excuse for
a pic of Pattz
In other Brit news (and I know this is a little late): BBC announced that Scottish actor David Tennant will leave the long-running science fiction series Doctor Who. Tennant has played the show's time- and space-traveling alien hero since 2005. He will appear in a Christmas special and four hour-long episodes to be aired in 2009 and 2010, but when the show returns for its next season there will be a new Doctor. Oddly enough, besides the Doctor, Tennant is best known for playing Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire.

The Doctor
And as long as we're on the subject, a new trailer for Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince is supposed to be attached to Twilight and debuting in theaters this weekend.


Bad Boy Bruno
Bruno sighting: Production on NBC's Medium was temporarily shut down earlier this month when an unruly extra in a tense courtroom scene turned out to be Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen, in disguise, filming his next movie. Security forcibly removed Cohen from the jury box and production resumed.
The film is tentatively titled: Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable. Now that's a mouthful.

Sexy Jackman!
And finally, congratulations to Hugh Jackman, People magazine's newest Sexiest Man Alive. I couldn't agree more!The saucy-aussie, who will next be scene on the big screen in Baz Luhrman's Australia with Nicole Kidman, sure is one tall drink of water. And let's not forget, we'll get to see him in his rugged sexiness this summer in his very own Wolverine flick. Now that's something to look forward too! Yum!

Sexier Wolverine!

OK, I must apologize, and really, there's no excuse, but I'm totally losing it over the Twilight Mania. This film just can't open soon enough!! It's occupying all my free time. I was off yesterday for my birthday and spent the majority of the day on the computer, watching videos of cast interviews (OK, I'll admit it, mostly of star Robert Pattinson), and then spent last night trying to watch streaming video of the live premiere in Los Angeles, which was just as insane as RPattz' appearance in King of Prussia last week. The live feed was craptastic by the way ...
In case you missed it and are interested, it's all over youtube. I won't bother posting any links here. Anyway, my apologies again, to anyone who took my advice and watched MTV's Spoilers last Friday night. I'm sure you were as disappointed as I was. It was promo-ed as a Twilight Special, with 15 minutes of footage from the movie. Actually it was 15 minutes of footage from upcoming movies - including the Wayans' latest Dance Movie, The Watchmen, and I can't remember the rest, with only a short new scene from Twilight.

Bella and her vamp, Edward
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past two weeks, you've probably heard of this "little" movie, based on a best-selling book series, about a 17-yr.-old girl who falls in love with a unbearably gorgeous vampire. Unlike True Blood, which could sometimes make Jenna Jamison blush, Twilight's romance is sexually tame, to say the least. The couple in question can never get too close, or the vampire's natural instincts might kick in and he'll kill her. Still, it's the romance that has set its fans on fire, not to mention the visually perfect Edward Cullen, played by British actor Robert Pattinson. The film has been offered up as the new Harry Potter, and Pattinson, oddly enough, is best known for bringing tragic Cedric Diggory to life onscreen in Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire. Poor Cedric was the first big character to be killed off in the wildly popular books.

Poor Cedric
Twilight, the original book in the series, was released in the summer of 2005. The series gained strong recognition when the third edition, Eclipse, knocked Harry Potter & the Deathly Hollows out of the No. 1 spot on the NY Times Best Seller list after only 2 1/2 weeks. I only discovered it while on vacation last August. I finished the first book in a day and by the end of the week, had devoured the other three (and these aren't short books, we're talking 500-750 pgs.). So began my obsession ... all hopefully culminating this Friday when the film opens nationwide. I took the day off, originally to see Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince, which was supposed to open that day (while Twilight was originally opening Dec. 12). Going to see Harry on opening is a tradition between my sister and myself, since we both read the Potter series at the same time.
Anyway, for some reason (execs say it's not because of Twilight) Warner Bros. moved Harry to next July, and Summit Entertainment saw a great opportunity to open Twilight sooner and in more theaters, making it the most anticipated movie of the holiday season. Only time and box office results will tell if it lives up to the hype and if the sequels (already in pre-production) will be made.
In the meantime, Twilight's so huge that South Park will be parodying it on this week's episode Wednesday at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central.
If you still need more info on Twilight visit http://www.twilightthemovie.com/
The author, Mormon housewife Stephenie Meyer, also has a great Twilight website, visit http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/


OK, I'll try to keep my Twilight fixation in check and get on to other things. Like the other "big" movie opening this weekend ... only this one can be viewed from the comfort of home.
Yes, that's right, I'm talking about Fox's 24: Redemption! Jack's back and in a big way Sunday night at 8 p.m. when he takes on terrorists in Africa.

It's been nearly 18 months since we've seen Keifer Sutherland's popular character save the world, and Fox is hoping fans haven't forgotten. Last season's 24 was a victim of the infamous writers' strike and had to be pushed back to January 2009. 24: Redemption is kind of a bridge between Seasons 6 and 7 (Jan. 11). I like to think of it as an appetizer for us 24 devotees, and all the ladies who need their Jack Bauer fix!
For those of you who haven't discovered this clever, if far-fetched show, yet, 24 is told in "real time," with each episode representing one hour of a day in the life of CTU agent (though not anymore) Jack Bauer gone horribly wrong. Fans know, when this guy has a bad day, he REALLY has a BAD DAY!!
Why I love Jack Bauer:
He literally saves the world, in 24 hours - every time!
He can do anything with a cell phone! Like literally, rule the world if he wanted to!
He never goes to the bathroom -- ever!
He always gets thru to the President, no matter where, 'cuz he always gets cell reception!
He was a devoted friend to President Palmer, the coolest, sexiest TV prez we've ever had!
He takes care of his fellow agents - Chloe, especially!
He still loves Audrey, although he seemingly kissed her good-bye last season!
He never needs to eat!
He has that sexy, gruff voice that always says, "Mr. President, this is Jack Bauer!"
Last season, he survived a nuclear blast!
And the No. 1 reason I love Jack Bauer:

Hell, he died a few seasons back, got his heart shocked back to life, and was up and running after the terrorists in a matter of minutes!

For more info on 24: Redemption visit http://www.fox.com/24/trailer/

Just a reminder, tonight's episode of The Biggest Loser: Families looks like a doosy! It airs from 8-10 pm on NBC.
Bravo's Real Housewives of Atlanta Series Finale bows at 10 p.m.
Tropic Thunder arrives on DVD today. Go rent it, you'll have a great laugh. It's the one with Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and a really, really tan Robert Downey Jr. starring as "actors" making a war film in the jungles of Asia, only to find themselves stuck in a real war situation. The principals are all hilarious, however, it's Tom Cruise's role as the studio head that will leave you rolling on the floor!

Black, Stiller, and yes, that's Downey on the right!
You can view the trailer here http://www.tropicthunder.com/

Also out on DVD today is the animated Wall-E and the teen chick flick Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. Haven't seen either (but I am planning to), so can't really comment.

Later.

The Slingshot Golf Challenge
Survivor Recap: Things are getting dirty in Gabon, and I don't mean the lack of showers! Tonight's episode picked up on Night 24, right after last week's Tribal Council, which saw original Onion Alliance member Marcus go packing and become the first member of the jury.
Back at camp, Susie praised Ken for orchestrating Marcus' departure. Which prompted Ken to gush with pride, "So far, the last two Tribal Councils I've been to ...they've been blindsides because ... because of me." Bob's worried about being next.

Gabon's mastermind Ken?
On Day 25, the tribe's met up for their reward and Fang found out that Marcus was gone. Alliance member Corinne was visibly upset, saying Marcus didn't deserve to go. "Then who does deserve to go?" Ken asked?
Charlie, another member of Marcus' alliance, was devastated. Not sure if it was for his alliance loss or because of his crush on Marcus.
The reward challenge had the tribe's playing slingshot golf to achive the gift of a visit to a Gabonese tribe for another overnight stay that would offer dancing and a feast. It all came down to the last "hole," and Randy freaked out on Matty, barking orders about how far to stretch the slingshot (they were literally standing over the target). Matty was visibly irritated, and shushed Randy. Matty and Randy start arguing back and forth, and Matty finally listens to Randy and drops the ball in the sandpit, winning reward for Fang.
Fang decided to send Bob to Exile Island and went off to their reward.
Back at Kota, Ken gets hung up on a stick in the river, and can't help patting himself on the back for the great job he's doing running the game. (At this point I was convinced that Ken would be going home, since they usually feature the player that's going home on their last episode.)
On Exile Island, Bob finds all the clues, but no immunity idol (because Sugar already has it). So the physics professor decided to craft his own "idol" to see if he can fool anyone with it (and does a pretty good job, I must say).
Tribe's are given a hint to the immunity challenge involving starting a fire. Randy, still sour from the previous challenge, turns his anger toward his nemesis Crystal, whom he nicknames "sasquatch."

Randy's Nemesis, Crystal
When they arrive for the challenge, Jeff tells everyone that it is an individual immunity challenge and to "drop their buffs, you are no longer two tribes." Hooray, it's merge time!
The survivors get ready for the challenge and it's off to a slow start. Each has a knife and flint to make fire. Susie's the first to get a fire going, followed shortly after by Sugar. It's not long before their fires are growing in height, in order to burn thru a rope, thus ending the challenge. Susie wins easily, as no one else is able to get a fire started.
And this is when it gets really interesting ... from here on to the finale should be great. I don't like any of these people, and now they're all turning on each other. It makes for great TV!
On the way back to to the Kota camp, where they will live now and come up with a new tribe name, Randy vows not to return to camp after Tribal Council with Crystal, "She'll be gone or I'll be gone!"
After enjoying their first meal together, the tribe members quickly break into groups. Charlie, Corinne, Bob and Randy decide to get rid of Crystal (big surprise). While Matty, Susie, Crystal and Ken single out Corinne. Sugar is the obvious swing vote.
Corinne sucks up to Sugar, but still can't stand her, "she's such a moron." While Ken convinces the others that Charlie is the real mastermind of Kota. In reality, Ken just wants Charlie gone for taking the clue to the hidden immunity idol away from him at the Tribe Switch Feast on last week's episode. "I'll trade the idol for his life. Serves him right," Ken said.
The tribe manages to come up with Nobag for their new name.
At a very vocal Tribal Council, Randy's still ticked about the argument at the reward challenge. Crystal interrupts and wants to know why Randy has issues with her (oh no she didn't!). Randy has no problem telling her, saying she and GC ran Fang like it was their gang. He also accuses her of making his life hell and for being the reason that Fang lost nearly every challenge!
And then the voting began, with Randy casting his vote for Crystal, saying "See ya Bitch!" Sugar was the last to cast her vote with tears in her eyes ... everyone voted as planned, with Sugar casting the deciding ballot against Charlie! Stupid move Sugar ... it will come back to bite you later.
In his departure interview, Charlie gushed that at least now he'll be in the Jury Hous with Marcus. How sweet -- only Marcus isn't gay Charlie!

Sorry, Charlie!
Next week's preview had everyone talking about Randy, who seems to be even further in the deep end, literally, skinny dipping again.
For info or to watch visit http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/


Hottie Pattinson
Last night the Plaza at King of Prussia was overrun with tweens and their moms, waiting for a chance to catch a glimpse of their Twilight idol, Edward Cullen, aka Robert Pattinson. The British actor was on hand to sign autographs for those lucky enough to get one of 500 wristbands. A short (I think about 10 minutes) Q&A followed in the mall's concourse, but according to videos posted on youtube, like his other appearances, the screaming was so overwhelming you couldn't hear the man speak. And the film doesn't even open till Nov. 21.
Here's a link to Fox's interview with the handsome star http://www.myfoxphilly.com/myfox/

For more Twilight, check out MTV's new show Spoilers tonight at 7:30 p.m. Pattinson, co-star Kristen Stewart, and other actors from the film were on hand live last week at the Los Angeles taping, which promises to include 15 minutes of clips from Twilight.

Twilight Cast
Also, pick up a copy of Sunday's Mercury for an interview with the vampire. The USA Weekend magazine in The Mercury Sunday features an article and pull-out poster of the movie as well.

The Hollywood Reporter reports today that Summit Entertainment is giving the greenlight to Twilight sequels New Moon and Eclipse, and that screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg has already been asked with scripting them.
For more on Twilight visit the offical movie site http://www.twilightthemovie.com/

Weekend Watch: Tonight the Disney channel presents The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl at 9 p.m., featuring Taylor Lautner - yeah, another shout out to Twilight. Lautner plays Jacob Black in Twilight, a pivotal character in the second and third books.

Lautner as Jacob Black

Saturday on HBO is the debut of Ricky Gervais: Out of England at 9 p.m. The original Office creator and Bitish comic performs in New York City.

Elsewhere Saturday, the Hallmark Channel debuts an original movie The Accidental Friendship. It features Chandra Wilson (Grey's Anatomy's awesome Dr. Bailey) as a homeless woman who forms an unlikely friendship with some unfortunate canines and a local police officer who helps change her life. I'm a total sucker for dog movies!

Sunday night, the Desperate Housewives over on Wisteria Lane get caught in a nightclub fire! Last year it was the tornado, now this - maybe they should change neighborhoods! Anyway, somebody isn't supposed to survive - will it be Edie's creepy husband (who appears to be behind the fire), or Lilly Tomlin, who plays Mrs. McCluskey's sister (I mean, really, how many episodes do you think she really signed for?) Airs at 9 p.m. on ABC.

And don't forget Star Wars fans!! Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. the Cartoon Network presents Robot Chicken: Star Wars Pt. 2!

In other news: It's curtains for NBC's Lipstick Jungle and My Own Worst Enemy. The network isn't ordering any more new episodes. I should've saw this coming when they unceremoniously moved Jungle to 10 p.m. Fridays. Oh well, I guess I don't have to watch that anymore.
To bad for Christian Slater, though. Oh, who am I kidding, like I ever watched My Own Worst Enemy ...

Have a Great Weekend. I'll be off celebrating my B-day on Monday, so I probably won't be back blogging till Tuesday. Enjoy!

Top Chef got off to a fast start last night by eliminating a contestant for the first time after the Quick Fire Challenge. The Quick Fire Challenge is tasked of the chefs at the beginning of each episode and is, just as it sounds, a short-timed challenge where each contestant must create something to impress the guest judge.
Last night's challenge was somewhat different. As tasked by Top Judge Tom Colicchio, each chef had to complete the first of 3 technical challenges, beginning with peeling 15 apples with a knife (no peelers allowed). The first nine finished were safe, the rest had to do the second challenge - Brunoise the apples. This was another new culinary term for me, but basically Brunoise is just a fancy way of dicing the apples. Something the remaining competitors attested to as being difficult. Again, the first 4 finishers were safe from elimination.
The remaining four were tasked to cook something to impress Tom, who would make the final decision. Oh, and when will these people learn? Don't they watch the show before auditioning? Left for elimination were Lauren, from Savannah, Ga., whose hubby is in Iraq; Patrick, 21-yr.-old CIA student; Leah, a sous chef; and Rhadika, whose parents are from India. Rhadika impressed with her pan-seared pork with apple chutney, while Leah was saved by her scallops with apples.
However Patrick and Lauren both opted to make salads - SALADS! The judges never go for the easy-way-out salads! A salad is what single-handedly cost Marcel the title of Top Chef in Season 2!
So, it was curtains for Leah, who said disappointedly as she left, "I didn't even get to see the Top Chef kitchen."

The remaining contestants were paired up by choosing knives enscribed with different neighborhoods of NYC, each with a specific ethnic food type. After spending their first evening bonding, during which Stefan and Hosea had a heated fight over vinaigrette, everyone was sent to their neighborhoods to shop for foods. Each had to prepare a single entrée to compete against their neighborhood partner at Judges Table. They had two hours to cook.
Stefan beat Ariane for his Middle Eastern dish, Dan beat Pat in Chinese cuisine, Hosea trumped Carla for Russian faire, James bested Richard for Greek, Leah topped Melissa in Italian, Eugene beat Alex for Indian, Jill won over Rhadika for Jamaican and Jeff beat Fabio for Latin cuisine.
Each losing contestant was fair game for elimination. At Judges Table Eugene, Stefan and Leah were congratulated for being the judges' favorites, with Stefan being chosen as the winner. He receives immunity next week.
Ariane, Patrick and Carla weren't as lucky, making the bottom three. CIA student Patrick was told to pack his knives and go, apparently his black noodles were the judges' bane!
Unfortunately last night didn't provide any good comments from the judges (Judges' Table, like the judging on Project Runway, is usually my fave part), however, gay contestant Richard provided a little comic relief with his crushing on judge Tom Colicchio.
"Tom is cute!," he proclaimed, adding he'd like to take him out for a beer.

The Cute Colicchio
Important Note: As told by the judges last night, only once in the history of the show did the winner of the first challenge NOT go on to win Top Chef. If memory serves me right, that would be Season 3's Trey, who was ousted after the dreaded Restaurant Wars challenge. So keep an eye on Stefan - I'm also watching Eugene, he seems impressive.
Top Chef repeats tonight at 9 p.m. on Bravo, right after an encore presentation of this week's Real Housewives of Atlanta.For more on Top Chef, visit http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/best_of/index.php

BTW, last night's PBS season debut of Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work was really good. It told of the Queen's U.S. visit from the British POV, which is always interesting. Make sure to mark next Wednesday night for the second episode, featuring preparation for the Queen's birthday celebration! For info visit http://www.pbs.org/opb/monarchy/

On TV tonight: You already know what's at the top of my viewing list - CBS, 8 pm, Survivor: Gabon. The conniving and scheming is getting deliciously evil - who's going home tonight?

Jen Aniston
The next biggest thing, I guess, is Jennifer Aniston's guest appearance on NBC's 30 Rock at 9:30 pm. She'll be stalking Alec Baldwin's character. Aniston stops by The Oprah Winfrey Show today as well. Check local listings.

Another big one for NBC is tonight's episode of ER - Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards), who died in 2002, will make an appearance. No, don't think ghosts, it's apparently in flashbacks.
And, according to TV Guide, Noah Wiley says that he, Eric LaSalle and, are you sitting down?, George Clooney will all be back for the series finale in May. (Clooney, schedule permitting, of course.) For info visit http://www.nbc.com/ER/

Ooooohhhh Clooney!
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew continues at 10 p.m. on VH1. I have nothing new on this one, but I think last week's episode airs at 9 p.m. and features the Doc's interview with Rodney King about "the beating," if you know what I mean ...For more info or to watch visit http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/Celebrity_rehab_2_with_dr_drew/series.jhtml?source=globalnav

The Mean Girls
And remember back when Lindsay Lohan was a sweet, beloved actress (no? Think hard). Well I thought she was totally cute in the remake of Disney's The Parent Trap. Anyway, before she got all spoiled and went off the deep end (and got a girlfriend), she starred in a funny, teen flick called Mean Girls. Written by SNL alumn, 30 Rock star/creator and Sarah Palin impersonator-extraordinaire Tina Fey, and featuring a hilarious turn by Rachel McAdams, this little film is a gem worth watching. It airs tonight on ABC Family at 8 p.m.

Survivor Recap/Weekend Watch tomorrow

Tonight's the night! Pack your knives and get ready for Top Chef Season 5 at 10 p.m. on Bravo. The show repeats immediately afterwards at 11:15 p.m. So do the math ... the premiere is actually an hour and 15 minutes, just in case you're taping, I wouldn't want you to miss to ending.

So here's what I've been able to find out about tonight's episode. As I stated before, Top Chef will be set in none other than New York City this season, which should make things interesting since NYC has per capita the greatest gathering of "top chefs" in just about the whole world (maybe eclipsed only by Paris, I think).
Tonight, 17 new chef contestants will descend on the Big Apple to test their culinary skills and compete for a chance at $100,000 and other prizes, including a feature in Food & Wine magazine and the honor of being named Top Chef!

Tom, Gail & Padma -- Judges Table awaits
Joining the contestants will be judges Tom Colicchio, chef/owner of the Craft Restaurants, Gail Simmons of Food & Wine magazine, hostess/actress/cookbook author/elfman fave Padma Lakshmi and brand new judge Toby Young, food critic and author of "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People." Young also fills the void for a cranky, wise-cracking Englishman (a la Simon Cowell). But don't look for him on tonight's episode, guest judge will be none other than Jean-George Vongerichten, probably the biggest chef in this city of big chefs! If you haven't heard of him - google it! You'll be amazed. I'm surprised he hasn't been to QVC yet to hawk culinary items like Wolfgang Puck (another chef I'd love to see guest here).

How's this pic Elfman?
Top Chef has always been a step above Fox's Hell's Kitchen, although I would absolutely LOVE to see Gordon Ramsay guest judge on this show. While Hell's Kitchen is all about the drama (and where do they get their "chefs"), Top Chef is more about the talent and the food - ooohh the food!! I've actually learned a thing or to about cooking and especially culinary language while watching this show.
And if you're a fan of Project Runway, you'll love Top Chef. It's essentially the same show, just swap the clothing for well-prepared culinary delights! It's the ultimate cooking show for those of you who enjoy the Food Network!

Season 5 Chefs
OK, back to tonight's episode. Among the 17 contestants are a man from Italy and a guy from Scandanavia, a couple of Long Island/Queens guys, a woman from Georgia and a handsome guy from Miami. Also figure the usual tattooed-guy from Hawaii, an American woman with parents from India, the requisite student from the CIA (Culinary Institute of America, not the other one), another overbearing gay guy and the usual suspects.
Tonight's challenge has thechefs each pick a knife with a region of the city written across it i.e. Little Italy, Little India, Chinatown, Astoria, Brighton Beach, etc. The chefs are taken to those particular areas where they must shop for ingredients and then make an authentic-tasting dish for that area. Since some of the new chefs have never come across the cuisine chosen for them, it'll be interesting to see what they come up with!

Who will be this season's Marcel?
When last heard from, Marcel was journeying to Modor to throw the ring into the fires of Mt. Doom -- I miss Marcel!
Tune in tonight! For more info visit http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/best_of/index.php

Other than my biker boys on FX (Sons of Anarchy) at 10 p.m., the only other thing interesting me tonight is PBS' premiere episode of its new series Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work. However, tonight's show looks like it's mainly dealing with the Queen's stateside visit from last year, and most of the footage looks like what I've already seen on last spring's 20/20 special. I'll be looking forward to future installments!

About Last Night: Apparently I missed the big fight over on The Biggest Loser: Families edition. Since I haven't been watching, I don't know the contestants names, but there was a big blow up between players, followed by an even bigger upset!
You and I can catch up at http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser/


Lisa, Sheree, NeNe, DeShawn & Kim
I did, however, thoroughly enjoy all the controversy over on Bravo's Real Housewives of Atlanta. The girls showed up earlier last night over on Extra, where Sheree, NeNe (who looked like they've made up) and DeShawn were plugging tonight's ep, featuring male models stripping for Sheree's fashion debut. NeNe also took the time to flirt-up Extra host Mario Lopez, and admitted that looking at the show on TV, she wishes she could've said some things differently, "but you can't take it back now."
Anyway, here's a quick run-down: Lisa's pro-football player hubby finished his achilles rehab and signed with the Oakland Raiders. Sheree's samples for her fashion debut were poorly made, leaving her with nothing for the debut, but she had the party anyway. Kim and Sheree boycotted the barbeque Deshawn arranged to get them to make up with NeNe. NeNe held her Big Hat Brunch fund-raiser to kick off her charity for abused women (it was worth watching just for the big hats!). NeNe and her "gay boyfriend" Dwight got pedicures and dissed Sheree's party, with Dwight saying "How can you have a fashion show without fashion? Kharma's a bitch!"
And talking about Kharma, NeNe found out that Curtis (whom she thought was her father from birth) isn't her biological father.
And boy-oh-boy, it looks like the s-t really hits the fan next week.
To catch up or for info visit http://www.bravotv.com/Real_Housewives_Of_Atlanta/season/1/index.php

In other news: While Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman were busy plugging their new big screen epic Australia on Oprah Monday, word was hitting the Internet (www.ropeofsilicon.com) that 20th Century Fox studio execs made director Baz Luhrmann change the ending at the last minute. Of course, that was followed shortly by a statement that Baz Luhrmann has final cut and the movie is just as he wanted it. Right.
You can visit the official movie site at http://www.australiamovie.com/

SPOILER ALERT: If you don't want to know, don't read past the photo!!


It seems they weren't happy with the sad ending Luhrmann had originally filmed, which had Jackman's character dying. They didn't want a Titanic-ending (now I've just ruined Titanic for you too) and insisted Baz change it to a happier one, thus having Jackman survive. And if you couldn't resist reading this, now you don't have to go see it. Tada!

OK, for those of you who missed it, here's a link to a youtube video of the Twilight clip that was featured early on during last night's episode of NBC's Heroes. It featured what is being called "the forest scene" or "the reveal," where Bella tells Edward she knows what he is ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGdUE_SSNjQ





Pattinson in KOP!

And, now for the really big Twilight news ... Robert Pattinson, Edward Cullen himself, is coming to the King of Prussia Mall on Thursday, yes, this Thursday. He'll be making an appearance to promote -- what else? -- Twilight at the Plaza's Hot Topic store from 6-8 p.m.

In order to meet him, be one of the first 500 people to purchase the Twilight Tour T-Shirt ($30) which entitles you to a wristband to get you into the signing. Only special posters from the film provided by Hot Topic will be signed, and a Q&A about the movie will follow for those lucky enough to get in.

Disclaimer: You must purchase the T-shirt in person at the King of Prussia store on Thursday. Entry to signing with wristband only. Purchase limited to two wristbands per person. No cameras. One autograph per person.

And please, Twilighters, let's behave.

According to published reports, the Twilight star caused a near-riot at yesterday's San Francisco Hot Topic appearance, and he wasn't even there! An estimated 3,000 people showed up for the 500 wristbands and, after the pushing and shoving began in the wee hours of the morning, police were called in and canceled the event. Some attendees came from as far away as Arizona, while others camped out all weekend. One girl reportedly received a broken nose.

The signing went on as planned several hours later, but the Q&A was not rescheduled. It's unclear who actually got in or how they got their wristbands.

According to Pattinson's IMDB message board, today's signing in Dallas seemed to go better, but also had a tremendous number of people (mostly teenage girls) turn out.

So if you're going, I would recommend getting there early.


Best line on TV last night: "Sheldon's one lab accident away from a super-villain," Leonard to Penny on CBS' Big Bang Theory. It seems Penny earned herself 3 strikes in Sheldon's book last night and was banished from the boys' apartment.



Penny & Sheldon

If you've ever watched this clever little sitcom, you know Sheldon very well. He's the anal retentive (that's putting it mildly) super-genius stand-out of the rest of the geeky geniuses on the show.

If you haven't, maybe you should give this golden nugget a chance. I only discovered it on DVD over the summer, but I immediately added it to my viewing schedule! (Mondays, 8 p.m.)

For more info or to watch visit http://www.cbs.com/primetime/big_bang_theory/


On TV Tonight: Well, since it's sweeps, everything's new! Here's a brief run-down ...


On NBC from 8-10 p.m. the Biggest Loser: Families features the contestants learning they'll be competing individually after the teams are dissolved. The eliminated players return to the ranch, last season's winner, Alison Vincent, makes a surprise visit, and a new twist is added to the elimination round. For more info visithttp://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser/


On ABC, it's another Dancing with the Stars recap at 8 p.m., followed by the results show at 9 p.m. An all new Eli Stone (10 p.m.) features fallout from the firm's split including Eli's efforts to show Matt the rewards of pro bono work.
http://abc.go.com/primetime/dancingwiththestars/index?pn=index


CBS' must-see night starts off the NCIS at 8 p.m. The team probes a bank robbery that ends in murder, and Gibbs doubts his own judgment. At 9 p.m. The Mentalist (a fast growing hit) takes on a murdered casino owner and at 10 p.m. on Without A Trace, a bank manager vanishes. I used to love this show, but I had too many hour-long dramas on my schedule and had to eliminate something. Not saying that it wasn't a great show, but when CBS moved it to Sunday nights I kinda got over it.


Over on Fox, it's House at 8 p.m. - the team makes a house call when an agoraphobe won't leave his home, while at 9 p.m. Fringe's team investigates a strange parasite that appears inside an ailing FBI agent. This show started out brilliant, but with all the recent weeks when this show hasn't been on, I've kinda gotten away from it. Anyone else have feelings/comments on Fringe?


The CW offers up an all new 90210 at 8 p.m. - big surprise, bitchy Naomi causes trouble at Annie's sweet 16 party, and on Privileged at 9 p.m., the CW pulls out all the stops by having blog-gossip guru Perez Hilton make a cameo (yeah, I'm gagging now).


But if you need something a little stronger and bloodier ... HBO airs Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd again at 9 p.m. I recommended this movie last Friday before it's Saturday premiere. I actually sat down and watched it again Saturday and stand firm on my first review - this is a Burton masterpiece. If you're a Johnny Depp or Tim Burton fan, it's a must-see!



The Demon Barber of Fleet Street


Of course, I'll be making time to check out one of my guilty pleasures over on Bravo at 10 p.m. - The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Yeah, I know, it's totally cheesy, but I can't stop watching!! Will Kim and NeNe make up? Will Sheree and NeNe have it out? Or, judging by the previews, will they all get stuck on some small island in the middle of a lake?? Tune in to see.

For info or to catch up visit
http://www.bravotv.com/Real_Housewives_Of_Atlanta/season/1/index.php



Feuding Housewives


And speaking of guilty pleasures, I think I've mentioned before how I just can't turn off VH1's Rock of Love. It's my love of bad TV to keeps me tuned in. Anyway, for any of you who feel the same, former contestant Destiney Moore (she was one of the badees) will take the stage and lose her clothes at Al's Diamond Cabaret in Reading this Thursday through Sunday. No, I won't be attending. Just thought it was an interesting tidbit. I mean, really, who'd thought any of the contestants on that show would be stripping these days? Ha!



Destiney in Reading

And Pack Your Knives -- Top Chef starts tomorrow!

Part 2!

Although Joel McHale had nothing to say yet regarding Girls Next Door's Kendra Wilkinson's recent engagement, there was another unexpected announcement on this weekend's edition of E!'s The Soup ... one that I couldn't be happier about.

Actor and Robot Chicken creator Seth Green stopped by to plug that the Cartoon Network will be presenting Robot Chicken: Star Wars Pt. 2 this coming Sunday (Nov. 16) night at 11:30 p.m. If you've never seen Robot Chicken: Star Wars Pt. 1, you don't know what you're missing. Well, assuming you're a Star Wars fan, that is. It's a hilarious send up of the popular sci-fi film series, making fun of the emperor, Luke, Leia, George W. Bush, and of course, Darth Vader, himself.

If you're unfamiliar with Robot Chicken, it's a stop-motion animation sketch show with quite a cult following. Innovative, imaginative and well done, you can check it out here http://www.adultswim.com/shows/robotchicken/index.html

For a taste of the Star Wars edition (which is available on DVD), check out this sketch of Darth Vader calling the Emperor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjDEwCjGL1U


On CBS last night, another charging episode of the Amazing Race toured through Delhi, India, where contestants raced each other to another Pit Stop and elmination.

Siblings Nick & Starr started out first, since they were the first to check in at the Pit Stop last week. Their clue instructed them to travel through the congested streets of Delhi to find an apartment complex where a traditional Indian celebration was being held called the Holi Festival (Roadblock). Teams had to make their way through the crowd of revelers who pelted them with powdered dye and water. Then they had to climb a ladder and search thru hundreds of envelopes marked "Try Again" to identify one of only six labeled The Amazing Race.

This challenge proved brutal for most of the teams, although Nick & Starr performed it with ease. Dallas was virtually turned pink by festival revelers, Tina's hair remained green throughout the race and Kelly & Christy misread another clue.

Kelly thought she was supposed to grab one envelope at a time and run it back to Christy, thus wasting a lot of time. Kelly tripped and went down face first, prompting her to tell Christy she could not finish the Roadblock. Christy finally realized they're mistake and they finished the task.

Next up was a Detour with the choice of Bleary Eyed or Teary Eyed. Bleary was a task involving teams following a power line and writing down all the numbers in succession. Teary was just what it said - teams had to go to a spice market, pick up 80 lbs. of dried chilies, deliver them on foot and use a mortar and pestle to make enough chili powder to fill a container to the designated line. Only Terence & Sarah picked Teary Eyed. They finished their task, but only after coughing from the spices and complaining of burning skin.

Prior to the Detour, Ken & Tina encountered their Speed Bump. Remember, Ken & Tina came in last before, but it was a non-elimination leg. They must perform the Speed Bump in order to continue with the race. The Speed Bump was a task serving water to temple-goers. Once everyone's thirst was quenched, Ken & Tina could resume the race.

Fortunately, Ken & Tina raced thru Bleary Eyed. They even stopped to offer help to Andrew & Dan afterwards, who were having a particular hard time finding the corresponding numbers. Nick & Starr won their third consecutive leg. Phil rewarded the pair with a trip for two from Travelocity to Kauai. Toni & Dallas were next, followed by Terence & Sarah and Ken & Tina. Andrew & Dan were fifth and Kelly & Christy were last and eliminated.



Bye-Bye Kelly & Christy

For more info or to watch visit http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/


Over on HBO, those randy vampires on True Blood were busy holding a trial for Bill Compton, who killed a fellow vamp last week after he attacked Bill's human squeeze Sookie. Fortunately for Bill, the usual sentence of 5 years in a coffin wrapped in silver chains, was lessened to just turning a young girl to the vamp lifestyle. A task he didn't look forward to, but performed it nonetheless.

Back in Bon Temps, Sam revealed his true self to Sookie - he's a shape-shifter, just don't call him Werewolf! He can basically change into any creature, but he prefers a dog. Tara went thru some sort of exorcism to please her newly sober mother, only to find out later that the lady shaman is a fraud and works at the local drug store.

The killer (is it a werewolf?) went after Sookie at Merlotte's, but Sam interrupted and they got away. Only two more episodes left, and next week it looks like Sookie's falling for Sam and Bill isn't happy about it when he returns to town ...

For more info visit http://www.hbo.com/trueblood/


Following True Blood was another amusing episode of HBO's Sex & The City replacement, Entourage. Entourage follows the life of movie star Vincent Chase (Adrien Grenier) and his "entourage" - big bro Johnny Drama, BFF/manager Eric and friend/driver Turtle. Of course, it's his stereotypical Hollywood agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) who steals the show! Not to mention Ari's chicly gay assistant Lloyd!Anyway, this week found Vince still having trouble with his Smoke Jumper's director Verner (Stellan Skarsgarde). Seems Verner's been giving all Vince's lines to his costars. If you've never watched this show, you might want to give it a try.
For info visit http://www.hbo.com/entourage/


QEII
Sweeps Highlights this week: On Wednesday at 8 p.m. PBS begins a new series titled Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work. Elizabeth II's 2007 U. S. visit will be showcased on this episode. I don't know what it is, but I love watching anything on the Royal Family!
Also on Wednesday - 10 p.m. belongs to Bravo when Top Chef returns for a new season filmed in New York City.
Thursday brings Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards) back to NBC's ER. Greene, as you may know, died a few seasons back, but he'll be appearing in those oh-so-convenient flashbacks!
Before ER, Jennifer Aniston makes her guest appearance on 30 Rock, stalking Alec Baldwin of all things!
Saturday brings British comedian and The Office's original creator Ricky Gervais to HBO for an all new special Ricky Gervais: Our of England - The Stand-Up Special at 9 p.m. And if his performance at this year's Emmys is any indication, this should be a real treat!
Things are heating up on Wisteria Lane Sunday, literally. According to last night's promos for Nov. 16, that dreaded night club fire will be happening at 9 p.m. on ABC's Desperate Housewives. Who won't survive?
And will we finally get some answers on the mystery behind Edie's new hubby?

In other news: Don't look for Julianne Hough to be back on Dancing with the Stars tonight. Docs think she'll need at least another week to recoup from her recent surgery. That means that cute little Cody Linley will get another go 'round with the hot Edyta Slawinska ...


And I know I'm late on this, maybe because I'm hoping it doesn't happen, but now that it's been in TV Guide, I guess it will .... Due to the "success(?)" of the new 90210, the CW is working on a deal to bring back the original 90210's spin-off Melrose Place! I mean, really, do we need this?I'm still watching, for reasons I can't explain, the new 90210, but I won't recommend it. And, yes, I loved Melrose Place. I never missed it! The wicked Amanda, bland Billy, feisty Sydney - and who could forget crazy Kimberly (I'll never get over when she pulled off her wig and exposed that huge scar!)? Way before she was a Desperate Housewife named Bree, Marcia Cross, scared the bejesus out of me -- but I doubt they can pull off the magic of Melrose again. What do you think?

Kimberly Wigs Out!

But just in case you're still watching 90210, on tomorrow night's episode, the illegitimate son of principle Harry shows up.

On TV tonight: Bravo's Inside the Actors' Studio celebrates its 200th episode with special guest host Dave Chapelle. That should be interesting (8 p.m.).
Find out the repercussions of Heidi's firing on The Hills at 10 p.m. on MTV.
Sci-Fi channel continues its LOST mini-thon from 7-11 p.m. (we're in season two).
Jon & Kate Plus Eight arrives in Hawaii (but I'm not sure if the wedding is tonight, you'll just have to tune in) at 9 p.m. on TLC.


And what kind of fan would I be if I didn't share that during tonight's broadcast of Heroes, a new clip of Twilight will be shown, introduced by Edward Cullen himself, Robert Pattinson (NBC, 9 p.m.). If Summit Entertainment keeps this up, we'll see the whole movie before it opens Nov. 21!
You know what that means ... yes, another Twilight photo! Enjoy!

Bella & The Vamp Edward

Survivor Gabon: Episode 8 - The aftermath of last week's dual Tribal Councils was weighing heavily on both tribes as the show opened last night.
At Kota, tension rose among the castaways as they aired their greivances about the voting plans. Although Dan was the one sent home, Corinne is still seething at Suzie!
Over at Fang, Crystal was upset with Matty for putting her name in contention. Matty defended himself, saying he had to keep his promise to Ace. Sugar said she trusted Kenny and had to get rid of Ace before he did her in.
Morning brought an invite to a reward challenge for the tribes. However, when they arrived at the designated area, there was what appeared to be the customary "merge feast." The tribes were instructed to enjoy the food and camraderie, and not to open the sealed box until they were finished, as opening it would end the feast.
Ken spotted a note with the box, offering up another hidden immunity idol. Randy quickly uncovered it and proclaimed himself "King of Gabon!"

King of Gabon?
As everyone stared at the new idol, they became aware that whoever picked it up would instantly become a target. Randy convinced the others that they didn't need the idol and it was thrown into the ocean (are they nuts?).
After opening the box, it was discovered that there wasn't going to be a merge, simply another change-up of the tribes. Everyone was quite surprised ... Crystal and Ken joined the Kota tribe, Randy returned to Fang and Corinne and Charlie also became Fang members.
Crystal and Ken were delighted to be in the Kota camp, since most members were formerly Fang. Crystal made a pact with Marcus, but later said it didn't mean much since she had the same pact with Ace.
At the new Fang, Matty told Sugar that Ace was on her side all along and wouldn't have played her. Sugar realized that she was duped into getting rid of Ace by Kenny and Crystal. Randy and Corrine talked about getting rid of Matty, since he is the biggest threat.
Back at Kota, Susie pleaded to Marcus that she desparately wanted to stay in the game longer ...
The Immunity Challenge consisted of each individual balancing a short pole on each outstretched hand, with the top of the pole being held under a loose board. Whomever was the last one standing won immunity for their whole tribe.
Oddly enough, as soon as Jeff started the challenge, Crystal dropped her pole (boy, she's really some Olympic athlete, isn't she?). For obvious reasons, this challenge didn't last long and came down to Bob and Matty. Bob dropped and Matty won for Fang.
Before Kota made the trip to tribal council, the plotting ensued (I swear, this is my fave part of the show). Marcus talked Crystal into getting rid of Kenny and Susie. Crystal wasn't falling for Marcus' plan. Then Marcus asked Susie to vote off Crystal (who would get my vote). Crystal asked Susie to vote with her and Kenny against Marcus. Susie suddenly found herself the swing vote, and aligned with Crystal and Kenny to vote out Marcus, who never saw it coming ...
Thus making Crystal the tribe's power player at least for this week. Stay tuned ...
For info or to watch visit http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/

Bye-Bye Marcus, and you were a cute one too!

As usual, Thursday night held a lot of new TV for me, so I didn't get to watch everything yet ... however, I did tune into Grey's Anatomy just in time to catch a glimpse of my favorite character - Denny!

Miss Ya Denny!
Yes, doomed Denny (played by handsome Jeffrey Dean Morgan), the love of Izzy's life, showed up in the OR just as Izzy was supposed to be calming down the heart surgery patient whose heart she had stolen a few season's back to save Denny. (It didn't work, of course, those of you who watch know - Denny's dead.) So I guess I'm back to watching this one, at least for now ...
For info or to watch visit http://abc.go.com/primetime/greysanatomy/index?pn=index


Griss and the Lady
Over at CSI (which is the show I actually watched at 9 pm), as foretold, Grissom visited the luscious Lady Heather after being assigned a case which featured a bondage victim. However, it wasn't strictly the case that had motivated him to visit. Lady Heather, who is actually legit now (she's a certified sex therapist), has always been at the forefront of Griss' fantasies, and last night's episode ended with our boy calling out to the Lady to come into the bedroom .... Oh, what would Sarah say?
For info or to watch visit http://www.cbs.com/primetime/csi/

In other TV news: Fox is switching up their line-up in January. Their super-successful doc-drama House will be moving to Mondays at 8 p.m. Jan. 19 to make room for the return of ..... wait for it ....

AMERICAN IDOL! (starts Jan. 13) -- EdM., hope you're reading this, I know how your winter/spring revolves around AI!

That officially makes House the lead-in to another of my favorite shows - 24! Mondays are going to be great!
Also shifting time slots are Bones, moving to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15; Hole in the Wall, moving to 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18; and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, moving to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13. (I have seriously got to start watching this, I have season one on DVD, but can't seem to find the time!)
Buffy creator Joss Whedon's Dollhouse is back on the schedule with a debut at 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13.
And Jack Bauer officially returns with 24 with a four-hour special premier Jan. 11 and 12 from 9-11 p.m. By the way, only two weeks till the movie - 24: Redemption (Sunday, Nov. 23, 8 p.m.). But if you can't wait, you can view the trailer at http://www.fox.com/24/redemption/
I guess that means Prison Break will end its current season sometime before Christmas (we can only hope). Anyone else feel that this latest season is becoming very tiresome?

Jack Bauer Returns!
This photo is for you Michelle!

Girls Next Door star and former Hef-love in Kendra Wilkinson is engaged to Philadelphia Eagles receiver Hank Baskett.
"I have given her my blessing and will be giving her away at a very special wedding ceremony at the Playboy Mansion this coming June," Hugh Hefner said.
The 23-year-old model-actress (don't you just love that combo, read with proper sarcasm) co-starred in the E! reality series while living with the Playboy founder and playmates Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt, both have also left the relationship.
Don't cry for Hef tho, the 82-year-old has moved on to 19-year-old twins Karissa and Kristina Shannon.
Can't wait to hear Joel McHale's take on all this tonight at 10 p.m. on E!'s The Soup! If you're a Soup viewer, you already know how much Joel digs Kendra (sarcasm, again).

Kendra, Hef & Bridget, Holly is seated

Not too much on the Weekend Watch this time. However, I will point out that Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd makes its TV debut on HBO Saturday night. I gave this film the No. 1 spot on my favorite flicks of 2007 list last year. It's classic Burton, dark and very bloody! Be warned, it features a LOT of singing (it's a Stephen Sondheim musical, afterall).
Johnny Depp's portrayal of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is completely mesmerizing and earned him another Oscar nom for Best Actor! If you're a Depp or Burton fan, don't miss it. If you don't have HBO - go rent it!

Even Ghoulish, he still looks good!

And last, but certainly not least, a public apology to the Elfman. I was the one who spelled the gorgeous Padma Lakshmi's name wrong the other day. Pardon. But at least I spelled Tom Colicchio right! -- don't send Joan Crawford after me, I don't have any wire hangers!

Here's your fave photo!

Have a great weekend!

Hats off to South Park creators Trey Park and Matt Stone for one heck of an episode last night on Comedy Central. "About Last Night ..." featured the residents of South Park joining the rest of the country in celebrating the election of the U.S. President, who moved a new administration into the White House ahead of schedule.
In another of South Park's over-the-top satires, unsurprisingly, Barack Obama won, only to retire to his hotel room and meet up with his partner in "crime" John McCain. Seems their whole candidacies were a clever ruse to get one of them into the Oval Office to access a secret passage that would lead straight to the Hope diamond ... a la Ocean's 11, 12 or 13, whichever. It really didn't matter, Obama and McCain were the head of the best thief club in the world, with Sarah Palin posing as a British espionage expert! The whole scam was to fool the American public, get the big pay-off and fake their own deaths to retire to Tahiti ... well done!
The episode will repeat at 10 p.m. tonight and over the weekend or you can just watch it here http://www.southparkstudios.com/
By the way, I actually did find a photo of the guineasaurus rex from last week's episode! Cool huh? (sorry photo's so big)


Perennial Emmy-loser Susan Lucci (yes, I know she eventually won) was the unlucky contestant over on Dancing with the Stars last night.

She and her handsome partner Tony Dovolani bid adieu in a show that featured a performance by Lionel Ritchie - Lionel Ritchie? Where's he been? And how 'bout those tight pants - where were the ABC censors? However, the most memorable moment for me was the pros feature dance, featuring a newly shorn Maksim Chmerikovsky! WTH? Yes, he's still gorgeous, but he could've warned us ...For more info visit
http://abc.go.com/primetime/dancingwiththestars/index?pn=index


Maksim, what have you done?

On to tonight: I guess you should all know by now that Thursday night means another castaway will be voted off Survivor: Gabon! Of course, I'll have a full recap tomorrow.
That's not the only interesting thing on CBS tonight. At 9 p.m. the super-sexy Lady Heather returns to tempt Gil Grissom on the original CSI. Actually, he'll be going to visit her while investigating a case that involves sexual domination. Yes, kiddies Lady Heather's a pro! Hey Elfman, what do you think of her?

Dominatrix Lady Heather heats up CSI

Over on ABC, same time, it's time to bid farewell to Dr. Erica Hahn and her relationship with Callie. As I stated yesterday, Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes decided not to continue with the lesbian storyline and is ending it tonight. Following at 10 p.m. the new hit Life on Mars features a guest appearance by Whoopi Goldberg tonight. And, sit down, she plays a man - Brother Love Butter, a soulful underground New York radio personality, circa 1973.

The CW offers up another episode of Supernatural at 9 p.m. In "Wishful Thinking" hunky bros Sam and Dean Winchester visit a town where a wishing well brings chaos.


And speaking of chaos, chef Gordon Ramsay will be stirring up trouble at Jack's Waterfront in Michigan on Fox's Kitchen Nightmares at 9 also.

Dr. Drew's back on VH1 at 10 p.m. with another episode of Celebrity Rehab. I gotta say, after a great first episode, last week's 2nd was quite disappointing and a little unbearable to watch. Don't know if I'll be checking in this week ...

And if you can't get enough of the E! True Hollywood Story, tonight's your night. Three back-to-back episodes will be shown tonight starting at 8 p.m. with The Kardashians (yawn), followed at 9 by Heidi Klum (could be interesting) and at 10 with Star Jones (I've heard this one was good).

Also, don't forget HBO offers up a mini-thon of the last three episodes of its vampire drama True Blood from 8-11 p.m. tonight also. Check in and get acquainted with the residents (alive and undead) of Bon Temps, Louisiana - only 3 more new episodes to go. For info visit
http://www.hbo.com/trueblood/

Twilight's Edward vs. True Blood's Bill: Who Would You Rather Die For?

Twilight/DVR alert: Edward Cullen aka Robert Pattinson stops by MTV's TRL from 3:30-4:30 this afternoon to chat up Twilight. (Yeah, just another chance to mention Twilight in my post labels, always generates more hits!)
http://www.twilightthemovie.com/

And finally, the numbers are in from Tuesday night's elections - no not those numbers - the Nielsen ratings. Nearly 72 million people watched the returns, up more than 24 percent from the 2004 election. The numbers reflect those watching election returns on 14 different networks from 8-11 p.m., when most networks called the race for Barack Obama, according to Nielsen.
In comparison, 58 million watched the 2004 election returns on about 10 networks, and about 62 million watched the 2000 returns. I wonder if they're counting the ratings for BBC America, which was where I was watching. Very interesting watching our election returns from another country's perspective.

Hi everyone, sorry about yesterday, I was home sick. Sick of election coverage (just kidding). And so we say farewell to a 2 1/2 year election campaign, whatever will we do now? I have only one thing to say - Bow to the Power of Oprah!!


Let's get back to mindless TV viewing shall we?
The only thing I watched other than election coverage last night was Bravo's Real Housewives of Atlanta. Hey, I needed something light to loosen up, OK? And the be-otches were in full form last night! It seems that a drunken NeNe got in a limo and spouted off some song she made up about Kim and her "singing" career, and oh-no-she-didn't, Sheree told Kim all about it. NeNe had the gaul to say that Kim's only singing because Big Papa's paying for it (I know, who'd have thunk it).
Things went back and forth as they do, and by the end of the episode, Kim had texted NeNe and told her to "never call her again." (oh no, not that!) It looks like the shenanigans continue well into next week's ep. To watch or for info visit http://www.bravotv.com/Real_Housewives_Of_Atlanta/season/1/index.php

On TV Tonight: I know it's sweeps, but there really isn't too much out interesting me on Wednesday night. I'm giving up Lipstick Jungle, just can't get excited about that one any more.
Private Practice seems to be in ratings trouble, so if you're a fan, start watching!
Dancing with the Stars results show was pushed back to tonight at 8 p.m. due to the election. And CBS offers up its usual line-up of cops and law dramas with new eps of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
Dirty Sexy Money will air a new show tonight, so if you were one of the unfortunate that missed last week's ep because of the World Series win, better hit the ABC website and catch up.
http://abc.go.com/primetime/dirtysexymoney/index?pn=index

I'll be watching FX's Sons of Anarchy, which has to be getting to the end of its season soon. It premiered back in August afterall. I'll miss it when it goes, however, last week there was a nice little teaser for Nip/Tuck, which finishes season 8 sometime in January.
And I think there's a new ep of South Park on at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central. Couldn't find any preview info though. http://www.southparkstudios.com/


Twilight Alert: OK gals, set your DVRs, The Insider syndicated entertainment show has proclaimed it Twilight Week and will air a special interview with Robert Pattinson tonight.
For those of you who've been living under a rock, Pattinson is the 22-year-old British actor who will bring vampire Edward Cullen to life on the big screen Nov. 21. For a look at Monday's Twilight moment, visit
And speaking of Pattinson, he'll be making an appearance over on MTV's TRL tomorrow (Thursday), that you won't want to miss.
Yeah, just another excuse for me to post hot vampire photos ...



Vampire Pattinson

For more info on Twilight, visit http://www.twilightthemovie.com/

And speaking of the World Series, Game 5 Conclusion (Wednesday) came in at the top of the Nielsens rating list at 19.84 million viewers, followed by CSI (Las Vegas) with a neat 19.1 million.
Dancing with the Stars two shows came in at 3 and 4, while NCIS topped out the Top 5.
The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror packed in 12.4 million viewers making it the show's best ratings in five years and one of the most watched programs Sunday night (16th).


Erica Hahn checks out of Seattle Grace
In news I'm proud to pass on: Shonda Rhimes finally wised up and is ending the lesbian relationship between Erica and Callie on Grey's Anatomy (not that there's anything wrong with that!). Brooke Smith, who portrays Erica Hahn, will make her final appearance on tomorrow night's episode. According to Rhimes, the show's creator, Smith's character simply did not have good chemistry with her co-stars. Hmmm, maybe I'll start watching again. http://abc.go.com/primetime/greysanatomy/index?pn=index

And Simon Cowell has been dumped! The NY Post reports today that his girlfriend of six years, Extra contributor Terri Seymour has said good-bye to the American Idol meanie. It seems that those cross-Atlantic intercontinental relationships just don't work out.


By the way - just one more week until Top Chef returns! Yay - Tom Colicchio!

Culinary Colicchio

And, (since I got my Twilight fix in above) -- just for you Elfman -- another delicious photo of Top Chef's hostess Padme Lakshmi, enjoy! If you just can't wait visit http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/best_of/index.php

Well this week's pretty much all about the election isn't it? And just to get us all worked up, NBC presents Saturday Night Live Presidential Bash 2008 tonight at 9 p.m. Speaking of SNL, the funniest thing on TV last Saturday night was John McCain's and Sarah Palin's (Tina Fey's) SNL opener. Apparently, McCain just doesn't have the bucks to schedule the network airtime that Barack Obama has, so the duo ended up on QVC, hawing election themed items. View it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPWBY-zmnKk

Last night, Fox presented the 19th (?) Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror episode and it featured a hilarious send-up of AMC's Mad Men. AMC is so pleased with "How To Get Ahead in Deadvertising" that they're showing it on their site today. Take the time to enjoy it here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcmM7Jh2Y3k

Over on CBS, the Amazing Race continued season 13 with episode 6, "Please Hold While I Singe My Skull." The teams departed the Pit Stop and traveled to Delhi, India. Everyone got on the same flight, evening up. After Dallas and Starr secured seats on the plane, they turned their focus to a more important issue: each other. However, Dallas is having a hard time making time with Starr with his mom around.

Nick & Starr took an early lead in Delhi to get to Moonlight Motors for the first Roadblock. Contestants had to paint an auto rickshaw green, after masking the yellow exterior and interior with newspaper. Ken & Tina had troubles with a lost taxi driver, and the tensions started mounting. They were the last to arrive at the Roadblock.

Frat boys Dan & Andrew completed the task first and headed off to the Ambassador Hotel, but immediately lost their lead to Nick & Starr when they couldn't find a taxi.

A Detour ensued at the hotel where teams had to choose between two "Launder" tasks, either making a wedding necklace or ironing clothes. After finishing the Roadblock, Ken & Tina's taxi driver continued to be lost, dropping them once again to last place.

Nick & Starr managed to come in first place again, followed by Kelly & Christy, Toni & Dallas, Terence & Sarah and Andrew & Dan. After more taxi troubles, Ken snapped at Tina when she refused to get back in the taxi until Ken moved his backpack, shouting "Please, get in!!"

The separated couple came in last but were told by host Phil Koeghan that it was a non-elimination leg. However, during the next leg, the couple will encounter a Speed Bump, a task that only they will have to perform before embarking on the rest of the race (thus costing them more time). To watch or for info visit http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/

Over in Bon Temps, La., the vampires on HBO's True Blood were out for blood. Literally. Last week's show ended with vamp sheriff Eric using Sookie's mind-reading abilities to find who's been stealing from him. Sookie fingered the bartender, who immediately flew over the bar to kill her. However, Sookie's BF, vampire Bill Compton, foiled his attempt by savagely killing him. It's good to have a vampire boyfriend.

Another Good Shot of Eric!

This led up to Bill having to leave town and stand trial over his actions (trial looks to be next week's ep). In the meantime, Sookie took refuge at the only place she feels safe, Bill's house, where a dog showed up to keep her company. Only when she woke up in the middle of the night, the dog was gone and sleeping at the foot of her bed was her boss and Merlott's owner Sam (Ok, could this be a werewolf tie-in?). We'll have to wait till next week to find out. Bad news is that there's only three more episodes left to the season :( and just when it's starting to get interesting ...For more on True Blood visit http://www.hbo.com/trueblood/

Hey everybody - Welcome to Fall Sweeps. The fall ratings period that networks use to price their advertising began on October 31 and well run thru November 27. And look out, there's lots planned. I'll try to keep you up on the goods as best I can, starting with the return of Lady Heather to CSI this week (Thursday, 9 p.m.).

Other things in store are a nightclub fire on Desperate Housewives, Jennifer Love Hewitt's TV hubby possibly biting the dust on Ghost Whisperer, Jon & Kate's Hawaiian Wedding, things promise to get worse for the Walkers (Bros & Sis), several mysteries will be resolved (?) on the Nov. 10 ep of Heroes and Drs. Greene, Romano and Weaver will show up in flashbacks Nov. 13 on ER.

CSI: NY celebrates its 100th ep Nov. 19 with special guests Chris Daughtry, Rumer Willis, Scott Wolf and Julia Ormond, while CSI: Miami has a crane crashing into a building where Calleigh and Delko are protecting a witness, sending them on an emotional journey.

"Some established relationships will start to show strain" over at Seattle Grace (Grey's Anatomy), and Chloe and Jimmy are getting married Nov. 20 on Smallville.

TV Tonight: James Lipton talks up Goldie Hawn over on Bravo's Inside the Actors Studio at 8 p.m.

Sci-Fi Channel continues with Season 2 of Lost, airing four episodes from 7-11 p.m.

Bros Lincoln Burrows and Michael Scofield get one step closer to Scylla on Fox's Prison Break (is anyone still watching this?) at 9 p.m., following another ep of The Sarah Connor Chronicles at 8 p.m.

More crap from The Hills on MTV at 10 p.m.

And Jon & Kate Plus 8 get one stop closer to their Hawaiian Wedding renewal at 9 p.m. on TLC. On tonight's episode, the Gosselins touch down in San Diego, Calif., for a few days of exploration. The kids get to go to Legoland, a huge theme park celebrating Legos, and embark on a Safari at San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park.