NBC sked & ABC pickups--5/15/06

Tonight is Night 19 of May Sweeps
NOTE: The President's speech tonight will push the PRISON BREAK and HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER season finales to start 20 minutes later than scheduled on the East Coast and in the Central time zone. I don't think the west coast will be affected.
Here's tonight's rundown -- comments are AFTER the rundown today:

ABC: Grey's Anatomy (repeat of last night's episode - the start of the season finale), Grey's Anatomy (2 hour conclusion of season finale) NOTE: Oprah's Legends Ball special will now air NEXT Monday 5/22.
Show of hands please: who else thinks Denny will buy the farm tonight on GREY'S?

CBS: The King of Queens, How I Met Your Mother (season finale), Two and a Half Men, The New Adventures of Old Christine, CSI: Miami

NBC: Deal or No Deal (1 hour, 40 mins), The Apprentice 5
Regis Philbin visits DEAL OR NO DEAL tonight just to confuse the contestants.

FOX: Prison Break (season finale), 24
Saw an item today that the second season of PRISON BREAK is going to shoot in Dallas, TX.

UPN: One On One (season, or series, finale), All of Us (season finale), Half & Half (season, or series, finale: one hour)

WB: 7th Heaven (R), Everwood

7pm - TLC - Jamie's School Lunch Project
Thanks to my TV comrade JL for the heads up about this short series about chef Jamie Oliver's attempt to revamp the British school lunch program. I missed the first installment but because of JL's thoughts, I'm gonna make sure I tune in tonight.

I purposely didn't talk about THE OFFICE season finale last Friday because I knew some people hadn't seen it yet. Scroll down if you still haven't watched it. It was one of the best season finales I've ever seen. It gave us what we wanted (the couple we love to love) and left us wanting more (about same couple) which is masterful, to say the least. It had a careful combination of humor, emotion, wistfulness and wish fulfillment. Huge round of applause to Steve Carrell for writing the episode. I can't seem to find the director information for the episode but it was all terrific.

Last night's WEST WING series finale was wonderful. John Wells wrote the episode and I have to say that he scored on every level: the humor, the emotion, the pomp and circumstance. I loved every minute, including the quick shot of Aaron Sorkin in the audience at the inauguration. Christopher Misiano did a great job of directing this lovely sendoff to a great series.

It's a too-much-information kind of day so let's get to the rest of today's TV news.

Here's the NBC fall schedule info:
MONDAY
8-9 p.m. "Deal or No Deal" 9-10 p.m. "HEROES"10-11 p.m. "Medium"

TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. "FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS"9-10 p.m. "KIDNAPPED"10-11 p.m. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. "The Biggest Loser" 9-9:30 p.m. "20 GOOD YEARS"9:30-10 p.m. "30 ROCK"
10-11 p.m. "Law & Order"

THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. "My Name Is Earl" (new time) 8:30-9 p.m. "The Office" (new time)9-10 p.m. "STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP" 10-11 p.m. "ER"/("THE BLACK DONNELLYS" in January 2007)

FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. "Deal or No Deal"9-10 p.m. "Las Vegas" 10-11 p.m. "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (new day and time) SATURDAY8-9 p.m. "Dateline Saturday" 9-11 p.m. Drama Series Encores

SUNDAY
7-8 p.m. "FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA" 8-11 p.m. "SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL"

After football season: New drama RAINES will air on Sunday night.

Midseason orders: SCRUBS, ANDY BARKER P.I. and THE SINGLES TABLE.
Also wanted to include this NBC-related piece from C21Media -- NBC is obviously taking a hint from ABC's online success:

NBC unveils TV 360 strategy
US UPFRONTS: NBC today introduced advertisers and affiliates to its TV 360 strategy, which brings original and exclusive content ranging from interactive television to webisodes, all built around the network's new programming, to broadband channel platforms. As part of the company's Upfront presentation at New York's Radio City Music Hall, Jeff Zucker, CEO of NBC Universal Television Group, said: "We all know the power of television to connect with viewers and have an impact like no other medium. Now we're seeing the power of the web to capture those viewers, extend the television experience and build communities and a level of engagement like nothing else out there." NBC Universal is launching a new broadband comedy channel, DotComedy.com, anchored by some of NBC's best-known franchises and library programmes. The online channel will feature NBC late-night programming including content from Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, the first 10 years of Late Night With David Letterman (now on the CBS network), The Office, Coach, Leave It To Beaver and The Munsters. In addition, DotComedy.com is to feature original content produced exclusively for the site, including blogs, mash-ups and podcasts.

NBC will also launch a Firstlook.com franchise for each of its general entertainment channels ( NBCFirstlook.com, USAFirstlook.com, SciFiFirstlook.com, BravoFirstlook.com), which will be used to premiere up to four episodes of the respective networks' series, in their entirety, each year before they appear on the linear networks. NBC also announced the completion of its acquisition of iVillage and its plans to debut numerous new initiatives available exclusively on the site. NBC News's Today and iVillage will partner to offer women, and occasionally men, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be made over on Today, the network's morning news magazine show. Once a month, one lucky viewer/visitor will get expert advice on fashion, fitness, make-up and hair to help them achieve their full potential. The promotion ties in to iVillage Makeover Central, an online destination for beauty and fashion makeovers. The new Make Over initiative begins tomorrow (May 16) on Today, when the first makeover contest kicks off, pegged to June's Fathers Day. Another new programme scheduled to launch in December is iVillage Live. Filmed on location at Universal Studios Orlando, the programme will deliver information and advice on everything from parenting and pregnancy to health, beauty and style. The daily one-hour show will air on the NBC Universal-owned and -operated stations and will be streamed live on iVillage.com. NBC's Access Hollywood and iVillage are partnering to bring both viewers and users Access Hollywood Celebrity Horoscopes, revealing what the stars predict for Hollywood's stars. Weekly segments will air on the syndicated Access Hollywood and other segments will be streamed on the newly re-designed AccessHollywood.com, as well as the iVillage-owned Astrology.com.

More highlights of TV 360 include:

Thirty standalone webisodes of The Office, exclusively on NBC.com. The first set of 10 will begin streaming this summer.

An interactive component of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Each week, detectives at home will be able to log on to NBC.com to get an exclusive detective's briefing. Once the facts of the case are known, it's up to them to figure out who the killer is before the episode even airs. All correct solutions will be entered into the season-end draw for a prize.

Extra content for freshman drama Heroes, presented in an online, animated comic book. From comic book designer Tim Sale, best known for his Batman illustrations, the online plots will compliment the on-air story.

In conjunction with Tina Fey's new comedy series 30 Rock, a fictional show-behind-the-show at NBC.com. Viewers will see the show's actual comedy sketches that appear only briefly on the air.

Deal or No Deal will return with an online competition where users submit video for the chance to be the next suitcase model on the show, as well as a live blog from the infamous Banker.

The Biggest Loser will feature an online show featuring the contestants who didn't make it on air. They will be given video cameras to film their weekly training routines. The winner, selected by the online audience, will appear on the televised show.

NBC's late-night programming will also be expanded digitally. Beginning with The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and its redesigned home page, next season viewers will be able to visit the Cutting Room Floor to watch the pre-produced comedy bits that won't be seen on-air. Late Night with Conan O'Brien will also feature a completely redesigned home page on NBC.com, with many new site features and extensive video features, including 200 video clips from the show as well as an original and exclusive animated series created for NBC.com, called Pale Force.Similarly, there is a redesigned site for Saturday Night Live, which will feature a historical timeline, a searchable SNL database, a community message board, highlights of every Weekend Update in the show's 31-year history, a historical look at key cast members playing US presidents and more. On the heels of the Passions Red webisodes, NBC Daytime has launched original, exclusive online webisodes of the next instalment, Passions Vendetta, this season. Based on the success of the two, next year NBC will introduce an entirely online soap that promises to be even sexier, called The Cove, a Passions-themed series. Kris Sofley 15 May 2006 © C21 Media 2006

Looking forward to tomorrow's announcement of ABC's fall schedule, here's a rundown of the shows ABC has picked up so far. It looks like INVASION, SONS & DAUGHTERS, LESS THAN PERFECT, HOPE AND FAITH and FREDDIE have been cancelled. ACCORDING TO JIM and GEORGE LOPEZ will return. No definite word about COMMANDER IN CHIEF yet.

NOTES FROM THE UNDERBELLY - COMEDY
Warner Bros. TV / Tannenbaum Co.
EP/W: STACY TRAUB
EP/N/W: Eric and Kim Tannenbaum
D: BARRY SONNENFELD
CAST: Jennifer Westfeldt, Rachel Harris, Melanie Deanne Moore, Michael Weaver
A group of friends through the eyes of an expectant father

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY - COMEDY
Touchstone TV
EP/W: Howard J. Morris
EP/N/W: Emile Levisetti
D: Jon Favreau
Four friends from high school reunite during a crossroad in their lives.
Cast: David Arquette, Greg Germann co-star

HELP ME HELP YOU - COMEDY
EP/W: JENNIFER KONNER & ALEXANDRA RUSHFIELD ("What I Like About You")
REGENCY TV for ABC
CAST: TED DANSON, Charlie Finn, Jim Rash, Darlene Hunt, Jane Kaczmarek, Kathleen Rose Perkins
Single-camera ensemble comedy about a disparate group of people connected through therapy. Danson plays a psychologist who runs the group sessions.D: Brian Dannelly

THE NINE - DRAMA
Warner Bros. TelevisionSeries Pick Up Hank Steinberg (EP, W-Pilot), K.J. Steinberg (EP, W-Pilot), Alex Graves (D-Pilot)Cast: Lourdes Benedicto, John Billingsley, Jessica Collins, Tim Daly, Dana Davis, Camille Guaty, Chi McBride, Kim Raver, Scott Wolf, Owain Yeoman
Logline: So much in life is beyond your control. One day you wake up and go to work like a regular day. Suddenly a random moment, an accident, a blessing, even a stranger, comes from out of the blue and redirects your life forever. But it's up to you to decide if that moment will stop you in your tracks or lift you up to new heights. Today nine people face just such an unexpected twist when they are caught in a bank robbery gone wrong and endure a 52-hour hostage standoff that will leave one person dead. When all! is said and done, these nine people will never be the same. They will always share the common bond of what happens inside the bank…which only they'll know. And they will be forever affected and intertwined because of it. This is a dramatic character study that will keep audiences hooked from the beginning of the bank robbery to the end of the hostage standoff. Taking a twist from Lost, each episode will begin with a flashback to reveal another 10 minutes of the hostage crisis, uncovering why and how these nine strangers are still linked today.
DAYBREAK - DRAMA
Gross Ent. / Touchstone for ABC
EP/W: Paul Zbyszerski, Jeffrey Bell
EP/N/W: Matthew Gross
D: Rob Bowman
C: Adam Baldwin, Moon Bloodgood, Taye Diggs

SIX DEGREES - DRAMA
Bad Robot/Touchstone
EP: Stu Sicherman/Raven Metzner
D: Rodrigo Garcia
EP: JJ Abrams, Bryan Burk
EP/N/W: Thom Sherman
C: Campbell Scott, Bridget Moynihan, Erika Christensen, Jay Hernandez

A DAY IN THE LIFE - COMEDYStudio: Sony Pictures Television Commitment: Series Pick Up Auspices: Josh Goldsmith (EP, W-Pilot)*, Cathy Yuspa (EP, W-Pilot)*, Michael Spiller (D-Pilot) Cast: Josh Cooke, Kurt Fuller, Wendie Malick, Steve Rannazzisi, Miriam Shor, Marla Sokoloff, Stephnie Weir Logline: Think about how much planning and attention to detail go into arranging a wedding…the venue, the dress, the reception, the food, the flowers, the music...and on and on and on. Months and months of planning go into a celebration that begins and ends in a single day. Not this wedding. Danny and Alice are getting married today, and just like any other wedding it will only take a single day, but we are going to break that! single day down into 22 individual episodes as we watch all of the meticulous planning start to unravel throughout the day. Everything matters at a wedding, and the tiniest of imperfections can reverberate throughout the event as if lives actually hang in the balance. Choice of side salad? A trivial decision for the thousands of side salads you will eat in the course of a lifetime. But for the mother of the bride on wedding day, this might as well be the most critical decision of her life, and if you're the caterer you better get it right. Misplace your contact lenses? No big deal...unless you're the best man and the maid of honor just drank the glass of water you put them in before the two of you went to bed last night... together. Things are about to get very complicated for Danny and Alice as their day turns into a season-long roller coaster with thrilling drops, loops and corkscrews when nothing goes as planned. The writers of What Women Want and 13 Going on 30 take a f! ull season to dissect the one biggest day in any family's life. Tapping into the charm of such romantic comedies as Father of the Bride and the real horror of Bridezillas they show you the pressure and stress everyone adds to this wild, wonderful event.

LET'S ROB MICK JAGGER - COMEDYStudio: Touchstone Television, Worldwide Pants Inc. Commitment: Series Pick Up Auspices: Jon D Beckerman (EP, W-Pilot), Rob Burnett (D-Pilot, EP, W-Pilot), David Letterman (EP N/W), Donal Logue (P N/W) Cast: Josh Grisetti, Mick Jagger (Guest Star), Maz Jobrani, Koji Kataoka, Donal Logue, Kevin Michael Richardson, Lenny Venito, Sofia Vergara Logline: For almost 20 years, Eugene Gurkin (Donal Logue) has dreamt of opening a bar, but his dead end job on the late, late janitorial shift won't even fund a bottle of premium booze. In the wake of a co-worker's death, he catches an episode of MTV's Cribs. Call it divine intervention, call it a dumb idea, but whatever it is takes hold of Eugene and soon he recruits a group of misfits into his "gang" for a heist to finance their dreams. The target: a major celebrity's super-luxe Central Park West apartment. Working together, this band of adorable, new-age Robin Hoods, who have never even shoplifted a candy bar, are soon casing the joint and prepping for their crime. What they don't know is that there's a much richer target for them…the chance to find hope, self-esteem and confidence within themselves.
TRAVELER - DRAMA
WARNER BROS. TV / JINKS - COHEN
EP/W:DAVID DIGILIO
D: DAVID NUTTER
EP/N/W: DAN JINKS, BRUCE COHEN
CAST: AARON STANFORD, LOGAN MARSHALL-GREEN, MATT BOMER, STEVEN CULP, VIOLA DAVIS
SYNOPSIS: How well do you know your friends? Would you bet your life on it? It's not what we share with our friends, but what we keep hidden that defines what kind of people we are. After spending every minute of the last two years living, working, and partying together, Jay, Tyler and Will are departing on a summer journey. But being together ends today... simple prank to rollerblade through one of New York City's most famous museums has made Jay and Tyler prime suspects in the terrorist bombing that destroyed it seconds later. The guys hope Will can help clear up this misunderstanding, but he's been missing since the explosion and they think he might be dead. Jay wants to talk to the police about finding Will, but quickly realizes they can't even prove Will exists – in every photo for the last two years, Will managed to block his face. He was their only alibi. The F.B.I. confirms a man matching Will's description died in the explosion, but also learns the explosion was triggered by a call from Jay's cell phone. It's a highly suspicious coincidence that may prove Will, the glue in their friendship, may have meticulously planned this betrayal for over two years. Perfectly framed and on the run, the friends must rely on each other to get away from the F.B.I., and try to get to the bottom of a conspiracy that has destroyed their future. But what can they do when they're merely pawns in a game of global intrigue? Flashing back to the prior two years to illustrate the formation of this friendship and Will's insidious behavior, this action-packed drama taps into our paranoia with pure adrenaline-fueled entertainment.

MEN IN TREES - DRAMA
WARNER BROS. TV / TREE LINE FILM
EP/W: JENNY BICKS
EP/N/W: CATHY KONRAD, JIM MANGOLD
D: JIM MANGOLD
CAST: ANNE HECHE, ABRAHAM BENRUBI, DEREK RICHARDSON, EMILY BERGL, JOHN AMOS
SYNOPSIS: Finding a good man in today's world isn't as difficult as some women think. Relationship coach Marin Frist (ANNE HECHE) knows what to look for, what to avoid, and what will make her happy. As the many fans of her two best-selling books could tell you, we're all in charge of our own happiness. Marin's personal happiness includes the upcoming wedding to her "perfect man." But like many people full of advice, Marin fails to apply it to herself. On her way to a speaking engagement in Alaska she learns that her fiancé has cheated on her...the wedding plans are instantly over. Slapped in the face with personal failure, she's now snowed in and stuck in a small town full of the one thing she really doesn't need: available men. Marin's friends and publisher try to lend long-distance support, but the fact remains Marin's been living with her eyes closed for too long. Now that they're finally open, she sees the amazingly beautiful world surrounding her, and, for the first time, she'll have the chance to stop and breathe. If she could get the raccoon out of her hotel room, this place might be perfect.

UGLY BETTY - DRAMA
TOUCHSTONE/REVEILLE/VENTANAROSA
EP/W: SILVIO HORTA
EP/N/W: SALMA HAYEK, BEN SILVERMAN, TERI WEINBERG, PEPE TAMEZ
D: RICHARD SHEPARD
CAST: AMERICA FERRARA, TONY PLANA, ALAN DALE, ERIC MABIUS, BECKY NEWTON, ANA ORTIZ
In the superficial world of high fashion, image is everything. Styles come and go and the only constants are wafer-thin beauties who wear it. Where could a girl who is less than pretty and a little bit pudgy possibly fit in? If you knew Betty Suarez, you'd see how sweet, intelligent and hard-working she is. Few people ever get to know her because in the world of fashion, Betty is the oversized square peg, in the petite round hole. But finally, her looks and lack of fashion sense are going to be an asset. When publishing mogul Bradford Meade hands the reigns of his fashion magazine, Gloss, over to his son Daniel, he specifically hires Betty as his son's new assistant - mostly because she's the only woman in NYC who Daniel won't sleep with. Repulsed at first, Betty will win him over with her efficiency. Neither of them really knows the ins and outs of the fashion world, but the two of them are a formidable team against the label-wearing sharks who will do anything to see them fail. That includes many couture co-workers with botoxed smiles on their faces and knives behind their Galliano backs.

BROTHERS & SISTERS - DRAMA
TOUCHSTONE
EP/W: JON ROBIN BAITZ
EP/N/W: KEN OLIN
D: KEN OLIN
EP: MARTI NOXON
CAST: JONATHAN LAPAGLIA, BALT GETTY, BETTY BUCKLEY, CALISTA FLOCKHART, DAVE ANNABLE, GAGE GOLIGHTLY, PATRICIA WETTIG, RACHEL GRIFFITHS, RON RIFKIN
As kids, brothers and sisters share many laughs, work through many arguments and form many bonds. As adults the same rules apply but it gets a lot more complicated when they've all grown into very different people... united by a gene pool. The adult children of Henry March, along with their respective families, have gathered to celebrate a birthday. What they don't know is that tonight the patriarch will die. With this safety net gone, everyone will be forced to face the reality of their lives. Kitty's radio success has led to a TV pundit job in Los Angeles, but her New York boyfriend just proposed. Charlie and Nora can't work with each other but somehow they have to in order to save the family business. Bryan's well ordered life is shaken by the news his ex-wife is moving his 8-year- old son to Texas. Justin's kicked nicotine but other addictions and his gulf war distress keep him from moving forward. The challenges of an autistic son are pushing Nora to the breaking point. Set in Los Angeles, this multi-generational family works to balance their personal lives with the family business, their siblings, and a grieving mother.

You must be tired of reading by now so let's call it a wrap for today.

THE WEST WING ends, MALCOLM grows up and SURVIVOR crowns another winner--5/12/06

From the news reports I've read, recently bumped off LOST cast member Michelle Rodriguez didn't think her time in the clink was so bad. Maybe it was like speed-dating for her. Or maybe they compared shiv techniques. Whatever the case, nice to know she got along well with all the gals in the slammer.

There's WAY too much press about Chris Daughtry getting voted off IDOL. All I can think about when I see how many people vote for IDOL is that we have to find a way to get all those people to vote in national political elections. Nothing gets out the vote like IDOL. It's a social, as well as TV, phenomenon.

Sunday is Mother's Day so be sure to tell your mom that you love her. Gifts are nice but there's nothing like saying the words to make it real.

ABC picked up a bunch of shows today on both the comedy and drama sides but as they don't announce their schedule til next Tuesday, I'll go over that info in Monday's email.

Today it's looking like 7TH HEAVEN will be going to the CW for one more season; at least that's what MediaWeek is reporting.

NBC announces their fall schedule this Monday the 15th in New York. Here's a quick summary of the new shows that have been picked up to series, we'll find out the timeslots Monday. Note: I've only read the pilot scripts, I haven't seen any of the finished pilots yet.
On the drama side:
HEROES - New show from Tim Kring (CROSSING JORDAN), the show is about everyday people who discover they have superpowers. Adrian Pasdar, Greg Grunberg, Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia are just a portion of the huge cast. I didn't go nuts over this script but I love this cast so I'm eager to see the finished pilot.

RAINES - Jeff Goldblum stars as an eccentric detective who solves murders by talking to the victims. Hmm, a male MEDIUM perhaps? The best thing this has going for it is that Graham Yost (BOOMTOWN) wrote it.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS - the show is based on the book and movie of the same name. The hunkalicious Kyle Chandler stars in this drama about football in Dillon, Texas. I totally see the appeal of this show even though it wouldn't be appointment television for me. But I do love me some Kyle Chandler!

BLACK DONNELLYS - from Paul Haggis (CRASH, EZ STREETS) - a drama series that follows four young Irish brothers in New York's infamous Hell's Kitchen neighborhood and their involvement with organized crime. I love the crime shows and if the cast is good, I'd watch this.

STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP - the much-talked about new show from Aaron Sorkin, a behind-the-scenes look at an SNL-type show. Matthew Perry returns to primetime (at last!!!), Bradley Whitford, DL Hughley, Amanda Peet and Steven Weber also star in the show. I hear it has a SPORTS NIGHT feel to it which is all right by me because I loved that show too. I can't wait to see this show. I thought the script was talky but smart and I'm addicted to Sorkin's brand of smart. I've also been dying to see Matthew Perry on TV again.

KIDNAPPED - Dana Delany, Jeremy Sisto, Tim Hutton, Delroy Lindo and Myketi Williamson star in this show about a wealthy couple who's child is kidnapped. Jason Smilovic (KAREN SISCO) created the show. The script was solid and they assembled a great cast so unless the director really screwed up, this should be good.

On the comedy side:
ANDY BARKER P.I. got an order for six episodes. This is a single-camera comedy starring Andy Richter as a mild-mannered CPA who inadvertently becomes a private investigator. Tony Hale and Amy Farrington co-star. I applaud any network that will put Andy Richter on the air. I adore him. Jonathan Groff wrote the pilot and Conan O'Brien is one of the exec producers. Nice way to show support for his former sidekick! The script was quirky but I have to think any show that has both Richter AND Tony Hale (ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT's Buster) in it can't be bad!

UNTITLED TINA FEY - OK, OK, this isn't an official pickup yet but the word everywhere is that it's simply a matter of settling Alec Baldwin's deal which they expect to do. This is NBC's other behind-the-scenes at SNL show. Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Tracy Morgan and Alec Baldwin make up most of the cast. I can only think this script got even funnier during production and I think Rachel Dratch is terrific. Alec Baldwin, as I've said many many times before, is such an able actor in both comedy and drama that I know he'll score in this show.

20 GOOD YEARS - John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor (ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT's George Bluth Sr.) star in this show written by Michael Leeson. They play a pair of unlikely friends who decide to make the most of the time they have left in life. The script didn't make me laugh when I read it but that was before it got punched up. There's a fair amount of physical shtick in the script which should add to the show. But when I read it, what it really needed was jokes.

THE SINGLES TABLE - Five single people sit at the singles table at a wedding and remain friends after the occasion.
Bill Martin and Mike Schiff wrote the pilot. Again, not a terribly funny script but I read it before punch-up which makes a huge difference. John Cho, Jarrad Paul, Conor Dubin, Rhea Seehorn and Pascale Hutton are the five friends. John Cho is a good actor (did you catch his heartbreaking role on GREY'S last week as the med student who fell asleep at the wheel and hit a pregnant woman's car?) and I'm curious to see the finished pilot just to see him.

Also Monday, President Bush has decided to interrupt primetime so he can give an Oval Office address about immigration. The season finales of PRISON BREAK, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and OPRAH'S LEGENDS BALL special on ABC will probably be affected. The Oprah special leads into GREY'S ANATOMY season finale. Leave it to Bushie to mess around with May sweeps but he should know better than to screw with Oprah. He may be the most powerful man in the free world but he's nothin' next to Oprah.

OK, I'm running long so let's get to the weekend rundown. For me, the end of THE WEST WING is the Sunday night highlight but there are also new episodes of the ABC Sunday night shows, the MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE finale on FOX and a whole night of SURVIVOR festivities on CBS. A special hurrah also goes to KING OF THE HILL for making it to episode 200!

Tonight Friday 5/12
ABC: America's Funniest Home Videos (R), 20/20 (9pm), 20/20

CBS: Keith Barry Extraordinary (Special), Close To Home, Numb3rs

NBC: Deal or No Deal, Las Vegas (Season Finale), Conviction

FOX: Movie: Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde

WB: Movie: How to Deal (Special)

UPN: WWE Smackdown!

CMT: Ultimate Coyote Ugly Search

Court TV: L.A. Forensics
Discovery: I Shouldn't Be Alive
E!: Chelsea Handler Show
ESPN: NBA Playoffs: Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Clippers (Live, 7:30pmEST)

HBO: Real Time with Bill Maher
Bill's guests tonight are musician John Legend, national security expert Richard Clarke, and academic Cornel West. Plus, via satellite, former Sec. of State Madeleine Albright, and TV news show host John Gibson.

MTV2: Andy Milonakis Show, Wondershowzen
Sci Fi: Doctor Who
Style Network: Modern Girl's Guide to Life, Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?
TLC: What Not To Wear, Honey We're Killing the Kids!

Saturday 5/13
ABC: NBA Playoffs: San Antonio Spurs at Dallas Mavericks (Live, 8pmEST)
CBS: CSI: Miami (R), CSI: New York (R), 48 Hours Mystery
NBC: Dateline, Law & Order: SVU (R), Law & Order: Criminal Intent (R), Saturday Night Live

SNL: Julia Louis-Dreyfus returns to the show as host, Paul Simon is the musical guest.

FOX: NASCAR Racing: Darlington 500 (Live, 8pm EST)

Sunday 5/14
ABC: America's Funniest Home Videos, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy (Part 1 of season finale - Part 2 is Monday night 5/15 with two more hours)

CBS: 60 Minutes, Survivor: Panama (2-Hour Season Finale), Survivor:Panama Reunion (Special)

NBC: The West Wing: Pilot Episode (R), The West Wing (Series Finale, 8pm), Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Criminal Intent (Special, Season Finale)

FOX: The Simpsons (R), King of the Hill (200th Episode, Season Finale), The Simpsons, Malcolm In the Middle (Special, Series Finale), Family Guy, American Dad (Season Finale)

WB: Reba (R), Reba (R) Charmed, Charmed (R)
A&E: Intervention
E!: True Hollywood Story
Bravo: Inside the Actors Studio
Discovery: Conspiracy Files (Special), Da Vinci's Lost Code (Special)
Food Network: Iron Chief America

HBO: The Sopranos, Big Love

Sci-Fi: Ghost Hunters

Showtime: Huff
HUFF has been wildly uneven but Anjelica Huston is a sight to behold. Not only does she look amazing but she has such incredible onscreen presence. It's almost like she's too much for the small screen. Her scenes with Hank Azaria have been the highlight of the past few episodes.

VH1: Surreal Life (Season Finale), Hogan Knows Best, So NoTORIous

Today's Surf Report written while listening to Jeff Buckley.

That's a wrap for today.

Battle of the Season Finales--5/11/06

I think my TiVo is mad at me: it didn't record LOST last night. Of course I had my other DVR set to record it too but that one is the crappier Adelphia-issued DVR and it cut off the last five minutes so I want to thank the folks at ABC for putting the episodes on their website. I sincerely hope they continue to do that past the planned June 30 end date. My friend FK, also a fellow Lostie, emailed me a great recap of the last five minutes and then I went to the ABC site to watch the last five minutes. I continue to admire how the show screws with our heads each and every week by layering more and more connections between the castaways. And I have to admit that I find Mr. Eko more fascinating the more we learn about him; I loved the whole sequence of scenes with him and Locke, the two men of faith. The episode's final shot of Michael chilled me to the bone and once again, made me feel like I couldn't wait til next week so I could learn more of the story. What a masterful show LOST is; they know how to make us want more. That's my definition of a hit show!

I did not like the GILMORE GIRLS season finale. It felt completely out of whack and when Lorelai started to shriek at Luke about how he had to marry her now or never, I knew the show I loved would never be the same. It seemed like a desperate, wild move made to get Lorelai to run to Christopher. I thought the only moving moment was Rory saying goodbye to Logan before he left for London. Right now, I'm not sure if I'll continue to watch the show next season. I feel like I should give it a chance as I've invested this much time and emotion but this past season didn't feel rewarding at all.

I was surprised by the IDOL voting and that Chris Daughtry got voted off. All the oddsmakers had him as the potential winner of the season. I didn't think he was great and I guess America has better taste than I gave them credit for in the past. Is the consensus now that the final two will be Taylor and Katherine? Elliott really deserves to be in the finals as he's the most flexible singer but I wonder if America will agree. Meanwhile, Chris Daughtry is going to be on EXTRA tonight announcing his new job as the lead singer of a rock band. Rumor has it the band is either Fuel, Live or Sugar Ray.

Lots of new shows got picked up today at NBC and ABC. More about those new shows tomorrow as we close out the week. I'm running late today so I'll get to the rundown.

ABC: American Inventor: Countdown to the Finale, American Inventor (Season Finale), Primetime Live

CBS: Survivor: Panama, CSI, Without A Trace
From The Philly Daily News: "Tonight, TRACE goes the Very Special Episode route as it tackles the disparity between the attention given to the cases of missing white women and that paid to other missing-persons cases. It's a worthy subject and one that a show about a reasonably diverse FBI squad that specializes in missing-persons cases should be uniquely qualified to address. Two high school students, one white and female, the other black and male, disappear nearly simultaneously and the "media" (here represented by a smarmy TV reporter who appears to be New York City's only conduit for getting the news out) shines a light on the former case to the detriment of the latter while the FBI's Jack Malone (Anthony LaPaglia), who saw the problem coming and tried to stop it, seethes."

NBC: Will & Grace (8-8:40pm), My Name Is Earl (Season Finale, 8:40-9:20pm), The Office (Season Finale, 9:20-9:59pm), ER
Bernadette Peters and Josh Lucas turn up on WILL & GRACE tonight. From the NBC PR department: "Just as Will and Grace are settling into the idea of raising the baby together, Will's boyfriend Vince (Bobby Cannavale) surprises him with an announcement that will ultimately lead Will to choose between his commitment to Grace and his relationship with Vince. Meanwhile, Karen shocks everyone when she announces that she has a sister, Gin (guest star Bernadette Peters), who was injured as a child during a game of Twister. Jack, on the other hand, is comforted by a man (guest star Josh Lucas) after a devastating discovery when his new show "The Badge" premieres."

On the supersize EARL season finale, Earl sets out to right the No.1 wrong on his list: stealing $10 from a guy in the market where he won his lotto winnings.
It's Casino Night on the supersize OFFICE season finale, written by Steve Carrell.

On ER, Dr. Pratt is back from Darfur, Dr. Clemente (John Leguizamo) is acting very strange and Neela gets some good news from Dr. Dubenko.

FOX: That '70s Show, X-Men 3 Preview (Special, 8:30-8:37pm) That '70s Show (Series Finale, 8:37-10pm)
I haven't been watching THAT 70S SHOW since the second season but tonight is the show's big farewell. I believe even Ashton Kutcher will be back for it.

WB: Smallville (Season Finale), Smallville (R)
I apologize to SMALLVILLE fans - I don't follow the show so I don't know what's going on with it.

UPN: Everybody Hates Chris (Season Finale), Love Inc. (Season Finale), Eve (Season Finale), Cuts (Season Finale)
On EHC, it's Father's Day and Julius decides he wants to celebrate it by himself.

A&E: Dallas SWAT
BET: College Hill, Season of the Tiger
Comedy Central: Showbiz Show
Court TV: Body of Evidence, Investigators
MTV: True LifeSpike: UFC's Unleashed, Ultimate Fighter

Today's Surf Report written while listening to Foo Fighter's "Virginia Moon".

That's a wrap for today.

Wanted to share this piece about Oprah Winfrey from today's USA TODAY. I think Oprah is more of a cult leader, not a guru. I particularly take issue with the line in the piece "She's a hip, materialistic Mother Teresa." Huh? I think that's the oxymoron of the month! Take a look, see what you think.

Di

The divine Miss Winfrey?Updated 5/11/2006 12:33 AM ET
By Ann Oldenburg, USA TODAY
After two decades of searching for her authentic self — exploring New Age theories, giving away cars, trotting out fat, recommending good books and tackling countless issues from serious to frivolous — Oprah Winfrey has risen to a new level of guru.
She's no longer just a successful talk-show host worth $1.4 billion, according to Forbes' most recent estimate. Over the past year, Winfrey, 52, has emerged as a spiritual leader for the new millennium, a moral voice of authority for the nation.
With her television pulpit and the sheer power of her persona, she has encouraged and steered audiences (mostly women) in all matters, from genocide in Rwanda to suburban spouse swapping to finding the absolute best T-shirt and oatmeal cookie.
"She's a really hip and materialistic Mother Teresa," says Kathryn Lofton, a professor at Reed College in Portland, Ore., who has written two papers analyzing the religious aspects of Winfrey. "Oprah has emerged as a symbolic figurehead of spirituality."
On Monday, Winfrey shares one of her most ambitious events of the past year —Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball— as a special on ABC (8 p.m. ET/PT). It lets viewers in on a weekend in which she invited 25 legendary black women and other guests to her home in Montecito, Calif., for a luncheon, ball and gospel brunch in their honor.
It was something she spent a year planning and describes as one of the "greatest moments" of her life. She appears on The View on Friday to talk about the special.
"This weekend was the fulfillment of a dream for me: to honor where I've come from, to celebrate how I got here, and to claim where I'm going," Winfrey says on her website. And now, as Winfrey "lives her best life," as her TV motto says, we get to experience it with her.
Although the concept of the Rev. Oprah has been building through the years, never was it more evident than this season of her talk show, during which she conducted the public flogging of author James Frey. Feeling stung and embarrassed after endorsing his memoir about addiction, A Million Little Pieces, which turned out to include exaggerations and falsehoods, Winfrey had Frey on the show to do an about-face.
"I left the impression that the truth is not important," she said on the show. "I am deeply sorry about that because that is not what I believe."
It was a watershed Winfrey moment, showing herself as not only a talk-show host with whom you don't want to mess, but also someone who is fully aware of the power of her own image. Think back: She appeared in New Orleans to take on the government after Hurricane Katrina hit last August, and she sent a message to us all about civil rights as she stood by the casket of Coretta Scott King in February. Last week, she shed a tear with Teri Hatcher over sexual abuse memories, and she jumped on the Darfur bandwagon, encouraging viewers to support refugees there.
"She's a moral monitor, using herself as the template against which she measures the decency of a nation," Lofton says.
But while this past year showed Winfrey at new heights, it also was a year that polarized people, particularly after the Frey incident.
"A self-righteous attack dog," wrote arts and culture critic Steven Winn in the San Francisco Chronicle.
"A sanctimonious bully," said media critic Robert Thompson on the PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
"She puts the cult in pop culture," wrote media critic Mark Jurkowitz in The Phoenix
Winfrey was applauded by many for her public mea culpa and for getting Frey to do the same, but her righteous demand for justice also evoked criticism.
"No one person should have that kind of power to affect markets, politics or anything else," says Debbie Schlussel, a lawyer, conservative columnist and blogger.
Deifying Oprah
Love her or loathe her, Winfrey has become proof that you can't be too rich, too thin or too committed to rising to your place in the world. With 49 million viewers each week in the USA and more in the 122 other countries to which the show is distributed, Winfrey reaches more people in a TV day than most preachers can hope to reach in a lifetime of sermons.
"One of the things that's key," says Marcia Nelson, author of The Gospel According to Oprah, "is she walks her talk. That's really, really important in today's culture. People who don't walk their talk fall from a great pedestal — scandals in the Catholic Church, televangelism scandals. If you're not doing what you say you do, woe be unto you."
In Ellen DeGeneres' stand-up comedy act several years ago, she included a joke about getting to heaven and finding that God is a black woman named Oprah.
Last fall, at the start of this 20th season of The Oprah Winfrey Show, guest Jamie Foxx said much the same thing, but he wasn't joking. "What you have is something nobody can describe," Foxx said to Winfrey on the air. Then he explained about how he told Vibe magazine: "You're going to get to heaven and everyone's waiting on God and it's going to be Oprah Winfrey."
He told her she has "different gears" than most people. "You're on the top of the world, and we really do watch and listen for everything you do and say to kind of get our lives together. It's the truth."
In a November poll conducted at Beliefnet.com, a site that looks at how religions and spirituality intersect with popular culture, 33% of 6,600 respondents said Winfrey has had "a more profound impact" on their spiritual lives than their clergypersons.
Cathleen Falsani, religion writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, recently suggested, "I wonder, has Oprah become America's pastor?"
"I am not God," Oprah said in a 1989 story by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison that ran in The New York Times Magazine titled The Importance of Being Oprah. But at the time, Winfrey called her talk show her "ministry," Harrison wrote. It remains an interview Winfrey says she hates. In a Los Angeles Times interview in December, the talk-show host said that "at every turn everything I said was challenged and misinterpreted."
She declined to be interviewed for this story, and she declined to allow USA TODAY to cover her most recent, and now rare, Live Your Best Life seminars. Tickets, priced at $185 each, sold out in minutes.
Katrina Singleton, 34, paid $450 each for tickets to the February event in Charleston, S.C., which she purchased through a ticket broker. "For Oprah, nothing is too much," she told the Associated Press. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
At the seminar, according to AP, Winfrey repeatedly spoke of her relationship with God. She even sang a chorus of I Surrender All.
"I live inside God's dream for me. I don't try to tell God what I'm supposed to do," she told the crowd. "God can dream a bigger dream for you than you can dream for yourself."
Claire Zulkey, 26, an Oprah follower who has written about Winfrey in her online blog at zulkey .com, says, "I think that if this were the equivalent of the Middle Ages and we were to fast-forward 1,200 years, scholars would definitely think that this Oprah person was a deity, if not a canonized being."
Marcia Nelson says that it's not going too far to call her a spiritual leader. "I've said to a number of people — she's today's Billy Graham."
Nelson said that concept was most apparent when Winfrey co-hosted the 2001 memorial service held 12 days after the terrorist attacks in New York. She urged the people who filled Shea Stadium that day, and all Americans, to stand strong, rousing the audience by repeating the refrain, "We shall not be moved."
One of Winfrey's most appealing subtexts is that she's anti-institutional, says Chris Altrock, minister of Highland Street Church of Christ in Memphis. He says Winfrey believes there are many paths to God, not just one. After doing his doctoral research three years ago on postmodernism religion, a religious era that began in the 1970s as Christians became deeply interested in spirituality and less interested in any established church, he came up with what he calls "The Church of Oprah," referring to the culture that has created her.
"Our culture is changing," he says, "as churches are in decline and the bulk of a new generation is growing up outside of religion." Instead, they're turning to the Church of Oprah.
"People who have no religion relate to her," Nelson says.
Oprah's own evolution
When Winfrey started in the talk-show business 20 years ago, her goal was to beat Phil Donahue, then the reigning talk-show champ. As the Jerry Springer era of tabloid talk shows came into favor, she vowed to use her show to promote good, not sleaze.
By the late '90s, Winfrey's focus was Change Your Life TV, and a New Age message was more prevalent. She preached making the message of her life — take responsibility, and greatness will follow — the substance of the show. Keep a personal journal, purchase self-indulgent gifts, take time for you —because you deserve it. The notes rang true to millions of viewers.
Debbie Ford's book, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers, shot up the sales charts after Ford appeared on Winfrey's show in October 2000 to talk about aspects of ourselves that we deny but which can be sources of joy and strength.
"I think at the time when she had me and Gary Zukav and a lot of the other spiritual teachers on her show, it was her own journey, and she was taking all of the world on that spiritual evolution," Ford says.
Lately, Winfrey has seemed to focus more on social issues (along with the inescapable talk-show fare of celebrity guests, home and diet makeovers, and marriage and financial troubles).
"She's fabulous. She looks great and is not suffering," Ford says, so it makes sense she isn't exploring New Age philosophies anymore. Instead, Ford says, people now "look to her to find their greatness. She is so real. That's why people are attracted to her — for different reasons. Some people will say her brilliance. Others will say authenticity. Others will say her power. They're seeing part of themselves in her."
Adds Ford, "We're all on Oprah's journey, in a sense."
Maybe not quite "all" of us.
Schlussel says Winfrey followers "are incredibly gullible, bandwagon-jumping trend-slaves." Winfrey, she says, "acts as if her show has 'evolved,' but in fact, she still has the salacious sex and deviance stories, with a psychologist in the audience to make it seem highbrow and give it the kosher seal of approval. If this is the person whose morals we are putting on a pedestal, then America's moral compass is in much need of retuning."
The fact that Winfrey has never been married, never had children and is a billionaire distances her from her audience, Schlussel says. "How could anyone like this be in touch with the average American woman?"
The roots of faith
Lofton points out that any discussion of Winfrey should not be one that criticizes her or how she came to be a spiritual icon for the history books but one that examines how it came to be that way. "Why do we all need her so much? What is wrong with us that we so need this little woman in Chicago?"
Jim Twitchell, a professor at the University of Florida who has written several books about branding and describes himself as a cultural anthropologist, says Oprah reverence makes sense.
"Religion essentially is based on high anxiety of what's going to happen to you." Winfrey pushes the idea "that you have a life out there, and it's better than the one you have now and go get it."
It's most apparent in the setting of her show, Twitchell says.
"The guest is sitting beside her, but what she's really doing is exuding this powerful message of 'You are a sinner, yes, you are, but you can also find salvation.' What I find intriguing about it is it's delivered with no religiosity at all, even though it has a powerful Baptist, democratic, enthusiastic tone.
"It has to do with this deep American faith and yearning to be reborn. To start again."

More finales, new LOST--5/10/06

Jumping right to the rundown today as I didn't get to watch all the shows I want to comment on just yet. It's tough to keep up during sweeps! Why do I feel like "It's Hard Out There For a Pimp" should be playing while I write this?
Here's what's on tonight:
ABC: Alias, Lost, Invasion
NOTE: TONIGHT'S "LOST" EPISODE IS ALLEGEDLY RUNNING LONG - 65 minutes to be exact so be sure to set your DVRs/VCRs accordingly so the final moments don't get clipped. After last week's episode, I'm both afraid and excited to see tonight's installment. The promo makes it look like it's all about Michael and that Mr. Eko may not be long for the island; I'm getting the willies just thinking about this! Also, for the Losties out there, check out the huge LOST story in today's USA TODAY.

Clarification: ABC's website will be offering the free streaming episodes online the day after episodes air until the end of June for these four shows: LOST, ALIAS, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES and COMMANDER IN CHIEF.

CBS: The Amazing Race 9, Criminal Minds (Season Finale), CSI: New YorkThere are still four teams running THE AMAZING RACE. I now can't stand MoJo (if Monica cries one more time, I don't know what I'll do), I don't mind the hippies, I have no feeling whatsoever about Ray & Yolanda and I don't mind frat boys Eric & Jeremy but it would annoy me if they won.

In the season finale, the CRIMINAL MINDS profilers take a vacation and start to get odd clues about a crime.

NBC: Deal or No Deal, Dateline, Law & Order
Dateline features more pervs trolling for kids on the internet - this time the sting is in Florida.

Michael Imperioli returns to LAW & ORDER as Det. Nick Falco. He wakes up to find a dead woman in his bathroom. When Falco starts investigating of his own, his former colleagues begin to suspect that the troubled cop has something to hide.

FOX: Bones, American Idol 5, Unan1mous (Season Finale) It's always tricky to predict how America will vote but I think Katherine McPhee is gone after tonight on IDOL. She had a baaaaaad night last night. And I don't know if I'm the only one who feels this way but I think Elliott Yamin has a very good voice and he gets better every week. I fear he's too odd-looking to win a contest like IDOL but he's the most flexible vocalist in the competition - he's shown he can sing anything.

WB: Bedford Diaries (Special), Bedford Diaries (Finale)

UPN: America's Next Top Model 6, Girlfriends (1-Hr Repeat)I haven't watch TOP MODEL the last few weeks - who's left??
Bravo: Top Chef
I believe the show is down to 3 chefs but it's impossible to verify that by looking at the Bravo site. I think Harold, Tiffani and Dave are the remaining chefs. From the website, it looks like tonight's episode is a reunion episode but I'm not 100% sure of that because when you click the link for it, there's no info. Nice work Bravo webmaster!
Comedy Central: South Park, Mind of Mencia
Court TV: Forensic Files, Psychic Detectives
Discovery: MythBusters,, Futureweapons
MTV: My Super Sweet 16, Tiara Girls
Sci Fi: Ghost Hunters
Travel Channel: World Poker Tour
Today's SURF REPORT written while listening to Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs' great cover of the Bee Gees hit "Run to Me" from their "Under the Covers, Vol.1" CD.

And now, to whet your appetite for tomorrow night's SUPERSIZE season finale of THE OFFICE, here's a piece from today's LA TIMES about it.

TELEVISION
'Office' manager takes on new task
Steve Carell, the wacky workplace leader on the NBC series, envisioned and wrote the season finale, airing Thursday.
By Lisa RosenSpecial to The TimesMay 10, 2006Keep a close eye on the credits when they roll for "The Office" this week and you might notice the comedy's star, Steve Carell, wrote the episode. At this point, it's almost de rigueur for actors to try their hand at directing an installment or two of their series, but writing them is much less common. But Carell's not one to shy from stepping out of the mold. A scene-stealer in the films "Bruce Almighty" and "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," he plays the eternally embarrassing "Office" manager Michael Scott to perfection. The quirky comedy, based on the lauded British BBC series of the same name, started out slowly last year on Tuesday nights as a midseason replacement. It took awhile for audiences to warm up to it, but the summer break helped; that's when Carell's star turn in "The 40 Year-Old Virgin" hit theaters. Overnight, the scene-stealer became a star. "I don't know if that's ever happened before," said Angela Bromstad, president of NBC Universal Television Studio. "You've had a TV star become a movie star. But have you ever had a movie star in a series? It's all too good." The show was boosted further in the middle of its second season by a move to Thursday night, in a slot after the NBC hit "My Name Is Earl," a time and place that viewers are accustomed to watching comedy. (The viewership went from 8.1 million to 8.7 million after the move, and the adult rating from 3.9 to 4.5.) "It's not as gigantic a hit as 'Lost' or 'Desperate Housewives,' " said Bromstad, "but yet it's the No. 1 download week in and week out on iTunes." The kids are watching. The show has tapped into something different, part of which may stem from the way executive producer Greg Daniels runs it. He hired all of his writers as performers also and most of them have appeared on the show. Three of them — B.J. Novak, Mindy Kaling and Paul Lieberstein — play recurring roles as Ryan the temp, Kelly the talky and Toby the hapless, respectively. The actors he hired have great improv skills and the writers' room door is always open to their jokes and story ideas. One of those suggestions — for the "Office" staff to host a casino night — was thrown in a few months back by Carell. When planning the final show of the season, Daniels thought a casino night would make a great setting and asked Carell to write it. On the flight to and from New York to film scenes for the show's Valentine's episode, they fleshed out the idea further. But after Carell got back home, his busy schedule gave him pause. He had essentially one weekend to write the script, and his parents were coming to town for that weekend. So he went into Daniels' office to try to get out of it. "I said I don't know if I can give it my full attention, and I don't want to do a half-baked job of it," said Carell by phone from the set of "Evan Almighty" in Virginia. "But he is a very persuasive gentleman, and I walked out of the meeting not only still writing the episode, but filled with all sorts of hope and excitement about the episode." Part of that excitement was the chance to write for the actors he had gotten to know over the last season and a half. "I knew I could get away with a lot as a writer," he said, because "even if what I wrote was terrible, it would end up looking good because they're all such good actors." His favorite scenes to write were between Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer), because the actors have such great chemistry. "They have a real knack at playing that sort of realistic dialogue between two people who care about each other," he said. He worked on the script at night after his visiting parents went to bed and handed a draft in on Monday. "I wasn't there for the rewrite sessions, I was off shooting. But the great part of it is that I didn't feel precious about the script," Carell said. "I felt like I had written what was a pretty decent half hour, but I knew it could be better, and I knew that all of the writers would make it better. They're all so smart and good and funny that I didn't feel weird about letting it go and letting it evolve." Daniels gives Carell plenty of credit though. "He came in with a great draft," said Daniels, who was not surprised. After all, Carell's résumé includes co-writing "Virgin" with Judd Apatow, the film's director. "And can I say, looking back on it, it was such a great move to have him write it," not just because of Carell's talent, "but also I feel like, as a staff, we were too close to it. It was good to have somebody write it who hadn't been sitting in the [writers'] room." While Daniels wouldn't give away any big plot points for the show, he did say that with everyone dressed up for casino night, an elegant evening in the company warehouse, anything could happen. Carell hadn't yet watched the completed episode, but the few scenes he had seen were a thrill. "That's a very exciting thing to have written something — or have been a part of the writing of something — and just see it come to life, and have it actually be better than you could have ever imagined it would be." So is there more writing in his future? "In a heartbeat," Carell said. Then, with a modesty that couldn't be further from Michael Scott, he added, "Honestly, I can hardly think ahead to tomorrow in terms of anything I do career-wise. I'm always surprised to be working, let alone being given a choice of what to do."
That's a wrap for today.

Conan in Chicago & new Kathy Griffin special--5/9/06

How much can I gush about 24 without making you sick? While the show is often unbelievable and stretches my suspension of disbelief to the max, I forgive it all these lapses in logic and remain devoted to it because of episodes like last night's nailbiter with Jack on a nose-diving jet, the President sweating bullets and me wondering how Dr. Rocket Romano got to be the bad guy on the show. Does anyone know who he's supposed to be? Did I miss class that day? Write back if you know who he is. Thanks.

Conversely, last night's PRISON BREAK was the episode we waited ALL SEASON for and I was not thrilled. I'm not sure what next week's season finale has in store but if none of them actually escape, I'm gonna be mighty ticked off and feel like a real sucker for watching it for so long.

Next, I must apologize to NBC for my comment yesterday about them scrapping THE WEST WING retrospective. I thought they were being cheap but the real story, as revealed by Joe Adalian at Variety, is that the actors demanded large sums to participate in said retrospective which made doing the episode prohibitively expensive. So I will redirect my disappointment toward the show's cast; what a classless move to do that as this fine series comes to a close.

OK, it has to be said: did you watch the whole two hours of David Blaine's special, only to be disappointed by his mere 7 minute, 8 seconds of breath-holding? I will admit to clicking over to the special during commercial breaks and I was stunned at the mountain-out-of-a-molehill attitude of the special. Plus I kept waiting for Stuart Scott to yell "Booya!" Once again, this two-hour blowfish of a "special" proved that very few things are worth two hours of primetime.

EVERWOOD continues its streak as one of the finest primetime dramas on the air. I've been particularly caught up in Andy and Ephram's renewed relationship as Ephram has begun to understand his father more and Andy has learned to let Ephram be who he is. Special mention also has to go to Chris Pratt - he plays Bright Abbott and he continues to turn a character that began as a stupid, egotistical jock into a guy with a learning curve and a large amount of sensitivity. When his father Harold Abbott (played pitch-perfectly by the consistently brilliant Tom Amandes) told Bright that he admired Bright's social grace in last night's episode and then hugged Bright when he saw his son was still upset, I lost it. What EVERWOOD writers do so well is depict the beauty of simple moments of truth in life. They never feel the need to slam us over the head with the moments, they just let us quietly witness them. EVERWOOD feels like a home movie with better lighting, wardrobe and set dressing. I continue to keep a good thought for this show and pray that it makes The CW fall schedule. It would be a real loss if EVERWOOD weren't part of the TV landscape.

My fave commercial running right now has to be the one with John Hodgeman as the PC and Justin Long (you recognize him from the DODGEBALL movie and the TV show ED) as the Mac. Hodgeman has a virus and Long assures him he doesn't have to worry about the virus spreading to Macs. It's a simple, clever commercial that I admire for being smart and selling the product well.

Tonight's fresh TV includes a new Kathy Griffin special on Bravo (at 9pm and it repeats at 11pm) and Conan O'Brien starting a week's worth of shows from the legendary Chicago Theatre in my hometown of Chicago! The guest lineup includes Sean Hayes tonight, Dave Chappelle and rapper Common on Wednesday, actor John C. Reilly on Thursday and Sen. Barack Obama and musical guest Wilco on Friday. I'm sure Conan and Co. will also find a myriad of goofy things to do in the Windy City too.

And now for tonight's rundown:
ABC: Movie: Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America (2-Hr Special), Boston Legal
Sorry, I won't be watching the bird flu movie because 24 fulfills my scare quota for the week. My only thought when I read about the movie is a quote from the original film of THE PRODUCERS when the lady who claims to be "the conci-urge" tells Max and Leo that Franz Liebkind is on the roof with his "boids - dirty, stinkin' BOIDS".

Parker Posey guests on BOSTON LEGAL as an attorney who eats other attorneys for breakfast.

CBS: NCIS, The Unit, The Unit (Special, 10pm)

NBC: Most Outrageous Moments, Most Outrageous Moments (R), Scrubs, Scrubs (R), Law & Order: SVU

FOX: American Idol 5, House
It's a salute to Elvis tonight on IDOL as the final four travel to Graceland and sing songs made famous by Elvis.

HOUSE takes on a controversial case involving a mother and her baby.

WB: Gilmore Girls (Season Finale), Pepper Dennis
Stars Hollow gets a large influx of street musicians in tonight's season finale. Thanks to SK for reminding me that the multi-talented Mary-Lynn Rajskub (aka Chloe on 24) also makes an appearance in tonight's episode.

UPN: Top Model (R), Veronica Mars (Season Finale)

A&E: Dog the Bounty Hunter, King of Cars

Bravo: Kathy Griffin: Strong Black Woman (Special), Real Housewives of Orange County: Reunion (Special)

Discovery: Deadliest Catch, Going Tribal

History: Mega Disasters (Season Premiere)

MTV: The Real World XVI, 8th and Ocean (Season Finale)
Has anyone else been watching 8TH AND OCEAN? It's like stepping into a mental vacuum that requires no brain effort whatsoever. I just look at dreamy Teddy and it feels like I'm miles away from my humdrum life.

TLC: Wrecks To Riches, Overhaulin', Miami Ink

TNT: NBA Playoffs: Dallas Mavericks at San Antonio Spurs (Live, 6:30pm EST)
VH1: Love Monkey

Tonight's episode is "Mything Persons": Singer Gordon Decker cracked under the pressure of the music business years ago and never completed his long-awaited sophomore album. Tom now has the chance to buy Gordon's catalogue, but in order for it to be financially beneficial to True Vinyl, he must get Gordon to record the rest of the album. However, as Tom meets a beautiful doctor he has a real connection with, he must also hunt down the reclusive, yet still brilliant, singer and convince him to give the music business another try. Meanwhile, Bran struggles with the fact that she is dating her boss. Martin Luther ("Daily Bread') will perform in this episode.

Today's SURF REPORT written while listening to Everclear's "AM Radio".

It's May 9th: go buy, download, rip, burn, do whatever you kids do but get your hands on the Gnarls Barkey CD "St. Elsewhere" - it'll make you "CRAZY" in the best possible way!

That's a wrap for today.

PRISON BREAK or Water Break?

In a painfully obvious overreach of sweeps stunting and a horribly desperate ploy for ratings, the airing of David Blaine's special tonight is, in actuality, a relief because we're all so flipping tired of the wall-to-wall promos on ABC. Not that I'll be watching because I just can't take Blaine seriously and I really don't care if he becomes a human prune or whatever. The guy is a decent sleight of hand magician but he's not the second coming of Harry Houdini, no matter how much he'd like to think so.

WHAT ABOUT BRIAN finishes its run tonight. After last week's all-over-the-map episode, I expect there'll be plenty of stuff thrown into tonight's episode too. The show has a solid cast, I especially like Rick Gomez - he plays Brian's business partner Dave. I still can't believe they let the "let's try to have an open marriage" storyline drag through six episodes and there was no payoff for anyone. What a waste of Amanda Detmer; all we got to see of her was her frustrated or disappointed face. She deserves better than that. I still think Barry Watson is a very appealing leading man.

Stephen Colbert's White House Correspondents' Dinner speech was viewed over 2 million times on You Tube and then C-Span ordered them to take the clips down. Lots of disagreement in the blogosphere about the speech itself. I thought it read funnier than it played when viewing it but overall, I agree with Jon Stewart's assessment of the speech which, I believe, was "Ballsalicious!"

Last night's Sunday night TV was pretty good. I enjoyed SOPRANOS (those images of Christopher getting high and tripping near the carnival were positively haunting) and WEST WING more than DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (though I have to admit, the Beavis in me loved Edie setting Susan's house on fire) and GREY'S ANATOMY. Note to NBC: it was very cheap of you to cancel the previously-announced WEST WING retrospective. I know WING is a very expensive show to produce and that this season in particular was the most expensive one (at least according to a Lawrence O'Donnell interview I saw over the weekend) but the show deserves more than a repeat of the pilot episode before the final installment.

I recorded the L&O: CRIMINAL INTENT episode just to see Whoopi Goldberg's dramatic turn. Also recorded HUFF which is usually interesting but rarely anything to write home about.

The article at the end of today's email is from the Wall Street Journal and it's about Product Watch, TiVo's new on-demand service for ads. I'm interested in this because primetime TV is still dependent on advertisers and though I use DVRs, I still watch a good amount of commercials because a lot of them are smart, clever and interesting. Hence, I will definitely check out Product Watch. The other article I'd recommend today is one I read in AdAge regarding how this year's upfront is the most uncertain one yet; here's the link to that piece if you're interested: http://www.adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=109057

OK - it's time for tonight's rundown:
ABC: David Blaine: Drowned Alive (2-Hour Special), What About Brian (Finale)

CBS: King of Queens, How I Met Your Mother, Two & a Half Men, New Adventures of Old Christine, CSI: Miami
I keep hearing OLD CHRISTINE is getting better and better and of course I keep forgetting to TiVo it. I liked the first couple episodes I watched even though I didn't laugh out loud but unless I record stuff, my Monday nights are monopolized by 24 and EVERWOOD.

It's Horatio's wedding day on CSI: MIAMI when a pesky murder gets in the way of the good times.

NBC: Deal Or No Deal, The Apprentice, Medium
Kelsey Grammer guests on MEDIUM (in case you didn't know, he's also one of the show's Exec. Producers) as Death. And from the looks of it, he's a witty, clever embodiment of Death and he's haunting Allison Dubois.

FOX: Prison Break, 24
In the "could they have made us wait A LITTLE LONGER?" department, PRISON BREAK finally lives up to its title with tonight's big episode as Michael and his personal chain gang bust their move outta the big house.

On 24: Will President Logan shoot down the plan that Jack is on just to get rid of the incriminating recording?

WB: 7th Heaven (Series Finale), Everwood
The WB's longest-running series and its anchor show, 7TH HEAVEN, has its farewell episode tonight. Say it with me: it's sure to be a Very Special Episode.

EVERWOOD takes a serious turn as med student Reid employs a desperate measure to solve his academic problems.

UPN: One on One, All of Us (Season Finale), Girlfriends (1-Hour Season Finale)
Wayne Brady guests on the GIRLFRIENDS season finale. Animal Planet: Crufts Dog 2006 (Special) Discovery: American Chopper MTV: Punk'd, Call to Greatness Showtime: Penn & Teller: BullshitSpike: Ultimate Fighter Unleashed, Pros vs JoesTLC: Honey We're Killing the Kids, Shalom In the HomeTNT: NBA Playoffs: Los Angeles Clippers at Phoenix Suns (Live, 7:30pm EST) USA: WWE Raw

Today's SURF REPORT written while listening to "Left Behind" by Aqualung.

Heads up for tomorrow night - Tuesday 5/9:
ABC does their best to scare America with their original MOW about a bird flu epidemic in America. Stacy Keach, Joely Richardson and Scott Cohen star in the movie. A new episode of BOSTON LEGAL featuring guest star Parker Posey follows the movie.

CBS has NCIS then two episodes of THE UNIT.

NBC: TV'S OUTRAGEOUS MOMENTS (2 episodes), then a new episode of SCRUBS followed by a repeat episode, then a new episode of LAW & ORDER: SVU.

FOX: It's ELVIS night on IDOL, followed by a new episode of HOUSE.

WB: GILMORE GIRLS has its' season finale and the last episode The Palladinos worked on. It features a "GilmorePalooza" as the episode brings together a whole bunch of musical acts. According to Dan and Amy Palladino, they made a wishlist and to their surprise, they got a lot of acts they wished for including Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, Sparks, Joe Pernice and Sam Phillips (the wonderful singer who croons the "la la las" you hear every week on the show). After GILMORE, it's a fresh episode of the catch-it-while-you-can PEPPER DENNIS.

UPN has AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL as the remaining girls go to Phuket. Keep the off-color jokes to a minimum please. After TOP MODEL, it's the VERONICA MARS season finale. I refuse to even THINK it's the show's series finale as I expect Dawn Ostroff will include VERONICA MARS when the new CW fall sked is announced in New York next Thursday.

TiVo's Latest Viewing Option: Commercials
Viewers Can Order Up Ads That Depart From Tradition; How to Grill a Frozen Pizza
By BRIAN STEINBERG - WALL STREET JOURNAL May 8, 2006; Page B3
As the first brand-name digital-video recorder to be adopted widely by the general public, TiVo has become synonymous with the ability to skip TV commercials. Now, a group of marketers wishes to see whether consumers will use TiVo to find ads they want to watch.
TiVo will today launch Product Watch, a service offering on-demand ads to its subscribers. TiVo has signed up about 70 advertisers, including marketers such as Kraft Foods , Ford Motor , General Motors and IAC/InterActive's LendingTree, to participate in the service. TiVo announced plans for the service in November.
For the most part, the marketers won't run traditional 30-second TV commercials. Instead, they will offer longer ads that attempt to be more informative than typical commercials. Kraft, for instance, will offer 20 different cooking videos that will show such things as how to grill its Tombstone pizza, potato-salad basics, or how to create a cantaloupe-and-Jell-O dessert.
Commercials on Demand: Watch the Penn & Teller ad1, which will be available on TiVo.
General Motors, likewise, will offer detailed video presentations about its vehicles. Ford is trying something more entertaining: one-minute takes of magicians Penn & Teller performing various tricks on a golf course, with a Ford vehicle shown nearby. ( Watch ad2)
TiVo users will be able to search for ads in several categories, including finance, lifestyles and travel and leisure. LendingTree's ad, in the finance category, features personal-finance expert Suze Orman giving step-by-step overviews of different types of loans.
Similar ads already are available on video-on-demand services offered by cable operators such as Comcast. Madison Avenue and the TV industry are closely watching consumer reaction to the services. Growing availability of on-demand ads comes as marketers are scaling back their emphasis on traditional TV ads, while Web ads and DVR use become more popular. For some marketers, on-demand ads could be a new way to reach TV viewers.
The TiVo service "could be a good indication of what advertising is going to be like in coming years," says David Cohen, U.S. director of digital communications at Universal McCann, a media-buying firm owned by Interpublic Group that is involved in the project. TiVo has more than 4.4 million subscribers.
Traditional TV ads are a turnoff to many, interrupting the flow of a program. But TiVo is betting that viewers will use its on-demand ad service to research products or services they are thinking about buying -- much as people search the Web for information on potential purchases. "People have gotten comfortable using electronic media to search for ads and product information," says Tom Rogers, TiVo's chief executive officer, referring to how consumers use the Web. "Now the medium they spend the most time sitting in front of gives them the opportunity to do that."
To entice advertisers, TiVo will charge marketers only for viewers who download an ad -- an arrangement akin to the pay-per-click model in paid-search Internet advertising. The only other charge will be a setup fee when the advertiser first signs on. Charter advertisers will get the first month free of any charges. TiVo wouldn't discuss details of the ad deals, including the size of the setup fee or the length of time that advertisers have committed to run their ads.
The pay-per-view cost structure of the service already has proved attractive to some advertisers with smaller marketing budgets. Tourism Australia, for instance, will use TiVo to offer four documentary-style vignettes about things to do Down Under, including seeing marine life on the Great Barrier Reef. Talking to consumers on a one-to-one basis is preferable to chatting with masses who may or may not be interested in the ad message, says Michael Londregan, vice president of Tourism Australia, the country's national promotion board. "Australia doesn't have the budget to aim broadly and fire erratically at the whole consumer market," he says.
Whether or not the venture ultimately will work remains to be seen. "It's hard enough for Hollywood to make a hit show and get people to watch it, so for advertisers to be able to do it is challenging," says Jason Kuperman, director of the interactive and entertainment practice at Tequila, part of Omnicom's TBWA\Worldwide.

That's a wrap for today.

THE SURF REPORT: May Sweeps & Season Finales--5/6/06

My TV head hurts because it's too overloaded! I'm trying to concentrate on May sweeps episodes but I can't ignore the fact that the broadcast networks are picking up new shows before the upcoming upfront announcements. FOX picked up two dramas today: PRIMARY, which is about two hostage negotiators, played by Ron Livingston [aka Jack Berger, the man who broke up with Carrie Bradshaw via a Post-It saying "I can't, I'm sorry, don't hate me"] and Rosemarie DeWitt [she was in a couple of RESCUE ME episodes], who work together and are also in a relationship with each other. The second drama is AMERICAN CRIME, which features a cast including Victor Garber (ALIAS), Eamonn Walker (OZ and ER) and Kerr Smith; that show is about attorneys who handle high-profile and/or celebrity cases and the show is shot news-style which I'm guessing means the camerawork will be a tad shaky. I think I mentioned this already but just in case: NBC picked up STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP, Aaron Sorkin's behind-the-scenes dramedy about a latenight TV show starring Matthew Perry, Bradley Whitford and Amanda Peet.

Last night's OFFICE episode "Conflict Resolution" was another instant classic. I loved Dwight's standing weekly appointment to file grievances against Jim. I loved Jim's list of all the pranks he's played on Dwight, particularly paying everyone 5 bucks to call him "Dwayne" all day and then Jim remarking "And it was TOTALLY worth it." Also priceless, the soft-spoken Phyllis telling crabby Angela "I don't like you." It's a gem of an episode that is saved on my DVR so I can watch it again. Greg Daniels wrote this standout episode. I can't wait for the supersize season finale!

I've been watching WILL & GRACE lately but it's hard to sit through the show anymore. The jokes are much weaker and even the emotional moments don't click. I still think Megan Mullally is a comedy treasure but I'm sad that the show is limping to a close.

Music on TV note: Pearl Jam was on Letterman and they played an extra half-hour in addition to their performance on the show. If you'd like to see that, click to http://www.cbs.com/innertube/index.php and select that clip. This is part of the launch of Innertube, CBS's new free advertising-supporter broadband channel.

Applause must be given to the LOST crew and all the show's for using the internet to maximum effect. See the L.A. TIMES at the end of today's email for more about the Losties never-ending hunger for info about the show.

I'll be catching up on TV this weekend because I must be prepared for the VERONICA MARS season finale this coming Tuesday.

Let's get to your weekend rundown.

Tonight - Friday 5/5
ABC: America's Funniest Home Videos, Primetime Live, 20/20

CBS: Ghost Whisperer (Season Finale), Close To Home, Numb3rs

NBC: Deal or No Deal, Las Vegas, Conviction

FOX: Movie: School of RockWB: Survival of the Richest (Season Finale), Reba (Season Finale), Reba (R)

UPN: WWE Smackdown!

8pm - CMT: Ultimate Coyote Ugly Search, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader: Making the Team
OK - the title ULTIMATE COYOTE UGLY SEARCH caught my eye so I had to find out what it was about. Here's the 411 from the CMT folks: "The series follows Coyote Ugly founder Liliana Lovell's nationwide search for the ultimate coyote - a woman who can sing, dance, flair and bartend better than any other. Beginning in NY, two women are chosen in each of five cities to join a road trip down to New Orleans where Lil lives and where the New Orleans bar needs a grand re-opening. Along the way the women will learn all the Coyote skills - bar flairing, singing, dancing and bartending. Lil will decide who stays on the road trip and who is sent home in regular eliminations until we find five finalists who will compete to be the one to win $25,000 on the night of the bar's grand re-opening. Lil is assisted in her search by veteran Coyotes/mentors Cyndi and Chantel and by choreographer Jacqui."

In tonight's episode, "With seven girls left on the bus the competition is really starting to get moving as they leave behind the city of San Antonio and the first finalist to be cut by Lil. As Cyndi, Chantel and Lil continue on to Denver for more auditions, the finalists are left alone on the bus with nothing but time on their hands. Will they use this time to practice or will it be nothing but time well wasted? Then to keep everyone on their toes, the girls are taught some basic flair skills to enhance the bartending skills they have been learning along the way. A quick lunch trip turns into a dance-off between the contestants, and the winner comes as a shock to everyone, especially Lil."

Court TV: L.A. Forensics

Discovery: I Shouldn't Be Alive

E! - 1030pm ET/PT, 930pm Central - Chelsea Handler Show

ESPN: NBA Playoffs: San Antonio Spurs at Sacramento Kings (Live, 7:30pm EST)

HBO - 11pm - Real Time with Bill Maher
Bill welcomes actor Bradley Whitford, Fmr. PM of Canada Kim Campbell, and Former Gov. James Gilmore. Plus, via satellite, Gen. Wesley Clark, and Sen. Mel Martinez.

MTV2: Andy Milonakis Show, Wondershowzen

Sci Fi: Doctor WhoStyle Network: Modern Girl's Guide to Life, Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?TLC: What Not To Wear

Saturday 5/6
ABC: Movie: Seabiscuit
CBS: CSI: New York (R), CSI (R), 48 Hours Mystery
NBC: Dateline, Law & Order: SVU (R), Law & Order: Criminal Intent (R)
FOX: Cops, Cops 2 (R), America's Most Wanted

11:29pm - NBC - Tom Hanks hosts SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and hypes "The Da Vinci Code" while also welcoming musical guest Red Hot Chili Peppers. The new Chili Peppers CD will be released this coming Tuesday May 9. Also being released May 9: the Gnarls Barkley CD "St. Elsewhere".

Sunday 5/7
ABC: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (2 episodes), Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy
On DH: Bree's son Andrew does something really awful (not sure if the fire in the promo has anything to do with Andrew) and Lynette's husband Tom may be looking for a new gig.

All ABC says about GREY'S is "The interns deal with a family involved in a car accident, Derek lets his emotions get the best of him, and Burke and Izzie make a new suggestion to Denny."

CBS: 60 Minutes, Cold Case, CSI: Miami (R), CSI: New York (R)

NBC: Dateline NBC, The West Wing, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Crossing Jordan (100th Episode, Season Finale)

On WEST WING: "As Bartlet's administration prepares to transition in the Santos administration, CJ is faced with what to do with her future. Will (Josh Malina) is also in a position of uncertainty about what is to come."

Hmm, out of 100 episodes of CROSSING JORDAN, I think I've seen maybe one entire episode. Probably not even that. It's so not on my TV radar.

FOX: The Simpsons (R), King of the Hill, The Simpsons, Family Guy (R), Family Guy, American Dad

WB: Reba (R), Reba (R) Charmed, Charmed (R)

A&E: Intervention

E!: True Hollywood Story

Food Network: Iron Chef America

HBO: The Sopranos, Big Love
On THE SOPRANOS: "The Ride": "Christopher makes a surprise announcement; Paulie pays a price for cutting costs at an Italian Street Fair; Tony embraces the "old school."

On BIG LOVE: "A Barbecue for Betty" - "Bill celebrates being "free and clear" from Roman, but the Prophet's meddling might not be over. Nicki drops a bombshell on Bill, hoping for forgiveness but fearing the worst. Don falls hard for a woman named Betty. Bill vents to Sarah after a run-in with the law. A vote-obsessed Margene leaves a "Chad" hanging."

National Geo: Lockdown
Sci-Fi: Ghost Hunters

10pm - Showtime: HuffIn an episode titled "Breach of Contract", "Huff worries Russell may have hit rock bottom, while Huff's son Byrd gets into trouble for his ghoulish art project. Ben and Izzy escalate the tension between them and Huff gets high again with Dr. Lena Markova (Anjelica Huston)."

VH1: Surreal Life, Hogan Knows Best, So NoTORIous

Today's SURF REPORT written while listening to Michael Penn and Aimee Mann's lovely cover of The Beatles "Two of Us".

Early heads up for next week:
Monday 5/8:
The WB's cornerstone show 7TH HEAVEN has its series finale. Contradicting the rampant rumors, a statement was released that Monday's episode WILL be the show's series finale and it will not continue on the new CW network. No spinoff is planned either.

The PRISON BREAK finally happens in Monday's episode of the show even though it's not the season finale.

UPN's GIRLFRIENDS has its one hour season finale.

ABC's WHAT ABOUT BRIAN has its finale. The show had some promise when it started but last week's episode was a big ol' mess. It tried to be wacky and emotional and the mix fell completely flat.

Tuesday May 9:
GILMORE GIRLS has its season finale (WB).

VERONICA MARS has its season finale (UPN).

Here's the LA TIMES article about LOST:
TELEVISION
More 'Lost' than ever
The hit ABC series rolls out a game to enhance the viewer experience. If you can find it, that is.By Maria Elena Fernandez Times Staff WriterMay 5, 2006The important numbers on "Lost" may be 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42, but 44 was the key on Wednesday's episode: That was how many commercials aired before the Clue finally came in the form of an ad for the show's dubious Hanso Foundation: "Since the dawn of time, man has been curious, imagining all that is possible," intoned a smooth male voice. "The Hanso Foundation, reaching out to a better tomorrow. Discover the experience for yourself. Call 877-HANSORG." And thus the launch of the new "Lost Experience," an alternative-reality game based on the show that provides fans with a network of leads and clues to further explore the mysteries of the "Lost" island. But just try reaching that Hanso man. If you weren't already confounded by Jack and the gang, and that vexing island, trying to get through on the phone certainly could send you over the edge. ABC and 19 other networks across five continents launched the "Experience" Wednesday (it will run through early fall), but it hit Europe first, and when the web postings went up, desperate Americans started dialing international phone numbers in a race to be the first to discover the game's first location. Some got through; others were saddled with disappointing busy-busy-busy signals. "We were blown away," said Steve McPherson, ABC's president of prime-time entertainment. "It opened in Europe first and the lines just absolutely exploded, shut down several times, with a huge portion of the callers calling from the United States. In hindsight, you would want more and more and more [lines]. But we had a lot. We anticipated a good response, but this response has been overwhelming." About as overwhelming as the clues themselves. We claim no expertise here, but we're in the business of sharing, so here's where the "Lost Experience" has taken us, so far:Call 877-HANSORG and you will hear a recording offering five options: 1) General; 2) Alvar Hanso; 3) Dr. Thomas Mittelwerk; 4) Hugh McIntyre; 5) Peter Thompson. Who are they and what did they have to say when you called them? For us, nothing, because it's been busy ever since. But that's what the web is for. The devoted folks at thelostexperienceclues.blogspot.com have provided transcripts of all the Hanso phone messages, while followers from thetailsection.com have posted audio versions of the same. There is a Hanso Foundation news release and other confusing clues that involve using "breaking strain" as a password, a woman named Persephone, an address for the Hanso Foundation that appears to be in Denmark, and a job posting on Monster.com, which a British fan has deciphered on the-lost-experience.blogspot.com. The job involves making new software for test subjects and product testing.From thelostexperienceclues.blogspot.com, we also glean that thehansofoundation.org is where we need to go next. There are executive bios, a mission statement, a link about a life-extension project involving a 105-year-old orangutan named Joop, and hypnotizing music. If you sign up for a newsletter, the foundation writes back letter by letter, much like Walt's computer chat with Michael earlier this season. A posting Thursday on thelostexperienceclues.blogspot.com reveals a new tidbit about thehansofoundation.org and shows how seriously fans are taking this experience: "In Active Projects / Electromagnetic Research Initiative there is a picture with the caption 'Early Morning Hours of October 28, 2001.' The photo is of the northern lights. A Google search of October 28, 2001, will get you a first result of a NASA page with photos of the northern lights acting up on that day. The photo of Alvar Hanso is captioned as being taken on October 28, 2003, at a humanitarian or diplomatic venture. A Google search of that date brings up a presidential press conference and then a NASA page on a Solar Storm." What does this mean, and more important, what does this have to do with ABC's top-rated series?We expressed our confusion to ABC's McPherson. He laughed. He also sympathized and shared that he himself is feeling a little lost. "I'm going to get a tutorial this weekend," McPherson said. "I'm in the middle of [pilot] screenings. My plate is full right now. Luckily, I've got a tutor, so it will be a private lesson."

That's a wrap for this week.