television (2189 posts)

ABC/KELSEY McNEAL

Wait, Kathy Ireland was on this show? What the heck is Tom DeLay doing here?!

Oh right, the Dancing With the Stars finale is when a whole season's worth of contestants come out of the woodwork and remind the viewers just how right they were in casting these folks aside long ago.

With that behind them, Donny Osmond, Kelly Osbourne and Mya gathered tonight for one last spin around the floor and awaited to hear who would be bringing the illustrious disco-ball trophy home for good.

Kelly danced the Viennese waltz more gracefully than ever; Mya brought new sharpness and confidence to her and Dmitry Chaplin's nerd-meets-seductress jive; and Donny performed his Argentine-tango ass off, somehow managing to look intense but not hammy.

But, as Len Goodman said earlier, "There can be only one."

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Karen Alquist/TLC

Are you glad Jon & Kate Plus 8 is over? Did you watch Jennifer Lopez fall, or Adam Lambert get a rise out of the crowd? And why do you suddenly care about Katie Couric? 

The answers—and more questions—in the latest TV ratings quiz:

1. So, was it goodbye or good riddance to Jon & Kate Plus 8? Last night's series finale was actually well-attended, attracting 4.3 million viewers, TLC said, up 2 million from last week's penultimate episode. When all was said and done and repeated in the tabloids, the show remained a ratings winner, if not the scandal-boosted phenomenon of earlier in the season.

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Karen Alquist/TLC

Kate Gosselin never wanted it to be this way. But since it is this way...

Having to shut down its cash cow thanks to Jon Gosselin's gripes, TLC seemed to make sure that its litigious former star ended up smelling like a bed of anything-but-roses on Monday's series finale of Jon & Kate Plus 8.

Kate took six of the kids to an organic farm, where they pet kittens and milked cows, and everything was wholesome and lovely! Meanwhile, even raising money for firefighters, Jon came off looking like the bad guy.

"I always wonder, 'Are they safe, are they protected, are they well thought-out?'" Kate, who called the premature end of the show "bittersweet," mused during one of her one-on-camera interview segments. 

"And I do worry about his intentions and his motives for such things," she said, referring to the lemonade stand Jon set up to raise money for their local volunteer fire department. "Is this a publicity stunt? What is the bottom line of it? I don't like when my kids get caught in the crossfire of that stuff."

Cut to Jon banishing Mady and Cara from the site for being "unappreciative" and then begrudging the sextuplets their fun exploring a firetruck while he stayed outside selling lemonade. Then he donned a full fireman's suit and took a few Darth-Vaderesque breaths.

Kate's concerns come to fruition, or some crafty editing?

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At this point, there's almost nothing we don't already know about Jon and Kate Gosselin.

He likes Ed Hardy, ticking every box off the midlife crisis checklist and demanding privacy from the paparazzi, unless of course they want to patronize his lemonade stand or capture him bringing flowers to his ex-wife. His dislikes include spell-check and Nancy Grace.

She, on the other hand, enjoys employing ghost writers to pen cookbooks on organic food, berating her personality-challenged husband and recouping hundreds of thousands of dollars that were rightfully hers to begin with. She's not such a fan of anything less than industrial-strength pomade.

This much we know.

But TLC is reminding us of a few other Gosselin truths that have gotten lost along the way in the torn-apart family's reality swan song, as Jon & Kate Plus 8 comes to its confessional- and montage-filled series end tonight.

Like, no matter how heinous you think their parents are—and at this point it is just a matter of degrees—those Gosselin Plus 8 are downright adorable (and, lest we forget, the reason viewers flocked in the first place).

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Matt Sayles/AP Photo

Adam Lambert is fully embracing his new solo career—as well as his keyboard player, too.

The American Idol runner-up gave the final performance at the 2009 American Music Awards, and he delivered much of what earlier outings by Janet Jackson, Carrie Underwood, Rihanna, Shakira, Lady Gaga and others had: Lots of back-up dancers, a stumble or two and just a bit of raunchiness.

OK, in Lambert's case, there was more than a bit of racy material as he mixed together a so-so song, some S&M imagery and a bit of simulated sex. Oh, and that juicy mid-song kiss, too.

For your entertainment, of course. Was it enough to make his performance the best of the evening?

What was your favorite moment during the show? Check out our 2009 American Music Awards gallery for the highlights.

Bob Davis/ Harpo Productions

Before everyone and his mother had a daytime talk show, there was Oprah Winfrey.

And the news that in less than two years there won't be an Oprah Winfrey Show as we know it has prompted an outpouring of well wishes and appreciations from those whose stars have shined a little brighter thanks to Oprah's warm glow.

"I am going to enjoy every episode between now and 2011," offered Food Network star turned syndicated talk-show host Rachael Ray, who waited until Oprah had discussed the matter "one-on-one" with her audience today to comment.

"Oprah opened the door for me to move into daytime television and I can't thank her enough. I look forward to seeing what she does next…there will only ever be one Oprah!"

Hell, even Dr. Phil McGraw knows who first put him on the map.

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