NEWS FLASH: Rosie O'Donnell to Leave 'The View'

Now, this wasn't around when I posted my TV Newsy Bits earlier today.

According to several sources, Rosie O'Donnell will be leaving The View in mid-June. Her run on the show has been short, yet very controversial to the point of explosive at times. It seems that she was unable to agree on a contract.

Sources quote her as saying, "My needs for the future just didn't dovetail with what ABC was able to offer me."

Rumors are abounding that she may be seeking a solo talk show gig.

TV Newsy Bits - Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Yes, the town of Bound Brook, New Jersey, is still all but cut off from the world. Trains are bypassing the train station, roads are closed, flood-ravaged business and home owners are still trying to clean up. I took this shot of the State Farm Catastrophe Services mobile unit set up in a Home Depot parking lot just outside of Bound Brook. None of my friends and co-workers who were evacuated from their homes over a week ago have been allowed to return as of yet.

But, television goes on. That's actually a good thing as entertainment can get our minds off of troubles for a while, at least.

Here are today's TV Newsy Bits:

• Celebrity Spider has very mild location and other spoilers (nothing to ruin it for you) for the next The Amazing Race 11: All Stars as we head towards the season finale (May 6).
• Ousted Apprentice wannabe Nicole says love (for Tim) is worth losing the position. Do you think that will last?
• Did anyone catch Ivanka Trump on Letterman last night? She wasn't listed on the guest list when I made my weekly post on Sunday morning. I discovered that when allowed to talk freely, she has Frank's disease. What do I mean? I believe she said "at the end of the day..." six times (or more) during the interview. Actually, it was nice to see her really smile and not be a stiff Mini-Me of her dad for a change. But this "at the end of the day" stuff is as annoying as the "like" and "you know what I'm saying." I'm crossing it right out of my vocabulary. You know what I mean?
• Blog readers are buzzing about Heather Mills getting the boot on Dancing With the Stars. Gee, I would have thought she'd have a leg up on the competition! Join in on the conversation in the blog discussion post for the show or check out all the articles on the show's SirLinksAlot page. I've only been catching the show now and then, but have those childhood "Paul is the cute Beatle" memories stuck in my mind. So I was happy to hear of the boot.
• Huh. Ellen DeGeneres will be hosting the Idol Gives Back concert tonight. I don't recall hearing that on the show, but I hope that's not the "shock" promised to us by Ryan.
• The finale of Survivor 14: Fiji will mark the 200th episode of the long-running show which really set the reality television genre in motion. The finale reunion show will air on May 13 from the Ed Sullivan Theater in NYC (where The Late Show with David Letterman is located). Hey, Survivor staff... I'm local. I like tickets! (Yeah, like that will work.)
• Celebrity Spider has the skinny on the upcoming episode of Heroes. Oh, Hiro and Ando are in for an adventure!
• And, Bachelor fans... remember to drop by the blog discussion post for the show! Lots of great folks are dishing on the latest episode there!

'American Idol 6' - The Final Six "Idol Gives Back"

Tomorrow night is the big two-hour results show and star-studded concert night for "Idol Gives Back." But the voting tonight is what counts, not only for the contestant of your choice, but for the cause. Several corporations have joined in to support the event and News Corporation is giving 10 cents for each vote up to 50 million votes.

Each contestant has two phone lines tonight and the time you can vote has doubled to four hours after the show. They've also formed a MySpace page for the event.

The contestants were asked to choose a song which fits the theme of helping others and inspire folks. I thought that, overall, they all made good song choices and tonight the performances came across as professional.

Here's the skinny:
Chris Richardson was the first to perform, singing Eric Clapton's "If I Could Change the World." While I thought it was a good performance for him, no way could he have come close to how I feel about the original version. He was less nasally than in previous weeks, I'll give him that much. I don't think the song needed his little Chris Richardson hand jive bit.

But the judges liked it. Randy said he was in it to win it. (I beg to differ!) Paula is proud of him and said it was exciting and fantastic. Simon said it was a good vocal and a good start to the night. Um. Okay.

Melinda Doolittle was up next with Faith Hill's "There Will Come a Day." It's actually not my favorite song choice for the night, but she sang in true Doolittle Style. Not a missed note, not a missed emote.

The judges felt the same way as I did. Randy started with "Yo, yo, yo... check it out." Anytime he leads with three yo's, he likes the performance. He called her the "resident pro" again. Paula told her, "There's no one like you. It was magical." Simon loved it, said it wasn't a copycat performance and it was a vocal master class.

Blake Lewis sang John Lennon's "Imagine." Even more than the Clapton song, I find it hard to "imagine" anyone singing it other than the original artist. I thought he was a bit off at times and it definitely wasn't his best performance. Blake is more of a faster-paced song kind of guy. I hope it doesn't hurt him in the long run as he's my favorite male contestant left at this point.

Randy seemed to think along the same lines as I did. He thought it was a good song choice, but it just ended up being "all right" and "okay." Paula thought it was sensitive and emotional. Simon thought it was sincere.

LaKisha Jones chose Fantasia's "I Believe." Mistake number one in song choice. I was a big LaKisha supporter but I think she's fallen off her game the last few weeks. I think she's a lot more talented than others we've seen on the show, but she seems to be growing weary... or something. She hit a few bad notes here and there and I just wasn't feeling the song.

Again, the judges reacted as I did. Randy mentioned pitch problems, said he liked it but it wasn't her best. Paula said she was a powerhouse, but it's hard to sing a Fantasia song. Simon all but came out and said he preferred Fantasia's version. He mentioned the shouting again, too.

Phil Stacey chose Garth Brook's "The Change." It's a bit of a draggy kind of song, but I think he may have sang his best performance ever on the show. I didn't care for Phil some weeks back, but he seems to have gained confidence.

When he's on his game, I think he has the best voice (richest and most versatile) of the remaining guys. It's just that he's often been not on his game and I think he's got one of those heads that probably looks best with something on it. But kudos to him -- he did very well tonight.

The judges were also impressed. Randy thought it was his second strong performance in a row. Paula thought it was his best performance. Simon would have liked a bit more "country" in the song as now he's decided country is Phil's genre. He says he now has the confidence; if he could connect the two elements, it would be great. "People like you."

Jordin Sparks closed out the show tonight with "You'll Never Walk Alone."

Magnificent. She also looked very pretty once again this week. She sang the song like a seasoned pro -- adding her own personality to it and making it amazing.

The judges loved it, too. Randy once again mentioned her age and followed it with "this was one of the best vocals ever on the show." Paula said it was amazing and lovely. Simon thought it was fantastic. "That song is about 60 years old. You could have a hit record with it today."

And, there you go. Once again, I think Melinda and Jordin were in a class of their own and those two deserve to battle it out at the end... in my opinion, at least. I think Phil outsang Blake and Chris tonight, but I would like to see Blake stay on the show. I think LaKisha should really worry this week.

How about you?

'Heroes' - ".07 Percent" - A BulletPoint Report

Heroes is back! Yes! This show is consistently the most action-packed, can't take your eyes away for a moment, don't dare get distracted, hour on television I've ever encountered. And, mind you, I've encountered a heck of a lot of television in my time.

Here's the lowdown on the happenings of the evening not necessarily in the order in which they occurred:

• The Primatech Morphing Woman, Candace, tried to fool Mr. Bennet into thinking she's Claire, but to no avail.
  
• Bennet, Parkman (reading thoughts ex-cop), and Lionel Sprague (radioactive hands guy) are still being held prisoner at Primatech. Bennet's boss intends on killing them -- he was just waiting for the order to do so.
  
• Bennet uses his mind to communicate with Parkman who springs Sprague. All three escape from Primatech. Bennet wants to go to NYC where they can destroy the tracking system which tracks the heroes.
• Linderman and Nathan were in Las Vegas where Linderman revealed an Isaac painting of Nathan as President.
  
• Linderman wants Nathan to work with him to "save the world." He wants to heal it, and brings a dead plant to life to prove his point.
• Linderman believes the future, including the NYC explosion, needs to happen to save the world. After all, only .07% of the world's population would die and Nathan would be a hero bringing people together for a common goal.
• The explosion would be a catalyst for good. Peter would die the day after Nathan was elected.
• Back in Brooklyn, Peter Petrelli went to Suresh's apartment (where Suresh was stuck on the ceiling by Sylar in the last chapter).
• Sylar tried to cut Peter's head to steal his brain, but Peter healed too quickly. Then it became a powers struggle between Peter and Sylar.
• At one point Sylar gathered glass shards with his power, then shot them like shrapnel, one striking Peter's brain.
• But Peter sort of had the last hurrah when something he did rammed an object into Sylar, knocking him unconscious.
• Suresh fell from the ceiling, fussed about Peter being dead and brought him to his mother's house where Claire had been getting to know her grandmother. Grandmom had plans for Claire to go to Paris with her.
• She was crushed that Peter was dead, as was Nathan when he arrived. "You weren't supposed to die like this."
• Mrs. Petrelli told Nathan "we hide it" until after the election.
  
• Claire wanted to see Peter once again and removed a huge glass shard from the back of his head. Oh, no... he lives once again!
• Mrs. Petrelli told Peter and Nathan that she knew all about them and had earlier admitted her own powers to Claire.
• It's decided that Claire indeed will go to Paris with Mrs. Petrelli... maybe.
• Suresh met up with Bennet's boss in lieu of Bennet (he's "no longer with the company") and Bennet's boss wants him to work with him... for the purpose of good, of course. @@
  
• Back in Las Vegas, DL wants to take Micah and leave Jessica (no Nikki in the picture). He doesn't want Micah mixed up with Linderman.
• But Linderman wants Micah. When he told Jessica (it was just a courtesy, not really asking), she refused to give him Micah.
• So he sent a morphed-into-Jessica/Nikki Candace to fool Micah and took him. "Do you want to save the world today?"
• Sylar recovered and saw the list of heroes had gone missing with Peter and Suresh.
• But he found a slip of paper with Isaac's name and address.
• He went there, and found Isaac was expecting him. Isaac told him that he had already sent the information on how to kill him (Sylar) and he'd finally be a hero.
• Sylar absorbed Isaac's painting powers and set himself up at an easel.
• Then there was Hiro and Ando in the future, looking at a destroyed NYC.
• Ando mentioned he now had the sword and they could transport themselves back and change the future.
• They went to Isaac's future studio where they found a timeline of events with things like "save the cheerleader" and Nathan's election.

And, this just in from Primatech Paper:
Learn more about the guy Linderman wants to put in office so bad...and you've been helping keep out (so far).
Visit: votepetrelli.com

I can't wait until next week! How about you?

'The Apprentice: L.A.' - Season Finale - East Coast Update

An unsatisfying end to an unsatisfying season.

Stephanie won the job with James taking second place.

Um. Okay, I guess. I'm not sure what she did all season, but she's pretty.