Leslie Talks 'Model,' Future Plans and that Walk! Plus, 'CSI,' 'Trace' and Season Finales

Leslie's (right - photo courtesy UPN) elimination from America's Next Top Model seemed to come out of nowhere the other night. The judges seemed to talk more about Brooke and Sarah's struggles the past few episodes than Leslie's. At her elimination, Tyra told Leslie that she took beautiful pictures, but she didn't have the model-look going on in person. One of the sticking points was the 18-year old Arizona State University student's runway walk. She told bloggers last night during a teleconference that she didn't have any experience with it prior to the competition. "For whatever reason, I couldn't figure out how to position myself," she explains. "I didn't realize that was going to hurt me so much." She believes if she had had one more week of practice she would have had her walk down. "I've been working on it, and it's better," she says. "It kind of came to me a little too late." One area that she seemed to have down was the photo shoots. The judges continuously praised the 18-year old for her beautiful photos. Leslie says that she really enjoyed working on the career shoot with the male models. "I loved working off of his energy and all those props," she says enthusiastically. For the shoot, the girls had to pose in photos designed around their non-model career choices. For Leslie, that meant criminal justice, but with a twist. She and her male model held a sexy pose while she balanced the scales of justice. "It was a lot of fun working with him," she says. If her career shoot was her favorite, then the shoot on ice was definitely her least favorite. "As soon as they told us we would be in 20-degree weather and bathing suits, I was like 'Oh my gosh.' I'm from Arizona," she explains. She says she was very cold and "couldn't even think." Leslie says she's glad the judges didn't eliminate her after that shoot. They told her that her poses were too sexy and a little too Maxim magazine. "They gave me a second chance to redeem myself, and I did," she says. As for her last shoot, where the models had to krump (a type of hip-hop dance), she says she was probably over thinking it. "It was just a bad week for me. I was trying to stay positive, but all these insecurities were bringing me down," she concedes.


If you felt like the show didn't give you a chance to really know Leslie, then you're not alone. She says she told her friends after she finished shooting the reality show that she never got caught up in the drama. "I told them I'm either going to be the stupid one who trips over her words at panel or the boring one," she explains. She says that the real Leslie is "a big dork," and not "a quiet wallflower like the show made it seem." Nerves and never having any time to herself, something she says she feeds off of, contributed to her more reserved demeanor on the show according to the 18-year old. Leslie says that she would like to continue modeling in the future, and she credits the show for sparking the interest in her. "If I hadn't done the show, I probably never would have done modeling," she says sincerely. She says the show taught her everything she knows and it allowed her to feel more ready to move somewhere and give the profession a try. "I'm really glad I did this." America's Next Top Model airs Wednesday nights on UPN.


Was it just me or did last night's episode of CSI feel more like CSI: Miami than the original flavor? I half expected David Caruso to drive up in his Hummer and get out with his hands firmly placed on his hips and his infamous Sunglasses of Justice cemented to his face in that rap party scene. I thought I had the wrong night or something, but then I realized that I was actually engaged in the story and not rolling my eyes at every turn (sorry CSI: Miami fans). Anyway, it was an interesting take on the whole hip hop wars idea. Fans of one rapper (Dollar) killing fans of another after embarrassing photos got out. The most interesting part was the fact that this case actually had two different crimes going on at once. One was the embarrassing video where Dollar is held at gunpoint in a bikini for something called "Boys Gone Nutz." The other crime is the murder of three of a rival rapper's fans, who were hanging posters with screen shots of the video. It seems a member of Dollar's own fan base shot the video as revenge for Dollar's involvement with this fan's sister's appearance in "Girls Gone Nutz." The girl's father was so angry over the video, he took his car keys and permanently scarred his daughter's face, neck and chest. Her brother blamed Dollar for the incident and wanted to get even, but things went sour when another Dollar fan got upset over the images from the video and started shooting at the kids hanging the posters. It was all so senseless, but then again, when isn't murder? By the way, if you caught any of the million ads for the final four episodes of CSI, then you saw the picture that supposedly holds the clues for the final two episodes. You can explore the picture further (with a little magnifying tool) over at cbs.com. So far, I'm getting nothing, so leave me a comment if you get something from the photo. You can also click over to cbs.com to get a free download of the Obie Trice song/video featured on last night's episode.


I think I'm still depressed from last night's episode of Without a Trace. Things just went from bad to worse to crawl- into- a- ball- and- sob depressing! It's not bad enough that mother- to- be Meg had HIV that she contracted from an ex-boyfriend, or that she thought her father died when she was 6, but really her mother lied to her because her father ran off with his secretary. And did I mention that she hadn't seen her older sister since then as well or that her mother had kept her sister's letters from her? How about the fact that she got so angry with her mother at the end that she cut her out of her life? Still not depressed enough, well then let me fill you in on Meg's deteriorating HIV status. It seems she developed non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which changed her status from HIV-positive to AIDS. The doctor didn't know how long she would live, but it could be as little as six months. Plus, once the baby is born, she'll have to start chemo and radiation. And now I've thoroughly depressed myself all over again.

About Last Night...CBS won the first hour of the night with Survivor, followed by the first hour of ABC's American Inventor and repeats of NBC comedies Will & Grace and My Name is Earl. At 9, CBS stayed in front with CSI, followed by ABC's second hour of American Inventor and NBC comedies My Name is Earl (r) and The Office (r). The final hour of the night went to CBS' Without a Trace, followed by ABC's Commander In Chief (which scored a much lower audience on its new night) and NBC's ER (r). For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - ABC airs Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on a special night. Fox's The Bernie Mac Show airs part one of its two-part season finale at 8:30 p.m.

@10 p.m. - ADA Nick Potter tackles an easy case to win until a priest wants the charges dropped on NBC's Conviction.

SUNDAY EDITION
@8 p.m. - A man Jeffries arrested in 1994 begs him to reexamine his case just days before his scheduled execution on CBS' Cold Case. Over on NBC, politics are put aside for Leo's funeral on The West Wing.

@9 p.m. - Carol Burnett guest stars as Bree's mother on ABC's Desperate Housewives. Meanwhile, Karl confesses his feelings for Susan and Parker plays doctor at school.

@10 p.m. - ABC premieres its new drama What About Brian starring Barry Watson (the show will make its time slot debut Monday night). Over on NBC, a professional baseball player is accused of rape, but a shocking twist emerges when they check out his alibi on Crossing Jordan.


QUICK CUTS

*Fox is the latest network to enter the Internet and video-on-demand fray. The network will begin offering later this year many of its shows for download the day after they air. The deal is different from the ones struck by ABC, NBC and CBS because Fox's deal allows the local affiliates to get a piece of the revenue pie as well, which in turn, allows Fox to make more shows available. Local affiliates are concerned that they will lose viewers as more content is made available on the Internet.

*CBS' Without a Trace has done it again. The hit crime drama is responsible for the safe return of 18-month old Anisa Jackson. The little girl's father kidnapped her from her home in Pennsylvania last December. CBS broadcast her picture and information during an episode of Without a Trace last month. CBS' The Early Show also covered the disappearance the following morning. Police say that tips resulting from the two broadcasts led them to the missing tot in Alabama. The little girl is back now with her mother. This is the second time tips from the CBS' Without a Trace broadcast have led to the safe recovery of a missing person.

*And finally, it's getting to be that time of year again, sadly. I'm talking about the time when all of your favorite shows take their summer vacations. But before they go, they always make sure to leave us with a lasting impression to tied us over until September (or in some cases, longer). The networks are beginning to release details about these season finales. CBS says that Ghost Whisperer will find Melinda (Jennifer Love Hewitt) helping hundreds of dead passengers from a plane crash crossover. If you want more details on the two-part finale that concludes May 5th, click on over to The Futon Critic (WARNING: Link contains spoilers). Fox is releasing details about House's second season finale. The episode will air over two nights on May 2nd and 3rd and will find House baffled by a wounded police officer with uncontrollable laughter whose condition takes a turn for the worse. For more on this finale, click over to The Futon Critic (WARNING: Link contains spoilers). You can also read up on the series finale of the WB's 7th Heaven, which features the return on Barry Watson and Jessica Biel and a wedding! Click on over to The Futon Critic for more (WARNING: Link contains spoilers).

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in Monday for thoughts on Cold Case and Desperate Housewives. Plus, all the latest television news! And be sure to check back here later today for another exciting edition of Friday Fun where you'll get a preview of what to expect with the return of a beloved show from the star herself and video clips of the next couple of episodes. Stay Tuned...

DON'T FORGET!!! Monday is the official launch of PassTheRemote.Net, the new companion site for Pass the Remote blog!!! Here's what you can look forward to on Monday:

~NEWS: You'll have access to the day's biggest television headlines and stories
~PASS THE REMOTE BLOG: Easy link with a preview of the day's hottest topics
~BEST OF PASS THE REMOTE: Includes a photo gallery (which will house all of my pictures from my Veronica Mars set visit among other future endeavors) and easy reference links to the best editions of Pass the Remote (including all my posts on the set visit)
~FRIDAY FUN: An easy to use archive of all the Friday Fun editions of Pass the Remote
~LISTINGS: Find out what's on TV each night

Check it out Monday at PassTheRemote.Net!! Also, you'll notice a new "look" here at Pass the Remote blog starting Monday as well. Be sure to tune in then!


SAVE EVERWOOD NOW! Click HERE to learn how to help the show get another season

Don't forget to help Veronica Mars with the $4,000 Shower Campaign. Click HERE for details