Sara Breaks Out from her Mall Image! Plus 'Trace,' 'CSI' and 'Deadwood' Dead?

Sara (left - photo courtesy UPN) made it all the way to the final four on America's Next Top Model. Not bad for a girl who had no prior modeling experience and who producers found in a mall. "That's a funny story," the Georgetown graduate told bloggers last night during a teleconference. "I was shopping in Macy's and this woman came up to me and asked if I was lost." Apparently, that woman was from America's Next Top Model and she thought that Sara was at the mall to audition for the 6th cycle, but Sara didn't even know that the auditions were going on. Her mall discovery became a stigma that seemed to follow her throughout the competition. Other contestants questioned her commitment since she was discovered and had no prior experience. "I feel like it was something that was held against me from the very beginning," she explains. She seemed to get the most criticism from fellow contestant Joanie, but Sara takes it in stride. "People say things that they don't mean in stressful situations," she concedes. She says that she and Joanie have become close since their Top Model experience. "She knows I take it seriously now." For someone who didn't have the experience that some of the others had, she has plenty to fill her resume now. One of her first experiences was that hair-raising makeover. "The hair cut was definitely a shock to my system," she admits, but then concedes that she has gotten used to it and now keeps her hair short, for the time being anyway. One of her favorite experiences was Thailand. "Thailand was the most incredible experience," she gushes. " I got to do so many things there. Even if I traveled there I wouldn't get to do all that." One of those things was posing for a photo shoot on top of an elephant. " It was just such an amazing experience," she recalls. She even managed to pick up a few Thai phrases and customs. "A lot of what they do is things that we all should do like respect each other," she explains. "I always wanted to be cognizant of what I was doing. I didn't want to offend anyone."


In addition to the elephant shoot, Sara says that she also liked the first shoot where the girls had to go bald. "It was an interesting situation," she says. It was also one where she received a lot of praise, but Sara says that she never minded the criticism either, especially when it came from Tyra. "I always felt that what Tyra said was not mean spirited, but constructive," she explains. "Anything she said came from a good place." Sara counts the falling fairytale shoot and the ice shoot as her least favorites. She says that she actually sprained her neck during the falling shoot, and she describes it as "very painful." And if difficult photo shoots and the competition weren't hard enough, there was also fellow contestant Jade. When asked about the the contestant that viewers love to hate, Sara laughs and says that everyone asks her about Jade. "She has such a big personality and unflappable confidence," she explains. Sara says that she actually admires Jade for those two qualities and she admits that she doesn't know her outside of the competition. So, what's next for the girl who was discovered in the mall? She says that she would like to pursue modeling and "see how far my potential will take me." She says that watching herself on Top Model has been very constructive. "I finally see what they were saying," she explains. "I think the stiff shoulders have made their final exit." America's Next Top Model will air its 2-hour season finale this Wednesday, May 17th on UPN.


Without a Trace gave us a very interesting social commentary last night. Do missing white girls get more media attention than their African- American counterparts? I've seen this question explored in the media before, and according to studies, they do. You don't have to conduct a study to know the answer, although, I do enjoy the irony of a media outlet doing a social commentary about their own coverage. Instead of wasting the time on these commentaries, why don't they just start covering missing children equally? It's frustrating in real life, but it was even more so on Without a Trace last night because we got to experience the inequality through the eyes of the mother of one of the missing persons. I just wanted to reach through my television and rip off the reporter's head. Is it that difficult to cover another missing teen or at the very least, put his picture on the air? As we saw last night, it's difficult to get tips when no one knows that the child is missing. I found myself siding 100% with Viv. Every time they pulled another FBI agent off of her case, I got more and more frustrated. This episode was really a stand-out hour of television and a stellar effort by everyone involved, especially guest star Viola Davis (Audrey, Darnell's mom). For the first time, there was no payoff in this episode. We invested our emotions into both of these kids' stories and we never learn the outcome other than Sam saying, "One alive, one dead," a body confirmation and Jack walking over to both mothers. I'm sure the point was that both kids' lives were of equal value, and therefore both equally worthy of the media coverage only afforded to Emily, so it's tragic simply to lose one of them. Normally, this lack of closure would have bothered me (and to be honest, it did last night), but in this case I think the point was made perfectly. If you were wondering about the ending song from this episode, it was James Blunt's "Cry" off of his Back to Bedlam album. It was brilliantly perfect for the scene and helped set the tragic mood, and yes, it's going on my iPod. As usual, you can get the track from iTunes.


Last night's CSI was only the first part in this year's 2-part finale, but it definitely set up some interesting situations for next week. First, what will happen to Brass? Second, is Warrick's marriage kaput? If you read TV Guide regularly, then you definitely know the answer the latter and you may know the answer to the former as well. I'm not going to say anything about the outcome of either storyline here, so proceed without worry. Remember how CBS told us that we could figure out the finale by looking at this picture? Well, from what we've seen so far, it seems that the clues were, in fact, there and the entire stunt was actually a pretty cool (and dare I say hip?) marketing tool on CBS' part. If you look at the gentleman hunched over with the bullet wound in his back, you'll notice that there's a police badge in his pocket, so clearly this was meant to foreshadow Brass' shooting. You can also use the magnifying glass to look at Warrick's left hand, and you'll notice that he's not wearing his wedding ring like he usually does, so we have the marital trouble hinted at here. You can also spot the slot machines, indicating the casino where the hostage situation went down, and then there's the most interesting discovery of all. If you use the magnifying glass and mouse over Gil and Sara, you'll notice that their heads change position to look at each other. If you mouse over everyone else's heads, they don't move. Is this a subtle hint to a possible relationship between the two next week? Maybe, but I for one am choosing to believe that it's nothing more than a cool graphic effect (Hey, denial ain't just a river in Egypt!).

About Last Night...CBS won the first hour of the night with Survivor, followed by NBC's super-sized Will & Grace and the beginning of a super-sized My Name is Earl and Fox's combination of That 70s Show, a 7-minute X-Men preview and the beginning of a retrospective for That 70s show. At 9, CBS stayed in the lead with CSI, followed by a tie between the rest of NBC's super-sized Earl and The Office finale and the rest of Fox's That 70s Show retrospective. The final hour of the night went to CBS' Without a Trace, followed by NBC's ER and ABC's Primetime. To read more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - NBC airs another edition of Deal or No Deal. Over on CBS, magician and psychological illusionist Keith Barry has his own special called Keith Barry: Extraordinary featuring Jessica Simpson, Nicollete Sheridan, Elijah Wood and others.

@9 p.m. - Annabeth prosecutes a high-profile case involving a professional baseball player and ends up facing off with his slick defense attorney on CBS' Close to Home. Over on NBC, One of the trio of ladies at the Montecito is preparing to walk down the aisle on Las Vegas.

@10 p.m. - Don enlists Charlie's help when the bodies of five young Asian girls found washed up are suspected of being infected with the Avian influenza virus on CBS' Numb3rs. Over on NBC, Jim Steele tries to prosecute a rape case but the plaintiff's father stands in the way on Conviction.

SUNDAY EDITION
@8 p.m. - CBS wraps up another edition of Survivor with this 2-hour episode.

@9 p.m. - Felicia Tilman has more in store for Paul Young, Bree reaches the end of her rope, and Susan must start over on ABC's Desperate Housewives. Over on NBC, Goren and Eames trace the evidence when a church worker is found dead after the latest in a series of arson-fueled fires on Law & Order: CI.

@10 p.m. - Finn gives a health update on Doc, Meredith is assigned to work with Callie for the day while George gets paired with Derek, and Burke and Izzie continue to try to find a heart for Denny on part one of ABC's Grey's Anatomy finale (part 2 airs Monday night). Over on CBS, it's the Survivor reunion special.

SUNDAY'S FEATURED FINALES!!!
The West Wing (8 p.m. NBC) - The Bartlet Administration prepares to leave the White House and The West Wing and our television sets forever on the series finale of one of television's most celebrated series. Before the series finale, you can catch the pilot episode.

Malcolm In the Middle (8:30 p.m. Fox) - Another long-running series says goodbye. Tonight, Malcolm is elected valedictorian of his graduating class and struggles with his speech, but Lois refuses to hear his complaints and reveals her plans for him to become President of the United States on the series finale.

OTHER SUNDAY FINALES!!!
King of the Hill (7:30 p.m. Fox) - 10th season finale
The Surreal Life (9 p.m. VH1) - 6th season finale
American Dad (9:30 p.m. Fox) - 2nd season spring finale
So Notorious (10 p.m. VH1) - 1-hour 1st season finale

To see what else you can catch on television tonight with customized listings for your area (via Zap2it), visit the TV Listings area of PassTheRemote.net.


QUICK CUTS

*HBO's Deadwood may not be long in the saddle. The network opted not to pick up any of the show's actors beyond the upcoming third season, effectively making them each available to pursue other projects. The show's creator, David Milch, is currently focusing on another project for HBO. Sources at the network say that discussions about the show's future are ongoing. The third season kicks off June 11th on HBO.

*And finally, a PROGRAMMING NOTE! Next week is network upfronts week, which is when each network announces its fall schedule to advertisers. In other words, we'll finally know for certain which shows are staying and which are going. Since this is one of the biggest weeks for any TV fan, expect breaking news editions of Pass the Remote each day with the comings and goings from each network. Next week's upfront schedule looks like this:

MON: NBC
TUES: ABC
WED: CBS
THURS: The CW (this is the big one, folks! We'll find out about Veronica Mars and Everwood) and Fox

To get more of today's biggest TV news and headlines, visit the TV News section at PassTheRemote.Net.



That's all for today. Be sure to tune in Monday for thoughts on The West Wing's final episode and Desperate Housewives. Plus, all the latest television news and breaking schedule news from NBC (Will Conviction get renewed? Where will Law & Order: CI and Crossing Jordan land now that NBC has Sunday Night Football? And will the network move ER from its Thursday night slot? Tune in Monday to find out)! And be sure to check back here later today for another exciting edition of Friday Fun where you'll get thoughts on last night's My Name is Earl finale including some fun bonuses! Stay Tuned...

To get more television coverage, including a complete archive of the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery featuring pictures from the set of Veronica Mars, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.



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