FRIDAY FUN: Lake Explains His 'Race' Demeanor

If you have been watching this season's thrilling edition of The Amazing Race, then you know that married couple Lake and Michelle got lost in Greece and wound up finishing in last place last week. You also know that the argumentative duo wasn't the most popular team on the race. Lake, a dentist, and Michelle, an office assistant at Lake's practice, have been married for 13 years and have three children together. At home in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, the couple claims that things are not as you saw on the race. Lake recently told CBS' Early Show that the entire Race experience is very stressful and not how their day-to-day life is run. Both Lake and Michelle sat down with The Early Show and TVGuide.com's Insider column to discuss the criticism viewers have thrown their way since this edition premiered in February.

Click HERE to go to the CBS Early Show video. If the link doesn't work, click HERE to go the Early Show's page with a link to Lake and Michelle's interview

In the interview with The Early Show, Lake credits Michelle. He says that he was carrying the team in the beginning, but she was carrying them at the end. He admits that he should have listened to her more because they would still be in the race if he had. Surprisingly, the duo claims that their friends and family have nothing but nice things to say about the way the two presented themselves on the competition. Michelle explains that her friends and family know her and Lake and the nature of their relationship.



As I mentioned above, the husband and wife team also did an interview with TVGuide.com's Insider column. In that interview, Lake says that most people would be surprised to know the real Lake.

"I give Michelle flowers every month, just out of the blue. I got her a new ring last year and a new car for Christmas, just for her to use for herself. I try to do things like that for her. I also try to spend time with her and I make a lot of effort to push her a little harder and try to compensate by doing things that most guys wouldn't do."

Is it just me, or are these comments not helping his case? I don't think we viewers were concerned about the things he buys for her, but rather the way he treats her and cares about her. I love, BTW, that the car is "just for her to use herself." This comment reminds me of why I felt like he treated her like a subordinate and not an equal. Lake also says that his stint on the show hasn't increased his dental business by too much.

"Not a huge amount. Everybody talks about it, and some people said they came in because they heard about it and saw us on the Race. It hasn't been hundreds. Probably more like 10 to 20."

One of the harder challenges this season was the frightening bungee jump Roadblock in Greece. Michelle graciously took the challenge and handled it like a pro. She tells TVGuide.com that she didn't freak out about the task.

"I'll be honest, I told myself I had to do it, walked out to the platform and jumped, and that was it. I did not do any of that babylike 'I don't want to do it' stuff. This is a race, so I sucked it up."

You can read TVGuide.com's interview with Lake and Michelle in its entirety at the site's Insider column. The Amazing Race airs Wednesday nights on CBS. Click HERE to go to the official site to learn more.



That's all for this edition of Friday Fun! Be sure to check back here Monday for the latest edition of Pass the Remote and next Friday for another installment of Friday Fun! Monday's edition will have thoughts from Brooke on her elimination from America's Next Top Model and a look at sweeps plans for your favorite CBS and NBC shows (including season finales!). Plus, all the latest television news! Have a great weekend everyone!

To read more of today's television headlines and listings, and to get a complete archive with the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.

Syd's Back! Plus 'Idol,' 'Model' and Breaking Programming News for Tonight

So, what did everybody think about last night's 2-hour Alias return? I loved the way it literally picked up exactly where it left off. It was so seamless that I found myself wondering if Jennifer Garner filmed the cargo ship scenes before she went on maternity leave. I was surprised by how much information and plot lines that I remembered. I had somehow forgotten about Sloane's involvement with Prophet 5, but it came flooding back as soon as he got his little phone call about failing to tip them off about Syd's rescue. Here are some observations about last night's first-rate 2-hour return:

- Why was the baby glowing red and blue in the womb? I know everything checked out when they got Syd back, and the baby appeared to be fine, but that was weird.

- Weiss was back! And with a powerful position! I loved seeing him help Marshall, Dixon, Rachel and Thomas at CIA Headquarters. That scene in the server room with Rachel was intense. I loved how Weiss navigated her through it.

- So Thomas was married and his wife was killed. He tracked down the killer, but we don't know what happened. He said that he wasn't there about "that," which we can only assume is his wife's death. He sure was laying it on thick with Rachel later, though. He lied about the encounter, so it seems that something must have gone down.

- Jack's tactic at the Alpha Black meeting was awesome! He found the mole and got his daughter's location. Of course, he also got arrested, but it was short lived. I don't think I realized that he had such high clearance!

- Irina made me mad when she used her mother/daughter relationship with Syd to find the location of the fabled Horizon, although it was fun to see the family back together again. As soon as she double-crossed them, I knew things were going to get interesting.

- Is Peyton the badest bad girl to ever bad? She's completely ruthless! I knew she wouldn't die, but she did seem seriously injured.

- We're not much closer to finding out what Horizon is or why Prophet 5 wants it. We know it was stored in that safety deposit box on Vancouver during a mission that Vaughn worked in Paris in 1999. Whatever it is, it isn't very big and it's now in the hands of Irina.

- Speaking of Irina, she redeemed herself when she decided to choose motherhood for once. She coached Syd through that birth and made sure they got the help they needed after she left. Is it wrong that I both dislike and like Irina?

- I know none of you was shocked when Vaughn turned up at the end. The fact that he's still alive is like the worst kept secret ever, but a monastery? It seems that he is hiding out, but did I detect a hint that both Syd and Jack were in on his fake death? While they're on the plane flying back to A.P.O, we see Syd look at Jack and say "Dad" and Jack says nothing, but nods. The next scene shows Vaughn finding out about his daughter. It seems that Jack is the one who got word to Vaughn. We'll have to see in future episodes, but if Syd knew all along, that would definitely be a twist I didn't see coming!

Overall, it was great to have Alias back and I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the series play out. What did you think about last night's return? Are you happy to have the show back? Drop me a comment with your thoughts.


The Idol Moment
You listen to me! You really, really listen to me! First, I enlist your help to keep Katharine McPhee out of the bottom three, and it works. Now, you got rid of Ace!! All joking aside, I was so thrilled, scratch that, ecstatic to see Ace go! Finally the faker is gone! Interestingly enough, it was on a night where he wasn't as horrible as he usually is, but no matter. What I am not rejoicing over is Paris' and Chris' descent into the bottom three. Why wasn't Kellie Pickler's tone deaf performance in the bottom three? Why is everyone buying her country bumkin act? It's not fair when fabulous singers like Paris and Chris get relegated to the bottom three and average - at - best singers like Kellie get tons of votes? Please people; stop picking Pickler for the love of Simon! Anyway, I thought Tuesday's performances were good overall. Chris, Taylor, Paris and Katharine shone the brightest, but Elliot did a fine job as well. Ace was his usual so-so self and you know how I feel about Kellie's painful performance. The one thing I will say about Kellie is her ability to recognize her own failures and address them. She was the first to point out that she messed up, and she took the constructive criticism very well. Is this why you're all voting for her?


The Model Moment
Ace's departure from American Idol was deserved, but unexpected, but Brooke's (left - photo courtesy UPN) elimination from America's Next Top Model was as expected as Jade's performance at panel. For weeks, we've been hearing about how she has all the potential in the world, but can't turn that potential into action. Her photos have always been so-so at best. It's a shame because she really does have a lot of potential. I think a lot of her shortcomings have to do with her lack of confidence. It's hard to sell something if you don't believe in yourself. Of course, it's hard to believe in yourself when you keep harping on all the negatives. It was just too much for Brooke to overcome. Is anyone else getting the sickening feeling that Jade is going to win this competition? I feel like the judges put her in the bottom two in hopes that it will fix her attitude because they want to see her through to the end. She needs a huge dose of humility stat! I really enjoyed the doll photo shoot, and I couldn't get over how well Danielle, Furonda and Joanie nailed it! Danielle is still my favorite, and I applaud her effort to hold onto something that she likes about herself, even if the judges are making her close that gap between her teeth. Joanie is my new second favorite. I loved the way she got so choked up about the dental work, and she truly appreciated the results. And her pictures are fabulous! That black and white crying photo was amazing (Above - photo courtesy UPN)!


About Last Night...Fox won the first hour of the night with Bones, followed by CBS' The Amazing Race and the first hour of ABC's Alias. At 9, Fox stayed in the lead with its combination of the Idol results show and Unan1mous, followed by CBS' Criminal Minds and the second hour of Alias. The final hour of the night went to CBS' CSI: NY, followed by NBC's Law & Order (r) and the return of ABC's Invasion. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Chris decides to enroll in karate classes so he can beat his little brother on UPN's Everybody Hates Chris. Over on CBS, one survivor suffers a medical emergency on Survivor.

@9 p.m. - Theresa and the baby return on Fox's The O.C.

@10 p.m. - The team searches for a young blue blood who went missing from the inner city shelter for indigent women where he volunteered as part of his sentence for drug possession on CBS' Without a Trace. Over on ABC, Mac stands by her nominee for Attorney General who takes a beating during his confirmation hearings for being soft on crime on Commander In Chief.



QUICK CUTS

*BREAKING NEWS! NBC is canceling Celebrity Cooking Showdown effective immediately. The celeb-reality competition was set to air its final two installments tonight and tomorrow night, but poor ratings led the network to scrap the series at the last minute. The unaired episodes will be available via webcast at nbc.com. Look for repeats of Will & Grace and My Name is Earl to air tonight and a repeat of Deal or No Deal to air tomorrow night in place of Showdown.

*HBO is giving Big Love a second season. The cable network ordered another season of its new hit show that deals with plural marriage. The show stars Bill Paxton as a Utah polygamist and Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin as his three wives. The second season will begin filming in August and is expected to premiere next year on HBO.

*And finally, is ABC's Lost losing another cast member? I'm finally giving into this story even though it is purely speculative at best. Actress Cynthia Watros (Libby on Lost) is signed on to the CBS comedy pilot My Ex-Life opposite Tom Cavanaugh. The show will focus on a divorced couple who are now best friends and sharing custody of their children. Like all other pilots, the show is vying for a spot on the fall schedule. The speculation is that Watros signed on to the pilot because her character must not live through the season on Lost. For now, Watros' role in the new pilot is being classified as "guest starring" according to The Hollywood Reporter, but she will play one half of the divorced couple. CBS will announce its new fall schedule next month. Lost airs its season finale May 24th on ABC.

That's all for today. I'm off tomorrow, but be sure to check back here for another edition of Friday Fun. This week's edition features thoughts from a controversial team from The Amazing Race. That's tomorrow on a special early edition of Friday Fun!

To read more of today's television headlines and listings, and to get a complete archive with the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.



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

'TAR' Edition: Teams Play in the Dirt as the 'Race' Moves East

I've been preaching about the lack of non-elimination rounds on The Amazing Race for the last couple of weeks, but boy am I glad they saved it for this week. If the Hippies had gone, I would have been very upset. It's so much better that they were saved by the non-elimination round than last week's Lake and Michelle elimination. Anyway, the teams departed the Pit Stop in Greece and learned that they would be traveling to Oman, where they would have to find a giant incense burner (insert you own Team Hippies jokes here). First though, they had to walk to the bus station and board one of two buses to the airport. Nothing big happened during this time, except for an interesting fight/non-fight between dating couple Ray and Yolanda. It was hard to follow, but apparently the two started off by joking around about stopping to ask someone which bridge they had to cross. Seeing as it was the middle of the night, there wasn't anyone around to ask, but things between the two somehow escalated. We saw a quick clip of an interview with Yolanda where she said something about how she and Ray love to joke around, but neither knows when the other suddenly turns serious. Well, Yolanda turned real serious after Ray "cussed" at her. He said something about finding the "damn" bridge, and she got very upset because he cussed at her. It's a good thing Yolanda didn't spend more time around Lake and Michelle, huh? I feel Yolanda. She saw the entire thing as Ray disrespecting her, and he made it worse by flipping her off when she turned around. Yolanda, who in addition to having a severe aversion to the word "damn," apparently has eyes in the back of her head because she knew what Ray had done. Things turned sour between the two and remained that way for the rest of the leg. The two finally reached the bus stop and boarded the 9 a.m. bus with Team Slacker, MoJo and Fran/Barry. Meanwhile, the Hippies finally made their way to the bus stop and boarded the 10 a.m bus to the airport. This is when one of the best scenes to ever unfold on The Amazing Race unfolded (I don't think it was quite up there with the PhilJig, but it was darn (That's for you Yolanda. I could have said the other D word, but I didn't) close). Team Hippies sat on the empty bus to the airport and informed all of us that they were riding the bus with the spirit of the eliminated teams. First, they channeled Lake, and I swear (but not in front of you, Yolanda) that it was dead on! If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought that Lake, himself, had mistakenly got on the bus using his map of Greece that's all in Greek. The Hippies continued by channeling Team Nerds (and those ever-clever TAR producers slid the Nerds music underneath as well) and then Team Double D (one of them asked if Oman was in China). It was sheer brilliance and total hysterics! I (heart) Team Hippies.


At the airport, the first set of teams stumbled around trying to find the first flight to Oman. All four teams settled on the flight that would get them there at 10:50 p.m. Team Hippies showed up as all the other teams were purchasing their tickets, and for some unexplainable reason, the teams wouldn't tell Team Hippies what time the flight got in. I know, it didn't make any sense to me either, especially since they just asked the gate agent two feet in front of them. When did everyone become anti-Team Hippie? Boo to the other teams. Anyway, Team Hippies landed on a flight that got in an hour after the other. All of the teams landed in Oman, and Ray remarked that all of the signs were "squiggly." Apparently, Ray failed to see the English written beneath the "squiggly." Eventually, all of the teams made their way to the giant incense burner, but as usual, learned that it didn't open until 6 a.m. Team Slacker acted shocked once again (Hey guys, fool you once shame on TAR. Fool you twice, shame on you. Fool you for the 100th time this edition, oh, never mind!). Meanwhile, Yolanda once again reminded Ray that he cussed at her and how she didn't appreciate it. The next morning, teams ran up the hillside and found the clue box. They learned that they would need to drive themselves 135 miles to the town of Sur and find the ferry crossing. All of the teams were off and running, except for Ray/Yolanda; the two got lost two seconds after they left the parking lot. Meanwhile, the other teams found that the road they were following suddenly turned into a dirt road and that suddenly turned into a huge flooded crossing. A man that Monica wanted to "take home in my pocket" guided each of the teams through the water. They continued down the road, but came across a second flooded crossing with no little pocket man as Monica calls him. Team Hippies and MoJo hesitated at the seemingly vivacious current. Soon, Fran/Barry came along and stopped as well. Then, Team Slacker drove past the other three and plunged into the water crossing without a caution. The other teams chanted "please let them get stuck, please let them get stuck," which was a HUGE coincidence because I was chanting the exact same thing! Anyway, the rest of the teams followed and not a single one got stuck. I really couldn't believe it. This had TAR replacement car written all over it! So, the teams forged on and reached the ferry crossing, except for Ray/Yolanda who were still lost, but stopped for directions and finally made their way.


At the ferry crossing, the teams encountered a Detour: Camel or Watch -tower. Time out for a second. What happened to the cool punny, rhyming Detour names? Me thinks the producers were slacking on this one! Anyway, in Camel, teams had to use a pulley system to load a camel into the bed of a pick-up truck, and then, using a map that looked like it was drawn by a fourth grader, drive the camel 1 mile to a Bedouin camp and exchange the camel for a clue. Does anyone else think of Kelly Preston in that Amanda Bynes movie What a Girl Wants when they hear Bedouin? Nobody? Just me then. In Watchtower, teams had to search three watchtowers for an Arabic message box, and then drive the box 1 mile to a silver shop to exchange it for a clue. MoJo, Hippies and Fran/Barry all chose Watchtower while Slacker chose Camel. Monica decided that the closest Watchtower must hold one of the message boxes. Turns out that it was the ONLY one not to house one, so MoJo decided the task was too hard and switched to Camel. Meanwhile, Hippies and Fran/Barry each found a message box and boarded the ferry (read row boat) back to the main land. Team Slacker made easy work of the camel loading, but took a wrong turn on the way to the Bedouin camp (Seriously people, Kelly Preston met Colin Firth at the camp and they got married and then the mean man in England sent Kelly away because Colin was royalty and Kelly was just an American, but Colin thought that Kelly left and he never knew that she was pregnant with Amanda until a 15-year old Amanda suddenly shows up at his doorstep, well rather, she trespasses on his property and almost gets arrested, but whatever. It's a classic people! A classic!). Anyway, MoJo easily loaded the camel as well and they headed off to the Bedouin camp (And then Colin dances to "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo" while wearing leather pants. See what you're missing?), but they followed the map and found it easily. Actually, Joseph followed the map while also steering and driving the truck and Monica sat with the camel and spoke to it. MoJo, Fran/Barry and Team Hippies all received their next clue and learned that they had to drive 80 miles to the village of Al Hawiyah. Finally, Team Slacker delivered their camel and passed Ray/Yolanda who were just beginning the Camel Detour. Ray/Yolanda easily finished the Detour, and they too, were on their way to Al Hawiyah. Team Hippies and Fran/Barry arrived at the village first and encountered this leg's Roadblock. One team member had to dig through 117 sand mounds to find one of six underground ovens that housed the team's food for the night. Barry and BJ began digging in the scorching sun. Soon, MoJo arrived and Monica began searching as well. Team Slacker arrived next and Eric began digging. Barry found the food first, but had trouble bringing it to the surface allowing Monica to get ahead after she found hers. MoJo opened their next clue to learn that they would need to drive 150 miles to Jabreen Castle, which would serve as the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. The two excitedly hurried off. Fran/Barry were right behind and Team Slacker behind them, leaving Team Hippies still searching in the sand.


The sun seemed to get hotter as BJ kept searching. Ray/Yolanda pulled up and Yolanda began digging. I had my fingers crossed that Ray wouldn't yell "the D word that shall not be named" during the stressful ordeal. The camels that were standing around watching the task seemed to be growing more and more ornery, so Tyler of Team Hippies fame, went over to relax one of them. See, Team Hippies brings happiness to all of God's creatures! Anyway, Yolanda finally found an oven and she and Ray made their way to the Pit Stop. Meanwhile at the Pit Stop, Fran/Barry took advantage of Fran's excellent navigation skills and landed in first place. MoJo came in second, and Ray/Yolanda found themselves in third thanks to Team Slacker's "short cut." Seriously, have there ever been more famous last words? Whenever anyone tells you they have a short cut, run the other way. BJ finally found an oven and he and Tyler headed to the Pit Stop. Things were looking close thanks to Slacker's "short cut" and the editing, but Team Slacker came out victorious with a fourth place finish. Team Hippies finally got to the mat, where they were relieved to find out that this was a non-elimination round. What did you think about last night's episode? Were you as relieved as Team Hippies that this was non-elimination? Did you think that Ray/Yolanda's damn fight was a whole lot of nothing? Leave me a comment with your thoughts.


Be sure to tune in later today for the regular edition jam-packed with thoughts on Alias' big return. Plus, the Idol and Model moments and all the latest television news!

To read more of today's television headlines and listings, and to get a complete archive with the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.



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

'Veronica' Follows the Luck of the Irish! Plus the Scrubies, 'Alias' Goes to iTunes and ACM Presenters Announced

How can one show be this good? Veronica Mars is the best show on television, without a doubt. And if you need any further proof, just look at last night's stellar hour. There were so many heart-stopping, flat-out shocking moments that it's hard to know where to start! Weevil was carrying around a how-to guide on bomb making? Kendall isn't really Kendall?? Gia saw the green Barracuda that killed Harry's dog right before the bus crashed? Can it get more thrilling than this? Oh, it can and it will because we all know from last season that things are only beginning to heat up. It all began when Harry asked Veronica to look into who purposely ran over and killed his beloved dog. He knew the person was driving a green Barracuda, so Veronica tried to track the car, but she didn't find any registered in Neptune. She took out an ad in the school paper for anyone who had seen the car, and Gia gave her the shocking revelation that she saw the car the day of the bus crash, right before the bus went off the cliff. Apparently, one of the car's occupants mooned Gia and the rest of the 09ers in the limo that was following the bus, and Gia remembers seeing a college logo of sorts in the window. Suddenly, Veronica's dog killer case became intertwined with her bus crash mystery. Meanwhile, things weren't looking so good for Weevil. Not only does he not mind sacrificing a rat, but he also had instructions on how to make a bomb confiscated at the beginning of the school year during the random locker searches. Oh yeah, and there's that little point about him "finding" Veronica alone at the gas station and giving her a ride. Weevil explained that he was following the bus because he was looking out for Cervando. It seems Cervando's bragging about taking a pair of jeans from the Fitzpatricks was not going over well with Liam Fitzpatrick, and Weevil was afraid that Liam would do something to Cervando. Veronica is pretty certain that whoever crashed the bus did so by making a cell phone call to trigger the bomb that caused the bus to go off the cliff and kill all those onboard. As we learned last week, that person would have to have eyes near the bus in order to know the exact point in which to trigger the bomb so that the bus went off the cliff. Weevil was certainly in the area, but his story seemed to make some sense.


Meanwhile, Keith decided to investigate Kendall Casablancas because she was the sole benefactor of the life insurance policy that Dick Sr. took out on his sons. He came across her high school year book, and apparently, Kendall is really Priscilla. The real Kendall died in a car accident back in high school. Guess who was behind the wheel? Yup, fake Kendall. And there's more. Fake Kendall has a criminal record for some fraud activity she was involved in back in the day. Keith decided to dig deeper and find out if Kendall has a secret house somewhere in Neptune. Veronica got a lead on that green Barracuda, but its owner turned out to be an older, blind lady, so she snuck into the garage and found the car sans the college logo. She could see where the outline was still there, though, so she rubbed some powder over it and found a fighting Irishman. Looks like things are pointing back to the Fitzpatricks again. She put a GPS tracking device on the car. Later that night, she followed it to a house, where we see a woman, under the veil of darkness, get in the car. She heard them talking about someone with a flashlight in the house, and the driver reached for his gun and entered the house. Veronica called her dad to tell him, but it turned out he already knew because he was in the house. He and the car's occupant, Liam Fitzpatrick, wrestled after Liam's gun fired blanks (thanks to Veronica's handy work earlier in the day). Keith got away, but we find out that Kendall is the mystery woman at the house, so she and Liam are hooked up somehow. Keith did some more investi - gating and found that Kendall and one of the Fitzpatricks used to work together as a couple of grifters. Fitzpatrick had two strikes against him, so Kendall took the wrap on the third one, meaning the Fitzpatricks owe Kendall big time. Also, that older, blind woman is Liam Fitzpatrick's maternal grandmother, which is how he has access to the car. We already know from Gia that the car was present at the cliff right before the bus crashed, so Liam might have been Kendall's eyes. He could have told her when the bus was near the cliff and she could have hit the trigger that caused the crash. Hmm... the suspect pool widens!


Veronica, doing a favor for Mac, snuck into Principal Clemmons office and while she was there, she found the paddle that Thumper made. Turns out, Weevil needed the paddle as leverage over the Fitzpatricks because he believes that it holds all the contact information for the gang's wealthy drug clients. Weevil wanted the leverage so he could get the Fitzpatricks off the PCHers' backs. Lucky for him, Veronica made a copy of the paddle's contents and she gave it to Weevil. The plan worked, and now the Fitzpatricks are going to leave the PCHers alone. The end of the episode left us all hanging as usual because we found out that investigators found the murder weapon in the Lilly Kane case from last season. Keith had always thought it was the ashtray that they found in the pool, but the new report says that it was one of Aaron Echolls' statuettes. Apparently, it was buried in the Kane backyard, and they found Duncan's hair on it. Now we know what Kendall was doing in Duncan's shower picking up one of Duncan's hairs with a pair of tweezers. Needless to say, Veronica was shocked. We know that all is not what it seems, but it looks like Duncan is going to have a hard time explaining how his hair got there. I love the way this show can seamlessly intertwine all of its storylines, even those that are from last season. It never ceases to amaze me!

Random Mars Musings

1) Didn't Jackie look different with her hair straight? I barely recognized her! She looked great.

2) Speaking of Jackie, I was shocked to learn that she's going to Paris at the end of the school year. Does this spell the end of her character?

3) I loved Wallace's persistence with Jackie at the Hut. He really was determined to get her to go to prom with him. I'm glad it paid off.

4) I loved the scene between Weevil and Veronica in the parking lot. She knew that he was responsible for Thumper's disappearance and she called him on it.

5) Also loved the scene between Logan and Veronica outside of school. It had to be uncomfortable for Veronica to hear about Logan and Kendall, and then Logan started listing off his other conquests.

6) Interesting that Veronica didn't tell Harry the truth about his dog's death. I guess she saw it better to spare him the jail sentence than to enact her own revenge on Liam.

7) I know it has been said before, but it really can't be said enough, Kristen Bell continues to amaze me with her performances. She is a brilliant actress, and she and Kathryn Morris will more than likely continue to top my list of the most underrated and overlooked actors on television. Such a shame!


I seriously think that I am suffering from a hangover today from last night's quality TV overload! TV's best comedy and best show together on one night is making my head spin with joy! Of course, it's also spinning with joy because we got a video camera - wearing JD, narration from Janitor (or rather, Dr. Yan- i- tor), a slew of new inventions including a pen straw and a drill fork (and who can forget the Hover Hoover), Turk trying to prove to Dr. Cox that he's black, JD using the baby monitor and Turk dressing incognito while test driving a minivan and trying to act like a stud because he thinks having a baby is going to change his stud status. As usual, there was also a healthy helping of heart with Elliot realizing that Carla helped her through her earlier years as an intern and Janitor finding out that he truly does make a difference at Sacred Heart. Here's a look at last night's best, funniest and all around awesome lines.

The Scrubies
"I wish I had thought of athletic apparel when I went through my mid-life crisis. It would have been cheaper than a cigarette boat named 'Dr. Feelgood.' " Dr. Kelso to Dr. Cox after the latter showed up to work in a Red Wings jersey

"God knew my people would go through struggles, so he gave us a lifetime supply of cool to compensate." Turk to Dr. Cox on why he's inherently cool

"How you spend your private time isn't my responsibility." Elliot to Keith after he didn't finish his reports because she made him go to dinner with her

"And they call me 'The Pig' because I say disgusting and sexist things to women." The Todd after Turk shares his nickname

"Elliot is a blonde, 108-pound ski pole from a cul-de-sac in Connecticut." Carla to Keith after Keith says that he's scared of Elliot

"I even considered taking a year off and cleaning my way across Europe." Janitor on his opportunities after graduating from college

"Have you seen just how stupid you look when you do your angry-quick walk?" Dr. Cox to Elliot

That's this week's look at the Scrubies. If you have a quote that you would like to nominate for a Scrubie, leave me a comment and I'll post it in a future edition. Of course, you can also drop me a line with your thoughts on last night's Scrubs and/or Veronica Mars.

It's Wednesday, and that means another new episode of Gilmore Girls aired last night. If you would like to read some thoughts and reaction, click on over to TVGuide.com's Watercooler blogs.

About Last Night...Fox won the first hour of the night with American Idol, followed by CBS' NCIS and ABC comedies According to Jim and Hope & Faith. In a surprising twist, the WB's Gilmore Girls landed in fourth for the hour ahead of NBC's Celebrity Cooking Showdown. At 9, Fox stayed in front with House, followed by CBS' The Unit and ABC comedies According to Jim (which aired a second episode) and Less Than Perfect. NBC's Scrubs combined with Teachers for fourth, and UPN's Veronica Mars landed just behind fifth place Pepper Dennis on the WB. The final hour of the night went to CBS' Criminal Minds (r), followed by ABC's Boston Legal and NBC's Law & Order: SVU (r). For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Alias returns on ABC, after a four-month hiatus, with two back-to-back episodes on its new night. To see exclusive clips from tonight's episodes, click on over to TV.com (scroll down to the last 6 clips). Over on CBS, the teams travel to Oman and face a difficult Detour that finds them face to face with some ornery camels. UPN's America's Next Top Model finds Joanie facing dental surgery. I saw some advanced clips from this episode and Nnenna's boyfriend shows up and she has some explaining to do, Joanie and Danielle get the gift of free dental work (as do the other girls, but they just get whitening treatments) and Janice teaches the girls about the ugly side of modeling.

@9 p.m. - Rod Stewart performs and another contestant is eliminated on Fox's American Idol. Over on CBS, Gideon, Hotchner and their team race to catch a serial killer on the run across the South on Criminal Minds.

@10 p.m. - ABC's Invasion returns from its hiatus. Tonight, Russell and Dave discover the island where Szura has been housing some special hybrids, but they also uncover what look like plans for a possible invasion. Over on CBS, An anonymous caller reveals to Mac that a young man is buried at a football stadium and, after uncovering the body, the evidence leads the CSIs once again to the Tanglewood gang on CSI: NY.


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*ABC's Alias is now available for download on Apple's popular iTunes service. Currently, the entire third and fourth season episodes are available for the standard $1.99 a piece. New episodes will be available the day after they air.

*Actress Kathryn Morris is set to present at next month's 41st annual Academy of Country Music Awards. She joins fellow announced presenters Dr. Phil McGraw and wife Robin McGraw. Announced performers include Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts and Sugarland. More presenters and performers will be announced as the broadcast grows closer. The awards air May 23rd on CBS.

*And finally, its Nielsen Wednesday! CBS once again won the week in total viewers, while Fox won the coveted 18-49 year olds crown. The Eye network was led by CSI (#2), Without a Trace (#6) , CSI: Miami (#7) and Survivor (#9). American Idol (#1, #3), House(#4), Desperate Housewives (#5), Lost (#8) and Deal or No Deal (#10) rounded out the top 10. To see a list of the top 20 shows from last week, click on over to USA Today.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for 2 for 1 Thursday with a special early edition of Pass the Remote featuring thoughts on The Amazing Race (now with 100% less Lake) and the regular edition with thoughts on Alias' big return and the Idol and Model moments. Plus, all the latest television news!


To read more of today's television headlines and listings, and to get a complete archive with the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.

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

Amy and Hannah Grow Further Apart! Plus 'Medium's' Back, 'Idol' Ad Space and Fans Write an Episode

Things aren't going so well for Everwood's Amy and Hannah. Ever since Amy started college, she has changed. She has been easily influenced by all the new experiences that college is offering. Meanwhile, Hannah is still the same, conservative girl that she always was back before Amy left for school. Amy is standing up for liberal causes and it's causing a rift in the girls' friendship. And then there's the off - limits topic of Ephram. Hannah feels that Amy is stringing him along, and Amy feels that she isn't since he's still free to date whoever he wants. Problem is, Ephram is still pining for Amy and she gave him hope when she told him that she felt that they would ultimately be together, just not now. This is an interesting topic, and one that's true to life. I understand, and agree, that Amy shouldn't commit to Ephram if she isn't ready to do so. But, I also see where Hannah is coming from with the stringing him along idea. Since Amy told him that she wanted to be with him in the end, he is waiting around for that point to come. Now, that's not exactly Amy's fault since Ephram can date anyone he chooses, but the problem is that Amy may think that she wants to be with Ephram in the long run (and she may very well end up doing so), but she can't possibly know that at this point. So, she ends up filling Ephram with false hope, and he will never be able to fully move on because he will always have in the back of his head that he and Amy will be together. He has loved this girl since he moved to Everwood. Amy is at that age where she's extremely selfish and everything has to be on her terms (as Hannah so eloquently pointed out). I went through that same stage without realizing it at the time, so I really can't hate on Amy, but I will say that Hannah is the better person. She wasn't afraid to stand up for Ephram and she tried to like Amy's obnoxious new friends. I can completely understand her wanting to avoid conflict with Amy and Bright, but I'm glad she told Amy how she feels. I thought it was interesting that Amy considered Ephram to be an off-limits topic. Maybe she knows what she's doing to him isn't right? I LOVED that dinner scene at the Abbott's. The discussion/argument between Amy, Hannah and Bright was just brilliant and one of those lighter scenes that makes this show so phenomenal.


Amy and Hannah weren't the only characters experienc - ing conflict last night. Jake and Andy clashed over whether to tell the police about a drunk driver involved in a single-car accident. Jake wanted to get the guy some professional help and leave the cops out of it because he felt for the guy. Andy, however, wanted to report the accident and the man involved. Things heated up when Andy went behind Jake's back and got the police involved. Things simmered down, though; after Andy told Jake that he thought his idea to open an AA-type of meeting structure in Everwood was a good one. He told him that he could even use his office to hold the meetings. Meanwhile, Nina wasn't too happy about the idea. She said that she was concerned that the town would turn against Jake if they knew about his pain killer addiction, but in reality, she was concerned about what the town would think about her. Nina has always been the insecure type, so this didn't surprise me. I liked how Andy pointed out to her that the real reason she was concerned about people judging her was because she was uncomfortable with it herself. In other Everwood happenings, Harold was jealous of the close bond Rose was forming with a fellow cancer patient, Bill Schmicker (Harold: "It sounds like something you'd lance!"), at her support group. He wasn't worried about her cheating, but he didn't like that she was sharing with this man how she truly felt about the pending adoption. Turns out that Harold actually had something to worry about. Bill had the hots for Rose, and he made it quite clear when he tried to kiss her as she was leaving their group session. I loved how Harold wanted to go over to Bill's house and give him a piece of his mind, but Rose told him that she had already handled it herself. I just love the way Rose keeps Harold in check. They work so well together. If you are enjoying this season of Everwood and would like to see it return for another season, click on over to Save Everwood Now to find out how you can help the show make the jump to the new CW network. There's only a month left before the network makes its fall schedule announcement!


The last time we saw a new episode of Medium it was still winter, the clocks were an hour behind, March Madness was in full swing, baseball was preparing for opening day, Thumper (Veronica Mars) was still alive, Susan and Karl (Desperate Housewives) hadn't gotten back together and broken up again and Henry Gale was just a ballooning enthusiast who crashed into the island on Lost. All this to say it has been a long time since we had a new episode of this show; March 13th to be exact. Why does NBC mishandle its best shows? That's a topic for an entirely different post. Anyway, it was good to have Allison and the rest of the DuBois clan back as well as one of my current TV boyfriends, Det. Lee Scanlon. Allison's seemingly innocent dreams where young girls found themselves all alone turned into real-life nightmares. I couldn't figure out how her dreams were related to the girls' deaths. I knew we were seeing them before they met with the serial killer, but like Allison, I couldn't figure out how the serial killer was happening upon these girls when they were so isolated and scared. It all made sense when we learned that this guy had the same "gift" that Allison has, except, he was using it for bad. Allison's dreams were really what the killer was seeing, and thus, how he knew where to find these girls. Psychic serial killer or no psychic serial killer, I won't be climbing alone anytime soon and I'll be filling up my gas tank before I go anywhere as isolated as the area where victim number 2 met her killer. Was that road creepy or what? I LOVED the irony that the killer's visions are what allowed Allison to see that he was stranded on the side of the road (cue that oil leak problem he was having). Next week's episode looks very exciting for me because it's Scanlon-centric! Welcome back Medium. Were you excited to have Medium back? Did you have it all figured out? Leave me a comment with your thoughts.

**REMINDER**
**VERONICA MARS AIRS TONIGHT**

About Last Night...NBC won the first hour of the night with Deal or No Deal, followed by Fox's Prison Break and repeats of CBS comedies King of Queens and How I Met Your Mother. At 9, Fox took over the lead with 24, followed by CBS comedies Two and a Half Men and Old Christine and ABC's Supernanny. The WB's Everwood edged UPN comedies Girlfriends and Half & Half to finish in fifth place. The final hour of the night went to CBS' CSI: Miami (r), followed by NBC's Medium and the timeslot premiere of ABC's What About Brian. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - The seven finalists compete with songs from Rod Stewart's "American Songbook" on Fox's American Idol. Over on the WB, Lane gets married on Gilmore Girls.

@9 p.m. - Veronica is taken aback when she discovers some startling facts while working a case to uncover who ran over a Neptune senior's dog on UPN's Veronica Mars. Remember, you can watch the opening scene over at upn.com (it seems that things are pointing to Weevil as the culprit behind bus crash - for now) , and you can catch up on what you've missed this season over at marsinvestigations.net. Over on NBC, Markie Post guest stars and Janitor sabotages JD's video diary for his mom on Scrubs. Fox's House tackles an ethical dilemma when a patient needs a liver transplant to extend his life so House and his team can figure out what's wrong with him.

@10 p.m. - Shirley Schmidt begins an affair with her ex-husband, Ivan Tiggs (Tom Selleck), believing that he has left his new wife on ABC's Boston Legal.



QUICK CUTS

*The price to advertise during Fox's American Idol finale just went up. This year, according to AdAge.com, advertisers will pay a cool $1.3 million for a 30-second spot during the final episode that reveals this season's winner. That's still not as high as ABC's $1.7 million price tag for the 2006 Academy Awards, but it is expected to be the highest amount paid for a 30-second spot of any show's finale this year. The same ad space went for $1.2 million during last season's Carrie Underwood finale. We'll find out who wins this year when the American Idol finale airs live May 24th on Fox.

*And finally, fans of Showtime's The L Word have spoken and their words may become an episode of the hit cable show. The network held a writing contest to allow fans of the series to submit scenes based on "an instructive 'scene mission' provided by a member of the writing team" according to the release. Each week, members of the show's online community would read and vote on the scenes submitted by their fellow fans. The scene with the most votes was added to the script in progress. The process began in February and continued every week until the script was completed in a sort of Mad-Libs fashion. Everyone who entered a scene and everyone who voted had chances to win prizes. One winning writer was selected as the grand-prize winner in a random drawing of all seven weekly winners, and won a mentoring session with the writing staff of the show via email. The producers of The L Word have the option to produce the finished "fanisode" into an upcoming episode. The contest marks the first network-sanctioned, fan-written script for an existing series.

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts on Veronica Mars (things are really starting to heat up) and the Scrubies! Plus, all the latest television news!


To read more of today's television headlines and listings, and to get a complete archive with the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.

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

Jeffries Gets the 'Cold' Truth! Plus 'Housewives,' TV Pilot Process and TV on DVD Monday!

Last night's episode of Cold Case was just shy of excellent. It had everything going for it, and yet, it stumbled into a huge plot hole that kept it from really shining like it deserved. I mean, they actually executed an innocent man! I was shocked, disturbed, moved and a million other emotions, but the gaping plot hole that engulfed the episode took away from all of that moving material. How could the three letters D-N-A never have come up last night?? This girl was RAPED and murdered in 1994. A quick search at wikipedia.com, finds that the first person to be convicted based on DNA evidence was back in 1988. Even worse, DNA evidence became widely known in 1994, the same year of this case, because of the O.J. Simpson trial. So, there would have been DNA testing to convict/exonerate Tibbs back in 1994 for sure, and even if that hadn't been the case, there is certainly DNA testing in present day. Why even bother with the whole rape angle of the story if they weren't going to use DNA evidence? I get that maybe there wasn't any, or the dirty cop got rid of it or something, but for the love of Lilly, could they not have written a quick line in there to let us know? This both puzzled and bugged me the entire hour. Anyway, enough with the negative aspect of the episode and on with the positives, and there were many. First of all, I'm very thankful for that humorous air conditioning side story last night. The entire hour was so heavy that it was nice to have some humor infused into it. I loved Vera's idea to hit the thermostat, and then swear he could feel a little bit of cool air coming in. Lilly using Jeffries' messages to fan herself was great as well. I could feel their pain, and it's so miserable to be uncomfortable temperature-wise at work. Did anyone else notice that the opening song was missing from the episode last night? This is the first time in the show's history. I'm guessing it was a time issue, as both Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy have been known to skip the opening song for the sake of more time.


I really enjoyed getting a Jeffries- heavy episode. We got to see an angrier side to him that was a departure from his usual calm, even demeanor. When he thought, as we all did, that Tibbs raped and murdered Kate in 1994, he despised everything about Tibbs, and he never doubted that he was guilty. Then when he looked him in his eyes at his execution, he knew that the wrong man was dying for the crime, and his anger toward Tibbs changed into anger toward the DA's office and the system that failed him. Whoever that Kite-look alike A.D.A was, I'm glad he got fired, but I was even happier when Jeffries decked him! Can you believe he did that? It was awesome because that guy had it coming. I also loved Stillman's comment to the A.D.A that he needed to leave his office before he drop kicked him. It was such a "how you like them apples" moment. It seemed that both Stillman and Jeffries got reprimanded at the end, though, so I hope they're not in too much trouble. That execution scene was really painful, especially after we found out what really happened the night of Kate's death. I still wasn't 100% certain if Tibbs was guilty or not, but I was on the edge of my seat as the minutes ticked away. I thought for sure that Lilly or Stillman would call in at the last second with a stay of execution, and I never really thought that they would execute him. It was so sad when he asked Jeffries to prove him innocent. And it was somewhat vindicating that Jeffries was able to do just that, even if it was after his death. Since the only other suspects were Kate's father and Wayne, Tibbs' boss at the moving company, I figured it had to be Wayne, but I didn't know why. This guy was really sick! Tibbs' short relationship with Kate couldn't have been sweeter. They bonded over her mother's battle with alcohol and Tibbs' personal struggle and his recovery from it. Wayne's, on the other hand, was sick. He saw Kate as his daughter Faith and he raped her the way he always raped Faith before she ran away. It's sad to think that Tibbs' innocent relationship with her took the fall for Wayne's sinister one. We've had several episodes in a row lately with Lilly's special brand of interrogation, and I'll reiterate that, to borrow from the popular song, nobody does it better. She treated Wayne like the scum that he is, and yet, she was still able to get under his skin by bringing up his daughter and the ruined relationship he has with her. I loved when he said that he didn't like what she was implying about his relationship with his daughter and she said that she didn't like it either, "In fact, it makes me sick." Lilly really got angry in that interrogation! It was classic Lilly, and it reminded me of her interrogation back in season one with that creepy child welfare worker who was molesting the little girls that he was suppose to be protecting. She got really mad in that interrogation as well. Overall, a very moving episode that would have been near the top of my list for the season if that DNA plot hole hadn't plagued me the entire hour.


Desperate Housewives returned last night after a week off, and it seems that Gaby and Carlos get to keep baby Lilly - for now. I knew going into this that Gaby would pawn that baby off on anyone who would take her, but I didn't expect her to come around as quickly as she did. I guess realizing that you left a newborn home alone while you went out to lunch with a friend will do that to even the least maternal person. Meanwhile, Lynette was getting a huge lesson in what to do when your 7-year old does something inappropriate. I loved how she tried explaining the birds and the bees in an age appropriate manner, but wound up buying Parker a puppy in order to refocus his obsession. And then there was Bree and her struggle with Andrew. It seems that she has won this round, but I'm not so sure the competition is over yet. Her plan to use Andrew's sexuality against him with his grandparents fit perfectly with his plan early on to use it against her. Did anyone other than Susan think that Karl had changed? I mean, a leopard can't change his spots, especially overnight. Now, Susan is once again playing the fool and she'll have to face the wrath of Edie. If she had only listened to Kyle MacLachian! I will reiterate that Susan and Mike need to sit down, put their pride aside, and have a serious discussion. They're both pining away for each other, but pretending like they're not. I swear, Susan has the most complicated love-life ever!

About Last Night...CBS won the first hour of the night with Cold Case, followed by ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and NBC's The West Wing. At 9, ABC landed the top spot with Desperate Housewives, followed by NBC's Law & Order: CI and the CBS movie. The final hour of the night went to ABC's premiere of What About Brian, followed by NBC's Crossing Jordan and the CBS movie. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Transferred to the psych ward, Michael tries to clear Haywire's head and jog his memory of the missing piece of the blueprint tattoo on Fox's Prison Break. NBC airs another edition of Deal or No Deal.

@9 p.m. - Andy and Jake witness a car crash and save the life of the intoxicated driver, then disagree over whether they should report him to the police and Amy and Hannah drive a deeper wedge in their friendship on the WB's Everwood. Over on Fox, Jack, Audrey and Secretary of Defense reunite for a pivotal meeting on 24. NBC begins its 5-night run of Celebrity Cooking Showdown.

@10 p.m. - NBC's Medium returns, and tonight Allison's dreams about several young women prior to their murder puts her hot on the trail of a serial killer, and in a race against time to save his future victims. ABC's What About Brian moves to its usual night.



QUICK CUTS

*Ever wonder how a TV series goes from an idea to a pilot to a full series? And just how do those network executives decide which pilots they want to order for their fall schedules and which shows should be scheduled when? You can click on over to Yahoo! TV News to get some interesting insight into the pilot season. With network schedule setting just a month away and many fans waiting on pins and needles to find out if their favorites will make the cut, the article offers tremendous insight into the painful process. This season alone, there are almost 100 new comedies and dramas vying for spots on the ever-shrinking network schedules. According to the article, CBS is seeking comedies, ABC may split up its successful Sunday night one-two punch of Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy (one of the two may move to another night to spread the wealth), Fox has a challenge ahead when it comes to filling soon-to-be vacant slots on Thursday and Friday nights and NBC is the most in need of new shows, but will more than likely pick up the fewest. For more interesting insight and details, click on over to Yahoo! TV News.

*And finally, it's TV on DVD Monday! Look for the fourth season of Doogie Howser, M.D. to hit shelves tomorrow along with Remington Steele (season 3) and The Sentinel (season 1). For a full list of tomorrow's releases, visit tvshowsondvd.com.

You may have noticed that things are looking a little different around here today. That's because Pass the Remote has new digs to go along with its new companion site. That's right, PassTheRemote.net is now up and running! The most exciting part is, you now have an easier, shorter web address that takes you to PassTheRemote.net and gives you instant access to Pass the Remote daily blog!

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts on Everwood and the return (finally!) of Medium. Plus, all the latest television news!

To read more of today's television headlines and listings, and to get a complete archive with the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.

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

FRIDAY FUN: You So Need an 'Alias!'

It has been four months, but Alias is finally returning to a television near you! Yes, Syd and the gang are all back for the final episodes of the series beginning this Wednesday with a special 2-hour event on ABC. Four months is a long time to remember what happened when we last left Syd. If you remember, she was pregnant, Vaughn was "dead" and Syd was trapped on a ship in the middle of an ocean because of something having to do with her mother. Here's a quick recap from TV.com:

Sydney teams up with Vaughn after being kidnapped and being placed in a hypnotic state. What Sydney doesn't know is that the kidnapper is a very familiar face with an obscure interest in her unborn child.

ABC.com has a more thorough recap with all the important details. Here's what they have to say about that pivotal ending scene:

Inside Syd's head, she's with Vaughn on a beach. Syd says how much she wants to stay with him. Vaughn encourages her and tells her that together, they will defeat these people -especially after they find out that Syd had given them the wrong information. He has to go so they can stop using her.

At the Hungarian address, Renee and Jack find a room where a nursery was set up. Meanwhile, with the chemicals wearing off, Sydney opens her eyes and finds Peyton unstrapping her. Syd stabs Peyton with the drug and escapes. Still groggy, she finds her way around narrow corridors, only to discover that she's on a ship at sea.

Again, you can read more about the last episode at abc.com. Now that you're caught up, how about a look at what you can expect when the show returns this Wednesday? Entertainment Tonight caught up star Jennifer Garner on the set on her show. She talks about the big 2-hour return, which includes Syd's labor, the show's impending end and her new fake pregnant belly.



You can also check out some clips from the next episodes at TV.com. It looks like things are going to get really intense!

Click HERE to go to the TV.com page with all the advance clips

TV Guide's Mike Ausiello has some great scoop and spoilers about the rest of this show's season. You can click over to TVGuide.com's Ausiello Report for more on the upcoming plots, the return of some former cast members and everything else Alias, but be warned, there are plenty of spoilers. Remember to catch Alias this Wednesday beginning at 8 p.m. on ABC for two back-to-back action packed episodes!

That's all for this edition of Friday Fun! Be sure to check back here Monday for the latest edition of Pass the Remote and next Friday for another installment of Friday Fun! And don't forget that PassTheRemote.Net is launching this Monday! Be sure to check out the site for all the latest television news, TV listings, Friday Fun archive, photo gallery and much, much more! Have a great weekend everyone!

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