All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– R.I.P. Kung Fu star David Carradine. Check out some of his Emmy-nominated days as Caine at the YouTube Kung Fu page.

– Hey, yeah! TheWrap.com asks the question, If Kal Penn left House to work for the Obama White House, why isn’t he there yet?

– And don’t miss the two-part TheWrap.com investigation into just how dire post-reality TV life is for some of its stars. Not everyone turns reality TV stardom into a thriving career like Elizabeth Hasselbeck has, of course. But some of the cast-offs have been so haunted by their short-lived fame, or infamy, that they’ve committed suicide.

– Whoa: The Big O has been dethroned as the most powerful celeb in the world, says Forbes mag.

– Oprah has responded, meanwhile, to that Newsweek story on the iffy-ness of the advice from the health segments of Oprah’s talk show.

– A&E has reportedly decided to cancel The Beast, the Patrick Swayze drama that failed to pull in big ratings.

– After being bounced from the Iron Man movie series, Terrence Howard is bringing his considerable talents to the tube for an upcoming cop drama.

– The people have spoken, and they’ve declared in Ted Casablanca‘s The Awful Truth column that Spencer Pratt is The Most Awful Celeb in Hollywood. But somehow, I think the arrogant one will just see it not as an insult, but as confirmation that he is considered a celeb.

– Prison Break alum Robert “T-Bag” Knepper will be the newest Heroes villain next season. May have to actually start watching again.

– Kris Allen, you just won American Idol, what are you going to do next? Um, play a Wal-Mart shareholders meeting.

– Once and for all: Eminem was in on the Bruno joke at the MTV Movie Awards.

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• Filed in American Idol, Celebreality, Reality, TV News
• Tags: Bruno, David Carradine, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, Eminem, Heroes, Heroes villain, House, Iron Man, Kal Penn, Kris Allen, Kung Fu, MTV Movie Awards, Newsweek Oprah, Obama, Oprah, Patrick Swayze, Prison Break, R.I.P., reality stars, Reality TV, reality TV stars suicide, reality TV suicide, Robert "T-Bag" Knepper, Spencer Pratt, Ted Casablanca, Terrence Howard, The Awful Truth, The Beast

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– What if Hurley, John Locke and Ben from Lost, Dwight Schrute and Craig Ferguson were Simpsons characters? It would be awesome, that’s what.

– VH1 is planning a Hills-ish reality series revolving around the rich and not-so-rich folk who frequent Aspen.

– Bravo reps are suggesting next week’s episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey will shed further light on the alleged criminal past of scene-stealer Danielle Staub.

– The next issue of Rolling Stone will reportedly feature a cover in which American Idol runner-up (sigh) Adam Lambert announces he’s gay. Inside, there will be stories where Miley Cyrus admits she can’t really sing so well and John Mayer confesses he’s in love … with himself.

– Kris Allen, future governor of Arkansas? Crazier things have happened.

– A Shot at Love star Tila Tequila is reportedly preggers. What are the chances this isn’t going to unfold on reality TV?

– Could Chuck return earlier than March 2010?

– And the next cast of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew will include a former Real World-er, Dennis Rodman, Heidi Fleiss and One Day at a Time star Mackenzie Phillips.

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• Filed in American Idol, Celebreality, Chuck, Comedy, Drama, TV News
• Tags: A Shot at Love, Adam Lambert, Aspen, Ben, Celeb Rehab, Celebrity Rehab, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, Chuck, Craig Ferguson, Danielle Staub, Dennis Rodman, Dwight Schrute, Heidi Fleiss, Hurley, John Locke, John Mayer, Kris Allen, Lost, Mackenzie Phillips, Miley Cyrus, Real Housewives of New Jersey, Rolling Stone, Simpsons, The Hills, Tila Tequila, VH1

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Did AT&T help Kris Allen win American Idol? Allegedly so.

– Everyone loves a good case of schadenfreude, but it makes you wonder just how insufferable Jon and Kate Gosselin are that no one seems to be coming to their defense these days, don’t it? BTW, nearly 10 million viewers watched the season five premiere of Jon & Kate Plus 8 … again, schadenfreude. I wonder how far that number will drop for next week’s new episode, especially since the premiere made it pretty clear that the Gosselins can barely stand to sit next to each other on a couch.

– As the New York Daily News points out, the Gosselins are hardly the only exploiting their children for reality TV dollars.

– Jessica Simpson just isn’t going to go away, and TV may be helping that.

– Whoa … Is Susan Boyle really a potty mouth?

– If you doubt The Big O’s influence, tune in Thursday night for CNBC’s The Oprah Effect (9PM ET), a special that delves into how just a mention on her show can mean the difference between a business thriving and filing for bankruptcy.

– Hoo-ah! Al Pacino‘s headed to the tube, playing suicide doc Jack Kevorkian in an upcoming HBO movie.

– 24, which begins production on season eight today (yay!), has added another pair of new cast members, including Kissing Jessica Stein star (and girlfriend of Mad Men star Jon Hamm) Jennifer Westfeldt.

– And, there’s plenty of serious TV business to talk about today, but for some comic relief, and just plain old fun summer TV watchin’, you can’t beat tonight’s return of Wipeout (ABC, 8PM ET) and The Big Red Balls.

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• Filed in 24, American Idol, Celebreality, Comedy, Drama, TV News
• Tags: 24, Al Pacino, American Idol, AT&T, big red balls, controversy, Gosselins, HBO, Jack Kevorkian, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jessica Simpson, Jon, Jon & Kate Plus 8, Jon Hamm, Kate, Kris Allen, Mad Men, Oprah, Oprah Winfrey, scandal, Summer TV, Susan Boyle, The Oprah Effect, Wipeout

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– At least Ryan Seacrest warned viewers last night to put extra time at the end of their TiVos for tonight’s American Idol season finale, but isn’t it still ridiculous that an episode that really boils down to one 30-second announcement of who the winner is, is instead so bloated that it can’t even be contained into a two-hour block?

– By the way, DiaIdol.com predicts last night’s Adam vs. Kris showdown is too close to call. People, did you not hear Adam sing “A Change Is Gonna Come”? It really should not be this close.

– The New York Times jokes, I think, that Jimmy Kimmel might not have a job today after the naughty, but hilarious, riffs on NBC, Fox and his own network at yesterday’s ABC Upfront presentation.

– And Kimmel’s remarks about the new Jay Leno primetime series apparently weren’t that far off from what some at NBC might have thought. Leno, it turns out, was NBC’s third choice to host a nightly primetime show, after Oprah and David Letterman.

– Can’t wait for the remake of Footloose with Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford as Ren McCormack.

– In case you missed the premiere of Glee last night, you can catch the episode at Hulu today.

– Lifetime.com, pegged to the June 7 season three premiere of Army Wives, has produced more than a dozen videos, collected as Homecoming: Real Army Wives, that pay homage to real-life Army wives, whose husbands have been deployed for 15 months or more in Iraq.

– Check out clips from ABC’s new comedies, including Modern Family, the mockumentary-ish family comedy starring Ed “Al Bundy” O’Neill.

– Even the most devoted Trekkies may find the new “video-based encyclopedia” of behind-the-scenes Star Trek info a bit daunting.

– Next up: The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

– My Name Is Earl star Ethan Suplee is taking it to Twitter to try to rally fans for a save-the-show campaign. To get onboard, follow the “EarlTwitition.”

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• Filed in American Idol, Comedy, Drama, TV News
• Tags: A Change Is Gonna Come, Adam Lambert, American Idol, Army Wives, Chace Crawford, David Letterman, Ed O'Neill, Ethan Suplee, finale, Footloose, Glee, Gossip Girl, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Kris Allen, Lifetime, My Name Is Earl, Oprah, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Star Trek, Upfront

It’s Adam Lambert vs. Kris Allen in tonight’s final performance episode (Fox, 8PM ET), and oddsmaker Betfair.com, which bills itself as “the world’s biggest online betting community,” is predicting Adam will win in a landslide (with 72.5 percent of the vote).

There’s bit a bit of Adam backlash since he and Kris became the two finalists last week – USA Today claims the race is a lot closer than it might seem – but I’m going to stick with Adam as the guy who will, and should, become the season eight American Idol.

Meanwhile, in other AI news:
– Lionel Richie, Santana, Jason Mraz, Keith Urban, Cyndi Lauper, David Cook, KISS, David Bowie and Britney Spears are among the celebs on the Wednesday results show/season finale. And host Ryan Seacrest has confirmed Carrie Underwood, the Black Eyed Peas and Queen Latifah will also be in the mix.

– Adam is reportedly singing “Mad World” – “with a twist” – on tonight’s show, while Kris is considering a repeat performance of either “Heartless” or “Falling Slowly.”

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• Filed in American Idol, TV News
• Tags: Adam Lambert, American Idol, finale, Kris Allen, odds, oddsmaker, winner