All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– R.I.P. Trapper John, M.D. and Bonanza star Pernell Roberts, who died Sunday after a battle with cancer. He was 81.

– Michael Lynche‘s dad probably shouldn’t be expecting a great Father’s Day gift this year. Lynche has reportedly been bounced from the American Idol top 24 for season nine after his dad broke a confidentiality agreement and talked about his son’s participation to a newspaper. Meanwhile, if you want more AI spoilers, check out Rickey.org for names and photos of the alleged top 24.

– Conan O’Brien‘s ratings for his final Tonight Show on Friday? Triple what he had been averaging, and better than most primetime shows in the coveted 18-49 demo for the week. Hopefully that’ll help him land a great post-Tonight Show gig. And about that, Fox, FX, USA, TNT, TBS, Comedy Central, HBO and Showtime are among those who’ve expressed interest in a new Coco show.

– Returning Tonight Show host Jay Leno, meanwhile, will chat with Oprah on Thursday. Hope it’s not a fluff piece and that she asks him about his hypocritical decision to return to the show after saying no one but Johnny Carson could host the late-night series in their 60s.

– Is Twitter the new way to audition for a TV role? It worked for American Idol season six winner Jordin Sparks, who’ll guest star on Bones after Twittering her love of the show.

– Meanwhile, AI season four winner Carrie Underwood is guest starring on a March episode of How I Met Your Mother.

– Liza Minnelli will play Justin’s drama teacher on Ugly Betty.

– And, another sad TV death: All My Children star James Mitchell, who played plotting business tycoon Palmer Cortland on the ABC soap for 30 years.

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• Filed in American Idol, Late Night, TV News
• Tags: American Idol spoilers, American Idol top 24 season nine, Conan O'Brien ratings, Jay Leno Oprah, Palmer Cortland All My Children, Pernell Roberts

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Roseanne dad John Goodman has signed on to star in The Station, a Ben Stiller-produced Fox comedy pilot about CIA operatives who are trying to install a new dictator in Central America.

– The Real Housewives of New York City star Bethenny Frankel is getting a spin-off series, according to the New York Post. Bethenny will star in Skinny & the City this fall, a reality series that will follow her as she plans her upcoming wedding (even though, just a couple of weeks ago, there was no confirmation that she was actually engaged).

– Oprah may need to give away more cars … Her show ratings have slipped 32 percent since 2004.

– More ratings woes: Conan O’Brien‘s Tonight Show suffered the lowest ratings in the show’s history last week.

– Former star of The O.C. Mischa Barton – who’s set to star in the new CW model drama The Beautiful Life this fall – is under psychiatric hold at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after she called police for a health problem this week.

– Pitchmen will continue without Billy Mays on the Discovery Channel, though the late infomercial king’s son, Billy Mays III, will help steer the show’s second season.

– IGN.com has details on Matt Damon‘s October guest gig on Entourage: He’ll play himself, and he’ll be trying to guilt Vinnie Chase into donating a lot of cash to one of Damon’s favorite charities.

– The Listener is dunzo on NBC. The low-rated series will reportedly finish its run – five episodes – at NBC.com.

– And this weekend in primetime:

FRIDAY
– The SpongeBob SquarePants weekend marathon – which celebrates the show’s 10th anniversary – kicks off (8PM ET, Nick) with a new ep in which a dryer accident leads SpongeBob to purchase a pair of round pants. The marathon runs through Sunday night at 10PM
– New Degrassi: The Next Generation on The N (8PM)
– Star Jones and Jack Hanna try to win cash for charity on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (8PM, Fox)
– It’s the penultimate ep of Chopping Block on NBC (8PM)
– ABC has a new episode of The Goode Family (8:30PM)
– A single mom needs a fashion intervention on What Not to Wear (9PM, TLC)
– Carter’s trying to get recertified, but, of course, nothing is ever that simple on Eureka (SyFy, 9PM)
– On Whale Wars (9PM, Animal Planet), chaos ensues because of Paul’s code words
– Jack treats a suicidal teen on Mental (9PM, NBC)
– A lesbian couple shops for wedding wear on Say Yes to the Dress (10PM, TLC)

SATURDAY
– It’s part one of the Kings season (series?) finale on NBC (8PM)
– The Bill Engvall Show opens its third season (9PM, TBS)
– Happy Thanksgiving, Darlings, on the lame duck drama Dirty Sexy Money (10PM, ABC)

SUNDAY
– Lindsay Lohan‘s straight-to-DVD comedy Labor Pains makes its premiere on ABC Family (8PM) before heading to disc
– The second round of eviction nominees are revealed on Big Brother 11 (8PM, CBS)
– Ruby goes back to work (8PM, Style)
– The ESPY Awards (9PM, ESPN) are hosted by Samuel L. Jackson
– Jane represents a woman who lost her job because she gained 50 pounds on Drop Dead Diva (9PM, Lifetime)
– There’s a new ep of the Emmy-snubbed True Blood at 9PM on HBO
– Poker? No, he killed her – or someone – on a gambling-themed Law & Order: Criminal Intent (9PM, USA)
– New ep of Ice Road Truckers at 9PM (History Channel)
– The final four have to perform live on a cooking show on The Next Food Network Star (9PM)
– One Bridezilla has orange hair – not on purpose – on her wedding day (9PM, WE)
– Living on the Moon (9PM, NGC) examines NASA’s Project Constellation, which plans a human outpost on the moon by 2020
– Ace of Cakes premieres its seventh season at 10PM on the Food Network (and then moves back to its Thursday timeslot next week)
– Pawn Star$, a reality show that follows a family who runs a pawn shop, debuts on History Channel at 10PM
– Mary makes a training video on In Plain Sight (10PM, USA)
– Denise and Frank head to counseling on Army Wives (10PM, Lifetime)
– WE’s new game show, Most Popular (10PM), is hosted by British funny guy Graham Norton and finds audiences judging contestants based on first impressions
– Ray’s got issues with his neighbor on Hung (10PM, HBO)
– Vinnie and the boys attend the red carpet premiere of Gatsby on Entourage (10:30PM, HBO)

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• Tags: Bethenny Frankel, Billy Mays III, Conan O'Brien ratings, John Goodman, Matt Damon Entourage, Mischa Barton psychiatric hold, Oprah ratings, Pitchmen season 2, SpongeBob SquarePants marathon, The Listener canceled, The Real Housewives of New York City