TV

The season finale began with another jam-packed hour of Lost.

Read on for the recap of Episode 12, "There's No Place Like Home"...

Tonight's Lost episode kicks off a three-hour Season 4 finale extravaganza, collectively known as "There's No Place Like Home." The final two hours of the finale will air at 8 p.m. on May 29.

Meanwhile, EW.com's Doc Jensen has a list of 17 Enduring Lost Mysteries, plus his usual way-out theories involving the Wizard of Oz, H.G. Wells, and the Statue of Liberty. We kid you not.

If you don't mind being spoiled and want to know more about what to expect, go to the jump...

I used to cover city government as a reporter in Sarasota, and I've met Lou Ann. She's ... well ... ebulliant.

Here's what you need to know about Lou Ann (courtesy of the city of Sarasota Web site):

"Lou Ann was an accomplished performer at the Sarasota Players, the Florida West Coast Symphony, and the Sailor Circus as a youngster, and a choreographer and director of the Miss Florida Pageant in the 1960s and '70s."

She was American Idol before American Idol was cool!

It probably shouldn't be a surprise that Terrell Owens isn't bad in his television action debut. He's appeared as himself before -- most notably in a spot performance as a wide receiver in Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday. After all, he's been playing a character he created -- T.O. -- in the media since he's been in the NFL, so he's got plenty of experience.

But on the MyNetwork sitcom, Under One Roof, he plays a character created by someone else when he appears as a con man posing as the long-lost baby brother of the sitcom's patriarch, Winston Hill (Kelly Perine).

How old was Lou Ann Palmer? Sixtysomething, I'm guessing? When she did that handstand, I gasped with delight.
And you know she's been waiting YEARS to be able to show off on national TV!

They share the same first name, but that's where the similarities end. The Davids -- Rocker Cook and Non-Threatening Boy Archuleta -- advance to the finale, while Syesha will be packing up for home.
The outcome was expected. But does it make for an exciting final show? Possibly. Especially if Archuleta has a few tricks up his sleeve that we haven't yet seen.

And.... we have tears! Three for three. Very good.

OK, so her tears were also very touching. Either that, or I'm just an incredibly sappy person.
(BTW, I do think some of these emotional breakdowns they're experiencing are due to the immense stress they're under. Ever been that way? I have. You find yourself sobbing with joy because the checkout lady said, "Take care.")

In a clip of his visit to his Utah hometown, the little moppet got all teary-eyed when he saw the number of fans who were there for him. It was very sweet. Made me -- gasp! -- really like the guy for the first time this season.
In fact, I'm thinking he would be the one most appreciative of the win. David Cook is not going to give us a lot of "Gosh"-filled tears.

A couple of weeks ago, Bo Bice reminded us why we fell for him during Season Four. He didn't quite possess the electricity of Fantasia, but few humans do.
Remember when this season was billed as the one with the most talent ever? Yeah. Not so much. (See Bice, Bo, and Tasia, Fan, for starters.)
So which season WAS the most talented? My money's on Season Four (Carrie, Bo, Pickler and the gang.) Your votes?

As a welcome departure from the same old elimination-night format (dorky medley, lame recap of last night, silly Ford commercial, etc.), Idol gave us something we couldn't take our eyes off: FANTASIA. There hasn't been that much energy in that building all season.

ABC released its upcoming Fall schedule on Tuesday and Women's Murder Club is nowhere on it. When I asked a network exec for clarification -- has the show been cancelled or might it return -- I got back this specifically vague response: "Women's Murder Club will not be returning next season."

Well, okay then, that settles that.

If so, and if you're in the mood to be slightly spoiled about Thursday's ep, "There's No Place Like Home," then check out E! Online, where Kristin Dos Santos has three tasty video snippets featuring Dan Faraday, Sayid, and Ben, respectively.

Also: Check out ABC.com for another sneak peek, this one featuring Jack and Kate witnessing Sawyer's return with Baby Aaron.

On Tuesday night's Dancing with the Stars, the weirdest thing happened -- nothing weird happend (unless you count the Michael Jackson Thriller tribute coinciding with the children's dance finals). After an improbable run, Marissa Jaret Winokur was the final elimination before next week's finals, featuring Kristi Yamaguchi, Jason Taylor and Cristian de la Fuente.

We got decent performances by all in the first round, but things got shaky after that. Round Two, which gave our gang control over the songs they chose, was really bad. David A. explored his nonexistent R&B side with Chris Brown's "With You;" Syesha picked "Fever" so she could use a chair as a prop -- and then just sort of walked around it; and David C. hit some gnarly notes during Switchfoot's "Dare You to Move."
The third round was more predictable. Everyone's favorite tot squinted earnestly through "Longer;" Syesha gave us an upbeat but forgettable "Hit Me Up;" and David C.'s "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing" was respectable. (He's no Steven Tyler, but who is?)
I look forward to David Cook winning next week.

Who else wanted to punch him?

Syesha was given Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You," while Rocker David had to turn "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" into a guy song.
Syesha's effort was OK. I'll just say that sparks did not fly off my TV screen. David C., on the other hand, showed off his artistry once again. The dude rarely misses these days.

Our trio will sing a trio of songs tonight: one chosen by the judges, one from the producers, and one of their own. First up was David A., for whom Paula picked "And So It Goes."
Blah. Whatever. I'm kind of over Archuleta's earnestness. But the judges aren't! Randy said, "You can sing anything, baby!" while Paula called it "a pure and stunning performance." Simon weighed in with "very good, no surprises, a bit predictable."
Thus, he retains his status as the teachers' pet.

If you tuned in last night for The Bachelor's finale, then you saw Matt Grant drop to one knee and propose to Shayne Lamas, the actress-daughter of Lorenzo Lamas.

As a next-day follow-up, here comes Girls Gone Wild entrepreneur Joe Francis announcing that Ms. Lamas will be appearing in a six-page spread. In a press release, Mr. Francis says "Shayne has a genuine 'girl next door' quality, but she also happens to be very hot."

Nice. Maybe this GGW spread will be the cornerstone of the couple's lifelong commitment to each other.

One point separated each of the top three competitors after Monday night's round on Dancing with the Stars, with Kristi Yamaguchi reclaiming the top spot with a 57 and Jason Taylor coming in third with 55. Marissa Winokur Jaret, whose tenure has surpassed her dancing abilities, came in last. She's most likely to be eliminated, but when Cristian de la Fuente can score one of the high scores of the night, anything is possible.