Well, that wasn't much of a surprise, was it? In a show that should have lasted all of ten minutes, Alfonso Ribeiro was named winner of the first Celebrity Duets competition. By winning, $100,000 was donated to his charity Fresh Start. And, I wouldn't be surprised if David Foster, one of the judges for this competition, didn't ask Alfonso to stop by his studios one day. Personally, I always thought Alfonso was the front runner since the beginning of the competition, and I'm glad that he won.

I'll admit that I fast-forwarded through a good portion of tonight's fluff, but there were some highlights. We actually got to see what Little Richard was most famous for . . . singing and pounding the piano keys. Although he seemed a bit out of it (more than usual) he really belted out a version of Good Golly Miss Molly. Wayne Brady also performed this evening with Boyz II Men (now known as just 'Men'). If you had never heard them before, you would have thought that Wayne was part of the group since the beginning; he's actually quite good. Another highlight was solo performances from the remaining three finalists. I thought Alfonso did the best job, and Hal was much less screechy than in past duets. I thought that Lucy's solo performance was the worst, mostly because she looked like she was having a seizure up on stage.

All in all, I liked Celebrity Duets. I think they had a good mix of semi-professional and novice singers and it was actually quite entertaining. If there is another season of the show I would drop Little Richard from the judges tables and switch David and Marie Osmond, so that David could speak first. Definitely keep Wayne as host. If you have some ideas for improvements (besides canceling the show) let me know.

(S01E05) Alfonso Ribeiro, Lucy Lawless and Hal Sparks. These are your three remaining Celebrity Duets performers.I'm rooting for Alfonso, who I always felt was the front-runner. Even a bit better than Jai Rodriguez. Although, I do have a soft spot for Hal. So, without further ado, here are the night's performances.

I haven't reviewed the Celebrity Duets live results show, but I decided that I should this week because the three finalists would be picked. Well, it's good that I did because I got to see the elimination of Cheech Marin (big surprise) and . . . Jai Rodriguez?

What? The? Hell?

Yes, you are reading this right. Jai Rodriguez, who was a front runner since the beginning of the competition a few weeks ago, was eliminated this week over, ready, Lucy Lawless! Okay, Lucy is a decent singer, but Jai was head-and-shoulders above her and I thought he would be in the finals along with Alfonso Ribeiro, who you knew was going to make it after his very first duet. I guess, like in all other Simon Cowell produced shows, the fix was in. Although, in the show's defense, Lucy looked absolutely shocked that she was in the finals. I believe that she was mouthing something like 'Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?'.

(S01E04) Folks, it's a late night once again, so I'm going to get to the show quickly. Right after these few announcements. First, it was revealed at the beginning of Celebrity Duets that two contestants will be eliminated this week (one of them probably being Cheech Marin, but, heck, I've been wrong so far), leaving three for the remainder of the finale. Next, the celebrity with the fewest votes last week was Carly Patterson. I was sure it was going to be Cheech!

And now, let's get to the program. As soon as I mention this one thing. I want to thank my lovely wife, friend and partner to me for these last 9 years and mother to our four lovely children, for assisting me with this week's reviews. I was unavailable for some of the competition and she stepped right in to assist.

(S01E03) It's about 1:00 a.m. as I write this, so let's get down to the business at hand. To recap from last week, Lea Thompson was let go. I'm surprised, since I thought she did a fairly decent job. I'm guessing that a number of wives and girlfriends called to vote her off because they were tired of their husbands and boyfriends ogling Thompson in her mini-skirts. And now, this week's performances:

1. Lucy Lawless and Dionne Warwick: This was one of Lucy's better performances (this coming from the man who thought she should have been let go after her first week). She was a nice fit to Dionne's husky singing. Judge Marie Osmond liked her performance as well, but thought she was being a bit timid. Judge Little Richard also liked her performance (although it was hard to tell). Finally, Judge David Foster agreed with his colleagues, but requested that she sing her next duet in a higher harmony.

It's the last week of March, and there are still a few more new shows for the networks to roll out. Most notably, is Thief, on F/X and starring Andre Braugher (Homicide: Life on the Street). Also, NBC is premiering a new sitcom that, if promos are any indication, will sink just as fast as Four Kings. And, WB is premiering a heavily censored version of The Bedford Diaries.

• Teachers, Tuesdays @ 9:30 pm on NBC (premieres March 28)
• A comedy about a rule-breaking teacher at a New Jersey middle school.

Let me tell you what television does not need any more of: rich kids living like the rest of us. Yes, we're a society that is obsessed with the lifestyles of the rich and famous. But, I am sick of seeing rich kids try to do everyday things like go grocery shopping or mow a lawn. While some people may revel in the fact that they know how to mow a lawn while Susie Trust Fund struggles with it, I do not. I find these shows to be downright rude. While Paris and Nicole proved they had no life skills in The Simple Life, they also belittle the lives that most Americans lead.

Why am I bitching about this? Because The WB has come out with yet another reality show that puts rich kids in everyday life situations, called Survival of the Richest. I saw a long promos for this program (hosted by Hal Sparks- what is that all about?) where the rich kids say negative, ignorant things about "poor" (aka middle class) people. This reality show matches the rich kids against the working class kids in tasks like yachting and cleaning. I'm sure it's rigged so the working class kids win because we all like to see those rich kids go down, but I'd like it all to come to an end. Let's just go back to Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and see how these people live, but keep them away from our lifestyles.