Here's my deal: We need to have a Crystal/Casey finale, and Siobhan needs to go tonight. While the judges loved her, my ears told me that she sounded like a cat being mauled to death last night. I honestly do not understand the praise that is being heaped upon her. I'd be just as happy if Aaron the wedding singer left, but even I can admit that he hasn't had a bad performance in several weeks.

But no matter who actually goes tonight, one thing's for certain: there's going to be about 50 minutes of filler leading up to it. Tonight, we get Rascal Flatts, Shakira, vampires, emo violinists, and a whole lot of other things that only the evil geniuses behind 'Idol' can dream up in an effort to stretch 5 minutes of show into an hour.

After months of searching, it looks like Serena has finally found her father. Sources say that actor William Baldwin has joined the cast of 'Gossip Girl' as William van der Woodsen, Serena's elusive dad who has been M.I.A. for the show's entire duration. Baldwin's gig will reportedly last for three episodes and will kick off sometime in April. Now that's something to gossip about. [Ausiello Files]

Despite less-than-perfect weather and a threatened labor strike, last night's 'Christmas in Rockefeller Center' went off without a hitch and featured the 77th annual lighting of New York's iconic Rockefeller Christmas tree, as well as performances by Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, Shakira, Michael Buble and the Rockettes, among others.

Co-hosted by Jane Krakowski of '30 Rock' and Zachary Levi of 'Chuck,' the special culminated in the lighting of this year's tree, which stands at a towering 76 feet high and is adorned with more than 25,000 multicolored bulbs. Watch our clip for a sample of the performance by the Rockettes, a peek at Shakira's rendition of 'Santa Baby' and a look at the tree lighting itself.

Watch the video after the jump.

I'm not quite sure what to make of this web site. It's called nbcstolechristmas.com and it has a How The Grinch Stole Christmas-ish rhyme that seems to imply that tomorrow night's live Rockefeller Plaza Christmas tree lighting show on NBC might not go off the way the network wants it to.

If I'm reading the rhyme correctly, NBC is refusing to negotiate with employees over some dispute, and unless they agree to negotiate, "the crew may just might, do something that would be NBC's blight" and that "they'll be forced from 30 Rock." That's rather vague (and ominous). Could it mean the lights won't work? Dozens of NBC employees streaking live on national TV?

The poem also mentions hosts Jane Krakowski and Zachary Levi and suggests that music guests Shakira and The Roots might not be able to play. Hmmmm...well, it's one way to get people to watch the show, that's for sure.

(Update: The Live Feed has the story.)

[via Damian Holbrook]

The Victoria 's Secret Fashion Show - Tuesday December 1, 10 pm ET/PT, Global/CBS

Heidi Klum hosts the most decadent fashion show around. Every year, this broadcast event brings in plenty of complaints to the FCC and raises millions of dollars for charity. Marisa Miller gets the honour of wearing the $3 million Harlequin Fantasy Bra, and the Black Eyed Peas will perform.

(S06E18) I'm surprised how well So You Think You Can Dance can cover up the fact that the first 30 minutes can be wasted in just finding out who the bottom three were. It felt like the two-couples-at-a-time technique worked better than having three couples up at one time. One thing I'm happy to see in the recaps are the slo-mo camera angles. Other angles only show up on Dancing with the Stars when someone trips or falls.

Sure, the show could be completed in 30 minutes, but at least they filled the time with a strong group performance, ballet, and Shakira.

(S35E04) I remember sitting down and staring at Gerard Butler as he made funny, smarmy faces at the camera. And then I blinked, only to see Butler was thanking the cast and viewers for a wonderful show. I looked on the computer screen. There were half-remembered notes haphazardly tapped out at some point.

Somehow, I had jumped forward ninety minutes. Had I finally mastered short-term time travel? Or did I just watch an incredibly forgettable episode of Saturday Night Live? Probably the latter. However, I vaguely recall a destructive robot adorably struggling through a wall. If that was actually a dream and not real life, please don't tell me.

(S09E09) I didn't notice until the first recap of many that the women outscored most of the men on Dancing with the Stars last night. Apparently, the four new dances provided a bigger challenge for all the people who had to lead the dance.

With the musical guest being Shakira, I was hoping that I could see a live performance of "She Wolf." Alas, she didn't perform the song, so I'm stuck hearing it for every commercial for Desperate Housewives. There was no Macy's Stars of Dance performance, so there was a lot more unnecessary filler than in previous weeks.

(S04E26) This is it, people. The time has come to name the winner of America's Got Talent, the world's biggest talent search. The two-hour (!) final results bash included performances from Britain's Got Talent sensation Susan Boyle, The X Factor's Leona Lewis, Thelma Houston, Cirque du Soleil, Rascal Flatts, and Shakira. Sadly, none of the previous AGT winners performed.

Based on the TV Squad poll I've included in my review of the Top 10 performance show, 35.1% of the voters, including myself, said Barbara Padilla would win. Kevin Skinner received 22.2% of your votes, while Recycled Percussion placed third in our poll with 19.4%. The other contestants all got under 7% of your votes. (Note that these results were accurate at the beginning of the results show.)

Did the TV Squad poll results match reality? Official results coming up!

If you haven't watched the finale yet and do not want to be spoiled as to who won the competition, it's time to click elsewhere now!

Before you start throwing rotten tomatoes, please hear me out. I'm not saying I think Sanjaya should win this thing. Not even close. Those of you who've read my recaps, know I'm not a fan of Sanjaya.

But as much as I've disliked his performances, I'm actually going to defend Sanjaya. Mostly, because I feel sorry for him. He's a young kid thrown in the deep end of the pool, and sometimes he looks like he's drowning in front of 33 million viewers. The judges, critics, and viewers have been really, really cruel. And I'm not a fan of big bullies (ahem, Simon) who beat up on the younger, weaker kids just for sport.

CBS put their regular programming on hold last night so they could show the 33rd Annual People's Choice Awards. Hosted by Queen Latifah, the show gives awards based on public internet voting. As that is the case, these awards track with the Nielsen ratings more than most. Case in point, the award for Television Comedy went to Two And A Half Men. Top rated for a couple years now, but it can't seem to get any press unless Charlie Sheen is divorcing someone or hiring a hooker.

Most of the other television awards followed similar lines. The award for Best Drama went to Grey's Anatomy. Best Actor was Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy). Best Actress went to Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives). Best Competition/Reality show was, of course, American Idol. Best Animated Show was The Simpsons. The only real surprise came in the new categories. Best New Drama was Heroes, which isn't a surprise, but Best New Comedy, The Class? I didn't see that one coming. The television awards were rounded out with Ellen Degeneres winning Best Talk Show Host.

Movies and Music winners after the jump.

Mr. Blackwell, the be-all and end-all of fashion, has some mean things to say about a lot of ladies who work in television. Topping his Worst Dressed list this year is Britney Spears, and if you see her outfit while shopping in Las Vegas recently, you'll understand why. Blackwell says, in his unusual alliteration-meets-Dr. Seuss speak, "From Princess of Pop to the ultimate Fashion Flop!" I wonder what it would be like to actually talk to this Mr. Blackwell in person?

Here's the entire Worst Dressed list, along with Mr. Blackwell's snarky comments and exclamation marks: