NBC shuffling

It sounds funny, but it's probably a smart and necessary move: NBC just completely reshuffled the fall line-up that it announced last week (we'll have a story in Tuesday's paper). The deal is that NBC goes first in the network upfront presentations, then the other networks dole out their new fall shows and schedules.

Trouble is, NBC is in last place, number four, behind CBS, ABC and Fox (but ahead of the CW, for the moment). Last-place networks need to react, not dictate terms. So, it's a little embarrasing for the peacock, but may give some of the new arrivals a chance to find an audience away from the bright lights of "CSI" and "Idol."

NBC shuffling

It sounds funny, but it's probably a smart and necessary move: NBC just completely reshuffled the fall line-up that it announced last week (we'll have a story in Tuesday's paper). The deal is that NBC goes first in the network upfront presentations, then the other networks dole out their new fall shows and schedules.

Trouble is, NBC is in last place, number four, behind CBS, ABC and Fox (but ahead of the CW, for the moment). Last-place networks need to react, not dictate terms. So, it's a little embarrasing for the peacock, but may give some of the new arrivals a chance to find an audience away from the bright lights of "CSI" and "Idol."

BTW

The audience for the "Idol" finale? 35.4 million. My guess came in a little high. 43 million watched the last half-hour, though, or about a fifth of the audience Seacrest claimed.

Lost -- what we know now

I'm feeling a little bit clearer:

They're not dead, they're not in Purgatory, this isn't all in Walt's mind. They're on an island that doesn't appear on maps and can't be found by normal means because of the magnetic anomaly that may or may not still be in existence. Michael was given specific directions on how to leave, so there is a way out.

The button did actually do something, although it might also have been a psychological experiment (presumably there's an easier way to defuse the anomaly than having somebody press a stupid button every couple of hours).

The Others' camp is a ruse, they actually live in another hatch located beneath the ocean.

Desmond's love is either looking for him, or using him to find the island. This reinforces the facts of the food drop -- they're still connected tenuously to the outside world.

Still to be determined: The Others knew who was on the plane before it crashed and the Hanso Foundation seems to have been pulling strings to bring these people to the island. How then did they know Desmond would cause the crash? Was Libby manipulated into giving Desmond the boat, or was that another coincidence? What about the four-toed statue and the heiroglyphics on the countdown? There's a relgious element (aside from Locke and Eko) that has only been hinted at. The mysterious, and perhaps fictional disease, that requires protective suits and antibiotics. The crazy Frenchwoman believes it's real, Desmond doesn't. The Others weren't surprised or alarmed by Desmond activating the failsafe, which hints that the anomaly may be more resilient than Desmond thought.

Some of those points may be partially clarified by the Lost Experience going on this summer, the others will wait for next season. Hope Mr. Eko survives.

Lost finale

Get caught up with the posts in parentheses below. I'll take it from the top of the second hour.

"That brown stain there? That's Razinsky." Oh, good line. Very nice.

"Electromagnetism. Geologically unique." Button discharges build-up. Well then, that makes perfect sense.

"and then a light went on. But it wasn't a sign. Probably just you going to the bathroom."

Does anyone else remember the first Gulf War? I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the real Iraqi Republican Guard folded like a house of cards. Obviously, they needed more Sayid, less Saddam.

I love, love, love the giant pile of pneumatic tubes. And now everyone's down, but there's still 40 minutes to go. Thank goodness.

"I think I crashed your plane." Excellent answer, Carlton Cuse! The unregulated magnetic anomaly brings down a jet passing by. Just a touch of plausibility. Tone down the religious/supernatural aspect. That's perfect.

The look on Locke's face. "I was wrong." Priceless. Things not looking good for the folks down in the hatch. Not good at all.

New Web site: www.hansocareers.com. Also a tiny plug for monster.com in the corner of the ad. Might go somewhere (other than Monster, duh).

"Who are you guys?" "We're the good guys, Michael." Innnnnteresting.

Hmmm. Well, I'm sure we'll find out what it all means next fall. No doubt about it.

More Idol (plus a little "Lost" blogging)

I may be imagining things, but Carrie Underwood doesn't look happy to be there. And she looks short, which may be related. Just think, last night she was a real star, now she's just last year's has-been.

FYI: When Ryan Seacrest says the finale will have an audience of 200 million, he means a potential audience. Actual guess -- maybe 36 million.

Searching for a Christmas gift for Randy Jackson? Allow me to suggest a thesaurus. Dog.

Um, the O'Donahue twins? A little creepy.

Ryan, "And now to Katharine's hometown of, um, here..." He's pretty good when he wants to be.

Lessee, Paris is maybe two feet tall, so does that mean Al Jarreau is knee-high to a hobbit? Possibly.

OMG, I can't tell which one is Daughtry and which one is the Live dude. It's amazing. BTW, Daughtry may actually be a better singer than the Live dude. They were one annoying band, as I recall. And this song blows. Go to Fuel if you need to join a late-90's bunch of has-beens, Chris.

"Puck 'n Pickler" -- genius idea, but Pickler is so hokey she can sink even the simplest spoof. And I hate her new hair. But, she seems to be on the verge of crying during the bit, so now I feel bad. Bad reporter! Bad!

Meatloaf without Hicks is like a day without sunshine. I would pay good money for a Hicks-Meatloaf double feature (you know Taylor's going to be wearing Meat's pants in two more years. You just know). And I don't care how rich Meatloaf is, he could still never score McPhee. She clearly doesn't want to even touch the man.

BTW, I keep typing "Meatload" by accident. I may need professional help.

I was having so much fun writing that, I didn't even notice how much that song sucked. But it certainly, certainly did.

I just looked up the official Meatloaf Web site and I learned two disturbing facts: 1. It's "Meat Loaf," two words. 2. His site is www.meatloaf.de. German. What's up with that? He's a Nazi superweapon, is what! Run, run for your lives!

Every time "Idol" needs to reach for filler, they go for the bad singers. It's pathological. I love it, but it's still incredibly lazy. And a little mean. Bad Idol! Bad! Props to Dave Hoover for extending his 12 seconds of fame.

When they had the guys come out to those big base chords, I seriously thought they were going to do the "Full Monty" velcro pants action. Which is probably where Ace will be in another five years (and maybe Kevin Covais, too).

Poor Bucky, he's actually trying.

Allow me to posit: There is nothing, nothing less manly than a medley. Send them out to in pink tutus and drive them home in Chevy Aveos and it's still nothing compared to the de-manlinizing effect of the medley.

Bless Seacrest for handing out Mustang convertibles with the same nonchalance that he booted Daughtry to the curb.

I heard the notes as Elliott came out and I thought, "Elliott doing U2, that's so cool! That's awesome!" And then he started singing. Oh Elliott. Oh.

And then Mary J. Blige kicks him to the curb. Insult to injury. And he's a foot shorter than her. He's Al Jarreau -sized!

I am in no way anti-country. Heck, I think it's fair to say I'm pro-country. But Carrie Underwood was sucking it up tonight.

Gotta switch to "Lost!" Thank goodness for picture and picture!

(Bitchin' Desmond flashback, BTW). And Toni Braxton is way hot.

(Sayid's plan really stinks. Signal fire? Sure, that'll work.) (Mr. Eko soooooo rocks beatin' on Locke. I'm totally man-crushing).

"Being a Woman?" Is that the lamest song choice ever? Oh, wait, no we've got 400 other songs with "Woman" in the title. Totally lame.

Seacrest is totally dissing this summer's "Idol" tour. Bless him. He so rules. Not like Mr. Eko, but in a miniature human being sort of way, definitely.

Oooh, Clay Aiken's here! The party can start! And, he' s all Chris Gaines'd up. Kickin!

I just got Chris Gaines and Tony Mandarich in successive posts. This is some kind of blogger name-drop Nirvana. I'm having a moment.

(Michael shooting with the empty gun at the CGI bird. Oh, that's good. Hurley "Did that bird just say my name?" Sawyer "Yeah it did, right after it crapped gold." This is way better than Idol, folks. Really, switch over).

(Locke and Desmond facing off. With VHS tapes. "You want to take a walk, I'll make the popcorn." Tell me that ain't cool.)

("Live together, die alone." It's a great episode title, but Jack... he needs to die. Wouldn't that be a great season cliffhanger? Everyone else on the island is more interesting now, anyway.)
(A giant, four-toed foot. That beats a freakin' hatch for mystery any day.)

(And now Locke has the Jesus stick. That's soooooo coool!) (The guy in the yellow suit says his name is Inman. Is that a "Cold Mountain" reference? Interesting.)

Back to Idol. Michael Evans of Denver gets a few more seconds of fame. Wow, Prince. Did not see that coming. He can't sing anymore, though, can he? He's Al Jarreau -sized, too. It's kind of a theme tonight.

("I'm absolutely certain, that if he's successful, everyone on this island will die." Now that would be a season finale.) (BTW, Michael is so going to die tonight.)

Taylor and McPhee... neither one can sing that "Time of my Life" even karaoke-good. My wife likes Katharine's dress, though. Now she's singing along (my wife, that is). Make it stop...

"That's more than any president in the history of our country has ever received." Sure Ryan, but unless EVERYONE in the country voted for Taylor, it's still more than any Idol has ever received, too. (Although everyone voting for Taylor is a distinct possibility).

OK, Taylor won. Nothing to see here. Move along. Nothing to see here.

American Idol blogging

I don't promise not to flip to "Lost" at 8, but for now...

What the heck is going on with the "Idol" red carpet. There's three people I don't know badgering random semi-celebrities. It's the oddest red carpet treatment I've ever seen -- beyond the fact that "Idol" having a red carpet pre-game show is deeply, deeply disturbing.

And, Chris Daughtry? Button your damn shirt. I kind of like his wife, though.

I love the three weirdos rushing Daughtry off to get to Paula. And I love the guy behind them in the tie-dye and the big hat. I'm full of love tonight, people.

My monster idea? Really, brace yourselves, this is huge: Brian Dunkleman should be hosting this red carpet thing. The guy that was Seacrest's co-host the first season, then quit so he could wallow in freakish obscurity for all time. That was the biggest bust since the Chargers picked Ryan Leaf No. 2 (or, bonus snark for serious football fans: the Packers picking Tony Mandarich No. 2).


Speaking of busts: Constantine. How's that ABC sitcom coming along, buddy? And also? Button your damn shirt.

Another thing I love: sirens in the background. Don't recall that happening at a real red carpet. Just proves that there are worlds left for "Idol" left to conquer. Weep not, Alexander... er... Simon Fuller.

And again I wonder, how the hey did Katharine McPhee's dad score her mom? Katharine should be so lucky as to do a dress up that right.

My word. All of this for five minutes of pre-game. With "Idol," it all just writes itself. I still have no idea who those people on the red carpet were, but I am 100% sure they were drunk.

Just a reminder

If you watch the two-hour "Lost" season finale, you'll learn why the plane crashed, what happens when the castaways don't press the code and a little more about the Others.

Meanwhile, over on the two-hour "American Idol" finale, you'll learn that Taylor Hicks will be the next American Idol.

Make your own decisions tonight, I'm just saying...

Soul Patrolling

"Black Horse and a Cherry Tree" was fine, except it's always going to pale next to the original. "Living For the City" was pretty lively, and darn if I didn't like Taylor's purple suit.

Help! Katharine has fallen and she can't get up... Again... Singing "Over the Rainbow"... again... Make love to the camera some more, McPhee... Even her teeth are glistening.

Awww, her dad's crying.

If she ends up winning this turkey, she owes Simon her soul (although I assume the soul is included in the standard 19 Entertainment contract).

Taylor's voice sounds a little thin on "Levon," although he picked it up toward the end. Not a great performance, though. Plus, he always looks pudgy in a suit.

My god, Katharine's mom looks just like her. How did her pudgy moustache of a father land that hottie?

I don't know what song she's singing, but it sucks pretty bad. Her voice is all over the place and she looks like she knows she's blowing it... right... this... moment. Some grand finale: Hand it to Taylor.

Simon must reeeeeally not want to rep Taylor, because I've never seen him cover for anyone as much as he just did for McPhee.

Taylor is oddly static on his final song, but he sounds pretty good, albeit with a big help from the choir.

Love Simon's send-off "Assuming that I was right, that the show was tied, then you have just won 'American Idol.'"

Love that.

I'll be right back...

I watched maybe two episodes of "24" this season, but I can pick it right up at the season finale without missing a beat. I guess fans must enjoy the ride.

And even my wife, who's never seen a single episode of the show, was rolling her eyes when Jack said "I'll be right back..."

Good ending, leading right into next season... or maybe the "24" movie.

UPDATE: The local "24" fanatics in the office hated the ending. They wanted Jack to get some rest, or get some lovin', or get a bathroom break.

Ffffft! This ain't no sissy show: Jackie doesn't get to sleep and Jackie doesn't get a kiss and Jackie has to hold it in for the rest of time.

Deal with it. He's on a slow boat to China and next season will be filmed entirely inside a Chinese sweatshop where Jack will be forced to assemble combination VCR/DVD players 24 hours a day. (That's why he was more valuable alive, get it?).

Thunderstorm coverage

The local stations are going nuts with the first big thunderstorms of the year. I in no way blame them for this -- weather is the bread and butter of local TV news -- but it's fun to see the little things: KRDO's Joe Dominguez and KKTV's David Nancarrow reporting from opposite sides of a mobile home, KKTV's Brian Bledsoe and Terry Gerbstadt doing the weather in shirtsleeves, so you know they're working hard, KOAA's Mike Daniels using their 3-D storm profiler to spin the thing around until everyone's dizzy.

I want to see some reporter drop a bag of marbles on their car to demonstrate the damage hail can do. Or dimes. Or half dollars. Or softballs. I just want to see someone trash a car, really.

On a related note, I wish KOAA would put some of its storm coverage on its Weather First Now cable channel. They seem to just have the regular weather reports up, but not the field reporting. I always think they ought to be more aggressive about using that outlet.

Coiming Tuesday

In Tuesday's TV Talk, I ponder who should win "American Idol," and how the heck we got to this point. Cwazy, cwazy stuff.

Series finales

So Will and Grace dies like it lived: Bloated and self-indulgent, with a garnish of annoying guest stars. Gag. I used to be a fan and for the life of me, I cannot remember why.

Meanwhile, "That '70s Show" went out with an entirely unnecessary episode, just like every episode on that show for the past three years. I was a fan of that one once, too, although I do kinda remember why. Constant repeats will do that for ya.

Well, I guess the shark is out there waiting for all of us. Eventually, you've got to cinch up the leather jacket and strap on the water skis.

Lost - the Michael episode

"He was only afraid that if he did go to hell, he would find that dog there waiting for him."

Mr. Eko rules.

New Web site for the Lost Experience, too: followyourowncompass.com, if I got that right.

Moral question: Would a father do anything for his son? Kill two people and threaten the lives of many others? Would you do that for your child?

Interesting previews. Is that Desmond's boat? Was that a pile of pneumatic tubes Jack was standing in front of? One thing I'll guarantee: It's going to be a looooong summer for Lost fans.

South Park - tourist magnet

Cave of the Winds was the star attraction in a recent epsiode of Comedy Central's "South Park."

While Fairplay -- as close as there is in the real world to the fictional town of South park -- hasn't stirred itself to reap the tourist bonanza of smirking, foul-mouthed, post-ironic South Park fans, Gazette outdoors writer Deb Acord reports that Cave of the Winds was thrilled with the attention. They've even been showing the clip to new employees.

Of course, it was Casa Bonita that got the greatest South Park shout-out of all time, starring in its own episode (although the restauarant itself wasn't seen until the very end). They ought to be running that clip 24/7.

Idol thoughts

Taylor's "Dancing in the Dark"? I thought it was a decent Bruce tribute.

I'm a closet Journey fan and I'll say this: Elliott Yamin is certainly not uglier than Steve Perry. It takes a heapin' helping of cheesiness to match up to Mr. Journey, though, and Elliott couldn't muster the necessary sappiness.

I don't quite get the fuss over McPhee's "Over the Rainbow." Every time that girl falls on the floor, everybody gets all excited. She has legs people, deal with it.

Hick's "Try a Little Tenderness" was a mistake. If you're going to be the next Joe Cocker, be the next Joe Cocker. Go gravelly, go deep. Taylor was actually trying to sing, which didn't work.

Doesn't matter anyway. Time for Elliott's final bow. We'll see him someday on some cruise ship somewhere. Maybe over the rainbow. Maybe.

Ugh

I'm getting comment spammed here, so I'll turn on the comment approval feature for a bit to see if the spambots go away. If a comment doesn't get posted quickly, slap me upside the head.

KRDO sale - and BTW, I rock

The paperwork on the KRDO (95.1 FM) sale to Citadel was posted on the FCC Web site today.

Purchase price: $8.5 million.

Purchase price predicted by your humble correspondent: $8 million.

Any inference that I am beginning to understand the broadcasting business is purely coincidental and should not be considered to be reflective of reality.

Now, if there was just a place on the transfer forms where Citadel tells us whether KRDO will be new country or old country...

Coming soon

Tomorrow's TV Talk is on the network upfront presentations going on this week in New York. NBC went first, renewing "Scrubs," "Crossing Jordan" and "The Apprentice" for midseason, officially killing off "E-Ring" and "Surface" and pimping a slough of new shows, noteably Aaron Sorkin's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," "Friday Night Lights" (which will air on Tuesdays, naturally) and a bunch of other dramas. ABC goes tomorrow, but it's already killed "Invasion," booked Callista Flockhart for a drama and renewed "According to Jim," proving that there is no justice in the world. Oh, and the latest is that the CW will bring back "7th Heaven" after all. Go figure.

Now you don't have to read the column tomorrow -- look how much time I've saved you!

Meanwhile, President Bush's speech tonight is messing up the schedule. Our local cadet on "Wheel of Fortune" will apparently go a half-hour late, after the speech (unless it runs long...). ABC pushed Oprah's "Legends Ball" back to May 22.

UPDATE: TC asked "So what about poor Joey? Has he been officially canceled?"

Yes, Mr. Tribbiani has been put out of his misery, along with "Teachers" and "Conviction." Sorry if any of those are your favorites (and sorry in so many ways if you're really a "Joey" fan).

Wheel reminder

College Week on "Wheel of Fortune" starts at 6 p.m. Monday on KKTV/Channel 11. Air Force Academy Cadet Doug Presley will be featured on Monday's show. Fellow Cadet Casey Probst will spin the wheel on Thursday.

The two cadets taped the shows back in March when "Wheel" spent a long weekend filming in Denver.

Survivor, Office

"Survivor"

I got nothing to say here, since they didn't show us how it turned out. Bastahds, I won't even be home Sunday night.

"The Office"

Gawd I love this show. Raise your hand if you've been where Jim and Pam are. Anyone? Oh, me.

Classic dramedy conundrum, though: Romantic tension drives plot, but drags down the plot whether the romance is consummated or overly prolonged.

After the way they turned it up this season, though, I gotta believe the writers (and actors) can pull it off.

Fun with math

KOAA/Channels 5&30's Katie Moore had a story today on whether hybrid cars are cost-efficient. Pretty popular discussion these days, as you might imagine. The gist of her story was that it would take hella long time for a hybrid to earn back its additional cost through fuel savings. Umm, not so fast there...

I didn't jot down the exact numbers the report used, but I think she was comparing a regular Honda Civic against the hybrid version -- the most direct head to head comparison you can make. Moore said the regular Civic cost about $20,000 and the hybrid about $23,000 and the regular Civic got 30 mpg in the city and the hybrid 49.

None of those are real world numbers, but you gotta start somewhere. (Few thoughts: A regular Civic gets about 38 mpg highway, while the hybrid claims 51 mpg, and MSRP for the Civic ranges from $15,110 up to $21,110, compared to $22,400 for the hybrid, according to Motorweek).

Curiously, from the numbers Moore divined that a potential hybrid owner would need to drive 180,000 miles to pay back the difference, not including sizeable tax rebates the government gives hybrid car buyers. Her bottom line was that buying a hybrid car doesn't make financial sense.

Well, there are a bunch of issues with hybrid cars that haven't been fully resolved (replacing batteries being a popular one, real world mpg numbers being another), but those numbers ain't adding up. At the current price of $2.79 a gallon, I get about 85,000 miles to make up the $3,000 difference.

Given that the federal government gives you about a $2,100 tax credit for buying that hybrid (according to Gazette fine arts writer/hybrid car aficionado Mark Arnest), plus $2,300 from the state (spread out over up to five years as a state tax credit), and NOT buying a hybrid is what doesn't make sense. Assuming you're in the market for a pretty expensive subcompact, naturally.

Anyway, I'm sure there was a calculator error somewhere over at KOAA, but if the whole story is built around a straightforward math problem, you'd think you might want to check the figures once or twice. After all, if you compare the hybrid with the very cheapest Civic, you end up with an unappetizing 235,000 miles to make up the difference.

If I missed something in the report (or in my questionable math skills), let me know.

Dot matrix mania

Alright, I think I'm free enough to do a little "Lost" pondering.

Actually, last night's episode was more fun to watch than it is to reflect on: We sorta knew all of that already. The hatches are interconnected? Check. It's all a psychological game? Check (although it may also be something more). Libby is doomed? Check. The ink in 1980 dot matrix printers never dries out? Check.

So less than initially met the eye, but I still love any episode built around Eko.

The psychic/phony/fake phony (given what he told Claire many episodes ago) is an interesting detail that I'm sure the plot will circle back to. Here's a loose end: Why did Eko's brother tell him to bring the axe? It was just a hindrance to climbing the cliff and it looked like a rock would have worked just as well to knock the hatch loose.

There must have been more to the new hatch (the Pearl) than they showed, so I'm assuming there's some exploring yet to come (albeit probably next season). The heroin paraphanalia on the table in the Pearl was an intriguing touch. Was the hatch under the circle Eko saw, or was it the period on a giant question mark, as implied by the episode's title ("?")?

Typical "Lost": Much was revealed and it all explains nothing. I think we should expect more of the same in next week's Michael-heavy Others episode.

Daughtry disaster!

I'd rather talk about "Lost," but really something needs to be said about "Idol."

Really, no more Daughtry?

His one-note performances were driving everyone crazy, but he was still the only one in the final four, maybe even in the final six or eight, who has any chance of ever having a gold record, much less platinum. I've backed Elliot since the beginning, but come on, nice guys do not finish first. Or second, in this case.

Taylor Hicks coulda maybe been a star... in 1978. The idea that the American public is going to line up to buy Hicks records is so not going to happen.

McPhee obviously requires no further comment.

Of course, Chris needed to want it more and actually put a little effort into this thing, but it's still a disaster of Justin Guarini proportions.

P.S. I was digging around the Web to find a Chris photo and he had exactly the same expression in every single one. Sort of proves the point, I think.

Idol thoughts

I really expected more from an Elvis night.

Daughtry bored me on "Suspicious Minds" and needed to kick it up sooner on "A Little Less Conversation." At least he took a step away from the uber-predictable Daughtry intensity. That was welcome.

Taylor Hicks must have promised his firstborn for a theme night this suited to him, but he was pretty average. I was particularly disappointed by his "In the Ghetto" -- he's way too happy to sell that sappy song. The audience knew he just wanted to get up and start bopping around. Plus, everyone knows Taylor is channeling the fat Elvis, which is bad juju.

I thought McPhee butchered both of her songs.

Which leaves us with Elliot. "I Can Dream" isn't a song I've heard often before, but it seemed well suited to Yamin. "Trouble," on the other hand, was so obviously unsuited for him, it's like Michael Jackson singing Bad. And yet, he totally nailed it, and really sold it to the audience, too.

So McPhee would be my pick to walk, joined by Daughtry in the bottom two. Elliot had so much ground to make up, though, that I won't be surprised if he's on the chopping block. It's actually a good test of how much the audience listens to Simon.

Hold onto your boots, Colorado Springs

I was talking to local radio people today about the Winter Arbitron ratings. Naturally, the number one topic was what Citadel will do with KRDO (95.1 FM) after the sale is completed.

JoJo Turnbeaugh, morning guy and program director for Clear Channel's country station KCCY (96.9 FM) says he's preparing to get some company in the format.

"How much more could that writing be on the wall?" he said.

Over at Citadel, mum's the word, but operations manager Bobby Irwin offered some oblique praise for the boys across town.

“Country is a very hot format right now and KCCY has done a good job serving that audience," he said.

Meanwhile, KRDO actually had decent numbers with its Hot A/C format, coming in ninth, two places ahead of rival KVUU (99.9 FM). So, the betting line is heavily favoring country for now, but don't bet the farm on it. Or the pickup truck. Or the dog.

Weekend update

Had a busy, busy weekend -- hitting the kayak park in Pueblo, putting a new axle on our camping trailer (actually just trying to -- note to future employers: Do not hire me for my welding skills), and a "Ghost Hunters" season 2 marathon on SciFi. My wife's favorite show, so she was camped out in front of the tube for a good chunk of Sunday.

Coming tomorrow in TV Talk.... hmm, well, I'll think of something...

KRDO (95.1 FM) sold to Citadel

Pikes Peak Broadcasting announced Thursday that is would sell KRDO (95.1 FM) to Citadel Broadcasting, which already owns five Colorado Springs radio stations.

Last month, Pikes Peak agreed to sell KRDO/Channel 13 and KRDO (1240 AM), along with Grand Junction TV station KJCT/Channel 8, to the News-Press and Gazette Broadcasting Company of St. Joseph, Mo., for $45 million.

Citadel, a national broadcasting company that merged with ABC Radio in February, owns KKMG (98.9 FM), KVOR (740 AM), KSPZ (92.9 FM), KKFM (98.1 FM) and KKML (1300 AM) in Colorado Springs.

“I think this is a wonderful channel and frequency,” said Harry Hoth, chairman of the board for Pikes Peak Broadcasting. “We feel that we’ve turned it over to people who will uphold that quality.”

KRDO-FM, nicknamed “The Peak,” currently plays a Hot AC format featuring alternative rock and pop. Citadel officials would not say if the company would keep the current format.

UPDATE: This deal was rumored for several months. The big question is what Citadel will do with the format. Country? Update the Hot AC? You can bet that Brenda Goodrich and Bobby Irwin at Citadel have some changes in mind.

It will also be interesting to see where the purchase price comes in. My guess is $8 million, but I'm pulling that out of thin air.

How about that "Lost"?

Bang, boom, bust! And Ana Lucia is down.

There was a lot, a lot packed into that last five minutes. We had Henry Gale's Col. Kurtz-ish references to the Others' leader. We had Michael going native and releasing Henry, after shooting Lucia and Libby (who I'm guessing is not dead -- nobody in a TV show gets shot in a blanket wrapped around a mysterious object without that mysterious object stopping the bullets). And did you catch the random commercial for the Hanso Foundation thrown into one of the commercial breaks? Everyone else here seems to have missed it.

My only complaint is that the show crammed so much stuff into the first new episode after a bunch of repeats that I wasn't fully invested in the characters again. It deadened the shock a little.

We'll always have Paris

Or maybe we won't. No surprise tonight -- Paris managed to peak in her first audition for the judges. Admittedly, it was an awesome audition, but after that, despite her phenomenal talent, she just couldn't connect with the audience. I can't say what the problem was, but there was clearly a charisma gap.

I was an early Elliot booster, but I can't see him making it past next week. He's more interesting when he's not singing.

Speaking of which, our presumptive frontrunner Chris Daughtry is really getting on my nerves. He's like that song you loved the first time you heard it on the radio, but by the 100th time it got repeated, you come to loathe it. Live's "Lightning Crashes" comes to mind. Daughtry is a one-trick pony -- we've seen all he's got to offer. It's good, but it'll be the same next week, or next year.

What was with KK?

Why did KKTV bury the Zacarias Moussaoui story tonight? It ran the story second in its 4:30 newscast and like fifth in the 5:30. I get that the water main break was kind of a interesting visual, but I thought the sentencing was the clearly the story of the day -- even without the local connection (he's probably going to SuperMax down south, which I think they missed). KRDO got it right. Anyone see how KOAA played it?

UPDATE: Second story again at 10 on 11, although they did emphasize the Florence angle. KRDO led with it -- I missed KOAA again.

Just to spread the criticism around, KRDO kept asking people in Florence if they would feel less safe with Moussaoui in the prison. Escape is not the first thing that comes to my mind: He's a deranged fanatic, not MacGuyver. There's a reason they didn't call it AdequateMax. If you want to play the fear game, why not ask about terrorist reprisals? Personally, I'd have asked locals what they thought about him dodging the death penalty.

Commander in Least

It was only a matter of time: Zap2It is reporting ABC is yanking "Commander in Chief" for the rest of May sweeps. The biggest hit of the fall premieres, dead by spring. It's a fascinating case study in how to ruin a show. ABC will probably run the remaining episodes in the summer, but don't expect to see CIC on the fall schedule. Ugly, is what it is.

While the cat's away

I took a long weekend mountain biking in Fruita. So while I nurse scrapes and bruises, Gazette video game writer Terry Terrones talks about a golden oldie:

Old School - I love the classics.

I wear Converse All-Stars, I love the Beatles and I still remember the theme songs to the "Love Boat", "Different Strokes" and "The Facts of Life". While I love modern TV (I couldn't live
without my TiVo, HBO, or my four ESPN's).

I sure wish one show from the past would make a comeback - "Battle of the Network Stars". This is one of the most underrated shows in TV history! It lasted from 1976 - 1982 and had some of the biggest stars competing in some of the coolest (obstacle course, swimming, cycling) and goofiest (tug of war, dunking booth) contests ever.

Howard Cossell as an announcer? Are you crazy?!? Wonder Woman Lynda Carter in a swim
suit? Yowza! Tough guy Robert "Try and knock this battery off my shoulder" Conrad blowing up at Gabe "Mr. Kotter" Kaplan than proceeding to get his butt kicked by him in competition (it was either swimming or cycling, I can't remember).

Why don't we have this today? Don't even get me started on "Battle of the Network Reality TV Stars", that was an abomination, lets pretend it never happened. Here's my suggestion on how to bring this back. Have five Network teams and some of the stars from their biggest shows compete in the exact same goofy competitions from the original.

Here's a potential lineup - 1.NBC ("The Office", "ER", "Joey"), 2.ABC ("Lost", "Desperate Housewives"), 3. CBS ("Ghost Whisperer", "Numbers", "Survivor") 4.Fox/UPN/WB ("24", "Smallville, "Americas Next Top Model'), 5. An All Star Cable team lead by HBO ("The
Sopranos", "Pimp My Ride").

Imagine this - the cast of "The Sopranos" taking on the cast of "Lost" in flag football (What's the over/under on the number of players Paulie Walnuts knocks unconscious?). The women of "Desperate Houswives" versus the women of "America's Next Top Model" in Tug of War.
Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute from "The Office") pulling a Scott Baio and dominating everyone in the swimming events to everyone's amazement.

And how about Jennifer Love Hewitt in a soaking wet t-shirt in the dunking booth?

We need this to happen. This would provide hours and hours of unintentional comedy. Email, call and generally annoy the networks. Who's with me?