TV

Lots going on as North Texas recovers from Jason Castro getting the boot on American Idol this week. The rumor that he was making a Rockwall appearance last night wasn't true -- he's saying it might be weeks till he's back in Texas.

Here are links to Castro happenings:
, After chatting with reporters, including Darla Atlas, on Thursday Jason appeared on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno

Here's a blog post at neighborsgo.com on the Leno appearance:

The city of Rockwall didn't get to hold its big party, but still plans to honor Castro at some point. Check the Web site rockwalllovesjason.comfor details.

Tonight's episode of Lost features Locke-centric flashbacks, and we mean waaay-back flashbacks, to John at ages 5 and 16. ABC's official ep summary says:

Locke discovers the location of Jacob's cabin, and life aboard the freighter becomes increasingly perilous.

For some spoilerish stuff, go to the jump...

It was time, wasn't it? Even for those of us who adored him on the show have to admit it. Besides, if he'd squeaked by Syesha this week, it could have caused some sort of violent uprising amongst angry viewers. And nobody wants that.
"I think it's just getting tough for me," he said of the competition. "I think my inexperience is coming in."
Well, the good news is this: He now has a lot more experience to fall back on in the future.

Syesha and Jason await their fate, while Davids A. and C. are safe. Ryan noted earlier that the top three came within a million votes of each other (out of a total of almost 51 million), so to me that means Jason will be departing. (One person clearly came in dead last, in other words. Jason made many mistakes.)
Of course, I'm writing this without knowing the future, so I reserve the right to say, "Oops!" in an upcoming post.

Way back in Season One, Nikki McKibbin (local singer who was regularly panned by the judges -- sound familar?) grabbed a top-three spot from the clutches of the beloved Tamyra Gray -- who was seemingly a shoo-in. People expected to see a Tamyra/Kelly showdown in the end, remember?
This year, people expect a David/David showdown. History tells us it may not happen.

Really, at this point I think it would make Jason sad NOT to go home. He is SO ready. He has already had a tremendous ride. If he does go as expected, I think Syesha will be next (even though I LOVE her voice and think she would be terrific on Broadway). I think this will be a battle of the Davids for the top slot. And if so, which David do you think will win it?

Here's hoping that Dancing with the Stars isn't a microcosm of the upcoming presidential election, because if it is, a lot of viewer-voters are going to be feeling disenchanted. R&B star Mario was eliminated despite his best-dance performance last night, while one-armed Cristian and scrappy Marissa both were spared. Shocked viewers may have had flashbacks to last season's unaccountably early departure of Sabrina Bryan, another young pop performer whose great dancing couldn't counter a lack of DWTS-watching fans.

During Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man," he forgot the words. Maybe he was serious when he told the Entertainment Weekly reporter he was ready to come home.
Sigh.

Good Lord. Not sure if the nerves got to our hometown guy or if -- as Simon said -- he just shouldn't have attempted Bob Marley. All I know is that his rendition of "I Shot the Sheriff" was pretty painful. He seemed to be trying to infuse the song with extra energy or pizzazz; did you notice all of the extra body movements tonight? But the thing is, Jason is endearing because he hasn't had to try that hard. We like his lack of pizzazz.
His second song better be awesome. Stupendously, magically awesome.

Tonight, the final four got to choose songs from performers who've been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In other words, they have MANY CHOICES. David Cook's first ditty was "Hungry Like the Wolf," which he casually mentioned came out THE YEAR HE WAS BORN. Ouch. Dude is quite young.

Don't cry for us, Brooke White! We want you smiling when you come to Dallas as part of the American Idols Live Tour 2008, coming, appropriately, to the AMERICAN Airlines Center Aug. 25. That means for all of you with short-term memory loss, that we'll also be seeing Carly Smithson, Chikezie, Kristy Lee Cook, Michael Johns (my kids' fave), Ramielle Malubay and of course David Archuleta, David Cook, Syesha Mercado and our very own Jason Castro (wonder if they'll give him time to check on things back home in Rockwall????)
Pop Tarts presents this AEG Live production, which seems appropriate. Tickets available at Ticketmaster, but not until Saturday, May 17 at 10 a.m. Good luck with that!

Rockwall's Jason Castro makes some pronouncements in Entertainment Weekly that might be painful to fans' ears. Interviewed during Neil Diamond week, he told EW: "What happens happens. I'll sing and if people like it, they like it. And if they don't, they don't. I'm kind of ready to go home. ... It's been overwhelming. I got 150 balloons yesterday delivered to the studio because people heard I was sick last week. That's cool, but that's just weird."

The winner of Monday night's edition of Dancing with the Stars was Cristian de la Fuente, bravely performing with his injured left arm. But the loser may be the show since his inflated scores (his first 10s of the season) were strikingly out-of-step with the quality of his dancing. Meanwhile Marissa Jaret Winokur finds herself at the bottom again, and seems a sure bet to be eliminated tomorrow night unless voters refuse to play their part and choose instead to vote off the worst dancer -- Cristian.

Less than a month of endless buildup to go before the SATC opening on May 30. Tune into to ExtraTV or check out the web site for the latest burst of fab-gab from SJP and company. One particularly delicious swipe from Ms. Parker had her delineating the powers each of her crew wields:

Parker also dishes about costars Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis. About Cattrall, Parker said, "She's as sexy, if not sexier than she was in the series." As for Nixon, Parker commented, "Cynthia is so beautiful on screen. It's breathtaking." When asked about Davis, Parker revealed, "And Kristin, I think is the comic relief."

Oof. Good ol' Kristin 'comic relief' Davis. I'm sure she appreciates the vote of confidence. And this coming from original Square Pegs funny gal -- hey Sarah, why the long face?

Assuming he does well with Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame Week (which is a good assumption), and assuming he's not voted off on Wednesday, Jason will return to Rockwall on Friday, May 9, to celebrate his top-three status. The festivities (to be filmed by Fox, of course) begin with a short parade at 3:30 p.m. near the Harbor Amphitheater, next to the Hilton Bella Harbor on Lake Ray Hubbard. Jason is expected to greet his screaming fans at 4:30. Be there! (Pending.)

According to the Associated Press, one of the mainstays of Smallville, that sly imagining of the Superman mythos on the CW, is saying goodbye. Michael Rosenbaum plays Lex Luthor, alternately menacing and, well, confused, on the series (also increasingly megalomaniacal, mostly because of the secrets Clark Kent's keeping from him).

Executive producers released a joint statement hinting that the actor could return in Season 8 as a guest star. Season 8 will have two new villains: Doomsday, who killed Superman in a blockbuster move in the DC comic book; and an as-yet-unnamed female villain who'll be attracted to Clark.

Less than a month until the SATC movie opening, but the cross-platforming promotainment has already begun. The movie is sure to be a showcase of cutting-edge product placement -- Manolo Blahnik should get a co-star credit, and it's clear plenty of companies are going to be look to hitch a ride on the gals' upscale wagon. For a taste of things to come, check out Skyy vodka's web site. It contains a Sex and the City section where you can engage in all sorts of virtual SATC-themed merriment, including a list of cocktails based on each of the characters. So there's a Carrie, a Miranda, a Charlotte, a Samantha and even, a Big. Guess what each of this concoctions contain -- that's right, Skyy vodka. The sole exception, of course, is Big's manly highball -- Cutty Sark with a healthy splash of Cinzano Rosso vermouth and three dashes of peach bitters.. Then again, it says something about what a woman's world SATC is when the manliest drink offered is garnished "with a peach slice."

From The Associated Press:

"Why would we get rid of Paula?" wonders Cecile Frot-Coutaz matter-of-factly, when questioned about possibly nixing the wacky "American Idol" judge now infamous for - among other things - critiquing both of Jason Castro's songs after he'd sung only one.

Read more and tell us what you think.

Tonight's episode of Lost wasn't nearly so action-packed as last week's -- but plenty happened in the way of character relationships...

In the jungle: Claire still has a headache as she and Baby Aaron make their way back to the beach camp with Sawyer and Miles. As they pass through a clearing, Miles hears voices and the names "Danielle" and "Karl."

He stops, asks the others about what he heard, and Claire recognizes Rousseau's name. Miles stoops, brushes away some topsoil and find Danielle's body and, nearby, Karl's too, both just barely buried beneath the surface. Sawyer's warier than ever of Miles now, and Claire is distressed by their discovery and begs them to keep going toward the beach.

Later they stop to rest, and Sawyer catches Miles watching Claire with the baby. He tells Miles to stay away from her because Sawyer's put him "under a restraining order" -- in fact, Miles is not to make a move at all without Sawyer's OK.

After leaving the show in tears last night, Brooke was back to her peppy self during a conference call with reporters this morning. I asked her about the Paula-centered controversy and whether the other singers rallied around Jason before he had to sing his second song that had already been panned.
"You know what? Jason is a very laid-back guy. I think he was OK," she said with a laugh. "He does what he does, and it's great. Live television is very interesting. We call it 'fly by the seat of your pants' television.' Things change and it can be very confusing. Paula, bless her heart, made a little mistake."
Any regrets - things she wishes she would have done? "Just enjoy it more. Honestly, the pressure was gigantic. I didn't even tune into the media, but it's just your own insecurity that you feel through the whole thing. The pressure and the workload are just physically and mentally huge. You have to find a way to enjoy it."
She agrees with Carly Smithson that the guys are more popular with viewers this season: "The fan mail came in and there would be these great, humongous stacks for them, and the girls got like three a day. The boys are very talented and charming, but oh, to be a boy this year! It probably would have been helpful."