• Perfect score not enough to keep Maria 'Dancing' in the finals

    Adam Taylor / ABC

    Derek and Maria may have delivered what the judges considered a perfect Argentine tango Monday, but viewers voted not to advance the pair.

    By Anna Chan

    Monday night may have been “a triumphant victory” in TV personality Maria Menounos’ opinion, but viewers apparently felt differently.

    Sure, she topped the leaderboard and had the judges gushing over her “perfect” Argentine tango (which featured some posture and line issues) and 29-point jive that lacked content. But viewers weren’t as impressed and gave their votes to finalists Donald Driver, Katherine Jenkins and William Levy, thus denying Maria’s pro partner, Derek Hough, a fourth mirror ball trophy.

    Was it an attempt by fans to balance the judges’ questionable scoring? Hard to say. But it was strange that head judge Len Goodman -- who has always been quick to slam performances that didn’t contain very many moves of the assigned dance -- actually pointed out that her jive lacked enough of the signature moves, but still opted to ignore the omissions. He busted out his 9 paddle while fellow judges Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba raised their 10s. (Perhaps Len had enjoyed a few of his "happy pills" with his fellow panelists prior to the show?)

    Slideshow: Worst costumes of 'Dancing' season 14

    Adam Taylor / ABC

    Launch slideshow

    Still, they were impressive scores, especially considering Maria apparently hadn’t nailed down her dances prior to the performance show. “We didn’t know our dances (Monday) until we got on the floor, really,” she admitted during her exit interview.

    With her ouster, viewers will also be missing out on more of her infamous laugh and ear-piercing screams of excitement, not to mention the crying. Since premiere week, the TV personality has treated viewers to quite a few tears, some thanks to the stress of the competition, others due to the numerous injuries she has reportedly suffered (bruised ribs, fractured feet and a hard face plant, to name the big ones) during the season. “I learned how strong I was. I learned how to persevere,” she said after her elimination. With such serious injuries, she certainly did learn how to persist despite the pain!


    Speaking of injuries, host Tom Bergeron revealed that Katherine – who was the first contestant declared safe -- will be able to continue on in the competition despite suffering a back injury during her salsa Monday night. As proof, after the opera singer learned that she would be moving on to the finals, she jumped around with abandon and later laughed that she may have retweaked her back while celebrating. Oops!

    What do you think of the final three? Who’s your pick to win? Tell us on our Facebook page!


     

     

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  • Wendy Williams eats fried squirrel on her show

    Wendy Williams Show

    By Anna Chan

    On Tuesday, the Robertson family of A&E's "Duck Dynasty" paid a visit to "The Wendy Williams Show." But they weren't there just to promote their program or the family business (they create top-of-the-line duck calls out of swamp wood, and it's very profitable). No, the clan wanted to share a little something from their dinner table as well.

    As fans of "Duck Dynasty" may know, matriarch Miss Kay is quite happy in the kitchen, cooking up the critters that her family brings home. And for their appearance, she whipped up a batch of fried squirrels for their host to nosh on.


    "Now, I know you probably know, but I included the head to give you the ... I just wanted to give you the effect," Miss Kay told the self-proclaimed foodie.

    After taking a tentative little bite, Wendy declared, "It tastes like chicken!"

    Check it out:

    What's the strangest dish you've seen eaten on TV that you'd be willing to try? Tell us on our Facebook page!


     

     

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  • TV's 5 biggest canceled shows

    By Joal Ryan, E! Online

    Sonja Flemming / CBS

    David Caruso and Jonathan Togo on the now canceled "CSI: Miami."

    A procedural drama with a bigger audience than the renewed "CSI: NY." A teenage drama with a bigger audience than the renewed "Gossip Girl." A crime show with a bigger audience than almost everything.

    Here's a rundown of some of the top-rated TV shows that got axed as the broadcast networks unveiled their new fall schedules:

    1. "Unforgettable": A Top 25 show, the one-and-done Poppy Montgomery series was TV's most-watched drama or comedy to rate a pink slip. But like "Rob," another show offed by CBS despite a similar- and good-sized audience of about 12 million, "Unforgettable" appears to have been punished for being the weakest link, relatively speaking, on an otherwise powerhouse night for the network.

    More from E: Check out Connie Britton's 'Nashville,' Scott Speedman's 'Last Resort' and more

    2. "CSI: Miami": In its 10th season, it averaged 10.5 million viewers, not far off from its ninth-season performance. At the same time, it was not far behind "CSI" (12.4 million) and was a bit ahead of "CSI: NY" (10.5 million), both of which are coming back. Speculation on its demise has centered on its production costs.

    3. "Terra Nova": The freshman dinosaur drama was declared dead in March, but its audience of 10 million viewers still looms large, and larger in fact than every Fox series, canceled or renewed, save for "American Idol" and "The X Factor." The closed-down "Alcatraz" (9.6 million viewers) was Fox's second-biggest snubee.

    4. "Missing": ABC didn't take out a bigger show than the midseason-launched Ashley Judd thriller, which averaged 8.9 million viewers but lacked for a young-adult audience as badly as Kathy Bates' "Harry's Law" (8.9 million viewers). The latter series, by the way, wasn't just NBC's most-watched cancellation victim, but also the struggling network's most-watched scripted series overall.


    5. "The Secret Circle": With 2.1 million viewers, the only CW drama with a bigger audience than this forsaken freshman series was its lead-in, "The Vampire Diaries." Once again a series seems to have suffered for being awarded one of its network's golden time slots.

    Photos from E: 2012 May finale spoiler-ama!

    Which of these shows will you miss most in the fall? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

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  • Kardashian sisters dish on Kanye, divorce and baby talk

    By E! Online

    When Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian get together, you know you're in for an entertaining time. Particularly when some good-natured sibling ribbing is the order of the day.

    When the E! stars sat down on "The Tonight Show" Monday night, the sisters gabbed about everything from Kanye West to the impending birth of Kourt's new baby girl to the rumors that Khloe was leaving the reality business to even -- yes, they went there -- Kim's still-fresh pending divorce.

    MORE: Kanye West, Lamar Odom join Kardashians for Kourtney's baby shower!

    Jay Leno wasted no time in questioning Kim on her relationship with Kanye, asking her about his song, "Theraflu," purportedly about his new girlfriend.

    "I don't know if he wrote it for me," she began.

    "I feel like the lyrics kinda say he wrote it for you," Khloe interjected. "I think the song is self-explanatory. I think it definitely says it's for her."

    "I think my name's in it," Kim conceded, prompting laughs from the audience. A fairly good indicator, then, as clues go.

    That wasn't the only time Khloe got the best of Kim during the interview. While promoting the seventh season of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," Kim began rehashing the paternity drama that recently surrounded Khloe, explaining that her late father's exes were to blame for fanning the flames of the rumors.

    MORE: Kanye West to appear on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians"?!

    "My dad's ex-wives that he was married to for two seconds..." Kim began, but Khloe quickly -- and to applause, "oohs" and entertained gasps from the audience -- said, "Runs in the family."

    Oh yes, she went there. Kim good-naturedly rolled with the punch. "That was a good one," she said.


    Meanwhile, Khloe also denied that her and Lamar Odom's temporary hiatus from their eponymous reality show signaled the beginning of the end for them on the small screen.

    "I understand that people need to sell magazines," she said. "I didn't pull the plug on any show, we just wanted the summer (off)."

    "I mean, Lamar and I have fun doing what we're doing. 'Keeping Up' is a show that we're taping and that we always do. I don't know how something spun so far out in the media. We're just doing what makes us happy, so until it doesn't make us happy, we'll do it. We're just taking the summer off. It's like we're in school, and now it's summer."

    MORE: Vote Now for Your Favorite Kardashian TV Moment!

    Which also means that the birth of Kourtney's second child is drawing ever closer. But can viewers expect to be treated to another video of the birth like her infamous footage delivering Mason?

    "I don't know," she told Jay. "We're gonna film it again ourselves, and honestly, my experience last time was so peaceful and calm and everything you don't see in the movies. And I really wanted to share that with people so they knew it doesn't have to be a crazy screaming session."

    Kourtney said that she and Scott Disick will decide after the fact "if we're into sharing it or not."

    Now that would be must-see TV.

    Catch more from the Kardashian's when "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" seventh season premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on the E! network.

    Will you tune in to "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" to see what's to come for the family? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

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  • Howie Stern proves a perfect fit on 'America's Got Talent' premiere

    Mark Seliger / NBC

    On the season seven premiere of "America's Got Talent," Howard Stern proved he fit right in with his fellow panelists Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel.

    By Sean Daly, AGTnews.com

    Teenage cloggers, a light up dance squad and a musician paying something called an “earth harp” emerged as early favorites on Monday night’s season premiere of "America's Got Talent."

    But the real story, of course, was the arrival of Howard Stern, who settled into the judges table so perfectly you almost wonder how the show got by for six years without him.

    As promised, the foul mouthed, stripper-loving King of All Media was both compassionate and honest as he sifted through several dozen (mostly horrible) auditions in both Los Angeles and St. Louis. What we didn’t expect was his razor sharp sense of humor.  Stern had a one-liner for just about every occasion.  

    "First of all, I wish I looked like you,” he told one performer.  “God punished me with this face, and you've got my face."

    When Miss Less -- a 55 year-old singer who lets her 22 cockatiels eat out of her mouth -- arrived on stage, Stern couldn’t help but ask the burning question on everybody’s mind:  “If you were on an island and all you had were your birds, would you eat them?”


    Exclusive: See The Boy Howard Stern Made Cry

    Surprisingly, the biggest insult was not from Stern -- but directed at him.

    After telling an off-key guitar player: “I’ve been in radio 35 years and you are too weird for my show,” the scorned auditioner shot back: “That might hurt my feelings if I respected your opinion.”

    For the most part, season seven looks a lot like all the others.  There was a guy who put scorpions in his mouth, a little girl who looked about 5 performing aerial silks, and a crazy circus sideshow act who stuck long needles through his cheeks. (Ouch!)

    Among the night’s most memorable acts:

    WILLIAM CLOSE, 42 (sculptor/musician)
    Close had the judges eating out of his hand as he played his homemade “earth harp” -- a giant instrument with strings that spanned all the way to the rear of the Orpheum Theatre. "I made my career on originality, and I bow to you,” Stern praised. “Perfect."  This act was by far the most impressive to look at, but you have to wonder how he can step it up each week. Expect William to advance to New York but fizzle out by the semifinals.

    BEN BLAQUE, 32 (crossbow shooter)
    The night’s scariest act involved Ben -- who looks like he just stepped out of the pages of GQ -- shooting arrows at tiny objects while trying not to impale his brand new assistant. (He made no specific mention of what happened to his last helper. Perhaps what we don’t know won’t hurt us.)  Since no blood was shed, Howard loved it. Expect Ben to also make it to the live shows, but not much further.

    Stern Takes Shots At J.Lo, Seacrest and Spears

    LIGHT WIRE THEARE, 25 - 43 (dance company)
    The crowd in St. Louis LOVED this troupe that created cool visual effects by wearing light up costumes in total darkness. Just one problem: haven’t we seen this somewhere before? Last year Team iLuminate did the EXACT SAME ACT (without the fake dinosaurs).  They made it all the way to third place. These guys will need to show us something much more original to have that kind of a run.

    ELEMENT DANCE CRU, 12 - 18 (cloggers)
    So this is what clogging looks like in the 21st century? Hip, urban, cool. All three judges love them.  Well, they were the most original dance team of the night and are our sleeper act to make the top ten.

    What did you think of Stern's first night and the rest of the premiere action on "AGT"? Take our poll and  share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

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  • What did you think of Howard Stern on 'America's Got Talent'?


    Hey now! Shock jock Howard Stern's first night as a judge on "America's Got Talent" is now in the bag! What did you think of him?

    Have more to say about his performance? Tell us on our Facebook page! 

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    Results
    Total of 18,134 votes

    37.7%
    He was fantastic! But I knew he would be.
    6,836 votes
    28.7%
    Stern surprised me! Better than I expected.
    5,201 votes
    5.1%
    Meh. I liked Piers Morgan better.
    922 votes
    5.7%
    He was terrible!
    1,026 votes
    22.9%
    I didn't watch.
    4,149 votes

  • Injury downs 'Dancing' queen Katherine Jenkins in semifinals

    ABC

    Katherine Jenkins tries to collect herself after a stumble on "Dancing."

    By Ree Hines

    On "Dancing With the Stars," the semifinals almost always include desperate dances and sky-high scores, but this season, the penultimate performance show also packed something completely unexpected -- a twist.

    But it wasn't the kind of twist that reality TV talent shows are known for. Instead it was an unwelcome twist of fate for one hoofer hopeful.

    With the finals in sight and -- let's face it -- practically a lock for this season's "Dancing" queen Katherine Jenkins, the frequent leaderboard topper suffered an injury on the dance floor that cut her moves short and could spell trouble for her in what's left of the competition.

    The opera star already had one judge-pleasing routine behind her with an earlier 29-point quickstep when she took the floor for what proved to be a problematic salsa. Long before the real trouble struck, Katherine struggled through a belly-baring, gyrating and thoroughly out-of-character dance alongside pro Mark Ballas. Then came the moment that rocked the star and shocked the audience.

    Just as Mark supported her neck during a deep drop and attempted to maneuver around her, his leg caught hers and she was unable to support herself any longer. Suddenly the routine ended, and Katherine was left shaking while the pro and host Tom Bergeron came to her aid.

    After the show, Mark told fans that he was sorry they "couldn't finish R dance," that Katherine had suffered a back injury and he did his best to "not let her fall at the end." During the program, Tom assured fans that she'd soon seek medical assistance for her lower back.

    Until then, Katherine decided to stick it out through her obvious discomfort and learn her scores, which were -- injury or not -- generous to say the least. She later took to Twitter to reveal that she had suffered a "reflectorical spasm" in her lower back.


    Head judge Len Goodman called her "Katherine the Great," Carrie Ann Inaba praised the routine as "so fantastic" and Bruno Tonioli simply urged her not to worry about what happened. They each backed up their comments with a 9 paddle.

    Of course, one didn't need an injury to rake in higher-than-expected scores from the panel. In fact, time after time on Monday night, the judges pulled their 9 and even 10 paddles out, even though there really wasn't a single perfect dance to hit the floor.

    The top performance of the night came from William Levy, who followed up a lackluster (but high-scoring) tango with a sexy, hip-shaking samba that, despite a couple of quick hold flaws, had the audience out of their seats cheering, and had Len raving about "the hunk with the junk in his trunks."

    The fun but not-so-perfect dance earned the actor 30 points all the same.

    Next up in the evening's rankings -- or the rankings as they should have been -- was wide receiver Donald Driver, who impressed the crowd twice in one night with an elegant waltz and a high-energy samba. Both efforts played it a little safe and featured flubbed transitions, but they were worthy of the semifinals, if not quite the 28 and 29 points they raked in respectively.  

    But the actual leaderboard leader of the night was Maria Menounos, who mesmerized the judges with a poorly postured 30-point Argentine tango and a 29-point jive that lacked most of the moves that define the dance.

    With such high scores and mixed performances, it hard to say who's a shoo-in for the finals and who's about to bid the ballroom farewell on Tuesday night. William and Donald put on the strongest semifinal performances, but Maria had the advantage with the judges. And as for poor Katherine, loyal fans and sympathy votes could keep her in the running, but whether her injury will allow her to continue is the bigger question.

    Will Katherine's injury factor in to your votes? Which stars deserve a spot in the finals and which one doesn't? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page. And be sure to join me and Anna Chan for our weekly "DWTS" live chat Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. ET.

     

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  • Obama visits 'The View,' reveals knowledge of Kardashian wedding

    By Courtney Hazlett

    For the second time since taking office, President Barack Obama sat down for a chat with the ladies of “The View,” and The Clicker got a live look at the taping (the episode itself airs Tuesday).

    Squeezing in the appearance between giving the commencement speech at Barnard College and delivering remarks at Ricky Martin's fundraiser in New York, the president dove right into campaign issues such as gay marriage and the current JP Morgan Chase debacle. But later in the show, Obama switched gears and gamely took part in a pop-culture quiz, proving that even the president stays a little dialed in to what people are buzzing about.

    President Obama drops by "The View" for a pop culture quiz. And in other news, "Hardball" host Chris Matthews flexes his mental muscles on "Jeopardy."

    Asked which Kardashian recently got married, Obama answered correctly, saying it was Kim, but qualifying that he only knew “because it was to a ball player.”

    As for what sexy book was sweeping the nation, he wasn’t aware of “50 Shades of Grey,” and said he’d have to check with wife Michelle about that one. Although the president doesn't have a lot of free time on his hands, he's able to catch a movie now and again: “Avengers” was recently on the viewing schedule, he revealed.


    And if you thought Obama’s brief rendition of “Let’s Stay Together” last January was forgotten, not to worry. It got some play during the broadcast too. While the first family appreciates his singing (Obama said his daughter Malia referred to him as “just the right amount of embarrassing,”) he assured the audience that the clip is not anyone’s ringtone, at least in his family.

    Check listings for "The View's" local air times on ABC.

    Will you tune in to "The View" to see the president's interview? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page!

     

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