Smallville: Doomsday (season finale)

Let me start with the obvious question: why is the middle name of the eldest Olsen boy the same as the first name of the youngest?

Obviously, the creators of Smallvillewanted to create an unseen twist to the myth while at the same time giving a giant middle finger to the comic book geeks who are concerned that the show isn't following established continuity.

I'll give them points on the twist of having the elder Henry James Olsen not be the same James Bartholomew Olsen that later joins the Daily Planet (was the bowtie on the younger enough of a hint?). As much as I hate to admit this, it makes more sense for that because in the comics it is pretty well established that Clark and Jimmy have a far greater age difference than Clark and Henry James.

Actually, they got me twice: first, by revealing Clark's secret to Jimmy (I dug when Jimmy used the phrase "Super ... guy") and then by having Jimmy killed. Either situation would have rocked the Superman myth to its core had they not wussed out with the "older brother" ending.

I don't recall Edge City in the Superman or even DC Comics mythos. Has it been used in the comics?

Obviously, Cosmic Boy and the Legion of Super History Professors have no idea what they're talking about when it comes to Clark's death. Maybe Lois can teach them a thing or two now that she's stuck there.

I liked the callback to the previous episode when Tess mentioned Lois in a maid outfit. The all-too-brief girlfight was kind of disappointing in the age of Buffy. Still, that's probably what a girlfight would be more like in real life.

How the hell could Jimmy afford a Metropolis apartment that overlooks the city on a photographer (and then junkie's) salary? Wouldn't he have sold it to get some cash to buy drugs? I'm just saying.

I was kind of hoping for the fight between Clark and Doomsday to last longer since they've been building to it for the whole season. I guess they didn't have the CGI budget. At first I thought they were breaking the "no flights" rule at the end, then I realized it was just a super-leap. It's kind of ironic that ultimate psycho boyfriend Davis ended up being as much a monster as Doomsday.

By the way, Doomsday does still exist, albeit buried in concrete. I can see them hauling him out in the future and just saying the Legion got the date wrong.

Poor Chloe is a widow without ever being married. How can actresses cry on demand like that?

It was nice to see the Justice League together again, echoing the season premiere. Not much else to say about that.

Did I mention that I actually enjoyed tonight's finale? Sure, it still had the usual stomach-turning melodrama, but it had more action and some good twists, as well as a lot of slow-motion walking (new drinking game: whenever someone in Smallville walks away from someone else in slow motion, take a drink). I guess we know that Zor-El is the Big Bad for next season. See you then.

SNL - MADONNA & ANGELINA WANT BABIES

Too funny!

Lost: Ends the Season with a BANG!

If all you care about is the destination, you miss all the joy of the ride.

And come on: Even if last night's Lost finale didn't provide many final answers, that was a fabulous, fun two hours of TV that masterfully propelled the story forward. It was, in turns, exciting, shocking, maddening, gorgeous, humorous — and ultimately heartbreaking, as Sawyer lost Juliet and yet another chance at love. Well-earned surprises are few and far between in series TV, and yet after all these years, Lost can still keep us puzzled over what's coming next and where our allegiances are supposed to lie.

We thought they were supposed to be with Locke on his determined hunt to kill the island's master, Jacob, until we learned that wasn't Locke at all. The real Locke was apparently dead, just as Ben and Richard kept telling us he had to be.

We thought Juliet was dead as well, when she was dragged into the electromagnetic pit, until she perked up and set off the hydrogen bomb. Which is where the show came to its startling conclusion, with a cliffhanger explosion that, typical of Lost'shabit of twisting TV conventions, faded to white rather than black.

The plot was driven by Jack's determination to cap the electromagnetic leakage that crashed their plane by short-circuiting it with that bomb — a hunt that led to some 24-style shootouts. But the show also had one more, very important back story to tell: Jacob's. We time-traveled with him as he visited Kate, Sawyer, Sayid, Locke, Jin, Sun, Jack and Hurley, interfering at crucial points in their lives, including giving Hurley that mysterious guitar.

And then, thanks to machinations of the enemy occupying Locke's body, we saw Jacob murdered by a jilted, jealous Ben. Because on Lost, fate bows to free will and momentous events are often sparked by petty motivations.

Best of all, though, the episode was a welcome reminder that amid all the discussions of time travel and smoke monsters and electromagnetism, the key to the show's success is its characters, played by one of the strongest ensembles around.   I for one cannot wait until next year to see what has happened!

Slumdog' Child Star's HOME Torn Down By Authorities

City workers bulldozed the home of a "Slumdog Millionaire" child star Thursday as part of the demolition of dozens of shanties in a Mumbai slum.

Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail was asleep when a police officer woke him up and told him to leave his family's home, he said. Shortly after that, the shack and about 30 more were destroyed.

"A police officer took a bamboo stick to hit me, and I was frightened," said 10-year-old Azhar.

Authorities say his family will be given a new home elsewhere.

"Slumdog" filmmakers say they've done their best to help the young stars. They set up a trust, called Jai Ho, after the hit song from the film, to ensure the children get proper homes, a good education and a nest egg when they finish high school. They also donated $747,500 to a charity to help slum kids in Mumbai.

Producer Christian Colson has described the trust as substantial, but won't tell anyone how much it contains not even the parents for fear of making the children vulnerable to exploitation.

American Idol: And Then There Was Two...

It's getting down to the wire, and all three of the remaining contestants are certainly talented enough to be crowned the next American Idol.  As you know I'm pulling for Adam Lambert.

When Ryan announced that the first person competing in next week's finale is Kris, I wondered if we'd have a Kris-Danny showdown, but then Ryan said Adam was the other Idol who'd be back next week. Danny is going home. 

That's probably a good choice. Danny is a fantastic singer, but hasn't been as consistently as good as Kris. Next week we'll have a two-part season finale on Tuesday and Wednesday. In the meantime, which Idol do you think will take it all?

Miss California USA Carrie Prejean says she was punished for speaking her mind at the national pageant.

Prejean keeps crown

Love her or hate her but the Donald Trump has told this Beauty Queen (Miss California)  "You're UN-Fired!"