SueTube – Let’s talk TV with critic Susan Young

Few would have given Yau-Man Chan of Martinez much of a shot of getting past the first few days of “Survivor,” much less be poised to take it all on Sunday night.

After all, at 54 he’s one of the older competitors, works as the Director of Information Systems for the College of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley and he’s a table tennis champ.

Although impressive, none of that screams “Survivor.”

Yau-Man’s also originally from Malaysian Borneo and slipped right in
when it came to life in Fiji. He also used his considerable observation skills to slip out of more than one trap.

On Thursday, he played the game with a prowess that hadn’t been seen since fellow Bay Area “Survivor” champ Yul Kwon took it all in the last go-round.

Biding his time like a Triple Crown winner coming from behind the pack, he let others set the pace early on and did his best not to make enemies.

His cunning and playful side came out after he found the first Immunity Idol _ and then decided to make a fake idol and hide it for someone else to find.

But he really brought it on when he started winning challenges like the archery competition and proved he had some mad skills.

Yau-Man did what no other competitor has ever done on Thursday when he won a Ford truck valued at close to $50,000 and gave it to another competitor, Dreamz.

Earlier, Dreamz, a person who has been homeless for much of his life, revealed that he has never owned a car and would do anything to have one. It would change his life, he proclaimed.

So Yau-Man, out of the goodness of his heart _ and a plan to get further ahead in the game _ decided to give Dreamz the truck.

In return, he only asked that if Dreamz got immunity in the final four, he would give his immunity to Yau-Man. The Man decided that move would get him into the final three if his calculations were correct.

Then Yau-Man promptly sent himself to Exile Island _ another “Survivor” first _ so that he wouldn’t burn any bridges and he could find a clue to get another Immunity Idol for his pal Earl.

He succeeded in getting Earl an idol, but he didn’t count on Dreamz
attempting a coup to get him out of the game. Dreamz decided that he would have to get Yau-Man out before that final four so he wouldn’t have to go back on his word to hand over the immunity.

Might have been easier just to fail at the immunity challenges, but
that would have been too simple I guess.

Again, with seconds ticking away at Tribal Council, Yau-Man was feeling uneasy and decided to play his Immunity Idol.

It was a million dollar decision, because everyone in the tribe except Earl voting Yau-Man out. With his immunity played, the person he and Earl had chosen, Stacy, was voted out.

That leaves only five left standing for Sunday’s finale. Earl and Yau-Man have a solid alliance, but they have to get past Boo, Cassandra and Dreamz – all the people who had voted Yau-Man off.

Can Yau-Man win immunity again and make it into the final three, when it is up to the jury to decide? If so, he’s got a good chance to win it all because he’s played the game with honesty and integrity.

You go, Yau-Man.

Could it be? How could it happen?

All we know is that John Locke was last seen gasping for air after Ben shot him dead in the chest and sent him tumbling into a mass grave for all those dead Dharma guys.

Oh, and we also know through Eonline gossip goddess Kristin Veitch that Terry O’Quinn, who plays Locke, recently sold his home in Hawaii…not good.

We did learn a lot about Ben. Mom Emily (which was also Locke’s mom’s name) died in childbirth outside Portland. Dad Roger holds it against Ben. Dad’s also the guy who became dead Roger Work Man in the VW van that Hurley found a few episodes back.

After years of dad ignoring Ben’s birthday, on this particular birthday Dad decides it’s time to take the boy out for a beer in the jungle. Too late, daddy dearest. Ben kills daddy.

These father issues just don’t quit on this show.

And we finally got a glimpse of the mysterious Jacob, who is apparently one of the “whisperers” on the island. He whispers to Locke “Help Me” when Ben brings Locke to the old cabin where the mostly invisible Jacob lives.

Locke better hope Jacob can help him out. Otherwise it’s hasta la Locke.

And we’ve also seen that Ricard hasn’t aged at all in the decades he has known Ben.

Who are these “Others” anyway? We know they whacked the Dharma people, with the help of Ben. We know they steal women and children. And we know that they can’t reproduce.

And if you really want to get your head spinning, check out Jacob.

And why did Ben kill all the Dharma people, including, it would seem, his sweet little girlfriend. Or maybe she was one of the children carried off by “The Others.”

We don’t know much, but we know there’s going to be a big showdown soon. It’s going to set up quite a new season. Next week, we get a catch-up special where the “Lost” producers get us up to speed on anything we might have missed. Then just two more episodes before the mind-blasting finale.

Now talk amongst yourselves about the Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland references.

Just how badly did “Grey’s Anatomy” creator Shonda Rhimes NOT want to do a “Grey’s Anatomy” spin-off?

Apparently, enough to give us a horrible “Grey’s” episode last week that had Addison going down to So Cal to hook up with some old med school pals. We were slightly encouraged at the beginning with Addison, played by the fantabulous Kate Walsh, getting whipped by her hair in the convertible as she cruised along oceanside highway.

Then it just went oh-so-bad.

A talking elevator? Addison going all girly over some doctor she met in the talking elevator?

And while I won’t go as far as the New York Times did in remarking that the scene with the three women doctors oogling the young male receptionist as he walked out half naked to surf was setting feminism back decades, I will say that it was corny and stupid.

Maybe Rhimes is still ticked that the network put the brakes on her real passion project about journalists that starred “Denny” – Jeffrey Dean Morgan – and instead wanted an Addison-driven doc drama.

In any case, if ABC puts that stinker on its schedule next week, then we know those people have spent way too much time cooking their brains at the beach.

All the smart money is on Jordin Sparks for the win in this season of “American Idol.”

Until May 22, it’s all just counting down to the inevitable.

Tonight, to no one’s surprise, Blake Lewis and LaKisha Jones were the last two standing in the eliminations. With Blake the lone boy left in the competition, it was obvious that LaKisha would get the boot tonight.

LaKisha looked worried from the start of the program _ a concern that played out in the end when it was announced that she was eliminated from the competition.

LaKisha started out the season strong, but kept dipping along the way while Jordin just keeps gaining ground.

Most of LaKisha’s problems were of her own doing.

She has consistantly chosen bad songs and each week can’t seem to stop from screaming out the lyrics.

Things started to crumble early on in the competition when guest singer Lulu couldn’t convince LaKisha that “Diamonds are Forever” was a bad way to go.

It just went down hill from there.

We suspect Blake is next on the chopping block, with a showdown between the always polished Melinda Doolittle and young Jordin, who just seems more like an “American Idol” kind of girl.

“Lost” creator Damon Lindelof made no bones about it in January: He wanted to announce an end to “Lost” and he didn’t want to go much past 100 episodes – the golden number for syndication.

Damon figured that meant that “Lost” would end either next season or possibly the season after. Instead, “Lost” will bow out in the spring of 2010.

The hitch is that both Damon and ABC got what they wanted, because the seasons will be abbreviated. There will only be 48 more original episodes of “Lost.”

Starting with the 2007-08 season, ABC will begin airing the 48 remaining original episodes. The episodes will air uninterrupted over three seasons (16 episodes each season), with the series concluding in 2009-10 with what the network is calling a “shocking finale.”

“In considering the powerful storytelling of ‘Lost,’ we felt this was the only way to give it a proper creative conclusion,” says ABC entertainment president Stephen McPherson. “I always said that we would allow the series to grow and give viewers the most compelling hour possible. And, due to the unique nature of the series, we knew it would require an end date to keep the integrity and strength of the show consistent throughout, and to give the audience the payoff they deserve. ”

We, of course, means Damon.

Damon and Carlton Cuse have signed on to complete the series.

“This is a bold and unprecedented move for ABC,” said Damon and Carlton in a prepared statement. “We always envisioned ‘Lost’ as a show with a beginning, middle and end. By officially announcing exactly when that ending will be, the audience will now have the security of knowing that the story will play out as we’ve intended.”

It’s official: The Gilmore Girls are no more.

Which means our beloved “Veronica Mars” probably won’t be around next season either, since “VM” consistantly falls below “GG” in the ratings.

FAREWELL TO THE GIRLS IN THE SERIES FINALE

In a joint statement from The CW and Warner Bros. Television, which produces the show, they write:

“Announcing the final season of ‘Gilmore Girls’ is truly a sad moment for everyone at The CW and Warner Bros. Television. This series helped define a network and created a fantastic, storybook world featuring some of television’s most memorable, lovable characters. We thank Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dan Palladino, Dave Rosenthal, the amazing cast led by Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, as well as the producers, writers and crew for giving us this delightful gem for the past seven years. We would also like to thank the critics and ‘Gilmore’ fans for their passionate support and promise to give this series the send-off it deserves.”

The series finale airs at 8 p.m. May 15 on the CW. We’re betting Luke and Lorelai get back together and Rory moves to San Francisco with Logan (have you noticed all the L people in this show?).

Of course, Rory will get a job at the Oakland Tribune...OK, she’ll probably opt for that other Bay Area newspaper. But wouldn’t it be sweet?

Actually, judging by the photo for an upcoming episode, she’s going to work at CNN.

“BON VOYAGE” Pictured (L-R) Christiane Amanpour as herself, Lauren Graham as Lorelai and Alexis Bledel as Rory star of THE CW series GILMORE GIRLS. Photo Credit: Bruce Birmelin / The CW ©2007 The CW Network

It’s not good to tempt fate.

On Tuesday, Phil Stacey opened the competition with a decent rendition of Bon Jovi’s “Blaze of Glory, ” which proved to be his swan song. (“I’m goin’ down in a blaze of glor-reeee …”).

Even with a strong performance on Tuesday, Stacey has been hanging on my his fingernails throughout the competition. Stacey came back strong during the last two programs, including a nice country performance, but it wasn’t enough to get past the flashier performances.

Stacey got the boot first, followed by Chris Richardson, who wobbled badly through his Bon Jovi tune “Wanted Dead or Alive.”

Things looked bad for the Justin Timberlake wannabe when he couldn’t even remember the words to the song during his practice session with Jon Bon Jovi. Bovi Jovi told him to “find the blue note” in the song. Turned out it just found the brown note.

Blake Lewis, who was in the bottom three, did a fantastic job on doing the Bon Jovi hit “You Give Love a Bad Name” Blake beat-box style. Jon thought he was making a mistake fooling around with a beloved song.

Simon proclaimed after the performance that “half the audience will hate it, and half will love it” and that Lewis’ risk would pay off by saving him from having the ax fall on him this week.

Once again, Simon was right. Blake took a chance and it paid off big time for him.

And after picking bad song after bad song, LaKisha Jones FINALLY chose wisely and belted out “This Ain’t a Love Song.”

Now it’s down to the best of the bunch, with Melinda Doolittle leading the pack. It’s not going to be easy for any of them to catch up to the amazing Melinda, who has been beating the others soundly week after week. She outright spanked the Bon Jovi song “Have a Nice Day.” No wonder Jon wants her to join the band.

It’s true. “The View” won’t have Rosie O’Donnell kicking up any more dust – and more importantly heating up the ratings.

ABC announced early today that the network was unable to come to a contractual agreement with “The View” co-host. As a result, her duties on the show will come to an end mid-June.

“They wanted me three years, I wanted one year, and it just didn’t work,” Rosie says on today’s show.

(ABC/HEIDI GUTMAN) ROSIE O`DONNELL,BARBARA WALTERS,OLYMPIA DUKAKIS,JOY BEHAR,ELISABETH HASSELBECK

“Going in we knew we would have an amazing year with her, and that anything beyond that would be gravy,” says Brian Frons, president of daytime programming for the Disney-ABC Television Group. “But we were willing to take the chance because we understood what a coup it was to entice Ro back to daytime television. So here we are a year later, and while we’ve tried to come to terms on a deal that would extend her co-hosting duties on ‘The View,’ we find ourselves unable to agree on some key elements.”

Rosie pumped up the profile of the daytime show with her ongoing feud with Donald Trump, her politically incorrect comments and her attacks on those she felt were intolerant of the rights of others.

Barbara Walters, creator and co-executive producer of “The View,” said in a statement that she was the one to coax the high voltage Rosie into taking a seat on “The View.”

“She has given the program new vigor, new excitement and wonderful hours of television. I can only be grateful to her for this year,” Barbara says. “I am very sad that ABC Daytime could not reach an agreement with her for a second year.”

As for Rosie, she says in a release sent out by ABC that it has been an amazing experience and one she wouldn’t have traded for the world.

“Working with Barbara, Joy and Elisabeth has been one of the highlights of my career, but my needs for the future just didn’t dovetail with what ABC was able to offer me.

To all the viewers out there, I just want to say ‘thank you’ for opening up your hearts and your homes to me this past year. But you can always find me at rosie.com. Here’s hoping there’s more confetti for all of us going forward.”

(ABC/HEIDI GUTMAN) ROSIE O`DONNELL,JOHN LITHGOW

Since the departure was made on friendly terms, ABC hopes to entice Rosie back next year to take part in a series of one-hour specials or guest host once in a while.

There are no current plans to announce a new co-host.

Sanjaya says he’s looking into getting a bodyguard.

Can he really be that popular? Or that deluded?

SANJAYA AND LAKISHA IN BOTTOM 2

The kid came across as a naive young man who says he got his GED as a sophomore and thinks of his time on “American Idol” as his “junior and senior year in high school.”

“It was my mom’s idea for me to get my GED,” Sanjaya says in a teleconference with journalists today. “ I got into a little bit of trouble in school and didn’t do my homework. It was a horrible habit that I had. I just wanted to move on and focus on my music.”

And he says that he thinks that Howard Stern and Web sites like votefortheworst had little impact on him.

“I don’t think (they) had enough people voting for me to make a dent in anything,” Sanjaya says. “The reason why I’m here is solely because of the support from my fans.”

So why did he get the boot this week?

“Honestly, I’m not a country singer and I didn’t have enough really strong performances for people to forgive me,” Sanjaya says. “LaKisha had enough strong performances to get her through. So that’s what got me this week.”

Sanjaya, whose father is a construction worker, says he still wants to go to college at the Berklee School of Music some day, but right now he feels is the time to focus on his career and “ `American Idol’ was a great way to do that.”

The 17-year-old says the only time he felt he was in over his head was during Hollywood week.

“That was completely intense. I had my sister there and she really supported me,” Sanjaya says. “I just wanted to get past that.”

He says it was surreal for him to become a cultural phenomenon. And he still isn’t sure what to make of it.

“You just don’t have the slightest idea of the capacity of this show and the impact of this show,” he says. “Once in a while, you get inklings.”

“I had no idea,” he says. “It seems kind of unnatural. I’m just a guy from Federal Way. It’s crazy.”

He says he liked the skit “Saturday Night Live” did on him, and believes you have to be able to laugh at yourself.

Which brings us, of course, to Simon Cowell.

“I think he had gotten to a point where I hadn’t fulfilled the potential (he thought I had in the beginning) and didn’t think I belonged there, which is OK,” Sanjaya says.

Sanjaya says he’s looking forward to being part of the season finale and to go on tour. After that, he’ll be looking at opportunities in acting, modeling and perhaps even Broadway.

Well, we won’t have Sanjaya to kick around any more.

Sorry, little cowboy. Time to pack up the pony and hit the trail.

Despite the efforts of Howard Stern, www.votefortheworst.com and little girls all over the planet, Sanjaya finally got the boot. We blame it on the headband. And the fact that he cheated by singing a non-country song on country night.

Oh, and also because, as Simon the eye-roller mentioned on Tuesday, Sanjaya sounded like some of the rejects from the auditions blooper reels.

We can imagine Simon’s doing the happy Snoopy dance right about now.

Sanjaya warbled out a horrendous version of Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About” while barely containing his frizzed-out hair in a tall red bandana.

When the votes were read on Wednesday night, the bottom three included Sanjaya, Blake Lewis and LaKisha Jones. Although both Lewis and Jones have proven themselves to be good singers, it’s time for both to kick up their games.

Lewis looked a little geeky _ and non-country _ in a blue argyle sweater singing the Tim McGraw barely-country ballad “When the Stars Go Blue” and LaKisha test drove former “American Idol” winner Carrie Underwood’s hit “Jesus Take the Wheel.”

Each week, LaKisha has ignored the advice of the guest vocal coaches and, as a result, she’s been making some poor song choices. I hate to say it, LaKisha, but I have a little bit of Mandisa deja vu going on right now. I think it’s getting close, and you won’t make it into the top two.

My picks right now are Jordin Sparks, who might just win this whole thing because of her youth and spunk combined with great talent, and power singer Melinda Doolittle who can do no wrong.

A notable change in the cellar-dwellers: For the first time in weeks, Phil Stacey didn’t make it into the bottom three. Phil’s been doing a good job these last couple of weeks and it finally paid off for him.

It now comes down to week to week as to who might be kicked off the show next. If LaKisha doesn’t start paying attention, she could be next.