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It’s about time.

Kate “Catatonic” Gosselin is finally taking her two left feet home to the kids. She does tear up and can’t say anything. Tony defends her. “I had the opportunity. I’m very honored to have been here,” she finally sputtered.

The “Dancing With the Stars” producers couldn’t have been happy about the bottom two: Pam Anderson and Gosselin, the two most divisive characters on the show.

Anderson is clearly a tough sell for the older, mostly female voters despite great dance performances and praise from the judges.

Gosselin almost looked like a dancer last week but regressed Monday night with a slow-motion fox trot that garnered just 15 points, by far the worst of the night. She has been easily the worst dancer this season but somehow beat three others. Where her fan base came from is a mystery to me. Perhaps it’s single …

Continue reading Who is gone next on ‘Dancing With the Stars’? »

Bravo recently started shooting the third season of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” and surely the producers are always hoping and praying for that big trashy Jerry Springer moment to capture on film. If stories emanating out of various gossip sites are to be believed, NeNe Leakes and Dwight Eubanks got in each other’s personal space Monday night at Loews Hotel, with chair throwing in the mix.

Jonathan Jaxson, who did some publicity for Kim Zolciak, gleefully reported the so-called news, followed by the likes of Radaronline and Mediatakeout. Was this all manufactured? Possibly.

At 7:40 p.m., I got a hold of Eubanks, who said. “No comment,” concerning the details of why NeNe went after him.

But he did acknowledge that yes, “it was real… she bruised me up a little bit.” When I asked if there was any permanent damage, he said, “I’ll survive. We’re fine.”

NeNe sent out this Twitter today:

Yall gossiping 2 day! Please believe, I don’t hit people & they don’t hit me. If u read …

Continue reading Rampin’ up the drama: reports about NeNe and Dwight duking it out »

Author Kitty Kelley likes to tackle tough subjects: she’s spent years digging into Nancy Reagan, the Bush family, Frank Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor. Now she’s delved into the world of an American pop culture icon: Oprah Winfrey.

Kelley admits she didn’t unveil much in the way of shocking revelations about Winfrey that hasn’t shown up in the past in tabloids or from the talk-show host herself. The scoop many press accounts honed in on was a passing reference to Winfrey’s brief liaison with New Age musician John Tesh when she was 20.

But Kelley certainly went deep, interviewing more than 800 people connected in some way to Winfrey (including the man who raised her and a cousin who claims to be the family historian in Mississippi). Without Winfrey’s cooperation, she culled liberally from interviews Winfrey has done in the past.

Her goal, she said, was to give fans a more nuanced view of Winfrey beyond what viewers see every day on her talk show.

“She’s a biographer’s …

Continue reading Interview with Kitty Kelley on her new book on Oprah »

UGA grad and former Atlanta Falcon Bill Goldberg made a career acting with rage and stomping opponents on a football field or wrestling ring. Yet he came across as the king of constraint on “The Celebrity Apprentice.”

Unfortunately, that may have contributed to his ouster last night about halfway through the competition.

“Let’s be perfectly honest,” Goldberg said in an interview Monday by phone. “The fact I made it that far was a huge victory for me. I was on the verge of implosion from day one.”

There were indeed moments when his anger was burbling just beneath the surface. (You could hear the grunts and growls emanating from his innards.) But he almost always held his tongue. He was a team player, did whatever he was told. “I showed constraint people didn’t know I had!” he said. “I just am greatly appreciative people are able to see I’m not just a Cro-Magnon Man who rips people’s heads off.”

Indeed, he hoped he was able to broaden his audience, to project an image that he …

Continue reading Bill Goldberg interview after ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ »

CREDIT: Paul Drinkwater/NBC

This story ran in the Sunday print edition of the AJC:
I’ve also included some bonus material after the story that didn’t make the cut.

The network that sells itself as “Very Funny” is getting serious.

Altanta-based TBS, the original “Superstation,” built an affectionate following with Saturday morning wrestling, Andy Griffith reruns and Atlanta Braves games. In more recent times, it boosted its profile — and its bottom line — with a mix of popular sitcom reruns and original programming by the likes of hometown superstar Tyler Perry.

But it’s never achieved much in the way of industry respect — until now.

What changed? The impending arrival of a pale, red-headed talk-show host known for good-natured, absurdist humor and characters such as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and the Vomiting Kermit.

Snagging Conan O’Brien to start a new late-night show this fall is what many in the TV world call “a game changer.”

“Conan is going to bring a whole new …

Continue reading Conan O’Brien boosts TBS’s hipness quotient »

Glenn Close may be seeking new climes because FX’s critically acclaimed but ratings-challenged “Damages” ends its third and likely final season Monday night.

And watch Emilio Sosa and his massive ego try to win “Project Runway” Thursday on Lifetime, a much improved season over six thanks partly to Atlantan Anthony Williams and his quipfest.

Other series finishing their seasons include TLC’s “Ace of Cakes,” Discovery’s “American Loggers” and MTV’s “16 and Pregnant.”

On Sunday, two more nourishing series open shop: History’s ambitious look at American History called “America: The Story of Us” and Discovery’s study into Stephen Hawking’s fertile mind with “Into the Universe With Stephen Hawking.”

And “American Idol” Wednesday provides its third charity special “Idol Gives Back.” This will be Ryan Seacrest in serious mode.

MONDAY
“Dancing With the Stars” 8 p.m. ABC — Evan Lysacek and Nicole Scherzinger have the best dance skills but does that equal votes?
“24” 9 p.m. ABC — Poor …

Continue reading TV best bets with ‘Idol Gives Back,’ season finales of ‘Damages,’ ‘Project Runway,’ ‘Ace of Cakes’ »

Abby, the pony-tailed forensic scientist on America’s most popular scripted show ”NCIS,” is probably the happiest Goth in history. Sure, she wears an all-black wardrobe, dark hair, a spider-web neck tattoo and toe rings but enjoys hugging everyone in sight.

Pauley Perrette, the actress who plays Abby, is very much the chipper personality (the hugging is all Perrette) but doesn’t wear anything goth-like at all. And the spider-web tattoo is fake.

“Pauley’s actually a blonde,” said Kevin Lawson, an Atlanta native who’s been friends with Perrette since he met her at the Point in Little Five Points nearly two decades ago. “Pauley normally wears big baggy Levi’s, sneakers and men’s white T-shirts.” The Nashville musician does agree that the hyper, caffeinated persona on TV is very much Perrette off camera.

“It’s hard to pull them apart. I think she got the job as Abby because she walked in and they said, ‘That’s her!’ ” he said. “She brings light any place she goes. Guys go …

Continue reading Interview with former Atlantan and ‘NCIS’ star Pauley Perrette, coming to the Atlanta Film Festival Monday, April 19 »

The waterworks were strong and long in this “Project Runway” episode. But in many ways if felt pointless. Even though Jay and Mila had to duel for the third spot at Fashion Week, we all know it’s a foregone conclusion that Emilio or Seth Aaron will win the big prize.

RUNWAY SHOWDOWN

Photos from myLifetime.com

In the end, was it really that much of a surprise that Mila is going to Bryant Park? You can’t have a show on Lifetime and not have a woman in the final 3.

Mila

Also no surprise is the black-and-white theme of her collection. The three looks she presented were definitely cohesive and expertly made. A graphic dress with coat, a removable cowl neck sweater with pants (left) and a sequined dress with T-strap collar (top right). While her looks, including the rigid bob and pale makeup of one model, were true to her “Romulan” form, Mila did break out a bit with the patent leather gloves with cutouts and steel rings. In the end, the judges felt she was the one most ready to …

Continue reading Project Runway: Season 7, Episode 13: Fight for Fashion Week »

BET’s spinoff channel Centric, which is targeting the same older African-American audience TV One has, is going to simulcast Atlantan Steve Harvey’s syndicated radio morning show starting this fall, AP reports.

Harvey is heard locally on Majic 97.5/107.5. He is usually ranked in the top 10 25-54 in Atlanta but is beaten by Tom Joyner over at Kiss.

BET has also renewed the “Mo’Nique” talk show, which airs at 11 p.m. weekdays. The show is shot at Turner Studios here in Atlanta. Mo’Nique recently won an Oscar for her work on the film “Precious.”

Continue reading Steve Harvey’s radio show to be simulcast on Centric TV; “Mo’Nique” talk show gets a 2nd season »

Anthony Williams a couple weeks ago gave me an “exit” interview after he was eliminated from “Project Runway.” At the time, I said I was looking forward to seeing him back on the show’s finale to help out the remaining contestants at some point because that’s what they usually do.

Instead, Maya unexpectedly dropped out during the episode that week and Anthony came back to compete. He won the next challenge but last Thursday, he was nixed again. He finished fifth, just missing having a shot showing his clothing line at Bryant Park. (The top 10 actually all got to show at Bryant Park but his line won’t air on the show.)

“I thought I was doing an exit interview,” he said, when the producers last fall gave him the good news that he was returning. “I was at peace with leaving the show. I didn’t know if I wanted to go back. But I thought, ‘Hmmm…. the universe is calling me. I have a responsibility to answer.”

Williams, who celebrated his birthday at his pad last Friday, has not …

Continue reading Anthony Williams exit interview (again) for ‘Project Runway’ »