What’s on - ‘Dancing’ queen crowned, David battle on ‘Idol,’ more
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 by Albert ChingDancing with the Stars
8 p.m., ABC
Thinking Kristi Yamaguchi is unbeatable after two perfect scores last night? I wouldn’t be so sure - the way “Dancing with the Stars” scoring works (I’m pretty sure, at least), it doesn’t really matter that she got two 30s out of 30, just that she did better than second place Cristián de la Fuente, who got 52 out of 60. So if she has gotten anywhere between a 53 and a 60 (which she got), she would be in essentially the same position. And I can’t imagine voters turning out in droves for her, given that her dominance all season hasn’t exactly endeared the country, and men always do better on this show anyway (the only female winner, Kelly Monaco, was in the show’s nascent first season, and even that was disputed with a silly “dance off” between her and the guy that played Peterman on “Seinfeld”). I do think she’s going to come in second, though, with Jason Taylor probably being the second NFL star (after season three’s Emmitt Smith) to take it all, though I suppose I could see it going the other way without being too shocked, even though I think de la Fuente’s sympathy votes for his arm injury have to be about dried up and he doesn’t have nearly the same American fanbase. I’ve thought way too much about this.
American Idol
7 p.m., Fox
Finalists David Cook and David Archuleta will sing songs picked by two ancient dudes - Andrew Lloyd Webber and Clive Davis. Though I was bummed last week about Syesha Mercado, who I thought was easily cooler and more marketable if not a better vocalists than these two dorks, getting eliminated, at least she won’t have to sing 90 seconds of whatever boring tunes those codgers unearth. David Cook will probably win tomorrow and go on to be Daughtry 2.0 (exactly what this world needs!) and maybe David Archuleta can do whatever a 17 year old with no discernible personality but a great voice can do, like go to Broadway as the world’s tiniest Danny Zuko.
Reaper
8 p.m., The CW
It’s the first season finale, but the show was renewed, which means it’ll be back midseason - January 2009 - and we won’t have to hear about what extraordinary yet misplaced efforts the show’s fans will go through to try and get it back on air (there’s a character named Sock! They could have mailed execs socks! Brilliant!). So, a victory all around, especially given the show’s clear handicap of being on The CW and not about fashionable young rich folks (and the failure of other genre shows this season, like “Bionic Woman” and the resurrected “Jericho”). Tonight’s episode involves demons setting a trap for Sam (Brett Harrison), which kind of sounds like every other episode, but surely there will be a twist of some manner.
Shark
9 p.m., CBS
Shark’s (James Woods) archenemy has broken out of jail! And he’s out for revenge on Shark! What is Shark gonna do? Shark! OK, I don’t know anything about this show. This is the second season finale, but in reality the series finale (since it wasn’t picked up), so it’s probably too late for me to learn about it. I know it has James Woods, and his name is Shark. But he’s not an actual shark, I’m pretty sure. Though that would be a bold choice. I think it’s actually just a nickname, which is disappointing, and further confirms my suspicions that I did the right move in skipping this show.
ALSO ON: Well, that’s about it. There’s the two hour fifth season finale of “NCIS” (7 p.m., CBS), a show, much like its military abbreviation predecessor “JAG,” keeps coming back year after year despite the fact that I’ve never encountered anyone who watches it.




