In this image released by Bravo, "Top Chef" contestant Stephanie Izard is shown. Izard, 31, won the title of Top Chef during the season finale of "Top Chef", Bravo's reality cooking competition on Wednesday, June 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Bravo, Chuck Hodes)
By ADAM GOLDMAN – 5 hours ago
NEW YORK (AP) — It took four seasons, but a woman finally took the top spot on Bravo’s “Top Chef.”
Stephanie Izard, a 31-year-old, mild-mannered chef from Chicago, beat out 15 other contestants to win the popular reality show designed to test a cook’s mettle.
Izard, a former restaurant owner with a fondness for seafood and pork, was among the last three contestants to make Wednesday’s finale, along with Lisa Fernandes of New York and Richard Blais of Atlanta.
Going into the finale, Blais appeared to be the favorite, but it was Izard who impressed the judges in the end to capture the title and $100,000 that goes with it.
“I just made the best meal that night,” Izard told The Associated Press. “It came down to who brought their A-game.”
The last episode took place in San Juan, Puerto Rico, following many culinary battles in Chicago.
The judges threw the trio a serious test. A four-course black-tie dinner for nine that had to include fish, poultry, red meat and dessert. The contestants did get a bit of help: each was paired with a big name New York restaurant chef.
Izard described the show — won in previous seasons by Harold Dieterle, Ilan Hall and Hung Huynh — as grueling, and said the pressure mounted with each cooking challenge, especially those that involved working with a team.
“It definitely took a lot to get to the finals,” she said. “It’s definitely one of the hardest things I’ve done.”

ap.google.com

In the end, David vs. David wasn’t David vs. Goliath exactly.
But by the time it was over, it must have seemed as if 17-year-old David Archuleta — aka “Archie,” or “Gaspy” to his detractors at Votefortheworst.com — had just slain the twin dragons of nerves and an older, more experienced opponent in David “Raspy” Cook, the 25-year-old rocker with the pipes to match and the laid-back attitude of an old pro.
By the time, the two Idol contenders worked their way through three songs apiece, it was, in the words of that noted sage Simon Cowell, “a knockout.” For Archuleta.
American Idol’s final performance show of the talent competition’s seventh season may also have been one of the worst produced hours of television of the 2007-’08 season — and that’s saying something — but why dwell on the negatives? This was David A. and David C.’s night to shine, and shine they did — to the best of their abilities, in any event.
There’s nothing left now but David A.’s official coronation in Wednesday’s results program. That’s if — and it may be a big “if” — everyone didn’t make up their minds before the performance program began. For whatever reason, David A.  was in the zone, his mind focused like a laser on winning and his strategy set on staying within his limits: an Elton John ballad here, a slow-dancing number there and John Lennon’s Imagine — yes, Imagine again — to close out the show.
David C., on the other hand, chose to stretch his instrument, and his guitar, but came up a bit short. His raspy, old-soul take on U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For — one of my favourite songs, like, ever — was my favourite performance of the evening, but David C.’s no Bono.

communities.canada.com

The American Idol finale kicks off tonight in the battle of David vs. David. In the first season when contestants were allowed to use instruments, as well as one of the best contestant cores since the shows inception, the final two will state their respective cases tonight.
David Archuleta, seemingly a child prodigy, makes the final two in what was almost a no-brainer from the start. When he walked into the audition room in San Diego, he walked right into the hearts of the nation. Stepping up to the occasion countless times throughout the season, Archuleta has been the front-runner for a long time.
David Cook, on the other hand, did not distinguish himself from the crowd early. Yet, as the weeks past, Cook continued to move on as his confidence-level grew. Easily the contestant this season willing to take the most risks by making the songs his own, Cook earned his current standing and is a force to be reckoned with.
If the finale were determined by this evening’s performances, attempting to predict a winner at this point would be an effort in futility. As is well-known, American Idol is not always determined by week-to-week voting. Much more an overall popularity contest than selecting the contestant who actually earned the title, the writing seems to be on the wall already.
While the two left standing are the correct the final pairing, it should be considered the upset of a lifetime if Cook wins over Archuleta. The show’s coverboy from Day One, Archuleta is the epitome of pop music, which is what the show is looking for after all. Cook, although talented and ready for a great musical career, cannot compete with the younger David’s fanbase voting tonight. More than likely, it’s better that way for Cook anyway.
In the end, Cook will play the David to Archuleta’s Goliath.

associatedcontent.com

2. I have my suspicions on who the spin-off will hold. But I’m not saying anything solid yet. I hope they give more info soon.
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eonline.com

[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]
SARAH DISCOVERS ANOTHER DEVASTATING SECRETTHAT WILLIAM WALKER HAS KEPT FROM THE FAMILY,ON THE SEASON FINALE OF ABC’S “brOTHERS & SISTERS”
“Prior Commitments” Kevin and Scotty make a commitment to be life partners, Saul finally deals with his identity in a public way, and the family discovers that William (guest starring Tom Skerritt) kept yet another painful secret from his family, on the season finale of “Brothers & Sisters,” SUNDAY, MAY 11 (10:02-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.
“Brothers & Sisters” stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.
Guest starring are Tom Skerritt as William Walker, Luke MacFarlane as Scotty Wandell, Michael Adler as Doug Manning, Michael O’Keefe as Wally Wandell, Jayne Brook as Bertha Wandell and Parvesh Cheena as Jordan.
“Prior Commitments” was written by Greg Berlanti, Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker and directed by Ken Olin.
“Brothers & Sisters” is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound and Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning. A TV parental guideline will be posted closer to airdate.
This episode of “Brothers & Sisters” will be available on ABC.com the day after airing on the network for users to watch online. Also, check out the new weekly video blog, “Brothers & Sisters: Writers Room” on ABC.com, which will give online viewers an exclusive look inside the series from the show’s writers.

thefutoncritic.com

Let me start off by saying that plausibility has never been Nip/Tuck‘s strong suit. If it was, the series wouldn’t be so deliciously bad. But after watching last night’s episode, I seriously had to say: “C’mon!”
I really loved the show’s move to Los Angeles and talked about the reinvigorated program a few months ago. Unfortunately, Tuesday’s closer was way too over the top for me….and now I’m afraid I have to admit I hated it.
Sean McNamara and Christian Troy have taken us through a lot of strange storylines, so when things got ugly with pseudo-agent Colleen Rose this season, I grimaced but went along with it. (As disgusting as the murder of the real agent was, I had to admit that ‘stuffing’ him was at least creative.) Really, things weren’t that much different this year than when The Carver was still around.
But seriously….how could one family have so many problems? And at the same time?
Let’s see, in one episode: Christian found out that he has a daughter (then sleeps with the amputee mother of his child), Matt’s half-sister begs him to sleep with her again, Julia wakes up from her coma and supposedly loses her memory (I say ‘supposedly’ only because I’m certain Portia de Rossi had something to do with it), Sean’s daughter is involved in a car accident (but surprisingly does okay) and Sean is then stabbed by his stalker. (Wasn’t their last office in Miami also the locale of at least one other crime scene?)
Oh - and I forgot to mention that the stuffed agent’s body was found hiding in Sean’s closet. Not only did Sean barely make a noise when he discovered it, the moment was followed up by Sean and Christian sitting calmly by while the police carted the corpse away. Uh, I have a feeling the cops wouldn’t just let them sit by and eat. Also—shouldn’t Sean have been seriously freaked out since Colleen recently bloodied up his home with her slit wrists?? I would think the last thing he’d want to do is just hang around that cursed pad.
Of course, I can’t just let this all go without wanting to know what happens to Sean. So despite the ridiculous turns Nip/Tuck has made recently, I’ll be there with bells on next season…as always.

television.gearlive.com