TVSquad

(S09E10) ELLEN! I've been waiting for this. I've been a huge Ellen DeGeneres fan for years, so I was psyched to hear she was going to be a judge this year. A lot of people are worried that she'll rely too heavily on the comedy, so tonight is a big night; we finally get to see how she does.

It's also a big night because it's the beginning of Hollywood week. I always feel terrible for the people who get sent home, but I'm trying to remember this: at least they got a sweet free trip to Hollywood. That's something, right? All in all, it's a pretty good group of people, but there are several who just completely biff their auditions. How does that happen? It's a mystery for the ages. Let's ponder it together, shall we?

If you've seen the by-now-infamous David Letterman/Oprah Winfrey/Jay Leno Super Bowl promo, then you are probably left with a lot of unanswered questions. "Were they really in the same room together?" "Did this happen before the Second Late Night Wars started?" "What about Conan?"

Well, the answer to the first two questions can be found in this New York Times article on the spot, which was shot last Tuesday. The short answer: Letterman just thought it would be funny. What would have been even funnier though, is if there had been four people on the couch. Because if there's anything more awkward than Leno and Letterman in a promo together, it would be throwing Conan into the mix. It turns out, that was exactly Letterman's original plan.

Look, I knew as soon as I saw the promo for 'The Late Show with David Letterman' that featured Letterman, Oprah and Jay Leno, that nothing was going to top that. There was just no way anything could be better than that 15-second ad. While I was correct, there were some commercials for non-CBS products that put a smile on my face. Of course there were many others that made me groan, wince or sigh, but Bob's handling those.

The videos below are from Hulu, because they were the first ones available. If you can't view them due to location restrictions, they will all be up at Fanhouse.

The first big Super Bowl shocker came early tonight, in a CBS promo, no less. The Super Bowl is on CBS, so it's no surprise we get a shot of David Letterman on a couch in his Colts jersey, but here's where things get weird: he's at a Super Bowl party with Oprah, and he's complaining about how it's the worst Super Bowl party ever.

We then see Jay freakin' Leno, who says that Letterman is only saying that because he's there. Letterman then mocks Leno, and then we see that this whole thing is a promo for 'The Late Show with David Letterman.'

How in the hell did this happen?

Cynthia Watros, the dearly departed Libby on 'Lost,' is leaving Hurley for Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard). Watros will be appearing in a recurring role on 'House,' playing one of Wilson's many ex-wives. In fact, not only is she playing Wilson's very first ex-wife, but it looks like they'll be rekindling their relationship.

Watros is set to appear on several episodes, so it appears as though House (Hugh Laurie) doesn't chase her off right away. Of course, she probably became intimately acquainted with House during her marriage to Wilson, so his antics can't be anything that new to her. Regardless, it takes a brave woman to step back into that minefield -- especially now that House and Wilson are roommates. He kind of makes the Smoke Monster look like a gentle breeze.

We haven't seen Wilson in a real relationship since Cutthroat Bitch (Anne Dudek) died, and since I don't think House said "yes" to Wilson's recent proposal, it seems like a good time to have him fall in love again. What do you think? Do you want to see Wilson with his ex, or should he really just focus on his true soul-mate, House?

The folks at our sister site Cinematical are working hard to give you news and reviews of the best -- and worst -- the silver screen has to offer. Here are some of their musings on the latest blockbusters, indies, and everything in between:

• This isn't a spoiler, because I honestly know nothing about 'Dear John,' but just based on the trailer, I have a feeling that something bad happens to John-- perhaps it's the fact that it's based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks. Is this the next 'The Notebook'? Cinematical has their review here.
• Speaking of lost loves, Cinematical Seven has Romantic Tragedies.
• Eric Dane is in the upcoming film, 'Valentine's Day,' and the character he plays is gay, although you wouldn't know that from the trailer. Cinematical discusses the ugly art of de-gaying films.
• Would you watch a 'Shattered Glass' remake about film critics who plagarize? Here's the pitch.
• American Idol alum, Carrie Underwood is set to star in her first film, 'Soul Surfer,' about female surfer, Bethany Hamilton, who had her arm bitten off by a shark. Underwood plays a church youth group leader.

(S02E15) I have no idea why, out of all the controversies in the world right now, that the folks at 'Parks and Recreation' decided to tackle corn syrup, but I loved it. This was actually a well-done episode about something that many people consider to be a problem: companies taking over vending machines in places like schools and other public places. Even though it actually had a bit of a message, it still managed to be hilarious.

Leslie is kind of everybody's mom: whether it's not letting Ron drink and drive (drinking and harp assembly is another matter entirely), or helping Anne educate Pawnee about the dangers of kids becoming fat, happy and docile by shoving high-fructose corn syrup bars into their gaping maws.She's just trying to make her little part of the world a better place, and it's endearing.

The Adam Lambert/ABC controversy is one of those things that makes zero sense to me. If you recall, after Lambert kissed a dude and briefly simulated oral sex with someone in his band on the American Music Awards, ABC freaked out and started banning him from their shows. The network canceled appearances on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' and 'Good Morning America,' apparently fearing that the 'American Idol' runner-up wouldn't be able to refrain from nibbling George Stephanopoulos' ear at 7:30 AM. What I don't get is why this is such a big deal: it's as if ABC is operating in a world in which Lady Gaga and her antics don't exist.

Now the big Lambert news is that he may be attending the Oscars, which is airing March 7 on ABC. As Lambert isn't in the film industry, this makes little sense-- except that he may be attending the ceremony with longtime friend Anna Kendrick, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her turn in the George Clooney film, 'Up In The Air.'

Last night, we just had our eighth audition episode of 'American Idol,' and I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I'm ready to get to Hollywood. As much as I enjoyed Neil Patrick Harris and Kristin Chenoweth, I'm also ready to see what Ellen DeGeneres is going to do in her new role as Idol's fourth judge.

Luckily, FOX has just released a promo for Hollywood week, which is next week. At that point, DeGeneres joins the judges table for the first time to whittle down the 181 people who received Golden Tickets to 24 semi-finalists. For those of you who have watched the show in previous seasons, you know it's not a quick process: these contestants will be performing over three nights, with the Top 24 not being revealed until Wednesday, February 17.

(S09E08) This is the last episode before we get to Hollywood, and you know it's going to be good for two reasons: Victoria Beckham's back, and they start it off with "Pants on the Ground" (Although, how could they leave the classic Brett Favre version out of the montage?).

However, Beckham is only back for a little while, as this is a montage of auditions from all of the stops that we haven't seen yet. It's kind of weird how it's set up, because even though we haven't seen these people before, this still seems like a strange kind of clip show. In any case, it wraps up the audition process, in which 181 golden tickets were handed out, and gets us ready for the real show to start next week, when Ellen DeGeneres permanently joins the cast, which is what I've been waiting for.