TVSquad

Time's annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World is out, and for the third year in the row I just missed making the list (last year I was 103, this year I'm at 102, so I'm getting better!). The list is broken down into five different categories: Leaders & Revolutionaries, Heroes & Pioneers, Scientists & Thinkers, Artists & Entertainers, and Builders & Titans. This year, Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana herself, is #59. And the weird thing is, it's under the Scientists & Thinkers category.

OK, that's not true (she's under Artists & Entertainers), but it got me thinking that there must really be a shortage of influential people in the world today.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! MAGICAL SPOILERS!

On today's edition of Oprah, which many people in the country have already seen, magician/stunt artist David Blaine attempted to break the world record for a person holding their breath. Did he actually do it? The results after the jump.

Did Oprah's production company steal the idea for her new hit show Oprah's Big Give?

That's the accusation made by a Boston woman, whose lawsuit against Winfrey has just been dismissed in a Massachusetts court. The woman is appealing the decision.

The woman says that she came up with the idea for a show very similar to Oprah's Big Give called The Philanthropist. She sent the proposal to Harpo Productions (Oprah's company) in 2005, and they wrote her back asking for more details. When she sent more details, they told her that they weren't interested in the idea. Then, in 2006, Oprah announced on her show that she was going to give viewers money to help out others, which eventually led to Oprah's Big Give.

Last summer Anna told you about a new Oprah store that was planned for Chicago. The store has now opened, down the street from her studio, and The Chicago Sun-Times has all the details.

Besides all of the stuff you know you'd be able to buy at the store (Oprah books, O magazine, books by Oprah-endorsed people such as Maya Angelou, Dr. Mehmet Oz and Bob Greene), you can also get $300 Gianfranco Ferre brown crocodile ankle boots, velour jogging suits, and polo shirt/leash outfits for your dog. What, no cars or refrigerators?

Sure, Oprah Winfrey might have her own TV network, but that doesn't mean she's number one.

The Harris Poll has released their annual list of the 10 favorite TV personalities, and Oprah actually came in second (after being on top for five years). The first place winner? Believe it or not, it's Nancy Grace.

OK, just kidding about that. Number one is actually Ellen DeGeneres, who was number eight last year. The full list is after the jump.

You think Oprah Winfrey is already the most powerful person on television? You have no idea.

Winfrey and Discovery Communications announced a deal today that will have the Discovery Health Channel given to Oprah and switched to The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN - really!). In return, Discovery gets Oprah's web site. I'm not really sure what getting to run Oprah's web site means for Discovery, but it will be part of the network.

The takeover of Oxygen by NBC Universal has now lead to 25% of Oxygen's employees being let go, per this Variety article. "We have consolidated functions and operations, resulting in job impact," said J.B. Perrette, president of distribution for NBCU. Can't you just see Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) delivering that line. "Job Impact." I love wordspin. Not "We just told 65 people that come the New Year they'll be on the streets looking for work" but "We told 65 people that their jobs have been impacted."

Every year around this time, Oprah surprises her audience by announcing that they've come to the show on the day of her "Favorite Things" episode. The audience goes...well, berserk. You really can't understand what it's like if you haven't seen it. Imagine The Beatles, circa 1964. Then multiply by 6.

Yesterday she went to Macon, GA, the city that has given her show the best ratings over the years. To show her thanks, she gave her audience thousands of dollars worth of electronics, clothing, and food. I really hope she had medics on hand, because the audience when just as crazy for body lotion as it did for an LG fridge with a built-in HDTV. After the jump is the full list of stuff the Macon audience got and you didn't (and check out the video highlights).

Well, she controls the cable ratings universe, so maybe it was inevitable that she'd talk to the queen of daytime.

Miley Cyrus, aka Hannah Montana, from the Disney Channel show of the same name, will sit down with Oprah Winfrey tomorrow and chat. THIS IS TOTALLY AWESOME. Seriously. She's probably going to talk about...well...I'm guessing her show. Her dad Billy Ray Cyrus (he plays her dad on the show too) will also be on the show. Oh please please please let him do "Achy Breaky Heart" just one more time.

We've all seen the video clip of Larry King asking a surprised Marie Osmond about her 16 year-old son being in rehab, and now inside sources have told the New York Post that he did it on purpose, to get even with her for having the Osmond family reunion on Oprah's show instead of his show (I didn't realize the Osmond brood was causing such a booking war).

This annual list from Forbes is half "wow, I didn't know they made that much" and half "oh my God, Oprah made more money in the last minute than I've made in the past five years." But it's a fun way to see who's making what. Some of the people you pretty much assume will be on the list, but there are a few surprises too.

Oprah is indeed on top again. From June 2006 to June 2007 she made $260 million. I could pay off my Visa with that money. Number two isn't even on TV anymore: Jerry Seinfeld. He made $60 million during that year. I won't spoil the rest of the list for you, but let's just say that the top twenty includes two people from American Idol, someone from a reality show featuring models, and a whole bunch of talk show hosts, both daytime and nighttime.

The list is also a TV show. The Forbes TV 20 will premiere on E! tomorrow night at 5pm.

Contrary to many, many reports that have been circulating this past week (including one from TV Guide's Michael Ausiello a few days ago), Maya Rudolph has indeed left Saturday Night Live. The news is confirmed by NBC.

This is too bad. Rudolph really grew on me over the years, and I loved many characters she did, including Oprah, Whitney Houston, Donatella, and one half of those Bronx women who host a local cable show. Funny, I always thought that Amy Poehler would be next to leave, following Tina Fey to a career in movies and her own TV show. But Rudolph has been on the show for several seasons and good for her with going on to the next thing in her life.

SNL's season premiere is this Saturday, with guests Lebron James and Kanye West.

Update: Actually, she changed her mind and is now staying.