Gossip Girl graduates

Gossip Girl graduates while Gilles, Shawn and Melissa work their routines in tonight’s Dancing with the Stars finals.

Like some hybrid James Bond martini, this weekend I was both shaken and stirred. The shaken part came courtesy of a 5.0 earthquake here in Southern California. That would have been bad enough, but my nerves were still on edge from the Numb3rs season finale. Amita was kidnapped by a cult leader who likes to surround himself with obedient women. Sure she was frightened, but she also used her brains to send a coded message that only Charlie would understand. The storyline was tense and exciting but what really got to me were the brother moments, like Don hugging a sobbing Charlie in his arms when they thought Amita was dead. The only thing better was when, at the very end, Charlie dropped to one knee and proposed to Amita. What a wedding that’s going to be! It was an excellent finale for one of my favorite shows.

Primeval, another one of my favorites, returned to BBC America on Saturday night and the game is on again! I miss Stephen, who sacrificed himself for the good of the team last season, but now we have two new players and a new twist. What if all of the urban legends of this world are really based on creatures that came through the anomalies? It’s easy to believe that the Loch Ness Monster was just a dinosaur caught out of time, so why not Big Foot or even unicorns? That’s the idea they’ll be exploring this season and I’m on board for the full ride.

Getting to the stirred part of my weekend — we have Any Dream Will Do. This week Josh Grobin was on hand to sing a duet with Lee! They delivered a moving version of You Raise Me Up and I had tears in my eyes. It was simply gorgeous and I just don’t see how anyone could make a better Joseph than Lee.

Back here in Los Angeles, we’re settling in with a few aftershocks…here are my top picks for the night.

Tonight’s must watch:

Dancing with the Stars

It’s probably the closest finale we’ve ever seen on Dancing with the Stars so tonight’s performances really count. First, the couples will face off against one another in a “Paso Punch Out” in which they each dance the Paso Doble to an extended version of the same song. Each couple will take a turn in a section of the song before stepping aside for the next team to showcase their routine — giving judges and viewers a chance to compare the couples alongside each other. In addition, Shawn, Gilles and Melissa will show us what they’ve got in the ever popular Freestyle routine.

Watch Dancing with the Stars at 8:00 on ABC. That’s followed by the season premiere of The Bachelorette.

Gossip Girl

It’s graduation day and Gossip Girl livens things up with a carefully timed, shocking email blast. You want cliffhangers? How about this? Blair and Chuck finally…and Serena is shocked by…and Georgina (guest star Michelle Trachtenberg) decides to…and Dan, Nate and Vanessa unknowingly…and it all happens in the series’ climactic season finale.

Watch the Gossip Girl season finale at 8:00 on The CW. That’s followed by the season finale of One Tree Hill.

24

Fox fills the night with the two-hour exciting conclusion of 24. It’s going to be a real barn burner, or a car burner or…come on, you know something is going to blow up and burn. And when the smoke clears, one major character will be gone for good.

Watch the season finale of 24 on Fox beginning at 8:00 on Fox.

CSI: Miami

It’s just another day in paradise except that Yellina is in trouble with the Russian mob, Delko is in jeopardy after ignoring Calleigh’s plea and Horatio’s sunglasses have a smudge on them. Is there no justice in the world!!

Watch the season finale of CSI: Miami at 10:00 on CBS.

News and notable

Several networks are making their fall season announcements today at the Upfronts in New York. I’ll have that for you as the day goes on.

Photo credit:
Primeval 3 — Pictured: Abby (Hannah Spearitt), Danny Quinn (Jason Flemyng) and Connor (Andrew Lee-Potts). Photo Credit: Impossible Pictures
Dancing with the Stars — Pictured: Kym Johnson, Mayo Alanen. Photo: ABC/Kelsey McNeal
Gossip Girl: The Goodbye Gossip Girl — Pictured: Leighton Meester as Blair and Blake Lively as Serena. Photo Credit: Giovanni Rufino/The CW