Village Vidiot: TV

The dancing Fab Five didn't make it to the top of the "America's Got Talent" pyramid, but I must say, they were talented.

The five moms from Utah were the first group to be booted in Wednesday night's finale. The winner was Kevin Skinner, the singing chicken farmer from Kentucky.

Read all about the finale here.

Right now, my wife is madly texting everyone she knows, "Donny Osmond just called my house!! Donny Osmond just called my house!!"

She's been in love with the guy since she owned a couple of Donny and Marie dolls, complete "with his purple socks."

Gee, and she didn't tell me that until after the interview. If I had known, I would have handed the phone to her.

Yeah, he did call the house this morning, and he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever talk to. This morning (Sept. 16) I talked to him about his upcoming gig on ABC's hit show, "Dancing With the Stars."

I don't think I really have to pass this on considering he's the favorite going into this season's cast of stars - he's well loved, experienced, and has had a lot of dancing practice because of his Vegas show with sister Marie - but he wants to make sure everyone gets his note: "Vote for me!!"

He doesn't have to worry about that. I'm sure every fan of the show in Utah and many beyond the state's borders will dial in their vote for him. After all, sister Marie came in third two seasons ago. The new season begins Monday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. on KTVX Channel 4.

Look for my story on Donny this Friday. Meanwhile, I have to somehow pull my wife out of Cloud Nine. I'm feeling cheated on already.

Utah's tap-dancing sensation, the Fab Five, performed for the television cameras for the last time on "America's Got Talent" Monday night, and again their routine seemed flawless.

It's now up to the voters to determine among 10 finalists if the dancing moms have the stuff to win this season's competition. The results show airs Wednesday. Here's video of their last performance, done to Britney Spears' "Circus."

It almost seems pointless to write a review of the new primetime offering, "The Jay Leno Show." It would be like trying to review "The Tonight Show" when he had hosted that for 17 years. Virtually nothing was changed.

Yes, there were some minor changes. The set was different - it seemed longer. He didn't have a desk when he interviewed his guests but had two chairs next to each other (which I thought was a mistake. It's not like Jay is going to convince us that he's having an "intimate" conversation with his guests). but one thing was the same: Many of the comic bits were just as lame and as unfunny as they ever were on his old show.

But the comfort level was still there. His ability to make the guests feel at home was still evident - even though he still has not improved his interviewing skills.

It's like he never left. In fact, he opened with his usual monologue and didn't even address his new show, his move to primetime or leaving his old gig. He just launched into new jokes about the week's events as if he had never left "The Tonight Show" last week.

But he did get a big boost: In a stroke of luck that is going to remind some of the time he had Hugh Grant on just after the actor's arrest for prostitution, Leno Monday night had Kanye West on a night after the rap singer dissed pop star Taylor Swift by denying her an acceptance speech.

West was on for a brief talk with Jay before he performed. Leno asked him one particularly pointed question about West's behavior Sunday night at the MTV Video Music Awards - what would West's mother think of what he did.

It led to perhaps the biggest pause in late night talk show history.

In the end, all West wanted to say about how he treated Swift was, "It was rude. Period." Yes it was.

Before Jay's first guest, which was comedian Jerry Seinfeld (pictured), one of his comic correspondents had a bit about singing at a car wash that was absolutely terrible. And the last sketch was Jay's newspaper headlines, a staple from "The Tonight Show." About the only other difference between this new show and his old one was Jay then told viewers to stay tuned for their local news, which we've never heard him say before.

And that was it. If you've seen "The Tonight Show," you know what you're getting into with "The Jay Leno Show," and that's perhaps what NBC and Leno wanted - comfort food for the mind and body just before the late night news.

Swayze had been battling cancer for nearly two years but continued working up until last year on "The Beast," a series that lasted one season.

According to the Associated Press:

"Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months," said a statement released Monday evening by his publicist, Annett Wolf.

Despite his career involving some exceptional work, a skit he did with Chris Farley for "Saturday Night Live" is something I'll always remember him in where he pokes fun at his sex symbol stature. Take a look.

The Creative Arts Emmy Awards, also known as "The Emmys No One Cares About," were announced over the weekend. These are the awards handed out in 70 categories like "Best Dog in a Saturday Morning Animated Show Featuring a Superhero Family" and "Best Reality Show About a Dysfunctional Family That Breaks Up Due to Extramarital Affairs Involving Threesomes."

They were held at the NOKIA Theater in Los Angeles and hosted by Kathy Griffin. They apparently lasted four hours, making it the most happenin' event in L.A. last weekend. A two-hour version of the event (thank heavens for editors) will air Friday on E! at 2 p.m. Don't forget to prime those DVRs.

But let's spoil the excitement for you, shall we. Here's a snippet of the press release announcing the winners:

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series went to Ellen Burstyn for NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series went to Tina Fey for NBC’s Saturday Night Live (for playing Sarah Palin, pictured above); Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series went to Michael J. Fox for FX’s Rescue Me; and Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series went to Justin Timberlake, also for Saturday Night Live.

The prestigious Governors Award, which is given annually to individuals or organizations committed to important social causes, was presented to Sheila Nevins, president of HBO Documentary Films.

Another special Emmy, the Syd Cassyd Founders Award, was bestowed for only the time ninth ever, this time to longtime Academy attorney and advisor Dixon Q. Dern.

Outstanding Children’s Program went to Disney Channel’s popular Wizards of Waverly Place, which blends family comedy and the supernatural. Outstanding Children’s Nonfiction Program was shared by two productions: HBO’s Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am? With Maria Shriver, and “Coming Home: When Parents Return from War,” an installment of Nickelodeon’s Nick News with Linda Ellerbee.

This marked the fifth ever Emmy for Nick News with Linda Ellerbee, which also won last year for the episode titled “The Untouchable Kids of India.”

Destination Imagination, a special movie-length version of the Cartoon Network series Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, was named Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or More).

The less-than-one-hour category went to “Margaritaville,” an episode of Comedy Central’s long-running comedy South Park. This marked three consecutive Emmy victories for South Park. Two years ago the show won in this same category, and last year it won for animated programming of more than one hour.

Outstanding Reality Program was presented to Intervention, the intense A&E production in which people with dependencies on drugs and alcohol confront their addictions through the efforts of concerned friends and family.

Tonight launches a new experiment for primetime television. NBC's "The Jay Leno Show" premieres, a five-night-a-week talk/variety show that I think will debut to huge ratings. Watch it at 9 p.m. on KSL Channel 5.

It's not going to be too radically different from Leno's old "Tonight Show." In fact, it's going to have a lot of the same comedic bits, including his "Jaywalking" and others.

But one of the biggest reasons it's on primetime is because it will be cheap to produce, at least compared to having five primetime one-hour dramas, which were typically reserved for those 9 p.m. time slots. NBC's policy of late has been to cut costs as much as possible, including using more game shows in the  7 p.m. slot and ordering cuts on most of its scripted dramas and comedies. Let us not remember, these are tough times.

But how Leno's show will effect the rest of late night is the big question. I suspect his successor, Conan O'Brien, will be hurt the most, as will Jimmy Fallon, Craig Ferguson and Jimmy Kimmel. I'm not so sure for Letterman, who has an avid following. Yet late-night fatigue definitely will set in for many who will choose to go to bed earlier now that Leno is on.

Stay tuned. I will have a review of his new show later this week, which I suspect is going to read a lot like a review of his version of "The Tonight Show."

Here's a second trailer for HBO's upcoming miniseries, "The Pacific," a sequel of sorts to its amazing "Band of Brothers." "The Pacific" tells the story of three soldiers during the Pacific campaign in World War II. It debuts in March, which can't come soon enough for me. Check out the dramatic goodness.