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‘American Idol’: Phillip Phillips better than Jessica Sanchez
LORI RACKL: Both sound great in final three performances, but Phillip Phillips’ gusto gives him the edge to win Wednesday after a weak song choice by Jessica Sanchez.
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‘Dancing With the Stars” finalists score big on eve of the award
LORI RACKL: At season’s end, all three have the moves, but Katherine Jenkins can’t compete with Donald Driver or William Levy for a powerful life story.
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AnnaSophia Robb ready to fill the shoes of teenage Carrie Bradshaw
LORI RACKL: After “Gossip Girl” ends, “The Carrie Diaries” will take over the Monday hour on the CW with tales of the “Sex and the City” heroine in her formative years.
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‘Mrs. Eastwood’: Easy to see why Clint took a liking to her
Clint Eastwood, a softie? His wife, Dina, schmoozed him into helping her relocate a boy band from South Africa to the States so she could try to make them stars. She also convinced the Hollywood legend to open their Carmel, Calif., home to a reality …
ABC will move ‘Revenge’ to its even darker Sunday of sin
LORI RACKL: With “Desperate Housewives” gone, the popular payback drama “Revenge” will team up with “Once Upon a Time” and a new thriller on a night called “a battle between good and evil.”
Howard Stern makes a good judge on ‘America’s Got Talent’
LORI RACKL: The shock jock behaves himself and sizes up the “America’s Got Talent” acts with charm and wit.
2 area caterers compete on overhauled ‘Food Network Star’
LORI RACKL: Former judges Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis now are coaching teams in the race to find a culinary personality.
On new Bravo show, chefs hit the stove as they rove
Take “Top Chef,” blend it with “The Amazing Race,” add a dash of “Survivor” and you get Bravo’s new food-and-travel competition, “Around the World in 80 Plates.” Billed as the cable net’s most ambitious project yet, the show sends a dozen contestants — three from …
It’s no mystery why PBS’ modern ‘Sherlock’ is so clever
LORI RACKL: This gumshoe prefers GPS to a magnifying glass, but his bickering with Watson has the brilliance of classic Holmes.
2 Chicago guys will compete for ‘The Bachelorette’
Two locals are among the 25 men looking for love with the new “Bachelorette,” single mom Emily Maynard, 26. One of the hopefuls is Chris Bukowski (left), 25, of Chicago. He’s a corporate and premium seating sales manager at Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates …
Wicker Park’s Phi Phi can’t stand the suspense on “RuPaul’s Drag Race”
LORI RACKL: The star of the show shocked her cross-dressing competitors by delaying the crowning by a week, and Chicago’s finalist says, “It’s been driving me crazy.”
‘Pitch’ shows advertising world’s more fun as fiction
LORI RACKL: In “The Pitch,” two ad agencies go head-to-head in the battle for new business. That business can entail convincing 18- to 24-year-olds to eat breakfast at Subway, or coming up with a clever campaign to show how Waste Management turns trash into energy.
From ‘Shore’ to store: Snooki in town to hawk tanning lotions
LORI RACKL: Celebrities have their causes, and Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is no different. “Jersey Shore’s” self-described guidette is on a mission: to cure paleness.
Hollie Cavanagh: shaky to wow on ‘American Idol’
Hollie Cavanagh got off to a shaky start Wednesday on “American Idol” with her rendition of Queen’s “Save Me.” The Texas teen may have saved herself by following that up with an inspiring version of Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb.”
‘New Girl’ roommate back in town
New Trier grad Jake Johnson spent years in the improv circuit before landing on “New Girl,” Fox’s breakout hit that wraps its first season May 8. Johnson plays Nick, one of the roommates of Zooey Deschanel (left), along with Max Greenfield and fellow Chicago native Lamorne Morris.
‘Suburgatory’ fits Jeremy Sisto
LORI RACKL: Liberal isn’t the parenting style you’d use to describe Jeremy Sisto’s character in “Suburgatory.” Sisto, who grew up on the North Side of Chicago, plays George Altman, a single dad who flees Manhattan for the child-friendly confines of the suburbs. Sisto identifies with George more than any character he’s played.
Jaleel White sizzles on ‘Dancing With the Stars’
Being forced into the dance duel last week jolted Jaleel White into action Monday, when White served up what one judge called “the biggest sizzler of the season” with his cha cha on “Dancing With the Stars.”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the lowliest twig on the executive branch
LORI RACKL: On HBO’s comedy “Veep,” she plays a self-absorbed vice president, in the office one co-star describes as “an impossible position.”
Viewers losing their say on ‘The Voice’ and ‘Dancing With the Stars’
LORI RACKL: Contestants are being booted by the judges, not the voters. Former Chicago singer Jesse Campbell, kicked off “The Voice” by Christina Aguilera, says the rule change “was beyond me.”
On Kathy Griffin’s talk show, stars aren’t guests — they’re targets
The Oak Park comedian’s goals for her Bravo chatfest: To lead “no-holds-barred” discussion about pop culture and to corrupt a young “iCarly” star.
