At last, after interminable auditions, American Idol tonight gets down to naming the finalists. Update: Now that's how to put on an American Idol show. Almost riveting. There were 33 million votes. And both America's votes and the Judge's wild card picks were spot on. This will be a great season.

Nicolette Sheridan knows how to dress for court. (Rear view here.) She testified today in her civil trial against Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry and ABC. The dismissed Housewife is seeking $4 million in damages (I think that's one year's pay) for her wrongful termination from the show. She alleges Marc Cherry slapped her hard in the head, apologized, and then killed off her character. Or something like that.

Cherry and ABC say they decided to kill off her character before the "slap" incident (which they say wasn't a slap but a "light tap". ) Nicolette demonstrated the slap in court today by smacking her lawyer. It had been reported the other Housewives would testify for Cherry and ABC, but lawyers told the court today they won't be called. The trial seems to be of interest to Hollywood media because of the rarity of a single star taking on a network -- David vs. Goliath.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.