For savvy TV fans, this is the biggest week of the entire season.  Not only do we learn what shows have made the Fall 2008 schedule, but we’ll also GASP! again and again at the Season Finale shockers.  Beginning tomorrow, The CW will roll out ten series eye-poppers over the next eight nights.  Turn off the cell-phones, unplug the computer and don’t answer the door.  This is gonna be good.  Beauty & The Geek offers an unexpected romantic battle—presumably over Tommy, whose “geekiness” escapes us—before awarding the big payoff.  Wednesday, will Tyra choose Top Model’s first-ever “plus size” winner?  After seven years, Michael Rosenbaum bids farewell to Smallville, but only after Lex finally learns Clark’s secret in a huge showdown at the Fortress!  And Dean Winchester?  Yikes!…Guess who’s come to collect on his Supernatural soul-deal?  The Sunday comedies leave on a high note, with Everybody Hates Chris and The Game poised to return next season.  On Gossip Girl, will Lily go thru with her grand wedding—or run to Rufus?  And what are the “bigger” secrets Michelle Trachtenberg (Georgina) promises are yet to come?  One Tree Hill, as usual, tosses every character into the drama blender, with one person’s survival, well…suspect, at best.  But next week’s Reaper finale may contain the most chilling revelation of all.  Yeah, this sprint-to-the-finish makes the TV marathon worthwhile.  Feel free to vent nightly, as needed…

For sheer entertainment, it doesn’t get much better than last night’s episode of Beauty and The Geek. The highlight of each season is Geek Makeover Day, which entails a new wardrobe, oversized eyewear, and lots of hair removal—waxing chests, snipping backs, shaving faces. Each guy also gets a fresh hairstyle. All the nerds look better, although I don’t see much difference in poet Matt. Cowboy Joe displayed the biggest (and best) change, but doesn’t like it. “I feel like a sellout, it’s not me,” he whined. “My wardrobe was my identity, my façade.” The team challenge took place on the set of The Young & The Restless, with daytime stars Joshua Morrow and Michelle Stafford judging. Couples had to write and perform their own romantic prom scenes, which were so hilarious the judges were wiping tears. Typical crazy dialogue: “Remember the time you were abducted by pirates?” Shot on film with a soft lens, everyone actually looked like a soap star—especially Leticia, who should pursue acting. She and Matt won the contest, and chose Randi and Greg to accompany them to a Hollywood film premiere. The remaining four couples staged a bizarre cross-dressing fashion show, with Joe voted ugliest woman…sending the cowboy and Tara to the elimination room next week.

Beauty & The Geek tossed two curves into the game last night, resulting in the familiar guy/girl twosomes viewers love.  Before that, 6’6” Tommy learned his budding romance with model Amber was kaput, as she tanked last week’s quiz-off.  Tuesday’s twists sent one gal (Jillian) to the Geek team, and one guy (Chris) to the Beauties for flag football the L.A. Coliseum, with the losers’ transfer eliminated.  Annoying cowboy Joe made no friends on the field, while poet Matt exited with a shoulder injury amidst many tears.  The Beauties won both the game and the right to choose their new Geek partners:  Cara & Chris; Amanda & Tommy; Leticia & Matt; Randi & Greg; Kristina & Jason; Tiffany & Jim.  The cliffhanger leaves Tara to select either the cowboy or unsocial Jonathan, axing the odd man out.

For the first time, The CW has three competition shows airing together. Beauty & The Geek kicked off Round 5 by pitting the sexes against each other, but the players still seem intent on learning from their counterparts. If anything, this series accentuates an oddity of Reality TV: groups of girls scream and argue, and groups of guys do not. Why is that? Challenge #1 was to seduce the most phone-digits from strangers in a nightclub, with the playing field leveled thru ugly makeunders for the girls. They still won and chose five geeks to face off in sudden-death Jeopardy. Recovering Microsoft addict John buzzed too late, escaping next week’s Talent Show.

Last night, Top Model judge Miss J. “lost all confidence” in Somalian Fatima; I agree, she’s a walking stick who can’t strut. Tyra calls darkhorse Katarzyna a “mini Paulina Porizkova” — she knows how to work it. The girls wore raw meat garments and posed with slabs of beef, coaxed by Mr. Jay (or was that Mr. Freeze?). Funny Amis then capped off her worst day—after literally skipping down a runway—by coming to panel dressed for a job at Slobs-R-Us. Yeah, she’s gone.

It was all about The Pout on Pussycat Dolls: Girlicious. Hottie Chrystina couldn’t fathom being so close to elimination last week, and carried that sorry attitude thru rehearsals. Jamie joined the pity party, feeling her makeover hair shade belongs on a pumpkin. Bulky Jenna has zero energy on-stage, and that drama will come to an explosive head Monday night. Poor Cassandra boo-hooed when her deep voice couldn’t hit the notes on Blondie’s Heart of Glass. Alas, no range = goodbye.

Two weeks from tonight, the fifth round of Beauty & The Geek will premiere—and like this season’s earlier installment, there’s an interesting twist. Exec Producer Ashton Kutcher shook up the mansion by adding a geeky girl (Nicole) and hunky guy (Sam) to the Cycle 4 competition. But now, it appears that each challenge will pit all the beauties against all the geeks, with an elimination process yet to be revealed. Yes, this is a surprising shakeup for the “social experiment” which typically measures personal growth among mismatched twosomes. Judging by the 18 photos and character traits listed, there is no shortage of extremely gorgeous (yet clueless) young women, nor male counterparts who are brainy-n-backward. The Cowboy and Sweater Vest Enthusiast—a Jim Tressel wannabe?—look like they’ll stir the pot, but for bearded Jim and Jonathan, Makeover Day cannot come soon enough. Click here to get your first glimpse of the new contestants.

The CW has wasted no time in prepping fresh entertainment for the coming months.  In fact, the start dates for three popular competition series are fast approaching.  Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious debuts Mon., Feb. 18; America’s Next Top Model, cycle 10, premieres Wed., Feb. 20; and Beauty & The Geek, round 5, kicks off Tue., March 11.  There’s quite a bit of schedule revamping, with comedies shifting to Sunday and Gossip Girl to Monday, so just click here for an easy rundown.  Also, Tyra Banks has already begun scouting for her next group of chic model wannabes.  Amazingly, Cycle 11 will air this fall—so if you’re between 18-27 years old, at least 5-foot-7, and…well, gorgeous, check out these Casting Call details to see if there’s a runway and a quirky panel of judges in your future.  Remember, Czech supermodel Paulina Porizkova joins the cast in place of Twiggy for this go-round.   The Pussycat Dolls show will be assembling an entirely new girl group.  And what twists await our innocent Geeks?  Only Ashton Kutcher knows for sure…

America voted, and Buckeye babe Jasmine and her Boston partner Dave were awarded the $250,000 Grand Prize last night on Beauty & The Geek.  The season finale was taped with a rowdy studio audience, reuniting each of the ten teams for some behind-the-scenes Q & A.  Some of the guys, like Luke and Josh, are reveling in their newfound confidence, dating up to three girls a week!  Hollie, the professional “Betty Boop,” was inspired to boost her brainpower by enrolling in college.  We also met the mother of ultra-nerd Joshua, and the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.  Jasmine (the nanny we crowned “funniest airhead ever” at the start of the competition) looked smokin’, and says she can now move out of her mom’s basement; while Dave may have to spend some of his loot on lattes and lobster, after his friends started a funny online matchmaking site for their LARP-ing pal, DateDavid.org.  The finale also brought out that creepy tarantula and tried again to get petrified Jasmine to touch it (what’s the point, here?) as it scurried across Dave’s back.  Dude, give me a rolled-up magazine and that thing is history.  As for the runner-up team, Nicole heads back to her music and Sam returns to his party-boy haunts…but with or without TV flame Rebecca?  Many recognized Sam Horrigan as the former child actor who’s had a few notable roles over the past 14 years (Little Giants, Grace Under Fire).  He appears in the upcoming flick Bar Starz.

Tonight, America’s Next Top Model will reveal its Final Three, giving the boot to either Bianca, Saleisha, Chantal or Jenah.  Tyra says Chantal reminds her of Cheryl Tiegs—not a bad comparison, but is her sunny look versatile enough?  Jenah must not have watched last season, because she repeated the error of joking around with Nigel…not a good idea.  I’d wager she gets the Chinese gong tonight.  Bianca and Saleisha were in my original final three picks, but I now think Saleisha has the looks and personality to win it all.

Many fans and TV critics are vocally united about wanting to see even more of Akron’s Ray Wise as the devil in each episode of Reaper.  Tomorrow night, they’ll get their wish, as the new episode centers around his character’s mysterious 20-year romance with a hottie played by The O.C. villain Melinda Clarke.  She thinks her boyfriend is just a rich playboy, and Sam suspects her gorgeous daughter may have some underworld genes.  All of which will make for one of the season’s best episodes!  Prior that that, however, the final two Beauty & The Geek teams pay a surprise visit to each others’ family and friends—where we learn what these contestants are really like.  The big twist is already floating around cyberworld:  YOUR VOTES will determine who gets the $250,000 prize!  The players have no idea about this showdown, and they can’t go back and recreate their images at this point.  It’s either Sam and Nicole, who’ve dominated most challenges; or Dave and quirky Columbus-native Jasmine, who’ve blended like I never thought they could.  Be sure to watch so you’ll know exactly how to cast your vote!

Underdog couple—and just plain nice people—Shay and Josh were evicted this week on Beauty & The Geek, but not before some creepy moments.  The beauties’ challenge was something more akin to Fear Factor, forcing Sam and the girls to carry seven panic-inducing creatures to their correct cages (labeled in Latin), including 4-foot snakes, scorpions and tarantulas!  Shay was scared to death, and Jasmine cried, unable to complete the task.  Frankly, I would’ve refused and just taken my chances in the Elimination Room.  Now we’re left with three teams—Dave and Buckeye-gal Jasmine being my clear-cut favorites.  William and Jen despise each other, while odd couple Sam and Nicole are the most-formidable.  I got an inside tip that there’s a game-changing twist ahead that will help determine the eventual winner!  Stay tuned…Meanwhile, Ambreal’s unexpected reprieve lasted just one week, and she bid adieu last night on Top Model.  The remaining six are psyched to be jetting to Shanghai, China for their next stage.  Even Tyra has never been to the socialist country, home to roughly one-fifth of the world’s population!  The nation is a divergent mix of sights, ranging from an almost Jetsons-like cosmopolitan district…to the ancient city shrines and Great Wall; so these episodes should be very intriguing.  Among the final six contestants, Bianca, Heather and Saleisha appear to stand out.  Your thoughts? 

Among all networks, The CW may be the most equipped to endure the current work-stoppage by film and TV writers. Everybody Hates Chris began taping early this year due to its young star’s growth spurt, and they’ve completed all 22 episodes. The other Monday comedies are also far ahead in production, says Variety, and new sitcom Eight Days a Week—with Justin Hartley, Mario Lopez and Christina Milian—has 13 episodes ready for midseason. On the drama side, One Tree Hill has a good portion of its 22 episodes (or scripts) ready to roll in January; Smallville will have seven new stories to air after tomorrow night; and Supernatural has four more in the can—with another five scripts ready to shoot, according to the LA Times. Gossip Girl producer Josh Schwartz says the hit soap has five fresh hours completed, following tonight’s jaw-dropper, while Friday Night SmackDown is new every week and not affected by the writers strike. Where The CW is especially strong, however, is in popular reality series…five, to be exact. New cycles of Top Model and Beauty & The Geek are in the works, along with season two of Pussycat Dolls, in which they’ll be assembling a brand new group. The mother-daughter beauty pageant show, Crowned, looks hilarious (click here for a preview); and you can scroll down a bit to read about Farmer Wants a Wife—a must-see for NE Ohio cowpokes. Nobody likes a strike, especially the talented folks carrying picket signs in freezing temperatures, but we’ll get thru it on-air…hopefully without missing a beat.