Michael Ventrella, who holds “The Biggest Loser” title for being the largest player to ever set foot on the ranch, has a new record: Season 9 winner.

The 31-year-old DJ weighed a stunning 526 pounds, and weighed in at Tuesday's finale at a lean, mean 262 pounds. He lost 264 pounds, or 50.19% of his body weight, to claim the $250,000 prize. “I’m in shock, I can't believe it,” said Ventrella. “But then, I still can’t believe that I ran a marathon," he quipped, referring to the last challenge handed down to the four finalists.

Coming in second place was the pink ninja -- Ashley Johnston -- who set a record as the woman who lost the most weight while at the ranch. She began the NBC weight-loss competition at 374 pounds. She lost 183 pounds, or 48.93% of her body weight. Third place went to the loveable Daris George, who arrived at the ranch as an insecure, overweight boy who'd never had a date, never been kissed, and emerged a "man's man" who now has a steady girlfriend. (Presumably, Daris has had that first kiss.) Daris began the competition at 346 pounds and ultimately lost 168 pounds, or 48.55% of his body weight.

The "at home" winner was Koli Palu, who started at 403 pounds and lost 53.35% of his body weight. Koli would have won the title had he nabbed a spot in the final three, which was decided by a fan vote. Fans chose to give the berth to George instead of Koli, who had a tendency to come off as a bit cocky.

Away from center stage, after the confetti rained down on Ventrella and the cameras and reporters swirled for a quote from the new winner, Palu rocked back and forth, tears in his eyes. "I had it all in within my reach," he said, "and I won." He quickly added that he had no regrets, and would not second guess the monthlong period during which he trained for the marathon but only lost a disappointing 13 pounds. Had he lost more during that period, he would have had a better shot at placing in the final two, and walking away with the $250,000. But there is no looking back, he said: "I did everything I could. It was out of my hands, I did everything that I could."

Click here to download TV listings for the week of May 16 - 22 in PDF format

This week's TV Movies

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Early Show Cynthia Nixon; author Batt Humphreys. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS

Today John Corbett, Mario Cantone, Willie Garson (“Sex and the City 2”); winner of “The Biggest Loser”; John Grisham. (N) 7 a.m. KNBC

Good Morning America “Dancing With the Stars'” Nicole Scherzinger, Derek Hough, Evan Lysacek, Anna Trebunskaya, Erin Andrews and Maksim Chmerkovskiy. (N) 7 a.m. KABC

Live With Regis and Kelly Jake Gyllenhaal; the “Dancing With the Stars” winners. (N) 9 a.m. KABC

The View James Spader; Jennifer Love Hewitt. (N) 10 a.m. KABC

Rachael Ray Ty Pennington; Rob Thomas. (N) 2 p.m. KCBS

The Bonnie Hunt Show Dennis Farina; Jessalyn Gilsig; the Backstreet Boys perform. (N) 3 p.m. KNBC

The Ellen DeGeneres Show Colin Farrell; Janelle Monae; Greyson Michael Chance. (N) 4 p.m. KNBC

Tavis Smiley Author Robert Kuttner; Allison Moorer. (N) 7 and 11 p.m. KCET

Click here to download TV listings for the week of May 16 - 22 in PDF format

This week's TV Movies

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FAMILY MAN: The team hunts a serial killer (Tim Curry) in Los Angeles who targets families in the season finale “Criminal Minds” at 9 p.m. on CBS.

Repossessed! In this new episode Larry sets up a sting operation to intercept a hearse after being tipped off by an obituary (7 and 10 p.m. National Geographic).

American Idol: The Top 12 finalists reunite before the Season 9 winner is revealed in the two-hour season finale (8 p.m. Fox).

Ground War: A new episode chronicles the evolution of military artillery (9 p.m. KCET). A second new episode at 10 traces the development of battlefield engineering for defense and attack.

CSI: NY: Mac and Stella (Gary Sinise, Melina Kanakaredes) realize that a serial killer (Edward Furlong) is targeting the vacationing Danny and Lindsay (Carmine Giovinazzo, Anna Belknap) in the sixth season finale (10 p.m. CBS).

You know those Oceanic 815 plane crash images that ran after Jack's (Matthew Fox) eye closed and the "Lost" logo appeared on our TV screens? Some "Lost" fans and TV critics have wondered if they were a last Easter egg from the producers, a clue meant to lead us to conclude that no one survived Oceanic 815's crash landing — and therefore everything we've seen over the last six years never really happened.

Well, ABC wants to clear the air: Those photographs were not part of the "Lost" story at all. The network added them to soften the transition from the moving ending of the series to the 11 p.m. news and never considered that it would confuse viewers about the actual ending of the show.

"The images shown during the end credits of the 'Lost' finale, which included shots of Oceanic 815 on a deserted beach, were not part of the final story but were a visual aid to allow the viewer to decompress before heading into the news," an ABC spokesperson wrote in an e-mail Tuesday.

That means, Losties, that we were not supposed to think that Christian Shepherd (John Terry) is a liar. What Christian told his son, when they were reunited at the church, should serve as guidance for our interpretation of the series' ending.

So let's review: Christian told Jack that he was dead and everyone else in the church was too — some had died before Jack, as we already knew, and some died long after. The sideways flashes then were a step in everyone's after-lives, a way to reconnect before moving on permanently.  While there still may be unanswered questions related to that religious and spiritual conclusion to the "Lost" story, the photographs were really just a nostalgic, transitional touch added by ABC executives — and not executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.

Love or hate it, that's the final answer.

— Maria Elena Fernandez
twitter.com/writerchica

Photo: A frame grab from the closing credits of the series finale of "Lost."  Credit: abc.com.

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We have to admit that Roxy Olin was problematic last season on "The City." Her advice to Whitney Port didn’t always help the budding fashion designer’s career.

This season, we thought Roxy turned a new leaf. That changed in the last episode when Whitney had a dilemma. The French photographer, Jonathon, whom she had gone on a date with offered to shoot her “lookbook” for free. The only problem is she didn’t want to continue dating him.

Kelly Cutrone told her she shouldn’t accept the offer without talking to him first about her decision. Roxy told her she couldn’t afford to say no to free offers. So Whitney decided to go forward on the photo shoot with Jonathon without telling him that she no longer wanted to see him romantically until the day of the shoot. Ouch.

In the next episode, Whitney Port gets a huge opportunity when she’s selected for a feature in Glamour magazine. She wants to bring Roxy along, but Kelly has her own take on that.

Check out this exclusive sneak peek:

TNT has brought the gavel down on "Law & Order."

Ever since the recent cancellation of the 20-year-old landmark series by NBC, speculation has continued to swirl that a cable network might pick up the drama, which is tied with "Gunsmoke" as the longest-running series in TV history. Most of those rumors have centered on the possible interest of TNT, which last year picked up NBC's canceled "Southland."

Dick Wolf, the show's creator, has said he is interested in keeping the show alive.

But Turner Broadcasting executives said in a statement Tuesday that "Law & Order" is not in their future.

"We are not in current talks, and we are not interested in a Season 21," the statement said.

Though Turner may not be interested in resurrecting the drama, officials familiar with the situation said the company, which holds rerun rights to the series, must approve any deals involving the future of "Law & Order." 

-- Greg Braxton

“Friday Night Lights” is taking its game to syndication.

ABC Family has acquired basic cable rights from NBC Universal Domestic TV Distribution to air five seasons of "Friday Night Lights," the network announced Tuesday.

"We're thrilled to add NBC's critically acclaimed series 'Friday Night Lights' to the mix of our defining original and quality acquired series," Tom Zappala, ABC Cable Networks Group executive vice president of program acquisitions and scheduling, said in a statement. "The series is beloved by critics and viewers, and fits in perfectly with ABC Family."

The low-rated critical darling has been TV’s underdog. The series debuted on NBC in 2006, and, after its second season, has been kept alive with the help of a co-production deal between satellite provider DirecTV and NBC. Beginning in 2008, the third and fourth seasons of the drama aired on DirecTV's The 101 Network and were rebroadcast on the peacock network.

Between the nearly psychotic outburst by NYC Housewife Kelly last week and the questionable request for "back-up" by NJ-er Danielle this week, I'm starting to question how future generations will perceive housewives when they discover these episodes in archaeological digs. It will surely baffle their minds. Decades -- and millions of dollars -- will be spent trying to decipher the etymology of this "chucky" business. 

Until then, let the guilty pleasure continue.

Spoiler alert: Do not read if you have not seen the series finale of "24."

The following took place between Nov.  6, 2001, and May 24, 2010.

HBO’s exclusive reign over complex, meaningful series that had the Big Screen’s production values ceased the moment Jack Bauer and his ticking clock were introduced to TV viewers.  An undercover government agent who fought terrorism at a time when that term had gained painful meaning in the United States, Jack Bauer easily became the action hero of the decade — in large part because of Kiefer Sutherland’s alternately vulnerable and ferocious performance.

That Sutherland even wanted to be on TV at the time was big news, but what he did with the role, transforming a federal agent into a TV icon while giving his own career a complete makeover, also inspired ambitious, serialized storytelling across the TV dial.

For that, I thank you very much, Jack/Kiefer Sutherland. But enough with the show-biz blah blah blah.

Dammit! “24” ended Monday night!

Every season of "The Bachelor" or "The Bachelorette" begins the same way: with pensive stares. Monday night's "Bachelorette" premiere didn't break tradition at all. It kicked off with several shots of Ali Fedotowsky pining for true love in various outfits. Pining a yellow dress while she frolicked in the waves. Pining in jeans while she stared out at the waves. Pining in a bikini top while she walked along the waves.

You get the picture. I have to say, I'm kind of missing the cheesy theme song. Where's Ali's version of "On the Wings of Love," hmm, Chris Harrison?

Because I'm a girl and I have eyes, I can't let this recap go any further without remarking on Ali's hair. Did she steal Vienna's weave on the last season of "The Bachelor"? I'm so disappointed. Her hair was so shiny and cute. I wanted to cut her head out of a magazine and bring it to my stylist. Now it's straw-yellow and fuzzy-looking, and I can see where the extensions attach at the back of her head. Ugh.

The first few episodes of "The Bachelorette" are bound to be a bit of a blur, because there are just so many guys hanging around trying to impress her. On Monday night, we focused on meeting the men, not going on dates, so instead of a normal play-by-play, let's go through the guys and discuss who made the cut.

That might have been my favorite episode of “Nurse Jackie.” I’d have to go back over the last two seasons and compare it with the other highlights, but it is definitely at the top of the list. 

I liked the episode because it gave us glimpses into the character of each person at All Saints Hospital. Not just into their characters. Into their characters and around the corner. Makes them all seem so much more three-dimensional. 

Jackie spends the episode doing what she does best: seeking pills. She calls ahead on the way to work to get a little private time with O’Hara. Jackie shows off her crooked-spine X-ray, complains about how difficult it is to get a follow-up appointment and hints at wanting a few Oxy. This leads to an awkward conversation about the origins of sayings, ending with Jackie announcing that she loves “letting sleeping dogs lie” in an almost creepy way. 

 If I were going to make a gift registry of things that I'd like "Chuck" to pick up for me in the off season, one of those things would be a villain. Actually, that would be the only thing on the list. "Chuck" is a very good, very fun show, most weeks, but it has a severe stakes problem, and episodes like this two-hour extravaganza or the earlier "Chuck vs. the Other Guy" show just how good the show could be if it figured out a way to bring in someone who could give Chuck and his other pals a run for their money. The Ring, this season, hasn't been that. They've felt pretty inept throughout, and there's never been a real sense of danger.

The end of Season 10 is nearly upon us, ballroom fans. After nine weeks of competition, we are thisclose to crowning a winner. The shiny, coveted Mirrorball trophy has assumed its rightful place in front of the judges’ table for all to see. And it was up to the last three remaining competitors – the ESPN reporter, Erin Andrews, the Golden boy, Evan Lysacek and the Pussycat Doll, Nicole Scherzinger – to show us who was ready for that jelly. There were promises to let the nerves go; promises to leave it out on the dance floor. Exhortations that they had to dance perfectly. Both Brooke Burke and Carrie Ann wore big their hair, large and in charge in commemoration of this elevated event.

And on Monday night they performed half of what Tom called an “unprecedented” four dances going into Tuesday’s results finale. The first was what was called a “Redemption Dance” – assigned by the judges based on what they should have excelled in, but didn’t. And then there was also that make or break wild card -- the freestyle -- where anything goes. These dances are always eye-catching like a bright sparkly spangle, and a highlight of any season. But whether they turn out horrifically heinous or happily heartening is always a toss-up.

After tonight’s performances, however, I have to say that I’m glad that we’ll have another chance to see our finalists do another routine. The revered and reviled freestyle dance turned out to be a mixed bag. High expectations were set, but not necessarily met, and there were no perfect 30s awarded throughout this fast-moving hour.

Which is not to say that there wasn't any drama, as Monday night’s performances resulted in a bit of a topsy-turvy upset to the leader board standings.

In the surprise twist of the evening, tied for first place were (expected) Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough and … (drum roll)

Two weeks ago, Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan) decided to leave things up to fate. In “Doppelgangers,” Marshall revealed that he was ready to be a father, but he and Lily had agreed to wait for a sign from the universe. When they saw the fifth and final doppelganger, they would start trying to get pregnant. The pair thought the time had come when they spotted dark-haired cab driver Barney (Neil Patrick Harris).

“Put a baby in my belly,” Lily declared. But the doppelganger was actually Barney on a quest to bed a woman from every country. Dressing up as a cab driver and waiting outside the United Nations was a part of his plan. Lily didn't even think the doppelganger looked that much like Barney even though it was really him. Marshall took this as a sign that Lily wasn't ready for parenthood.

Ted's (Josh Radnor) romantic storyline took a backseat in the finale, letting Robin (Cobie Smulders) and Don's (Benjamin Koldyke) relationship pick up the slack in the love department. I still find it hard to be invested in the relationship due to Don's lack of screentime, so it was nice to see the two working together and being affectionate, however briefly. They were such a great duo onscreen and off (so says Future Ted; we haven't actually seen much of that ourselves), that the station had them hosting the children's puppet show “Monty & Moo-Moo.”

Jack Bauer went out with a whimper, not a bang.

After spending the last three episodes killing everything in his path, Bauer was basically a second banana in a two-hour series finale that no doubt left hardcore fans of his style of justice wondering why the writers took us down this road only to wimp out in the end. 

First a little catch-up. Bauer is out to avenge the death of Renee Walker, a woman he loved for, oh, 10 minutes, earlier in the day, and to expose the Russians' involvement in the murder of Kamistan President Omar Hassan.

Unfortunately for Bauer, U.S. President Alison Taylor is more interested in a peace treaty built on deceptions and cover-ups than she is the truth. She has been seduced by former President Charles Logan, who is hoping to redeem his tattered reputation by salvaging the broken peace treaty. Bauer has escaped Taylor's efforts to keep him on ice while the treaty is signed. He's on the run and determined to bring the Russians to justice and take out Logan as well. Whether his murderous plans extend to Taylor as well is unclear, but as his pal Jim Ricker told him a few hours earlier, "This path you're on, there ain't no coming back from it."

Having learned that Russian President Yuri Suvarov was in on the murder of Kamistan's Hassan, Bauer sets his sights on him. While the writers also keep trying to sell us that Suvarov and the now-dead aide Mikhail Novakovich gave the order for Pavel to kill Renee, I'm not buying it. Pavel was told to follow Bauer and Renee, not kill them. He acted on his own. Whatever.

Now that we're all caught up, here's what went down in the final two hours of "24."

Click here to download TV listings for the week of May 16 - 22 in PDF format

This week's TV Movies

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GRANDPARENTS: Craig T. Nelson and Bonnie Bedelia in the season finale of the family drama “Parenthood” at 10 p.m. on NBC.

SERIES

NCIS: In the conclusion of the two-part season finale, Gibbs (Mark Harmon) goes to Mexico to confront a drug cartel. Michael Weatherly and Pauley Perrette also star (8 p.m. CBS).

The Biggest Loser: All of this season's contestants reunite before the season's winner is announced (8 p.m. NBC).

American Idol: Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze each sing three songs in the Season 9 finals (8 p.m. Fox).

NCIS: Los Angeles: Callen (Chris O'Donnell) tries to find a woman with information about his past. LL Cool J and Linda Hunt also star in the first season finale (9 p.m. CBS).

Dancing With the Stars: The winner is revealed in the season finale (9 p.m. ABC).

Click here to download TV listings for the week of May 16 - 22 in PDF format

This week's TV Movies

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The Early Show Jewel; Kim Cattrall. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS

Today Cynthia Nixon; Paula Deen; Danielle Staub; Michael Patrick King; Julianne Hough. (N) 7 a.m. KNBC

Good Morning America Jesse James' “Nightline” interview; Louis Gossett Jr.; chef Cat Cora. (N) 7 a.m. KABC

Live With Regis and Kelly Cynthia Nixon; the Jonas Brothers (“Camp Rock 2”); Jewel performs. (N) 9 a.m. KABC

The View Ben Kingsley; Joe Nichols performs. (N) 10 a.m. KABC

The Doctors Jillian Michaels. (N) 11 a.m. KCAL

The Martha Stewart Show Emma Thompson; Antonio Banderas. (N) 2 p.m. KNBC

The Oprah Winfrey Show Nate Berkus. (N) 3 p.m. KABC

Never thought you’d see the day when Zoila (Jeff Lewis’ oh-so-spunky maid on Bravo’s “Flipping Out”) would be dancing poolside? Your wish is Bravo’s command.

In the network’s new promo for its summer lineup, its "Bravolebs" mix and mingle at a lavish rooftop pool party. Teresa Giudice ("The Real Housewives of New Jersey") runs the DJ booth and finds the time to flip yet another table. "Millionaire Matchmaker's" Patti Stanger lounges with a … tiger? "Top Chef‘s" Tom Colicchio gets kisses from "The Real Housewives of Atlanta's" NeNe Leakes and Kim Zolciak. Rachel Zoe ("The Rachel Zoe Project"), meanwhile, gets a kiss from Kathy Griffin ("My Life on the D List").

Newbies Robert and Cortney Novogratz from "9 by Design" and China Chow from "Work of Art" also make an appearance. As well as familiar face Jackie Warner, whose new show "Thintervention" debuts in September.

Show Trackers, which show are you most excited to see return?

-- Yvonne Villarreal

Video credit: Bravo

Lo sé. Lo sé. Lo sé. Usted estaba esperando una  update last Friday on what shenanigans Ángel and company were caught up in. Lo siento. There were dificultades técnicas — an uncooperative DVR, an uncooperative Internet connection and uncooperative DVDs — that made doing so impossible. But I finally got to see all of last week’s episodes Sunday and — boy! — they sure made my jaw drop quicker than Martín after seeing Marina in one of her many skimpy outfits.

Mis rodillas tienen rug burn por todo the crawling I was doing on my apartment floor — tanto suspenso in these episodes!  So cuidado! Put on some knee pads antes de seguir leyendo.

 
Get those vocal cords warmed up. There's still time to join the "Glee" club. 

Rachel Berry and her musically gifted counterparts are putting in yet another school year over at McKinley High. Before even finishing its freshman season, Fox’s hit show “Glee” received a pick-up through its third season, the network announced Monday. Talk about overachievers.

“In just one year, 'Glee' has transcended the television landscape and emerged as a global pop-culture phenomenon,” said Peter Rice, chairman of entertainment for Fox, in a statement. “We are incredibly proud to have talent like Ryan Murphy and the 'Glee' cast in our Fox family, and we can’t wait to see where Ryan takes the show in Seasons Two and Three.”

Not too surprising for the cultural phenomenon that’s sweeping the nation.  "Glee" is the No. 1 new scripted series among adults ages 18 to 49 and adults ages 18 to 34 and has averaged 9.4-million total viewers. Its highly anticipated return to the Fox lineup earlier this spring drew 13.7-million viewers. The popular franchise has spawned CDs, DVDs, a live "Glee" concert tour … heck, even sheet music.