It is a little hard to believe that one month after I sat in Pasadena's Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa ballroom talking with DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, he was found dead in his apartment. Goldstein had shown up in late July to talk with TV critics about his new MTV series.

Goldstein was the host for the eight-episode "Gone Too Far," a series that documents young adults - between the ages of 18-25 - as they struggle with substance abuse. The show was scheduled to launch at 10 p.m. Oct. 5. There is no report from the cable channel if the series will be broadcast.

Before talking about the show, Goldstein discussed the Sept. 20, 2008 plane crash that killed four people. Goldstein was one of two survivors.

"I mean, there's no reason why I should have lived or I lived and they didn't. And it's something that I struggle with every day, you know, kind of wondering. But I've just realized I'm never really going to know. I'm alive, and I'm here, and I have another chance. So I have to do something better with my life this time," Goldstein said.

"CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock," 8 p.m. KFSN (Channel 30.1): The three-hour music special was taped during the "2009 CMA Music Festival" held in June in Nashville. This is the sixth time ABC has broadcast this special that provides a look at the Nashville event that regularly attracts more than 50,000 fans.

Scheduled to perform are Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley,Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Julianne Hough, Jamey Johnson, Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Jake Owen, Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, John Rich, Darius Rucker, Sugarland, Taylor Swift and Zac Brown Band.

Even if you aren't a country music fan, this is a pretty impressive lineup. Especially when you toss in that Kid Rock performs "Picture" with special guest Martina McBride.

Wynonna and The Judds reunite and perform together for the first time at the CMA Music Festival in six years.

It is never too early to start your Christmas shopping for that person who has everything.

I bet they don't have memorabilia from TV shows like "House," "Grey's Anatomy," "Breaking Bad" or "Greek." Imagine the look on that little one's face when the package is opened and the gift is a visit to the set of "Melrose Place," "Medium," "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" or "The Jay Leno Show."

Those are a few of the 40 items gifts up for auction in connection with the "61st Primetime Emmy Awards" at www.ebay.com/emmysfoundation.

Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Television Academy Foundation. The foundation's educational and preservation programs include student internship programs, the College TV Awards, the Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship and the Archive of American Television which chronicles the stories of TV's pioneers, innovators, artists and legends.

"This online auction is a great way for TV fans everywhere to bid on a piece of television magic while supporting a wonderful cause," says Terri Clark, Executive Director of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation. "We're so pleased that top television producers have supported the Television Academy Foundation by providing A-List, one-of-a-kind items and experiences that TV fans can enjoy."

Don't delay. The auction closes Sept. 3. The Emmy telecast is Sept. 20.

Joss Whedon, during an interview on the massive set of his series "Dollhouse," called getting to do a second season of the Fox series the "biggest surprise of my career."

He had good reason to be concerned. The show, about a group of people who can be stripped of their personalities and given the traits they need for a mission, had low viewing numbers. Critics liked it. But, critics liked Whedon's "Firefly" and it lasted one year.

Once Whedon got over the initial shock there would be a season two of "Dollhouse," he went to work tweaking the show so it will draw more viewers when the second season starts Sept. 25.

"Rocky Balboa" 8 p.m. FX Network: In this 2006 release, the aging fighter climbs back into the ring for one last bout. Sylvester Stallone - the star, writer, director and creator - offers no surprises for anyone who has seen the first two "Rocky" films. This sixth offering in the franchise goes back to the basics. It would be easy to dismiss this film as the vain attempt by someone whose day has passed to capitalize on former glory. But there is something uplifting about seeing a champion's emotional and competitive heart laid bare, even if his time seems to have past. If there is one thing the early "Rocky" movies and this latest version have, it is a lot of heart.

If you ever sat around playing Xbox and thought "Wow, it would be so much more fun if Megan Fox was playing this game also," your wish is about to come true.

Fox, star of both the "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" movie and video game, will be on Xbox LIVE starting at 3 p.m. Saturday. She will challenge fans in multi-player matches that feature new characters and maps from the "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Character and Map Pack Plus."

Her gamertag will be "Megan Fox 2009." If you are interested in the event go to www.xbox.com/gwfmeganfox for more information.

Fox, who stars this September in the dark comedy "Jennifer's Body," is an avid gamer and lends her voice and likeness to the "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" video game.

"Crash Course" 9:02 p.m. KFSN (Channel 30.1): With "Wipeout," ABC already has a competition show about people crashing into things. "Crash Course" is the next logical step: people in cars crashing into things. Dan Ortese and Orlando Jones are the barfly hosts who spend the show making fun of the competitors. It is an easy job since the five teams - that include a pair of single mothers, two best friends, a married couple, siblings and a pair of roommates - look like they came out of a casting office. If your idea of a good time is watching people flip and crash cars all for the chance to win $50,000 then this new show is for you.

The professional dancer pairings for the upcoming season of "Dancing with the Stars" has been announced. Season 9 starts at 8 p.m. Sept. 21. Here are the teams and my early odds as the teams to beat.

Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff, who returns for her seventh season. 8:1

Natalie Coughlin and season 1 champion Alec Mazo, who returns for his fifth season. 6:1

Mark Dacascos and Lacey Schwimmer, who returns for her third season. 20:1

Tom Delay and Cheryl Burke, who returns for her eighth season. 35:1

Macy Gray and Jonathan Roberts, who returns for his seventh season. 15:1

"Warehouse 13," 9 p.m. Syfy: This new series has become the hottest thing on cable with more viewers each week. The draw is the quirky adventures of two government agents who track down odd artifacts mixed with the explosive chemistry of leads Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly. Tonight's episode has the pair in Las Vegas to retrieve an artifact that grants good fortune to a couple of gamblers. Their mission to snag, bag and tag the artifact gets complicated when one of the agents accidentally gets trapped in Lewis Carroll's mirror. Even if you aren't a science fiction fan, give "Warehouse 13" a look.

"Special Agent Oso" 8 a.m. Disney Channel: Four episodes of this charming new children's show will be shown in a two-hour block. The lineup includes the new episode "Tie Another Day / You Only Start Pre-School Once." Sean Astin provides the voice of Special Agent Oso, a bumbling stuffed panda bear who is a special agent-in-training. The show is entertaining and educational as Oso often calls on viewers to help him with big cases.

"Miss Universe Pageant" 9:00 p.m. Sunday, KSEE (Channel 24.1): There was a time when beauty pageants were fun to watch because of ... uh ... well .... the smart way the contestants answered questions. Now the attraction is the strong chance someone will either fall or answer a question in such a bad way they make headlines for days.

"The Dish" 10 p.m. Saturday, Style Network: This half-hour jab at the worst in news, fashion and entertainment is worth watching just to see the always smiling Danielle Fishel. She is one of the few people who can make fun of Kate Gosselin in such a way as to be vicious and still seem sweet and innocent. Props to anyone who makes fun of Kate Gosselin.

"Dexter: The Third Season": Michael C. Hall continues his amazing run as the forensic scientist/serial killer. The show, just released on DVD, has always been rich because of the way Hall plays the character: a mix of genius and insanity. The added element of a stable family life brings another level to the show. This Showtime series is a great example of good television shows being made -- sometimes you just have to go looking for them.

"The Beast: The Complete First Season": The only original programming of note tonight is a preseason NFL game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Tennessee Titans. Did I mention it was preseason? You would be better off going out and picking up the DVD set of this cable series that stars Patrick Swayze as FBI veteran Charles Barker. His years of working undercover have blurred the lines of how far he can go to bring the bad guys down. How far he has gone is fodder for the series. Swayze's performance in "The Beast" is as strong as those done by the likes of Michael Chiklis on "The Shield" or Dennis Franz on "NYPD Blue." The performance is even more remarkable considering Swayze's battle with cancer during the filming.

"Project Runway: Season Six" 10 p.m. Lifetime: Finally. The new season of the reality show gets to strut its stuff after legal battles kept this season on the shelf for eight months. The fight was over the switch from being on Bravo to the new home on Lifetime. Now, it is back to work on "Project Runway" as supermodel Heidi Klum hosts 16 designers who are battling for the top prize. Mentor Tim Gunn, judges Michael Kors and Nina Garcia, will be joined by special guest judges throughout the season. Lindsay Lohan is the first celeb to get to judge the designers.

"Top Chef: Season Six," 9 p.m. Bravo: The new season of the cable cooking competition series will have 17 chefs battling for top honors. And this season, they will do all of their cooking against a Las Vegas backdrop. What this show has over "Hell's Kitchen" is that all of the competitors have solid cooking skills. That means each competition on "Top Chef" will be a real test of abilities. Padma Lakshmi returns as the host to presides over the judge's table of Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons and Toby Young. The likes of Wolfgang Puck, Natalie Portman, Penn & Teller, Hubert Keller, Laurent Tourondel, Tim Love, Tyler Florence, Charlie Palmer, Paul Bartolotta and Jerome Bocuse will stop by to help with each week's competition. Bon appetite!

"Octomom: The Incredible Unseen Footage," 8 p.m. KMPH (Channel 26): This is why network television is dying such an ugly death. Two hours of prime-time programming is being given to a woman whose one and only talent is she can give birth. Maybe there's a reason this footage is unseen - there are some people who don't care. Nadya Suleman is a parasite living off the unexplainable fascination the media has heaped on her and her litter. She's not the only one to blame. It is far easier for the media to create its own celebrities than to find real and interesting stories about actual celebrities. There is only one way to stop this madness. Do anything but watch this pathetic excuse for entertainment. As long as we keep watching, these headline making fake celebrities will not go away.

"Shaq Vs." 9 p.m. KFSN (Channel 30): Sometimes it is fun to watch a program because there is no doubt it is going to be a major car wreck. This one looks like a 99-car pile-up. NBA star Shaquille O'Neal will go head-to-head with top athletes such as Michael Phelps, Serena Williams and Oscar de la Hoya. This is supposed to be a competition but seems as lopsided as if Shaq decided to play basketball against a jockey.

Tonight, it is Shaq vs. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. They will play a 7-on-7 game at a Pennsylvania high school. Even if Shaq loses the competition, you can count on his acting skills to save the day.

Remember "Steel"?

"The Closer" 9 p.m. TNT: Granted, the Southern accent Kyra Sedgwick uses to play Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson gets a little annoying. It is not annoying enough to be a distraction from this first-rate police drama. Tonight's episode starts with a shooting in a school parking lot that leaves one person dead, another person critically wounded and a car loaded with marijuana. One of the best things about the show is that you can jump in to your first episode and not be lost. Take the leap.

The celebrities for the next round of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" were announced this morning. There will be 16 celebrity dancers in the television battle set to begin at 8 p.m. Sept. 21.

Eight teams will dance on Monday night, while the other eight teams will take the floor at 8 p.m. Sept. 22. The first two eliminations will be Sept. 23.

This year celebrity competitors include:

Aaron Carter: Triple platinum selling music artist/songwriter, producer, actor and younger brother of Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter.

Natalie Coughlin: Olympic swimming gold medalist. She was most decorated female athlete of both the 2008 Beijing and 2004 Athens Games.

Mark Dacascos: "The Chairman" and host of Food Network's "Iron Chef America."

Tom Delay: The former House Majority Leader.

Jerry Seinfeld will be the first guest when Jay Leno launches his 10 p.m. weekday series starting Sept. 14. Seinfeld will join musical guests Jay Z, Kanye West and Rihanna.

You would think Leno's leap from late-night TV to the prime-time schedule would be a gamble for NBC. The network is giving up five hours that could have been filled with dramas or news shows. But, the ratings won't be the big factor in measuring how well leno has done.

The week of Leno shows will be cheaper to produce than one episode of a drama series. That's why Leno's new show will be declared a hit by NBC no matter how many people watch.

On TV
"Drop Dead Diva," 9 p.m. Sunday: The Lifetime cable show about a self-absorbed beauty who ends up in the body of a plus-size lawyer is becoming one of the better comedy/dramas on TV. This week's episode offers a parallel story that is both compelling and funny about women have to start new lives.

"20Q," 8 p.m. Saturday, The Game Show Network: This is the season finale of the game show that pits man against machine. Its hosted by Cat Deeley. The cable game show isn't "Jeopardy," but still is fun.

On DVD
"17 Again": A man (Matthew Perry) gets a second chance at high school when he turns into a teen (Zac Efron). There are moments that are so sickeningly sweet that any diabetics who opt to see the new Zac Efron film should be warned: Comedy could cause coma. Despite the heavy-handed writing, the film isn't a complete wash.

"The Soup" 10 p.m. E!: Thank goodness for Joel McHale. The host of the E! Entertainment cable clip show gets to say the snarky things we are thinking about the real and fake celebrities who dominate the news. McHale's dry wit is perfect for poking fun at everyone from Tyra Banks to the Octomom. "The Soup" is such a fast paced verbal slapfest you may have to watch one of the reruns that airs during the week just to be able to fully appreciate the assault.

"South Park": The best thing to watch tonight is not on television. "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have teamed with Comedy Central to show the rarely-seen, original hand-made "South Park" pilot at southparkstudios.com. The original pilot - made entirely with construction paper - was the basis for the series' premiere episode "Cartman Gets An Anal Probe." The on-line version includes four minutes of footage that never made it to air when the episode debuted in 1997. The series may have lost some steam in recent years, but the first episode is a reminder of how entertaining and twisted the animated series has been.

Presenters for the "36th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards" have been announced. The ceremony will be broadcast at 8 p.m. Aug. 30 on KFRE (Channel 59). Vanessa Williams is the host.

The presenters include: Kristin Alderson ("One Life to Live"), Bradford Anderson ("General Hospital"), Tyra Banks ("The Tyra Banks Show"), Brandon Buddy ("One Life to Live"), Patrick Duffy ("The Bold and the Beautiful"), Melissa Claire Egan ("All My Children"), Colin Eggelsfield ("Melrose Place"), Jennie Garth ("90210") and Anthony Geary ("General Hospital").

Other presenters include Van Hansis ("As the World Turns"), Elizabeth Hendrickson ("The Young and the Restless"), Bindi Irwin ("Bindi the Jungle Girl"), Jay Kenneth Johnson ("Days of Our Lives"), Katherine Kelly Lang ("The Bold and the Beautiful"), Lori Loughlin ("Melrose Place"), Susan Lucci ("All My Children"), Gilles Marini ("Dancing with the Stars"), Kyle Massey ("That's So Raven") and Chris Massey ("Zoey 101").

And finally there is Cameron Mathison ("All My Children"), Dr. Phil McGraw ("Dr. Phil"), Billy Miller ("The Young and the Restless"), Ronn Moss ("The Bold & the Beautiful"), Robert Newman ("Days of Our Lives"), Sandra Oh ("Grey's Anatomy"), Rachael Ray ("The Rachael Ray Show"), James Scott ("Days of Our Lives"), Jake Silbermann ("As The World Turns"), Kirsten Storms ("General Hospital"), Dr. Travis Stork ("The Doctors"), Alex Trebek ("Jeopardy"), Betty White, Montel Williams and Kim Zimmer ("Guiding Light").

"Dark Blue" 10 p.m. TNT: One of cable's latest examples of top-notch drama is this series starring Dylan McDermott as Carter Shaw, a detective who has lived so long in the shadows he's almost forgotten how to live his own life. In tonight's episode of "Dark Blue," Carter's team faces a deadly deadline to save a kidnapped woman. It's up to Ty (Omari Hardwick) as a gangbanger, Dean (Logan Marshall-Green) as a security guard and Jaimie (Nicki Aycox) as a potential victim to track down the woman. This is a first-rate drama packed with loads of action.

"Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" 8 p.m. KFSN (Channel 30): The brief return of the game show to nighttime continues on ABC. "Millionaire" has gone through some changes since it was last in primetime. Along with the addition of a clock to keep the game moving, it now features celebrity help for the contestants. CNN's Wolf Blitzer is tonight's help for the "Ask the Expert" lifeline. The clock is a good idea. The celebrity is a bit of a waste. The show also includes a segment where a celebrity gets to answer one question to win dollars for charity. Sherri Shepherd from "The View" is in the hot seat tonight. Because the celebrity gets all of the lifelines for just one question, it would take a real brain freeze not to win the charity money.

"Twilight" proved to be a big hit with teens at the "Teen Choice Awards" televised by Fox tonight. It picked up 11 awards. These are the winners of the "Teen Choice 2009."

MOVIES

Choice Movie: Action Adventure
"X-Men Origins: Wolverine"

Choice Movie: Drama
"Twilight"

Choice Movie: Romance
"Twilight"

Choice Movie: Bromantic Comedy
"Marley & Me"

Somewhere between the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent to produce programing for television and cable networks and the hundreds of cents needed to make viral videos fill the Internet is the world of online series. A variety of Web sites now offer original programming that looks like a TV series but each webisodes are produced on a super tight budget.

"The Lake," the new Web series at TheWB.com is the latest example of this programming concept. The 12 episodes -- varying in length from four to 12 minutes -- were produced in 12 days for less money that it takes to make one episode of a situation comedy. The first four episodes were released on the Web site today and four new ones will be available next Monday. The final four will be posted Aug. 24.

Director Jason Priestley (yes, that guy from "Beverly Hills, 90210), says making the series was a challenge.

"Teen Choice 2009" 8 p.m. on KMPH (Channel 26)

If you are wondering what TV shows, movies and actors are hot with teenagers, then this award show will provide some answers. The winners were determined by the teens who logged on to the Teen Choice Awards web site. They cast more than 83 million votes in support of their favorite celebrities in film, television, music, sports and fashion.

Of local interest is the scheduled appearance by the cast of "Glee." All of you Gleeks out there should know by now that Clovis East grad Chris Colfer is on the new Fox series.

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I now know why Gordon Ramsay uses so much foul language on his Fox shows "Hell's Kitchen" and "Kitchen Nightmares." Trying to cook can be a $%&#$ hard time.

Ramsay showed up at the TV critics meetings to talk about his new Fox series "Gordon Ramsay" Cookalong Live." During the new one-hour TV show, Ramsay will prepare several dishes that are easy to make and inexpensive.

To promote the show Ramsay arrived with loads of kitchen items. Each critic was given a metal bowl, a whisk, sugar and egg whites. The task was to create the meringue that would be put on ice cream to create Baked Alaska.

Whipping a few eggs to a white cream seemed like an easy task. Soon I would realize it would have been easier to walk to Alaska, buy a Baked Alaska and carry it back to Pasadena on my head.

Mark Burnett, the man behind "Survivor" and "The Apprentice," has come up with his own economic stimulus package. His new ABC show, "Shark Tank," is designed to help the small business owner -- one at a time.

The new reality show launches at 9 p.m. Sunday. Entrepreneurs with good ideas are given the chance to make their business dreams come true. All they have to do is convince the show's "Sharks," a bunch of self-made millionaires, they are worth the investment. Bad ideas are sent packing.

The Sharks are: Barbara Corcoran, real estate mogul; Kevin Harrington, infomercial industry pioneer; Robert Herjavec, technology innovator; Daymond John, fashion icon; and Kevin O'Leary, financial expert.

At the movies:
"The Hurt Locker": Director Kathryn Bigelow crafts an exciting yet cerebral film about a team of bomb dismantlers in Baghdad. The action sequences are riveting, but there's an arc to the film that's more primal than anything -- not interested in political ideologies or morality, but rather confronting humanity's underlying impulses toward conflict. (Read Donald Munro's review here)

"(500) Days of Summer": An idealistic man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) falls for a woman (Zooey Deschanel) who doesn't believe in love. Director Marc Webb's smart structure and flights of fantasy work. This smart, funny look at relationships turns out to be one of the best "unlove" stories ever made. (Read Rick Bentley's review here)

On DVD:
"17 Again": A man (Matthew Perry) gets a second chance at high school when he turns into a teen (Zac Efron). There are moments that are so sickeningly sweet that any diabetics who opt to see the new Zac Efron film should be warned: Comedy could cause coma. Despite the heavy-handed writing, the film isn't a complete wash. (Read Rick Bentley's review here)

"Monk," 9 p.m. on the USA Network

The final season of "Monk" begins tonight with an episode that reveals the TV show that made quirky private detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) happy. The star of the series (which is very "The Brady Bunch" looking) is being threatened after she writes a book that tells all the dirty secrets.

"Monk" has constantly been a solid series. Catch the last new episodes while you can.

One of the best episodes of "The Simpson" had Homer Simpson being sent to a mental institution. There, he became friends with a very large white man who said he was Michael Jackson.

When Simpson gets released, he invites Michael to come to his home for a visit. Michael ends up writing a song for Bart to sing to Lisa as her birthday gift.

Everybody: "Lisa it's your birthday..."

It was a secret at the time Jackson did the voice and he was credited as John Jay Smith. Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa for two decades, says Jackson showed up at the recording session to work with the cast. She found him to be a rather shy person and a big fan of the show.

What you might not know was that it wasn't Jackson who sang the birthday song. His record company would not allow him to do the tune.

"Michael hand picked the person to sing the song. It was this skinny little white guy who sounded just like him. Imagine the pressure of singing like Michael Jackson in front of Michael Jackson," Smith said during breakfast. She had traveled to Pasadena to talk with TV critics about the 20th anniversary of her series.

That singer was Kipp Lennon. He is the younger brother of the female quartet The Lennon Sisters.

Chevy Chase was holding court late Wednesday night on the lawn behind the Langham Huntington Hotel and Spa. A group of TV critics pushed in to hear his every word. Chase talked about everything from his one year on "Saturday Night Live" to why there has not been another "Vacation" movie. His main topic was his role in the new NBC sitcom "Community."

Chase plays one of the students in a community college study group. The series stars Joel McHale of "The Soup" fame. This is Chase's first situation comedy and despite the longer work hours than he expected, he's happy with the show.

As for his year on "SNL," Chase said he was the only member of the cast who had signed a one-year deal. He admitted he would later regret not returning for a second year because he missed the show.

"So You Think You Can Dance" 8 p.m. on KMPH (Channel 26)

The finale of this season of the Fox Network dance competition airs in this two-hour special to originate from the Kodak Theatre.

The show will feature surprise guests and performances by the Top 20 who will reunite on the Kodak Theatre stage. The winner will dance off with $250,000 and will be featured on the cover of the November issue of Dance Spirit magazine.

Fresno's Jason Glover and Caitlin Kinney performed the Bollywood dance number they had performed while contenders on "So You Think You Can Dance" this morning for television critics. The dancers left immediately after their performance to go to the Kodak Theatre where they will perform on tonight's season finale.

Asked about Glover, "So You Think You Can Dance" choreographer and guest judge Mia Michaels described him as being "very alive" and having a "wonderful, wonderful work ethic."

She has warned him about doing too much exercising, especially with his upper body. Michaels said Glover has developed so much he has become a little stiff.

The "So You Think You Can Dance" finale starts at 8 p.m. tonight on KMPH (Channel 26).

Peter Rice, Chairman, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting, and Kevin Reilly, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting, met with TV critics this morning to talk about the upcoming season.

As you might imagine, most of the conversation had to do with the departure of Paula Abdul from "American Idol."

"It is saddening to us. Paula was an important part of the 'Idol' family," Rice said. He added Abdul was the only member of the "Idol" family whose contract was up this year. She was offered -- as he put it -- a "substantial raise" and she decided not to return to the show.

There has been no time for the Fox bosses to sit around and lament the loss of Abdul. Auditions for the next season start tomorrow. To fill the empty judge chair, several guest judges will be brought in. Rice confirmed Katy Perry and Victoria Beckham are on board to be guest judges during the preliminary rounds. All of the guest judges will be female artists.

As a way to promote its series "Top Chef: Las Vegas," the Bravo cable channel staged a live "Quickfire" challenge for television critics. One team was made up of contestants from the current season and included Ashley Merriman, Michael Isabella and Mattin Noblia.

The team from past shows had a familiar face: Ryan Scott, a graduate of Los Banos High School. He was kicked off season four of the series when he failed the challenge at a Chicago Bears tailgate party. He's partnered with Fabio Viviani from "Top Chef: New York" and Antonia Lofaso from "Top Chef: Chicago."

Scott says while he didn't win his season of "Top Chef," the show has been a big boost for his career.

"It catapulted my name to where I get stopped on the street. I was able to launch Ryan Scott 2 Go and that has been doing really well," Scott says just moments before the competition.

Getting up early is no problem for Al Roker. He has never liked sleeping. Roker says even as a child he only slept about six hours each night.

An 8 a.m. breakfast interview at the television critics meeting with Al Roker at is actually late in the day for the "Today" weatherman. On a regular work day, Roker would have gotten out of bed at 3:30 a.m. and been to work at about 5 a.m. He has to do some extra work these days since "Wake Up With Al" launched on the Weather Channel.

Roker and Stephanie Abrams host a one-hour show that is a mix of weather forecasts, news and interviews. The show airs on the cable channel at 6 a.m. and then Roker moves over to be on "Today." He and Abrams then do another version of their morning show at 10 a.m. in New York that is seen at 7 a.m. on the West Coast.

"What this amounts to is that I have done the prep work for the 'Today' show," Roker says after finishing breakfast.