"American Idol" 8 p.m. KMPH (Channel 26.1) and "The Jay Leno Show," 10 p.m. KSEE (Channel 24.1): Tonight's TV options feature an arrival and a departure.

Ellen DeGeneres takes her spot as the new judge on the Fox competition series as the music series gets down to serious selections in Hollywood. DeGeneres brings a dry wit to the show that Paula Abdul never had. But, the big question is whether the show will suffer from not having Abdul's softer side to counter Simon Cowell's cranky ways.

The addition of DeGeneres becomes much bigger since Cowell announced this is his last year on the Fox show. If DeGeneres ends up a weak link as a judge, there will be huge problems when Cowell departs.

Over at NBC, Jay Leno says farewell to the time slot that almost ruined his career. The 10 p.m. weekly talk show has never been good and it will be nice to have Leno back at 11:30 next month.

The farewell episode will be interesting just to see how Leno wraps up his short run.

"CSI: Miami" 10 p.m. KGPE (Channel 47.1): Tonight's episode of the CBS procedural drama asks the burning question "If you take your sunglasses off in space, can you hear The Who scream?"

If you haven't picked up on it already, the February sweeps are in full swing. This is one of the four months during the year where the ratings are used to determine advertising rates. That's why big events like the Super Bowl are so important. More viewers mean higher rates.

Network shows tend to go for outlandish plots or big-name guest stars as a lure. "CSI": Miami" is going out of the world tonight in an effort to get the ratings numbers to skyrocket.

The CSI team must solve the murder of a man who was killed in outer space. That's no joke. The investigation goes out of this world.

MOVIES
"Crazy Heart": Sometimes a single performance can be so brilliant it eclipses the rest of the movie. Jeff Bridges accomplishes that dazzling feat in this new release. Bridges becomes fading country music legend Bad Blake, a man who's seen more failed romances, crashed pickups and loyal dogs than a jukebox full of country tunes. Blake's reached the sunset of his career, reduced to playing bowling alleys and gin joints.

DVD
"Zombieland": A group of people try to survive in a world full of zombies. "Shaun of the Dead," the wonderfully witty 2004 British import, is no longer king of zombie comedies. That title now belongs to "Zombieland," where the walking dead have never been funnier. Writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have created a story that is a shotgun blast of jokes that not only satirizes the genre but finds time to take plenty of shots at pop culture.

TELEVISION
"Super Bowl XLIV," 3:25 p.m. KGPE (47.1): As if the clash between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints wasn't enough of a draw, there will be all of those cool commercials to watch.

"Smallville" 8 p.m. KFRE (Channel 59.1): The series about Superman's early days began to lose direction a few years ago when Clark Kent graduated from high school. The show's original design was not to be a comic book TV show but a series about parents dealing with a child who has special needs.

When Clark got too old for that plotline to work, the show shifted to more of a comic book TV series with the addition of DC Comics heroes ranging from Green Arrow to the Legion of Super Heroes.

Such dipping into the comic book company's roster has been slowly rolled out over the past few seasons. That changes with tonight's episode - "Absolute Justice" - that will feature a host of DC characters.

Clark goes to the former headquarters of the Justice Society of America where he meets Dr. Fate (Brent Stait), Hawkman (Michael Shanks) and Star Girl (Britt Irvin). The group is being targeted by a killer. Clark, John Jones (Phil Morris) and Green Arrow (Justin Hartley) begin a hunt to stop the killer.

If you a comic book fan, don't miss this episode.

"Fringe" 9 p.m. KMPH (Channel 26.1): This is the winter finale of the often creepy, always entertaining Fox series. The mid-season ends with a bang as the real and alternate worlds that have been explored throughout the series come crashing together.

This is certainly a series that belongs on your radar especially if you were a fan of "The X-Files." Anna Torv's Agent Olivia Dunham is as smart and capable as Gillian's Anderson's Dana Scully.

The biggest shock is Joshua Jackson's performance as Peter Bishop. The former "Dawson's Creek" star always seemed destined to play muddle-headed characters who would disappear into the background. He shows with this role that he has the emotional and physical skills to create a character that stands up to any leading man in TV sci-fi history.

Top it off with a wonderfully bumbling character from John Noble and this show deserves more viewers than it's getting. Check it out tonight and don't be surprised if you don't get hooked on "Fringe."

Now that the Oscar nominations have been announced, many of you may be trying to get caught up with movies you missed. Here's some suggestions.

Several of the films that earned Oscar nominations are either playing at local theaters or will open on Friday. Best picture nominees "Avatar" and "The Blind Side" are currently in theaters. "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" returns to theaters Friday.

Best picture nominees "District 9," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds" and "Up" are available on DVD. "A Serious Man" will be released Feb. 9 while "Up in the Air" and "An Education" are expected to be released on DVD in April.

Jeff Bridges' work in "Crazy Heart" and Colin Firth's performance in "A Single Man" can be seen starting Friday as the films open in local theaters. "Lovely Bones" is still playing and it features Stanley Tucci's Oscar-nominated work. Woody Harrelson's "The Messenger' is the Feb. 12 offering by Fresno Filmworks. It will be June before you can see Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in "Invictus."

You can pick up DVDs to see Jeremy Renner in "Hurt Locker" and Christoph Waltz in "Inglorious Basterds."

Meryl Streep's "Julie & Julia" is on DVD. Sandra Bullock's "The Blind Side," and Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique in "Precious" can be seen at local theaters.

As for some of the other Oscar-nominated movies, "Star Trek," "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and "Coraline" are on DVD. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" is in theaters.

Comcast subscribers can find several of the films as part of the On Demand selections including "District 9," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds" and "Up."

"Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials 2010," 8 p.m., KGPE (Channel 47.1): Most of the time, television commercials are those annoying - often VERY LOUD - breaks that signal it's time to make a kitchen or bathroom run.

The exceptions are the short pieces of art created to air during a Super Bowl broadcast. When a company has to spend so much money just to have their commercial air during the telecast, they want to make sure they are memorable.

This special will count down the decade's 10 greatest Super Bowl commercials. You can vote at cbs.com/specials/superbowl for your favorite. The top three picks will be revealed during the show.

Jim Nantz, lead play-by-play announcer of "The NFL on CBS" Lara Spencer, "The Insider," are the hosts.

My money's on the talking baby.

"Lost," 9 p.m., KFSN (Channel 30.1): The final season of the ABC series begins tonight. And maybe, just maybe, we will learn some of the answers to the hundreds of questions that have popped up over the years.

Viewers have invested hours watching survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 stumble through a clue-filled jungle on the mysterious island. Every question answered raised 15 more.

I don't expect a neat wrap up to the show's multiple mysteries. If even half are solved it will be something.

Television shows should be engaging. "Lost" has done that for those stubborn enough to stick with the program. One things certain. There's no doubt that even when the show ends in a few months, there will still be plenty of fodder for debates.

Nominees for the "82nd Annual Academy Awards" were announced earlier today and for the first time in several years there were no major surprises.

It was no surprise "Avatar" got a best picture nomination, although the film really didn't deserve it. "Avatar" is visually stunning. It just lacks the quality writing and performances that should be the key reason for earning consideration among the best of the year. That being said, "Avatar" is the leading contender to win the best picture Oscar.

"Star Trek" and "Where the Wild Things Are" got overlooked in the top category. Both were visually stunning and also featured better writing and performances than "Avatar."

As for my predictions, I picked 24 of the 30 nominations in the top five categories including going five for five in the best actor category.

The biggest mistake was the nomination of Penelope Cruz for "Nine." Not only was it one of the least interesting performance in the film, her selection kept Julianne Moore from being nominated for a superb performance in "A Single Man." Moore's snub is the biggest miscue of this year's Oscar nominees.

For those of you who have not seen this year's list of nominees, the entire list is on the jump, with links to past reviews and interviews:

Nominations for "The 30th Annual Razzie Awards" have been released. This list of the worst of 2009 is a reminder of just how many awful movies opened last year.

Here's a look at the nominees:

Worst Picture
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"
"Land of the Lost"
"Old Dogs"
"G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra"
"All About Steve"
- "Land of the Lost" looks like a lock since "Year One" and "Law Abiding Citizen" are not in the running.

Worst Director
Michael Bay, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"
Brad Silberling, "Land of the Lost"
Walt Becker, "Old Dogs"
Stephen Sommers, "G.I. Joe"
Phil Traill, "All About Steve"
- A chimp with a stick could have done better job of directing than the talentless Becker.

More nominees on the jump