I'd been meaning to wrap up all of last week's TV posts, but I'll point you over to the TV Barn instead for Aaron Barnhart's wrap up. Most notable bit there is that My Name is Earl, which I'd mocked for its casting and premise, appears to be well-liked based on clips shown at the upfront presentation. That's why it's good to read stuff from people who were actually there. In addition to my own posts, of course.

The last week or so of finales has been OK, though I've been pretty let down by the results on the various unscripted shows I watch (note that I'm using 'unscripted' instead of 'reality' from here on out given the negligible amounts of reality involved in unscripted programming). America's Next Top Model was fairly predictable, as Naima, who had won every single Cover Girl-sponsored fan vote, also won the Next Top Model title. Given the heavy involvement Cover Girl has with the show (big contract plus heavy advertising presence), Naima's win seems pretty calculated, although she was someone seen as a front-runner at the start.

American Idol wraps tonight, thankfully, as it's not that much fun watching an entire season of foregone conclusion. Carrie, the countrified Oklahoman, was being touted as the eventual winner by Simon back in semifinals. Bo, the rocker, also enjoyed front-runner treatment, especially when Constantine was outed as a poser rather than a rocker. The final at least seems like more of a contest than last year, though they could have held the final in March.

The worst, though, was The Apprentice finale, which was both anti-climactic and a mess from a production standpoint. Which is why I'll go the Dinan route and offer:

MAKING IT BETTER: The Apprentice finale.

1. We do not need 15 to 20 commercial-free minutes to recap the entire season at the start of the finale, especially when the finale is only an hour long (which it should remain). Five minutes giving an overview of how each contestant got to the final, and a recap of the final tasks, should be fine.

2. Interview the firees who help the finalists in a private boardroom, not as part of the finale. I think the producers were hoping for more recriminations, but the time lag allowed Tana to mend fences with her team, resulting in little dissention (and what there was was colored by the fact that the person who uttered them, Chris, is now working with Kendra on outside business projects). The teams will give more honest feedback fresh from the occasion.

3. The bit where the boardroom walls slide back to reveal that they're actually in an auditorium for the finale? That was cool. Bring it back.

4. Either end the show with the hiring or give some time to let the new apprentice introduce family and friends. Kendra got to hug some strangers who I assume were family and/or friends, but we never got to find out.

5. No more Omarosa. Granted, she was only the focus of a crowd shot rather than having input, but her relevance to the show drops dramatically with each new season. Let her crawl back under whatever rock she calls home.