"THE DA VINCI CODE": WAS THE HYPE REALLY WORTH IT?

Hello, everybody. I'll get to "The da Vinci Code" and how it fared in the box office in a bit, but of course, there's lots of ground to cover.

First up...After dominating the Kentucky Derby a few weeks ago, Barbaro was coming in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday hoping to be one win away from ending a 28-year Triple Crown drought. Unfortunately, just seconds into the race, that wouldn't be the case as disaster struck.

Just a few hundred yards after the start, Barbaro broke his right hind leg as the record crowd of over 118,000 watched in disbelief. The next day, he underwent surgery to correct the bones, and veterinarians now say his chances of him returning to full-strength are now "50-50."

As many of us know, the Triple Crown has gone since 1978 and Affirmed without a single winner. And now with Barbaro's life hanging in the balance, the streak is now extended to 29 years.

Last week, the Senate passed a bill making English the official language of the United States. This comes just weeks after a Spanish version of the Star-Spangled Banner was recorded...and one music critic who didn't like it was President Bush.

Let's face it...The Star-Spangled Banner, written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key but didn't become our national anthem until 1931 (117 years later), was composed in English and has always been sung in English! Creating a Spanish language version is kind of like a slap in the face. I don't see anyone complaining about "O Canada", considering that English and French are Canada's official languages. And there are both English and Spanish writings on many Procter & Gamble products! What's up with that?!

Anyway, I'd rather hear the Star-Spangled Banner in English rather than Spanish...unless I feel like learning to speak it. Oh wait...you can learn to speak Spanish for free -- by watching Univision!!

Now, back to the title of today's blog: The hype was worth it as "The Da Vinci Code" took in a worldwide haul of $224 million; here, it grossed over $77 million...thankfully knocking Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible 3" to the #3 spot.

Reviews all over the board were mixed, and there were some protestors outside the theaters. But not everybody slammed the film; Rev. Robert A. Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral (home of the weekly "Hour of Power" telecast) is praising it, not because it has Tom Hanks, but it's "good fodder for discussion" despite the historical accuaracy. Meanwhile, Christian leaders in some Asian countries wanted the movie banned or censored, though pirated DVDs of it are popping up in China. But because it was poorly shot with a digital camcorder and that some people were walking in front of the screen, a customer gave up and decided to see it at the theater.

I haven't seen the film, but it has garnered lots of controversy than "Passion of the Christ", when its gruesome scene involving Jesus Christ led to a much tamer re-release months later. But this is one "Code" that moviegoers did crack.

And last but not least today...We are nearing the end of both May sweeps and the TV season, and plans for the next season are already underway. Last week, the networks gave us a preview of what we expect this fall with what they call "upfronts." One upfront that had such notice was one for The CW, the merged network of UPN and The WB that'll launch this fall.

Can't you believe it? Some of our favorites from the soon-to-be-defunct networks like "Veronica Mars", "Gilmore Girls", "WWE Smackdown", "One Tree Hill", "America's Next Top Model", "Smallville", "Everybody Hates Chris", and in a surprising turn of events, "7th Heaven", will all be on one network. Here in Alaska, The CW will be on digital subchannels of ABC Alaska's Superstation in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau, meaning that longtime UPN station KYES in Anchorage will be going to My Network TV. In Fairbanks, KFXF Fox 7 -- which has run UPN shows for a few years -- could be a secondary My Network affiliate. And for those in my old stomping ground on the Mississippi coast, The CW will be accessible on cable thanks to New Orleans WB station WNOL; they'll be making the network switch.

I'm sure The CW will never fail to impress the viewers who spent 11 years flipping between UPN and WB. All we need now is a "Veronica Mars"/"Supernatural" crossover episode that'll reel them in.

By the way...there'll be some old faces returning this fall, as Calista Flockhart and Ted Danson will have shows on ABC, while Matthew Perry hopefully becomes fourth-place NBC's savior with his new gig, and Brad Garrett has a Fox comedy.

With those veterans to go along with a fresh new network containing some remnants from two former ones, talk about "TV Worth Watching" (mid-'80s PBS slogan)! With that said...so long!

"AMERICAN IDOL:" THE 21st CENTURY "TWENTY-ONE"?

Hello, everybody. Okay, I'm one of the millions of you who are NOT into "American Idol", but I can admit it: This program is now becoming the 21st century version of "Twenty-One", and for good reason...Heavy favorite Chris Daughtry unexpectedly got the boot tonight.

For those of you who don't remember, "Twenty-One" was a very controversial 1950's game show in which in which a series of scoreless ties and lack of knowledge by the contestants led to producers and sponsor Geritol rigging the show in hopes of upping its ratings. As a result, defending champion Herbert Stempel was out (thanks to him blurting out "On The Waterfront" instead of "Marty" in the question on who won the 1955 Best Picture Oscar; he was ordered to "take a dive"), and Charles Van Doren was in. Van Doren became an overnight celebrity thanks to his winning ways, including a cover subject in "Time" magazine. "Twenty-One", on the other hand, managed to beat "I Love Lucy" in the ratings.

After Van Doren was dethroned, that's when Stempel blew the whistle. Van Doren did admit to being given the answers to the questions in advance, as the quiz show scandals made headlines in 1958...well, that and Alaska about to become the 49th state.

(Oh yeah...a pilot for an un-rigged "Twenty-One" was produced in the early '80s, but never sold. And of course, the 2000 revival with Maury Povich did bring in good ratings, but not enough to unseat the then-red-hot "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.")

Flash forward 48 years later to 2006, and "American Idol." Just seconds after Daughtry was out, irate fans wasted no time heading to the show's message boards blurting out their disgust. A few called for vote recounts or boycotts; many blamed it on the phone system; while others said with Chris gone they'll watch the other networks' shows in lieu of "Idol." Even some said Katharine McPhee should've been gone instead of Chris.

But the majority of those have said that the show has taken a page or two from the "Twenty-One" playbook and rigging the it in hopes McPhee will be in the final two. One poster said there hasn't been a good winner since Kelly Clarkson.

Despite all this, it's just the latest example of the old "controversy equals ratings" trick for "Idol." Sure, they may be television's top show, but they're doing this just to keep viewers hooked...just like "Twenty-One" and Charles Van Doren 50 years ago! Oh, and yeah, I hope McPhee wins.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I started Part 1 of the Round 1 preliminaries in my annual poll for 2006's Sexiest Woman. So far, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba, Natalie Portman, Stacy Keibler, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Mandy Moore will make the top 20, but it's far from over. Anything can still happen, so vote in Group A, Group B, Group C, and Group D and see what happens. Of course, those top 20 from Groups A-D and the top 20 from Groups E-H when the thing resumes in October will be advancing to Round 2.

With those said...so long.