After judging on America’s Got Talent last night, Howard Stern judged another type of talent contest on his radio show this morning: the Strongest Naked Woman contest. The contestants were all Penthouse Pets… Justine Jolie, Heather Vandeven and Nikki Benz. Each girl had to perform feats of athleticism and strength in order to win the coveted title.

The first feat was to hold up 8 pound dumbbells while riding the Sybian sex machine at full power. After a quick introductory interview, each girl hopped aboard and immediately started screaming. In the end, it was Justine Joli who withstood the powers of the Sybian the longest at 32 seconds. Read the rest of this entry »

As predicted, Theon’s reign at Winterfell isn’t going too well. The death of one of his men and the subsequent disappearance of the young Stark boys makes him look incredibly incompetent (as if he didn’t already, after botching Roderik’s execution). Theon knows that in order to keep his unruly men on his side, and at the same time keep Winterfell’s population cowering in fear, he’ll have to do something drastic to the Stark children once he finds them, but during the search, he seems to forget this and instead revels in the thrill of the chase; during the hunt, he tells Maester Lewin that it’s all a game. But at the end of the episode, as Theon looks at the charred, mutilated little bodies that he claims are Bran and Rickon, you can see a look of disgust and horror cross his face. All the small mistakes, missteps, and overreactions, all done in an attempt to gain some sort of familial love from a distant father, have made him into nothing more than a butcher and a monster. Now he’s left with a conquered group of people who hate him, a band of thuggish soldiers who have watched him screw up on multiple occasions, and the knowledge that some of Robb’s army is likely marching towards him to answer his treason. I was never a huge fan of Theon’s story in the books, but I really like the way the series has depicted his slow descent into depravity. I’ll be looking forward to watching his fall, which I’m sure is coming along very soon. Read the rest of this entry »

Last night, Joshua Ledet, Phillip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez were named the Top Three AMERICAN IDOL finalists. One of them will be crowned the next AMERICAN IDOL, but not before all three travel back to their hometowns, to see family, friends and fans. After America cast a season-high 70 million votes for their favorite finalists, it also was revealed that Hollie Cavanagh had received the fewest number of votes and was eliminated from the competition. Read the rest of this entry »

Howard Stern is about to make his judging debut on one of television’s highest-rated talent competitions, NBC’s America’s Got Talent, starting on May 14, 2012. Throughout the audition process, the audience excitement for Howard has been palpable. Now, both newfound and long-time fans can get to see even more Howard when select cable systems around the country offer individual interviews from the Howard Stern Show that originates from his SiriusXM satellite radio studio. Not only are these highly entertaining, in-depth and compelling interviews with some of today’s hottest stars, but they are a unique way for consumers to sample the kind of riveting content that is found every month on the premium television channel, Howard TV On Demand. Read the rest of this entry »

Last night on American Idol, the four remaining contestants once again sang two songs apiece. First, each sang a choice from California Dreamin, songs from, or about, the great Golden State. Then, in the second half of the show they each sang songs that they wish they had written, or as Ryan Seacrest put it (which made a lot more sense), songs that inspired them.

For a nice change of pace, there was very little pre-amble to this show, and our first contestant was on stage performing by 8:06.

Phillip Phillips: Phil-Phil sang Credence Clearwater Revival’s Have You Ever Seen the Rain? I thought it was way too mellow, flat, and “Unplugged”. The judges loved it. I wasn’t crazy about it, but I will say that on a second listen the back half of the song didn’t suck. Last week, Skylar Laine sang CCR’s Fortunate Son, and she really did a much better job capturing the essence of what John Fogerty was about. Phil-Phil missed it entirely and left me feeling empty. Read the rest of this entry »

If I remember correctly, episode six of last season was the point in which the story really picked up the pace and started to get interesting. Similarly, here in season two, it appears like the tenuous status quo that existed for several of our characters has begun to fall apart, or at least looks like it is about to. Bran and Rickon’s safe home of Winterfell is upended by Theon’s conquest; Robb and Catelyn are distraught by the news and rely on an untrustworthy looking bannerman and his “bastard” to bring the castle back into the fold; Theon makes one bad decision after another in an attempt to prove his manhood; Joffrey’s petulance causes a deadly riot to break out in the streets of King’s Landing; Jon’s mercy leads him to get lost in the icebergs with the fireheaded wildling, Ygritte; Arya’s true nature is nearly revealed to Tywin; and Dany’s dragons are abducted. Read the rest of this entry »

Last night, the Top Four Finalists were revealed – Hollie Cavanagh, Joshua Ledet, Phillip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez. One of them will be crowned the next American Idol! After America cast a season-high of nearly 60 million votes for their favorite finalists, it also was revealed tonight that Skylar Laine had received the fewest number of votes and was eliminated from the competition.

With only three performance shows left in the season, tune in next week, Wednesday, May 9 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed), when the Top Four return to the IDOL stage to sing for America’s votes on a “California Dreamin’”– themed performance show. Read the rest of this entry »

Last night on American Idol, the five remaining contestants sang songs from British Pop era and songs from the 60’s era. An interesting choice that if given the right song choice, could really help a couple of these guys. Of course, the opposite is just as true as the wrong song choice could be devastating at this point.

This week, we were treated to the musings of guest mentor Little Steven Van Zandt (lead guitarist of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and Silvio on The Sopranos), as he helped guide our young idols through their paces. Between his mental sparring with regular season mentor Jimmy Iovine and his spot on comments to the contestants, Little Steven proved to be one of the best guest mentors of the season. Please bring him back soon. He was a joy to watch and listen to. Read the rest of this entry »

Universal CityWalk’s “5 Towers” state-of-the art concert venue welcomes the Final Four of NBC’s blockbuster vocal competition show, “The Voice,” for a live performance at 10:30am on Thursday, May 3, 2012. The special one-time concert in Los Angeles invites fans to Universal CityWalk to cheer on their favorite performer. “The Voice” winner will be announced next Tuesday, May 8. Read the rest of this entry »

To celebrate the May 1st DVD release date of Covert Affairs: Season Two, starring Piper Perabo, the Zoo is giving away ONE copy of the DVD, courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, to ONE lucky winner.

Runaway hit original series, Covert Affairs, stars Golden Glober-nominated Piper Perabo as Annie Walker, a young CIA operative whose exceptional linguistic skills and spot on instincts make her invaluable to the Agency. In season two, Annie’s personal and professional lives crash into one another, and the balance of her relationships are forever changed. The series also stars Christopher Gorham, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Anne Dudek, Kari Matchett and Peter Gallagher. Watch all sixteen suspenseful and dynamic episodes uninterrupted, coming from the producer of The Bourne Trilogy. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week’s episode ended with the grotesque birth of a shadow-like monster, one of the rare moments of obvious magic in the series. The monster didn’t waste any time after being birthed to go ahead and take out Renly, leaving Westeros with one less King vying for the throne. Brienne’s anguished screams during Renly’s death were heartbreaking, but the speed at which she dispatched the knights that streamed into the tent to attack her helped remind us that her grief didn’t blunt her fighting edge.

The episode was packed full of plenty of other stuff beyond the opening act of regicide. To me, this felt like one of the busiest episodes of the season, maybe even of the series so far. Read the rest of this entry »

Last night, America cast a season-high 58 million votes for their favorite finalists on AMERICAN IDOL. Last Night, host Ryan Seacrest revealed that Elise Testone received the fewest number of votes and was eliminated from the competition. Also on tonight’s results show, Katy Perry performed her hit, “Part of Me,” and AMERICAN IDOL Season 10 finalist Stefano Langone performed his new single, “I’m On A Roll,” featuring Ben J of New Boyz. In addition, the official touring Queen tribute, The Queen Extravaganza, performed Queen’s classic smash hit “Somebody To Love,” along with original Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor. Read the rest of this entry »

Last night on American Idol, the six remaining finalists had the rare privilege of not only being allowed to sing songs from the Queen catalog, but they also kicked off the show with a pretty impressive Queen medley with Queen drummer Roger Taylor and lead guitarist Brian May. Yeah, if you can’t tell, I’m a huge Queen fan (I guess we can get that out of the way now. I’ll even go one step further and tell you, in full disclosure, that Freddie Mercury is my all-time favorite vocalist. Just so you know where we’re all coming from).

Normally, I don’t comment on the group songs because quite frankly, they suck. This week’s was a rare exception. And not only because they were singing Queen. It was actually very good. It should be no surprise that resident rocker Elise Testone rocked it, and Philip Phillips sounded great during his lines. Joshua Ledet gave the appropriate rasp and soul to his parts, and even Skylar Laine managed to put her spurs up long enough to rock it out. Read the rest of this entry »

These days, Howard Stern has been moonlighting as the newest judge on America’s Got Talent, but this morning on his radio show he developed his own reality program… The XXX Factor. Howard Stern’s XXX-Factor is a talent show with one simple twist: every contestant must perform completely naked.

The first contestant was a hot female who belched. Ok, what did we expect? Second was a guy playing a song on his guitar. Since he was naked, most of the talk was about his extremely small penis. The third contestant was exactly what you would expect from a Howard Stern contest where everyone must perform naked… a all-girl band made up entirely of former porn stars. Read the rest of this entry »

To celebrate the May 1st Blu-ray and DVD release date of Suits: Season One, a USA Network original series, the Zoo is giving away ONE copy of the DVD, courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, to ONE lucky winner.

USA Network’s new original series “Suits” delves into the fast-paced, high-stakes world of a top Manhattan corporate law firm where hotshot attorney Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht, Love and Other Drugs, Whiteout) makes a risky move by hiring the brilliant but unmotivated Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams, “Luck,” Old School) as his new associate. The only problem is that Mike doesn’t have an actual law degree.

Despite his lack of credentials, Mike impresses Harvey with his extensive, encyclopedic knowledge of the law, earning himself a spot amongst the otherwise Harvard-educated staff. The two soon become an unstoppable force in the courtroom, inciting jealousy and tension throughout the firm as they try to keep Mike’s secret under wraps.

Contest Rules:
Entering the giveaway is simple, fill out the form below with your name and email address.

This contest is open to all residents of the U.S. and will close on May 24th, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST.

You can enter this contest once every day until the contest closes.

The winners will be chosen at random and notified via e-mail. Multiple entries in one calendar day by any entrant will result in disqualification. The TMR Zoo will not be responsible for lost or missing mail. Good luck!!

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Visit our main contest page to see all active contests running at the Zoo.

Game of Thrones can be a pretty dark show; “Garden of Bones” was probably its most grim episode yet. The battlefield carnage, Lannister torture techniques, Joffrey’s sadomasochistic tendencies, and demon birthings helped remind us that Westeros is a nasty place.

Joffrey’s treatment of the prostitutes sent to him by Tyrion was brutal; I can’t be the only one who looked away when he handed that spiky looking scepter to Roz and ordered her to “use it” on the other girl. Tyrion knows that Joffrey is rotten, but I don’t think he knew quite how psychopathic his nephew really was. He’ll know once Roz reports back to him, and I assume that will make him a little more cautious around the crazy kid. It’s nice that we get to see Tyrion’s noble side, as he protects and covers up Sansa after her humiliation in the throne room. Interrupting Joffrey’s cruelty only made him more angry; he’s still too afraid to challenge Tyrion directly, but you can tell that the two prostitutes are suffering in part because of Tyrion’s nobility.

Meanwhile, Arya and Gendry are in the clutches of the Mountain, who are torturing people to get information about something called “the Brotherhood.” The torturer asking the questions, though, doesn’t seem too interested in the answers; I think he’s more interested in their screams. Arya and Gendry are spared by the arrival of Tywin Lannister. Ever practical, he orders the prisoners to work, and recruits Arya (who he immediately identifies as a girl) to be his cupbearer. While still a prisoner, she’s no longer in danger of becoming rat food. At night, she takes Yoren’s advice and clings to dreams of vengeance, listing off the names of those she wants to kill.

Halfway across the world, Dany and her band come across the city of Quarth. They are denied entry until the city’s leaders can see her dragons. Dany blusters and rages at the merchants, threatening to burn the city down for their lack of hospitality, but she doesn’t let them get a peek at her scaly children. Instead, another foreigner named Xaro invokes some kind of ritual, taking (I would assume) responsibility for Dany and her people while they are in the city. The doors open, revealing a very interesting looking oasis-like city in the middle of the desert.

The episode ends with Davos smuggling the red priestess ashore for some mysterious purpose. They chat about morality a bit. Davos thinks that people can be bits of good and bad mixed together; like a true fanatic, Melisandre asserts that people are either all good, or all evil. They arrive at a cave, where the priestess drops her robe to reveal that she is suddenly very pregnant. As Davos watches in horror, she begins to give birth to a nightmarish shadow creature. We’ll have to wait until next week to see what that creature actually does, but its arrival can’t be a good omen for Renly and his knights of summer.

A few other things:

* I noticed a fair number of departures from the book here; some new characters, some stories melded together or cut short, but it still all seems to work for me. The changes make sense, and are necessary.

* We see the aftermath of another battle, when Robb and his army vanquish another Lannister force. I would love to see a battle scene at some point this year, but I understand that sort of thing is expensive.

* Tyrion cutting down his cousin Lancel’s arrogant attitude was about the only bright spot I had in this grim episode. His wit really makes the show shine.

* A quick note on last week’s episode: The montage of Tyrion telling Pycelle, Littlefinger, and Varys different versions of his plan was really smartly done. It might have been my favorite scene of the season.

John is a TV blogger for Raked and an Entertainment and Sports contributor here at The TMR Zoo. You can follow him on Twitter at @raked_jc