invisioner | Trance producer

It’s always an honor to head over to 30 Rock, attend “Saturday Night Live” rehearsals and get to interview the celebs they’ve picked to be on the show that week. It’s a chance I’d never turn my nose at. This week, I had the most awesome pleasure of chatting with this week’s host Katy Perry and musical guest Robyn. (The pair had previously toured together on Katy’s “California Dreams” tour, FYI.)

In addition to getting some awesome inside scoop about the show from the two pop stars (and just who Katy is getting hosting advice from. Hint: She’s married to him), I also got the chance to check out the duo, joined by Bill Hader, doing his legendary Stefon act, putting together one of the show’s funny little promos.

In between takes, the trio hung around, chatted a bit and Bill pretty much stayed in his Stefon character the entire time. In the hours leading up to Katy and Robyn’s episode, airing Saturday night (obviously!), we’re sure you’ll see these promos rolling out. But because we’re MTV News and we can offer you some fun behind-the-scenes footage you won’t really see anywhere else, check out what didn’t make the final cut for the network after the jump!

by Josh Wigler

Okay, maybe not the best episode ever, but the best episode this season? Oh, absolutely. A nail-biter of a duel, a fantastic reward, a mighty big promise between two opponents and one heck of a tribal council later… I’m feeling quite confident in saying that this is the best hour of “South Pacific” we’ve seen so far, and likely the best we’ll see all season. Highlights below.

» The long awaited battle of NuCochran versus Ozzy on Redemption Island did not disappoint in the drama department. What should have been an absolute blowout turned into a total nail-biter as Ozzy closed in on victory, squandered his chance, left the door wide open for Cochran who came this close to winning only to squander his chance, catch back up to Ozzy again, and lose by a matter of milliseconds. What a rush! Plus, it was genuinely sad to see Cochran go. Hardly “Survivor” royalty, the man is nonetheless one of the biggest fans to ever play the game, and that made him a very compelling character to watch this season (which doesn’t necessarily say much, because the “Survivor” roster this go around was pretty bleak). Jeff’s final words of encouragement solidified the death of Cochran and the birth of NuCochran. He will be missed.

» Like Probst, I’m a sucker for the family visit, even though they don’t always play out to the best of their potential. This season’s stands out as one of the best visits in “Survivor” history, for a few reasons. First is the fact that Ozzy not only had to select just three people to enjoy some time with their loved ones (and, by extension, choose three people not to get family time), he had to host the whole shindig at his crib on Redemption Island. With Coach nearby, Ozzy received an “irrevocable promise” from “a Christian man” that the two “Survivor” veterans will go to the Final Three together, assuming Ozzy returns to the game. Big, potentially stupid words and moves on Coach’s part, but an awesome get for Oz. Also, it was fascinating watching these two interact; Ozzy and Coach don’t have much in common on the surface, but their no-bullsh** back-and-forth was very refreshing to behold in a game that’s usually steeped in lies.

» Reason number two why the family visit was so awesome: Sean Hantz, brother of Russell and father of Brandon, who is not thrilled with the way his son’s been playing the game. “You’re here to do a job and that’s to bring home the gold,” Sean told a typically wishy-washy Brandon, before telling the camera: “I don’t know how he hasn’t gotten voted off yet!” Not confident in his son’s “Survivor” skills, Sean took it upon himself to make some moves on Brandon’s behalf, trying to force Coach into promising Brandon’s continued survival until the final round. It was classic Hantz, albeit from a family member we had yet to meet. Mark my words: this will not be the last time we see Sean Hantz on “Survivor.”

» Reason number three why the family visit was so awesome: Rick gave his wife a bum-squeeze. That’s more personality in one touch of a butt than we’ve seen from Captain Mustache all season long!

» Finally, Edna’s “second class citizen” meltdown was just fantastic. Everyone and their grandmother knew that Edna was the sixth person in the Upolu alliance—everyone except Edna, I guess. She was not having any of that. Kudos to the anesthesiologist for hustling the hell out of her final days on the island. The moment where she straight up asked Coach for his immunity idol was deliciously awkward (and I can’t be the only one who smelled some romantic tension there, right?), but it was her ruthless assault on Brandon Hantz that earned her the most points in my book. Edna did not lie or fib or exaggerate one iota when she laid out exactly who Brandon is and why he’s unstable and unworthy of continuing in the game over her; her reasons were valid, all of them, and extremely well-articulated. Of course, Upolu did the sensible thing and kept Brandon around over Edna, but you have to applaud the woman’s survival instincts kicking in with her back against the wall. It’s a great example of the journey being better than the destination; even though the ending was predetermined, Edna’s exit was a can’t-miss thrill ride of “Survivor” goodness.

What did you think of this week’s “Survivor” episode?

News broke today that Ryan Seacrest is the top choice to replace Matt Lauer on the “Today” show. This is a terrible idea for a variety of reasons.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Seacrest met with NBC executives, including “Today” show executive producer Jim Bell, NBC News President Steve Capus and Lauren Kapp, NBC’s senior vice president for marketing and communications, Tuesday evening to discuss replacing Lauer on the top-rated morning news program if the veteran anchor decides to retire from his morning post when his contract is up next year. Lauer first appeared on “Today” in 1992, filling in for former newsreader Margaret Larson when needed. He joined the program full-time as a news anchor/reporter in 1994, while also still anchoring “Today in New York” and “Live at Five,” and officially assumed the co-anchor chair opposite Katie Couric in January 1997, replacing Bryant Gumble.

While Lauer said earlier this year that he has no plans to leave NBC, more recent reports have suggested he may be interested in reuniting with Couric when her ABC talk show launches in the fall of 2012. Insiders report that he has been indicating to NBC execs privately that he may leave the show.

We mean no offense to Seacrest when we say he would be a misguided replacement for Lauer. He is a charming interviewer and a dynamic host. But he is not a hard-news journalist. To successfully anchor the “Today” show you have to be all three of these things.

Seacrest’s lack of journalistic chops are important because of the dynamic of “Today.” Even if he could, for the sake of argument, capably deliver the morning news from behind the desk, the show has always had one anchor who stays principally in New York to deliver the news and one anchor who is able to serve as a news correspondent from locations abroad. Lauer has acted as the latter, reporting from Iraq and China, among numerous other locations, while Meredith Vieira and now Ann Curry have manned the desk in Rockefeller Center. Without a solid background in journalism, it’s almost impossible to imagine Seacrest reporting on the conflict in the Middle East from that region of the world.

Seacrest can easily command the “American Idol” stage because he is charismatic and is a good fit to anchor “E! News” and host his morning radio program because audiences see him as an authority on entertainment matters. And while Lauer does his fair share of celebrity interviews and cooking segments, he also has to interview world leaders like President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin and report on world news affairs.

How you ask then-First Lady Hillary Clinton about the Monica Lewinsky scandal is an entirely different ballgame than asking Kim Kardashian about her love life. It requires an innate seriousness that Seacrest doesn’t have, a credibility that has been chipped away by years of asking starlets who they’re wearing.

The gravitas it takes to co-host the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games is very different than the panache needed to hold the fort on the Oscars red carpet.

Again, we’re not trying to dismiss Seacrest’s talents. He’s great at what he does; it’s why he’s become such a massively successful businessman in the entertainment/celebrity sphere. But when it comes right down to it, what does your gut tell you when you think about getting your morning world news report from the host of “American Idol” and the producer of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”?

It’s a new week and that means that already there’s some Twitter drama brewing up. It seems that “Teen Mom” star Farrah Abraham and the eldest Kardashian sister, Kourtney, are getting all up in each other’s business on the social networking site.

It all kicked off shortly after Kourt announced that she’s preggers with her second child with longtime beau Scott Disick. Farrah had this message for the thirtysomething-year-old millionaire: “Im Shocked Kourtney Kardashian is pregnant again, Did she not learn anything from TEEN MOM? Maybe its a fake pregnancy like kims wedding SAD… Double standards in this world? Yes & guess what !age and money honestly do not change a persons poor choice . Quit making excuses:)”

To which Kourtney had this to say: “Why would I have anything to do with teen mom? I’m 32 years old! I may look young honey, but don’t get it twisted. ”

Kourtney hasn’t had much else to say, but the same can’t be said of her boy, Scott, or Farrah herself. Read on to see what they had to say.

Following Kourtney’s tweet, Farrah added, “4 all who misunderstood: regards to kourtney K.~ I hope she takes her relationship w/her boyfriend more serious 4 their children-takecare.” Things went on to get a bit feistier on the part of Farrah and Scott.

So what do you think of this Twitter baby drama? Tell us in the comments!

by Josh Wigler

And then there were six. Well, technically, eight. But pretty soon we’ll be at six… err, seven, I mean. Man, this Redemption Island thing gets kind of confusing, doesn’t it? Regardless of the numbers, we’re absolutely in the end game of “Survivor: South Pacific” with just a few episodes remaining. After the jump, let’s weigh in on where we’re at.

Alas, poor Cochran — we knew him well. Easily one of the most compelling contestants this season (which, really, says a lot), Cochran’s exit is definitely a loss in terms of entertainment value. Of course, he’s not out yet — but the seemingly unstoppable Ozzy stands in his way of redemption.

I won’t be so quick as to say that Cochran can’t beat Ozzy next week. The human fish is as tough as competition gets, yes, but all it takes is one challenge that he’s not particularly suited for and it’s over. Then again, anything Cochran can do, Ozzy can likely do better (save for sparkling in the sunlight; Cochran has that on lock, and not in the sexy “Twilight” way). But even if the unlikely occurs and Cochran beats Ozzy — which would really be some kind of cosmic justice in my mind for what it’s worth; no disrespect Ozzy, but you did treat this guy like absolute ass — does he have what it takes to go on a three-win streak and get back in this game? Odds are very, very low, I think. Sadly, the days of NuCoch are most likely at an end.

I was sorry to see Cochran go this week, but surprised? Not so much. On paper, he was the perfect candidate to bring to the end game: the Savaii heavy jury hates him, so he automatically loses their votes pretty much across the board. How can you resist bringing him along as a third place goat? The tricky thing is, unless all or the majority of Upolu agreed to keep Cochran over Rick — which means Sophie and/or Brandon needed to be on board with Coach and Albert — it would be detrimental to the individuals who decided to cannibalize one of their own in favor of hanging onto someone the jury despises so much. If Coach and Albert kept Cochran around over Rick, for example, and they made it to the final round next to someone like Sophie, who didn’t vote to keep Cochran around, then she’s more likely to pick up Savaii votes for not rewarding the guy who betrayed them, even if it was only for one extra round. Even though Cochran seems like the ideal guy to have sitting next to you at the end, actually getting Cochran to the end poses a whole bunch of problems, and could really catapult one’s game if not played extremely carefully — and I don’t think there’s a single player currently out there with smooth enough moves to make that happen without kicking a whole lot of bees nests in the process.

So, no more Cochran. Who’s left? The Upolu Six remain strong at the end of it all: Coach, Albert, Sophie, Rick, Brandon, Edna. Of those remaining, the only people I can see winning the game are Coach, Albert and Sophie – they’ve all played decent to good games in their own right, and have had enough screen time to make them at least somewhat memorable winners (Coach would be the biggy, of course). Rick’s first words of the entire game were uttered in this latest episode by my count; the folks in the editing room would not be doing their jobs very well if he was the guy holding the million dollar check at the end of the day. Brandon is too much of a nuclear bomb to stand a chance in that final council; as Cochran so hilariously put it, “Talking strategy with Brandon is like talking with [Jeff Probst] about shirts that aren’t blue.” He might make finals, but he won’t take the bacon. And Edna? It’ll take a miracle for her not to go home next.

Smart money says the season belongs to Coach, Albert or Sophie… assuming Ozzy – or, dare I say it, Cochran – doesn’t swoop back in to spoil their fun, that is.

Who do you think will win the season?