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(CNN) — Tim Burton goes through the looking glass: This is what CGI was invented for, surely?

Over the last decade, digital effects have developed so fast, the most outlandish visual trickery can be integrated seamlessly with live action. Actors — living, breathing human beings — can coexist with the kind of fantastical environment that once was the realm of the animator, and with results that seem, if not perfectly natural, then perfectly supernatural.

You can observe the same phenomenon in “Avatar.” But where the technocrat James Cameron gives us fantasy science, a utopia you can practically reach out and touch, the dreamer Tim Burton shows us a head-trip to a place — “Underland” — where nothing seems like what it is.

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The war between Jon Gosselin and his former TV employer has drawn to a close.

According to a statement released by Laurie Goldberg, senior vice president for communications for TLC, “TLC has reached a settlement with Jon Gosselin and will be undertaking procedural steps to conclude the litigation. All terms of the settlement are confidential. The whole Gosselin family remain under contract with TLC. “

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NEW YORK – Television ratings show a strong initial appetite for the Vancouver Olympics on NBC.

The Nielsen Co. said an estimated 32.6 million people watched Friday’s opening ceremony. That’s up 48 percent from the 22.2 million people who watched the first night of the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy.

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(CNN) — Magnanimous in defeat, which could turn into victory, Conan O’Brien bequeathed “The Tonight Show” back to Jay Leno Friday after first thanking NBC for at least putting him on the map.

“This company has been my home for most of my adult life,” he told viewers. “I am enormously proud of the work we’ve done together. I want to thank NBC for making it all possible. I really do.”

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PASADENA, Calif. – Conan O’Brien’s ratings are soaring as he nears a bitter exit from NBC’s “Tonight Show,” his ridicule of his network executives apparently resonating in a country filled with the unemployed.

His ratings Friday were 50 percent higher than they’ve been this season, and he beat CBS’ David Letterman, according to a preliminary Nielsen Co. estimate based on large markets. In the 18- to 49-year-old demographic that NBC relies on to set advertising prices, O’Brien even beat Jay Leno’s prime-time show.

Full Story at CNN.com Blogs

“Austin City Limits” has long wanted to kick open its doors to hip-hop, but the reckless messages embraced by some rappers made the program’s producers hesitant.

But Saturday, for the first time ever, the long-running PBS music showcase will devote its entire hour-long episode to two of hip-hop’s most talented acts: Brooklyn’s Mos Def and Somalian rhymesmith K’NAAN.

“I wasn’t sure how they or any hip-hoppers would react,” Terry Lickona, the series’ executive producer, told me this week. “I was humbled that Mos and K’NAAN were so quick to accept.”

Lickona, who has been with the show for 32 of its 35 years, said he was impressed by both artists’ rich music and that they use “their music not just to express themselves, but to make a statement about the world.”

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(PEOPLE.com) — Late-night TV can usually be counted on for a steady diet of jokes. Now it is the joke.

David Letterman joined in the skirmish Tuesday by making jokes about NBC’s late-night host shuffle on the “Late Show,” according to a transcript of his opening monologue.

NBC vowed Sunday to push Conan O’Brien and the “Tonight Show” back to 12:05 a.m. to make room for “The Jay Leno Show” at 11:35 p.m.

O’Brien balked at the idea, saying he refused to take part in the “destruction” of the “Tonight Show” brand and blasted the network for trying to patch up its ratings problems in prime-time by toying with its late-night lineup.

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(CNN) — Conan O’Brien suggested in a statement Tuesday that he will not accept NBC’s proposal to move him and “The Tonight Show,” which he’s hosted for seven months, to 12:05 a.m. ET.

NBC has proposed moving “The Tonight Show” from its traditional 11:35 p.m. slot so that the show’s former host, Jay Leno, could host a half-hour show then.

Full Story at CNN.com

- Entertainer Jay Leno did the ol’ soft shoe as speculation swirled that NBC might cancel his show or move it back to the 11:35 p.m. ET time slot.

“The Jay Leno Show,” now airing at 10 p.m., has had lackluster ratings since its debut in September, hurting affiliates as the lead-in to the evening news. If NBC makes the move, it would create a domino effect for the network’s other late-night programming — “The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien” and “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.”

Full Story at CBS News.com

(AP) Simon Cowell’s brother says the next season of “American Idol” will be the judge’s last.

Tony Cowell said in his weekly podcast, “The Cowell Factor,” that a statement was being prepared that would certify that the acerbic British judge was leaving the popular Fox signing competition at the end of 2010.

Simon Cowell will concentrate on bringing his popular U.K. talent show “The X Factor” to the U.S. next year, his brother said on the Saturday podcast, which has since been removed.

Photos: “American Idol” Season Eight
Photos: The “Idol” Finale
Photos: Simon Cowell