Today's Entertainment

BY LORI ACKEN Justin Willman Food Network fans know Justin Willman as the Alton Brown or Ted Allen of the Sunday night hit "Cupcake Wars," which launched myriad other homages to the little cakes with the great, big trend factor. He doesn't taste the wares or choose the winners, but Willman keeps the mood whipped- frosting fun and breaks bad news to losers as sweetly as he can. Still, if he had his druthers, he might just make 'em disappear. "I've been doing magic since I was 12 and touring since I was in college," he says. "For the past eight years I've been on the road doing 200- plus shows a year. It's really my passion and what I love." So how did the former Campus Activities Magazine Entertainer of the Year become Food's king of the cupcake competition? Credit friend and former employer Rachael Ray, who brought Willman aboard her eponymous, food-centric daily as a comic sidekick. "When the cupcake show came around, I auditioned as host, but if you're going to be on the Food Network, you have to have some sort of food credibility," he says. "Thank God for Rachael Ray! She was my in." His sense of humor now serves Willman well •What are you reading now? "I just started the new Steve Jobs biography." •What did you have for dinner last night? "I baked my own pizza! I went to Trader Joe's and they sell this wheat dough, where you can just buy the dough. I made my own little pizza and it was delicious." •What is your next project? "I have a couple of magic TV series hopefully coming up soon. So people will finally get to know me on television as a magician first and not just a host." •When was the last vacation you took – where and why? "In September, I went to (the art event) Burning Man. It plucks you out of everything you're comfortable with and lets you redefine yourself in this new place. Profound." SOLUTION E U M A M R P A D J O R E L E E D S O R A T E S L Y R I C N A N C Y S Ellen Pompeo N E O I M A M Y S E T Solution C T S on "Wars," where the contestants and co-stars frequently tickle his – and the audience's – funny bone. "It's no fun watching a baker who's just quiet and doing their thing," he says. "You want someone who's talking trash and being vocal. That's what makes good television." As does famed pastry chef Florian Bellanger, the series judge whose French accent is as thick as butter cream. "He has such a sense of humor about it," Willman says. "He'll use what we call 'Florianisms' and you'll be like, 'What the heck?!' It's so funny watching the competitors concentrating so hard and not being able to tell whether he is complimenting them or not. Finally he'll just say, 'I like it.' And you see the relief." Willman has no plans to make himself disappear from the network family when the cupcake craze dies down; he'll just learn a new trick. "I keep hearing that pies are going to be the next big thing," he says, laughing, "so I need to be on the front lines of 'Pie Wars'? Any lovely, cute food can be turned into war and it works!" WEB LINKS T A N D N GI O L P O AN O D R AO D S I P Y E A T C A NA I S OT D E NA T E ER H L KU E T ET client fill "Brian Boitano Skating Spec- tacular" airs Sunday on NBC. Click on http://www.dis- sonskating.com/our-shows/ musselman's-apple-sauce- presents-brian-boitano-skat- ing-spectacular/ The science-fiction series "Terra Nova" concludes its first season Monday on Fox. Get caught up on the epi- sodes and storylines so far at www.fox.com/terranova/ Based on a hit Israeli format, the game show "Who's Still Standing" premieres Mon- day on NBC. Get ready to answer questions or drop by clicking on www.nbc.com/ whos-still-standing/ The special "VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul" premieres Monday on VH1. Get to know the divas at www.vh1. com/music/tuner/2011-11- 17/vh1-divas-jennifer-hud- son/ On Saturday night, Christ- mas Eve, ABC airs the original animated version of "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Learn more at www.seussville. com/grinch/ NBC airs "It's a Wonderful Life" on Christmas Eve. If you're too busy, here it is in 30 seconds, with bunnies ... www.angryalien.com/1204/ wonderful_lifebuns.asp DECEMBER 18 - 24, 2011 – BRAINERD, MN/DISPATCH – 11 IN FOCUS "Lidia Celebrates America: Holiday Tables & Traditions," www.pbs.org/food/shows/lidia- celebrates-america/ Airing Tuesday on PBS (check local listings), the special fea- tures celebrity chef and culinary author Lidia Bastianich as she views America's holiday tradi- tions from the points of view of immigrant groups, including an Italian Christmas Eve, a Mexican-American Christmas Day, a Chinese New Year and a Passover Seder. The home page offers a preview of the special, including details on the holiday menus, traditions and recipes. "A Game of Honor," sports. sho.com/football/specials/ army-navy/a-game-of-honor Airing Wednesday on Show- time, the feature-length docu- mentary captures an inside look at the Division I football pro- grams at the U.S. Military Acad- emy at West Point, N.Y., and the U.S. Naval Academy at An- napolis, Md., culminating in the Cadets and Mishipmen meeting in the historic Army-Navy football game. The home page offers background on the documentary and links to a CBSSports.com online series. "Watch 101 Classic Christ- mas Videos Online,"www. fanpop.com/spots/christmas/ articles/64/title/watch-101-clas- sic-christmas-videos-online The site, originally posted in 2008, offers a fairly compre- hensive list of holiday-themed videos available for online view- ing. They're grouped under "The Essentials," "Cartoons," "Stop- Motion Animation (Claymation)," "Versions of 'A Christmas Carol,' " "Sitcoms," "Music Videos," "Miscellaneous Specials & Docu- mentaries," "The Commercials," "The Parodies, Sketches & Spoofs" and "The Abominations" (including the "Star Wars Holiday Special" and "Santa Claus Con- quers the Martians").

• Cover