Today at Flavorpill, we found out what American Idol’s William Hung has been up to. We watched the MS Paint version of the “Party Rock Anthem.” We noted how quickly hacktivist collective Anonymous responded to the Megaupload shutdown. We coveted these lamps made from recycled books. We said goodbye to champion freestyle skier Sarah Burke. We learned 11 new things about Winnie the Pooh. We took a survey asking how we buy our comics. We swam with the fishes and this beautiful sea photography. We were happy to hear that the woman who was struck by lightning while pregnant delivered a healthy baby girl. We wanted to sip this Rosemary smoothie. We got a kick out of Twitter’s response to @grammer_man. And finally, we loved learning that Helen Mirren’s name is included in the Guinness World Records 2012 Gamer’s Edition.

As we may have mentioned a time or twelve, we’re less than pleased that we had to go an entire summer without a new season of Mad Men. While we’re waiting for its postponed winter season premiere, however, the fine folks at NBC and ABC have been kind enough to offer up some alternatives — and hey, look at that, they just so happen to each have a show set in the early ‘60s, all full of vintage styles and attitudes! ABC’s Pan Am (starring Christina Ricci) focuses on a group of stewardesses and pilots working for the titular airline; executive producer/director Thomas Schlamme (who, in all fairness, has done a lot of good television) says — insists — “It’s not the time period it takes place in, it’s not the characters. It has nothing to do with Mad Men.” Uh huh. NBC, meanwhile, is offering up The Playboy Club (“Basically, it’s Mad Men with boobs,” said Joel McHale at a press event), focusing on the staff at the famed nightclub — where, huh, Mad Men’s Lane Price had a membership and a girlfriend last season. What a coincidence!

Television is a business, of course, so it would stand to reason that networks would want to hedge their bets by giving viewers more of a good thing they like. More often than not, however, TV’s copycats fail — because viewers see right through the ruse, and because the reason they liked the trendsetters was that they were new and unique, unlike the other stuff on the tube. After the jump, we’ll take a look at some of the most blatant Xeroxes in TV history.

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[Editor's note: Welcome to our new weekly feature The Fug Report! Each week our fashion blogger friends Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, the sartorial geniuses behind Go Fug Yourself, will feature some of their favorite looks of the week in this space. There will be some good outfits; there will be some bad outfits; there will be some fugly outfits -- actually, we've got our fingers-crossed that there will be lots and lots of latter. We hope you enjoy it!]

This week on Go Fug Yourself, we celebrated the publication of our first young adult novel, Spoiled. When we weren’t patting ourselves on the back, we were saying goodbye to American Idol, and by “American Idol,” we mean, “J. Lo on American Idol.” And when we weren’t making fun of La Lopez’s nude catsuit, we were taking any opportunity to talk about the movie Orphan, this time courtesy of Vera Farmiga (whom we love) and her jumpsuit (which we don’t).

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There are two types of people in the world: those who actually enjoy American Idol and those who only tune in to the finale to see famous musicians play their hits amid elaborate stage set-ups, awards show-style. We won’t judge you for belonging to the former category, but we fall firmly into the latter. Thankfully for us, last night’s celebrity line-up was major: Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Bono and the Edge, Steven Tyler, and Marc Anthony and J.Lo all serenaded the crowd. (Several notables teamed up with Idol contestants, too, from TLC to Judas Priest.) So, how did the night’s non-contestants fare? We rate their performances we actually care about from best to worst after the jump.

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1. Last night, after a whopping 122 million votes had been tallied (a new record for American Idol), 17-year-old country singer Scotty McCreery, who quite frankly reminds us of Howdy Doody, was named the winner of season 10. [via People]

2. According to TMZ, British import Cheryl Cole has been replaced as a judge on X-Factor by Nicole Scherzinger, formerly of the Pussycat Dolls. The Daily Mail claims that it’s because of Cole’s lack of chemistry with Paula Abdul and producers’ fears that Americans wouldn’t be able to understand her accent.

3. In the latest installment of Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifiankis, guest Will Ferrell feeds his host cherries, Jon Hamm makes a cameo, and there’s an unfortunate incident involving a monkey’s genitals. Sound good to you? Watch it here.

4. The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum has just announced the winners of the 2011 National Design Awards. View the full list here.

5. Bill Nighy has joined Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Bryan Cranston, and Jessica Biel in the cast of Len Wiseman’s Total Recall reboot, which drops the Martian storyline from the 1990 original. He’ll be playing Quatto (“Kuato” in the Arnold Schwarzenegger version), “the enigmatic and charming” leader of the resistance. [via TotalFilm]

Bonus link: Where in the World Are Exiled Leaders?

Today at Flavorpill, we were surprised to discover that Napoleon’s brother Joseph spent part of his life in New Jersey. We liked Moviefone’s list of five sequels that are pretty much the same as the originals, which was inspired by The Hangover Part II. We were shocked by the total cost of all of Oprah’s favorite things: $23.8 million. We streamed the new Mark Ronson-produced Black Lips LP. We read an excerpt from Mindy Kaling’s forthcoming book of essays, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me. We realized how much Barack Obama’s signature resembles “a cartoon baby Tyrannosaurus playing with a ball of yarn.” We were terrified by these GIFs of American Idol finalist Scott McCreery. We were impressed by this Chewbacca bento box. We enjoyed reading Herman Melville’s description of himself in this passport application. We came across a totally adorable photo of Jason Sudeikis as a little kid. And finally, we wondered if Guy Fieri realizes that Melissa McCarthy based her Bridesmaids character on him. Looking back at her performance now, we totally see it.

Now that the 2010-2011 TV season is wrapping up, the ratings are in. Entertainment Weekly has posted the full list of how major networks’ prime-time series fared in the 18-49 demographic, and those numbers provide tremendous insight. Because there was a tie for tenth place, 11 shows made the top ten, and only three of them were narrative series: Modern Family (hooray!), Big Bang Theory (really?), and Grey’s Anatomy (sure, why not?). Americans continue to love performing arts competition shows — American Idol took both the #1 and #3 slots, while The Voice was the highest-rated new series at #4, and Dancing with the Stars slid in at #6. Football, meanwhile, claimed three spots in the top ten, with Survivor rounding out the list.

Besides Modern Family and Glee (#13), most Flavorpill favorites didn’t fare quite so well. Parks and Recreation and 30 Rock, for example, don’t even crack the top 50, while the final season of Friday Night Lights is very close to the end of the list. Check out the top ten after the jump, and please be kind enough to console us in the comments.

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1. We’re not sure what to think about the fact that Lenny Kravitz has been cast as Cinna, Katniss Everdeen’s subversive stylist, in the forthcoming film adaption of The Hunger Games. Says director Gary Ross: “When I saw Lenny’s work in Precious I was just knocked out. It was quiet and strong and understated and open hearted; all qualities which define this character. I’m really looking forward to this ride.” [via THR]

2. Bono and the Edge are set to perform songs from Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark on tonight’s American Idol season finale alongside cast members of the Broadway musical. What we’re wondering: Do you think there’s any overlap between the kind of people who like U2 and the ones who care whether Scotty McCreery or Lauren Alaina wins? [via Billboard]

3. In case you missed the awkward flirting last night, find the best parts from Lady Gaga’s first ever interview with David Letterman here.

4. The History Channel has given the go ahead to The Bible, a “10-hour, CGI-heavy miniseries” from Survivor producer Mark Burnett, making it his first scripted TV project. Considering what the network did to The Kennedys, we’re betting that poor Charlton Heston is turning over in his grave. [via USA Today]

5. The dangers of Middle Earth: Two people have been hospitalized after an accident on the set of Peter Jackson’s much beleaguered two-film adaptation of The Hobbit. According to a publicist for the movie, it occurred in a production workshop when “a couple of the guys” were drilling on a statue, and they sustained “mild burns but nothing serious.” [via ArtsBeat]

Bonus link: Ten Commencement Speakers You Wish You’d Had

We’re always been fascinated (and often disturbed) by the relationship between entertainment and advertising, so it was with great interest that we read AdAge’s new Entertainment A-List. The picks for 2011 ranged from obvious all-star entertainment brands — Glee, The King’s Speech — to darker horses, like the company that signed Whoopi Goldberg up to be the spokeswoman for “light bladder leakage.” Check out AdAge’s top ten most influential brands in the biz after the jump, read about them in-depth on the magazine’s website, and tell us whether you agree in the comments.

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1. Thanks to raking in $90 million from her Monster Ball tour and an unparalleled social media presence, Lady Gaga has stolen Oprah’s number one spot on this year’s Forbes Celebrity 100 list. Rounding out the top five are Justin Bieber, U2, and Elton John. [via MTV]

2. So, according to The Huffington Post, Lars Von Trier’s not-hilarious-to-anyone-else Hitler comments actually got him kicked out of the Cannes Film Festival — although, it’s unclear if the ban is permanent. From the official statement: “The board of directors profoundly regrets that this forum has been used by Lars von Trier to express comments that are unacceptable, intolerable, and contrary to the ideals of humanity and generosity that preside over the very existence of the festival. The Board of Directors firmly condemns these comments and declares Lars von Trier a persona non grata at the Festival de Cannes, with effect immediately.”

3. According to The Hollywood Reporter, British comedienne Catherine Tate is producers’ first choice to replace Steve Carell on The Office. If you’re unfamiliar with her work on Doctor Who, you’ll get a chance to check her out in tonight’s season finale.

4. Last night Beyoncé debuted the post-apocalyptic video for “Run the World (Girls)” on American Idol; this morning, we get the kind of naked cover of her new album, 4, which is due out on June 28th. [via Vulture]

5. In case you were curious, Gawker has put together a possibly NSFW encyclopedia of every other awful thing Arnold Schwarzenegger has done.

Bonus link: 21 Pop Cultural Signs Of The Apocalypse