Sideshow: Change is gonna come to 'Idol'

It's looking like a television-heavy gossip day. So grab a potato (we really mean a potato, like chips, or a nice baked and stuffed one) and cozy up to the newspaper on your couch.

If your world already is feeling all shaky right about now, because of the economy's blahs and all the hoo-ha over Dancing With the Stars (we'll get to that later), don't expect to find a haven in American Idol - and not just because snarly-smiley Simon Cowell won't be sitting at the judges' table come January. The newbies who will be sitting there are oldies Steven Tyler, of the band Aerosmith, and Jennifer Lopez, of herself. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe told TVGuide.com that the two are trying to be the very bestest judges they can be (without having the benefit of cool robes, powdered wigs, and sitting up high). "They both listen intently, and don't make glib remarks. They give honest critiques," Lythgoe says. Contestants will face new challenges, such as a contest to make the best music video. And the competition will go straight from 24 down to 12 - no excruciatingly drawn-out rounds. No snarling Simon, no glib remarks. Why, where on the TV schedule can we go when we hunger for such rancor?

Over on ABC, World Roar I continues over Bristol Palin's making it to the finals of Dancing With the Stars this week, while Brandy and her pro partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who had just scored a perfect 30 from the judges, paso dobled on home. Says Maks: "I felt really disappointed with Bristol. On Monday night I found out she went on record saying that I said something about her along the lines of 'I don't like her because she's still here and she's not a good enough dancer.' " Not so, he replies, saying he has been oh-so supportive. (Though he's rooting for sweetie Disney star Kyle Massey.) US Magazine.com, meanwhile, has Bristol apologizing for her and little sis Willow Palin's saying "a homophobic slur online to attack a schoolmate who was making fun of their family." It says Bristol also wrote on her Facebook page that "Willow and I shouldn't have reacted to negative comments about our family. We apologize." She later added, "The haters are already pulling out all the stops this week to destroy."

Gleeks are still recovering from the overdose of magic that was this week's episode of Glee, when the wondrous Gwyneth Paltrow starred as a singing substitute teacher at McKinley High. Her performance moved Entertainment Weekly writer Tim Stack to describe it as "Ridic. Like soooo good. If Darren Criss," an actor who also has guested on Glee, "is my new faux boyfriend, Gwyneth Paltrow is my new faux girlfriend." OK, whatever. Devoted fans also can celebrate E! Online's report that guest star Harry Shum Jr. (as Mike Chang) will become a regular.

Oksana, Oksana, Oksana. Mel Gibson's ex-gal pal Oksana Grigorieva went on Larry King Live Wednesday and dished about her breakup with Mel and the custody battle over their 1-year-old daughter, Lucia. She told Larry King that Gibson assaulted her Jan. 6, while she was holding their baby, and said she feared Mel would come after her. Why did she audiotape the conversations that made Gibson look so, er, cranky? She wanted to help him, of course, and planned to play back his rages to convince him he needed help. How's that working out, Oksana?

From American Idol runner-up to prison inmate and accused murderer, that's some trip. But it's only in the world of make-believe.

Crystal Bowersox, who should have won Idol last season, made her professional acting debut Thursday in Providence, R.I., as a guest on the set of ABC's midseason series Body of Proof. The 25-year-old singer-songwriter isn't turning a page (her first commercial album comes out Dec. 14). She's opening a new book.

"This is my first professional acting gig, other than the music videos we did on American Idol," she says. "Body of Proof contacted me. They thought I'd be good for the role. Turns out, they think I can act as well. I'm happy for that."

- Jonathan Storm

Rachel Zoe, star of The Rachel Zoe Project, tweeted confirmation that she and hubby Rodger Berman are, indeed, expecting a little bundle of baby. . . . And, thankfully, the rumors are not true that filmmaker Robert Zemeckis is in talks to remake The Wizard of Oz. His rep told Entertainment Weekly that the reports "are absolutely false." Some things are best left alone.