As New Year's Eve approaches, there are plenty of TV choices. You can find them by hitting the "TV Column" spot above and reading Friday's column.

I sent papers several stories on ABC's Eve, but I also sent one on an unlikely pairing on Fox: On this wild and crazy night, in the uncensored town of Las Vegas, one of the stars is sweet David Archleta. Here's the story:

By MIKE HUGHES

So welcome to Las Vegas, the sin city
(revised). It's a place for big bets, big breasts and buffets.

In theory, the "save" feature lets "American Idol" judges save one contestant from dismissal. Last season, that was Matt Giraud; tonight, it was Michael Lynche.

But it's more than that: Tonight, "Idol" really saved itself.

This edition only started with five really distinctive singers --and one of them (Lilly Scott) inexplicably failed to make the top 12. That left it with two great talents (Lynche and Crystal Bowersox), two very good ones (Siobhan Magnus and Casey James) and a lot of OK ones.