A Kentucky waitress is one step closer to becoming America's Next Top Model. Laura Kirkpatrick, 19, of Stanford became one of two finalists on The CW's hit reality competition in the episode that aired Wednesday night. During the show, Kirkpatrick won a modeling challenge with an enthusiastic hip-hop dance and cried when her name was called to compete in the finals next week.

The 1960s have been very, very good to AMC, whose Emmy-winning "Mad Men" transformed it from a cable channel known exclusively for classic — and sometimes not-so-classic — movies to a player in the realm of original series.

If I were the only TV viewer in the world, the Nielsen ratings would look a lot different. For instance, all those crowd-pleasing crime procedurals would disappear from the Top 20. Sorry, David Caruso, I'm just not that into them, so you can stop glaring and put your sunglasses back on.

HOLLYWOOD — You'd never know by watching the cast and crew of USA's whodunit, Monk, that its days are sadly numbered. After eight seasons the obsessive-compulsive detective, his ministering assistant and pals at the precinct are heading off into the sunset after Dec. 4.

Reason to watch: Don's big sit-down (or showdown) with Conrad Hilton (Chelcie Ross) and much else.

We're seven weeks into the television season and at the beginning of November sweeps. So it's as good a time as any to see how things are shaking out thus far. Here's a rundown of significant broadcast TV developments, including the fall's winners and losers:

BURBANK, Calif. — Actor Christian Slater's long and successful career makes it seem like he never missed out on anything. But there is one thing that passed him by, he says: life. When he was 27 he'd already worked 18 years. "My life about that time was working and stressing about working. That was pretty much what it was based on. I really didn't know there were other things to do. I had no concept or clue," says Slater in the commissary on the Warner Bros. lot.