• Two potential best actor Oscar nominees — Frank Langella ("Frost/Nixon") and Will Smith ("Seven Pounds") — as well as improbable best song Oscar nominee Miley Cyrus, possible Razzie acting nominee Tom Cruise ("Valkyrie") and Emmy darling Tina Fey ("30 Rock") are among those who fascinated Barbara Walters enough to make her top 10 list. Rounding out the roster are Olympic champ Michael Phelps, VP also-ran Gov. Sarah Palin, talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh, and man-turned-mother Thomas Beatie. And the No. 1 pick to be revealed on tonight's ABC special — almost certainly President-elect Barack Obama.

• Envelope colleague Pete Hammond offers a fascinating look at the decision-making process behind category placement for actors at the Oscars. He focuses on the debate about whether Kate Winslet should go lead or supporting for "The Reader" as well as the reasoning underlying Philip Seymour Hoffman being put forward as a supporting player for his leading role in "Doubt." Notes on a Season

• Allison Waldman of TV Squad reports on the newest inductees into the TV academy's Hall of Fame -- star Bea Arthur ("Maude," "The Golden Girls"), writer Larry Gelbart ("M*A*S*H*"), talker and game show pioneer Merv Griffin, creator Sherwood Schwartz ("Gilligan's Island," "The Brady Bunch") and ABC execs Daniel B. Burke and Thomas Murphy. The six honorees will be feted Dec. 8 in Beverly Hills. TV Squad

• Guy Lodge of In Contention provides insight into the Grammy nominees for best score. While TV shows can contend, all five nominees come from the movies, including two ruled ineligible for the Oscars — Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard ("The Dark Knight") and Johnny Greenwood ("There Will Be Blood") — as well as Thomas Newman for "WALL-E," Ramin Djawadi (surprise!) for "Iron Man" and John Williams (yawn) for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." In Contention

• Variety details the new NBC sked with one-time Emmy champ "The Office" slated for the post-Super Bowl slot with a one-hour special (rather than splitting the time with the upcoming spin-off) and one of the all-time Emmy champs "ER" signing off after 15 seasons March 12. "Medium" starring Emmy winner Patricia Arquette is slated to return Feb. 2, while "Celebrity Apprentice" hits the airwaves March 1.

• New York Vulture feeds on the news that a legit tuner version of "The Flintstones" is in development. This one-time Emmy-nominated TV show from the 1960s has already spawned a hit 1994 movie and a miss 2000 sequel. Speculating on the casting, "we hear the movie version of Betty Rubble, Rosie O'Donnell, is newly available. But let's focus on the important stuff, shall we? Please, lordy, let them cast Suri Cruise as Pebbles." New York Vulture

Photos: Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros.