NBC's "America's Got Talent": special Sunday episode!

We got a special Sunday episode of "America's Got Talent" - probably because it gets better ratings than just about anything else on TV right now. This appeared to have been cobbled together from various auditions across the country, as the judges' clothing changed throughout.

* Desmond (“ghost” friend/mystifier): Showed that he had a seemingly solid glass water pitcher, which he gave to Heidi Klum to hold inside a plexiglass box. Then, having the audience help “summon” his invisible friend, he waved his hands and the water pitcher shattered. Pretty good trick.

* Valo & Bobby (danger/strength/acrobatic act): OMG! That is one amazingly strong dude, who was able to hold this long (20 foot?) metal pole at an angle while his wife clutched two spinning rings at the end.

* (guy who balancing on rolling cans, while on a trapeze platform in the air): Crazy! Wonder how far he can go though, as this is the sort of thing that doesn’t seem to repeat well.

* Mara Justine (11 year old singer): Has a strong voice and a confident stage presence. I still don’t like kid acts, though.

* Juan Carlos (rollerskating dancer): I found this act strangely entertaining, and well coordinated with Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walking,” but I wouldn’t have put him through, as I think Howard Stern is right that we’ve seen all there is to this.

* Nina Burri (contortionist): Ouch, it just hurt to watch.

* Emil and Dariel (celloists): These kids played electric cellos as rock music in a fun and energetic way. But it was kind of creepy how their dad (off stage) looked kind of like Darth Vader with his helmet off at the end of “The Return of the Jedi.” I could see this act going farther.

* One Voice Children’s Choir: I guess they get a pass from the usual “Go on ‘American Idol’ or ‘The Voice’ ” criticism. They were fine, but I didn’t find them special or anything.

* Arlo Pelegrin (spider guy): I’d recommend watching season 4 of “Justified” to see what could go wrong with playing with venomous creatures. Or William Shatner’s “Kingdom of the Spiders”…. Propos to Heidi Klum for holding one, though.

* (plant lady): I’m not sure what this was supposed to have been; making the plants make sounds?

* (cactus guy): Watching a guy eat cactus turns out not to be very entertaining.

* Grennan (knife throwing kid): I won’t be showing this act to my little sons! Especially the part about how if he moves on, he’ll throw knives at his little sister. I do think the card throwing kid from a few auditions ago had more vivacious screen presence.

* Rock Hard Revue (dance troupe): I didn’t watch “The Full Monty.” Is this how those acts begin?

* Frank the Singer: He sounded a lot like Sinatra, and I agree with the judges that he’s probably going to go far, not unlike Susan Boyle’s run on the British version.