With a two-hour buildup to a 30-second announcement, we knew there’d be lots of filler in the “Dancing With the Stars” finale. One person’s filler is another person’s entertainment, of course, but I didn’t feel the need to see Kim Kardashian or Rocco DiSpirito dance again (ever), so I recorded and fast-forwarded. One bit that made me pause was Jeffrey Ross’ mini-roast of the contestants; he was in his element, especially when he referred to  Corky Ballas dragging Cloris Leachman around the dance floor “like ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ the musical,” and saying her score should have been 911.

After the three finalists danced one more time, it was heart-tugging to see Brooke Burke break away to kiss her daughters in the audience, and to see her fiance, David Charvet, get teary when the judges praised her. (I would never have recognized Charvet as that spiky-haired blond guy on “Baywatch.”) Then, a surprise, at least for me: the fact that Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer finished third. I had them pegged for second, but I guess Warren Sapp’s pure joy when he danced carried him higher. For a minute, you had to wonder whether his likability  — and impossible lightness on his feet — would carry him all the way to a win. If so, I could have boasted that I called it early on.

But no. As was her destiny, Brooke took home the ugly mirror-ball trophy. The next season starts in March, minus Julianna Hough, who’ll be devoting herself to her country music career.

Very best part of the show? The trailer for the new season of “Lost,” which returns Jan. 21!