Ask Ausiello

Ausiello: It's going to take a lot more than some measly writers' strike to put AA out of business. It's going to take a writers' strike and a directors' strike.

Ausiello: I busted my ass pulling this thing together in time for Ask Ausiello. Remember this the next time you guys call me a lazy tool.

Ausiello: Why do I suddenly feel as if I'm talking to myself, Mike? Why do I also suddenly feel like I'm not going to like what I have to say? At least I know the answer to that second part — it's because I don't like what I have to say. If the strike extends into the new year and beyond, there is a chance ABC may opt to delay the new season until the fall. Or worse yet, February 2009. Another scenario has the network simply airing the eight episodes already in the can this February as originally planned — something Team Darlton would not be in favor of. Says Lost cocreator Carlton Cuse, "Damon [Lindelof] and my concern about running the [eight] episodes we will have made is that it will feel a little like reading half a Harry Potter novel, then having to put it down. There is a mini-cliff-hanger at the end of Episode 8, but it's like the end of an exciting book chapter; it's not the end of the novel. Damon and I didn't write [the ending of Episode 8] differently [with the looming strike in mind]. We wrote it to be the ending of Episode 8." In any case, he concedes that the decision to hold or air the episodes isn't ultimately theirs. "It's really [ABC honcho Steve MacPherson's] call," Cuse notes, adding, "No one was happy with the six-episode run last season."

Ausiello: You can ask, for starters. Have I ever let you down? Whenever the current eight episodes air, keep an eye out toward the end of the run for Zoe Bell, whom Carlton Cuse calls "the stuntwoman extraordinaire, from the Tarantino flicks [Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Grindhouse]. She definitely will make a splash."

Ausiello: I knew they'd cave!

Ausiello: Actually, it makes me want to double my Prozac dosage. But giving you Heroes scoop comes in a very close second — and the scoop I'm about to give you is good. I'm hearing from multiple very reliable sources that when (and if) Heroes kicks off the second half of its season, it'll look very different from what was initially planned. Let's just say the complaints from fans and critics about the overabundance of new characters and weak overarching story have not fallen on deaf ears, and that changes are being made to return the show to its winning Season 1 formula. In related news, this would be even more exciting if there wasn't a friggin' strike going on!

Ausiello: Did you see my little item about the strike-induced alternate ending the show is preparing for next month's "Generations" capper? Then it's scoop to you!

Ausiello: Sorry, but I thought it was a little tacky to grill her for scoop while she was taking part in a national protest. Besides, I was too busy trying to coax those elusive final four words out of her. Speaking of my visit to the front lines yesterday, I witnessed something really disturbing, and I feel it's my duty to pass the information on to you in the form of a very obvious blind item: Which entertainment-news-show talking head used the work stoppage as an opportunity to, um, strike while the iron's slutty? Said host — who knows a thing or two about embarrassing sex scandals — was seen not-so-discreetly pocketing a phone number from some skanky star-frakker who had been stalking him for the better part of an hour. Guesses? Post 'em in the Ask Ausiello Discussion Thread.

Ausiello: I couldn't agree with you more. And I haven't even told you yet what Joss told me about Eliza's leading man. Yep, a male character will be involved with her Echo alter ego, but, Whedon noted, "not in a buddy way. Their relationship will take some time to come together and will be constantly evolving." If you're thinking Buffy and Angel, Part Deux, think again. "Echo is not capable of having a true love," he insists, since she becomes someone new, body and soul, every week. On the other hand, he contradicts, because of that, in a way, "She'll have a true love every week. It's part of her plight that when she feels something strongly, it gets taken away from her. And the person she's closest to in the show, her relationship with him will not in any way be simple. Nobody in this piece comes away clean." Man, I'm confused already — and I love it!

Ausiello: Yes, a girl can dream. Hopefully, a girl can also push play on our video player, 'cause the latest episode of the Ausiello Report vodcast contains an answer to a question I know has been on the minds of Whedonverse disciples since last Wednesday: Might a Buffy alum, like, say, oh, James Marsters, be in contention to play Dollhouse's male lead? What are you waiting for — push play!

Ausiello: Lots more questions like this next one….

Ausiello: Nope, I got my usual: mixed vegetables with ginger mushroom sauce and a side of brown rice. Yum-Yum indeed!

Ausiello: Scottish actor Derek Riddell, aka Lili Taylor's leading man on Lifetime's State of Mind. He'll first turn up at Wilhelmina and Bradford's wedding this Thursday. BTW, random stunt-casting alert: Bud Cort (Harold & Maude) is playing the priest officiating the ceremony. 

Ausiello: Josh Schwartz informs me that Chuck will be able to complete its initial 13-episode order. Ditto his other baby, Gossip Girl. 

Ausiello: At the show's 300th episode bash this past weekend, exec producer David Zabel weighed in on that very subject. "We certainly might see Ray again," Zabel said. "It's a definite possibility and it's something we've talked about. We have ideas for the next part of [his] story…. Shane's a great guy who loved being here, and I think that if we came up with a good enough story to bring him back, he'd be happy to come back."

Ausiello: We should be so lucky. Unfortunately, Julie survives the twister. Here are the final two hints you're getting about the doomed duo: Both are recurring, and one has man parts and the other doesn't.

Ausiello: It means that one of the people dying has requested his/her ashes be scattered at a baseball field. OK, now that's the last clue. I mean it.

Ausiello: According to a high-ranking source in the Navy, it is true that, for the foreseeable future, Hollis Mann will be MIA on NCIS. But that's not to say she won't return at some point.

Ausiello: Molly's arrival has been delayed a bit, and for once the strike is not to blame. Well, not entirely. Producers are apparently having a tough time finding the right actress for the part.

Ausiello: Not according to Rob, who insists it's "completely untrue."

Ausiello: Papa Mars is coming!

Ausiello: First off, I'm sorry to hear that you and your dad are dying. That kinda puts this whole strike thing into perspective. As far as Reaper scoop goes, I hear Jamie Kennedy has closed a deal to guest-star as a street performer named Ryan who Ray "The Devil" Wise is tempting with a record deal.

Ausiello: I don't know if I'd go that far. In fact, I know I wouldn't go that far. While PP is definitely improving, it's still not must-see TV for me. For one thing, the characters need to stop behaving like they're on The Hills. That whole beachfront make-out scene last week between Kate Walsh and Tim Daly was so L.C.-and-Brody it wasn't even funny. Still, the show is better today than it was a month ago, and costar Paul Adelstein — PP's one consistent bright spot — credits creator Shonda Rhimes' prowess as a master tweaker.

"Shonda is a great adjuster," he told me by phone last week. "I mean, if you go back and look at the first few episodes of Grey's and then towards the end or middle of their first season, you see that she figures out how to gel a cast and tell a story. What she does is very ambitious, in terms of a mix in tones, and it takes a while to get that alchemy right. I definitely feel like we’re hitting our stride." On the romance front, he says Cooper and Violet will soon address the attraction-repulsion thing they've got going on. "They make some decisions about how they think it should proceed, and then they try to act like [adults], and then, you know, hilarity ensues."

Ausiello: Naturally, while I had Paul Adelstein on the horn, I asked him for his thoughts on Sara's controversial head removal. "I actually knew the head in the box was coming, and it was very upsetting," he admitted. "I still found it shocking, even though I knew it was coming…. It was upsetting as a fan of the show to see the character go that way."

Ausiello: His first episode is slated to air on Nov. 25.

Ausiello: Remember me telling you about Kiele Sanchez's upcoming arc as a love interest to Barry Watson's Todd? Well, we'll learn that she has a surprising connection to Sam, and it involves the words "*e**ra****g" and "*r**r." 

Ausiello: Yes, and they're all contained in this week's Ausiello Report vodcast!

Ausiello: I actually just screened the episode, but CBS personally pleaded with me via a standard form letter to refrain from revealing the "how" and "why" of Sara's departure. All that leaves me to scoop is the "where" (it's a vehicle of some sort), the "when" (it's at night) and the "who" (the episode's final frame is a close-up of someone other than Sara). 

Ausiello: Uh-huh. Assuming the strike doesn't go on forever, J.J. Abrams' peeps will be putting in calls to a few key actors for his upcoming Fox spookfest The Fringe, and I just happen to know their names. Ready? Here goes: Bill Camp (once God on Joan of Arcadia), Tracy Middendorf (who's appeared on everything from Murder, She Wrote to Lost but will always be the "other" Carrie Brady to me), former Mrs. James Bond Diana Rigg, and Charlotte Rampling, whose credits are largely in French, meaning she's probably like that country's Helen Mirren.

That's a wrap! A hearty thanks to everyone who e-mailed me questions for this weekend's Scrubs panel (moderated by me!). Thanks to you guys, I'm going to come off a lot smarter than I actually am. Now let's bring on the housekeeping notes: Discussion Thread. Vodcast. Special Strike Video. Tip line. See ya' back here next week for the latest on the end of the strike! (Hey, a boy can dream, too.) — Additional reporting by Carita Rizzo and Ben Katner