Question: In the last AA, you said something may finally happen between Ray and Neela on ER around Feb. 8. Will it be something minor or major?Answer: It certainly will feel pretty major to Ray and Neela. And like most everything, it starts with an innocent cup of coffee.
Question: Happy holiday hangover! Care to start off my new year with some new spoilers from Smallville?Answer: Forget "Justice League." Heck, forget "Crimson." The Smallville episode everyone will be talking about is "Labyrinth" (aka Season 6, Episode 12). Sandwiched between "J.L." and "Crimson," the hourlong twistapalooza will answer the question, "What if Clark's super-abilities were nothing more than a figment of his imagination?" The mind-bending episode will also feature the death of a Smallville heroine (hint: I get more questions about this individual than anyone else on the show), and the long-awaited arrival/return of a DC Comics icon. Hey, you know what I've got a hankering for? An Oreo cookie!
Question: Could you please tell me what happened to Miss Holly on Judge Joe Brown?Answer: OMG, Miss Holly left? Please tell me you're joking!
Question: Did any network ever pick up Everwood?Answer: This just in: The MIA network has renewed the show through 2034!
Question: Happy new year, Michael!Answer: Happy '07 right back atcha, Shannon! I'm feeling extra spoilery this year, so beware!
Question: Will Peter MacNicol be coming back to Numbers when his character lands?Answer: Sounds like a question for Numbers exec producer (and AAddict) Cheryl Heuton. "We don't know for sure when we'll have Peter back, but we're hoping he'll return around Episode 20 — yes, just in time for May sweeps. Nothing's set in stone, but we are hoping, and he seems willing. We'd love to do a wild comeback episode for Peter's character. We've already got ideas. Peter's a fabulous actor and tons o' fun to work with. And come on, he can't last on 24 forever. That show kills off everybody not named Sutherland." True that, Ms. Heuton, true that.
Question: OK, spill absolutely everything you know about The O.C. potentially moving to the CW!Answer: I'm told it's nothing that's currently being discussed — despite what a certain poll on the CW's website would have you believe.
Question: Do you have any info on the status of Lex and Lana's relationship? Are they gonna get married or not?Answer: There will be a wedding ceremony later this season, but that doesn't necessarily mean anyone's getting married.
Question: USC! Wooo-hooo! What a way to start off 2007! Answer: Fight on! Based on the thumpin' we gave Michigan, I think the winner of next Monday's "national championship" game should have to play USC. Otherwise, we'll never know who the real No. 1 is. Let's start a petition!
Question: What is this I've been hearing about another Heroes death? Wouldn't you like to give me a belated Christmas present and tell me who this person might be?Answer: I didn't think we were exchanging this year, Chris. Here ya go anyway: The person might be Niki, Isaac, Simone, Micah, Zach, Heidi, Sylar, Matt, Hiro, Claire, Nathan, Mohinder, D.L., Peter or H.R.G. Merry belated Christmas!
Question: Dude, we have less than two weeks before the new season of 24. Give me something good or I will tell Jack Bauer that Papa Smurf is a terrorist leader — and we all know what'll happen then.Answer: I'm calling for a moratorium on gratuitous Smurf threats in Ask Ausiello starting right now. I'm all for overdoing a joke until it's within an inch of its life (see also: MIA Network), but c'mon, this one stopped being funny and started being downright cruel and unusual about 10 columns ago. Leave my little blue buddies alone and start picking on a group that actually deserves to be terrorized. Like, say, those annoying wannabe Smurfs, the Snorks.
Question: Is the death you were referring to on Gilmore Girls going to be Kirk?Answer: No.
Question: So Jessalyn Gilsig's power on Heroes will spectacularly burn out at a young age due to alcohol and drug abuse resulting from the pressure of being a child star (Ask Ausiello 12/20)?Answer: LOL! You're on fire today, Neil! Hey, speaking of Claire's mysterious family tree, one of my Heroes moles tells me that an upcoming episode will feature a flashback to 14 years ago when Claire was first adopted, and will reveal how she came into H.R.G.'s care.
Question: Thank you for all the great scoop in '06. Hope you had a wonderful holiday season, and I hope that '07 brings you Snapple and rare Smurfs.Answer: Is that a subtle hint for me to stay close to my mailbox in the coming days?
Question: How come you never talk about Medium?Answer: Couple reasons: first off, I don't watch it. And secondly, in the words of one set-side source, the show is a "complete cluster-frak." Apparently, script pages sometimes aren't finalized until hours before it's time to shoot them. As a result, no one knows in advance what is happening in any given scene, and, according to this source, it's straining both the show's budget and morale. Sounds like fun, eh?
You didn't think I'd let the final seconds of 2006 tick away without posting my top-10 list, did ya!? You guys continue to underestimate me, and, well, it's starting to hurt a little. 1. The Shield: TV's most arresting hour hit a new creative peak this year, due in no small part to Forest Whitaker's mesmerizing turn as Mackey's latest foe, Kavanaugh. The Shield was also responsible for this season's most delightfully perverse line of dialogue, a five-syllable grenade lobbed at Kavanaugh by his cuckoo ex mere moments after she'd shagged Mackey: "He made me c--. Twice." Funny, I had a similar reaction upon hearing those words. 2. Battlestar Galactica: On any other show, a sudden, one-year jump would reek of desperation. But on Battlestar, it was yet another bold move for a show that continues to reinvent the sci-fi genre. Those still not on board should just go frak themselves. 3. Friday Night Lights: Don't let the show's "football as a metaphor for life" conceit scare you off. I mean...
Not to put Santa on the spot or anything, but the red-suited jolly dude was a major disappointment last year. Of the 10 items on my 2005 wish list, the only one he delivered was "increased power and fame" – and that's probably because I listed it twice. In St. Nick's defense, he has, like, 1 billion customers to service every year; it's inevitable that someone's going to be disappointed come Christmas morning. But I'll be damned if that "someone" is gonna be me again. So this year I'm taking the extra step of posting my list on my TVGuide.com blog in the hopes that St. Nikolas will surely be trolling for scoop before leaving the North Pole tonight. And let me just add that I've been a really good boy this year. * A USC victory in the Rose Bowl.* A second season for Friday Night Lights.* Keri Russell's digits.* A ratings surge for Battlestar Galactica in its new Sunday time-slot.* An Emmy nomination for my upcoming guest stint on Scrubs (although I'd settle for not getting cut f...
Question: In your Nov. 1 column, you said that Crossing Jordan was casting a character described as a sexy, funny and slightly cocky cop. Care to give us an update?Answer: I hear an offer has been made to (major-ass prattle alert!) Lord of the Rings' Viggo Mortensen.
Question: I hear you're the man to go to if you want scoop on your favorite TV shows, so please give me something on Criminal Minds. Answer: I am indeed that man. Minds has signed David Carradine and Amy Madigan to guest-star in a February-sweeps episode. "David is playing the most prolific serial killer ever, and Amy is his love interest," says exec producer Ed Bernero. "[Her character] is the reason we get involved in the case." While I had Bernero on the phone, I asked him why Minds has thus far resisted the temptation to throw its characters in bed together. "I was a cop in Chicago, and you have interests outside of the job. These are the people they work with; they're not necessarily going to screw them all. They have [other lives]. I just don’t see it happening. We have some flirtations. We have a flirtation between Shemar's character and t
Question: Please give me some scoop on CSI!Answer: William Petersen's month-long sabbatical kicks in on Jan. 4, and exec producer Carol Mendelsohn told my colleague Craig Tomashoff that his absence will cause tension between Gil and Sara, which will become clear in a future episode when Grissom tries to make things right by "sending Sara something." Another plant, perhaps? Pick up the new TV Guide (our first double issue!) for more on Petersen's exit.
Question: Any update on the rumors that Matthew Fox is leaving Lost? Answer: Yes, this just in: They're still not true!
Question: I'm sick of this Veronica Mars/Gilmore Girls BS. Don't you ever get bored with the same crap every week? Would it kill you to give us some scoop on some real shows, like SVU or Without a Trace?Answer: Sounds like someone's channeling the Grinch this holiday season. Maybe some SVU casting news will cheer you up: Adam Beach (Flags of Our Fathers) will partner with Ice-T on a rape investigation in a February episode, and Kal Penn will play one of the suspects.