Question: I'm surprised William Fichtner didn't just pull out a gun and tweener you during your video interview with him.Answer: I don't know what interview you're watching, but I think if you read between the lines and listen to some of the things that the guy's talking about, not everything he's doing is a decision he would make himself. (FYI: That joke only makes sense if you watched the video.)
Question: Scrubs? That's fraktabulous. Give us the details!Answer: Fraktabulous? Is that the best you could do? This is beyond a doubt of a shadow the most supercalifragilistic thing to happen to us me all year. Unfortunately, Bill Lawrence not only refused to cave on my demand for character approval, he wouldn't even tell me which members of Sacred Heart I'll be interacting with. But I have been assured that this guest spot will be different from my previous (and well-received) gigs on Felicity, Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars in one major way: I will have (wait for it… ) a line of dialogue! I probably just jinxed the whole thing by telling you in advance, but I don't care. It's not like you guys would throw it in my face if I ended up being Rotting Corpse No. 4. Right?
Question: What's the latest on Cynthia Watros returning to Lost to finish out her backstory?Answer: I asked Lindelof-Cuse that very question when I spoke to them for AA's 100th. Here's what Carlton had to say: "We would love to tell the rest of [Libby's] story, it’s [just] a question of whether we get to it. We’re now working on the early episodes for the second pod, and we want to get back to some of the characters we haven’t seen, and spend a little more time with them. We'd like to get to Cynthia's story, but I think we're going to try to tell the stories of our regular characters before we do that." Adds Damon: "Obviously, we have a couple more beats of Libby’s story to tell to fill in the missing pieces, and the way we would tell that story is in the flashbacks of another character. But that character can’t be a character that we already know and love, o
Question: You're guesting on Scrubs! I am so jealous. When do you shoot it?Answer: I'm still waiting for the final schedule, but it looks like I'll be on set this Friday. (As you read this, I'm probably 30,000 feet in the air watching Mary Hart introduce a classic episode of Yes, Dear on CBS' Eye on American. Oh, the joy!)
Question: I'm really upset Six Degrees was canceled. I actually liked that show. Well, that and Erika Christensen is hot. Is there a chance they'll bring it back?Answer: ABC insists it'll return in January, but I'll believe it when I see it. Meanwhile, there's buzz that Six is being retooled to focus on just two: Whitney (Bridget Moynahan) and Steven (Campbell Scott).
Question: Will Everwood's Rina Mimoun be writing for Gilmore Girls again, or was that just a one-time thing? Her "Cotillion" episode was fantastic.Answer: Let's ask Rina! "Sadly, I won't be writing anymore Gilmore episodes any time soon. My development is taking up most of my writing time these days. Possibly in the later half of the season I may try to do one more. Your column is still my fave!" Was it tacky of me to include that last sentence? I'm kinda on the fence.
Question: So, now that it has been revealed on Brothers & Sisters that Rebecca is actually part of the Walker clan, when might we see her pop up on the show?Answer: Rebecca will make her long-awaited debut during February sweeps — but whether she'll look anything like Emily VanCamp remains to be seen. Although the Everwood MVP remains my first choice, USA Today reports that Roxy Olin, the 21-year-old daughter of B&S executive producer Ken Olin and costar Patricia Wettig, is also vying for the plum part. Don't worry, though. I'm prepared to throw my weight around if I have to.
Question: I just watched Desperate Housewives, and please tell me that Protector Man is not a predator!Answer: All I'll say is that it's very possible Lynette jumped to the wrong conclusion about Art's suspicious shrine.
Question: I continue to be awed by the best new show on television: Brothers & Sisters. I didn't think I would ever anticipate something as much as I anticipate Grey's each week, but I was wrong. Got any prattle for us — particularly about Justin's army situation?Answer: Welcome aboard the increasingly crowded B&S bandwagon, Regan! Regarding Justin's military crisis, producers found a very interesting way to resolve this story while also setting the stage for a doozy of a cliff-hanger come May.
Question: I'm a little worried about you becoming overexposed. You're on TV, billboards, radio, magazines, blogs, etc. What's next?Answer: You mean you didn't hear? Scrubs!
Question: You mentioned last week that there will be no Noah Wyle arc on ER this season. Does that mean he's out of his contract to ever come back? I need closure either way.Answer: Here's the dealio: According to a source close to the show, producers believed next year would be ER's last, "So they thought it would be more valuable to [use] him in that season rather than the current one." And what if next season isn't the end? Hey, that's a good question. Let me look into that.
Question: Will you please name the show that Michael Vartan was close to joining?Answer: The show is covered in this week's column. And more than once.
Question: I heard that Rory gets mad at Lorelai about eloping.Answer: Actually, I hear Rory takes the news surprisingly well. Luke, on the other hand, finds out when he spots the ring on Lor's finger. That's gotta hurt.
Question: OK, I know you hate One Tree Hill, but we die-hard fans want to know! Please give us some spoilers! I'll be your best friend!Answer: Big doings in the Nov. 29 episode. In addition to a death, there's a very twisted act of fatherly love by Dan and a crisis for Lucas that will play out in the following Christmas episode. Oh, and [major-ass-prattle alert] Keith is coming back. For one episode. In December.
Question: Do you have any scoop on what (if anything) has happened with Julie White's character on Desperate Housewives? Does Marc Cherry still have plans for her, or did he decide to go in another direction?Answer: As I understand it, Ms. White heard what Cherry had planned for her character and chose to do a Broadway play instead. (In case you forgot, White played that mysterious woman that Bree saw Orson visiting in the mental hospital last May; she's been MIA ever since.) Having just seen the play that White ditched DH for — the showbiz satire The Little Dog Laughed — methinks she made the right decision. Although the play is just so-so, White is hilarious as a ruthless Hollywood agent who tries desperately to keep her No. 1 client from coming out of the closet. Variety put it best when they described her as a female Ari Gold
Question: I need some Desperate Housewives prattle — specifically about Mike.Answer: [Spoiler alert] Mr. Amnesia is headed to jail! BTW, if anyone has seen Mike's dog Bongo, please let him know ASAP. The poor guy's clearly heartbroken about his disappearance.
This just in: According to two well-placed sources, NBC has picked up Friday Night Lights for the entire season! Party at my place!
In case you didn't sign up for the Ausiello Scoop newsletter in time to receive last Wednesday's inaugural edition, here's the exclusive piece of prattle you missed out on: It was only a matter of time before the Others collided with The Others. Sources confirm that Irish actress Fionnula Flanagan — best known for her Oscar-worthy turn as Nicole Kidman's spooky housekeeper in The Others (and more recently for her role on Showtime's Brotherhood) — is in Hawaii shooting a guest stint on Lost. Will she literally cross paths with an Other, thus causing the universe to explode? Doesn't sound like it. Executive producer Carlton Cuse hints that she's playing "a person very important in Desmond's life." In related news, just 86 more days until Lost returns!
This just in! A source close to ABC tells me that What About Brian has been picked up for the entire season. And the news gets even better for Brian fans (of which, I must confess, I am not one): I hear Sarah Lancaster was back on the set last week shooting an episode. Not sure how permanent her return is or what brings Marjorie back to town. In other (and much more exciting) back-nine news, I have it on good authority that NBC is thisclose to giving our beloved Friday Night Lights a full-season pickup. [The crowd roars]
Great news. A well-placed source tells me that ABC has picked up Men in Trees for the entire season. Even better, Men will inherit the plum Thursday/10 pm perch after Grey's Anatomy beginning Nov. 30. And to that I say, "It's about freakin' time!" Six Degrees, meanwhile, is headed six feet under — effective immediately. There's a chance it could return in January, but I wouldn't hold my breath.In other news, the CW has ordered three more scripts of both Veronica Mars (hooray!) and One Tree Hill (yawn). And id I mention I'm going to guest-star on Scrubs!?
Question: We have this lovely thing at school known as Physical Fitness Wednesday, and let me tell you, your column is the only thing that gets me through the day.Answer: Glad to be of service. If you hurry up, you can go in on a gift for me with Matt and his younger sister.
Question: Not really anything to say other than that you have truly entertained me for the past 99 columns.Answer: Thanks for that. At the risk of getting too sentimental, putting this column together every week has been the highlight of my career. It even ranks higher than meeting Kermit and Miss Piggy at the 2004 Emmys. And as much as I love digging for scoop, my favorite part of the process is reading all of your e-mails. And yes, I read every one. I've come to find that AAdicts, in addition to being smart and funny and cranky and opinionated and strange, are the coolest TV freaks on the planet, and I've been honored to serve as your head freak all these years. Short-story-shorter: you guys rock my world. And now, I leave you with this final thought: I'm gonna guest-star on Scrubs! Can you believe it?! I'll have more details next week! Wanna talk about this week's column with other unusual folks l