Yay! The strike is over!
Question: Yay! The strike is over! Answer: Woo-hoo! You know what this means, right? I no longer have to make up questions for this column! We can stop watching October Road!
michael.ausiello
Yay! The strike is over!
Please, for once, answer this ...
Question: Please, for once, answer this crazy-devoted Aushole’s question: Will we know all of the Oceanic 6 after these first eight episodes of Lost?Answer: OK, that does it for this week. Don't forget to check out: • My scoopy Q&A with Lost exec producer Carlton Cuse. • The continuously updated Strike Recovery Chart. • My latest vodcast. • This awesome site
This week's Ausiello Report ...
Question: This week's Ausiello Report vodcast is such a tease. Just tell us who Juliet is having sex with on Lost! Answer: I practically did with the clue I gave you. C'mon, the answer is right at your fingertips!
Any update on what's going on ...
Question: Any update on what's going on with Bionic Woman? Answer: Yes. Multiple sources are now confirming to me exclusively that NBC is in advanced talks to sell Jaime Sommers' used parts to Radio Shack. And not just any Radio Shack. The one on the lower level of Port Authority. That's quite a coup for them.
Ugh! Please tell me that ...
Question: Ugh! Please tell me that Carlton Cuse's announcement about Season 4 of Lost only being 13 episodes doesn't mean they are robbing us of three of the 48 episodes that remain in the series! If so, a lot of us fans will be very pissed off! Answer: I suggest you make your way to my Ausiello Report blog for an answer to that question and much, much more.
Regarding last week's Lost, ...
Question: Regarding last week's Lost, was I the only one let down by the fact that everyone seemed to forget that Charlie just kicked the bucket? Answer: OK, good. It wasn't just me. Yes, I get that no one wants to see Claire cry buckets for the rest of the season, but c'mon — she just found out he died. At the very least, she should've looked a little sullen. Let her walk around with a box of Dharma tissues for a few hours. Something.
Any scoop on Ryan Seascrest?
Question: Any scoop on Ryan Seascrest? Answer: Apparently he doesn't take his cues from TVGuide.com readers, 97 percent of whom urged him not to let Denise Richards whore her children out on TV.
In light of your news that ...
Question: In light of your news that Supernatural will produce four or five additional episodes this season (woo-hoo!), does this mean that Reaper is no longer taking over its Thursday/ 9 pm/ET time slot? Answer: A CW spokesperson tells me that the network is "proceeding with our plan to run Reaper encores behind Smallville encores [beginning Feb. 28]. Supernatural originals will return in April." In what time slot it'll return is undecided at this moment, but the rep insists everyone at the CW "loves Supernatural and it shall return!" BTW, two more pre-strike Supernaturals remain. The first one airs tomorrow, second one next Thursday. Tell your friends!
I'm almost afraid to ask: ...
Question: I'm almost afraid to ask: What's happening to our beloved Angie Harmon and Women's Murder Club? Answer: It changes from minute to minute, so keep close tabs on my Strike Recovery Chart for the latest. As of 10 seconds ago, there was less than a one percent chance of Club producing additional episodes this season. However, it remains a contender for the fall. An unlikely contender, but a contender nonetheless. OMG, it just changed again! That one percent has just been downgraded to .015 percent! It's insanity!
In last week's Ask Ausiello, ...
Question: In last week's Ask Ausiello, you said that "Michael gets a special delivery from the great beyond in the season finale of Prison Break on Feb. 18. And someone I thought I'd never in a million years see on the show again turns up in a surprise cameo." Any hints as to who that "surprise cameo" is? Can you tell us if he or she was a regular on the show, or if he or she has died on the show? Answer: Yes, she was a regular. And yes, she died on the show. And although she didn't need to be present for this particular cameo, she was most definitely an integral part in making it happen. Hmmmm….
What's the status of Amy ...
Question: What's the status of Amy Sherman Palladino's The Return of Jezebel James? Answer: The status is Amy's gonna be pissed. Fox just kicked Jezebel out of its cushy post-Idol launch pad on March 12. Now, the sitcom will debut with back-to-back episodes on Friday, March 14.
My husband tells me that ...
Question: My husband tells me that Friday Night Lights is done for the season and may not even be renewed! Tell me he's demented. Or wrong. Who do we contact to prevent this from happening? I know the peanuts saved Jericho — is there any similar movement for FNL?Answer: Yep, two of 'em in fact — one involving lightbulbs and another involving mini footballs. And to your first question, your hubby is neither demented nor wrong. FNL is indeed in trouble, although NBC Studios is exploring all
Any scoop on Ugly Betty?
Question: Any scoop on Ugly Betty? Answer: OK, good-news/bad-news time. The good news: We're looking at anywhere from four to seven additional episodes this season and the show just got renewed for a third season. The bad news: Despite the fact that Betty is firing on all cylinders creatively this season, someone saw fit to fix what wasn't broken and fire exec producers Marco Pennette and James Hayman, the latter of whom was responsible for directing some of my favorite Betty episodes.
Now that the strike is over, ...
Question: Now that the strike is over, are the actors legally obligated to return to work to complete whatever's left of the 22 episodes? Or, after a certain point, are they off the hook for the season? I guess the question is, are they signed for a specific number of episodes during a certain period of time (i.e., Aug-April), or do they have to complete the episodes no matter what the timeframe — even if that means working through the summer?Answer: That's a very complicated question. So complicated that I'm going to hand it off to a top TV talent agent to answer: "The basic answer is that yes, actors are obligated to return and finish a certain number of episodes," explains the tenpercenter, who asked not to be identified because his coworkers aren't aware he's an Aushole. " That said, there are all sorts of variables. One is that most actors' contracts define a 'season' with a beginning and end date. So, if studios ask the acto
Thanks for the One Tree Hill ...
Question: Thanks for the One Tree Hill scoop in the vodcast. Got anything else? Answer: Look for some very familiar faces to return in the final pre-strike episodes — and that's not including the dude who gets sprung from the pokey.
Now that the strike is over, ...
Question: Now that the strike is over, can you tell us what is going to happen to ER? Answer: According to the trades, NBC is contractually obligated to produce more episodes this season, so it'll definitely return in April. And if Warner Bros. can shave enough $$$ off the budget for next season, there's a decent chance it'll be back for a 15th (!!!) season.
Is there any hope of getting ...
Question: Is there any hope of getting more episodes of The Office this year?Answer: Per my Strike Recovery Chart (SRC), NBC is hoping to squeeze six additional episodes out of Steve Carell and Co. this season. In related news, an Office crew member e-mailed me to say that Carell and about 20 other Office actors/writers sent letters to the crew over the weekend alerting them to the fact that they'd soon be receiving $2,000 checks to help them get over this last hump. "The writers have had just as hard a time as everyone else, and for them to be so generous on top of it all just warmed our hearts," wrote my spy. "Thought you might want to share this with your readers."
OK, so I am really not ...
Question: OK, so I am really not feeling Cashmere Mafia or Lipstick Jungle. Do I need to cancel my season passes on these two, or should I give them another shot? Answer: Cancel Cashmere, but let Lipstick linger a few more weeks. Or at the very least through tomorrow's episode, which features both a rollicking guest turn by Lorraine Bracco and an adulterous Kim Raver having sex with a half-naked Robert Buckley. Speaking of the latter, next week the jig is nearly up when they do it on the floor above her magazine's photo shoot. And let's just say there's a window up there. A big window.
Exclusive: Lost Boss Outlines Revised Season 4 Plan
Make no mistake, out of all the shows whose fate has been left dangling in the wind by the just-concluded writers' strike, the one we're most concerned about is Lost. Good thing, then, that the sixth fifth fourth third second first call Lost executive producer Carlton Cuse made after meeting with ABC execs this evening to finalize the new plan for Season 4 was to, yep, you guessed it, Variety Hollywood Reporter Entertainment Weekly Golf Digest Mac Addict me! Welcome back!Carlton Cuse: It's good to be back. It'll be even better tomorrow when the writers all start rolling in and we start getting to work... pending the vote, of course.What came out of your meeting with ABC today?Cuse: Damon [Lindelof] and I are going to try to make five more episodes before the end of May, which is ambitious. But we've found ourselves in a situation where we had eight episodes of story planned, and we're going to try to fit that into five hours of the show. Even though it's going to be very hard to exe...
Lost's Juliet Has Sex! Plus: House's Thirteen Bi?
It's Tuesday, so that can only mean one thing: A new Ausiello Report vodcast!Among the highlights:• Indisputable evidence that House's Thirteen is indeed bisexual.• Confirmation that Lost's Juliet will get nekkid with a member of the opposite sex this season. But which member? A major clue awaits you.• New details about a One Tree Hill wedding in Episode 12 (which, in light of news that OTH will produce additional episodes this season, can no longer be considered a "season finale.")Now, sit back, relax and enjoy the program. Then come back here and show the comments section some love!
UPDATED! Friday Night Lights Over... But Not Out?
THIS JUST IN: According to preliminary ratings, FNL pulled in a below-average 1.7 in the demo. In other words, time to start campaigning (scroll to bottom for more on that). It's now or never, Friday Night Lights fans.Since the drama's second season is being released on DVD in April with (tellingly) only the 15 pre-strike episodes included, it is highly unlikely that the show will return this season. And unless you tune in in droves — and bring friends, strangers and pets to the Nielsen box — tonight's season finale could well serve as the series finale.At least on NBC.Although Peacock prez Ben Silverman's dismissive comments in Radar this week imply that he isn't among FNL's supporters, many of his colleagues both at the network and studio still believe in the show in a big way. In fact, my source tells me that execs are working 'round the clock exploring options to keep the show alive. Among them: • A shared cable window. You know how USA gets first dibs on Law ...
My Big Problem(s) With This Week's Lost
Don't get me wrong, tonight's Lost was 31 flavors of awesome. Loved the introduction of the Four Rescueteers. Ditto the actors portraying them. And any episode that lets Juliet save the day is a keeper in my book. Unfortunately, in this instance, the negatives (two, to be exact) outweighed the positives — if for no other reason than they were so unnecessary. And those negatives were… 1) Did everyone suddenly forget that Charlie just croaked? I mean, Claire just learned of his death at the end of the previous episode, and there was nothing in her expression or demeanor to indicate that she had any lingering sorrow. Sure, she briefly broke down in the previous episode, but that's it? One good cry? That's all Charlie gets? At one point tonight I actually caught Claire smiling and giggling while cradling little Aaron! Either she never really give a crap about Charlie or she's in some serious Britney Spears-type denial. Either way, it left a really bad taste in my mouth. But no...
