Question: When is the second season of Greek starting? Can't wait! Answer: I'm still hearing March, but everything's up in the air in light of, well, you know. The good news: The show will have eight of its next 10 episodes in the can before production comes to a halt, and, according to my Greek mole, that final episode "will serve as a great finale."
Question: Please tell me Earl will get out of jail before the new episodes run out. Answer: I tried (and failed) to get an answer out of Earl's Emmy-winning creator Greg Garcia via e-mail. "Just tell your readers to tune in," he wrote back. "We've got some good episodes coming up and there are some fun twists and turns with Earl in prison, including guest spots from Giovanni Ribisi and Shawn Hatosy, and Craig T. Nelson is back for two more episodes."
Question: Don't fret, Mike. If the strike goes on for a while, you can give us scoop on great programming like Beauty & the Geek, American Gladiators, The Bachelor, My Dad's Better Than Your Dad and Farmer Needs a Wife. How can you not look forward to that? Answer: Lucille, on second thought, make that two bags of X and a kilo of V.
Question: Seriously? Derek and Rose? I saw no spark, no chemistry during their first meeting on last week's Grey's Anatomy. Answer: Don't hurt me, but I didn't hate them together. It was actually nice to see sexy/flirty Derek back, because, I gotta say, the somber/morose Derek is becoming a real drag. So if Rose is the person he chooses to bide his time with while Meredith unpacks her considerable baggage, that's fine by me. Probably not the answer you were looking for, right? In any event, it'll be a few weeks before we see any serious movement in the Rose/Derek/Meredith triangle. Actually, make that a few months. I'm told the big turning point for these three comes at the end of Episode 11, which was originally scheduled for December but has now been postponed until '08! (Grey's repeats will clog the airwaves throughout December. Isn'
Question: Who provides the Barbie dolls you've been having on your vodcasts? Or [Gasp] are they yours? Answer: I borrowed them from my, um, er… niece. Yeah, that's it — my niece. (Phew, that was a close one.)
Question: Thanks for all the amazing Lost scoop lately. At the risk of appearing greedy, got more? Answer: A greedy Aushole? Kinda redundant, no? Anyhoo, I'm going to slap a spoiler alert on this puppy because when it comes to Lost, it's always better to be safe than sorry: My guy in Hawaii reports that Episode 7 is a Jin-Sun episode that features a flash-forward element.
Question: Horatio and Calleigh, who used to work so well together, have had two scenes together, each less than a minute long, in the past 26 episodes of CSI: Miami. Can you please enlighten us exasperated fans as to what happened between David Caruso and Emily Procter, because we're not buying this "scheduling conflict" bulls--t anymore. Answer: Two scenes in 26 episodes? Is that true? Wow. Let me get TV Guide's Research Department on it do some digging and get back to you. This has "killer blind item" written all over it!
Question: Damn you and your asterisk quizzes! Just give us the names of the three dead Lost characters returning for Juliet's episode! Answer: In honor of Thanksgiving, the identity of the three exhumed Others are (drumroll, please) revealed in the latest installment of the Ausiello Report vodcast! Woo-hoo!
Question: Any scoop on how many episodes of Criminal Minds are left? Answer: Wow, that's eerie. I just updated the Strike Countdown Chart with that very information! Did someone install a hidden camera inside my Keri Russell wall clock?
Question: Any scoop on Women's Murder Club? Is a full-season pickup coming soon? Answer: Not if those young demos don't improve. Among 18-49ers, it's getting crushed by Friday Night Lights!
Question: I think the Brainy Smurf that Booth gave Brennan on last week's Bones was a shout-out to you. This calls for some Bones spoilers! Answer: I would've preferred a literal shout-out, but a cameo by the smartest Smurf in all the land will suffice. OK, two more scoopbits about the kiss: A third party plays an integral role in the hookup, as does the phrase "five steamboats."
Question: Thank you for the amazing news that Matt Czuchry is joining Friday Night Lights! Do you have any other details about his role on the show? Answer: Here's what I know: His character's name is Chris Kennedy; he's a love interest for Minka Kelly's Lyla; the two meet when she's invited to be a guest on his Christian radio show; he's on board for at least four episodes; and the role called for Czuchry to channel his inner Eric Camden for a scene in which his character gives a sermon in a real church in front of real parishioners! "It was an incredibly unique experience being up in front of the whole church and giving a sermon," Czuchry shares. "I had [a real churchgoer] come up to me afterwards and say, 'You're going to be a minister someday. Remember this day, 'cause yo
Question: Great photo of Booth and Bones' lip-lock! Answer: Thanks, I took it myself.
Question: I'm all for supporting scoop, so I'll help out miss Heidi from the last AA and let you know this about Lauren Graham at the Young Frankenstein party: She looked fabulous (of course), and I think you have competition in the LG-BFF category, because Christopher Fitzgerald seemed to be making her laugh pretty darn hard.Answer: Two questions: Who is this Christopher Fitzgerald person and does he know who he's screwing with?!
Question: I'm over the Der-Mer drama. Got any Grey's Anatomy scoop not related to those two sad sacks? Answer: That final prestrike episode of Grey's will part with tradition in a major way: Someone other than Meredith will be doing the narration. And his/her name is… *a*l**. Also, there's a reason for the VO switcheroo — and it's a tragic one.
Question: I just wanted to make sure you had heard about United Hollywood's new campaign, Pencils2MediaMoguls. Answer: The Ausholes are on it!
Question: Got any Journeyman spoilers?Answer: As you saw in the promo for next week's episode, Livia surprises a present-day Jack in an effort to help save Dan. What the teaser didn't show was that in Dan’s time-tripping travels, he meets a troubled young boy in 1980 who turns out to be closer to Bennett than Dan ever expected. And the investigating FBI agent (Paul Schulze) may not be who he claims to be.
Question: Any news about CSI: NY's Danny and Lindsay? The buzz is that there might be some tough times ahead for the couple, especially around Episode 11. Can you shed any light on that? Answer: Actually, the tough times you allude to in Episode 11 have more to do with Danny than Danny and Lindsay. I'm hearing he'll experience a devastating loss in that episode.
Question: My favorite new show is Chuck. How is it doing? I'm praying it doesn't get canceled. Answer: Creatively, it's flourishing. (The just-concluded two-parter with Rachel Bilson was off-the-charts good.) Commercially, it's holding its own in a tough time slot. Short-story-shorter: I'd be shocked (and pissed) if NBC didn't stick with it. OK, I've got to run — that tofurkey isn't gonna baste itself, you know. Have a splendid Thanksgiving! And pray that cooler heads will prevail at the bargaining table this coming Monday. I'm about three weeks away from running personal ads in this column! (Housekeeping notes: AA Discussion Thread,
Question: There has been speculation that in last week's CSI, the letter Sara left for Grissom wasn't a breakup letter but a suicide note. Do you know anything about this? Answer: I know that's a pretty silly theory, considering what Carol Mendelsohn told me last month.
Question: Woo-hoo! One Tree Hill is coming back on Jan. 8! Any spoilers? Are you going to give the show a try this year? Answer: Bite me.
Question: In the event your scoopage starts to thin out due to this strike, how 'bout we get more snark? Feel free to start with me.Answer: And run the risk of jumping the snark? I don't think so.