Mega Buzz on NCIS, Lost, 90210, Stargate & More

Senior editors Matt Mitovich and Mickey O'Connor answer your questions! E-mail us your own spoilery needs.
You are doing a terrific job with Mega Buzz, but nowhere have I seen anything mentioned about NCIS and the paper the new director took out of a file (I thought it was his own?) and destroyed. Can you scoop the significance of it? - Al
Matt: First of all, Al, thank you for the kind words about the column. Mickey and I find great joy and take tremendous pride in it. As for your query, you impressed the heck out of NCIS executive producer Shane Brennan: "Yes, the paper is significant - very significant - and yes, it did come out of the director's personal file," he tells the Buzz. "Will we find out what it really means? Yes! This season? Maybe. Will it shed new light on Director Vance? You betcha!"
I'm wondering why Gabrielle Carteris was not approached to appear on 90210. - Kristi
Will Jason Priestley appear on the new 90210? Brandon-and-Kelly fans would like him to be the father of Kelly's son, instead of Dylan. - Mary Anne
Mickey: I'm hearing that having Jennie and Shannen in the early episodes is an "experiment" to gauge the audience's appetite for nostalgia. If it (not to mention the show) is successful, you'll see other vets return, possibly even the ones who've said they wouldn't. Plotwise, it would certainly make sense for Carteris and Priestley to pop up; her TV kid (Hannah) reports for "The Blaze," and Brandon, as you noted, may have sired Kelly's rugrat.
Which 90210 student is going to hook up with the hot English teacher? I hope it's not Naomi. - Anita
Mickey: I don't want to believe these caustic rumors either! Ryan Eggold's Mr. Matthews seems so wholesome and sensible to me. But I do know this: A new, preternaturally mature student at West Bev will challenge defending champion Katie Couric in the Awkward Flirting Olympics when she sets her sexy-eyes on Mr. Matthews. The catch: She's got a secret, and it's a doozy!
Will Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell) become a regular on Lost? And is he Locke's father? - Doris
Matt: Though the cancellation of Cane certainly freed him up - and the Lost bosses have been clear about their big plans for the time-traveling, never-aging Mr. Alpert - "series regular" status still eludes Carbonell. Even so, a spy tells me we will see Richard very early in the new season... and often. As for your Locke's Daddy theory, that was a new one to the few moles I ran it by.
With "Medellin" in the crapper, will Entourage's Vince ever work again? - Marv
Mickey: Vince's bad luck will continue. First stop: Guest-starring at a celebrat's bat mitzvah. Then when he finally lands another movie role, it'll go up in flames - in more ways than one. Heck, he won't even have guest-star Jamie-Lynn Sigler to keep his home fires burning, since she is being paired off with someone else. Any guesses?
Why is Sci Fi dumping Stargate Atlantis? How were the ratings? Will Atlantis have movies like SG-1? - Johnny
Matt: I reached out to Atlantis show runner Joseph Mallozzi for his extremely qualified perspective on the cancelation, and frankly he's a bit stymied. After all, he shared, "The ratings for the first half of Season 5 have been better than the ratings for the back half of Season 4, which were, in turn, an improvement over the front half of last season." The light at the end of this black hole? Says Mallozzi, "Yes, the plan is to continue the stories of the Atlantis expedition in [TV]-movies."
I read that Steven Weber is joining Without a Trace. Does that mean Anthony LaPaglia is gone? - Janice
Mickey: Weber has only signed on for four episodes, so he's definitely not replacing LaPaglia. Rather, their characters will be adversaries. Once he's done ruining Jack's life, look for Weber to resurface on Brothers & Sisters, where he spent time last season ruining Sarah's life. (Note to self: Do not invite Steven Weber over for dinner.)
Seriously, you've teased it enough. I must have the massive Smallville scoop that Erica Durance dropped on you. - Jeff
Matt: Actually, I have not teased it enough. [ Pause] There. Now I have. Part 1 of the Q&A is coming Thursday, Lo fans, and remember, I am just the messenger.
Why isn't Law & Order on the fall schedule? - Andrew
Mickey: To paraphrase Milli Vanilli, blame it on the strike. New L&Os won't hit NBC until January. Think you can locate a rerun or two in the interim?
I'm not so sure about the new actress joining The Unit. The existing female characters - Molly, Kim and Tiffy - all need stronger storylines. - Mark
Mickey: What's not to like about Nicole Steinwedell? She was good enough for Pacey! But I hear you, Mark. Sometimes a show gives all its good ink to one female character, while the rest fill in the wife-of and girlfriend-of parts. Not so with The Unit, I'm told. If anything, Steinwedell's arrival has sparked the generation of more female-centric stories.
The kids need to know if Flash Gordon will be back on Sci Fi? - Scott
Mickey: Sure, guilt me into answering by mentioning the children. I spoke to Sci Fi's Santa Claus, and he told me to crush all your kids' hopes and dreams. No, Scott, there is no more Flash Gordon. Other canceled shows still getting play in our emailbox include Women's Murder Club, Dirt and Notes from the Underbelly (whose eight unaired episodes won't likely ever see the light of day).
How about some love for Smallville's Chloe? Without anything to do with Lois or Jimmy? - Siobhan
Matt: Chloe... has new powers? That's all I can dig up thus far. (I better hustle on that Allison Mack Q&A.) For what it's worth, Erica talks about both Allison and Chloe, a few times. (Damn, I'm still teasing. Bad Matt!)
Matt's Mega Rave: Once upon a time there was a quiet little CW show called Privileged - and I do hope that 90210 fans showed it some ratings love last night. This under-the-radar premiere impressed me by being more than I thought it would be. On the surface, it had a whiff of being a superficial Paris-and-Nicole spoof. In execution, it's deeper and richer than that, thanks to winning turns by JoAnna Garcia (my new celeb crush) and the born-to-be-blue-blooded Anne Archer.
Mickey's Mini Rant: HBO's True Blood came out of the coffin strong, aiming for deep and rich, but unsubtle metaphors take a bite out of its complicated portrait of vampire culture. It sucks!
Reader Quote of the Week: "Pregnant Amy Poehler would make a perfect Bristol Palin." ( somethingreal81, amid a discussion about who SNL should have play Governor Sarah Palin and Michelle Obama)
Need scoop? Got some to share? E-mail mega_scoop@tvguide.com.