"Lost" and Found: An Early Look at the Fouth Season

I've gotten a lot of emails from readers over the last few days as near-hysteria approaches with the imminent launch of Lost's fourth season tonight on ABC. The answer: yes, I've seen the first episode (the first two, in fact).

Sadly, I am not at liberty to discuss any of the spoiler-ific plot points that I so dearly would love to spill you, my readers. ABC has been very specific about what journos can and cannot reveal about these opening installments, the first two of potentially only eight episodes this season.

Lost has always been a series that marched to the beat of a different drummer, a percussionist who smashed together disparate genres into an addictive network hit. The fourth season opener, "The Beginning of the End," and its second episode "Confirmed Dead," are absolutely brilliant additions to the Lost canon. In their own way, they kickstart the series and take it into unexpected and mind-blowing new directions via the use of the flash-forwards first used in "Through the Looking Glass." Together, these episodes provide evidence that scripted television still works (thank you, writers!), that it's a viable art form, and that television need not be dumbed down to the most common denominator.

So what can I say about these spellbinding installments? Like previous season openers, there's a nice bit of a bait-and-switch involved in the opening sequence of tonight's episode; characters are reunited after the battle with the Others; sides are drawn among the castaways about whether or not to believe Charlie's warning about the freighter; a wedding ring is a key clue; Kate's craftiness is proven once again; and a helicopter arrives on the island... but not quite in the way you might imagine. There's also a dynamic new villain introduced in the first episode but his identity and motivation are tantalizingly out of reach.

Lest you think that we've left behind the island, think again. The main thrust of the series is still all about that island of doom and there are some nifty new mysteries to ponder this season, as well as some new characters who fortunately are more of the deeply developed, complex Ben and Juliet ilk than the better-off-forgotten Nikki and Paolo.

And, oh, surprise of surprises, a long-running character actually asks a question for a change! (I know, I nearly fell out of my seat when it happened.) It happens in the second episode, written by Brian K. Vaughan and Drew Goddard, in a nice little bit of meta-theatricality when said character demands some answers, deftly echoing the sentiments of the audience. As for who is doing the asking, whom they're questioning, and what the query is about, you'll have to tune in next week to find out.

Ultimately, Lost has found a way to reinvigorate itself as it marches--no, swiftly rushes--towards its inevitable endgame at the end of the next 48 episodes, offering another dimension to its already gloriously labyrinthine story. It's abundantly clear that Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, armed with a timetable, have a firm hand on the plot's rudder and are absolutely on the right path. In the meantime, I can think of no greater pleasure than curling up on the couch tonight to watch Lost's dazzling fourth season begin. You won't be disappointed.

Lost kicks off tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on ABC.

Jumpin' Jack Flash (Forward): Getting "Lost" with Matthew Fox

Throughout the first three seasons of Lost, our main entry to the unfolding story of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 has been through the eyes of determined surgeon Jack Shephard.

So it was more than a little surprising at the end of last season to find the doggedly optimistic leader of the castaways had become a pill-popping alcoholic about to throw himself off a bridge.

I sat down with Matthew Fox to talk about what to expect in Season Four, that mind-blowing twist ending to Season Three, and how he prepared for the suicidal Jack we found at the end of last season.

Q: What was your reaction when you read the amazing twist ending at the end of Season Three?

Fox: Well, I knew about that quite a way before I actually read it, because of the twist and the future flash. Damon tipped me off to what he was planning to do quite a way before that actually. Which was tough, because I loved it… I remember the phone call with him where he told me what he had in mind and I was very blown away by it, very excited, and it was hard not to tell people. Most of the crew, and a lot of the cast, they didn’t know about it until they ended up seeing it. Those pages were never published in any script, so it was really Evangeline and I [who] were the only two members of the cast who really knew. So, it was pretty top secret… I thought it was awesome, I think it opens up the show in a big way for the next three years. I always felt that it was an incredibly smart move on Damon’s part and also just a huge surprise so I think it blew people away.

Q: As an actor, how did you prepare for that flash forward? Your entire body language and demeanor were completely different.

Fox: I remember getting an email from John Terry, who plays Christian Shephard, and he said, Boy, they really wrote you an opus.” They did, they wrote me some great material, and I always feel very honored when you get that kind of heavy stuff and it’s difficult. I just did my best to bring everything I could to it. Obviously, in the future-flash the man is suicidal. He’s a drug addict, he’s a drunk, he’s really just trying to kill himself, so tapping into that for a month was not easy.

Jack Shephard’s motivation on the island has always been – the only thing he really focuses on and cares about – is getting everybody off, he’s really goal-oriented in that respect, and so this is his moment where he thinks he’s going to get it done. He’s got this opportunity to call out to this ship, so we see him really driven and feeling like he’s almost there, he’s almost home. And I think that the contrast and the juxtaposition between those two versions of him is pretty intense. And then to find out in the final three minutes that it’s not actually a flash back, it’s a flash forward, and that’s where he ends up, I think it’s really cool.

Q: So, what do you think Jack did after getting off the island?

Fox; That’s a good question… Honestly, I think he’s so driven by the idea of getting off the island that, once he did it, he’d kind of be lost for a while, and he’d be wandering around not knowing what to do. Obviously, getting back into his life at home I think would be out of the question, but I think he tries. I think he tries really hard to forget about it all and put it all behind him like it never happened, get back into work at the hospital, get back into doing surgeries. I think he really tries to move on with his life like it never happened.

But, as you’ll see, there’s more to him ending up suicidal than just some guilt of the way things went down on the island. It’s pretty big, and it’s unavoidable for him, the draw of the island and what’s left for him to do there and so it would be very hard for him. He would try to keep his mind off it but it would eat away at him and ultimately result in him using all types of narcotics, booze… and eventually standing on a bridge wanting to kill himself.

Q: What can you tell us about Jack’s circumstances going into Season Four?

Fox: Well, I think that a big part of Season Four will be about closing those two points that are in juxtaposition at the end of Season Three, which are Jack Shephard on the phone, making contact with the freighter on the island, and Jack Shephard in the future, suicidal and yelling out to Kate that he has to go back. The fourth season will be about closing those two points, finding out how you get from point A to point B; that’s going to be the really intriguing thing for the audience, obviously. Their first setback is being blown away by this idea that Jack Shephard and Kate get off the island, and immediately your mind starts going to, how did that happen, and who else got off the island, and how did they get there, and how could it possibly be that he now feels like he has to go back?

That’s where the show will start for him in Season Four: on the island in that moment he’s made contact and then of course all hell breaks loose and there’s a bunch of stuff that he obviously doesn’t anticipate having to deal with and it kicks off from there.

The countdown to tonight begins!

Part 1: Michael Emerson
Part 2: Elizabeth Mitchell
Part 3: Yunjin Kim
Part 4: Josh Holloway

Season Four of Lost launches tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on ABC.

The Adventures of Not Quite Tom Sawyer: Getting "Lost" with Josh Holloway

Wrapping up my week-long series of chats with the cast of Lost, we come now to Josh Holloway, whose character James "Sawyer" Ford (for those of you living under a Black Rock) has proven one of the series' most popular and conflicted: torn between his need for revenge and his attempt to move beyond it and embroiled in a love triangle with Kate Austen firmly in the center.

I sat down with Holloway to talk about Tom's murder in Season Three, what to expect in Season Four, and what Sawyer would drink.

Q: Josh, what the hell was with the twist ending at the end of Season Three. Were you surprised when you read the script for that?

Holloway: I was like, “Really?! I love it, but where are we gonna go from there?” That was my question, but I really felt like for a season finale it was one of the best – as an audience – one of the best written and well executed season finales I’ve seen in a while, so I was really proud to be a part of that. I finally got to see it three weeks after everyone else. I had taken off to Europe, so I got back and was like, “Ah, I get to see it!”

It was really well done and set up the next season perfectly, for what’s going on [in Season Four]. It’s gotten really intense, and they’re just exploring all the different aspects of the characters. I feel like they have done a lot of character exploration before, but the story’s getting concise… Sawyer in Season Three has taken quite an emotional journey. They’ve pretty much put him through everything from captivity, to love, to now at the end, murder…

Q: Let’s talk about Tom’s murder at the end of Season Three. Did you buy into Sawyer’s motivations there or did you have some qualms about the darker area that Sawyer was being taken into?

Holloway: Well, both! I had some qualms about the darker place that he was going, just because I was like “Oh, ok, so where do you go from there?” Naturally, as an actor, you think, once I go there, where are we going? But, then I really looked back at the season--and also from the beginning of the show--and I feel like part of Sawyer’s whole journey is facing his demons and his own humanity. I feel like he had a little bit of a reversion back to the old Sawyer’s way of dealing with things. And because he was captured, and really faced death, like he thought he was dead, bullet to the head – it’s done – and these guys facilitated that, I think that’s where he was coming from.

Q: One of the main plot points for the first three seasons was Sawyer trying to enact revenge on the man who destroyed his family. Do you feel like he’s achieved that and it will settle his inner demons?

Holloway: I feel like there’s definitely closure to that specific thing he was looking for all those years, but what he didn’t realise was now that that is not the only thing that has been driving him and that it is not his only demon.

Q: What you can tell us about what we can expect for Sawyer in Season Four?

Well, even I don’t know what to expect from Sawyer in Season Four right now, so that’s a hard question to answer. We’re only just beginning that exploration. My experience from the show is that they set you up and then take you in a completely different direction so I don’t really know where they’re going to take him. Right now, I feel like he’s kind of fragmented… I feel like he’s trying to back peddle a little bit, because he’s human and it felt good to have people not hate him constantly. What worked in society did not work on the island so well, or works differently, so I think he’s once again facing that demon and thinking “Oh shit, now what am I gonna do?”

Q: If Sawyer is one of the lucky few to get off the island in Season Four what do you think he’d do?

Holloway: Go to a bar and have a cocktail. A proper cocktail. He would just say, “Bartender, leave the bottle!”

Q: What does Sawyer drink?

Holloway: I’d have to go straight-up. Jack Daniels, or Wild Turkey. Clean, neat, no ice, please. After that long on an island, oh Lord. Maybe just the bottle, no glass.

Part 1: Michael Emerson
Part 2: Elizabeth Mitchell
Part 3: Yunjin Kim
Part 5: Matthew Fox

Season Four of Lost launches tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on ABC.

"Fringe" Finds Leading Lady, More Supporting Cast

Meet J.J. Abrams' latest discovery from the Land Down Under (aka the home of fellow Aussie discovery Yvonne Strahovski): Anna Torv.

Torv has been cast in FOX's two-hour drama pilot Fringe as Olivia Warren, a tough, determined FBI agent who is assigned to work with Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), a brilliant research scientist--who just might be insane--and his estranged son (still to be cast) in order to investigate a series of bizarre global phenomena.

Torv has appeared in such Australian television series as The Secret Life of Us and Young Lions and BBC series Mistresses and ITV telepic Frankenstein. She also provided the voice of Nariko in the videogame "Heavenly Sword."

Also cast in the $10 million pilot, to be directed by Journeyman's Alex Graves, are Blair Brown (The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd) and Jasika Nicole (Mastersons of Manhattan). Brown will play the icy and possibly malevolent Nina Cord, a veteran employee at the ominous-sounding Prometheus Corporation. Nicole will recur as Astrid, a federal assistant assigned to work with the Bishops at their lab.

The actresses join John Noble, Lance Reddick, Kirk Acevedo, and Mark Valley, who have already been cast in the pilot.

Fringe comes from studio Warner Bros. Television and is executive produced by Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci. (You can read my advance review of the Fringe pilot script here.)

What's On Tonight

8 pm: CSI: New York (CBS); My Name is Earl/The Office (NBC); Smallville (CW); Lost: Past, Present, and Future (ABC); Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? (FOX)

9 pm: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS); Celebrity Apprentice (NBC; 9-11 pm); Supernatural (CW); Lost (ABC); Don't Forget the Lyrics (FOX)

10 pm: Without a Trace (CBS); Eli Stone (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Lost: Past, Present, and Future.

Catch up on the first three seasons of Televisionary obsession Lost, with this new recap special, which kicks off tonight's fourth season opener. I am counting down the minutes!

8 pm: Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares on BBC America.

Season Four of the original UK Kitchen Nightmares begins tonight. On this week's installment ("Piccolo Teatro"), Gordon Ramsay heads to Paris where he attempts to help and hapless and inexperienced restaurateur and an eccentric Brazilian chef try to save their the struggling vegetarian restaurant. (A hint to those with some major DVR conflicts: the episode also airs at 5 pm PT AND at 11 pm ET.)

9 pm: Lost.

Oh. My. God. It's finally here after eight months of waiting: the fourth season premiere of Lost. On tonight's season opener ("The Beginning of the End"), rescue appears to be right around the corner for the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815, but they are uncertain about whether or not to believe Charlie's final message, a warning about their alleged rescuers. Just who are the people aboard the freighter and what do they want? And who makes it back to the mainland? Find out tonight.

The Sun Also Rises: Getting "Lost" With Yunjin Kim

While Lost boasts an impressive cast against which most series are measured, there are a few characters who seem to universally catch on among fans. One such character is Sun-Hwa Kwon, played by Korean actress Yunjin Kim.

I sat down with Kim to talk about Lost's success in the international marketplace, what to expect for her character in Season Four, and Sun's, er, unexpected herb-growing abilities.

Q: Why do you think Lost has become such an international phenomenon? Do you think that that’s in part due to the diversity of the characters?

Kim: Oh, I think diversity of the characters definitely has a lot to do with that. But I think Lost deals with a lot of universal issues. We’re talking about being deserted on an island and creating a new type of society with such a [diverse group of] people and what we deal with every day are universal questions like, “Why am I here?” “Who am I?” “Can I let go of my past and move forward?” And, I think, for some reason that catches a lot of people’s attention. Also we deal with a lot of fun elements and there’s a lot of action, danger, love. It’s all the basic interests that people want to see.

Q: Speaking of love, would you say that Sun and Jin have the only relationship that’s actually benefited from being on the island?

Kim: Well, Sun and Jin were the only married couple so I used to joke and be like, I’m the only desperate housewife on this island. And Sun was quite desperate from the very beginning. We’ve moved on and they’ve grown, both of them, especially in their relationship. There are other characters [in relationships] and the only difference is that we’ve already had a relationship. We were already married and then there was a plane crash on this deserted island so--

Q: So, I’m very worried about Sun.

Kim: So am I, I have to say. (She laughs.)

Q: Given the threat of the curse on the island and pregnant women, is there a happy ending maybe in store for the two of them?

Kim: I don’t know. I have no idea. I mean, I’m okay so far. And, we have to remember that one season we only move forward, what, 30 days? So, we’ve only been on the island for 90 days. So, my death sentence is not until--at one point I think I actually calculated--I think I’m good up to Season 5 ½. (She laughs.) And, who knows? Who knows what’s going to happen?

Q: If Sun were able to get off the island somehow, what do you think would be the first thing she does?

Kim: I think she’ll probably check herself into a hospital. To make sure her baby is okay and that her health is fine. I have a feeling she might go back to Korea. It’s one of the things that we deal with. We’ve already shot Sun and Jin’s episode for Season Four, so that’s one thing that they do talk about because there is that hope. Yes, we are going to get rescued. We are going to actually get off this island. So what do you wanna do? So we talk about going back home and things like that.

Q: Sun has had sort of a checkered past--

Kim: Yes.

Q: We’ve seen some kind of darker elements to her personality. We saw her kill Colleen in Season Three. If Sun could do absolutely anything in Season Four, what would you hope for the character?

Kim: Personally, it was so much fun just doing some of the action stuff. You know, Sun is pretty much the only character who’s sort of “kept.” She’s either safe in the caves or she just relies on Jin to protect her. But for the first time in Season Three, like you’ve mentioned, I actually have to kill another character on the show and so I was really happy. There’s a lot more to Sun than she’s been advertised to be. And there’s so much secret behind her past life, I can’t even keep up. For some reason she has issues dealing with just speaking the truth and just letting it out and we deal with more of that in Season Four, believe it or not.

Q: Will we ever get to see how she learned to garden or tend for those herbs?

Kim: I think she was born with it. I don’t think we’ll ever [explain that] because she’s had a pretty comfortable life and she’s from a very, very wealthy family--probably one of the most wealthy families in Korea--so either she did it just to survive on the island or she missed eating vegetables. Or, I don’t know. (She laughs.)

Okay, I'll admit that I'm a bit of a dork for asking that final question but Sun's herb-growing skills--which seemed to come out of nowhere in Season One, given her privileged upbringing--has always intrigued me as a bit of a dangling plot thread (though, obviously, not of the extent of the four-toed giant statue foot).

In the meantime, I do hope that the producers continue to mine Sun's character and backstory in this next season and, please for the love of all things Dharma, that they don't kill off Sun!

Lost's fourth season kicks off this Thursday, January 31st, at 9 pm ET/PT on ABC.

Set Your Tivo: "Jamie at Home" and "Nigella Express"

There are few things more joyous in this time of wet and cold in Los Angeles than to curl up on the couch on Sunday mornings, a steaming cup of tea in one hand, my TiVo remote in the other, and catch up with Jamie and Nigella.

I'm speaking of course about British authors Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson, both as well known for their remarkably cozy cookery series as they are for their amazing and sinfully delicious cookbooks. Both are culinary heroes of mine and my dining room is filled with their books as, typically, my kitchen is overflowing with their delicious (and sometimes quite naughty) recipes.

Thanks to Food Network, both are currently running new series at the moment: Oliver has Jamie at Home, a back-to-basics series about growing your own veg and preparing it at home, and Lawson has returned with Nigella Express, a series tied around making fantastic food quickly in an "express" style all her own.

When he's not traveling around Italy in a refitted 1969 camper or trying to save schoolchildren by changing what they eat at school, Oliver is a culinary workhorse, challenging Mario Batali on Iron Chef America, running growing restaurant empire fifteen and its similarly-named foundation, making podcasts, overseeing a line of cookbooks and culinary tools, and keeping up with wife Jools and their two daughters.

So it's a nice change of pace to see Oliver in a little ramshackle kitchen on his property on Jamie at Home, picking vegetables from his own garden and cooking them (along with meat and dessert, yes) in inventive, seasonal ways that Alice Waters would approve of. There's no flashy camera work (a la Oliver's first series, The Naked Chef), no celebrity guests, no banter with the producer, just straight, honest cooking from a chef who brought a paired-down, simplified aesthetic to the masses. See Jamie rave about chilies, wax nostalgic over the simple fare of his dad's pub, and offer up some mouth-watering meals that you'll want to make at home: pappardelle with slow roasted leeks, omelet salad with bresaola, meringue with hot pears and chocolate sauce, hot and sour rhubarb with crispy pork and noodles, hot smoked salmon with chile salsa.

While Jamie might be all about paired-down simplicity, Nigella is all about express excess in her new series, Nigella Express, which offers recipes that are so simple and the opposite of time-consuming that it would be a surprise if you weren't heating up the stove minutes after watching her latest episode. Here, the time-saving recipes are often not for the fat-conscious though they are deliciously sinful affairs: caramel croissant pudding, a Camembert and Brie-laced cheese fondue with kirsch, rocky road crunch bars, flash-fried steak with white bean mash (a favorite of mine already), cherry cheesecake, doughnut French toast, buttermilk roast chicken. Which is part of the point of watching: think of it as aspirational television. Even if you can't possibly eat everything Lawson is making, the style and flair with which she does it is so disarming that you can't possibly look away look enough to wipe the drool from your mouth.

Nigella Express is home-style cooking at its most seductive and easy and Lawson offers up recipes and tips for all occasions and meals but the emphasis is always on the fact that, while there are tricks and some shortcuts, it's homemade and the point is to enjoy food with your guests (or family) and not be slaving over the stove for hours while the party carries on without you.

My hint: record them both and then watch them back-to-back on an early Sunday morning, still in your pyjamas with that aforementioned cup of tea and a dog on your lap. You'll almost swear you can smell the food emanating from the television set.

Jamie at Home airs Saturday mornings at 9:30 am ET/PT and Nigella Express on Sunday mornings at 10:30 am ET/PT, both on Food Network.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Power of 10 (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC); Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants (CW); Wife Swap (ABC); American Idol (FOX)

9 pm: Criminal Minds (CBS); Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBC); Lost (ABC; 9-11 pm); Moment of Truth (FOX)

10 pm: CSI: New York (CBS); Law & Order (NBC)

What I'll Be Watching

9-11 pm: Lost.

Catch last season's two-hour finale ("Through the Looking Glass"), here repeated in a special "enhanced" broadcast with on-screen facts and info about storylines and backstory. In other words: the perfect opportunity to catch up before tomorrow night's Season Four launch... and to lure in new viewers.

10 pm: Project Runway on Bravo.

On tonight's repeat episode ("Even Designers Get the Blues"), the remaining designers are tasked with creating an original denim design out of jeans and jackets of various hues and textures; Jillian reaches her breaking point; Ricky turns on the waterworks once more.

Romeo and Juliet: Getting "Lost" with Elizabeth Mitchell

While I adore many of Lost's diverse bunch of island-locked castaways, there will always be a special place in my heart for Elizabeth Mitchell's beautiful and brainy Juliet, who's showed herself to be just as at ease running a book club as she is kicking some butt and taking names.

I sat down with the statuesque Mitchell, looking positively radiant as she towered above me, to talk about the series upcoming fourth season, why Juliet's favorite color would have to be grey, and, oh, that kiss between her and Matthew Fox's Jack.

Q: Do you feel that Juliet has become a part of the castaway family or is she still a bit of an outsider? Does that change as we move into Season Four?

Mitchell: Juliet’s definitely still an outsider, as far as that goes. However, I think she is more protective of them than they realize, which I think we know as an audience in the way that she’s behaved. But, I think it’s going to take a lot for them to welcome her whole-heartedly. I mean, a lot more even than what she’s already done. She has a relationship with Kate. She has a relationship with Sun. She obviously has a relationship with Jack. And she and Sawyer are, I think, kind of funny together, actually, because they’re like an irritable brother and sister, which is really good. She just kind of smacks him every once in awhile. But I think that, as far as trust goes, I don’t think they trust her at all.

Q: So let’s talk about that kiss between Juliet and Jack then…

Mitchell (coyly): Yeah.

Q: …in “Through the Looking Glass.” Were you surprised when you read that in the script?

Mitchell: Well, I kind of thought they would do something… Well, I always figure I’m just gonna die. So, getting kissed instead was really lovely. And then I called my dad and he’s like “Oh, you’re for sure gonna die now.” Okay, great. But I thought it was a really sweet thing. And the way that it was done was sweet. And I also feel like Juliet was going off to an uncertain area doing something kind of selfless and so was he, so it was a brave thing.

Q: And do we see a future for the two of them in Season Four?

Mitchell: We might. Yeah, it’s very possible that there could be a little bit of a future. I mean, there’s so much unresolved between Juliet and Jack. But there’s been so much unresolved for years between Jack and Kate so, I think that it all has to balance out somewhere. I’m not sure how much of a future there is to be had on this island, first of all. But I think that there might be a little bit of something and then, of course, it’s Lost, so there might not, as well.

Q: Touché. Do you think that Juliet views herself as a hero or a villain? And, in going into Season Four, does our perception of her change?

Mitchell: Your perception might change a little. I think Juliet is still, essentially, exactly who she is. I have always thought that she perceives herself more of a hero that a villain, although she’s very, very intelligent so she’s not completely oblivious to the fact that she’s been less than good. Her motives have always been purely what they are, though.

Q: What do you think the first thing your character would do if she did, in fact, manage to get off this island?

Mitchell: Well, she’d go see her sister. And she’d probably get back to her research. And she’d see, Julian, her sister’s son and that would be something I would love to see. Something tells me, you know, it just… it might never happen, but for Juliet I would love to see that.

Q: So, obviously you can’t give us any specifics about Season Four…

Mitchell: I know. I’m sorry. It’s so much fun too.

Q: But, if you could envision any possible future for Juliet, one in which she takes over the world perhaps?

(Mitchell laughs.)

Q: What would you hope to see for your character in Season Four?

Mitchell: Oh, hope to… hope to. I would love to see her become more ingrained with the castaways. I would love to continue to see her go towards what she says she’s going to do – take care of Sun, you know. And then, you know, I’m kinda up for seeing whatever else there is. I would love a little bit of fighting.

The fun with Juliet has been she’s never been black and white, she’s always been shades of grey and I like that. I would love to continue that. I think one way or the other is difficult… being all the way too good or all the way too bad. The fact that she’s so fallible is actually fascinating.

She's definitely fascinating to watch. And I for one am completely smitten with both Mitchell and Juliet, regardless of whether she's good, evil, or somewhere tantalizingly in the middle.

Part 1: Michael Emerson
Part 3: Yunjin Kim

Season Four of Lost launches Thursday, January 31st at 9 pm ET/PT on ABC.

Less Than a Thousand Words About "Ugly Betty"

I finally got around to watching last week's episode of Ugly Betty ("A Thousand Words By Friday") after a busy weekend... and a Thursday night that was filled to the brim with new episodes of Chuck.

While it wasn't the greatest episode to date, it was remarkable for one thing: that simply awe-inspiring ode to parental want from Amanda, whose every scene remains one of the series' most enduring high points. Was anyone else just blown away by her singing chops and her hysterical KISS-inspired tongue-wagging while she sang a song in an effort to reach out to her biological father, Gene Simmons?

Lucky for her, Gene googles himself every day so caught wind of Amanda's gig at the Beer Hole. Like father, like daughter, I suppose.

This week's episode was sadly light on Marc-'n-Amanda goodness (with the exception of the hysterical scene where they attempt to write a song to the beat of a Casio keyboard), but did offer up some amusement in the form of a number of headscratchers: Has Christina lost her job at the magazine as she is apparently never showing up for work for the next nine months? Does Betty know--having spoken to Christina--that she's agreed to be a surrogate for Wilhelmina? Does anyone have any reaction to this bit of odder than usual news? And why is Christina a virtual prisoner at Wilhelmina's apartment?

Still, each of those questions pales in comparison to the one that's plagued me for weeks: how is it that Marc--who no longer works at Mode--can still saunter into the offices and into Fay's secret sex room? Color me confused.

So tired of Gio still. I know that some of you aren't bothered by Henry's rival, but personally, I would still rather than Betty ditch both of these guys and find someone new, without Henry's emotional baggage, unborn baby, or purple sweaters.

Elsewhere, It was a hoot to see Gabrielle Union as Wilhelmina's lil' sister Renee (formerly known as Rhonda) and I hope that she sticks around once the writers strike comes to an end as (A) I like her as a potential foil for Willie and (B) she and Daniel make a pretty darn hot couple.

But what exactly is the mystery about who Renee really is, that Wilhelmina hints about at the episode's end? Any guesses as to who or what Renee might be? Sadly, given the Alexis storyline, we won't be finding out that Daniel's current squeeze used to be a man...

Reality Roundup: More "Survivor" for CBS; "Amazing Race" Staffing

In a move that surprised no one, CBS has gone ahead and renewed reality powerhouse Survivor for the 2008-09 season.

Additionally, Jeff Probst has also signed a new deal to continue on as the unflappable host of the series, which will return next season with its 17th and 18th installments.

"I still get excited to get on the plane and travel to another exotic location with another group of adventure-seeking, type-A personalities," Probst told The Hollywood Reporter. "It is without question the best job I've ever had."

Survivor's current installment launches February 7th while casting is already underway on the 17th season.

* * *

Meanwhile, fans of The Amazing Race will be happy to know that the sophisticated and decidedly unsnarky elder statesman of the reality genre will be returning with another season of Road Blocks, intra-team fighting, and Phil Keoghan.

While there has still been no official announcement from CBS, The Amazing Race will definitely be returning for at least another cycle and the producers have begun to quietly staff the next installment, a source close to the production told me.

Which is definitely cause to celebrate.

* * *

Lastly, a small tidbit from staffing land: a source has told me that Anthony Dominici, late of America's Next Top Model, where he was an executive producer (and before that a supervising producer on The Amazing Race), has taken over as showrunner on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Congrats, Anthony!

Papa Mars to Return to Small Screen in "Flashpoint"

Is Keith Mars returning to television... as a cop, no less?

CBS Paramount will team up with Canada's CTV to co-produce at least 13 episodes of police drama Flashpoint, which revolves around cops in a Strategic Response Unit (SRU) who deal with bomb threats, hostage situations, and gang warfare.

Series, which is expected to hit the airwaves sometime in May or June (once the current 2007-08 season has wrapped up), will use scripts from Canadian writers and air at the same time on CBS and CTV.

The series, created by Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern, will star Enrico Colantoni (Veronica Mars' Keith Mars), Hugh Dillion (Degrassi: The Next Generation), and David Paetkau (LAX).

Hell, if they throw in adorable Canuck actresses Caroline Dhavernas or Jewel Staite, I might just have to check out this summer series.

In the meantime, the pilot for Flashpoint has already been shot by CTV and was shopped to CBS, who joined the project once they viewed the completed pilot episode. The network will have creative input on the series, which according to Variety, will have production values "as good as any American production."

Stay tuned.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: NCIS (CBS); Biggest Loser (NBC; 8-10 pm); Reaper (CW); Just for Laughs/Just for Laughs (ABC); American Idol (FOX)

9 pm: The Unit (CBS); One Tree Hill (CW); According to Jim/Carpoolers (ABC); House (FOX)

10 pm: 48 Hours Mystery (CBS); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC); Boston Legal (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Doctor Who on BBC America.

Missed Season Three of Brit import Doctor Who or itching for another go-around with the Doctor and new companion Martha Jones? You're in luck as BBC America begins the series' third season anew tonight with "The Runaway Bride" and "Smith & Jones."

The Curious Case of Benjamin Linus: Getting "Lost" with Michael Emerson

I'll be blunt: Benjamin Linus scares the living bejesus out of me.

So I was a little terrified (to put it mildly) to be in the same room with Michael Emerson, who plays the villainous (or is he?) Ben on ABC's Lost.

But I am glad I put my irrational fear of Ben out of my mind as the soft-spoken Emerson was the very opposite of the character he plays on Lost: articulate, charming, and disarming... which just might be what makes Ben so dangerous.

I sat down with Emerson to talk about what we could expect for Lost's fourth season (kicking off on ABC this Thursday) and the ruthless leader of the Others.

Q: In the last part of Season Three, we learned a great deal about Ben’s backstory. Do you view him as a hero or a villain? And going into Season Four, does your perception of him change?

Emerson: Well, I’ve always had a notion that there was something heroic about him, that there was more to him than met the eye. That notion has been challenged somewhat by the sort of wickedness that seemed to be his, late in Season Three. But I’m going to hold on to the idea that we will revisit some of those events and they will be put in a new context. I think it’s still possible that Ben’s secret agenda is a heroic one.

Q: Throughout your career, you’ve been attracted to very complex characters. What about Ben attracts you as a performer and what about him do you find so incredibly engaging?

Emerson: I don’t know if I’m attracted to complex characters or really simple characters. Maybe it’s a little of both. But I do like that Ben is ambiguous. I’ve always liked that. I think because it tells the truth about people in general and about wicked people in particular that we don’t wear much of who we are on the surface. So, I enjoy playing him in a sort of a neutral gear and I think it leaves more to the audience’s imagination, which is what everyone in show business should be in the business of.

Q: At the end of Season Three, we saw Ben striving to prevent the castaways from activating that satellite phone and he was, at the very end, bloody and beaten. What kind of circumstances, both emotional and physical, do we find Ben in at the beginning of Season Four?

Emerson: We pick right up where we left off. The early part of Season Four is, if anything, more blood, more beatings, more violence. It’s… a period of upheaval in the lives of the Lost-aways and their adversaries and, of course, there are new adversaries as well.

Q: Were you surprised about the twist ending at the end of Season Three?

Emerson: I thought it was a stroke of genius. To project the show into a third sort of dimension of time, this is the thing that will make Season Four so great. It's some highly subtle video game we’ve now broken in to the tier of expertise so, a show that was previously two armies of adversaries working in two dimensions of time, now it’s going to be three armies and three dimensions of time. But it just gets more complex and, I think, more grown up.

Q: While I know you can’t go into specifics about Season Four, in terms of the dynamic between your character and Elizabeth Mitchell’s Juliet, do we see another shift in that sort of adversarial, sometimes on the same side dynamic?

Emerson: Yes, that relationship gets explored regularly on the show, generally in flashback, as far as I know. But... there are present day confrontations about to erupt.

Q: What do you hope to see for Ben in Season Four?

Emerson: What do I want to see for Ben in the fourth season? I hope that Ben is able to remain as compelling and mysterious as he has been. I think we’ll see Ben face greater challenges with fewer resources and that he might be propelled into a sort of a more heroic aura.

Hmmm, a heroic aura for a character who has proven himself a Machiavellian manipulator of the highest order? Stranger things have happened on Lost and I for one can't wait to see what happens to Ben next.

Part 2: Elizabeth Mitchell.
Part 3: Yunjin Kim

Season Four of Lost launches Thursday, January 31st at 9 pm ET/PT on ABC.

PaleyWatch: Details About the 2008 Lineup Emerge

The PR machine is in overdrive for the 2008 William S. Paley Television Festival, the fest's 25th anniversary installment, which moves its location this year from its cramped quarters at the DGA to the Cinerama Dome at the Arclight. (Wahoo!)

While the festival's organizers are being pretty coy about the full lineup and schedule this year, what with teasing us about a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunion, they have quietly nailed down some dates for some of the panels:

March 14th: Elvis '68 Comeback Special (Opening Night Selection)

March 15th: Pushing Daisies

March 17th: The Comedy World of Judd Apatow & Friends

March 18th: Chuck

March 20th: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reunion

March 21st: Dancing with the Stars

March 25th: Dirty Sexy Money

March 27th: Mad Men (Closing Night Selection)

The full lineup and schedule, including the date for the previously announced panel for Gossip Girl, is slated to be revealed on February 4th.

Individual tickets for members of the Paley Center for Media go on sale on February 7th, while Joe Public can buy tickets beginning on February 10th.

Me, I'm already trying to figure out how much a hit my wallet can take in order to determine just how many of these events I can attend.

What's On Tonight*

*Note: The State of the Union Address will wreak havoc with tonight's lineup. Check local listings.

8 pm: How I Met Your Mother/Two and a Half Men (CBS); Gossip Girl Revealed (CW; 8-9:30 pm); Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann (ABC); Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (FOX)

9 pm: Rules of Engagement/CBS Special Report: CES (CBS); The Office/30 Rock (NBC); Aliens in America (CW; 9:30-10 pm); Samantha Who (ABC; 9:30-10 pm)

10 pm: American Gladiators (NBC)

What I'll Be Watching

8-9:30 pm: Gossip Girl Revealed.

It's yet another chance to catch the pilot episode of the teen soap, this time with added features including interviews, commentary, deleted scenes, and character profiles.

10 pm: No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain on Travel Channel.

It's a brand new season of No Reservations on the Travel Channel; follow enfant terrible chef Anthony Bourdain as he travels the world in search of good food. In tonight's installment, Tony heads to the Greek Islands, where he swings by Crete and Ithaca and tries to determine whether or not the Greek really do have the world's healthiest fare.

Link Tank: TV Blog Coalition Roundup for Jan 25-27

Televisionary is proud to be a member of the TV Blog Coalition. At the end of each week, we'll feature a roundup of content from our sister sites for your delectation.

This week, I was all about British TV, from an advance look at Torchwood's second season opener to the awe-inspiring series finale of Life on Mars.

But, lest you think I abandoned US television, think again: I was enraptured by what could be the final two episodes of Chuck this season, gleeful about denim disasters on Project Runway, and pleased as punch with the winners of The Amazing Race 12.

Also, casting updates for $10 million FOX drama pilot Fringe from J.J. Abrams and NBC comedy pilot Kath & Kim.

But the biggest news of all: the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunion at the Paley Festival. I am so there!

Elsewhere in the sophisticated TV-obsessed section of the blogosphere, members of the TV Blog Coalition were discussing the following items...

• Buzz shared tons of stories from the Freaks and Geeks reunion in San Francisco. (BuzzSugar)
• Sandie interviewed Sophia Myles who plays Beth Turner on MOONLIGHT (Daemon's TV)
• Liz watched writers from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report stage a hilarious mock debate on the strike. (Glowy Box)
• Mikey wishes that James Marsters was in every episode of Torchwood. (Mikey Likes TV)
• Fergus looked at five shows that never made it to the airwaves, much to our disappointment. (Pop Vultures)
• To kick off the Adopt A Writer project Kelley interviewed Jasmine Love, a writer with credits from Moesha, The Division, and The District. (RTVW)
• Usually the first quarter is a slow time for finding new albums, but Scooter has rounded up a list of 29 albums to check out in the next four months. Well, 28 and Ashlee Simpson. (Scooter McGavin's 9th Green)
• Vance is going to miss Betty and Chuck during the strike hiatus. (Tapeworthy)
• Dan had some misgivings about Carson Kressley's tepid new show How to Look Good Naked. (TiFaux)
• Raoul interviewed Rachel and TK from The Amazing Race. (TV Filter)

NBC's "Chuck" Sandwich is Tasty

I'm a little sad today, given the fact that it's absolutely tipping outside and I no longer have any new episodes of NBC's action-comedy Chuck to look forward to this season.

Though I do have to say that I was amused by NBC's optimism, what with their "look for new episodes of Chuck soon on NBC!" promo. The way that things look now, last night's episodes may very well be the series' unintended season finale.

But for what it's worth, last night's double dose of Chuck ("Chuck Versus the Undercover Lover" and "Chuck Versus the Marlin") definitely fulfilled my burning need to catch up with the crew of the Buy More, with two fantastic episodes that, as promised to me by Adam Baldwin, revealed Casey's backstory (and a romance with Ivana Milicevic, no less!) and advanced the plot and the characters. Plus, there was plenty of Jeff and Lester, who have become two of my favorite dopey characters on television. (Their Mammary Cam shtick was absolutely hilarious.)

And it's clear that Dunder-Mifflin employees aren't the only workers playing Call of Duty on company time.

One question though: was Anna on vacation during the entire Buy More "robbery"? 'Cause I didn't see Morgan's girlfriend anywhere among the employee lineup, nor did she appear at all in either episode. Which is a shame as I loves me some Anna.

On the other hand, it was great to see Captain Awesome and Ellie shine in a two-part storyline that had them bickering over their anniversary present (she wants a huge television; he wants... a washer & dryer) and turning to Morgan, who steps up with his own unique brand of retail therapy. Plus, it was about time we had the obligatory Ellie-wakes-up-in-bed-with-Morgan storyline.

These two eps really gave Captain Awesome a chance to shine. I loved his participation in the Buy More guys' poker game... until it was creepily revealed to be a game of strip poker (his reaction as he ran out the door was priceless) and the casual way in which he forgot he had two younger brothers. Also loved that Captain Awesome entrusted his great-granny's ring to Chuck while he came up with the best way to pop the question to Ellie. Aren't those two lovebirds just adorable?

Meanwhile, it was fantastic to get a glimpse into Casey's history, as seen through his relationship with AP photojournalist/French secret service agent/dead girl llsa. These two made quite a couple and it was clear that the sparks between them were genuine, even if circumstances kept pulling them apart time and time again. But, as Chuck said, at least we know that Casey isn't a "robot" and does in fact have human emotions that go beyond growling. Say with me, people: sugar bear.

Plus, what other series could get away with a hackneyed Casablanca joke and still make it work? Or have a fight as kick-ass as the one with Casey and Chuck tied to a chair as they whirl around, taking out baddies, before plummeting into the hotel pool below? (None, I tell you!)

Drunk Casey = funny. Especially when he's listening to Neil Diamond in his underwear.

Also loved the fight between Sarah and Pita Girl at the Wienerlicious as both put the brutality on pause to tell two would-be customers that they're closed. But what exactly was the thing that Sarah made drop down from the ceiling after pushing the buttons on the till? Color me confused.

While I didn't really think that Chuck would end up in a padded underground cell after his identity as the Intersect was revealed to the Fulcrum, I was hoping that the danger would be a little more intense. Do we really believe that Fulcrum and Pita Girl wouldn't have had a bug capable of transmitting the data directly to them? Or that Pita Girl would have kept the intel to herself after playing back the transmitter rather than informing her superiors? Or a colleague? Still, these are minor quibbles in an evening that gave me more thrills and laughs than I've had in a while.

Best line of the evening: "I don't want to die a man stewardess." Though to be honest, it was a tough call between that and "Way to go, Chuck! I always knew you could handle my family jewels."

Ultimately, if these two episodes do wind up being the last of Chuck during the current 2007-08 season, I can at least feel good in the knowledge that we ended on a high note and that, whenever the strike ends and crew can get back to work, I'll be waiting for another hit. In the meantime, good luck, Chuck. We'll miss you.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Ghost Whisperer (CBS); 1 vs. 100 (NBC); Friday Night SmackDown (CW; 8-10 pm); Grey's Anatomy (ABC); Bones (FOX)

9 pm: Garth Brooks: Live in LA! (CBS); Friday Night Lights (NBC); Desperate Housewives (ABC); House (FOX)

10 pm: NUMB3RS (CBS); Las Vegas (NBC); 20/20 (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8-11 pm: BBC America.

If you happen to be staying in after a long work week, why not do it in true Anglophile style with back-to-back episodes of Coupling and The Catherine Tate Show?

PaleyWatch: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Reunion

It pays to be a member... of the Paley Center, that is.

As with most years since I moved out to Los Angeles (five years ago, for those keeping score), I'm planning on attending as many William S. Paley Television Festival events as I can (and as many as my wallet will allow).

The festival's organizers--from the Paley Center for Media--have been particularly canny this year, teasing the audience with little glimpses into this year's lineup (March 14-27 at the Arclight, in the Cinerama Dome, no less), which so far includes panels for Pushing Daisies and Gossip Girl and a special evening with Judd Apatow.

If that wasn't enough, they then made me drool with sweet, sweet anticipation with their latest tantalizing unveiling of the schedule, which features panels for Chuck, Dirty Sexy Money, Dancing with the Stars, and Mad Men.

And, oh, a reunion of the cast from a little show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Yes, that's right, ladies and gents, the cast of the cult show that spawned a creative genius, a television franchise, comic books, and more ancillary items that you can shake a stick at will come together for one night only.

I plan to be there for this momentous occasion.

In the meantime, the full lineup for the event--the festival's 25th--will be announced on February 4th. Mark your calendars and sharpen your stakes.

Denim Convention: The Designers Wrangle Levi's on "Project Runway"

Is it just me or are you just flat out confused as to why tear-prone Ricky is still in this competition... and how he managed to walk away with the top spot on last night's episode of Project Runway ("Even Designers Get the Blues")?

Grr.

I had a feeling that last night's editing was setting up a win for the former lingerie designer. Call it "The One with the Waterworks," if you will. It must have been a record for Ricky, who broke into tears on three separate occasions last night during a challenge in which the designers were tasked with creating an iconic piece out of Levi's brand jeans.

Was Ricky's lingerie-inspired dress good-looking? Yes, for a change; it was also well-constructed, which was also a bit of a departure for Ricky. But I thought the dress, essentially a ruffled piece of lingerie in denim, paled in comparison to Christian's iconic design, which reinterpreted the classic jean jacket and, well, jeans in a fashion-forward and unexpected way and he gets major points for (A) being the only designer to attempt to create a brand-new pair of jeans and (B) using jacket sleeves in order to do so. It was modern, hip, and definitely iconic. So why didn't it win?

Ricky's design definitely fit his model--styled up to look like Amy Winehouse--like a glove, but I didn't think there was anything particularly iconic about the design. It worked, it looked good, but it was yet another corset (albeit with buttons!) from a designer who has given us a lot of corsets this season. Im fact, it looked rather like a Guess dress from the '90s.

As much as I loved Christian's design this week, the designer himself was driving me up the wall with his continually catty comments and air of self-entitlement. While I normally find his attitude amusing, it turned caustic last night as he could not keep his mouth shut about anyone or anything, least of all "deconstruction" which he claimed to have mastered in "the first grade." He's become a cartoon with a Cubist hairstyle.

But at least when Christian doesn't approve of the challenge (remember the prom dress incident and the Hershey's challenge?), he still rises to the occasion to nail an ensemble. Even when he feels himself above a particular task, he still managed to create a memorable look... unlike Victorya who fades into the background. So it was no surprise that V. would do just that with this challenge, turning in a trenchcoat that was staid, boring, and unimaginative... and, yes, did look like a jean jacket with a skirt glued on for good measure. Ick. It was no surprise that she would be up for elimination but I had no idea that the bottom two would wind up being Jillian and Victorya!

Jillian--who also presented a trenchcoat (surprise!)--once again bit off more than she could chew, struggling against the time constraints and creating a garment that she was doomed to fail in just the ten hours allotted. The finished product was confused and just... odd, a pale blue, ruffled trench with an oversized collar that did not flatter her model in the least.

I was, however, really impressed with Rami's design, which was a major departure from his draped jersey aesthetic. He turned in a sleek, sophisticated dress that incorporated the jeans' zippers in unexpected ways and was definitely fashion-forward and inventive. Rami, you've redeemed yourself in my eyes after last week's debacle.

As for Sweet P, I do not understand why the judges were heaping so much praise on her design, which started off as a denim wedding dress (!) and then evolved into a shorter, less "hippie dippy" patchwork dress. While the judges oohed and ahhed over the garment, I was baffled: here was a dress that looked off-the-rack from Target that could not have been "dressed up or down" (as Nina alleged); to me, it looked cheap and not at all iconic. (Wasn't that the entire point of the assignment?)

Sigh. Poor Chris. It was a good idea to try to reinterpret the little black dress into a denim icon, but the little black dress exists for a reason: it can be worn by anyone, anywhere, at any time. It's fluid and flexible, flattering and fierce, all in one timeless package. Chris' design definitely seemed dated and failed to capture any of the iconic quality of the original or to use the denim in some unexpected way. Plus, I agree with the judges about the fraying. It was either too much or too little, but as it was, it was all wrong.

In two weeks on Project Runway, the designers get a clue about a mysterious field trip behind a closed door, Sweet P and Christian arm-wrestle, Chris looks baffled, and Michael Kors "feels like the Pope at a sex club." No idea what the challenge is, but I can't wait!

Casting Couch: FOX Lures More for "Fringe"

More casting announcements as pre-production on FOX's heavily anticipated 2-hour drama pilot Fringe continues to gain steam. (You can read my advance review of the Fringe script from October here.)

While it was widely reported that Tomas Arana had joined the cast