Lost fans: you don't have to make your way to the island via Ajira Airways in order to ask a question of the creative team or the series' stars.
Televisionary is taking questions from fans to put to Lost's executive producers/showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and stars Matthew Fox ("Jack Shephard"), Evangeline Lilly ("Kate Austen"), and Michael Emerson ("Benjamin Linus") for a series of on-camera interviews taking place this weekend.
If you have a specific question for any of the above producers or actors from Lost, please leave it in the comments section below.
I'll be accepting questions until midnight PT tonight and, while I can't promise I'll be able to ask any specific inquiry due to the brevity of these on-camera interviews, I am looking for some insightful and thought-provoking questions to add to the mix.
So who knows: your burning question might get asked after all.
Cylon? Clone? Resurrected human? A ghost? A demon? Just what is Kara "Starbuck" Thrace since returning from the clutches of death last season?
Tonight's episode of Battlestar Galactica ("Someone to Watch Over Me") looks like it will finally answer that elusive question as Kara seeks some answers about her, er, condition and gains some shocking revelations about her true nature.
While I have no knowledge of the upcoming plot twists ahead on Battlestar Galactica, the promo for tonight's episode (which can be found below) had me pondering some theories of my own, building on that of my recent theory about Kara's parentage and what I know from the two-hour pilot for prequel series Caprica.
I posited a few weeks back that Kara is actually the offspring of a human mother and the Cylon Model Seven, named Daniel. Which is why she is so vital to the Cylon race... and why Simon went so far as to remove her ovaries back on Caprica (remember that dangling plot thread?). And that using the resurrection technology that was recreated by Ellen Tigh, Kara's memories were downloaded when her Viper exploded in the nebula.
As we've seen, Starbuck did die on Earth. She and Leoben encountered her body in the wreckage of her Viper on the surface of the blue planet. So what is Kara then? As I previously stated, I think that she is a resurrected Kara and that the puppet master pulling her strings had created a body for her using the DNA samples extracted from her genetic material in Simon's possession. As for why? I think it was the work of a rogue Model Seven who managed to escape Cavil's destruction of his entire line... and I believe that he is Kara's father and reached out to save his daughter, after appearing to her in a vision in the guise of "Leoben." (More information about this theory can be found in this post.)
On tonight's episode of Battlestar Galactica, Kara is set to meet a piano player at Joe's Bar who offers her some knowledge about her past and what she really is. The notion of the piano player was introduced in last week's episode ("Deadlock") when Kara wondered when Joe's Bar had gotten a piano player. My theory: they never did.
I believe that Kara is visualizing this piano player though he doesn't actually exist in the reality perceived by everyone else around her; the barman's pointedly odd reaction to Kara's question would seem to support this as well. And we know that the Cylons can hear music--like "All Along the Watchtower"--that no one else can. So how is Kara perceiving things that aren't there? Using the same technology that the Cylons have to visualize other realities. As seen on the Cylon base ship in Season Three, the humanoid models can separate their perceptions: while we might see the stark white corridors of the techno-organic ship, they can see themselves surrounded by the trees of an ancient forest.
It's the same technology created by Daniel Greystone, the inventor of the Centurions, whose work is the basis for the BSG prequel series Caprica. Greystone previously invented a holoband, which grants the wearer to immerse themselves in a fully interactive virtual reality, a technology that I believe was essential in crafting the Centurions and the humanoid Cylon models. It's also this gift for perception, I believe, that grants Kara the ability to have that vision in "Maelstrom" and meet with the piano player in tonight's "Someone to Watch Over Me."
So who is the person she's interacting with, who disguised himself as Leoben and now potentially as a pianist? I believe it's the mythical Daniel whom Kara will be speaking with tonight and who will take her on a path of personal awareness. The shot of Kara as a child sitting at a piano would seek to support this as well. Plus, we know from Ellen Tigh's description of Daniel that he is an artist: he painted and so does Kara. If Kara played the piano as a child, so too could Daniel have known how to play.
Kara therefore is, like Hera, an important symbol of the future of the both Cylon and human races, a blend of both genetic reproduction and technological resurrection. While some have pondered whether she is a Trojan Horse, designed to undo humanity and serve as a "harbinger of death" (as the the hybrid foresaw), I think Kara is instead a sign of how both of their races can survive: by blending with one another and taking the strengths and weaknesses of both their natures.
What do you think? Is Kara the offspring of Daniel? Does that make her the first Cylon-human offspring? Or is she something else altogether? Discuss.
Tonight on Battlestar Galactica ("Someone to Watch Over Me"), Kara befriends a piano player who helps her come to a shocking realization about her destiny and Galen and Boomer attempt to reignite their relationship while the Cylons attempt to try her for treason.
As tickets are now on sale for the Paley Center's PaleyFest09 (also known as the William S. Paley Television Festival) for members of the Center (they go on sale to the general public on March 1st), I thought I'd ask once again this year: who's in for PaleyFest09?
Tickets are once again hard to come by at this year's festival, which boasts a lineup that includes panels for series 90210, Battlestar Galactica and Caprica, The Big Bang Theory, Big Love, Desperate Housewives, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Fringe, The Hills, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Mentalist, Swingtown, and True Blood.
For my part, I'll be at the panels for Battlestar Galactica and Caprica, Big Love, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Alone Blog, Pushing Daisies, and Fringe, though I probably should have also requested a seat at It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia as I love that series with a fiery passion.
But I am curious to know: For those of you reading who have gotten tickets already, which panels are you attending? And for those of you desperate to obtain seats, which panels are you most looking forward to? And which are the must-have seats of the year?
Discuss. (Meanwhile, the full schedule of PaleyFest09 events can be found here.)
I may have to take the X train to Zorgonia Avenue Station.
Just a few quick thoughts the morning after the latest episode of 30 Rock ("Jalisa"), previously known as "Larry King," in which Liz and Kenneth attempt to retrieve her lost mobile phone (with a saucy "adult" photo of Liz on it) from a cab driver in Queens, Jack and Elisa try to take their relationship to the next level, and Tracy causes pandemonium in Manhattan when he speaks about the Asian market crash on Larry King's eponymous CNN talk show.
While this week's episode didn't feature any of Jon Hamm's Drew Baird, he was an integral part of the plot nonetheless as the "boobies picture" he snapped of our Liz Lemon on her phone lead to a standoff with a extortion-ready Queens cab driver who didn't quite understand the point of "opposite day." I loved the fact that only Kenneth was willing to accompany her to Queens but wanted her to actually call him her "friend" out loud as traveling outside of Manhattan on official page business was verboten... and Liz returned the favor by lying to Kenneth about the real reason she wanted the phone back, making up an elaborate story about Nana Lemon, Nena's "99 Luftballons," and her birthday.
What else did I love? Kenneth getting tagged; Liz getting her purse snatched by a gang of unruly pre-schoolers; the guys tearing up the TGS offices looking for Tracy's secret treasure... and Kenneth realizing that he is the answer to Tracy's riddle; Pete getting confused for Peter Frampton; Jonathan's video of himself bare-chested and playing the flute; Don Geiss' prescient warning to "avoid the noid" on his video to GE executives; the return of Jorgensen; Elisa's present of a caricature of herself on a skateboard to Jack; Kenneth inviting Liz to an "asbestos removal" party at his apartment; Geiss having a "manstress" as well as a mistress; Tracy recounting the entire plot of Teen Wolf to an incredulous Larry King; his recounting of his casting in Rush Hour and how he was replaced by Jackie Chan; his warning about how "your Lexus is going to turn back into a pile of hot rats fighting over a human finger." Basically anything involving Tracy this week, really.
Best lines of the evening:
"Adult? You mean like you’re driving a car or wearing a suit?" - Kenneth to Liz, attempting to define "adult picture."
"Capitalism is ending. Either because of the Soviets or something crazy like a woman president." - Don Geiss
Next week on 30 Rock ("Goodbye, My Friend"), Liz befriends a pregnant teenage doughnut shop employee, in an effort to adopt her baby; Jenna demands more attention from the TGS staff as her birthday approaches; Jack bonds with Frank over their shared issues with their fathers on a night out with the guys.
I've received a lot of emails from readers wondering where this week's discussion of FX's Damages is and I have to make apologies for not getting it up yesterday, but sadly didn't get to watch Damages this week until the day after it aired. But this is Damages we're talking about so I didn't want to disappoint as there's quite a lot to discuss.
This week's sensational episode of Damages ("They Had to Tweaze That Out of My Kidney"), written by Aaron Zelman, answered some lingering questions in many audience members' minds and dealt beautifully with the mysteries surrounding Uncle Pete, The Visitor, and Patty's personal life... all while introducing a new mystery in the form of The Red File.
There also seems to be a bit of confusion stemming from one of the episode's biggest shockers so let's dive in and discuss "They Had to Tweaze That Out of My Kidney."
Uncle Pete. I'm glad that the series' creators decided to reveal a layer of Patty's past, exploring her childhood via a flashback that established her parents' unhappy marriage and her relationship with her Uncle Pete, her mother's ne'er-do-well brother who may have been a petty criminal in and out of prison but who looked after them and seemed to treat Patty as the daughter he never had. The reveal that Pete's favorite tune to whistle was the very same music heard throughout the flashbacks was a gorgeously subtle touch and proved the devotion that Uncle Pete and Patty had towards one another. Throughout everything, Patty has come to rely on Uncle Pete and put the full weight of her love behind everything she has done for him in return, while still enabling his criminal behavior on the side. After all, it's not everyone who would attempt to kill themselves rather than give evidence against their employers. But Pete's decision to take Stefania's medication in last week's episode was a symbolic sacrifice: the price of a father's love to protect his beloved child.
I was happy to see that Pete didn't just slip into a coma and die but did wake up and had a scene with Patty, in which she told him to protect himself. And I do believe Patty was sincere in this moment. She may have tried to have Ellen killed in order to silence her about Ray Fiske's suicide but she does owe Pete everything. Would she have allowed herself to go to prison in order to see Pete go free? I don't know. But I like to think that Pete gave Patty a shred of humanity and compassion that's lacking in her relationships with nearly everyone else around her.
The Murder. Which brings us to the murder of Uncle Pete. Many people--including Tom Aldredge, who plays Uncle Pete--seem to be under the impression that Patty had orchestrated the hit on Pete. But I think that's the furthest thing from the truth. For one, there was the bedside scene in which she tearily told him to save himself. Second, the call that Patrick made after he infected Pete's IV drip wasn't to Patty, despite the intentionally vague editing. Third, when Ellen does get a hold of Patty (at the same time that Patrick is making his own phone call), Patty is genuinely shocked and rocked to her emotional core: these aren't the tears of a murderer but of a bereft daughter. And, finally, Patrick urges his co-conspirators to drive away "before his boss [Patty] finds out."
So why was Uncle Pete killed? To silence him, yes, but not by the person whom everyone is blaming. It was something more petty that had nothing to do with the FBI's investigation of Patty Hewes. Pete was killed by the hoodlums he used in his criminal dealings, who wanted to be sure that he wouldn't rat them out. A sad and tragic death that really has nothing at all to do with the overarching plot against Patty.
One thing that bothered the hell out of me while watching this week's installment: why didn't the feds just radio the agent they had outside Uncle Pete's room when they learned that there was an unknown man inside Pete's hospital room? Surely, as he was right outside, he would have been able to apprehend Patrick far more easily than having Ellen run through the entire hospital to try to get a look at the guy. And shouldn't said agent also have tailed Patrick after he left Pete's room as well? Do I need to buy these Feds some walkie-talkies?
Messer. Meanwhile, Frobisher is finding himself in an increasingly uncomfortable situation while attempting to find spiritual fulfillment, possibly through the opening of a healing center build on the very spot of his shooting (loved that he buried the bullet, tweazed out of his kidney, in the ground) or in the arms of a coke-fueled hooker. But no matter what he does, he can't escape the jackal in his midst: Detective Messer, who knows all of his secrets, just like Pete did with Patty. But unlike Pete, Messer isn't willing to go quietly into the night. He doesn't appreciate Frobisher's new spiritual awakening and he wants, as he tells Frobisher's terrified guru, to reclaim Fro as his pupil. (Thankfully, he didn't kill that poor bunny, as I thought he would.)
So what does Messer want? For Frobisher to drop out of the class-action lawsuit against UNR and for Calder Security to return to Frobisher's payroll, especially as they've been working for him regardless of Frobisher's intentions, keeping an eye on Ellen Parsons and Katie Connor. Frobisher claims that he wants to accept the consequences for his actions but it's clear he doesn't: he wants to atone for what he did by building a healing center, not going to prison for murder and conspiracy charges. He's also terrified by the notion that Ellen visited him in the hospital and could have ended his life there and then. So does he send Messer after Ellen, as we saw in "A Pretty Girl in a Leotard"? Or is Messer once again using his own judgment in these matters?
Phil. I don't like that Patty's husband isn't turning out to be the kind-hearted soul we presumed him to be. Besides for the fact that he's cheating on Patty and disguising his trysts with "business trips to London," he meets with Dave Pell and actually considers his suggestion of buying UNR stock... and then calls his broker and arranges for a purchase of the shares via a hidden subsidiary account so Patty won't find out. Something tells me she won't look too kindly on Phil's recent decisions. After all, no one betrays Patty and gets away with it.
The Visitor. We now know for certain that The Visitor in the chair is none other than Patty herself. Just what gets Patty there and whether she is the same woman who gives Ellen a suitcase full of money in "Hey, Mr. Pibb!" remains to be seen. But we do know that Patty is clearly there in a state of duress, is sobbing and terrified. And we know that Ellen is lying about the gun not being loaded but I don't see her shooting and killing Patty in the series' second season. After all, Damages has already been renewed for a third season and I don't see FX killing off their lead character in Glenn Close. But I think Ellen is there to extort money from Patty, a final bonus check if you will, after learning something about Patty that puts her in the driving seat for a change. And the transaction would have been all about money, save for the fact that it's extremely personal for Ellen.
The Red File. So what's in the red file that Stefania discovers in a box at the back of Pete's closet? I loved that there was a dossier for Katie Connor and a picture of her beloved dog Saffron (circled in red, no less) that fleshes out the pilot's plot about the murder of Katie's pooch. But what's in Ellen's file? Something that propels Ellen to want to shoot Patty but I am not sure what: information about her murder? Why not just turn that over to the feds? No, I think it's something that goes a long way to explaining just why Patty wanted to hire Ellen in the first place, something from Ellen's past. Could it be that Patty had been keeping tabs on her for some time and wanted to hire her as a potential sacrificial lamb? Or is there something long-buried between the two of them from the past that even Ellen is unaware? Hmmm...
I'm curious to know what you thought of this week's episode. What do you think is in The Red File? Will Ellen open up David's wedding present? Will Patty find out that Phil is siding with UNR behind her back? Discuss.
Next week on Damages ("You Got Your Prom Date Pregnant"), Patty blames the FBI for Uncle Pete's death and goes on the offensive against the agency; Ellen discovers troubling news about ongoing federal investigation against Patty; Phil gets an intriguing offer.
Channel Surfing: Evangeline Lilly to Stay Put on "Lost," "Gossip Girl" Spin-off Finds Its Lily, Capshaw to Stay on at Seattle Grace, and More
Welcome to your Friday morning television briefing.
Kate isn't going anywhere, any time soon: Reps for Evangeline Lilly have denied a recent report on Zap2it.com that claimed that the Lost star was seeking work on another television project for this fall and have maintained that the actress is under contract on Lost until May 2010, when the series ends. We have no idea how this rumor got started," Lilly's rep told Michael Ausiello, "and whoever started it didn’t call us or ABC to verify the validity of it, for which there is none." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)
UPDATE: E! Online's Kristin has spoken with Lilly herself, who said that she isn't leaving Lost anytime soon. "I am very happy on Lost," said Lilly, "and have no reason to look anywhere else for a home." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)
Brittany Snow (American Dreams) will star in the Gossip Girl prequel spin-off, currently being referred to in the press as Lily. Snow will play wealthy teenage scion Lily Rhodes (who is played in the present day by Kelly Rutherford) who, after a fight with her parents, is forced to move in with her unconventional sister Carol (Krysten Ritter) in the San Fernando Valley. Also cast in the project: Shilo Fernandez (Jericho). The backdoor pilot for the spin-off will air as an episode of Gossip Girl on May 11th. (Hollywood Reporter)
Jessica Capshaw, originally slated to appear in a three-episode arc, has been signed to a contract on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, where she is currently playing Arizona Roberts, a pediatrician at Seattle Grace who has caught the eye of Sara Ramirez's Callie. Under the deal, Capshaw will appear in all of this season's remaining episodes and has an option to return next season as a series regular. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)
Rebecca Rand Kirschner Sinclair has signed a deal with CBS Paramount Network Television that will keep her on as executive producer/showrunner on CW's 90210 for the next two seasons. It's thought likely that the series' current executive producers/showrunners Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah will leave the series at the end of the season. (Hollywood Reporter)
The Los Angeles Times talks to Damages' Tom Aldredge, who plays Patty's nefarious (if dutifully loyal) Uncle Pete. "I had to decide early on: Why was it that Uncle Pete was willing to do these things for Patty?" Aldredge told LA Times' Denise Martin. "Why was he so loyal? Her enabler, in a sense. So I had decided on my own that he loved her." (Los Angeles Times)
Pilot casting news: Denis O'Hare (Milk) will star opposite Christina Cole in FOX's untitled Ian Biederman drama, where he will play a schizophrenia specialist who treats Maggie (Cole); David Morse (John Adams) will star in ABC's Empire State, where he will play the blue-collar father of the boy involved in a star-crossed romance with a wealthy girl; Lloyd Owen (Viva Laughlin) has joined the cast of ABC drama pilot Inside the Box, where he will play an Englishman who is named to replace the retiring Washington bureau chief; and Ben Feldman (Cloverfield) will play Amy Smart's boyfriend and colleague in ABC drama pilot See Cate Run (formerly known as I, Claudia). (Hollywood Reporter)
Elsewhere, Busy Philipps (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Dan Byrd (Aliens in America), and Brian Van Holt (John from Cincinnati) will star opposite Courteney Cox in ABC comedy pilot Cougar Town, from writer/executive producers Bill Lawrence (Scrubs) and Kevin Biegel. And CBS Paramount Network Television have closed a deal with Chris O'Donnell to star in CBS' untitled NCIS spin-off. (Hollywood Reporter)
Tom Fontana will write a twelve-episode series entitled The Borgias, about the villainous Renaissance-era Borgia clan for executive producers Chris Albrecht and Anne Thompoulos and French producers Lagardere Entertainment and Canal Plus. Project will be shot in English and sold to worldwide broadcasters, with emphasis made on a US sale. Production on The Borgias is slated to begin this fall in Europe. (Variety)
ABC is shooting a pilot for potential reality series Crash Course, in which couples must navigate driving through an obstacle course. Project shouldn't be confused with CBS' Thunder Road, which shares a similar concept; the ABC version is described as having "a comedic tone" and will feature couples rather than single contestants. Orlando Jones and Dan Cortese are attached to host the series, which comes from executive producers Arthur Smith and Kent Weed. (Hollywood Reporter)
Former NBC executive Teri Weinberg is launching her own production company, Yellow Brick Road, which has signed a two-year first-look deal with NBC Universal. Additionally, under the terms of her deal, Weinberg will receive an executive producer credit on upcoming NBC drama series The Philanthropist. Prior to her stint at NBC, Weinberg worked with Ben Silverman and Reveille, where she oversaw the company's scripted division, which hatched such series as The Office, Ugly Betty, and The Tudors. (Hollywood Reporter)
Gene Stein has been promoted to head of television at BermanBraun, six months after joining the company. Stein, who was most recently an ABC Studios-based producer, will oversee development and production on both the scripted and unscripted fronts. (Variety)
Stay tuned.
I don't know about you but I couldn't sleep last night as my mind is still reeling after yet another neck-snapping plot twist from Team Darlton.
I'm speaking, of course, of last night's episode of Lost ("The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham"), written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, which filled in a lot of the blanks about just what happened to John Locke between his leaving the island and his corpse's return trip.
Bookended by scenes of Locke with the survivors of Ajira Airways Flight 316 on the Hydra Island, this week's episode delves into several ongoing mysteries and answers some lingering questions about Locke's choice of pseudonym, the exit strategy from the island, Matthew Abaddon, Walt, and more.
Let's discuss.
The Plane. I was glad that we did learn this episode that the Ajira Airways flight carrying the Oceanic Six and Benjamin Linus DID crash, after all. While the members of the Oceanic Six were seemingly pulled from the timestream and dumped on the island in the same 1970s period as Jin and the other castaways, the rest of the passengers didn't fare so well as the plane crashes on Hydra Island... which explains why Juliet and the castaways didn't see another signs of a crash on the island itself. (Sneaky, Darlton!)
As Caesar (Sleeper Cell's Saïd Taghmaoui) and Ilana (Rome's Zuleikha Robinson) rifle through the contents of the Hydra Station--including finding a 1954 Time magazine about the Hydrogen tests in the South Pacific (the same date as the US military photograph that Eloise Hawking has in the Lamp Post) and a secreted gunshot under the desk, Locke sits on the beach in a black cloak. I'm glad to see that John was resurrected once he returned to the island; apparently, the island still does have a plan for him and it needs him alive... if the Ajira survivors keep him that way for long. After all, having a creepy bald man tell you that he died and knows who killed him (and that he's been to this island before) doesn't engender a lot of sympathy from a group of people desperate for escape from this accursed place.
Frank. Just how coincidental is it that the plane just happens to crash on a section of Hydra Island where there are a bunch of boats just waiting for them. (Hmmm.) Even more curious: that Frank Lapidus doesn't travel back in time with the members of the Oceanic Six but remains in the present-day time frame and manages to land the plane with a minimum of casualties.
The Woman. Which brings me to my next question: just why does Frank immediately take the passenger manifest list and head out in one of said boats with a mysterious woman? And, even more intriguingly (and this is what kept me up half the night): just who is The Woman? Theories off the top of my head include the mysterious woman glimpsed in the scenes for next week's episode ("LaFleur") who held at gunpoint with a sack over her head, Sun (who has yet to be seen in either timeframe), or someone who wasn't even on the plane altogether. If the boats had been placed in the right location for the crash, who's to say that there wasn't someone waiting to greet the plane, who has need of both Frank Lapidus and the passenger manifest? After all, the Others don't like uninvited guests on the island and we've seen that their modus operandi involves getting detailed lists of passengers straightaway.
Exit Route. Very interesting that Locke's donkey-wheel trip from the island involves the exact same trajectory as Ben's, depositing him in the middle of the Tunisian desert. The fact that the exit route isn't random explains quite a lot about this particular section of the world... and why Charlotte Staples Lewis would have encountered the remains of a Dharma-branded polar bear in the middle of the desert. Which leads me to wonder: did someone previously need to turn the wheel in order to move the island but opt not to take the escape route themselves? Did they instead hook up the bear to the donkey wheel and stand back in order to remain on the island? If so, who was smart enough to employ that trickery and why?
Knowing just where Locke would appear, Widmore was clever enough to employ cameras so he would get a heads up about whoever left the island and was therefore able to save Locke's life after he appeared in the desert and was immobilized. Widmore claims that he was "exiled" from the island so either took the same route himself off the island or knows that it is the exit point from the cavern underneath the Orchid Station. (The dichotomy of someone entering a well--representing water--and exiting through a desert isn't lost on me.)
Jeremy Bentham. How fantastic was the scene between Charles Widmore and Locke when Widmore gives him the Canadian passport for Jeremy Bentham and says that since Locke's parents clearly had a sense of humor about his name, he'll have one as well and give him the name of another British philosopher? It's the first time that Darlton are so precisely tongue-in-cheek about the fanciful names on the series and state outright that the choice of pseudonym was intentional rather than accidental. Brilliant.
Locke. As predicted, Locke does spring back to life once he returns to the island... and is once again able to walk. The shot of him cloaked in black, staring out into the night sky, filled me with dread for a second, until he pulled back the hood... and then ate a mango the following morning. I loved the fact that back in the "real world," Locke was again confined to a wheelchair and forced to suffer the pity and contempt of everyone around him.
So sure of his mission and purpose, Locke encounters nothing but scorn and derision from the members of the Oceanic Six whom he encounters. And yet after everything--including the murder of Naomi at the end of Season Three--would you really blame the Six for denying his purpose? Kate is particularly cruel to Locke, throwing his obsession back in his face, while Jack doesn't want to have anything to do with Locke... who is again spouting lines about fate when he ends up in Jack's hospital after a car accident that should have killed him (yet doesn't as the island still needs him). Locke does figure out that Christian is Jack's father and sends him a message, a fact that rattles Jack immensely (and could explain his confusion about his father being upstairs in "Through the Looking Glass"). I also loved that Hurley thinks Locke is nothing more than a ghost and freaks out when he realizes that Locke is actually alive and talking to him about going back to the island.
The scorn of the castaways? Yet another trial for Locke, who faces the doubting Saint Thomas everywhere he turns. Locke was mocked and humiliated and told he's no one before the island and even after returning to the mainland, he's told it again: that he's not special, no matter what he might think. He's a crazy, lonely old man who has nothing to live for. It's clear now why the castaways stay away from John's funeral, especially when the newspaper report states that the cause of death was suicide... except it wasn't.
When Richard Alpert told Locke that he would have to die in order to bring the others back, he never said that Locke would have to kill himself. In fact, I thought it highly unusual that Locke would jump to that conclusion from Richard's words but perhaps he felt it was his final test: to extinguish his own life in order to reunite the Oceanic Six and save the world. He was ready (more than ready, really) to take that literal plunge, to sacrifice himself to protect the lives of others. But that's not what Christian had in mind when he talked about sacrifice either. So it's not suicide that does Locke in but the murderous rage of a true Judas Iscariot: Benjamin Linus.
Walt. I am glad that Damon and Carlton chose to include Walt in this episode (and have Matthew Abaddon make a pointed remark about how much Walt has grown) as the failure to include Walt in the return trip to the island has always gotten under my skin since the start of Season Five. After all, Locke would definitely go see Walt, as we've been told numerous times that Walt is also "special" and "important," just like Locke. So is he the future leader of the Others? Perhaps. After all, Walt was "tested" back on the island... and Ben made sure that he was removed from the island in the end. And yet I liked that Locke chose not to involve Walt, saying that he had been through too much already to subject him to another jaunt to the island; it goes a long way to explaining why Walt wasn't on that plane. Their meeting also has another benefit as Walt tells Locke about a prophetic dream he had of Locke, back on the island and wearing a suit, surrounded by people who wished him harm. I'm hoping that Locke takes Walt's warning to heart and pays especially close attention to the Aijira survivors. It's only a matter of time before they turn on him.
Abaddon. I loved the explanation that Matthew Abaddon was employed by Widmore to make sure people get to where they've got to go; it's a metaphysical rationale of his position as Locke's driver back on the mainland. After all, it was Abaddon who made sure Locke was on Oceanic Flight 815: he told Locke about the walkabout when posing as an orderly at the rehabilitation center and ensured that Locke would end up on the island. Which makes me question whether Widmore and Abaddon are as evil as they seem. After all, their actions ensured that Locke WOULD get on the island in order to lead the Others and Abaddon was responsible for putting together the scientific team on the Kahana--a group that included Naomi Dorrit, Miles, Charlotte, Frank Lapidus, and Daniel Faraday--and therefore put them on the island as well. That so many of them have connections to the island (or have been there before) seems to indicate that Widmore wanted them in place for a reason. But I didn't expect that Ben would brutally murder Abaddon in the cemetery, after he took Locke to see Helen's grave. Lost has killed many a character in its time but this one had my jaw on the ground with its simple brutality and explicit surprise.
Widmore. Widmore is quick to point out that he doesn't kill Locke, though he had the opportunity to do so. In fact, he goes to great lengths to make sure that Locke stays alive and has some plausible explanations for why he sent Keamy and the team (along with a freighter rigged with C4) to the island in the first place: to kill Benjamin Linus. If that seems like a bit of overkill, it doesn't hurt to realize that, even with all that manpower, Ben still managed to survive.
So is Widmore good? I wouldn't say that any of the puppet masters on this series could be viewed in terms of black and white, but Widmore does seem to genuinely care about the island (or so he claims) and want to see Locke restored to his rightful place as the leader of the Others. He speaks about his exile from the island (which supports my theory a few weeks back of a civil war among the Others) and his hatred of Ben, who is the wrongful leader of the Others. Ben's usurption of the leaderhood came with blood on his hands and not the careful testing that Richard Alpert refers to... and Ben turned the wheel and moved the island, even though it wasn't his right to do so. If there is a war coming, is it possible then that Widmore, knowing how "important" Locke is, wants him on his side rather than Ben's? And just what is at stake for both sides in this coming war?
Ben. I have to say that I am truly shocked by Ben and the lengths he will go to in order to ensure his endgame, whatever that may be. After several weeks of development that seemingly pointed to Ben as a potential hero (or anti-hero, as the case may be), we're now left to doubt everything the trickster had said once again. Managing to prevent Locke from hanging himself, Ben manages to gain some valuable intelligence. Locke tells him that Jin is still alive on the island and that he made a promise to him to tell Sun not to come back to the island and has his wedding ring as proof of life. Ben only cares about Jin being alive inasmuch as it's a way to get to Sun, to convince her to join his cause.
But Ben seems absolutely SHOCKED when Locke mentions that he has to go see Eloise Hawking. It's clear that, while Ben knows who Hawking is, he either didn't know that Hawking had a means of getting back to the island or doubted that Locke knew how to get back. In any event, it's this moment that triggers Ben to act, strangling Locke with the extension cord and rigging the room to look like a suicide. Ben is careful to wipe everything down but doesn't check Locke's pockets... thus missing the suicide note he left for Jack, the contents of which Ben is later VERY curious about.
In killing Locke, Ben seemingly enables Richard Alpert's words to come true: Locke does have to die in order for the others to come back, something that Ben didn't know. Are Ben's murderous actions going to be his very undoing? It certainly seems that way. Eloise Hawking is very careful to tell Jack--and pointedly not Ben--about the proxy and instructs him to place something of Christian's in Locke's coffin, which Jack does... without telling Ben. Something tells me that Ben will be very surprised to see Locke alive again as I'm wondering whether his mission to bring those who left the island back involved Locke's corpse more than it did Locke himself.
Me, I can't wait for next week.
Next week on Lost ("LaFleur"), Sawyer concocts a lie with some of the other island survivors in order to protect themselves from the mistakes of the past; members of the Oceanic Six arrive on the island; one of the survivors of Ajira Airways Flight 316 is seemingly taken prisoner.
Color me very surprised.
If there's one thing that Top Chef has remained in five seasons of culinary challenges, Quickfires, and Eliminations, it's that it's always unpredictable. At times, frustratingly so. The judges are quick to remind us that every chef is only as good as their last dish and this week's season finale of Top Chef: New York, in which the final three chefs face off at Commander's Palace in New Orleans, was no exception to that rule.
Had you asked me at the beginning of this season whether I could have predicted that the final three chefs competing for the title would have been Carla, Stefan, and Hosea, I would have laughed. Sure, I figured that Stefan would be in the mix as he's been consistently amazing throughout the season, dazzling the judges with his precise execution and innovative flavor profiles, even as he rubs his fellow contestants the wrong way with his brazen arrogance. Carla has been the underdog for the last few weeks but reminded the judges (and the home audience) that she is a classically trained chef who cooks from her heart... and managed to take home quite a few wins as a result. And Hosea? I haven't been too impressed with Hosea throughout this season. He's had a few good dishes but he hasn't wowed the judges too often and seemed to coast by in the middle of the pack more often than not.
So who won the title of Top Chef and a cool $100,000 to start their own restaurant? And who went home empty-handed? Let's dish.
It wouldn't be a Top Chef season finale without a few twists or two. I loved the inclusion of Richard, Casey, and Marcel as the contestants' sous chefs in the final challenge, rather than bring back other ousted competitors from this season, which has now become a bit of a cliché. It was fantastic to see these three competitors, who placed extremely well in their respective season finales but failed to take home the top prize, pair up with the final three. I had a feeling that Hosea would select Richard (I would have), that Casey would end up with Carla, and that Stefan would pick Marcel.
But I didn't imagine that Casey would completely derail Carla's chances at taking home the top spot. I think Casey's intentions were completely honorable and she genuinely thought she was helping Carla by making some suggestions about what to serve. But Carla has excelled this season when she has cooked from her heart and cooked what she loves to cook. That passion and love has infused her dishes with a soul that is lacking in some of the dishes created by the other chefs (cough, Stefan). Sadly, Carla was completely swayed by Casey and as soon as they decided to sous-vide the New York strip steak, I knew that Carla was sunk.
I also appreciated the fact that in addition to cooking a three-course meal, the chefs were blindsided a little bit by the inclusion of a passed hors d'oeuvres course that would involve either alligator, redfish, or crab... and sure enough Hosea drew the lucky knife and stuck Stefan with the alligator.
Still, the hors d'oeuvres that the chefs created were each remarkable. Carla's shiso soup with blue crab and chaote squash looked gorgeous and had an intense combination of flavors while still retaining the very essence of the blue crab. I thought the presentation on Hosea's blackened red fish on corn cake with creole remoulade was outstanding and the execution and conception were spot on. Even faced with alligator, a tricky ingredient if there ever was one, Stefan turned out an amazing alligator soup with celeriac and puff pastry. Well done, all around.
The starter course on the other hand was a bit of a mixed bag. The judges loved Carla's seared red snapper with saffron aioli, braised fennel, and grilled clam, a deconstructionist take on bouillebasse that just screamed Carla. Hosea underseasoned his starter, a sashimi trio of black bass, hamachi, and tuna with citrus and tempura bits. And Stefan made a rare miscalculation with his smoked salmon and halibut carpaccio with micro greens and American caviar: he never should have frozen that fresh fish in order to thinly slice into millimeter-thin pieces. Yes, the presentation was absolutely gorgeous and it pointed to his strong use of innovative techniques, but the result was a watery serving of fish that lost its intrinsic quality by undergoing freezing. Hmmm...
Up next: the main course which showcased some strong execution and imaginative flavor profiles from Stefan and Hosea... and which quickly knocked Carla out of the running. Her sous vide New York strip steak with seared potato rod and merlot sauce was not indicative of her cooking style, her classical background, or her soul; Carla was far too easily swayed by Casey's insistence that she needed more oomph on the plate and stepped way too far out of her comfort zone. This dish was not a Carla dish by any means and it sealed the deal for her, sadly. Meanwhile, Hosea offered up a dish of seared scallop with foie gras on pain perdu with apple preserves and foie gras foam, which seemed the perfect combination of his vision and Richard Blais' molecular gastronomy techniques; the combination of sweet and savory and the shoutout to New Orleans in the form of the pain perdu (French toast) was a stroke of genius. Stefan offered the judges their favorite dish of the evening with his pan-seared squab with braised cabbage, Schupfnudein, foie gras, and grape jus. It was a dish that knocked the socks off the judges and perfectly encapulated Stefan's approach to food and his signature style in one dish. (And it had me ravenously drooling.)
For the final course, Carla and Stefan opted for dessert while Hosea took the opportunity to move towards a richer, heavier course that was in keeping with his menu's progression from light to heavy. Carla once again had the opportunity to do her own thing but instead listened to Casey and turned her blue cheese custard tart into a souffle... but neglected to turn down the oven, which resulted in a boiled mess that she refused to serve. Instead, she offered up the other elements already assembled on the plate: an apple tart coin with blue cheese and walnut crumble, micro greens, and kumquat marmalade; once again, she was undone by Casey's influence and she knew she had lost her shot.
Hosea's main course consisted of a beautifully cooked pan-roasted venison with chestnut and celery root puree, wild mushrooms, and carbonated blackberries, courtesy of Richard. It was a sophisticated dish and the contestants were told explicitly that they didn't have to prepare a dessert. His menu did showcase his talents, his style, and his vision and it did have a nice progression, even without dessert.
As for Stefan, I expected more. He's wowed the judges with dessert courses before so I expected him to concoct something truly show-stopping with his offering. But the judges thought that his dated combination of stracciatella ice cream, chocolate mousse, vanilla syrup, and banana lollipop wasn't sophisticated nor was it the best note on which to end the meal.
If Stefan hadn't frozen the carpaccio and had created a different dessert that better showcased his abilities and offered a nicer progression of richness in the menu, I believe he would have won last night. After all, he had been consistently at the top of the pack throughout the season and this was his game to lose. Yet his overconfidence did him in, I believe, in the end. This wasn't his best performance and two of his courses left a lot to be desired. I hoped that Carla would be the one to dethrone him but even she knew--and tearfully admitted to the judges--that she hadn't cooked her food and hadn't showed them her soul on the plate. And then there was Hosea; he offered up a beautiful menu with the least amount of missteps and displayed a confidence and belief in himself and his style of cuisine that seemed to win the judges over.
Still, I can't believe that they awarded the top prize to Hosea. I was shocked beyond belief that the season played out the way it did and that Hosea, whom I had pretty much written off, was declared the winner of Top Chef: New York. Just completely flabbergasted. Yes, you are only as good as your last dish and he did present the best menu overall (though not the judges' favorite dish, I might add) but shouldn't overall quality throughout the competition count in your favor? Isn't being a Top Chef also about always delivering the very best quality, consistently and repeatedly?
What did you think of the outcome? Would you have awarded the top prize to Hosea if you had a say? And were you heartbroken when Carla cried in front of the judges? Discuss.
Next week on Top Chef ("Watch What Happens Reunion"), watch what happens when Bravo's Andy Cohen reunites the contestants of Top Chef: New York with the judges to find out what really went on behind the scenes of the latest season of the culinary competition series.
THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED FEATURE-LENGTH PREQUEL TO THE SERIES PHENOMENON, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA PREMIERING EXCLUSIVELY ON DVD AND DIGITAL DOWNLOAD
Universal City, Calif. - Caprica, the highly anticipated prequel to Battlestar Galactica, will enjoy its world premiere exclusively on DVD on April 21, 2009 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. In a groundbreaking move sure to delight fans of the long-running television phenomenon, the feature-length prequel will be available on DVD as a limited-edition uncut and unrated version before the series’ broadcast premiere on the SCI FI Channel in 2010. Caprica is executive produced by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick (Battlestar Galactica) and Remi Aubuchon (24). Exclusive bonus features that take viewers behind the scenes of the creation of Caprica make this DVD a landmark event for any fan of Battlestar Galactica. The film will also be available at selected online destinations for digital download transactions.
As Battlestar Galactica wraps its gripping final season on SCI FI on March 20, 2009, Caprica begins a brand new epic saga that continues the franchise’s commitment to thought-provoking storytelling and extraordinary characters. Set over 50 years before the events of Battlestar Galactica, Caprica is a world at the peak of its power, grappling with new science and technologies and the issues they create. The series will star Golden Globe nominee Eric Stoltz (Mask, Pulp Fiction), Esai Morales (Jericho, NYPD Blue), Paula Malcomson (Deadwood, ER) and Golden Globe® nominee Polly Walker (Cane, Rome) in a story laced with passion, intrigue and family conflict.
“We are thrilled to take the groundbreaking step of offering the world-premiere of the Caprica feature-length extended pilot episode on DVD prior to the new series’ television debut,” said Hilary Hoffman, Senior Vice President, Brand and Digital Marketing for Universal Studios Home Entertainment. “This innovative distribution model will serve to satisfy Battlestar Galactica fans’ appetites for a new content while building excitement for the franchise’s next great adventure."
“Ever since fans first caught wind of the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica, they have been eagerly following its development,” said Mark Stern, Executive Vice President, Original Programming for SCI FI & Co-Head Original Content, Universal Cable Productions. “We wanted to give them a chance to see the pilot in its original form and experience the prequel to the BSG story while that series’ finale was still ringing in their ears. It also affords the creative team an unprecedented chance to get viewers feedback before production on the Caprica series begins this summer.”
“If Battlestar Galactica offered us a way to shatter the conventions of space opera, Caprica will be a show which will challenge the conventions of science fiction storytelling as a whole,” said Ronald D. Moore, Executive Producer/Writer.
“Part sweeping soap, part meditation on the dangerous moral ramifications of artificial intelligence, this is a truly unique opportunity to continue telling stories which will be as daring and shocking as the best of Galactica -- and yet will be altogether different from Galactica,” said David Eick, Executive Producer.
Universal Cable Productions will begin production on the Caprica series in the summer of 2009 in Vancouver for a 2010 television premiere on the SciFi Channel. The DVD of Caprica is priced at $26.98 S.R.P. Preorder close is March 3, 2009.
Technical specs for the DVD release can be found below.
BONUS FEATURES:
· Feature Commentary with Director Jeffrey Reiner and Executive Producer/Writer Ronald D. Moore and Executive Producer David Eick
· Deleted Scenes
· Video Blogs
· What the Frak is Caprica?
· The Director’s Process
· The V Club
· The Birth of a Cylon
SYNOPSIS:
Set 50 years before Battlestar Galactica, Caprica follows two rival families and their patriarchs – Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz) and Joseph Adama (Esai Morales) – as they compete and thrive in the vibrant world of the 12 Colonies, a society recognizably close to our own. Enmeshed in the burgeoning technology of artificial intelligence and robotics that will eventually lead to the creation of the Cylons, the two houses go toe-to-toe blending action with corporate conspiracy and sexual politics.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION:
Street Date: April 21, 2009
Pre-Order Close: March 3, 2009
Copyright: 2009 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Price: $26.98
Selection Number: 61109037
Running Time: 1 Hour 33 Minutes
Layers: Dual Layer
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
Rating: Not rated.
Languages/Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Stay tuned.
Channel Surfing: "Hex" Star Lands FOX Pilot, First "Melrose Place" Casting, Seinfeld Sells Reality Series to NBC, Cassar Quits "24," and More
Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.
Former Hex star Christina Cole has been cast as the lead in FOX's untitled Ian Biederman drama, where she will play a female surgeon who suffers from adult-onset schizophrenia; Cole Hauser (K-Ville) will star in CBS drama pilot Washington Field, where he will play the squad's supervisor; Michael Nouri (Damages) has been cast in ABC drama pilot Empire State, where he'll play the wealthy father of a girl involved in a star-crossed romance with a blue-collar worker; and Anthony Carrigan, Michelle Borth, Bob Stephenson, and Rochelle Aytes have been cast in ABC's untitled Jerry Bruckheimer drama pilot (formerly known as The Unknown). (Hollywood Reporter)
NBC has ordered reality/comedy hybrid series The Marriage Ref, from executive producers Jerry Seinfeld and Ellen Rakieten, in which celebrities offer advice to real-life couples battling "classic marital disputes." So far there is no launch date for the series, nor has a timeslot been announced. "Jerry called us up and told us he had an idea," said NBC's Ben Silverman. "He flew in to sit down with us, and he and Ellen pitched the show. We were laughing the whole time as they went through the concept. As Jerry noted, some of the greatest comedies in history have been about marriage." (Variety)
Michael Rady (Swingtown) is the first actor to be cast in the CW's remake of Melrose Place; he'll play Jonah Miller, an aspiring filmmaker who pays the rent by working as an event videographer after relocating to LA with his fiancée a year ago. Comparisons are already being made between the character of Jonah and Andrew Shue's Billy Campbell from the original FOX series. (Hollywood Reporter)
In other casting news, Derek Luke (Notorious) has landed the lead in NBC drama pilot Trauma, where he will play a trauma doctor who struggles to be a devoted husband and father. Also set to join the cast: Kevin Rankin (Friday Night Lights), Cliff Curtis (Live Free or Die Hard), and Jamey Sheridan (Law & Order: Criminal Intent). (Hollywood Reporter)
Executive producer Jon Cassar has left FOX series 24 after six seasons after he and the studio failed to come to terms on a new contract. "I will not be involved with the upcoming eighth season," Cassar told Michael Ausiello. "Although that's sad for me to leave after six years, it's also very exciting to be back in the marketplace working with different people and facing different challenges." Next up for Cassar: directing CBS drama pilot Washington Field. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)
FOX has renewed animated comedy The Simpsons for two additional seasons. Under the terms of the deal, The Simpsons will reach its 22nd season, making it the longest-running primetime series. (Variety)
CBS is said to be close to ordering two additional cycles of long-running reality series Survivor, the series' 19th and 20th, for the 2009-10 season. The CBS reality staple has seen a ratings upsurge this season and could be on course to celebrate its 10th anniversary next year. (TV Week)
BBC Three has renewed supernatural drama Being Human for a second season of eight episodes. The current season, which is set to air Stateside on BBC America later this year, concludes this Sunday. (BBC)
FOX has rolled comedy pilot Walorsky, about a former cop turned security guard at a Buffalo, NY mall, to next season after the network faced problems casting the lead role. Move marks the fourth pilot, after Confessions of a Contractor, Funny in Farsi, and Planet Lucy, to be rolled over. (Hollywood Reporter)
Lauren Conrad has told Seventeen magazine that the next season of MTV's The Hills will be her last. "My biggest thing with the show was that I wanted to walk away from it while it’s still a great thing," she explains. "I always want to remember it that way. I gave MTV a deadline and said, 'This is as long as I can do it and stay sane.'" (via People)
The cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, including Patrick Stewart, Levar Burton, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, Wil Wheaton, Denise Crosby, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, and Jonathan Frakes, will lend their voices to an upcoming episode of FOX's Family Guy, slated to air next month. The episode, entitled "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven," follows the Griffins as they head to the annual Trek convention. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)
FOX has brought on former My Wife and Kids co-creator/executive producer Don Reo as showrunner on the fourth season of 'Til Death; he'll work alongside series creators Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith. (Hollywood Reporter)
ABC Family has acquired rights to the final season of the WB/CW series Gilmore Girls, which it will air beginning in June. The cabler now owns rights to all 153 episodes of the series. (Variety)
Stay tuned.
Last night's episode of BBC America's Last Restaurant Standing ("Oxford Formal Halls") was a personal one for me and not just for the Oxford setting but specifically because the college that James and Alasdair had to prepare a meal for was the very one that I attended: Wadham College.
I had the opportunity as an undergraduate to dine at the High Table for Christmas dinner with the dons and fellows. It was an occasion that I will remember for the very rest of my life and it was made especially memorable by the fact that my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) was there beside me. Oxford is steeped in tradition and everything, even the way meals are conducted in hall, have an elaborate sense of precedence.
So I was extremely excited (and a little terrified, frankly) to see just how the three teams in Raymond's latest Challenge would conduct themselves when faced with the daunting task of preparing a fine dining experience for the High Table and another fantastic meal for the roughly 150 undergraduates as well.
So how did they acquit themselves? Let's discuss.
James and Alasdair. I was extremely curious to see whether this duo would be able to communicate more effectively this week, especially after the bollocking that Raymond gave them in last week's episode. James is an extremely capable chef but hasn't yet proven that he can (A) cook for a large group of people or (B) that he can run a restaurant in an equal partnership. He completely blew the opportunity to prove both of those things this week by only focusing on the High Table dinners (and wrongly leaving the Herculean task of feeding all of the undergrads to Helen) and by spending nearly all of the budget on the food... without consulting Alasdair, who was then left £58 to spend on wine. Which wouldn't be a Good Thing under normal circumstances but it was most definitely not good here, when the dons have their pick of some of the world's very best wine cellars in Oxford. Serving them barely potable swill didn't do them any favors, no matter how well crafted their dining experience may have been.
Also a glaring error: not following protocol and serving everyone on time. The Wadham team seemed to be very much behind schedule (so did Mike and Harriet as well) and that didn't exactly endear them to the dons or students. Still, I would have been surprised if Raymond had closed their restaurant this week. Was it wise not to go overbudget? Perhaps, because Raymond and the inspectors would have seized upon that fact during the judging. All in all, I think they definitely made mistakes but were at least focused. And it helped that they had Helen and Stephen; Helen was able to crank out 150 meals without breaking a sweat and Stephen had attended Cambridge and was able to help them out with some of the protocol issues. But the prime numbers "theme"? Invisible.
Caroline and Chris. As soon as they decided to make the evening about Sir Walter Raleigh and then opted to hire a potato juggler and hand out tins of snuff to the students, I had a sense that this was all going fairly pear-shaped. Chris did take Raymond's critique about his under-seasoned, bland food to heart and used a lot more herbs and salt this week. But he completely missed the point about High Table and Low Tables not getting the same food, serving everyone from dons and fellows to undergrads 70 pence chicken legs that did, as one fellow admitted, "look like blue-collar food." There's no elegance or drama to Chris' food and it does look fairly pubby on a regular basis. Unless these two can get their act together quickly, it's only a matter of time before Raymond takes the keys to their restaurant away.
Mike and Harriet. And then there was Mike and Harriet. Once again, they tried to overthink the issue and focus on competing "smartly" instead of thoughtfully. There was no reason to cook beef bourguignon for six hours. Or steam a lamb for four hours. Harriet's strength has been in her cuisine and she made some spectacularly wrong-headed choices this week. Once again, her father Mike did her no favors either. Facing an increasingly impatient crowd, he seemed as effective a front-of-house host as a headless chicken and his rudeness when dealing with the college's officers was shocking. Cutting off a discussion by saying he wanted to stay on agenda? Yet another example at how this man has no social graces whatsoever. Cooking in an Oxford dining hall was an extraordinary opportunity and one that outsiders normally don't receive; to throw that back in the faces of the people who made this possible was charmless, foolish, and just plain rude.
I knew that these two had managed to squeeze by elimination for the last time. After being on the chopping block twice before, I had a feeling that Raymond and the inspectors would swing the axe this time. And, despite the promise that Harriet showed with the cooking, I can't say that I am sad to see them go.
What did you think of this week's episode? Do you agree with Raymond's decision to send Harriet and Mike packing? Who are you rooting for to win their own restaurant? And which team will be the next to get cut from the competition? Discuss.
Next week on Last Restaurant Standing ("Flags of the World"), the remaining teams must incorporate the cuisines of foreign countries into their menus, while maintaining their own concept and identity.
Channel Surfing: Amy Acker Gets "Happy" for ABC, "Stargate Universe" Adds Cast, Lance Reddick, "Fringe," and More
Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.
Amy Acker, who currently recurs on FOX's Dollhouse, has been cast in ABC supernatural mystery pilot Happy Town, where she will play the wife of small town cop Tommy Conroy (Geoff Stults). Elsewhere, Eric Christian Olsen (Brothers & Sisters) will play the lead in ABC's untitled Ricky Blitt comedy pilot, about a 30-something guy in a state of arrested adolescence who is stuck between the demands of his needy best friend and his new girlfriend, who has teenage children; Taylor Schilling (Dark Matter) will play the lead in NBC drama pilot Mercy, where she will play Veronica Callahan, a nurse who was previously stationed in Iraq; and Dakota Goyo (Ultra) has been cast as NBC's untitled Daniel Cerone drama pilot (formerly known as Brothers & Detectives), where he will play an 11-year-old genius who helps his older brother, a police detective (Jimmy Wolk), solve crimes. (Hollywood Reporter)
Ming-Na (ER) and Elyse Levensque (Smallville) have joined the cast of Sci Fi's Stargate Universe, opposite Robert Carlyle, Lou Diamond Phillips, Alaina Huffman, Justin Louis, David Blue, Jamil Walker Smith and Brian J. Smith. Ming-Na will play Camille Wray, an HR exec while Levensque will play Chloe Armstong, the wild daughter of a US senator on the series, which is slated to launch in October. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)
Lindsay Price (Lipstick Jungle) has been cast in ABC drama pilot Eastwick, based on the 1987 film The Witches of Eastwick. She'll play Joanna, a hardworking but shy reporter for the local paper, opposite the recently cast Jaime Ray Newman. The casting, however, doesn't bode well for NBC's Lipstick Jungle, whose chances for an eleventh hour renewal seem to be slipping. (Hollywood Reporter)
Following weeks of negotiations, CBS has locked in LL Cool J to star in the untitled NCIS spin-off series, which will launch later this season as an episode of NCIS. He'll play a former Navy SEAL who works undercover for the NCIS unit in LA. (Variety)
CW has renewed six series for the 2009-2010 season, including Supernatural, Gossip Girl, Smallville, 90210, One Tree Hill, and reality series America's Next Top Model (cycles 13 and 14) as well as ordered a pilot for drama The Beautiful Life. (Televisionary)
In other renewal news, Lifetime has ordered a fourth season of Army Wives before the third season has even aired. The cabler ordered 18 episodes for Season Four of Army Wives, set to air in 2010, and announced that Jeff Melvoin will take over showrunning duties from Nick Thiel. (Variety)
Michael Cera has agreed to appear in the big-screen version of much-missed series Arrested Development. (Televisionary)
The Los Angeles Times talks to The Wire's Lance Reddick, who currently appears on FOX's Fringe and ABC's Lost. Of Reddick's appeal, Lost executive producer Damon Lindelof said, "One of the things we really gravitated toward was that Lance is very scary-looking, and he's a very intensive actor who also has this incredible charisma." (Los Angeles Times)
In other Fringe-related news, The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan talks to Fringe executive producer Jeff Pinkner about the future of the series, the Observer, the ZFT manifesto, and David Robert Jones. ""We're learning how to tell this version of a detective story," Pinkner told Ryan. "It's not really a police procedural. There are elements of that. But it's an incredible mish-mash of genres. I think we're getting better at finding our way through these stories." (The Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)
Pilot helmer alert: the extremely prolific James Burrows (The Big Bang Theory) will direct two comedy pilots this season: FOX's Absolutely Fabulous and NBC's cast-contingent 100 Questions for Charlotte Payne. (Hollywood Reporter)
Could Grey's Anatomy's Meredith Grey have another long-lost sibling? Michael Ausiello has the spoilery scoop. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)
FOX will launch Season Five of reality competition series So You Think You Can Dance with a two-night four-hour event on Thursday, May 21st and Wednesday, May 27th. (via press release)
Andy Richter has signed on to be the announcer on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, when it launches on June 1st, reuniting Richter with the Late Night host. (Variety)
RDF USA is pitching French Kiss, a French reality format that tasks men with kissing as many women as possible in several days, to networks this week. Project will be executive produced by Chris Coelen, Karrie Wolfe, Lauren Gellert, and Thibault Vales. (TV Week)
NBC is said to be in talks with Granada America to revive UK reality franchise I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, a US version of which aired six years ago on ABC. (Hollywood Reporter)
Those worried that Joel McHale's recent casting in NBC comedy pilot Community would derail his duties as host of E!'s The Soup have nothing to fear. "Joel is fully committed to continuing as host of The Soup," said a network spokesperson. "We support his work on other projects." (McHale has juggled several projects in the past and still continued as host of The Soup.) (Broadcasting & Cable)
Cabler ION has acquired two Canadian series, which it will launch later this year: CBC's The Border, about members of the Canadian Immigration and Customs Security Unit, and Global TV's The Guard, about a Coast Guard Search and Rescue team. (Hollywood Reporter)
Once he steps down from his News Corp post on June 30th, Peter Chernin will segue into a lucrative six-year film and TV overall deal that stipulates that Fox will buy at least two put pictures a year from Chernin's shingle. (Variety)
Stay tuned.
Now the story of a wealthy family who lost everything and the one actor who had no choice but to keep them all together. It's Arrested Development.
Yep, Michael Cera has finally signed on to the big screen version of Arrested Development, according to E! Online's Watch with Kristin, and will reprise his role as George Michael Bluth. (Not to be confused with the singer-songwriter.)
E! Online is reporting that cast holdout Cera will join Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Tony Hale, Jessica Walter, Jeffrey Tambor, and David Cross in the feature version of Arrested Development, which is reportedly going to be written by series creator Mitch Hurwitz and directed by Ron Howard.
Looking for details about a potential storyline for the Arrested film? You're sadly out of luck. Hurwitz, Howard, and the cast are said to be extremely tight-lipped about any plot points for the feature film, which will be produced by Fox Searchlight and may be filmed as early as this year.
What do you think of the news? Are you thrilled that Cera signed on? And are you ecstatic about the news that the Bluths will reunite for a feature film? Discuss.
Stay tuned.
Fans of Privileged and Reaper, you may want to sit down.
CW President Dawn Ostroff announced that the netlet has renewed six series for the 2009-2010 season, including Supernatural, Gossip Girl, Smallville, 90210, One Tree Hill, and reality series America's Next Top Model (cycles 13 and 14).
Smallville was not thought likely to return unless studio Warner Bros. Television was able to successfully renegotiate a contract renewal with series star Tom Welling. (And, given the renewal announcement, it seems like they did so.)
“As we continue to build The CW Network as a destination for young women, these six shows have clearly contributed to strengthening our schedule and our brand identity,” said Ostroff in a statement.
Missing from the renewals list: on the bubble dramas like Privileged and Reaper and comedies Everybody Hates Chris and The Game. It's thought likely that the comedies will not be returning as both have produced enough episodes for syndication and the CW has stopped developing comedies altogether.
It's worth noting that the CW is currently only programming roughly ten hours a week, with a mix of repeats (such as for 90210) thrown into the mix. And very likely to end up on the schedule next season: the netlet's relaunch of soap Melrose Place, overseen by Smallville showrunners Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin, and Gossip Girl prequel series Lily, about the 1980s teen adventures of the future Lily van der Woodsen.
The network has also ordered pilots for Kevin Williamson-produced drama Vampire Diaries and Light Years and today ordered a pilot for drama The Beautiful Life, from writer Adam Giaudrone (Swingtown) and executive producers Carol Barbee, Mike Kelley (Swingtown), Karey Burke, Jason Goldberg, and Ashton Kutcher. Project follows the lives of young male and female models living in Manhattan whose daily existence isn't quite the glamour seen in fashion photography.
As for whether Privileged, which has one episode left to air this season, and Reaper will return, it does seem very doubtful at this point. With very little real estate to fill and a slew of returning and probable projects to choose from, it's unlikely that both or either will make an appearance next season.
