Go Live with Lost at Comic-Con!
The time has come for Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse to end their radio silence about Lost (thank God!). This afternoon, live at Comic-Con, the powers that be behind the show we love will take the stage to answer fan questions about what went down during that finale and what to expect from season four.
I, Dr. Anna Graham, am here live in the ballroom, ready, willing and able to repeat the sounding joy (direct to you) when they start dishing from the stage. So, I have a deal for you: You hit the reload button a lot, beginning at 5 p.m. PT, and I’ll post frequently, for the duration, to deliver everything there is to know about our favorite show! Get it? Got it? Good.
Exclusive sneak preview: “The survival of the Island is now at stake.” Oh yeah…
4:19 p.m.: If you're the kind of person who gets upset because someone told you Harold Perrineau is coming back to Lost, you don't want to read any further into this liveblog. Fair warning…Meanwhile, the room is almost full. If you're reading this on your CrackBerry at the Convention Center, you might want to haul your butt in here now.
4:46 p.m.: The room is pretty much full, but I hear if you get to the Inkworks booth downstairs sooner rather than later, you can pick up tickets to the Darlton postpanel autograph session.
5:06 p.m.: "Are you ready?" asks the lady. Yes, let's go!
5:11 p.m.: A clip show of season three begins; Michael Emerson calls the Others a "rebel sect." I suspect this is from the DVD. Also, the fans are crazy-loud right now.
5:12 p.m.: More clip show: "By the time you see this I will be dead," says M.C. Gainey, before coexecutive producers Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz make a funny tribute to the unsung Others (your Lukes and your Jasons).
5:13 p.m.: More clip show: Holloway is saying something onscreen, but the screaming in the room drowns him out. Voice-over: "The survival of the Island is now at stake." Told ya! Then it's over.
5:14 p.m.: Lost executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse (aka D.L. and C.C.) are here! There might not be any microphones, however. Oops, the mikes are mute.
5:15 p.m.: Yay, they can speak now.
5:16 p.m.: Lost videogame footage; don't care, sorry, I just do the television.
5:18 p.m.: D.L., regarding flashbacks: "Ever so slowly going the way of the dodo on the real show."
5:19 p.m.: D.L. confession: "Carlton and I, we're drunk, first off." He continues with a tribute to the fans, saying the fans are the reason there's an ending coming. Season four starts in February, and it runs 16 eps straight.
5:20 p.m.: They have a bell. Damon can ring it if Carlton says too much, Carlton can do the same to Damon. This is their overdisclosure fail-safe.
5:22 p.m.: People are invited to get in the questions line. Earlier we were warned via loudspeaker to not be crazy when addressing the panel, as in don't ask for them to have your babies, hug you or give you a job. As people are getting in line, Damon says, "If hugs are inappropriate, well, then I don't ever want to come here again."
5:23 p.m.: Now comes the Q&A portion of the evening. Dude wants to know about season three's violent turn. (I'm for it, thanks for asking.) Dude wants the powers that be to promise that the Others aren't the good guys. No promises are forthcoming.
5:24 p.m.: Carlton says they wanted a showdown, and that involved a body count. Damon says our guys are more violent but prettier. "When Sawyer is punching you in the face, you're like, More please, you're so attractive, can you take your shirt off please?" But when Friendly does it, it's relentless violence. Says Damon, "If the violence stays intense, it will at least be perpetrated by catastrophically good-looking people."
5:26 p.m.: Writing is a collaborative process. Every writer has their own favorite character. Eddie and Adam love Hurley and Charlie and all the minor characters; Eddie pitched the van idea for Hurley, which connected with the Ben patricide storyline.
5:27 p.m.: Lindelof says, "We have the best job in the world."
5:28 p.m.: Where's Michael? They address the stupid reporter riot yesterday and wanted to announce here that Harold is returning as Michael Dawson, but they tell the questioner they're not talking about how or when he returns.
5:30 p.m.: Damon wants to know why we're being so nice, and then they tell us there are more flashforwards coming. Carlton says flashbacks and flashforwards are both on the show going forward. "How far forward" and "with whom" are the Q's.
5:31 p.m.: Will Jack and Claire find out they are related? Carlton rings the bell on Damon, but Damon nods furiously. The crowd goes wild.
5:33 p.m.: Someone wants to know if we'll be seeing more Dharma sharks. Without addressing the fish issue directly, Carlton says, "You may be learning more about Dharma sooner than you ever imagined." Oh, I smell a clip coming tonight. Apparently, check back at 5:58 (or below at 6:07). Carlton rings the bell.
5:34 p.m.: DVD is out Dec. 11, and no reruns are expected. Why won't anyone listen to me—no one watches or airs reruns anymore! This is a JenFact! Trust me, people!
5:35 p.m.: Did Ben get caught by Rousseau on purpose? Did Ben kill the real Henry Gale? Damon says he will answer one of those questions. The asker chooses the capture question. Carlton: "He got caught by accident." Damon volunteers this, regarding Ben vs. Henry Gale: "They had words."
5:39 p.m.: They were running out of plausible flashback material, so it was time to switch gears into flashfowards. The end date allowed them the certainty necessary to add that element into the show without further antagonizing fans. Carlton: "What you saw with Kate and Jack was not the end of the show." Damon: "The show has never really been about getting off the Island…There's this whole chapter of the story that takes place off the Island." Outstanding!
5:41 p.m.: Chick wants to know when Michael is coming back. She's yelling now, Damon yells back, it's very cute. (Harold's totally here.) And now: "Ladies and gentlemen, Harold Perrineau." Ha!
5:43 p.m.: Harold is taking Q's. Damon says, "Harold is the first and only actor who has left the show as part of a grander design to come back." Uh-huh.
5:44 p.m.: Harold says, "Finally, it has all worked out…really excited to go back to Hawaii." Carlton, regarding poor crazy Michael, "He took some extreme actions." Michael's story is about the power of the Island to be redemptive. And this won't be a quick pop by Redemption Island; Harold is a series regular. TOLD. YOU. Michael returns early in the fourth season, or so says Damon.
5:45 p.m.: Dude ignores Harold to ask about Rachel Blake. Carlton says Rachel probably won't be on the Island.
5:47 p.m.: Damon says the benefit of only doing 16 episodes (versus 22) a year is they can do more ancillary "awesome" stuff.
5:48 p.m.: Someone asks what Damon and Carlton want to do in their post-Lost retirement. They don't think about it because the show is too all-consuming.
5:51 p.m.: Damon: "It's every writer's, actor's and storyteller's dream to have a dialogue with people who are watching a story you're telling. I wouldn't want to make a mistake of trying to chase something like Lost again. Might just write a pamphlet. Or a grocery list."
5:51 p.m.: Dude says he likes Richard Alpert; Damon and Carlton say (I paraphrase) don't get too attached to him, because Nestor Carbonell's on CBS' Cane.
5:52 p.m.: They're writing episode one, but it's still untitled.
5:53 p.m.: "What questions are fans not asking that we ought to be?" Carlton: "Who's in the coffin?" and rings the bell on himself. D.L. and C.C. ask Harold, "Who do you think is in the coffin?" Harold thinks it's the person with the teenage son…probably Locke! Damon would ask, "Who's on that freighter out there, and what do they want out of the Island?" Carlton would ask, "Okay, Kate and Jack got off the Island? Did anybody else get off the Island?"
5:53 p.m.: Five minutes to go in the session, three minutes until the clip, or so we are told.
5:56 p.m.: Wasted question; we knew the answer: The falling dude from Hurley's building was not Locke.
5:56 p.m.: Libby time! There have been hints she worked for Dharma, so when do we find out what is up with Libby? Carlton: "It is our intention to get to Libby's story this year, and we think you will be happy when we finish that." Damon: "You're not barking up the wrong tree."
5:57 p.m.: Will there be a Danielle flashback soon? Damon: "There are important things going on in that story, and they have to synch up." They'll do that synching in this season or next.
5:58 p.m.: They'll have written through episode 15 or 16 by the time we see the premiere, which is to say, try not to get too drunk on spoilers before the season even begins.
6:01 p.m.: A fan named Aaron asks, "Can I call the monster Cerberus?" Damon says…[nerdiness follows] On the blast-door map, C.V. stood for Cerberus Vents. "That's Dharma's name for it, maybe. Cerberus is one of its names." Damon: "Aaron, may I call you Cerberus?" Aaron-Cerberus: "The monster seems kind of seems like it represents judgment. Why did Eko have to die?" Damon: "The whole deal with the monster will be definitely answered." Carlton: "[The monster answer is] not going to be 10 seconds of blank tape." Ooh, David Chase burn.
6:04 p.m.: No more Q's for us. H.P., D.L. and C.C. have a group hug. Feel the love—I know I do.
6:05 p.m.: Shooting starts in four weeks.
6:05 p.m.: Our superspecial Comic-Con exclusive clip was "discovered" in "Narvik, Norway."
6:06 p.m.: Aw, I think he likes us. Damon: "This is literally the highlight of our year…This show was born out of the Con. We do it for you and with you."
6:07 p.m.: The promised clip is one of the station orientation films, hosted by Marvin Candle under an alias. The footage begins with him getting his makeup done and smoothing down his Dharma labcoat. Bunnies! It's about bunnies! Bunny #15, to be specific. Marvin, who calls himself Dr. Edgar Halifax in this film, identifies it as station six, the Orchid. He says the viewer has probably realized by now that he or she is not working at a mere botanical research unit. He apologizes for making him or her lie to friends and family members about the nature of the work. He mentions something that sounds like "Kasimir effect" and cites the "unique properties of the Island." Then there's one of Jacob's subliminal messages. It may have been some variation on "as Jacob loves you." Then there's a bunny riot. One of the station's alarms blares, Dr. Halifax/Marvin panics. There's an intercut clip of someone riding a bicycle. The clip is inserted upside-down, and the rider appears to be in the village green of Otherville…And then, amid the chaos (perhaps this is the Incident?), the filmstrip slides off the reel.
6:08 p.m.: That's all, folks. Our exit soundtrack is "Got Myself a Gun" from the Sopranos credits. Clue, or just Muzak? You tell me.
Love, luck and lollipops, kids; see you in another life (brotha).
Update: Hey folks, here's the Orchid station video on YouTube. Enjoy!
My visit to Idol Gives Back
Last night I went to a taping of the second installment of Idol Gives Back at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. This year the charities that benefited were Malaria No More, Children’s Defense Fund, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, Children’s Health Fund, and Save the Children.
Keep in mind, there will be spoilers. It’s not like I found out the secret to Lost, but I figured I would still give fair warning. The show will air on Wednesday April 9th at 7:30 pm ET / PT. For what happened at the taping and in the press room, read on after the jump. And check back for Jason’s review Wednesday night.
The Charities:
Children’s Defense Fund: Representative Mickey McKinney credited key board members Katie McGrath and Reese Witherspoon with getting FOX involved with her organization. CDF, a first-year beneficiary of Idol Gives Back, works relentlessly to level the playing field for children of all socio-economic backgrounds. They have outreach programs for summer and after-school and scholarships for students who have achieved academic excellence despite adversarial circumstances. “I’m a fan of Simon,” McKinney smiled. She added that because of his interest in this organization Simon Cowell is her “hero.” Maybe Jay will add this to his list of why Simon should be president.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria: Representative Rajesh Anandan said that his organization was the largest funder (25%)of programs to fight AIDS. Also, they provide two-thirds of the funding to fight TB and Malaria. According to Anandan, Idol has been “courageous to connect this consumer audience” to what’s going on in the less developed countries of the world. U2 frontman Bono is a major advocate for this group and did a video package for Wednesday’s show.
Malaria No More: Representative Laurie Rubiner said that her organization was devoted to ending deaths from Malaria, a disease kills more children than AIDS and TB. Last year with the
help of Idol Gives Back, MNM was able to save more than a million lives by purchasing insecticide-treated bed nets for people in Sub-Saharan Africa. Celebrity spokespeople include Forrest Whitaker and former Idols Melinda Doolittle and Jordin Sparks. Whitaker and his wife visited Africa and contributed a video package for Wednesday’s show.
Children’s Health Fund: Dr. Arturo Britto explained that CHF “provides healthcare services all across America to children in need.” Over 20 million American children do not get complete healthcare. Britto also mentioned that it was FOX who contacted them and they were honored to be selected for Idols Give Back for the second year in a row.
Save the Children: Mark Shriver commented that last year Idol Gives Back benefited the organization’s work in Africa and this year the funds will help children in America. Randy and Paula came to see STC’s after-school programs in Southern California. According to Shriver, having Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul both impacts the morale of the folks running the organization and “raises the visibility of our work to a whole new level.” The video package is on the show. The Manning brothers and Miley Cyrus were also part of video packages for Wednesday’s show.
From the press room:
Snoop Dogg, Teddy Reilly and Charlie Wilson: When asked if being on American Idol hurt his reputation as a ’gangsta,’ Snoop said, “Why not? I am an American idol. I’m Snoop Dogg. Baby, what do you mean? How could this hurt me? This is beautiful.” On whether or not we see another season of Fatherhood, Snoop said, “maybe.” Also, he clearly doesn’t watch the show this season (or probably ever). “The one that can sing,” he quipped when someone asked if he had a favorite.
John Legend, who has an infectious laugh, said “part of what I do is to give back…and to educate people.” Also, he’s glad that Idol is providing that forum for artists to give back. But does he watch the show? “I do not,” he said quickly. His third album is due out in September.
Heart: They said they were honored to perform last night and very worried about cutting “Barracuda” down to three minutes (usually a five and a half minute song). The singers also laughed that because of Idol and Guitar Hero, they see younger faces at their concerts.
Annie Lennox: On the importance of being on the show, Lennox remarked “the medium of television is very powerful and it’s going to go into millions of livingrooms.” Of her trip to Africa Lennox said simply, “a very strong experience, a very deep experience.” She continued that she’s had the opportunity to see the human face of poverty and witness the struggles.
Carrie Underwood: “It’s wonderful. It’s always great coming back to Idol,” she gushed. About this season so far, Carrie commented, “I think there’s a lot of great people. I’m not going to say a favorite.” As far as what issue Underwood holds dear, she says education is important. “I’m in a family of teachers,” she explained. She wishes teachers got paid more and thinks someone should “step up and do something for education.” Lastly, she was asked about the George Michael song she performed last night. “It’s not about self-promoting. And that’s a song that I’ve always loved. It took me forever to sing that through without crying,” she answered.
Show Spoilers:
The So You Think You Can Dance kids did the opening number with the Idol cast to Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music.” Awesome. That’s all I have to say about that.- Maria Shriver came out to an instrumental version of “Maria” from West Side Story. I wonder if she just wanted to die when that song played. She didn’t waiver though. After all, she’s a Kennedy so she’s kind of a pro at this stuff. Shriver brought out some volunteers and asked to America not only to give money but to offer up their services and time to help their communities.
- Snoop Dogg performed with Charlie Wilson who had trouble hearing his feed. The Dogg wore an American Idol sweatshirt and had a bedazzled microphone. Both were ridiculous. A bunch of little kids (I think from Snoop’s football league) joined them onstage. It was pretty cute.
- John Legend sang “Show Me.” Fergie joined him but they cut the feed in our room so we could interview Snoop. Fergie also performed with Heart and did a cartwheel on stage. Whoa.
- Billy Crystal came out and told the audience how Idol keeps him in touch with pop culture, “without Idol, I wouldn’t know how to use the words ’yo dawg’ in a sentence.” Crystal then introduced Miley Cyrus. After some banter, Cyrus sang “Broken Chains.” It was meh. I would love to hear Simon’s critique of it. Miley performed later on: a faster song that allowed her to gyrate all around the stage. Or is she Hannah Montana when she does that? I don’t get her.
- Annie Lennox did a rather touching video package about the AIDS epidemic in Africa and then appeared on stage. She sang “Many Rivers to Cross”. Her performance was beautiful (no big surprise there).
- In his onstage bit, Jimmy Kimmel said “Simon Cowell is the reason Governor Schwarzenegger must work to secure the borders of this country.” Then continued to roast the outspoken host of the show making fun of his shirts, his haircut and even his nipples.
- Carrie Underwood wore a iridescent ballgown and performed a George Michael song called “Praying for Time.”
- Gloria Estefan sang “Get on Your Feet” with Sheila E. on percussion. And it looks like the So You Think You Can Dance cast made a second appearance on stage. Sarah Silverman came on stage afterwards and joked, “That song is so inspiring I almost got up and made it happen.”
- Robin Williams pretended to be a Russian Idol hopeful.
Tidbits:
While she wasn’t there, Jennifer Connolly did a video package about the importance of bringing clean drinking water to underdeveloped countries.- Celine Dion contributed a short video about her trip to Africa and the AIDS epidemic.
- You’ll see these celebrities doing little recorded announcements throughout the show: Kobe Bryant, Triple H, John Cena, Julianne Moore, Dolly Parton, Keifer Sutherland, Ellen DeGeneres, and George Lopez who did one in Spanish.
- Nigel Lythgoe came on before the taping to get the audience psyched up. He mentioned that they had two video packages from the Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to show the live audience. They also had a video package from John McCain but there was a technical problem with it so the live audience won’t get to see it. He mentioned that Idol has a higher standard for production quality and the McCain package would be replaced by the time the show airs on Wednesday.
- Paula wore a bouffant hairdoo. It was slightly ridiculous. You’ll see what I mean when the show airs. She had on a gorgeous red dress though.
- Reese Witherspoon had trouble with her mic and had to re-record her onstage segment. “Nevermind,” she said as she went backstage to begin again. She’s adorable.
Psych: Psy vs. Psy (series re-premiere)
For those of you interested in reading a review about this episode of Psych you may want to look a the one that we did when the show originally premiered on USA. What this post is really for is to welcome new viewers to the show and give them a forum to discuss the series.
The thing about Psych, especially this second season, is that underneath the fluff mysteries and the pop cultural references (which there are many this episode) there is a story of friendship and family that flows throughout. Plus, it’s funny. James Roday and Dule Hill really shine as Shawn Spencer and Burton “Gus” Guster and they have a very good supporting cast that guides them along the way.
I’m very glad that they used this episode to premiere Psych on the schedule rather as it had a very good and funny guest appearance by Lou Diamond Phillips. Should they ever air the second season premiere on NBC I give you fair warning…despite being directed by John Landis it is just not a very good episode. That being said, I’d like to know if you’ll keep tuning in to Psych. Was it as funny as you thought it would be, or do you think it’s a bad show with a good theme song? Your opinions are appreciated.
Stargate Atlantis: Be All My Sins Remember’d
(S04E11) SPOILER ALERT!!! DO NOT READ PAST THIS LINE IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE. I GIVE YOU FAIR WARNING.
Huh? What? Gah?
What the hell was that at the end of this week’s Stargate Atlantis? I’ll be honest, I didn’t see it coming. Oh, I thought something was going to happen as the scene shifted to the area that the Replicator planet once populated — I was thinking more along the lines like the nannites rebuilding the planet from scratch, like the Genesis Device from the Star Trek movie series. What I didn’t expect was a ship floating amongst all of the planetary debris. And I certainly didn’t expect the person sitting in the command chair to be someone fans thought dead as a doornail.
It was none other than former Atlantis administrator Dr. Elizabeth Weir. I really and truly thought that she was dead and gone. It was probably something that shouldn’t have even crossed my mind since the show I am reviewing here is a science fiction program. The question is, though, which Elizabeth is she?
Is she the one true Elizabeth? Since it was revealed in ’This Mortal Coil’ that the original Dr. Weir was killed maybe this isn’t the original. Of course, Shep and the rest of the Atlantis team could have been told a fib. If this isn’t the true Dr. Weir is it someone similar to the Weir from the previous episode? In other words, a Replicant created on another world. Well, since they created one of her already they may have had another Elizabeth ready to go in the wings. But, this one seems a bit darker in tone (from what I gathered in the five seconds I saw her on screen). I’m sure we’ll get more information about her as the weeks progress.
Gee, three paragraphs about a five-second scene at the end of the show…and I haven’t even talked about the rest of the 44 minutes and 55 seconds. For the most part I found this week’s installment of Atlantis to be interesting and a good close to the events that took place in the first half of the season. It tied in a good many loose plot points, pulled characters together, and gave the viewers some sense of closure (we think) that at least one enemy of humanity is finished (for the time being, at least).
It was good to see Jill Wagner as Larrin once again. She had such a good chemistry with Sheppard back in the episode ’Travelers’ that I was hoping the two would meet sooner than later. The same chemistry was there this time around as well. Sheppard definitely has a case of puppy love for Larrin. You can tell that just by the inflection of his voice and the way he speaks with her. Also, he seems to be a bit freer with the information when he’s around her.
Nice to see Sam Carter back on the show. I think this was the first episode where we really saw how tough an administrator the colonel could be after she stared down Colonel Ellis after he verbally lashed McKay. Ellis is not my favorite character; he’s a bit to brusque for me — thinks his poo don’t smell. Perhaps I’m still carrying over some dislike from when the actor (Michael Beach) played Jeanie Boulet’s husband, Al, on ER. McKay showed him, though, as he was able to defeat the Replicators almost single-handedly.
There were a few things that I didn’t like about this week’s episode. First was the way that the Replicators were eventually defeated. Not the part about massing their cells into one gigantic inert ball, but the whole thing about triggering the neutronium to cause an explosion to destroy the Replicator’s planet. To me, it sounded like a whole lot of techno-babble that was used in Star Trek: The Next Generation when there was no other way to get out of a situation. It seemed way to easy a way to end the storyline.
Another thing I didn’t like was the use of Fran. The whole concept of a Replicator, designed by McKay, that was reasonable and willing to work with the Atlanteans, was totally underutilized. Yes, it could have become something where Fran became almost like Atlantis’ Data, but I still wish we could have seen her for a few episodes more, at least.
A few other items from this week’s episode.
- This episode reminded me of similar ones from Deep Space Nine and Babylon 5. It was the concept of the alliance between different races that did it for me. Maybe that’s why I am comparing this week’s show to older science-fiction programs.
- There were some great visual effects this episode. The battle around the Replicator home world was really quite good and showed how far the industry has come with these types of scenes in only a few years. Another good effect was Shep’s jumper swerving all around the Ancestor ship in order to avoid crashing directly into it.
- Colonel. Colonel. Colonel. Colonel. The early scene where Colonels Sheppard, Carter, Ellis and Caldwell get together and introductions are made reminded me of some of those early M*A*S*H episodes where the Captain and Colonel introductions fly fast and furious.
- Teyla finally lets the rest of her team know that she’s pregnant. I’m not too sure how much we’ll see of the character now since Rachel Luttrell was actually pregnant during filming of the show (she gave birth to a son, Caden, back in October). I do know that she will be returning towards the end of the season.
Next week — The Replicator threat is over (for now), but that still leaves the Wraith.