Cough, Sputter.... WHAT?????

So, this is what I just read on the eonline's latest news section:

"The Lost Experience, the online interactive game launched last spring to give fans clues to the island, will spill the meaning behind Hurley's lottery numbers--4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42--which are prevalent throughout the show. Their importance will be revealed to gamers who complete the third phase of the challenge."

I thought that we would never get this answer... or at least not until Season 5 or the post series movie! In fact, although I know how fond the Lost production team is of foilers, I believed that there was not really any meaning behind the numbers, because "they became too big" and "there would never be a satisfying answer to them".... Now I feel bad about skipping out on the Lost Experience, although somehow, I have a little feeling that the answer will be post online maybe, oh I don't know, about a gazillion times!!!

Again, if you're like me, and haven't been playing the game, see the post below for an excellent re-cap of what's been going on so far...

TCA Press Tour

DYING TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON THIS FALL????

If you're addicted to television (like me)... and obviously you are, otherwise you wouldn't be on this site, you are probably interested in what has been going on for the past few weeks - why are all our favorite critics MIA? It's because they've been away in Pasadena attending the TCA (Television Critics Association) Press Tour.... filled with pilots, promises and spoilers, I've been following as many updates as I possibly can. And there is no way I can summarize the whole two weeks here... so I thought I would post links to who had the best updates from the tour.

WARNING: There are a lot of spoilers contained in these links, so if you want to go into the upcoming season 100% unspoiled, I advise that you do not click any of the following!

PS - These links will also take you to Comic-Con updates from San Diego, which includes panels with Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, Veronica Mars and more!

The Ausiello Report
Roush Dispatch
Kristen from E! Online
Ain't It Cool News
The Futon Critic

Obviously, this is not a complete list of all the updates, but I think they are the most readable and interesting. ENJOY!

Cheat Codes

So - who here remembers that The Lost Experience is still going on? (Anyone? Anyone?) Yeah, me neither. HOWEVER, I just found an amazing link that pretty much sums up the whole "game".

If you're interested in the mythology behind Lost, but have, you know, a *life*, then click HERE for a quick recap and all relavent information and links. It explains what The Hanso Foundation is up to, who Rachel Blake, DJ Dan, Vanzeletti, Joop... etc, all are, and how they fit into the equation.

Ah, Game Genie, how we've missed you!

Egg-citing News

Not to be outdone by CBS's egg-vertising, NBC has released its own innovative plan to promote itself... pre-releasing its fall shows early on Netflix!

If you have Netflix, go to your queue immediately and send Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Kidnapped straight to the top. They don't officially release until August 5, but that's still 6 whole weeks earlier than the rest of the world gets to see them! I'm just praying they'll add Heroes soon too!

WWMW: Wednesdays

Let's continue the weekly fun of analyzing what's worth watching, tivoing and avoiding on Wednesday nights this fall...

ABC: They have Dancing with the Stars leading in to Lost. Who's decision was that? This is where Alias belonged before ABC decided to blow it up. But before Alias was there, I had no clue what started the night, so I guess this is either here nor there. George Lopez and According to Jim will replace Dancing with the Stars mid-season. Can I get a group yawn for antiquated "family" comedies? Then we have our beloved Lost, entering its third season (of apparently 5... see the entry entitled "Lost Movie?" below.) ABC promised no repeats this season. Starting October 3, we're going to get a six episode arc, followed by a mid-season replacement of Daybreak, the Groundhog Day-esque thriller starring Taye Diggs, which will last for 13 episodes, and then Lost will return for a non-stop 16 episode arc to have its ultimate finale in May. Obviously, the 9pm timeslot belongs to ABC for me. Following Lost is the new serialized drama The Nine, about the aftermath of a 52 hour bank robbey/hostage situation. Starring many of our favorites - Kim Raver (Audrey) from 24, Tim Daly (Wings, Eyes), Chi McBride (Boston Public), Scott Wolf (Everwood, Party of 5) - this newbie is getting a lot of buzz. Although it's being tagged as a "character show" (a la JJ Abrahms), the producers insist there's a lot more to the show than that. This one is definitely on my radar, except I'm afraid to commit to a new show on ABC after the whole cancelling Invasion fiasco. Wow - I guess I had a lot to say about ABC!

CBS: Wednesday's are going to be the home for a new-concept for CBS - a non-CSI Show! Jericho kicks off the evening, a serialized drama about a small town coming together after a nuclear attack. I am looking forward to watching the pilot of this show. Am I going to watch the 44 minute episodes on TV rather than the 90 minute episodes online? I don't know... I'll probably watch on TV to begin with (especially since there's not much competition at that timeslot) and if I like it, I'll switch to the 90 minute episodes on the internet. If you have no clue what I'm talking about, scroll down to see my article on Jericho's internet experiment. Then CBS fills out its night with CSI-style crap (I have no clue what Criminal Minds is, but I assume its the same brain-numbing nonsense that CBS viewers love.) Next!

NBC: NBC starts of Wednesday's with 2 comedies: 20 Good Years with John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor and 30 Rock with Tina Fey. I'll watch 20 Good Years for a few episodes, but I doubt it will stick, or become more than a TiVo afterthough. It's a show about two aging men making the most of the rest of their lives - not really targeting my age group, although I'm sure my dad will appreciate the humor. 30 Rock is one of the show's I'm really looking forward to. It's the "other" show about the backstage workings of an SNL-type show (i.e. Not the Matthew Perry one, but the other one.) NBC.com has put up some initial footage, and it looks pretty funny! After the 2 comedies, we have Biggest Loser - and you know how I feel about reality television littering the "real" season! Finally the night closes with Kidnapped. Now, I'm sure many people are asking what's the difference between Kidnapped and Fox's Vanished. They both center around missing people but - and here's where it get's tricky - on Kidnapped the son of a rich family is "kidnapped" and on Vanished the wife of a senator "vanishes." Wow - that just blew my mind! In any case, they are both getting mixed reviews. I plan to watch both to begin with, and see where to go from there.

Fox: Speaking of our bushy-tailed friend, what does Fox have in store for us on Wednesdays? We start the night out with Bones, in its sophomore season. This show is about some people going through corpses to solve mysteries? Um, don't you belong on CBS? Next we have Justice - another generic lawyer show. (Sadly, Victor Garber is attached to this - how the mighty have fallen, SpyDaddy!) Replaced mid-season with American Idol - who cares... replaced late-season by another season of The Loop. Really. Another season of The Loop (who's even heard of this show?) while I'm forced to watch pirated copies of Kitchen Confidential in the secrecy of my basement? (Okay, I don't have a basement, but you know what I mean!) **For those readers wondering when I'll ever get over the cancellation of Kitchen Confidential, you should know that I don't let go of things easily.**

CW: Finally, the CW gives us a duo of America's Next Top Model, which is one of the few watch-worthy reality shows, but with so much to watch, the best it can get from me is to drop by once in awhile if my other shows are in re-runs and my TiVo is empty. Followed by teen drama One Tree Hill, which I never got into.

PHEW! That was a long one! Again - I haven't technically *watched* any of the new shows - I base my opinions solely on their teasers online and my fave critics' reviews. If you're interested in forming your own opinions, you should really be following the TCA (Television Critics Association) Press Tour by stopping by blogs from TVGuide.com (Ausiello or Roush) or Kristen from eonline.com.

Veronica Mars, FBI Agent?

IGN.com has put together a stellar article based on the Veronic Mars presentation at the TCA tour yesterday. There was a lot of old news (there will be 3 separate mysteries instead of a season long one; Veronica, Logan, Wallace & Mac will all be attending Hearst while Duncan is gone forever) and some interesting new tidbits (Dick Casablancas will also be attending Hearst!). Definitely give it a read - there are no real spoilers, but definitely some interesting production notes about Season 3.

Battlestar Galactica Season 3 Spoilers

Ain't it Cool News points us to some yummy spoilers for the upcoming Season 3 of BSG. I didn't really read through them, because I am still waiting to watch Season 2.5 - SciFi has been reairing all of Season 2, the first half of which I have on DVD. I wish they'd just get to the "new" episodes already!

Anyway, if you're all caught up, click HERE for a preview of what's to come.

Ditched

Due to complete boredom, the following shows are too dull for even *me* to talk about anymore:

Windfall (got through 3 episodes of deluding myself)

Saved (got through 1.5 episodes before deciding that Tom Everett Scott was actually *not* worth watching this show)

Kyle XY (why oh why can't I get back those 44 minutes I spent watching the pilot. just bring back Beautiful People and i'll be happy.)

Let's just pretend they never existed, okay?

Johnny Drama In Debt to the Mob?

Last night on Entourage, Lloyd saved the day by finding a job for Johnny Drama and earned himself a $10k bonus - was this a hint of the spoiler I spoke of a few weeks ago? Did Lloyd find Drama the job through the gay assisstant mafia? Please say it's true!

Down the Food Chain

As reported by TVSquad.com, who got their intel from a newletter from TVGuide.com, and now published thirdhand by me, it looks like CBS is taking to the idea of re-airing episodes online for free - and then one-upping the other networks who do the same by adding more content online. Apparently, after each new hour-long episode of Jericho that will air on CBS, the network will post a 90 minute version of the same episode, with more sub-plots. The producers say that you don't need to watch the extended versions to keep up with the plot - but it will "enhance" the viewers' experiences.

Eat your heart out Lost.

I'm Not Angry, Just Disappointed

I finally got around to watching Bill Lawrence's (of Scrubs fame) new sitcome on YouTube.com - Nobody's Watching. Apparently, this is the show to watch, because the pilot got dissed, and it somehow got resurrected on the popular video website. I wished it stayed buried.

Nobody's Watching is about two twenty-something friends from Ohio, who get called on by the WB to be in a reality show/create a new sit-com (The Comeback anyone?) This show doesn't know where the parody of sit-coms ends and the beginnings of a real sit-com begins. From the unlikeable characters to the "fake" audience laugh track (which is annoying in a very real way), this show misses on every note. And the big-bad-tv executives are so hackneyed that they actually make Lorren Michaels' self-mocking on SNL look like good acting. Take a look for yourself (Links below)... but if you're looking for a Scrubs or Arrested Development, I suggest you go to your Netflix queue instead, and just rent the real thing. BTW - there are three parts, but they are just the same pilot split up for sizing reasons, not three different episodes.

Nobody's Watching - Part 1 of 3

Nobody's Watching - Part 2 of 3

Nobody's Watching - Part 3 of 3

WWMW: Tuesdays

Continuing this new weekly series, let's take a look for what's slated on Tuesday's this fall....

ABC: Ooohh... starting your night with Reality TV during the "real" season is not a good idea. Dancing With the Stars is getting stale and who cares what it's going to be replace by. At 9, ABC pairs two of its new comedies: Knights of Prosperity (formerly Let's Rob...., formerly Let's Rob Mick Jagger) and Help Me Help You. Knights is all about a group of buddies who plan to rob - you guessed it - Mick Jagger. Looks like its Fully-Monty meets Ocean's Eleven, but not as funny, slick or daring as either of them. I think I'll skip. Help Me Help You is about Ted Danson holding a group therapy session, but maybe *he* is the craziest of all... um, yeah, I'll holdmy breath about that one. Finally the night ends with Boston Legal, which while not my cup of tea, does pretty well, but is up against some interesting competition.

CBS: Again, CBS is off to a slow (but audience filled) start with NCIS. When will America stop watching this drivel? It's followed by last year's mid-season hit, The Unit. I'll admit that I was slightly captivated by Unit when it first came out, but they started piling up on the TiVo, and I stopped caring. I have a feeling that it's going to drop off my season pass list by October, and drop off the face of the Earth by December. But then again, you can always count on CBS fans to like boring crap, especially the more boring and the more crappy it gets. Finally, the night ends with Smith. Originally, this Ray Liotta "bad guy" show didn't really ring my bell (as you can tell by its non-highlightedness). But as the critics are getting through their tapes, this one seems like one of the hits of the season. Its being compared to great crime capers like Ocean's Eleven and The Italian Job (the one with Marky-Mark, not the terrible old one). So, I've decided to give it a try.

NBC: Starts off the night with critics fave Friday Night Lights. Now, during the fall season, I get my fill of football what with T and his idiot-mobile of friends piling into our little NYC living room for college football on Saturdays and NFL Sunday ticket on Sundays (damn you directv!!). However, I did like The Program, Necessary Roughness, Remeber the Titans, and yes, Varsity Blues. So with everyone raving about it, I'll at least give it a try or two. This is followed by two straight hours of Law & Order - yawn.

FOX: Fox's new drama - Standoff - starts the night off with two of my favorite actors: Gina Torres (Anna Espinosa from Alias) and Ron Livingston (Officespace, Sex and the City). However, this show looks *TERRIBLE*. The plot is that these are two hostage negotiating partners that are sleeping together. That's it. No twist. Fox, you've done it again - I bet it runs for eight seasons, while Arrested Development and Kitchen Confidential Rest In Peace. Mid-season this timeslot will be taken by Idol - who cares? There is only one success story from this show, and that it Kelly Clarkson. I don't understand why people watch this show. This is followed by now-well-paid House (he's reported to have his salary upped to $300k/episode starting with season 3.) I've never watched House, but I've heard good things. It's really neither here nor there for me.

CW: Finally we have our baby chick the CW. Tuesday have them pairing Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars - a match that fans have been begging for. I'm not actually a GG watcher, but I bet I would love it. Although, many fans might dessert the show now that the Palladinos are gone from behind the camera. And with my new obsession with VM, you bet I'll be tuning in!! In fact, everyone should be tuning in - if Veronica isn't well watched in the first half of its season, not only will it be cut to a short season, but it might join Lily and be cut permanently.

Final Thoughts: I know Veronica Mars will stick for me all season, and maybe Smith if it's as good as everyone says it is, but other than that, it will be a quiet night for me. I predict Fox will get rid of Standoff almost immediately, and that L&O will remain steady. If ABC keeps According to Jim around, that means they'll keep just about anything - plus, you wouldn't want to piss of Mick Jagger (Ted Danson? who cares.)

It Has To Be Said

I know that this has been discussed to death already, and the internet is clogged with complaints and criticisms, but I just have to put my own two cents in about the Emmy nominations... oh alright, I'll give you three cents, but don't be greedy!

Outstanding Drama Series: Grey's Anatomy, House, The Sopranos, 24 and The West Wing

M says: Where is Battlestar? Lost? Smallville which had one of its best seasons ever?

Outstanding Comedy Series: Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, Scrubs and Two and a Half Men

M says: This is the one category they got at least 80% right - the only replacement I would make would be Earl instead of the take it or leave it Two and a Half Men.

Lead Actress/Drama: Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under), Geena Davis (Commander in Chief), Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU), Allison Janney (The West Wing) and Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)

M says: Even though I'm not a huge Sopranos fan, even *I* was surprised that Edie Falco got left off! I'm glad Geena made the cut though.

Lead Actor/Drama: Peter Krause (Six Feet Under), Denis Leary (Rescue Me), Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: SVU), Martin Sheen (The West Wing) and Kiefer Sutherland (24)

M says: Come on, you're telling me that not even one leading Lost men got a nod? And what about Edward James Olmos?

Lead Actress/Comedy: Stockard Channing (Out of Practice), Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle), Lisa Kudrow (The Comeback), Debra Messing (Will & Grace) and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine)

M says: They chose Rizzo over Bree? Elaine over Veronica Mars? And as much as I like the little-loved Comeback, really? Lisa Kudrow?

Lead Actor/Comedy: Steve Carell (The Office), Larry David (Curb), Kevin James (King of Queens), Tony Shalhoub (Monk) and Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men)

M says: Steve Carell? Check. Larry David? Check. Jason Lee?? Jason Bateman??? Wait, do I have the wrong checklist??

Supporting Actress/Drama: Candice Bergen (Boston Legal), Sandra Oh (Grey's Anatomy), Chandra Wilson (Grey's Anatomy), Blythe Danner (Huff) and Jean Smart (24)

M says: While the female Losties probably don't match up to what I considered Emmy status, and I don't watch Grey's really, the only one I consider worthy is Jean Smart - she made 24 worth watching this season.

Supporting Actor/Drama: William Shatner (Boston), Oliver Platt (Huff), Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), Gregory Itzin (24) and Alan Alda (The West Wing)

M says: The fact that Gregory Itzin's President Logan was nominated over Emerson's Henry Gale seals the deal - the Emmy's suck.

Supporting Actress/Comedy: Cheryl Hines (Curb), Alfre Woodard (Desperate Housewives), Elizabeth Perkins (Weeds), Jaime Pressly (My Name Is Earl) and Megan Mullally (Will & Grace)

M says: Really? The only Housewife to get nominated was Alfre Woodard? And where is Mommy Bluth - the funniest woman on tv by any standard.

Supporting Actor/Comedy: Will Arnett (Arrested), Jeremy Piven (Entourage), Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle), Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) and Sean Hayes (Will & Grace)

M Says: Kudos for getting Will Arnett on the ticket - GOB kicks ass. And Jeremy Piven - you get my vote! I don't understand how Jon Cryer is a "supporting" actor anymore than I understand how Two and a Half Men is getting so much recognition.

M's Final Words: Clearly the Emmy voters don't watch TV. You all suck.

Lost Movie?

And I quote:

"The makers of LOST want to end the hit TV show after a maximum of five years and are planning a feature-length movie spin-off. Co-creator Damon Lindelof is so worried producers and studio executives will drag the show out he is making his opinion on the matter clear now. He says, "We'd love to end the show after four year, five years tops and do a movie."

Forget the Dance Competition...

... I just want Benji & Donyell to get married and have lots of beautiful babies and live happily ever after. It was funny, in the beginning of their Viennese Waltz last night, when Benji was "channeling Dmitry", I thought that this will be the first time that I'm disappointed in a Benji/Donyell number... but then a third of the way through, he put on his happy Benji face, which just looks like he's in dancing bliss, and the chemistry between the two of them nearly caused my TV to explode. I was almost tempted to call in and vote!!! Anyway, as for So You Think You Can Dance, they better just call a tie leading into the first episode of The Benji & Donyell Show!!

WWMW: Mondays

Because its impossible to ask me to do "real" work after a 4.5 day weekend, I'm going to start my weekly series, of "What Would M Watch?" This series will consist of breaking down each night of network television for the upcoming 2006 fall season... please note, for now, this will just consist of Network shows... I don't have information on any Cable shows yet (i.e. Battlestar Galactica), and where they will fit into the schedule.


ABC: The alphabet is off to a slow start on Mondays with Wife Swap and The Bachelor/Supernanny - reality TV is *so* over. Yes, you're seeing right, I am giving What About Brian another chance, just because its JJ Abrahms and because the powers that be have promised a re-tooled show. I have a feeling it won't last, but curiousity did get the best of me.

CBS: The week starts strong for CBS with returning hit How I Met Your Mother. Will we meet Ted's wife to be this summer? Or will the show focus on the Ted/Robin romance? We already know that Lily and Marshall get back together (their relationship is based on the producer's, who is happily married to his Lily.) But will Barney find love? The Class isn't really grabbing my attention - a sit com about "the lives of a group of twenty-somethings from the same third-grade class brought back together for a surprise reunion after 20 years." Although produced by Friends' David Crane, sounds pretty bland. And while I don't mind tuning in for an episode here and there of Two and a Half Men, it certainly isn't something I schedule. Christine isn't even worth a synopsis (how Elaine has fallen). And you all know how I feel about CSI (its the reason that people think television makes you stupid.)

NBC: The Peacock is the clear winner on Monday nights. Although it starts with make-me-want-to-stab-myself Deal or No Deal, its starting the week with its two biggest bets: Heroes, which I've made no attempts of hiding that I think this will be my new favorite show, and Studio 60, which I think will be one of the letdowns of the new season, but will all the buzz, could be decent. (Plus who wouldn't want to watch a few more seasons of Chandler-isms... it worked out *so* well for Joey.)

Fox: Although I myself am not a fan of Prison Break, it will probably do tremendously in its timeslot considering it has no competition whatsoever. I'm pretty excited for newcomer Vanished... Fox has been going nuts promoting it during its summer shows, and who doesn't enjoy a centuries old mystery combined with a good old-fashioned kidnapping?! It's competing against Heroes on NBC, but TiVo will take care of that for me.

CW: The new Network scores a big ZERO from me for Monday nights. The return of 7th Heaven is the most ridiculous decision I've ever heard of. And I could not be less interested in the new Runaway, a story about "a family on the run, hiding from the legal system that unjustly convicted [the father] of a terrible and violent crime."

Final Thoughts: The Tuesday morning watercooler will center around Prison Break, Heroes & Vanished. People will watch Studio 60, but won't care enough to think about it. What About Brian will be off the air by January.

A Long Time Ago... We Use To Be Friends

So... over the long weekend, my Veronica Mars interest went from "this is a neat show I could watch" to "I NEED TO WATCH THE NEXT SHOW IMMEDIATELY". I zoomed past season one, and have started watching season two (I just finished episode 9 last night when T dragged me to a party to watch the fireworks... damn T and his social ways.) I tried to watch an episode of Windfall inbetween VM episodes and the caliber of the show was so blindingly bad after watching eight continuous hours of VM that I deleted Windfall from TiVo's Season Pass.

With that taken care of, what am I still watching this summer?

1. Veronica Mars (all episodes leading to Season 3 premiere this fall)
2. Entourage (now even better with Dom leaving... he got old real quick)
3. So You Think You Can Dance (definitely in FF... I can't stand listening to Nigel or Mary... and if Benji/Donyelle get voted off, then I'll just stop watching)
4. Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia (I don't know how I missed this last season, but it is really funny. You know what it would be beautifully paired with? Starved. Damn you FX.)
5. Project Runway (Season 3 kicks off in just a few days!!)

Also, Psych, a new show about a fake psychic working on detective cases is starting soon on USA... I'll give it a try, because it seems to be getting lots of kudos, but we'll see if it's good enough to last.

Finally, for those of you who enjoy spoilers as much as I do, looks like July is starting to bring back tasty tid-bits for the fall premiers. Check out Spoilerfix for details on Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Las Vegas, Smallville, Supernatural, Veronica Mars and others.