Where Are The Single Christian Older Brothers When You Need Them?

I took the Birth Order Compatibility Tool on iVillage, just for fun, while I was listening to the latest Official LOST Audio Podcast (the one the rehashes "Meet Kevin Johnson" a. k. a. episode 408).

First, I chose among being the oldest, being the middle child, being the youngest, and being the only child. Second, I chose among having at least one older brother, having at least one older sister, or having at least one older brother and one older sister. Here's my result:

You’re equally popular with men and women, and people genuinely enjoy your company. Despite the self-doubt that occasionally clouds your mind, you’re loved and respected by family, friends and coworkers. You have an abundance of creativity, more than average drive, and ambition to spare. Sometimes, however, you feel that you have altogether too many interests and hobbies, and you wish you could focus better on just one or two that might lead to a good career. Your best match is an older brother, preferably one who has younger sisters. You like the way he takes charge in romantic situations, and you enjoy teasing and interacting with him. Middleborn guys are also good matches, especially if they have younger sisters. With lastborns, you might have tons of fun, but you’d miss the kind of direction and leadership that you yearn for in a relationship. You have the same birth order as Janet Jackson. Your best celebrity love match is Conan O’Brien.

Ha-ha. Conan O'Brien, eh? (I barely watch his show.)

Anyway, it's probably true. I have been attracted to guys who have younger siblings, especially if they have younger sisters. I like being cared for and protected the way they would care for and protect their little sisters. I like being showered with affection (although not too much, please). I also want a man who would bail me out if I get in trouble (just joking!). I'm used to being the baby - can I help it?

It's probably why the last one didn't work. He was the youngest and a wee bit immature. So I did miss the "kind of direction and leadership" that I "yearn for in a relationship" although it was a non-relationship (it's a long story...).

So where can I find single and Christian men who have younger sisters? (Switzerland? Italy? Spain? Portugal?) Lemme know...

P. S.
I'm not exactly looking, but who knows? (Cue the Natasha Bedingfield song from her sophomore album, N.B./Pocketful of Sunshine. Hehe...)

The LOST Cast and Their Burning Questions

Imagine Elizabeth Mitchell asking Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse this:

"Why did Juliet become such a badass? Who trained her — the Others?"

How would Damon and Carlton answer that one? Here's their answer:

Carlton Cuse: I think there was probably some martial arts in New Otherton.
Damon Lindelof: She probably went out shooting with Friendly back in the day, which is why she can handle a firearm so well. But the real inspiration for Juliet being a badass was Elizabeth herself. When she read for the part, she had this huge cast on her arm and was talking about her days of kickboxing....
Carlton Cuse: And then she beat Damon up.

Awesome!

Surprisingly, when the LOST cast members asked Darlton their own burning questions, they were a teeny-tiny bit more forthcoming. Unsurprisingly, most of their answers weren't enough to satisfy the cast members' questions.

At least they said some things that made me look forward to the rest of the episodes this season and beyond. Especially Episode 4x08. Wink wink.

Anyway, LOST's episode 4x06 entitled "The Other Woman" (Juliet-centred, I think) airs this Thursday night at 9 PM on ABC and CTV. The enhanced version of "The Constant" will air at 8 PM on ABC, A-Channel, and SPACE.

LOST To Stay on Thursday Nights?

Will Thursday nights be the best TV night when our favourite primetime shows come back?

TV Guide's Michael Ausiello reported today that ABC may keep LOST on Thursday nights starting from April, when new episodes of returning shows air. It is said that Grey's Anatomy will keep its 9/8 central timeslot, while LOST will air right after Grey's. Ugly Betty will keep its 8/7 central timeslot as well.

Not only that. Ausiello also said that ABC might keep LOST on Thursday nights for its last two seasons if everything goes well for LOST, ratings-wise.

Wow. My two favourite shows in one night! (Although I barely watched Grey's season 3, and I haven't seen a single episode of season 4.)

Personally, the best-case scenario is for ABC to cancel Dirty Sexy Money, so the network can make room for LOST on Wednesday nights. Unfortunately - for me anyway - ABC picked up Dirty Sexy Money for the 2008-2009 season. Crap.

Oh, there's one more.

Apparently, ABC wants to hold off airing Episode 8 until April. According to Ausiello's "spies" (as he calls them),

"Episode 7 makes for a better, more logical, break."

Now, what does that mean? That it has a better cliffhanger than Episode 8? Hmmm... Interesting. (I don't have enough information on Episode 6, "The Other Woman" as Lostpedia doesn't have a link for the press release yet. The page for Episode 7 has not been created on Lostpedia.)

Anyway, ABC can move LOST to any night and any time. I'm that addicted to LOST. Even if it's Saturdays at four or Mondays at nine, it's fine by me. I'll still watch LOST regardless of the time slot ABC decides for it.

I really just want the Season 4 storyline to be told completely. It's not going to be easy, but the LOST writers can do it. I know it. They're freakin' geniuses!

Of course, nothing has been set in stone. If I were a betting woman, I'd say the writers and their bosses are still trying to decide what's best for LOST Season 4 and beyond.

Stay tuned.

The Strike's Over

Finally.

God has answered the prayers of everyone: the writers, the TV & movie executives, the actors, the rest of the essential players in the TV & movie industries, and most importantly, the fans.

The Writers Guild of America strike is over.

Members of the Writers Guild of America voted Tuesday to end the three-month-old strike. Writers will return to work on Wednesday - as in, tomorrow. The so-called show-runners - which include LOST executive producer Carlton Cuse - went back to work Monday.

These members, however, didn't vote to ratify the tentative agreement reached on February 1. They will have to cast their ballots by February 25.

OK, so what does this mean for the best show on earth (i.e. LOST - duh)?

According to the May 2007 agreement between ABC and Darlton, the three remaining seasons will contain sixteen episodes from February to May. Now, with this strike, only eight episodes were finished. According to this article posted at The Tail Section, Darlton's plan is to finish five more episodes, which will bring the Season Four episode total to thirteen. The remaining three of the sixteen episodes originally planned for Season Four will be added to Season Five. Here's what Carlton has to say regarding this new plan's effects on the storytelling for the current season:

"We'll have to compress some of the storytelling we planned for this season, and that may not be a bad thing. Damon and I feel like we know how we can finish it off and still make it a really, really great story."

Not bad, Darlton, not bad at all.

If the writers get started writing the remaining five episodes by the end of the week (or next week even), production may begin in four weeks or so. Post-production should start immediately after filming for an episode ends, and even while filming for the next episode starts. I imagine the new episodes will be aired in a month and a half, or two months at the most.

I only wonder now what's going to happen to LOST's timeslot. During the tail end of the strike, LOST took over Grey's Anatomy's slot, at 9/8 central Thursday nights. Will LOST go back to its Wednesday slot at 9/8 central (and bump Private Practice from its current timeslot)? Or will ABC give LOST a Monday night timeslot, as rumoured during the hiatus?

I guess we'll have to wait and see. Stay tuned, folks!

Lastly, congratulations to the members of the Writers Guild of America for successfully reaching a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. I don't know the exact terms of the agreement, but I believe the WGA leaders (and members) are satisfied with them. I truly hope they got the contract that they deserve, especially regarding their cut from revenues generated through new media, such as the Internet and digital sales (e.g. LOST episodes on iTunes).

Fantastic day! Ain't it, fellow LOST fans?

Breakthrough Reached?

Is this an answer to everyone's prayer?

Or rather, would it lead to a permanent answer to everyone's prayer?

According to this Associated Press report, there has been a breakthrough in the talks between the Writers' Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

There was no further explanation, nor any other details, regarding this breakthrough. But two unnamed sources (who requested anonymity as they are not authorized to speak publicly regarding these talks) did say that there has been some "significant" progress in the talks between the two parties. One source also said that "a deal might be announced within a week."

This is fantastic news. It has been almost three months since the WGA members started picketing. It has crippled the TV and movie industries, as most (if not all) scripted TV shows that premiered last September or October have run out of fresh episodes and the production for the Angels & Demons film has been postponed. It has also disrupted the awards season, such as the Golden Globes.

I fully support the WGA and I fervently hope that they get what they deserve.

Hopefully, if they reach an agreement within this week, production for LOST will resume and we'll get the sixteen episodes promised for this season.

Please, God.

LOST's Still Got It

My head is still spinning from LOST's Season Four premiere.

Like, that didn't happen for the first three seasons.

That was a crazy episode. I totally loved the Camaro chase scene. I knew it was gonna be a Hurley-centric episode, but I never imagined it would start with a chase scene featuring the Camaro that bonded Hurley and his dad when he was a kid. Awesome, man, awesome.

It was also nice to see Big Mike, Ana-Lucia's patrol partner.

But why did Hurley say he never met Ana-Lucia? He did! Is that one of the (possibly) many secrets the "Oceanic Six" are keeping from the rest of the world?

Speaking of which, who are the Oceanic Six? Obviously, Jack, Kate, and Hurley were rescued. Who are the other three? I can't assume that only the people who went with Jack were rescued because Hurley went with Locke and still got off the island. So who else? Sayid? Sun? Jin? Claire, with or without Aaron? Rose? Bernard? Juliet? Even Sawyer? Desmond?

And who is Matthew Abbadon? Is he really a lawyer for Oceanic Airlines? And what's up with his question that freaked Hurley out? Did anyone die when the Oceanic Six got off the island?

Anyway, what the heck was that in Jacob's cabin? Who was that in the rocking chair? Christian Shephard?! And whose eye was that?! Locke? Jacob himself? By the way, Hurley finally heard the mysterious Whispers!

The most shocking of all? Our dearly departed Charlie Hieronymus Pace appeared to Hurley, not once, but twice! First, in the convenience store. Second, on the mental hospital (still Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute?) grounds. Three, if you include Hurley's vision/dream (see below). But he's dead! DEAD! How was he able to slap Hurley and still be dead as a doorknob?! The other guy saw Charlie, as well.




By the way, I had hoped Desmond would try his darnedest to get Charlie's corpse out of the communications room of The Looking Glass. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to bring Charlie's body back. Awww...

Anyway, Charlie said while Hurley was counting to five (remember "Pilot Part 1" and "Not in Portland"?), "You know that they need you." They? Who was Charlie referring to? The people who were left behind on the island?

Was Charlie referring to the same "they" that Matthew Abbadon was?

Remember the scene where Big Mike was out of the interrogation room, getting a donut? Hurley's vision/dream mirrored Charlie's final moments in "Through the Looking Glass". But, instead of "Not Penny's Boat," it was "THEY NEED YOU."

Anyway, I almost wept when Claire (and the rest of the survivors) was looking for Charlie as she watched Sun and Jin, and Rose and Bernard reunite. That definitely broke my heart. Then I just about cried when Hurley was telling her that Charlie had died.

Pardon me if I mostly talked about Charlie. I miss him. I really do. I began to miss him a minute after watching the Season Three finale last May.

So. LOST's still got it. Kept me on the edge of my seat. Made me gasp when Naomi lived long enough to talk to Minkowski, when the mysterious eye filled the hole in Jacob's cabin, when Charlie re-appeared (can't help it), when the gun (the magazine) turned out to be empty.

Wow.

Seven days to go before the next episode!

Todd Bertuzzi Kicks the Maple Leafs' Butt

While I was having a horrible day, Todd Bertuzzi was having a fantastic night.

He picked up three points - one goal and two assists - in Anaheim Ducks' win over the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight.

According to the game's box score page on Yahoo Sports, Bertuzzi scored his seventh goal of the season within three minutes of the first period. Then he and Ryan Getzlaf fed Anaheim's leading goal scorer, Corey Perry, the puck in the last ten minutes of the first period. Perry shot and scored! In the first four-and-a-half minutes of the third period, Bertuzzi and Getzlaf - again! - assisted in Brandon Bochenski's first goal.

Two power-play goals by Doug Weight and Chris Kunitz finished Anaheim's five-goal rout of the Leafs.

Woohoo!

Todd Bertuzzi ended up with nearly 17 minutes of ice-time and three points - his first since coming to Anaheim.

And, oh, he ended up as the first star of the game!

As I understand, when an NHL team wins in a shutout, the goaltender usually becomes the first star. (Correct me if I'm wrong; I've only been a hockey fan for almost six years.) In this case, my favourite ex-Vancouver Canuck right winger was recognized as the first star.

Yay!

Obviously, I'm a Todd Bertuzzi fan (d'oh) and I've always believed he'll go back to his butt-kicking self on ice. Hopefully there'll be more games like this.

Mwah, Bert!

(And, of course, go Canucks go!)

Jack Shephard Speaks!

I chanced upon this Entertainment Weekly interview with Matthew Fox - the hottest actor to play an intense spinal surgeon on TV. He talked about the best season finale ever ("Through the Looking Glass"), his two new movies (Vantage Point and Speed Racer), and LOST's Season Four.

He also confirmed one of my theories regarding the season three finale. If you remember, while Jack was talking to (would arguing with be a better term?) the new Chief of Surgery, Dr. Rob Hamill (who's a hottie, by the way), he said this:

OK, I'll tell you what, you do this. You get my father down here, get him down here right now, and if I'm drunker than he is, you can fire me.

When asked about this, he answered:

He was so loaded and emotionally distraught that he talks about his father as if he's still alive.

And then he went on and described what Damon Lindelof told him and how it made sense. And it does, compared to what the other fans say - such as, the reason Christian's body was not in the coffin was that he was somehow brought back to life (by the Island? by Cerberus? by Jacob?) and that he is indeed alive in the flash-forward.

When asked about one of the mysteries generated by TTLG - the identity of the person in the coffin, the death of whom brought Jack to a suicide attempt - he replied:

It hasn't been revealed yet. I'm pretty sure I know who it is, but I'm not 100 percent sure.

Apparently, he got an answer from Damon, but who knows, the answer that he got may not be who it really is.

He was also asked about what we're going to expect in season four, with all the new characters created and the new cast members. I won't re-print it here. But that, of course, led to the most reviled characters in LOST (and probably all TV) history: Nikki Fernandez and the surname-less Paulo. He said, "Those characters didn't work for me from the very beginning." He called it an experiment, and he agreed with the virtually entire LOST fandom that it didn't work. Yay!

He also discussed the ripping that LOST got for its split season schedule, particularly the six-episode introduction to the major fun that began in "Not In Portland". Here's what he has to say about it:

I kind of liked that. There's something really frightening about when the bandwagon-jumping starts, when it's all the rage. That's when you're like, I don't believe that everybody that's doing this is a completely truthful Lost fan. So there's something cool about now — I know we've got 15 million people watching the show, and these people are the same 15 million that have been die-hards from Day One. Those are the ones that we're making it for.

Fantastic response! Of course, I'm one of those 15 million people.

He also talked about Racer X, his role in the film Speed Racer:

Racer X is all about mystery. And it's all about not just disguise of suit, but it's disguise of voice — he's, like, impenetrable....

I've actually seen a trailer of Speed Racer. With the black leather costume, Matthew Fox is even hotter. Although I probably won't see any Jackface with the black leather mask. Racer X looks like the exact opposite of Jack Shephard, which is absolutely fine. I may just not have the chance to smile and think, "Jackface," while I'm watching the movie.

But I think I will see at least one Jackface in his other movie, Vantage Point, which is set to be released on 22 February 2008 (wow, the 15th anniversary of my father's death). Look at this trailer I saw on YouTube.



He also talked about his film career.

There's no question. For me, it's more about my own quality of life. It's better for me to do films because it gives me much more flexibility in my life. I love the idea of becoming all-consumed in this one thing for four months, and then it's done, and I'm just floating around going, F---, I don't know what I'm doing next.

If you don't know this by now, I'm a big fan of Jack Shephard and Matthew Fox. No matter how flawed and how broken the character is, I still love him. Did I mention, he's hot too?

I cannot wait for Season Four! Twenty-seven days to go!