Wild Season 5 rewinds; one Lost mystery solved
Friday, February 12th, 2010
So many questions, so little time. That’s the view of anxious fans concerning Lost, a phenomenon The New York Times extols as “the most compelling continuing storyline in television history.” Beginning tomorrow night, WBNX kicks off Season 5—the sixteen astounding episodes which commence immediately after Ben moves the island. Brain bleeding from memory-loop? Hold tight for highlights that include the stunning return of the Oceanic 6, Eloise Hawkins and the Dharma Lamppost, castaways skipping through time, Sawyer and Juliette’s covert lives in the Initiative, the root of Widmore vs. Linus, Ajira 318 landing with other Others, Jacob’s first appearance and off-island contact with survivors, startling events inside the foot of the statue, and the plan to H-bomb the group back to reality. Unthinkable drama surfaced to lead us into the series’ final stretch-run. To many, the man responsible for this worldwide sensation is Lloyd Braun, the network programming exec who championed the idea from J.J. Abrams’ outline and commissioned the most expensive TV pilot ever—between $10 and $14 million. That decision, however, earned Braun a pink slip before Lost even premiered, New York magazine reports. Soon after, “J.J. called me up and said he wanted to use my voice on the show every single week to open the show and say, ‘Previously, on Lost…,’” Braun recalls. “It was important to him and Damon (Lindelof) that I was somehow forever a part of the show.” It remained their secret for years. Braun’s colleagues thought the concept was “crazy” and a “waste of time,” reports The Telegraph. Eighteen million viewers thought differently. Lost quickly won the Emmy Award for Best Drama Series and has emerged as a timeless jewel in television and pop-culture history.
Posted in Lost | Comment Now 
Spread the word and “stuff the ballot box” for several deserving CW series to receive national recognition at the first awards show of 2010. The deadline to vote for your favorite People’s Choice nominees is Tuesday, Dec. 8, and this competition encourages the public to cast a ballot as often as possible. Just log on to 
Michael Emerson (Ben on Lost) is used to being compared with legendary bad guys, but Darth Vader? “He’s a great force of darkness, I guess, but how much acting goes on behind a plastic head?” Michael jokes to The AV Club. “It seems like his costume does more work for him than mine does for me. I should get handicap points, I think.” For four seasons, Michael’s ambiguously-gray villain “Ben Linus” has delighted fans of Lost —fans who wonder if the deposed leader of “The Others” is evil, heroic…or just a tragic pawn of greater forces on The Island. “There is a sinister quality to him,” the actor admits, “but the verdict is still out.” Michael has a storied history of playing creepy guys, most notably his six-episode arc as stalker “William Hinks” on The Practice, a guest role which won him an Emmy in 2001. The 54-year-old theatre veteran was only supposed to be a guest star on Lost, as well, but his spellbinding portrayal caused the writers to quickly bring “Ben” front and center. Most would agree, the series rose to new heights after that. This weekend, WBNX will air the amazing two-part finale of Season 4, during which the Oceanic Six are rescued and Ben is instructed to “move the Island.” It’s well worth another look! And be sure to catch up with past episodes throughout the summer in anticipation of next year’s final countdown.
Ian Somerhalder is coming home to the network family that launched his TV career. In a bit of inspired casting, he’ll play one of the two blood-sucking brothers in The Vampire Diaries pilot many consider a shoo-in for pick-up. His character is a “smug vampire” who can switch “from playful to evil in a split second,” Variety teases. (How perfect would it have been for Gossip Girl’s Chace Crawford to play the other fanged sibling?) A top male model since his teen years, Ian found a breakout role in The WB summer series Young Americans back in 2000, costarring with young up-and-comers Kate Bosworth and Katherine Moennig. He was part of the 
The CW has lured another young actress from Degrassi: The Next Generation to headline a major new series. Last fall, Shenae Grimes left the famed Canadian prep school for Hollywood and 90210. Now, in one of the network’s most sought-after roles, Nina Dobrev will be torn between two immortal brothers—one good, one evil—in The Vampire Diaries. Born in Bulgaria, Nina has portrayed teen mother and athlete “Mia Jones” on Degrassi for nearly three years, and she bears a striking resemblance to film beauty Jordana Brewster. Elsewhere, signs point to one-time One Tree Hill psycho Matt Barr as being the father of Gossip Girl socialite Serena van der Woodsen—their characters share the same last name. Matt just inked a deal to co-star on the Lily spinoff as a rich Malibu prince, along with Cynthia Watros (Libby on Lost) as Lily’s mother and Ryan Hansen (Dick on Veronica Mars) as a Valley friend. Over in Melrose Place, the complex is quickly filling its vacancies, with drama queen Ashlee Simpson on-board and Heather Locklear in serious negotiations. The big casting announcement yet to come involves which actors will win the CW vampire roles.
