FOX Plans Two-Night '24' Premiere
Sutherland drama follows same Sunday-Monday pattern as last season
Still basking in the glow of its first Emmy win for outstanding drama series, FOX's "24" will premiere with a two-night, four-hour event in January.
Following the formula that brought the yielded boffo ratings last year, FOX plans to kick off the sixth season of "24" with two hours of clock-ticking fun on Sunday, Jan. 14, starting at 8 p.m. ET. The following night, FOX will dedicate its primetime hours to two more hours "24."
After force-feeding viewers two nights of fatty "24" goodness, FOX will then wait and give the show it's time period premiere on Monday, Jan 22 at 9 p.m. with the season's fifth hour. From that point, "24" will run uninterrupted through its finale in May.
But don't worry about remembering those dates. FOX will probably offer several reminders as the big date draws nearer. In fact, the network has already set a timetable for promoting the new season. A special sneak peak at season six will launch on the fittingly named website www.24trailer.com on Tuesday, Oct. 24. For readers who lack Internet access -- but are still somehow reading this story -- FOX will also present the sneak footage during Game 3 of the World Series, scheduled for that same night.
When last we saw Jack Bauer (Emmy winner Kiefer Sutherland), he had saved the world. Again. Instead of being thanked, though, he was beaten to a pulp by Chinese government agents who hoped to transport him off to a prison camp somewhere. Nevermind. Season six begins 20 months later, as FOX puts it "After a series of horrific terrorist attacks, an unthinkable, nail-biting day begins."
Wayne Palmer (DB Woodside), brother of late President David Palmer, has become President himself. In addition to Sutherland and Woodside, the new season will feature plenty of familiar faces including the return of favorite characters played by Mary Lynn Rajskub, Roger Cross, James Morrison, Eric Balfour and Carlo Rota.
The number of new additions, though, is impressive. They include Regina King as advocacy lawyer Sandra Palmer, fresh presidential advisors played by Jayne Atkinson and Peter MacNicol and, best of all, James Cromwell as Jack Bauer's estranged father. Also joining the cast are Kal Penn ("Harold & Kumar"), Marisol Nichols ("In Justice"), Alexander Siddig ("Syriana"), Harry Lennix ("Commander in Chief") and David Hunt ("Everybody Loves Raymond").
The Couch Potato Report - October 4th, 2006
This week The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on Eve and the fire horse and a place on the corner where you can get gas.
Canada is a vast and diverse country with a wide array of people.
The Canadian film industry is also vast and diverse and at it's best it tells stories about Canadians who we might not meet everyday.
Like a nine-year-old girl named Eve from Vancouver, for instance.
The film that is about her is called EVE & THE FIRE HORSE and it is a wonderful little film about the relationship between two young and their family.
Eve was born in 1966 and, according to the Chinese calendar, she is a Firehorse.
By definition that means she is meant to be stubborn or troublesome.
From Eve's overly-imaginitive perspective it seems to mean that she is at the centre of a world full of turmoil, and all of it could be her fault.
Eve's sister has embraced Christianity, which complicates matters in their traditional household. Her Grandmother is old and sick. Mother has cut down a tree and is pregnant. Her Uncle has high blood pressure.
There is fear. Heartbreak. Mourning. And many, many superstitions.
And all of it is engaging and wonderful!
EVE & THE FIRE HORSE is loosely based on filmmaker Julia Kwan's memories of growing up in Vancouver in the 1970s.
In addition to introducing us to some unique Canadians the movie does a wonderful job of showing how some kids play together and others don't get along.
It also correctly presents the relationships that children have to their parents and relatives.
I can't state that EVE AND THE FIREHORSE is perfect film because at times it did move a little slow for me, but it is as close to perfect as a film can be.
The people in the movie are people you will know, because in the end most Canadians have shared experiences about their childhood.
And we all have many shared experiences as adults as well.
That is one of the main reasons why the TV show CORNER GAS is so popular.
Because whether you are from Saskatchewan or you live on Prince Edward Island, we have all met people who remind us of the residents of Dog River, Saskatchewan.
Now, CORNER GAS: SEASON THREE is available on DVD. The three disc set includes all 19 episodes of the made-in-Saskatchewan series and a documentary on Rouleau, the Saskatchewan town where the series is filmed, and many people visit.
CORNER GAS: SEASON THREE and EVE & THE FIRE HORSE are both available now on DVD.
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
In NIAGARA MOTEL, a group of struggling individuals cross paths at a low-rent motel in Niagara Falls.
A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION is a look at what goes on backstage during the last broadcast of a popular radio show
And the Disney classic THE FOX AND THE HOUND celebrates it's 25th Anniversary.
I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.
For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.
Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next time on The Couch!
'Lost' fans to finally find some answers
NEW YORK - Those "Lost" writer-producers are a secretive bunch. How difficult could it be to give a hint about to expect next season? Apparently, very. A little digging, however, turned up some clues on the gripping ABC drama.
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WHO ARE THE OTHERS?
They're creepy, wear fake beards and have captured Kate, Jack and Sawyer. Are they "the good guys," as one high-ranking Other said, or are they up to no good? Finally — finally! — that enigma will be addressed this season, producers have teased. They better deliver. Also, expect to see much more of bug-eyed Other/hatch escapee Henry Gale, played by new series regular Michael Emerson.
WHO WILL KATE FALL FOR?
It's about time, Kate. The freckled tough girl ( Evangeline Lilly) will finally make a choice between doctor-leader Jack ( Matthew Fox) and con man Sawyer ( Josh Holloway). Early intel suggests Cupid's arrow is pointing at a Kate-Sawyer hookup — they ARE a couple of good-lookin' outlaws. Why that coupling? According to an ABC press release, "Romance looms on the horizon as Jack's interests veer towards a mysterious woman, whose motives may be questionable."
WHY WAS LOCKE IN A WHEELCHAIR?
John Locke ( Terry O'Quinn) lost of a bit of his faith last season, thanks to his frustration with entering that numbered sequence (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) on the keyboard every 108 minutes. Still, he can't deny the island's mysterious healing powers, which apparently cured his four-year paralysis and allowed him to walk again after Oceanic flight 815 crash-landed. Those powers — and why exactly Locke was bound to a wheelchair in the first place — will be explored this season, "Lost" experts say. One theory: Locke, who helped his deadbeat father withdraw stolen money from a bank, was handicapped by angry victims of the crime.
WHO IS THE FATHER OF SUN'S UNBORN BABY?
Pre-crash, a doctor said Sun's loving husband, Jin ( Daniel Dae Kim), was infertile. There are three possible explanations for Sun's pregnancy: The island healed Jin's infertility (worked for Locke, leg-wise); the zygote formed inside Sun (YunJin Kim) but is neither hers nor Jin's (creepy!); or Jin is not the baby-daddy. That guy could be Jae Lee, who gave Sun secret English lessons. She was unhappy in her marriage, and planned to leave Jin and go to America.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE HATCH?
In the season 2 finale, Locke, Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) and Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) were all in the hatch when Desmond turned the fail-safe key to diffuse whatever electromagnetic energy was quaking the island (yes, that button-pushing chore actually meant something). An explosion ensued. The hatch door landed on the beach. Survival seems like a long shot — but Eko and Locke are under contract. And Cusick is now a series regular. They gotta come out of this alive, if not somewhat — somehow — changed. Plus, ABC says Locke will team up with Sayid ( Naveen Andrews) and others to try and rescue their comrades.
DID MICHAEL AND WALT ESCAPE?
The father-son duo, given a motor boat by Henry Gale, were last seen fleeing the island to destinations unknown. Desperate dad Michael (Harold Perrineau) betrayed his friends to save himself and his son, Walt ( Malcolm David Kelley), who was kidnapped at the end of the first season by the Others. But don't be surprised if they return — those "Lost"-ies aren't the luckiest group. Note that Perrineau is not a regular cast member this season, but could be back as a guest star. And Walt is way too intriguing to make a permanent getaway.
WHAT IS DHARMA DOING WITH THE KIDS?
The Others snatched Walt, Frenchwoman Rousseau's daughter, Alex, and a very pregnant Claire (Emilie de Ravin). In memories of her abduction, Claire was taken to a hospital-like hatch and given a shot in the belly. A teen girl, who might be a grown-up Alex, warned her that higher-ups planned to kill her and take her baby. That's pretty freaky, and so is another theory: That the Others — those "good guys," remember? — are a social utopian experiment by the scientist-led Dharma Initiative. This could explain why they steal innocent children who haven't been tainted by society.
WHO IS LIBBY?
Michael shot and killed her last season, but viewers haven't seen the last of Libby ( Cynthia Watros). She'll keep appearing in characters' flashbacks, producers said, yet her back story — she claimed to be a clinical psychologist and was supposedly among the plane's tail-section survivors — is shrouded in mystery. In flashbacks, it was revealed that she lived in the same mental hospital as an unknowing Hurley ( Jorge Garcia) and gave Desmond her late husband's doomed sailboat. Fan speculation has it that she might be a member of the Hanso Foundation, which funded the shady Dharma Initiative, or a private detective.
IS CLAIRE JACK'S HALF-SISTER?
That's the buzz — and it appears to be so. After losing his medical license for operating while drunk, Christian (Jack's surgeon-father, played by John Terry) fled to Australia, where he drank himself to death after attempting to visit his secret daughter. It went down like this: He showed up at the house of a curly-haired, blonde Aussie — Claire's lookalike mother? — and boozily demanded to see the girl. The woman refused. Jack arrived Down Under to bring Christian's body back to the U.S. and, in a made-for-television twist, wound up on the same ill-fated flight as Claire.
CAN THE SHOW KEEP IT UP?
As many fans complain, "Lost" is more about the questions than the answers. It's confusing and captivating. At least some things were (sorta) cleared up in the finale of the dark and hatch-centric second season, which runneth over with sci-fi mysteries that had viewers scratching their heads. Thankfully, the Powers That Be heard the fan feedback — and they're doing something about it. In a recent podcast posted on the show's Web site, a producer revealed he was influenced by complaints that season 2 was "too mythologically dense." Expect to see a lot about relationships in future episodes, including a dose of much-needed romance.