Random Friday Ramblings
I'm at home today working on the episode guide for the Lost season finale, and I had to take a break. To blog about Lost. (I seriously need a life.) Michael Ausiello at TV Guide had some interesting stuff in his column today about the finale. The first part contain two very minor spoilers for season 4 (it mentions two things we've seen in the past that will take on greater significance in season 4... that said, the first one is one they promised would be bigger in season 3, so who knows). I'll put the questions in bold and the answers in regular type so you can skip past the first question if you'd like. The second two talk about the leak that happened that put the flashforward spoiler out there for fans to see:

Question: Curse you, Michael Ausiello! I had to wait a whole week to get my AA fix regarding the pants-crapping greatness of the season finale of Lost. Please, please reveal what you know about Season 4!— Antonio Lopez
Ausiello: As anyone with an Ausiello Report bookmark can tell you, I had a smorgasbord of Lost goodies just waiting for you the moment the end credits started to roll on last Wednesday's pants-crapping finale. (Truth be told, I had the story up a few seconds before the end credits, but that's our little secret, K?) Of course, being the multiplatform slut that I am, I saved a few tasty morsels from my exclusive interview with Carlton Cuse for this week's AA — including a bit of scoop about the return of two major characters in '08. "The four-toed statue is something we will get to next season," Cuse revealed. "Sometimes we're surprised by the things people get fixated on. We tried to answer a fair number of questions this year, but that's one we just didn't get to." Benry's barely visible boss man will also be back, he confirms. "There will definitely be a lot more of Jacob in Season 4."

Question: You are my hero for not spoiling Lost's "rattlesnake in the mailbox."— Kenny
Ausiello: Yeah, well, some would say the damage had already been done. As many of you know, a very detailed synopsis of Lost's season finale — rattlesnake included — was leaked onto a certain spoilery website about two weeks ago. And like some kind of evil cyber-terrorist plot, the link quickly found its way onto Lost message boards far and wide. Luckily, many of you headed my warning to steer clear of all rattlesnake-related spoilers. I only wish I had had such restraint. As awesome as the finale was, it would've been that much cooler had I not known that Jack was flashing forward. (Unlike many of you, I never would've picked up on the Razr phone. I'm just not that bright.)

Question: Does ABC know how the rattlesnake leaked?— Justin
Ausiello: Not yet, but it sounds like an investigation is under way. "Disney security is trying to establish a full and complete list of all of the people through whose hands the show passed," said Cuse, who admits "it's incredibly frustrating" that the secret got out, even if the number of people who had the twist spoiled is miniscule when compared to Lost's overall viewership. "We did everything we felt we could do. There were only four copies of the rattlesnake that were distributed. Damon had a copy, I had a copy, Jack Bender the director had a copy, and Jean Higgins the producer had a copy. We even sent someone to [ABC president] Steve McPhersen's office with the pages. He read them and then they were taken away and returned to our office. I think it got out during the post-[production] process, because that's when it broke [on the Web]. The finale is like a feature film, but as opposed to having six or eight months to do the post on it, we do it in about three weeks. As a result, multiple copies of the show are circulating to various people who do everything from sound design to color timing to visual effects. So it's kind of out there, and it's hard to say where it got spoiled from. Unfortunately, it might not even be somebody who works on the show. It could be somebody who plucked it off the desk of somebody who was somehow involved in the show." Cuse said he was heartened by the "backlash among the loyal fans of the show against these spoiler posters. I think once people realized what was being spoiled, they were very upset. That's why we work really hard to try to keep the show from getting spoiled, because I think it really does diminish your ability to enjoy having the revelations land on you while you're watching it. It's analogous to going to see Sixth Sense and having somebody tell you what the twist is at the end of the movie."

In other news, Dania Ramirez — whom Buffy fans may remember as Caridad, one of the Potentials in season 7; Sopranos fans know her this season as Blanca, AJ's ex-fiance; X-Men fans know her as Callisto in Last Stand — has joined the cast of Heroes for season 2. Her character will be named Maya, but they won't reveal what her power will be. Other characters previously announced include a surrogate mom for Micah, a boyfriend for Claire, and an Irish mobster. Maya will be the only regular, however.

Although most people already assumed so when Edward James Olmos said as much at the Saturn Awards early in May, the producers of Battlestar Galactica have confirmed that season 4 will be the show's last. I'm glad they know it's the end going into it, because it means David Eick and Ron Moore can put together a stunning final season for us that will wrap everything up, instead of leaving us hanging. Like a certain young detective show on CW did. I know I don't talk about BSG a lot on here, but that's because I only discovered it this past season and caught up on all three seasons. I'll try to post regularly on it next year.

Rob Thomas, the creator of Veronica Mars, is being courted by ABC to take the helm of Miss/Guided, their new comedy starring Judy Greer, who was Kitty, George Bluth's secretary on Arrested Development. I think Greer is hilarious, and have high hopes for this show; putting Rob Thomas at the reins only makes me more excited.

And a tiny bit of happy news in the whole Veronica Mars sadness... that FBI version of the show that Rob Thomas filmed for CW to ask them to consider a season 4 — which put the show a few years into the future with her working for the FBI — will be seeing the light of day. He's going to include the six-minute teaser on the season 3 DVDs. But maybe watching it would only make me sadder, knowing what we're missing. :::sniff:::

And finally, Harry Potter is going to become a theme park. Universal Studios will be opening "Wizarding World" in 2009, and they'll try to recreate some of the areas in the book. I'm just hoping we can walk down Diagon Alley. (By the way, expect this blog to go silent for a few days after July 21... I'll have some important reading to do!) Hmm... sounds like the park will be pretty big. I wonder if there will be a Guide to the Wizarding World? I bet it would be awesome. But I'm sure JKR wouldn't allow it. (Yes, that's an inside joke to someone out there.)