So, dear blog reader, in the penultimate episode of Lost - What They Died For? - two worlds quite literally, collide. Desmond has a mission. Jack makes a leap of faith. 
Hurley bribes a policewoman. Sawyer faces two crises of conscience. Ben settles and old, old score. Locke discovers he needs fixing. Not-Locke has destruction in mind. Sayid takes part in a jailbreak. Kate gets a little black dress. Richard gets the worst - and briefest - death scene of any regular character since Libby. Jacob reveals some terrible truths. And, someone we haven't seen in nearly two seasons shows up. 'These are both great plans, but I'm going to go with surviving. If you need us, we'll be running through the jungle.' Intrigued yet? The series' two-and-a-half-episode finale, The End, broadcasts in the US on Sunday and in the UK on Sky One a week later. Like the chap said, we've come a long, long way together, through the bad times and the good ...
Michaela Conlin has admitted that she was surprised when her Bones character, Angela, recently got married. Angela and Jack Hodgins (TJ Thyne) tied-the-knot in a recent episode but Conlin explained that the scriptwriters had kept the storyline a secret from the cast. 'I was very surprised by it,' she told Entertainment Weekly. 'I thought for the longest time it'd be Sweets and Daisy getting married. That was a big shocker. I think I heard rumblings of it only one or two episodes prior to getting the script. Normally, we have more of an idea of what may or may not happen. But that was a true surprise, which I liked.
It was really fun to shoot.' However, Conlin admitted that she doesn't think Angela and Hodgins's marriage will be 'typical,' saying: 'I think it will be a challenge, definitely, but also happy... hopefully. But I do think it's going to have its ups and downs. I know she loves him, but I don't know. We'll see how they fare. I have faith in them. I think they're going to do fine.' Conlin also revealed that she wants the show to examine some of Angela's relatives in the future. She said: 'Aside from Angela and Hodgins getting married, I would really love for the focus for Angela to shift onto things other than her relationship storylines, which we've done a lot of in the last few seasons. I'd like to see maybe her mum coming to the show or maybe other members of her family. I'd like to get into the family dynamics of Hodgins and Angela - being that he doesn't have any and I have this really iconic father. I think that'd be really interesting to see.'
House's executive producer Katie Jacobs has explained the ending to the show's recent season finale. The last episode - Help Me - ended with House (Hugh Laurie) and Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) finally sharing a kiss. 'This is real and something that they are going to try,' Jacobs told Entertainment Weekly.
'It's something they stayed away from for a long period of time because it's dangerous and the consequences could be severe. But now they're going to give it a try.' Jacobs added that she wants the show's next season to pick up shortly after the kiss. 'I'm certainly in the camp of not wanting to miss much after the fade to black,' she said. 'Because the truth is the challenges that are ahead for them are the things that kept them apart to begin with. It's not chemistry or the spark. It's, "How are we going to deal with this? We're going to be together. What does that look like?" Cuddy is his superior at the hospital. And she's a mother. Those are the kind of things we're going to have fun with.' Jacobs continued: 'This isn't just about the [season premiere]. This isn't something that will work or fall in just one episode. We're going to attempt to make a true exploration of this relationship.' Meanwhile, Olivia Wilde is reportedly planning to take time off from House when the show returns in the autumn. Entertainment Weekly says that Wilde, who plays Thirteen on the show, has made the decision so that she can star in new movie Cowboys & Aliens. Production on the film, directed by Jon Favreau, is expected to clash with House for at least two months. Katie Jacobs explained: 'Olivia will be there at the very beginning of the season and then she will not be there for a period of time. She had this opportunity and she was really excited about it. We're very proud of her and very happy for her.' Jacobs added that the storylines on House have been planned to fit in with Wilde's schedule.
NBC's Law & Order may be saved just days after its cancellation was announced, it has been reported. According to ABC News, producer Dick Wolf has hinted at a resuscitation of the series and said that he is currently seeking offers for its future. He also did not rule out the possibility of a two-hour made-for-TV Law & Order movie. 'The patient is not dead. It is in a medically induced coma, and we are hoping for a cure,' he said.
Some sad news, now.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer actress Emma Caulfield has reportedly filed for divorce from her husband. According to The Associated Press, the actress - who played Anya on the cult show - has split from partner of three years Cornelius Grobbelaar. It is reported that she cited 'irreconcilable differences' in the legal papers, while the date of separation is listed as 7 May. All at From The North wish all parties well in what is, we're sure, a not particularly pleasant time for anyone concerned.
Ant and Dec's Push the Button is to return for a new series in September despite very disappointing ratings in its first run.
The cheeky-chappy-doon-the-Bigg-Market duo were forced to defend the show when it aired earlier this year after it received poor reviews from critics. However, according to the ever-reliable Sun, the pair are thought to be keen to bring back the series after making some alterations to the format.
Mathew Horne has hit back at claims that his sketch show with James Corden was homophobic. He did, however, agree - when pushed - that it was pretty much worthless in every other regard. The actor, who recently played Jon Moss in Boy George biopic Worried About The Boy, insisted that gay characters in Horne & Corden were 'stereotypes for a reason.' He told Gay Times magazine: 'I don't care what they said, because largely it was nothing to do with the show, it was just to do with me and James being around too much and people starting to hate us, which I get, it's a bit of over-exposure and what have you.' Tim Teeman, the gay arts editor of The Times, had accused Horne of prejudice over his portrayal of camp war reporter Tim.
Teeman wrote at the time: 'Imagine the justifiable outrage if blacks or Asians or women were treated so insultingly on TV now. But homophobia, gay stereotypes, anti-gay humour and backchat - unlike racism and sexism - has become acceptable. It isn't.' However, Horne protested: 'To accuse that character of being homophobic, that really got me, because it was annoying that that was the beginning of the backlash. And it was completely unfounded and untrue. He was such a warm and likeable character, I mean, there are gay stereotypes everywhere, they're stereotypes for a reason.'
Nick Hancock is in the running to replace Adrian Chiles on The ONE Show, claim tabloid reports. The former They Think It's All Over host impressed producers during a guest stint on the BBC1 magazine show. Hancock is down to the final six candidates along with Watchdog presenter Matt Allwright, according to the Sun.
And now, for today's thrilling installment of Huntwatch.
There's a very interesting piece by the Gruniad Morning Star's Maggie Brown on what she considers to be the new Culture Secretary's main priorities over the forthcoming parliament. The sections on the BBC and Ofcom, if Maggie is correct, make for particularly depressing reading. Of course, it's worth remembering that is all still just speculation.
British web-users are spending sixty five per cent more time online than three years ago, according to a survey of net habits. The average surfer spends twenty two hours and fifteen minutes on the net each month, according to the UK Online Measurement company. The lion's share of that time is spent on social networks or blogs, which accounts for nearly a quarter of users' time online. Instant messaging has been one of the victims of social network growth. Three years ago fourteen per cent of online time was spent using IM but that has fallen to just five per cent. But e-mail, which was also predicted to suffer as more people used Facebook and its rivals, is still healthy and accounts for over seven per cent of time compared to six and a half per cent of time three years ago. Networking, communication and playing games remain the most popular online activities. 'These are the pillars on which the Internet are built,' said Alex Burmaster, a spokesman for UKOM.
The press watchdog has denied that it is a 'toothless' and pathetic self-regulatory body with a vested interest in doing nothing to curb press excess following its handling of a case surrounding the death of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately. The Press Complaints Commission ruled that Jan Moir's comments in the Daily Scum Mail had not breached press guidelines.
Writing in the PCC's annual review, chairman Baroness Buscombe said it had been a 'difficult but important' case. Moir's hateful, prejudicial and horrifically mean-spirited piece, with a headline that said there was nothing 'natural' about the death, attracted more than twenty five thousand complaints. Baroness Buscombe said: 'In the end, the commission considered that newspapers had the right to publish opinions that many might find unpalatable and offensive, and that it would not be proportionate, in this case, to rule against the free expression of the columnist's views on a subject that was the focus of intense public attention.' Quite right. So, if it's this blogger's considered and deeply-held opinion that the PCC is an arse-licking waste-of-oxygen - and anappeaser of homophobic right-wing scum to boot - then, according to the PCC's own logic, I've got a perfect right to voice that opinion no matter whom it upsets. Good. Glad we got that sorted.
Hurley bribes a policewoman. Sawyer faces two crises of conscience. Ben settles and old, old score. Locke discovers he needs fixing. Not-Locke has destruction in mind. Sayid takes part in a jailbreak. Kate gets a little black dress. Richard gets the worst - and briefest - death scene of any regular character since Libby. Jacob reveals some terrible truths. And, someone we haven't seen in nearly two seasons shows up. 'These are both great plans, but I'm going to go with surviving. If you need us, we'll be running through the jungle.' Intrigued yet? The series' two-and-a-half-episode finale, The End, broadcasts in the US on Sunday and in the UK on Sky One a week later. Like the chap said, we've come a long, long way together, through the bad times and the good ...Michaela Conlin has admitted that she was surprised when her Bones character, Angela, recently got married. Angela and Jack Hodgins (TJ Thyne) tied-the-knot in a recent episode but Conlin explained that the scriptwriters had kept the storyline a secret from the cast. 'I was very surprised by it,' she told Entertainment Weekly. 'I thought for the longest time it'd be Sweets and Daisy getting married. That was a big shocker. I think I heard rumblings of it only one or two episodes prior to getting the script. Normally, we have more of an idea of what may or may not happen. But that was a true surprise, which I liked.
It was really fun to shoot.' However, Conlin admitted that she doesn't think Angela and Hodgins's marriage will be 'typical,' saying: 'I think it will be a challenge, definitely, but also happy... hopefully. But I do think it's going to have its ups and downs. I know she loves him, but I don't know. We'll see how they fare. I have faith in them. I think they're going to do fine.' Conlin also revealed that she wants the show to examine some of Angela's relatives in the future. She said: 'Aside from Angela and Hodgins getting married, I would really love for the focus for Angela to shift onto things other than her relationship storylines, which we've done a lot of in the last few seasons. I'd like to see maybe her mum coming to the show or maybe other members of her family. I'd like to get into the family dynamics of Hodgins and Angela - being that he doesn't have any and I have this really iconic father. I think that'd be really interesting to see.'House's executive producer Katie Jacobs has explained the ending to the show's recent season finale. The last episode - Help Me - ended with House (Hugh Laurie) and Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) finally sharing a kiss. 'This is real and something that they are going to try,' Jacobs told Entertainment Weekly.
'It's something they stayed away from for a long period of time because it's dangerous and the consequences could be severe. But now they're going to give it a try.' Jacobs added that she wants the show's next season to pick up shortly after the kiss. 'I'm certainly in the camp of not wanting to miss much after the fade to black,' she said. 'Because the truth is the challenges that are ahead for them are the things that kept them apart to begin with. It's not chemistry or the spark. It's, "How are we going to deal with this? We're going to be together. What does that look like?" Cuddy is his superior at the hospital. And she's a mother. Those are the kind of things we're going to have fun with.' Jacobs continued: 'This isn't just about the [season premiere]. This isn't something that will work or fall in just one episode. We're going to attempt to make a true exploration of this relationship.' Meanwhile, Olivia Wilde is reportedly planning to take time off from House when the show returns in the autumn. Entertainment Weekly says that Wilde, who plays Thirteen on the show, has made the decision so that she can star in new movie Cowboys & Aliens. Production on the film, directed by Jon Favreau, is expected to clash with House for at least two months. Katie Jacobs explained: 'Olivia will be there at the very beginning of the season and then she will not be there for a period of time. She had this opportunity and she was really excited about it. We're very proud of her and very happy for her.' Jacobs added that the storylines on House have been planned to fit in with Wilde's schedule.NBC's Law & Order may be saved just days after its cancellation was announced, it has been reported. According to ABC News, producer Dick Wolf has hinted at a resuscitation of the series and said that he is currently seeking offers for its future. He also did not rule out the possibility of a two-hour made-for-TV Law & Order movie. 'The patient is not dead. It is in a medically induced coma, and we are hoping for a cure,' he said.
Some sad news, now.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer actress Emma Caulfield has reportedly filed for divorce from her husband. According to The Associated Press, the actress - who played Anya on the cult show - has split from partner of three years Cornelius Grobbelaar. It is reported that she cited 'irreconcilable differences' in the legal papers, while the date of separation is listed as 7 May. All at From The North wish all parties well in what is, we're sure, a not particularly pleasant time for anyone concerned.Ant and Dec's Push the Button is to return for a new series in September despite very disappointing ratings in its first run.
The cheeky-chappy-doon-the-Bigg-Market duo were forced to defend the show when it aired earlier this year after it received poor reviews from critics. However, according to the ever-reliable Sun, the pair are thought to be keen to bring back the series after making some alterations to the format.Mathew Horne has hit back at claims that his sketch show with James Corden was homophobic. He did, however, agree - when pushed - that it was pretty much worthless in every other regard. The actor, who recently played Jon Moss in Boy George biopic Worried About The Boy, insisted that gay characters in Horne & Corden were 'stereotypes for a reason.' He told Gay Times magazine: 'I don't care what they said, because largely it was nothing to do with the show, it was just to do with me and James being around too much and people starting to hate us, which I get, it's a bit of over-exposure and what have you.' Tim Teeman, the gay arts editor of The Times, had accused Horne of prejudice over his portrayal of camp war reporter Tim.
Teeman wrote at the time: 'Imagine the justifiable outrage if blacks or Asians or women were treated so insultingly on TV now. But homophobia, gay stereotypes, anti-gay humour and backchat - unlike racism and sexism - has become acceptable. It isn't.' However, Horne protested: 'To accuse that character of being homophobic, that really got me, because it was annoying that that was the beginning of the backlash. And it was completely unfounded and untrue. He was such a warm and likeable character, I mean, there are gay stereotypes everywhere, they're stereotypes for a reason.'Nick Hancock is in the running to replace Adrian Chiles on The ONE Show, claim tabloid reports. The former They Think It's All Over host impressed producers during a guest stint on the BBC1 magazine show. Hancock is down to the final six candidates along with Watchdog presenter Matt Allwright, according to the Sun.
And now, for today's thrilling installment of Huntwatch.
There's a very interesting piece by the Gruniad Morning Star's Maggie Brown on what she considers to be the new Culture Secretary's main priorities over the forthcoming parliament. The sections on the BBC and Ofcom, if Maggie is correct, make for particularly depressing reading. Of course, it's worth remembering that is all still just speculation.British web-users are spending sixty five per cent more time online than three years ago, according to a survey of net habits. The average surfer spends twenty two hours and fifteen minutes on the net each month, according to the UK Online Measurement company. The lion's share of that time is spent on social networks or blogs, which accounts for nearly a quarter of users' time online. Instant messaging has been one of the victims of social network growth. Three years ago fourteen per cent of online time was spent using IM but that has fallen to just five per cent. But e-mail, which was also predicted to suffer as more people used Facebook and its rivals, is still healthy and accounts for over seven per cent of time compared to six and a half per cent of time three years ago. Networking, communication and playing games remain the most popular online activities. 'These are the pillars on which the Internet are built,' said Alex Burmaster, a spokesman for UKOM.
The press watchdog has denied that it is a 'toothless' and pathetic self-regulatory body with a vested interest in doing nothing to curb press excess following its handling of a case surrounding the death of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately. The Press Complaints Commission ruled that Jan Moir's comments in the Daily Scum Mail had not breached press guidelines.
Writing in the PCC's annual review, chairman Baroness Buscombe said it had been a 'difficult but important' case. Moir's hateful, prejudicial and horrifically mean-spirited piece, with a headline that said there was nothing 'natural' about the death, attracted more than twenty five thousand complaints. Baroness Buscombe said: 'In the end, the commission considered that newspapers had the right to publish opinions that many might find unpalatable and offensive, and that it would not be proportionate, in this case, to rule against the free expression of the columnist's views on a subject that was the focus of intense public attention.' Quite right. So, if it's this blogger's considered and deeply-held opinion that the PCC is an arse-licking waste-of-oxygen - and anappeaser of homophobic right-wing scum to boot - then, according to the PCC's own logic, I've got a perfect right to voice that opinion no matter whom it upsets. Good. Glad we got that sorted. 
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