prison break schedule

Hey, tuberinos! Much to discuss today with all the tubelicious goodness of the new season. (Anyone else have a DVR that's about to explode? Ay!) So, let's get to your Q's...

Michelle in Cayucos, California: Any news on Scrubs? It's coming back soon, right?
Next Thursday, in fact! And I'll be hitting the premiere party this Wednesday to ask the cast your questions, so please email your good, funny and plentiful questions to tvdiva@eonline.com. BTW, Zach Braff just updated his blog with this news about the final season, saying: "I directed episode five, and I'll be directing three more this season. Bill Lawrence [the show's creator] is directing four himself, so between the two of us, we're directing almost half the whole season. I think you will like this last year; there are a bunch of surprises. Look for the return of almost everyone who's had a small part on the show. Including my favorite: Hooch, who is actually crazy..." I can't wait!

Farrah in Madison, Wisconsin: I am loving Chuck! Please tell me it is not in danger of cancellation.
As far as I know, it's not. But it certainly can use your support! If you're a fan of Chuck (i.e., you have good taste), make sure to tell everyone you know to watch it! I've heard that the upcoming episodes with Chuck's blossoming (dare I say?) romance with Sara and, of course, the awesome guest spot by Rachel Bilson, just get better and better.

Julie in Cincinnati: Women's Murder Club was great! Any dish?
The show made a killing on Friday with 11 million viewers (and that knocked Friday Night Lights' ratings down a bit―sniff). FYI, the pilot we originally saw of WMC was radically different than the episode that aired Friday. The original pilot was Law & Order with chicks; the redo was Sex and the City with homicide. Also, in the original there was a completely different crime, the love interest was Jonathan Davis (What About Brian) not Rob Estes, the tagalong chick was another DA (instead of Cindy the reporter), and there was most definitely a club. The show is still great, but I liked it better when the women were more badass.

Heidi in Montreal: Loving Samaire Armstrong back on my TV in Dirty Sexy Money! What's coming for Juliet?
Well, you may have heard that according to Samaire's rep, she "decided to enter an outpatient facility to deal with some personal issues in a therapeutic atmosphere and is doing very well." We wish her the best of luck in her recovery. And word is, she'll only miss one episode. Before that, according to Seth Gabel, who plays Jeremy, "We have a lot of battles over who I should be dating. As my twin sister, she has sort of a say in what happens in my life, or so she thinks. And we sort of come against each other trying to find out." In other Dirty news, I hear that Nick learns more about his father's past during this week's trip to Italy.

Wendell in Miami: The "radio silence" is killing me! Do you have anything at all to report on Lost?
That makes two of us! I can only tell you that Robin Weigert, who plays Juliet's cancer-kickin' (or did she?) sister, Rachel, has a gut feeling she's going to be back on the show. Robin told me during a visit to her new show, Life, that although nothing has been set in stone: "I think that character will definitely be back at some point, as I think will all of the flashback characters, because there will inevitably be a point when people reconnect. We've seen a flash-forward which shows some folks have made it off the island, reconnect with their loved ones. Beyond that, I don't know."

Here's hoping we see her alive and well and with the little one! In the meantime, make sure you tune into that other four-lettered L-word show, Life. (And be sure to check out our set visit on the Vine.)

Dominic in Milwaukee: How does the possible writer's strike effect Lost in February? Thanks!
The good news is that the Lost writers didn't take much of a break at all between seasons, and production started in July as usual, despite the delayed season-premiere launch date. So, if the strike does go down, Lost might be one of the few shows we'll still be seeing after the other series' eps run dry. It'll be that and the rebirth of sterling reality series like The Littlest Groom and Who's My Daddy? (If we don't have Lost, I might go work at Starbucks.)

Jasmine in Nebraska: I love Kenneth the Page! Is Jack McBrayer like his character in real life?
More than you'd think! I'm told the reason Kenneth couldn't talk to Jerry Seinfeld in the season premiere is that Jack McBrayer was so flustered around Jerry Seinfeld that he couldn't say his lines―or anything at all! Love. It.

Raddison in Utah: I can't wait for the new season of Project Runway! Any scoop?
Just that I already have my number-one pick to win: Season four Project Runway contestant Christina Scarbo is a wardrobe stylist who helps us out for E! News, and she is adorable, smart, talented and funny, and if she doesn't win, I might have to boycott the show! (Until the next season anyway.) I'm hard-core rooting for Miss Scarbo. Consider yourself warned.

Francisco in Milan: What's up with Tim Gunn's new show?
I've heard Tim Gunn's Guide to Style has been put on hold until at least the premiere of PR on Nov. 14. Rumor has it the show may be getting a little work done.

Misty in Cincinnati: Love, love, love Pushing Daisies! Where can I find my very own pie maker? One question, though: Who is voicing the narration? The voice sounds so familiar, but I can't place it. Is it the same voice from the Willy Wonka remake?
The Pushing Daisies narration is done by Jim Dale, who is best known in the U.S. for being the voice of the Harry Potter audio books. And by the by, make sure you don't blink this Wednesday. It's the episode in which I play a dead body.

Diana in New York City: Anything on Battlestar Galactica yet?
There's a promo for season four over on YouTube. And by the way, if you were within a ten-mile radius of the E! building on Friday and heard an ear-piercing sound that resembled a hyena getting attacked by a wildcat, that would be the moment our resident cult-TV expert (and die-hard BSG fan) Jennifer Godwin received a copy of Razor in the mail. (I know. I hate her a little, too.) We'll post a Razor preview item in the next few days. Hang tight.

Juni in Wilmington, North Carolina: What happened? Where is October Road? Where is Lipstick Jungle? Where is that Will Traveler show? I'm confused, please help! P.S.: Congrats!
October Road returns in late November; the exact date is still to be determined. Lipstick Jungle isn't on the schedule yet, but shooting begins next month. And Traveler was all canceled while you weren't looking. Sorry―TV is so cruel. P.S. Thank you!


SPOILERS FOLLOW

Dahlia in Memphis, Tennessee: Any word on Grey's or Weeds (the two best shows on television)?
Then you're gonna love this news! I'm hearing that Jeffrey Dean Morgan (aka Izzie's Denny) is being courted to come back to Weeds, playing a freaking ghost! You do remember he is Nancy Botwin's ex, right? Well, I hear that―spoiler alert!―there's gonna be a big ol' fire in Agrestic, and Shane will start seeing Daddy Botwin (JDM) afterward. More than one family we know may be losing his or her house. Eek!

MBernal in Dearborn, Michigan: Please tell me Betty isn't actually going to pick that annoying sandwich guy over Henry!
Actually, I'm hearing Henry and Betty may be moving in together soon! Are they living in love or are they living in sin? You be the judge!

Tamara in Syracuse, New York: I love Chuck! Any scoop?
Rachel Bilson's character, Lou, comes with some baggage―in the form of a strong, Greek ex-boyfriend named Stavros. Also, look for Chuck to have an amusing run-in with Lou's former beau. As we reported a few weeks ago, it looks like the very much alive Bryce will be working alongside Sarah, Casey and Chuck. Don't forget to watch tonight!

Ginger in Chicago: Got anything Losty? I'm not too proud to take scraps.
You and me both, sister. Jorge Garcia confirmed to thefuselage.com that there will be a death in season four. Yeek! Anybody got a guess? If so, comment below. I've heard many of the castmembers are now living off the island full-time, flying in for episodes, which doesn't exactly help me sleep well at night. (I'm pretty sure Evangeline, Josh, Matthew and Daniel are still residing in Hawaii, but not sure of the others.)

Marshall in Idaho: Please! Some Office dirt!
I just hit the set on Friday, and you won't believe who was there: Jim and...Karen!! Gaaah!! And Joss Whedon! Double gaaah! Needless to say, I have much to tell you after visiting the show's Utica branch (whoops, did I just type that?!) and that will be coming your way much closer to the episode airdate. For the time being, all I know is I heard Michael tell Jim, "Get back together with her and take her to a hotel and sleep with her," and it made my skin crawl! (P.S.: Love ya, Rashida. Honestly. But keep your paws off Pam's man!)

Randall in Las Vegas: I am loving Pushing Daisies. What's the word!?
The word is pigeons! The pesky flying rodents will be the subject of next week's episode, with a special appearance by Henry and Hiro's former love, Jayma Mays, in the windmill. It's a very romantic episode for which I sneaked a peek of a script and loved.

Quentin in Palos Verdes, California: Heroes!
The latest Redux will be up after tonight's episode! So stand by. In the meantime, I can tell you that midseason, look for a new villain. They're currently casting for a "predator" type named Knox who returns to his native city of New Orleans, "the criminal territory he used to run before he was sent to prison." This puts him directly in the path of Micah, his great-aunt Uhura (Nichelle Nichols, who plays D.L.'s aunt) and a character we'll meet shortly, Monica Daniels (played by Dana Davis).

Debbie in Grand Haven, Michigan: Brothers & Sisters?
Look for the Walker-McCallister wedding to take place at the Walkers' home, and Nora will be giving away the bride! (I can feel the tears a-comin'!) And here's some scoop to make you go hmmm....Korbi tells me there's some major stuff coming up with the new character of Lena (Rebecca's friend who is now working for Tommy at the winery), which has to do with the Walker brothers, and it's more than what we "might think it is." It's all supposed to come to a head at the end of the wedding episode, which is airing during November sweeps. Any guesses? Comment below.

Melinda in Sand Point, Idaho: Gossip Girl!
Good morning, Upper East Siders. Word on the street is that we'll be seeing more of the main characters' extended family members before the end of the year. I'm told S's granny is going to be played by someone we're already familiar with, and Dan's MIA mommy may make an appearance pretty soon. Should be juicy! XOXO, TV Gossip Girl

Gena in Portland, Oregon: Any Medium news to tide me over during the eternity I have to wait before the show comes back?
Devalos is back! After being ousted from the D.A.'s office for spending taxpayer dollars on a psychic (Allison), he starts out the season as an average-Joe attorney at law, but we're hearing that somewhere around the middle of the season, he declares himself a candidate for his old job. Yay!

Clarissa in Tulsa, Oklahoma: Loving Dirty Sexy Money! Is Patrick ever going to get busted for his, um, indiscretions?
Yes, according William Baldwin, who plays young Patrick, and it just leads to more fabulously juicy complications. "Bellamy Young and I were in a scene a couple of days ago, and when her character, Ellen, my wife, found out about this, she called for a powwow. And I'm like, 'With who?' And she said, 'The three of us.' And I said, 'You me and...?' And she said, 'Yes, you, me and Carmelita, your mistress.' And I'm like, 'About what?' And she said, 'I'm not about to let her stand between us and the White House. I did not marry a Darling for nothing.' And we'll figure out what that means."

MaryM in Canton, Ohio: I can't wait for October Road to come back! What's coming up?
It doesn't look as though Owen and his cheating wife will reconcile, much to her dismay. Not anytime soon, anyway. We're hearing the big guy will be dating a bit in season two.

Belinda in Fresno, California: What can you tell us about the Mad Men finale?
Well, according to Jon Hamm (Don Draper), "It's a good way to end the season. I'll put it that way. It makes it a very complete story, but it also opens the door for more conflict and more to be discovered." Mike Gladis, who plays pipe-smoking smartass Paul Kinsey, says, "I think the finale is more of a denouement." Two more fun facts: David Kronke of the Los Angeles Daily News says Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) is totally pregnant. Oh, Peg. What are we going to do with you? Also, did you see that Matt Weiner recently talked to Advertising Age about Jack Daniels being a product placement on the show? He was quoted as saying, "They have this whole list of how it [Jack Daniels] can be used...I jokingly said to AMC, 'Would they mind if it was being used to sterilize instruments in an underground abortion?' "

Quentin in Tacoma, Washington: Have you guys heard the rumor that season two of Mad Men will jump two years forward, to 1962?
After getting a "no comment" from the publicist last week, we made a point to ask creator Matt Weiner about those rumors when we saw him at the Paley Center. He said, "I will neither confirm nor deny that." Does that mean yes? We think yes, that means yes, but post your analysis in the Comments. And would the leap work for you, or would you rather follow the denizens of Sterling-Cooper more closely?

Judy in Woonsocket, Rhode Island: You guys never talk about Greek, but it's such a good show! Everyone needs to watch it when it starts back up!
For the record, we love Greek, and we're hearing there might be some changes at ZBZ next season. Seems the girls really do run an equal-opportunity sorority, since there may be a lesbian sister in the house whom we just haven't met yet.

Lady Sweeney in St. Louis: Anything on Monk?
In an upcoming episode, "Mr. Monk on the Run," Mr. Monk himself is accused of murder and goes on the lam. I smell an Emmy nom for Tony Shalhoub!

Valerie in Pasadena, California: Any news on Bones?
Please don't tell the children, but Santa Claus is dead. Well, on Bones at least. Look for a Christmas episode called "The Santa in the Slush," where the team investigates the murder of one Kris Kringle, occupation: mall Santa. Bonus: Booth is back to using his gun (no, his firearm, you sicko) inappropriately. One can only hope this road leads back to Stephen Fry. Also, if you're one of the Bones fans who have been emailing me for the past couple years asking, "When's Jeffersonian Institute director Goodman coming back from his so-called sabbatical?" you should turn into episode two of Women's Murder Club. Jonathan Adams plays coroner Claire's wheelchair-bound husband, and the episode shows us a little more about their marriage.

Jake in Tucson, Arizona: What's the real scoop between Rebecca and Sam on Beauty and the Geek?
I recently spoke to Rebecca, who told me the relationship was real and not created for the cameras, and it sounds like she's still into him. "I would be willing to live closer [to Sam]," she said. We'll see!

Prison Break
Visit the Prison Break website
MICHAEL SCOFIELD (Wentworth Miller, "The Human Stain") is a desperate man in a desperate situation. His brother, LINCOLN BURROWS (Dominic Purcell, "John Doe," "Blade: Trinity"), is on death row and scheduled to die in a few months for a murder Michael is convinced Lincoln did not commit. With no other options and time winding down, Michael holds up a bank to get himself incarcerated alongside his brother in Fox River State Penitentiary. Once he's inside, we learn that Michael � a structural engineer with the blueprints for the prison � has hatched an elaborate plan to break Lincoln out and prove his innocence. Senior correctional officer BELLICK (Wade Williams, "Collateral") offers some prison wisdom as Michael arrives. Then, with the help of his cellmate, SUCRE (Amaury Nolasco, "Mr. 3000"), Michael begins to align himself with a disparate group of prisoners, including former mob boss JOHN ABRUZZI (Peter Stormare, "Fargo," "Minority Report") and CHARLES WESTMORELAND (Muse Watson, "I Know What You Did Last Summer"), a man some believe to be the infamous skyjacker D.B. Cooper. On the outside Michael has only one ally, his defense attorney and longtime friend, VERONICA DONOVAN (Robin Tunney, "The Craft," "End of Days") � who is Lincoln 's former girlfriend. Meanwhile, Lincoln 's 15-year-old son, LJ (Marshall Allman), is now adrift without his Uncle Michael's positive influence. Rounding out the cast are Sarah Wayne Callies ("The Celestine Prophesy") as prison doctor SARA TANCREDI, whom Michael ends up visiting more often than he should, and Stacy Keach ("Titus," "Mike Hammer") as the powerful WARDEN POPE, who forges a close, almost father-son relationship with the new convict. This intriguing new series promises to reveal additional pieces of the puzzle each week as Michael carries out his daring plan to mastermind the ultimate PRISON BREAK � and solve the far-reaching national-scale conspiracy that landed him there in the first place.
I don't like to be wrong, but when I'm wrong, I'm happy to admit it. And five minutes into Monday (Oct. 8) night's episode of Prison Break, it was clear that I was wrong about the contents of the box that we left in Linc's hands at the end of last week's show.

[If you haven't seen this week's Prison Break and don't want it spoiled, stop reading.]

I'll fess up and acknowledge that in my recap last week, I said that although the Prison Break team had stolen the entire box gag from David Fincher, it wouldn't actually be Gwyneth Paltrow's head in the box, much less the corresponding heads of Michael's semi-girlfriend Sara or Linc's son LJ.

As the contents of the box did, indeed, appear to be Sara's head (the rest of her body inconveniently elsewhere), I don't feel so bad about my mistake. You see, I was making my guess based on an illogical and creatively bankrupt narrative universe. I was thinking how stupid it would be for the kidnappers to kill off 50 percent of their leverage without a single warning. I was thinking that it might be poor reasoning to provide a motivation for revenge to a man who you're hoping is able to escape from prison. I was thinking that surely the kidnappers must have looked at the IQ scores and realized that killing Sara to light a fire under Linc's rear probably won't accomplish anything given just how incapable the character has always been of any sort of strategic reasoning.

So I was thinking "What would make sense for the characters in the show to do?" and the producers were thinking "What's the fastest way we can get rid of a character played by an actress we don't have under contract anymore?" That's the way the best creative decisions are often made in this town.

I'm not actually going to miss Sara or anything. At best she was an underwritten character who was never designed for a multiple season run. I don't think the producers could possibly have anticipated how willing relationship-hungry fans would be to forgive Michael for getting Sara fired from her job and rehooked on smack just for his own selfish goals. They couldn't have guessed that fans would actually trust the characters when they said they loved each other, even though nothing in their behaviors resembled love. The 'shippers just need something to believe in. I didn't need her back, but once they dedicated two seasons to having us believe that Sara was the love of Michael's life (look at how squinty he got whenever he mentioned her), it's strange that it ended like this. And it's even more strange that presumably Michael is going to go rather psychotic once he finds out that the woman he kissed twice is dead.

I'm a split here, because I could either continue to lament the lazy writing that led to what we assume was Sarah's head in a box (we saw it for all of three frames and Linc's pretty stupid, so it could have been any brunette), or I could celebrate an episode that brought back three of my favorite Prison Break things.

We saw the return of Michael Scofield as the poor man's MacGyver. If you'll recall, the Michael of the first season required whole sleeves of tattoos to remember very basic chemical compounds. He was pretty smart, but the most brilliant thing about him was his indexing system. Cut forward to the third season and not only does Michael possess encyclopedic knowledge of the solutions used by Panamanian prison gravediggers to reduce corpse-stench, but he also knows how that solution will react under extreme heat. Sona must have a well-stocked prison library.

We also got the return of devilish killer T-Bag. It's just been days since T-Bag figured out a way to off a full-grown man despite the fact that he's operating with a single hand (and another arm that really ought to be good an infected by now). But T-Bag didn't just kill Nieves the Drug Dealer (one of two new characters introduced and killed off in this week's accelerated episode) to get closer to Lechero. In addition to taking over Nieves' lucrative role as "manager in charge of retail distribution and customer liaisons," T-Bag was able to get drugs to Mahone. In the long run, I'm sure we'll understand T-Bag's end game, but in the short run we knew Mahone needed drugs because he was seeing...

HAYWIRE! Regular readers know that I was a big fan of Silas Weir Mitchell's wacky psychotic, who just wanted to sail to Holland with his dog and got killed for his troubles. Why was hallucinating Mahone seeing Haywire? Probably because of all of the characters Mahone killed last season, he was the one who would cost the least for a cameo (Peter Stormare can't be cheap) and who isn't under penitentiary observation for vehicular manslaughter (spectral Lane Garrison cameos are just unlikely). Mitchell didn't have much to do in this episode, just cryptic warnings to Mahone, but any time he wants to come back, I'd be glad to have him.

Other thoughts on this week's episode:

What was up with that weird first scene between Susan B. Anthony and Linc? I understand that he was a bit rattled at finding the head of a woman he barely knew in a box. Finding heads in boxes messes with me, too. But was she so messed up by putting the head in the box that she had to recite every line of dialogue in a monotone and then tell Linc that she was around if he ever, you know, just wanted to talk about his feelings.
Did anybody catch the "What's in the box?" joke on this week's Supernatural? A far better head-in-the-box reference.
Well, at least the found something to do with Sucre. Yes, he's an escaped convict whose picture must have been circulated through various law enforcement offices throughout Panama, but the Sona guards would never possibly recognize him, right? Sure.
Given that Bellick admitted to his former career as a prison guard, he got off pretty light with the scalding coffee on his back. And why did everybody keep saying that Michael was lying to Lechero? Yes, he caused the power outage, but Lechero ordered Michael to go into the forbidden zone to dig and Michael never told him he wasn't going out to advance his escape plans.
Inmates in Sona get regular mail privileges?
So, do you figure Sara's really dead or that it's all just another one of The Company's tricks? If she's actually gone, are you sad or mostly disinterested?


PRODUCTION COMPANIES
20th Century Fox Television, Adelstein-Parouse Productions, Original Television

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Paul Scheuring,
Dawn Parouse,
Marty Adelstein,
Neal Moritz,
Brett Ratner

WRITER
Paul Scheuring

DIRECTOR
Brett Ratner

CAST
Wentworth Miller as Michael
Dominic Purcell as Lincoln
Robin Tunney as Veronica
Sarah Wayne Callies as Dr. Tancredi
Peter Stormare as Abruzzi
Amaury Nolasco as Sucre
Wade Williams as Bellick
Marshall Allman as LJ

GUEST CAST
Stacy Keach as Warden Pope,
Muse Watson as Westmoreland