Reader Q&A
TV critic Matthew Gilbert took questions
Matthew_Gilbert: G'day.
JediFonger__Guest_: Is Mad Men coming back for season2 this summer?
Matthew_Gilbert: Oh yes indeed. Can't wait.
Matthew_Gilbert: On July 27.
Matthew_Gilbert: It will be on Sunday nights.
kdawg__Guest_: Hello! Have you seen tonight's episode of Lost yet? Any spoilers for us?
Matthew_Gilbert: I have not seen it. I CANNOT wait. This has been, perhaps, the best season so far. It has had great momentum.
Matthew_Gilbert: I expect to be fully wowed. My fantasy is that it will end exactly where last season ended, maybe even at the airport. But of course, we'll understand more about why Jack is so bummed out.
rosie533__Guest_: hi matt....what do you make of the theory that abaddon went on his walkabout as walt and came out the mysterious dude he is today
Matthew_Gilbert: That's a good one. I wouldn't reject that possibility. Next season, btw, Lance Reddick, who plays Abaddon, is going to be on JJ Abrams' new show, Fringe.
Toeknee__Guest_: Hi Matt. I'm not sticking around for today's chat - trying to remain completely spoiler free for the Lost finale - but I did want to say I really liked your article in today's paper. Enjoy the show tonight!
Matthew_Gilbert: Thanks Toe. I have NO spoilers. The Lost gang has been very guarded about releasing info. As usual. There doesn't seem to be a major leak, as there was for last season's finale. PS: Thanks.
Vincent_the_dog__Guest_: Matt, I know from reading your columns that you often get advance copies of season premieres and maybe the next episode or two. Does it work the same during May sweeps/finale time? Basically, have you gotten a sneak peak at tonight's Lost?!
Matthew_Gilbert: NO! I wish. I'll be reviewing the episode live, which means I'll have about an hour to write.
perkynurse__Guest_: any word from HBO on a second season of "In Therapy"?
Matthew_Gilbert: No word yet. Maybe HBO is waiting to see if it gets any Emmy recognition before renewing the show (it's "In Treatment," btw). The nominations come out in mid July.
Matthew_Gilbert: I do know that the Israeli series on which "In Treatment" is based had a second season. We'll see what happens here. HBO is in a state of reorganization, and it's not clear what the channel's "mission" is going to be going forward, as they say.
kdawg__Guest_: Hey Matthew, love your columns. When do you get to see the pilot's for new shows? I'm curious about the new show by Joss Whedon starring Eliza Dushku. Joss is a writing god.
Matthew_Gilbert: I'm EXTREMELY curious about it, too, kdawg. No word on when the pilot will arrive though. I'm psyched about it, but I have to admit I am most psyched about the new JJ Abrams show. The commercials have been pretty exciting.
JediFonger__Guest_: Do you think showtime is onpar with HBO these days? i luv their dexter, tudor, dead like me, damages. boy was damages an awesome TV series.
Matthew_Gilbert: Showtime has been doing a great job. Dexter is No. 1 in my book, and Californication and Tracey Ullman were tops, too. (Damages is on FX, my friend.)I have been enjoying Showtime a lot, although not as much as I enjoyed HBO in its prime, with the Sopranos and Six Feet Under and Sex and the City. I'm not ready to count out HBO yet, though.
Scott__Guest_: Can you talk more about JJ Abrams new show? Do you know any more than what's in the commerical(s)?
Matthew_Gilbert: It's called Fringe, and it's set in Boston. A plane arrives at Logan and EVERYONE ON BOARD IS DEAD!!!! Sounds kinda "Lost"-like. Pacey from Dawson's Creek is one of the stars, there's a broken genius in a mental institution, and some kind of conspiracy.
JediFonger__Guest_: Re: Joss Whedon, BRING BACK FIREFLY! =P
Matthew_Gilbert: Yeah yeah, whatever.
pennywidmore__Guest_: and when does Fringe start? what else can we look forward to during the summer slowdown?
Matthew_Gilbert: The Closer is returning, which pleases me. Weeds will be back, along with a new Showtime comedy called Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Burn Notice, which is fun, is coming back to U SA. Also: Army Wives. A week from Sunday.
whitebuffalo__Guest_: The Lost finale tonight is exciting, but with 2 seasons left do u feel a sense of anxiety knowing that tonight will only leave us hanging till January with a ton of new questions to ponder?
Matthew_Gilbert: Of course I feel anxious. That's what Lost is all about. The thrill of ALMOST knowing. I am so happy the producers decided to cut off the series as six seasons. They will leave us wanting more, instead of making us regret (cough-Frasier-cough) liking Lost in the first place by overstaying their welcome.
LOST__Guest_: I was hesitant to start watching LOST, but did anyway and loved it. I watched all three seasons this december before season 4 began. Now, I must say that i'm disappointed the way it is going (sci-fi-esque), although i kind of expected it because there has to be some way to explain the mysterious characteristics of the island. the whole thing about locke "moving the island" was a big let down for me. i really don't want to be drawn into some space-time-continuum explanation of why things happen the way they do on the island. i must say, though, that this is all extremely well-written: i could never think of such deep, interconnected plots. it's really a shame that it all ends in two seasons! what do you think could happen in the next two seasons? perhaps a return to the island by the oceanic 6?
Matthew_Gilbert: Write a novel, why don't you?!
Matthew_Gilbert: Yeah, I know exactly what you mean about hoping Lost doesn't devolve into a prosaic sci-fi solution. I don't think it will, ultimately, but...
Matthew_Gilbert: I think the Oceanic 6 will return, and I have this feeling the flashbacks and flashforwards are going to stop at some point.
pennywidmore__Guest_: Is Army Wives good? Isn't that on Lifetime? I automatically disregard anything on Lifetime.
Matthew_Gilbert: I wouldn't say it's "good." But it's good and soapy. Kinda like The Unit for chix.
Bob__Guest_: Can you highlight the major biblical references/similarities in Lost?
Matthew_Gilbert: Seriously? I feel like I'm in a college exam. Go to Lostpedia, Bob, if you want a complete answer. That site a AMAZING.
mikeyboy__Guest_: huge fan of Ricky Gervais HBO show Extras - Any talk about "American-izing" that show similar to what they did with The Office
Matthew_Gilbert: I talked to Ricky Gervais last week (NAME DROP) on the Andover set of his movie, and I asked him that very question. He has been approached, but he's not interested. And he's right, it would become a Hollywood show coopted by Hollywood stars trying to revamp their images or promote movies.
desmond__Guest_: this show has been sci-fi from the beginning - i can't see why people are surpised to see it now
Matthew_Gilbert: The thing is, Lost has always had a little potential to be something else -- something a little more philosophical or psychological or original than, say, just a time-travel epic or a black-hole story. I think of "The Manchurian Candidate" -- like that, something with conspiracy elements, maybe drugs, maybe brainwashing. You know?
rosie533__Guest_: I was let down by the "moving the island" idea too...seemed pretty lame...but when you think about it, the effects of this are probably whatare preventing Jack and Ben from returning to the island... the idea itself might seem cheesy, but I think the aftereffects are going to be astounding
Matthew_Gilbert: I will be less let down if "moving the island" is about time, and not about space. We'll see. The Lost dudes haven't disappointed me lately, so I'm hopeful.
Vincent_the_dog__Guest_: There was a great skit on SNL a few weeks ago when Steve C. hosted... Ricky Gervais actually introduces it... a Japanese version of The Office... if you go to hulu.com you can search for it
Matthew_Gilbert: Yeah, that was great. I met him a few days after that. He loved flying to NY to do it. They'd already filmed the short -- he wasn't involved in the making of it. He was blown away by just how politically incorrect it was! Blown away as in he really enjoyed it.
pennywidmore__Guest_: oooh!! Ricky is in Andover?? Swoon. What's he working on now - something better than the Museum movie I hope?
Matthew_Gilbert: It's a comedy he cowrote and is codirecting, and it looks pretty good. Amazing cast, including Jennifer Garner, Christopher Guest, Tina Fey, Jonas Hill, etc.
mikeyboy__Guest_: 2 Lost Theories - it all takes place in a glass snow globe...or in Bob Newharts head after eating bad chinese food
Matthew_Gilbert: You're an original thinker, Mikey.
desmond__Guest_: love love love this season - any idea how much we'll find out tonight? as in will there be an actual rescue? forget it I don't really want to know - but this season has me on the edge of my seat. i am a tivo fanatic but can't even watch lost on tive. it's old school running to the bathroom during commercials, though we just got a new HD one - it was meant to be!!
Matthew_Gilbert: I know nothing, as Sgt. Schultz once said.
Matthew_Gilbert: So glad to know you're not going to be holding your bladder for two hours tonight.
mikeyboy__Guest_: Who do you think is in the coffin Jack visited the end of last season?
Matthew_Gilbert: I'm all over the place on that one. I have thought about Michael, and even Locke. With the timeline so twisted up, it could be a major character like Locke who will continue to be in it. I believe we will learn the identity of the dead person tonight.
JediFonger__Guest_: In your guide about cliffhangers from a variety of TV series, you left out Battlestar Galactica 2003 =D. it's the best series of the 21st century!!
Matthew_Gilbert: Forgiveness is a virtue.
Matthew_Gilbert: So I'll forgive you for your criticism...
desmond__Guest_: we shouldn't be let down... even through some hard to watch stories in the end it's always been just perfect. the writers have some kind of magic going. would love to be a lfy on the wall when they get together
Matthew_Gilbert: Me too. The conversations they have about "Lost" must be really cool. Once it's over, I hope they write a book about how it all evolved.
brocktonlaw__Guest_: Hi Matt: Do you have any info on Breaking Bad? Seems like it ended kind of abruptly, maybe due to the writers' strike? Any idea on if and when its coming back?
Matthew_Gilbert: It will be back. AMC has renewed it, and I believe it has order a dozen or so episodes. THe first season premiered in the winter, so I'd expect to see the second season sometime after the new year.
Matthew_Gilbert: That's a show (Bryan Cranston has cancer, makes and sells crystal meth to get money for his family) that I didn't love, but couldn't stop watching. Strange, unusual, tonally bizarre.
desmond__Guest_: just read your cliffhangers - that M*A*S*H episode was really heartwrenching
Matthew_Gilbert: I'll never forget that moment. Radar makes the announcement, and everyone keeps working. Brilliant.
mikeyboy__Guest_: I agree - think its Locke. Watch for Mr Ecko and the Green Army Men in a future backstory..Ben referred to some stuff they'd done
Matthew_Gilbert: Yes, the man of faith loses in the end.
rosie533__Guest_: Any interesting or new reality shows scheduled for the summer? Besides the mole, which looks pretty good
Matthew_Gilbert: Interesting reality shows? That phrase has something of the oxymoronic about it....(kidding ((kind of))). Big Brother will be back. Living Lohan (I accidentally wrote Licing Lohan!!!) just premired. Go hog wild.
desmond__Guest_: have to say i love matt roush at tvguide... what do you think of his opinions of tv? and what were your opionions of buffy? can't trust you til i know ;)
Matthew_Gilbert: Yes, Matt is a very solid critic. Fingers crossed for TV Guide, which is going through some hard times. I came to love Buffy, but it took me a little time. But once I fell, I was stuck.
Jenn__Guest_: Any idea when there will be new episodes of Weeds and Rescue Me?
Matthew_Gilbert: Weeds will be back soon -- in mid June, I believe, along with a new Showtime comedy called The Secret Diary of a Call Girl.
Matthew_Gilbert: Re: Rescue Me. As far as I know, the writer's strike got in the way and it won't be back until next summer. In the meantime, FX will have some kind of online miniepisodes or something...
Matthew_Gilbert: And that's probably a good think. Rescue Me needed a bit of a break after last season, which slid all over the place and had no freshness.
Matthew_Gilbert: A great show that could use a rest and then a good rethinking.
Capt__Falafel__Guest_: So Matthew, where do you think LOST ranks with the shows of the past- in terms of storyline, quality of writing, etc?
Matthew_Gilbert: Right now, I am VERY high on Lost. I would put it in the top 10 of all time. It's well-written and all that, but it's groundbreaking and fascinating in terms of serial TV narrative. The writer-producers have made a great art of giving us information yet keeping us curious. The timeline shifting has also been huge. If the series doesn't end up a mess in 2010, I'm prepared to put it in the pantheon.
Jenn__Guest_: I agree with that on Rescue Me, but was hopeful it was growing pains. Thanks for the info! Also, I am quite interested in this Sunday's premiere of In Plain Street. Any scoop on it yet? Glad to see that Monk and Psych will air new episodes this summer, too.
Matthew_Gilbert: Growing pains? Not at four seasons, methinks. That's just burnout.
Matthew_Gilbert: In Plain Sight is a new USA series, and it's not that great. Mary McCormack makes it fun enough, but the Witness Protection plots are stoopid.
Matthew_Gilbert: It premiere Sunday night.
cracker__Guest_: Have the producers of Lost said how many more seasons they intend to do after this one? The flash forwards seem to be hitting a point where they need to get the 6 off the Island and in to the current time.
Matthew_Gilbert: The series will end after two more seasons, in 2010. The flashforwards, by the way: I suspect that next season, or thereafter, they will be more like flashbacks.
science_vs_faith__Guest_: never been to this chat, so I was wondering if you had stated your own theory of how Lost will end up?
Matthew_Gilbert: I wrote a piece about Lost Theorizing in today's globe, and in it I mention my latest notion of what's going on on "Lost."
Matthew_Gilbert: Much as I'd love to rewrite the piece for you here and now.
desmond__Guest_: that's OK, i couldn't bring myself to watch something called "buffy", but did so for the sake of my relationship with future hubby, then had to go back and watch from the beginning.
Matthew_Gilbert: Future hubby? What is this, Lost?
Matthew_Gilbert: Glad you found the slayer and happiness.
cracker__Guest_: Also, they kep referring to the Oceanic 6, but we know that others from the Island make it off too, right?
Matthew_Gilbert: Kinda. I mean we know Walt and Michael made it off, but secretly. And Ben isn't part of the Oceanic flight.
mikey__Guest_: Matt! Is tonight's lost a TRUE 2 hour episode??
Matthew_Gilbert: As opposed to...? From 8-9, ABC is reairing the previous episode, and then from 9-11 the network is giving us a new double episode.
Matthew_Gilbert: There will be commercials, so it won't be TRUE in that way.
mikey__Guest_: is claire already dead?!?!?!
Matthew_Gilbert: I'm not sure. Let me ask her. Claire, are you dead.
Matthew_Gilbert: She's declining comment.
Matthew_Gilbert: And I'm outta here. Thanks for dropping by, folks.
Matthew_Gilbert: MG
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