TVSquad

There hasn't been a new episode of Ugly Betty since January. Can you believe it? If you're like me, and need a refresher course on all things Meade and Suarez, ABC.com has a few options available. Fashion TV's rhyming reporter, Suzuki St. Pierre, summarizes the first two seasons in a four-minute video. I had forgotten how much had happened in the last few Betty episodes.

Even more entertaining is the show's first video podcast, led by co-stars Michael Urie and Becki Newton (Marc and Amanda). In addition to recording a hilarious song about season two's storylines, the actors interviewed Jeff Beal, the show's composer. Beal discussed his professional background and told some of the stories behind fans' favorite original Betty songs. The podcast can also be downloaded for free on iTunes.

ABC recently posted another Lost audio podcast for this week's episode, "The Constant." Executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse reviewed the newest Lost episode as well as last week's "Eggtown," answered fan questions, and previewed "The Other Woman." Since they skipped a podcast last week, Lindelof and Cuse revealed much more information and dealt with more questions than an average podcast. Here's a recap:

• Due to the writers' strike, Lost's sixteen-episode season was cut to thirteen episodes. The storylines for the eight episodes intended for the second half of the season will be "compressed" into five episodes. The remaining three episodes will be added to the final two seasons of the show.

The newest Lost audio podcast was released yesterday, which included some revealing details about the show. If you don't want to listen to the 22 minutes of banter between producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, here's a review of the major points:

• In a short interview, Josh Holloway mentioned that while the writing team comes up with Sawyer's snappy nicknames, the actor himself gives people nicknames in everyday life. According to Holloway, the writers often like to incorporate the cast members' personalities into their characters. He also wants more nicknames to stick around the way that Freckles has.
• There is actually a class at Tufts University that lists the Lost podcasts as required "reading." Has the world come to an end?