TVSquad

This morning, ABC announced that Lost will get three more seasons, but only 48 more episodes. That means each season will have only 16 episodes, as opposed to the traditional, full-season run of 22-23 episodes. Executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof have agreed to stick around for the final three seasons and guide the show to the ending that they want. (Each guy is reportedly getting an 8-figure deal to stick around) Of course, nothing is being said about which actors will be on the show that long.

This new end point pushes about 20 more episodes out of Cuse and Lindelof than they had hoped. Last January, the producers said they saw the show wrapping up at about episode 100, but the new deal pushes Lost's entire run to 120 episodes.

Lost fans, are you willing to wait three more years for answers? Seems like a long time...

(S03E19) The twists just keep on coming, don't they? A major mystery from Season One was solved, and even more mysteries were introduced. We got a closer look at the many layers of John Locke, who is smarter than his recent behavior might have indicated.

Recent rumors about upcoming Lost deaths have inspired MSNBC to publish a list of characters likely to bite the dust. Each Lost character was given "death odds," and the list is a mix of interesting and obvious choices. Contributor Ree Hines believes that Charlie (2:1), Anthony Cooper (2:1), Sun (3:1), Mikhail (3:1), and Rousseau (4:1) are the most likely to die this season.

I agree with the top two picks, but I have to believe that more than one Other will be dead by the finale. After making such a show of bringing Mikhail back, it would be shame to lose him again. Mikhail is my favorite new character this season, and is almost my favorite Other. The revelation that Sun could die during pregnancy seems like an element that will carry over into Season Four. It's too soon to kill her off.

For the third year in a row, FHM has named Lost's Evangeline Lilly one of its 100 Sexiest Women. Apparently, Lilly is much sexier than she was in 2006. The actress was #73 last year, and has moved up to #35. I'm sure that she's flattered to have cracked the Top 50. The magazine failed to recognize the sexiness of Lilly's co-stars Elizabeth Mitchell, Yunjin Kim, Emilie de Ravin, and Kiele Sanchez.

Other ABC stars to make the list include Kelly Ripa (Live With Regis and Kelly), Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives), Salma Hayek (executive producer/guest star, Ugly Betty), Katherine Heigl, and Kate Walsh (Grey's Anatomy). Teri Hatcher of Desperate Housewives took Evangeline Lilly's old spot, #73. She was #10 last year. I guess sexiness is fleeting. The highest-ranked TV star is Ghost Whisperer's Jennifer Love Hewitt at #14.

Lilly is set to star alongside John Malkovich in Afterwards; it will be her feature film debut. Afterwards begins filming this summer, and will be released in 2008.

(S03E17) Poor Desmond. I know that everyone on the island has a sob story, but Desmond is easily the most tragic Lost character. He continues to test himself and seems to be desperate for a sign that he is doing the right thing. Henry Ian Cusick delivered another brilliant performance, proving that he deserves all the screen time that he can get.

The Flashback

The newest piece of Desmond's back story answered a lot of questions about his past behavior. I have always wondered what kept Desmond in the hatch all of those years (besides fear). His preoccupation with purpose, sacrifice, and tests began in a monastery.

ABC has posted another set of Lost flashback videos. This week, we revisit the back stories of Sun and Jin, Hurley, Kate, and Charlie. We are almost through all the major characters' flashbacks, and I hope that more of the supporting characters' back stories will be shown soon.

The fourth Sun and Jin video examines the couple's married life. After the wedding, Jin promises Sun that they will get a real honeymoon someday. Mr. Paik promotes Jin to a position as his "special assistant," asking him to send a message to the Secretary for Environmental Safety. When Jin arrives at the Secretary's home, the man is clearly terrified of him. Jin merely relays Paik's verbal message, and the Secretary is so relieved he gives Jin his daughter's puppy. Jin gives the dog to Sun, who is upset about Jin's busy work schedule.

(S03E16) "One of Us" has added yet another layer to Juliet's past and to her current motives. She's a tough one to read, with those "Who, me?" innocent eyes. We also got to watch what was, hopefully, the last Lost beach reunion scene. How many reunions have there been this season, honestly?

Juliet's flashback picked up right where "Not in Portland" left off, giving us a clear idea of how she got to the island, and a less-than-clear idea of what kept her there. We'll have to wait until next season to learn how Juliet became such a good fighter, though. A pretty intimidating countdown has also been started, and I cannot wait to see what the next Lost week holds.

(S03E15) Some Lost episodes are stand-alone pieces of the show's mythology. Others are pieces of a larger puzzle, filling in gaps from past episodes and setting the stage for future episodes. "Left Behind" definitely falls into the second category. More of Kate's past was revealed, and new island loyalties were formed in what I am sure is a build-up to an Others-Survivors showdown (fingers crossed).

Some of you may already be familiar with stuntwoman Heather Arthur after reading about her personal blog. Arthur is currently working as Evangeline Lilly's stunt double on Lost, and doubled for Michelle Rodriguez as well. The Lost Blog has an interesting Q&A with Heather Arthur. The stuntwoman discusses what goes into a typical Lost stunt, what the actors are like to work with, and gives advice to those who want to pursue a career in stunt work. Arthur shared the following behind-the-scenes information about Lost:

• Heather Arthur's father, the stunt coordinator on Lost, suggested that she take the job as Evangeline Lilly's stunt double.
• The stunts on Lost range from high falls to fight sequences; Arthur has never done the same stunt twice.

Lost's Evangeline Lilly is featured in Esquire's "Women We Love" section. In addition to answering questions about the show, the actress posed for some skin-baring, Gilligan's Island-inspired photos. She shared the following details with the magazine:

• Lilly worked as an extra in the film White Chicks when she was in college.
• She still feels guilty that she was cast in Lost after doing auditions for only a month.
• Although several major characters have died on the show, she is confident that the writers are not "finished with Kate yet."

Ashton Kutcher's prank show on MTV is coming to an end after eight seasons, according to Variety. MTV plans to air the entire final season during one day -- April 7th -- with back-to-back new episodes. The network is calling it a sneak preview, where it will air all eight episodes before the official premiere date of the last season of Punk'd. The episodes will also air weekly starting April 10 at 9 pm.

This season, Punk'd reportedly pranks Lost's Evangeline Lilly, Hilary Swank, Nelly Furtado, Magic Johnson, and... Ashton Kutcher. Hopefully that'll be the series finale, where Ashton gets his due for "punking" other celebs for so many years (the Justin Timberlake episode was legendary).

Evangeline Lilly has fallen victim to Ashton Kutcher and his Punk'd gang. The Lost actress will appear on the newest (and supposedly last) season of the MTV prank show, along with fellow celebrities Hilary Swank, Magic Johnson, and Nelly Furtado. Lilly's episode will be aired in an eight-episode marathon of the show on April 7. Each episode will be aired individually beginning on April 10.

No word yet on how Lilly was punk'd. Perhaps they switched Dominic Monaghan with Billy Boyd and waited for her to notice. MTV is promoting this season as the show's last, but fake announcements about the show's cancellation have been released before. A similar claim was made after the 2003 season of Punk'd, but the show returned in 2004. A Punk'd Awards highlight special covering all past seasons is scheduled for June 5.

Heather Arthur, a stuntwoman who has done film and television work, keeps a very interesting blog about her life and career. Arthur has been the stunt double for Evangeline Lilly and Michelle Rodriguez, and her posts contain plenty of behind-the-scenes details about Lost. The stuntwoman had the following things to say about her scenes and the show's stars:

• Arthur was brought in to double for Evangeline Lilly in the tree-climbing scene ("Par Avion"), but Lilly ended up doing the stunt herself. She believes that Lilly is a "stuntwoman at heart."
• She doubled for Evangeline Lilly in "Enter 77," for a scene in which Kate is tackled by Ms. Klugh.

(S03E13) Well, the mystery surrounding Locke's former disability was finally solved, and it was worth the wait. Leave it to super-evil Kevin Tighe to add extra creepiness to the show. It looks like a popular theory about the island was confirmed, but as usual the truth was only hinted at. As Locke episodes go, this one ranks up there with "Walkabout," when we first learned of Locke's paralysis.

The fifth installment of Lost flashback videos is available on ABC's website. This week, we get the continuing stories of Kate, Jack, Charlie, and Locke. The fifth Kate video features scenes from "Born to Run," in which Tom arranges for Kate to meet with her dying mother. The former sweethearts' time capsule is unearthed, and the owner of the infamous little toy plane is revealed. Kate's family reunion does not go as planned after Diane suddenly becomes afraid of Kate and cries for help.

Jack's flashback depicts the end of Jack's marriage to Sarah. He arrives home after Angelo's failed surgery and confesses to kissing Gabriela. Sarah has a secret of her own, and informs Jack that she has been unfaithful and is leaving him. The flashback moves ahead to Jack's obsession with learning the identity of the other man. The search leads him to suspect his father, Christian, who tells him to let it go.