Midnight

Late Tuesday, Dec. 14, Julia Stiles finally chimed in on her Golden Globe nod, hours after the nominations were announced and all the other stars had already given their statements of varying amounts of glee. The actress, who nabbed the nomination for her guest starring turn in "Dexter," was apparently at some "undisclosed location out of the country," according to a Showtime publicist. "It's bizarre receiving the news in such a remote place where internet access is difficult and phones are impossible, but I'm glad I checked my email," Stiles says in a statement. "I'm beyond thrilled! It was an honor to be part of the show, and to have my work recognized by the HFPA. I am so grateful!" On "Dexter's" fifth season, Stiles plays Lumen, a woman who has been raped and tortured by a group of men. Helping her seek revenge is part of Dexter's (Michael C. Hall) coming to terms with his wife's murder in the Season 4 finale. "Dexter" also received nominations for Hall and the show itself in the drama category. Overall, we're thrilled with Stiles' inclusion. She joined Jonny Lee Miller, Shawn Hatosy and Peter Weller in making a brisk and enjoyable season. We are struck, however, by the mysterious nature of Stiles' current location. Why is it "undisclosed"? Is she working on a super-secret film or TV project already? Perhaps this is part of her work with Habitat for Humanity International. That's okay, you can keep your secrets. Now that you're safe from Jordan Chase (Miller), we don't need to keep tabs on you. The show aired its Season 5 finale Sunday night (Dec. 12) and was watched by 2.9 million viewers, setting a ratings record for the most-watched season of the show. Follow Zap2it on Twitter and Zap2it on Facebook for the latest news and buzz Photo/Video credit: Getty Images, Showtime Source: http://blog.zap2it.c...-from-afar.html View full article

Friday night has long been known as the place where good television goes to die, but "Fringe" is refusing to go quietly into that good night. When the series returns after the holidays, you can find Walter, Olivia, and Peter at 9 p.m. on Friday on FOX, right after "Kitchen Nightmares." In a new promotional trailer, the "Fringe" team pokes fun at the nay-sayers, acknowledging that historically, shows that get bumped to Friday don't tend to fare well when upfronts roll around in the spring. "Death! Delicious, strawberry flavored death!" rants Walter (John Noble) in a memorable clip that will forever haunt us. While showing us ominous clips about TV's graveyard, the promo reminds us that death is what "Fringe" does best. If anyone can bring Fridays back to life, it's Walter Bishop, after all. Check out the almost-perfect TV spot below (it's a little light on Joshua Jackson, but we'll look past that) and don't forget to tune into Fringe on January 21. It's a Friday. ">" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"> Follow Zap2it on Twitter and Zap2it on Facebook for the latest news and buzz Source: http://blog.zap2it.c...ored-death.html Click here to view the article

Boosting its meta quotient just a bit,"30 Rock" is up for 3 Golden Globes -- including nods for starsTina Fey and Alec Baldwin and best comedy -- despite the fact that a recent episode focuses on how easily swayed the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is by attention and bribes. November's "Brooklyn Without Limits" features a storyline about Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) trying to earn a nomination for his film, "Hard to Watch," after an interview with a few members of the HFPA. This reminds Jenna (Jane Krakowski) of the time she tried to do it herself, when she starred in the Lifetime original movie "Sister, Can You Spare a Breast?" She tells him to invite them all for a luncheon screening of "Hard to Watch" (based on the the book "Stone Cold Bummer" by Manipulate) and then ply them with gifts. Adding insult to injury, Tracy only wants the Globe in hopes of scoring an Oscar. (The "G" in EGOT stands for "Grammy.") Now, with so much of "30 Rock" rooted in real life events, however loosely, you have to wonder how many of the 90 members of the HFPA have ever had a long, enchanting lunch with Tina Fey. Follow Zap2it on Twitter and Zap2it on Facebook for the latest news and buzz Photo/Video credit: NBC-Universal Source: http://blog.zap2it.c...ominations.html Click here to view the article

We were pretty shocked that The Hollywood Foreign Press had no love for "True Blood's" Season 3 in the Golden Globes 2011 nominations. The Zap2it obsession was neither nominated in the best drama category nor did any of the actors get a nomination. The series was previously nominated for both Season 1 and 2. And Anna Paquin has been nominated twice, and took home a trophy. So, what's up with the Season 3 snub? Season 3 focused on some pretty heavy relationship stories between Sookie, Bill (Stephen Moyer) and Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) and literally broke down the Vampire hierarchy in a brutal season-long battle. Plus, we're always shocked that Nelsan Ellis' complete transformation into the bawdy Lafayette gets so little awards appreciation. Not to mention, there were some great guest stars who acted their fang-ies off: James Frain as the love-starved stalker Franklin Mott? Denis O'Hare as the vampire king who loses it when his kingdom falls apart and his life partner is murdered by Eric? Season 4 was continually spellbinding and let's not forget why we tune in to TV in the first place: "True Blood" always entertains. So, on behalf of HBO's "True Blood," we say to The Hollywood Foreign Press: Bite us! Read the rest of Zap2it's 2011 Golden Globes nominations snubs and surprises. Follow Zap2it on Twitter and Zap2it on Facebook for the latest news and buzz Photo/Video credit: HBO View full article

Tasty treats from the world of television ... Virginia Madsen is joining the cast of "The Event" when it returns from its three-month hiatus next year. She'll play the widow of a senator from Alaska who takes his place in Washington; the show initially apporached "Friday Night Lights" star Connie Britton before hiring Madsen, an Oscar nominee for "Sideways." [Deadline] David Hasselhoff will be back on "Got Talent" -- just not in this country. The Hoff is takingPiers Morgan's spot as a judge on "Britain's Got Talent" next year; Morgan will be too busy with his CNN show and "America's Got Talent" to do "BGT" as well. ComedianMichael McIntyre is also joining "BGT." [Guardian] BBC America has picked up the basic-cable rights to the Showtime series "The Tudors." It will debut on the channel with a marathon of seasons 1 and 2 on Jan. 16; after that, episodes will air at 10 p.m. ET Tuesdays. [BBC America] Train-wreck alert: CNN will once again pair Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin as anchors of its New Year's Eve coverage. Says Griffin: "I'm thrilled." Says Cooper: "I'm terrified" (note: actual quotes from the CNN press release). [CNN] "Parks and Recreation"/"Party Down" star Adam Scott is involved with a pilot at NBC -- but only behind the camera. He'll executive produce a comedy project called "My Son Gomez," about a guy who takes in a young boy; "Community" writer-producer Hilary Winston is writing it. ABC, meanwhile, has bought a script for a family comedy called "Change of Plans" from writer Ryan Raddatz. [Deadline] Follow Zap2it on Twitter and Zap2it on Facebook for the latest news and buzz Photo/Video credit: Getty Images Source: http://blog.zap2it.c...got-talent.html Click here to view the article

The fifth season, which concluded with "The Big One" Sunday night (Dec. 12), averaged more than 5 million viewers per week, making it the series' highest-rated season to date. The finale itself nabbed 2.9 million viewers from the 9 p.m. (2.5 million) and 11 p.m. (401,000) airings combined. This is on par with the series' stellar Season 4 finale and a good 40 percent up from the premiere's 1.77 million viewers. When all is said and done and watched On Demand/Live+7, the Season 5 finale could boast as many as 6 million viewers. In "The Big One," Dexter (Michael C. Hall) concludes his search for Lumen (Julia Stiles) , who's been kidnapped by Jordan, the leader of a group of men who raped, tortured and killed women, known to the Miami Metro as the Barrel Girls. Source: http://blog.zap2it.c...ngs-record.html View full article

"America's Next Top Model", which will begin Cycle 16 on February 23, will now be followed by the new weight-loss reality show, "Shedding for the Wedding," hosted by Sara Rue. "Life Unexpected," which is unlikely to return for a third season, will take a bow on January 18 with a special 2-hour finale event after reaching a ratings high last week. Find the full detailed schedule below. Tuesday, January 18 8:00-10:00 p.m. Life Unexpected (Season Finale) Monday, January 24 8:00-9:00 p.m. 90210 (Original Episodes Return) 9:00-10:00 p.m. Gossip Girl (Original Episodes Return) Tuesday, January 25 8:00-9:00 p.m. One Tree Hill (Original Episodes Return) 9:00-10:00 p.m. Hellcats (New Night) Thursday, January 27 8:00-9:00 p.m. The Vampire Diaries (Original Episodes Return) 9:00-10:00 p.m. Nikita (Original Episodes Return) Friday, January 28 8:00-9:00 p.m. Smallville (Original Episodes Return) 9:00-10:00 p.m. Supernatural (Original Episodes Return) Wednesday, February 23 8:00-9:00 p.m. America's Next Top Model (Season Premiere) 9:00-10:00 p.m. Shedding for the Wedding (Series Premiere) Source: http://blog.zap2it.c...ur-sendoff.html View full article

Former "ER" star Mekhi Phifer, late of FOX's "Lie to Me," has been cast in a lead role opposite John Barrowman and Eve Myles, Deadline reports. He's playing a CIA agent named Rex Matheson, who "become embroiled in the Torchwood legend and investigate what Torchwood is or was," as creator Russell T. Davies put it last summer. Rex is described as a character who's rising in the agency's ranks and has a very sharp sense of humor. In casting Phifer, Starz and the BBC (which are co-producing the new season) have gone in a different direction than what was reported earlier in the fall, when "Dollhouse's" Enver Gjokaj and former "One Tree Hill" star Chad Michael Murray were rumored to be in contention for the role. In addition to bringing a little diversity to the cast, Phifer is also a little older than either Gjokaj or Murray and -- to our minds, at least -- projects more of a no-nonsense attitude on screen. Phifer left "Lie to Me" earlier this year after the show decided to have The Lightman Group cut its ties with the FBI. His credits also include "8 Mile," "Soul Food" and a few episodes of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." He also stars in a Lifetime movie called "Close Quarters" that's set to air next year. "Torchwood" debuts on Starz in the summer. Thoughts on the casting? Source: http://blog.zap2it.c...s-the-team.html View full article

Spoilers ahoy for those who haven't watched yet. The last episode of 2010 brought back the season's original bad guy, introduced an even badder guy in Wo Fat and -- most important -- started to mine some of the back story for both McGarrett and Chin Ho. "Five-0" isn't suddenly going to turn into "Lost," but after 10 post-pilot episodes of crime-investigation-local color-banter-case closed, some hint of an ongoing story line is very much welcome. The episode, "Hana 'a'a Makehewa," re-introduced Victor Hesse (James Marsters), who somehow survived being shot by McGarrett and falling into the water at the end of the pilot. He manages to cold-cock Chin Ho and place an explosive collar around his neck, demanding $10 million and safe passage off the island from McGarrett or else boom. Except he doesn't really care about the money, tossing the cash McGarrett hands him on a fire before trying to take both him and Chin Ho down. The good guy wins, of course (we all know that's not going to change), and Hesse ends up in jail. It's there that we get our first glimpse of Wo Fat ("Iron Chef America" chairman/"Dancing With the Stars" contestant Mark Dacascos), who's apparently been keeping tabs on the McGarrett family for a while. He's concerned that Steve may be getting a little too close to figuring out the clues in his dad's toolbox. Wo Fat was McGarrett's arch-nemesis in the original "Five-0," so it was pretty much a given that the new show would find a way to bring the character into the picture. It feels like there's a lot of potential in having him be involved with Steve's dad's investigation -- yet it's also something that doesn't have to take over the story every week. CBS doesn't really want the show to get heavily serialized, but the best procedurals of late have been ones where there's more than just the case of the week to engage viewers. That the show also found a way to involve Chin Ho's past in the McGarrett story is all the better. He was drummed out of the Honolulu PD for allegedly being dirty, so there's no way that $10 million going missing from a secret evidence locker won't come back to bite Five-0 in the butt somewhere down the road. The show has also made a few nods to Chin Ho's connection to McGarrett's dad in the past, so having their ongoing stories dovetail seems like the right play. "Five-0" returns Jan. 3, and based on CBS' description of the episode, McGarrett's past will still be in the foreground. We'll be watching. What did you think of Monday's episode? Source: http://blog.zap2it.c...ep-forward.html View full article

"We're leading up to the baby being born and that's about where we finished shooting was the birth of the baby," McPartlin tells Zap2it. "I think that was originally going to be the end of the show [at the 13th episode], but thank God we just keep coming back. I think they actually timed the birth out though and they said it's close to the timing with the initial pregnancy announcement." Ten of the 13 episodes originally ordered for the season have aired so far, but NBC recently announced that it was ordering a back 11 episodes. "Fans like people naming themselves after us give us publicity," says the actor, referring to the man who legally changed his name to Captain Awesome. "What better way to get publicity? Who knows? Next Jeffster will be a hit band that'll be out there. So here we are again with a lot more episodes, a lot more ground to cover." When last we saw Devon in "Chuck vs. the Leftovers," he had given Chuck (Zachary Levi) the laptop from his dad's car, thereby re-establishing the Intersect, but also gave him a warning that he didn't want Chuck's spy world to touch his growing family. "At this point, now Devon is going in an interesting way," observes McPartlin. "I think he's starting to accept the fact that Chuck's a spy but at the same time he's drawing his boundaries." This protectiveness is in keeping with his impending fatherhood. "I think that in his mind he'll be the best father in the world," says McPartlin. "There'll definitely be overkill of how awesome he's doing and how awesome he wants everyone else to be or the caretaker of the baby needs to be. "I have two children of my own and there are certain rules and requirements whenever my parents or my wife's parents are taking care of my children," he continues. "I don't know if I'm that Type A, but when it comes to my children, I'm very paranoid and I want them to be on a tight schedule. I want them to have the best possible environment for them. Everyone kind of gets a kick out of it. They're always saying, 'You're merging into your character.'" So it's no surprise that he wouldn't trust just any character from "Chuck" to look after his kids. Let's just say Morgan Grimes (Joshua Gomez) wouldn't be on his babysitter short list. "It's a tossup between John Casey [Adam Baldwin] and Sarah Walker [Yvonne Strahovski]," McPartlin says. "Because I know they take orders very well and they'd be able to protect the children and do everything to the best that I tell them to do, exactly how I'd tell them to do it. But maybe I'd lean towards Sarah Walker because she's got more of a heart than John Casey." Having already shot the birth episode, the actor knows what Baby Awesome's name will be. "But I can't divulge it," he says. "I'm sure the baby will have a cool nickname. We haven't gotten to that. There's still plenty of room to discuss what the baby's nickname will be." "Chuck," Captain Awesome and gestating Baby Awesome will return to NBC on Monday, Jan. 17. Follow Zap2it on Twitter and Zap2it on Facebook for the latest news and buzz Photo/Video credit: NBC Source: http://blog.zap2it.c...references.html View full article

Spoilers! Don't make us take out our knives. Let's just fastforward to the most crucial scene, shall we? Jordan Chase (Jonny Lee Miller) has taken Lumen (Julia Stiles) to the River Jordan Camp for Boys and Girls, and Dexter (Michael C. Hall​) finds them, thanks to the Office of County Records, which had listed Eugene Greer for that property. Just when it looks like Jordan has the upper hand -- Lumen is strung up, Dexter is captured after flipping his car -- Dex surprises their captor with a hidden knife. Jordan is speedily strapped to a table (or is it a gurney)? After one of the most twisted conversations ever, in which Jordan keeps trying to make Lumen thank him for "transforming" her from a meek and cowering creature to this vengeful angel, Lumen freaks and executes Jordan, screaming to his dying/lifeless body, "Do you hear me?!?" So it's over. Sort of. As Lumen and Dexter clean their knives and prepare to deal with Jordan's remains, Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) arrives on the scene, thanks to a tip from a street vendor who recognized Jordan in his car on the way to the camp and heard strange noises coming from his trunk. Deb sees Jordan's body and then catches sight of Lumen and Dexter from the other side of plastic sheeting. It's translucent enough to see their general forms, but not clear enough to ID someone. This is where the whole season of Deb's maturation comes into play. We're not saying a sane and mature person will condone murder, but she's come to realize that life -- and justice -- are not black and white. She makes one of the most heartfelt speeches on the show, the whole time from the other side of the plastic, deliberately never seeing their faces fully. She starts by addressing the blurry vision of the victim (Lumen): "I know who you are, Number 13. I know what they did to you. I've seen the tapes. I watched them over and over. It's a miracle you've survived, a f***ing miracle. And you (to Dexter), whoever you are, you know that too. "Maybe it's true some people deserve to die, but I'm a cop and I don't f***ing make that decision," Deb adds. "So I'm going to call this in and in an hour this place will be swarming with police. (beat) If I were you, I'd be gone by then." And then she backs out and lets them get away. Wow, right? There are so many implications here, but of course the first is that Deb has let murderers free. More to the point, Deb has helped out Dexter, albeit unknowingly. There were signs that her sense of morality had been shifting this season, but this was a pretty huge step. This does not necessarily mean she'd be willing to help Dexter and his Dark Passenger straight out though. So that's the main stuff. A few other musings and highlights: The look of distaste on Jordan's face each time he has to deal with Lumen is hilarious. Would he have done something to Lumen really? It's hard to tell. That almost-face-bite scene was sure creepy though. When he licked his lips, we shrieked. So Dexter faked Quinn's blood test, presumably with something other than blood. Quinn himself even thanks Dex, so does that mean Quinn will let whoever Liddy's killer is get off scot free? Hmm ... more of this grey area stuff. Liddy was shady, but was he worthy of death?Speaking of Quinn, both he and Deb need to do some post-stress eating. He didn't used to be that bony, right?Great Angel line: "Am I the only on interested in this goddamn murder?"Jordan to Dexter while looking at knives: "Wow. I look at these and I can't help but think you have a kind of greatness in you."Deb struggling to speak to vendor: "I f***ing swear I'm taking Spanish after this."So nobody Dexter loved died. Huzzah! Lumen left, but that was kind of expected, right? He can't have a permanent partner. That wouldn't work. But when he pleaded, "Don't go," it broke our hearts.Do you think it's as simple as that, for Lumen to lose her Dark Passenger?Dexter's touching/creepy vow: "Don't be sorry your darkness is gone. I'll carry it for you always. I'll keep it with mine."Apparently, we need to go to more first birthday parties.Okay, it wasn't the huge, traumatic ending like last season's finale, but we feel that we needed this season. Just like Lumen, we needed a catharsis. We're not blown away, but we're satisfied. Source: http://blog.zap2it.c...rprise-you.html View full article

That remains to be seen on the Season 5 finale "The Big One" on Sunday, Dec. 12 on Showtime. Her fate is in the hands of motivational speaker Jordan Chase(Jonny Lee Miller), who headed up a sort of rape/torture club for Lumen and other similar looking blondes. He's abducted her and is taking her -- well, we have no idea where. Last we checked, he was supposed to fly out of town on a speaking gig, but that was just a ruse. Dexter (Michael C. Hall) just needs to find them before it's too late. Aw, it's nice that Dexter has family, and Astor (Christina Robinson) surely cleaned up her look from last time. We just hope he'll be able to celebrate with them later. This has been some season so far, and we're not sure how much more trauma we can handle after last season's death. So here's a wishlist of things we'd like to see in the Season 5 finale (we're kind of in the habit since it's the holidays): Liddy's body is found but he's not mourned because somehow they frame him to be the vigilante's helper.They fake Emily Birch's death to make it appear that she was the vigilante/victim.Angel and Laguerta decide to give their relationship a break.Harrison is somehow the key to capturing Jordan.Lumen gets to kill Jordan or at least tell him "Tick, tick, tick" before he's dispatched by Dexter.All of Dexter's loved ones live. This includes Lumen.Quinn and Deb decide to officially cohabitate.Masuka finds a tattooed girlfriend.Pigs fly.So okay, this wouldn't be "Dexter" if everything wrapped up so completely or happily. We'll be willing to compromise if we get two of those wishes. Do you have any wishes of your own? Source: http://blog.zap2it.c...see-happen.html View full article

That last bit of holiday imagery comes courtesy of "Hawaii Five-0", which on Monday (Dec. 13) will welcome back a nemesis from earlier in the season and place a member of the team in serious jeopardy. The episode is called "Hana 'a'a Makehewa" (per CBS, that's Hawaiian for "Desperate Measures"). Five-0 is called in to a hostage situation, during which Victor Hesse (returning guest James Marsters) resurfaces -- looking not even a little bit dead after getting beat up by McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) and taking a tumble into the water in the series premiere. The team member in jeopardy, as you can see in the preview below, is Chin Ho (Daniel Dae Kim), who somehow winds up with a bomb strapped to his body. The question for us now is not whether Chin Ho will escape -- otherwise "Hawaii Five-0" will have taken a seriously dark turn -- but what Hesse's return means. With "Caprica" having been canceled, Marsters is presumably freer to continue his role on "Five-0" if the show's writers desire. Is he working on his own, or is he in league with the yet unseen Wo Fat (future guest start Mark Dacascos)? The show hasn't really circled back to the events of the pilot or the contents of the toolbox McGarrett's dad left him. We're hoping Hesse's return can lead to some more exploration of that story. Here's the preview for Monday's episode: Source: http://blog.zap2it.c...-whos-back.html View full article