Post by bobdoc on Jan 27, 2008 10:33:13 GMT -4
Today I found yet another collection of newspaper articles featuring both Lost and Michael articles. One is from Tulsa World, with comments from Michael and Jorge, at www.tulsaworld.com/entertainment/article.aspx?articleID=20080126_8_TV4_spanc60145
The sixth episode is a Juliet flashback, so it makes sense Ben would have a key role in that.
Here's one from a New Jersey paper, at www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/ENT/801270318/1031
And here's one from St Louis Today, at www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/stories.nsf/tvradio/story/114106000366F113862573DC0003A02B?OpenDocument
In a season stuffed with small, stop-gap TV shows due to the Hollywood writers’ strike, a big one is finally returning.
“Lost” opens Thursday, with eight new episodes and endless possibilities.
Last season ended in heroics. Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) drowned in the Looking Glass station after turning off a jamming signal so rescuers could contact the island.
And Hurley discovered an old vehicle on the island and used it to plow over a gunman and save his friends.
And now? “There’s not a parade for him or anything,” says Jorge Garcia, who plays him. “But it does start right up where it left off. ... A lot of it is about: ‘Who are these new people? Are they really here to rescue us?’”
Don’t count on it. The plan has been for “Lost” to wrap up its run with three 16-episode seasons. This year – trimmed in half by the writers’ strike – is just the start. Then what about the rescuers? “In typical ‘Lost’ fashion they are not what they seem to be,” Garcia says.
No one ever is. At first, even the actors don’t know what their characters are up to.
“At first, we’ll play it up and we’ll play it down,” says actor Michael Emerson. “Then we’ll start to see which one they choose in the editing.”
Still, Emerson says he was able to quickly hone in on his character, the enigmatic Ben. “I knew it was going to be one of those really good characters. I instinctively knew how to play him.”
Ben was the leader of “The Others,” who seemed to be manipulating those who had crash-landed on the island. Now Ben is warning about the rescuers who showed up in the last new episode viewers saw last May. Few people believe him, however. Now things are in flux.
“No one has a home anymore,” Emerson says.
“Everything is changing.”
And that seems to be the show’s natural state. Garcia was there from the start and has been told that he was the first person cast. Back then things were just being figured out. “The first idea they had was that Hurley was a repo man,” he says.
Then came hints of a larger fate – and of a link to a specific set of numbers. Those turned out to be numbers that he chose when he won a lottery for millions; they also were crucial to an island computer.
All of that was in his backstory. More important is the way he’s evolved on the island.
“Every year, Hurley has taken a lot more ownership of the situation,” Garcia says. “At first, he was just the guy who passed out the food. He was not trying to be a hero.”
For Garcia, 34, this has been a life-changing experience. A massive guy who was a high school wrestler in Nebraska, he’s become an instantly recognized star. Unlike his colleagues, he has a tough time being anonymous in Hawaii, where the show is filmed. “It’s kind of hard to hide me,” he says.
And for Emerson, 53, it’s been his third classic villain or semi-villain role. “For a country guy like myself, it has been a bit dizzying,” he says.
Emerson grew up in the central Iowa town of Toledo, which then had a population of 2,200. He acted in high school then went on to Drake University, New York City and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
He worked as an illustrator in New York before his acting career took off. Emerson has been on Broadway in “Hedda Gabler” and “The Iceman Cometh”; he married actress Carrie Preston and landed key TV roles.
One was as William Hinks, the serial killer in “The Practice.” Emerson won an Emmy in 1997. Another was as the villainous Zep Hindle in “Saw.”
Then came Ben, joining a show that was already successful. It seemed like a perpetual hit – except for the decision to give it a definite end date.
“The businessman in you says, ‘I wish it could go on forever,’” Emerson says. “As an artist, I think, ‘What a really cool, bold thing to do.’”
Now he and Preston split their time between homes in Hawaii and New York City. Some actors, including Garcia, have made Hawaii their main home.
That’s where all the filming is done, even for the flashback scenes set in other parts of the world.
“It’s a little weird, because you’re clean for those scenes,” Garcia says. “You get to work with some new people.”
Some actors – including Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly – have also been in “flash-forward” scenes, showing the characters after getting off the island. Garcia won’t say if he’s done any of those.
Specifics are scarce: Garcia says the fourth episode of this season has interesting moments for Hurley. Emerson says the sixth has key scenes for Ben. ABC says Michael (Harold Perrineau) will be back.
Mostly, though, “Lost” fans will have to wait and guess. They’ve done that for three seasons; now it will be threeand- a-fraction.
“Lost” opens Thursday, with eight new episodes and endless possibilities.
Last season ended in heroics. Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) drowned in the Looking Glass station after turning off a jamming signal so rescuers could contact the island.
And Hurley discovered an old vehicle on the island and used it to plow over a gunman and save his friends.
And now? “There’s not a parade for him or anything,” says Jorge Garcia, who plays him. “But it does start right up where it left off. ... A lot of it is about: ‘Who are these new people? Are they really here to rescue us?’”
Don’t count on it. The plan has been for “Lost” to wrap up its run with three 16-episode seasons. This year – trimmed in half by the writers’ strike – is just the start. Then what about the rescuers? “In typical ‘Lost’ fashion they are not what they seem to be,” Garcia says.
No one ever is. At first, even the actors don’t know what their characters are up to.
“At first, we’ll play it up and we’ll play it down,” says actor Michael Emerson. “Then we’ll start to see which one they choose in the editing.”
Still, Emerson says he was able to quickly hone in on his character, the enigmatic Ben. “I knew it was going to be one of those really good characters. I instinctively knew how to play him.”
Ben was the leader of “The Others,” who seemed to be manipulating those who had crash-landed on the island. Now Ben is warning about the rescuers who showed up in the last new episode viewers saw last May. Few people believe him, however. Now things are in flux.
“No one has a home anymore,” Emerson says.
“Everything is changing.”
And that seems to be the show’s natural state. Garcia was there from the start and has been told that he was the first person cast. Back then things were just being figured out. “The first idea they had was that Hurley was a repo man,” he says.
Then came hints of a larger fate – and of a link to a specific set of numbers. Those turned out to be numbers that he chose when he won a lottery for millions; they also were crucial to an island computer.
All of that was in his backstory. More important is the way he’s evolved on the island.
“Every year, Hurley has taken a lot more ownership of the situation,” Garcia says. “At first, he was just the guy who passed out the food. He was not trying to be a hero.”
For Garcia, 34, this has been a life-changing experience. A massive guy who was a high school wrestler in Nebraska, he’s become an instantly recognized star. Unlike his colleagues, he has a tough time being anonymous in Hawaii, where the show is filmed. “It’s kind of hard to hide me,” he says.
And for Emerson, 53, it’s been his third classic villain or semi-villain role. “For a country guy like myself, it has been a bit dizzying,” he says.
Emerson grew up in the central Iowa town of Toledo, which then had a population of 2,200. He acted in high school then went on to Drake University, New York City and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
He worked as an illustrator in New York before his acting career took off. Emerson has been on Broadway in “Hedda Gabler” and “The Iceman Cometh”; he married actress Carrie Preston and landed key TV roles.
One was as William Hinks, the serial killer in “The Practice.” Emerson won an Emmy in 1997. Another was as the villainous Zep Hindle in “Saw.”
Then came Ben, joining a show that was already successful. It seemed like a perpetual hit – except for the decision to give it a definite end date.
“The businessman in you says, ‘I wish it could go on forever,’” Emerson says. “As an artist, I think, ‘What a really cool, bold thing to do.’”
Now he and Preston split their time between homes in Hawaii and New York City. Some actors, including Garcia, have made Hawaii their main home.
That’s where all the filming is done, even for the flashback scenes set in other parts of the world.
“It’s a little weird, because you’re clean for those scenes,” Garcia says. “You get to work with some new people.”
Some actors – including Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly – have also been in “flash-forward” scenes, showing the characters after getting off the island. Garcia won’t say if he’s done any of those.
Specifics are scarce: Garcia says the fourth episode of this season has interesting moments for Hurley. Emerson says the sixth has key scenes for Ben. ABC says Michael (Harold Perrineau) will be back.
Mostly, though, “Lost” fans will have to wait and guess. They’ve done that for three seasons; now it will be threeand- a-fraction.
The sixth episode is a Juliet flashback, so it makes sense Ben would have a key role in that.
Here's one from a New Jersey paper, at www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/ENT/801270318/1031
If the finale of season three of "Lost" seemed bleak for Michael Emerson's character, Ben Linus, who was left tied to a tree by the survivors of the wreckage of Flight 815 as they phoned an off-shore freighter for rescue, the actor said that season four will be worse.
How does Emerson define worse? More violence and fewer allies for his character, as the mysterious "freighter people" land on the island, a group that Ben, in season three, warned the survivors "will kill everyone on the island."
"I'd say season four will be far rougher than anything (Ben) has seen," Emerson said in a phone interview about the ABC-TV hit series about survivors of a plane crash and the mysterious supernatural island they are stuck on.
Emerson, as Linus, the apparent leader of the mysterious Others, ended last season on the brink of losing control of that group, after a failed raid on the survivors' beach results in an ambush, which left the raiding party dead. Flight 815 survivor John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) challenges Ben's authority by demanding an audience with Ben's boss, the even more mysterious Jacob.
In true Ben fashion, Emerson's character shoots Locke, leaving him in a ditch filled with the bodies of the failed Dharma Initiative, the research group that Ben orchestrated the deaths of, in conjunction with the island's inhabitants. Even Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) has defected and is aiding the 815 survivors.
"The violence doesn't stop; it ramps up," Emerson said. "Ben is in dire straights. His army has disappeared; he doesn't have the loyalty of Juliet. It will be Ben living by his wits."
Season four will include Ben making some sort of pact with one of the splinter groups of the 815 survivors.
"He never really teams up in the conventional sense. He will, for convenience or leverage, do whatever he needs to do to further his agenda," Emerson said. "And because he is the great chess player, he's always eight to 10 moves ahead of everyone else."
Emerson is sure of one thing; Ben Linus will be part of the "Lost" story through season five.
"He's so deeply interwoven, I'm sure he's good until the end of the season. I'm gonna guess he's good to the end of the fifth season," Emerson said. "I should say this guardedly; they kill people off left and right."
More looks ahead
The new season also will see more use of the "flash forward," introduced at the end of season three to tell more of the story, he said.
"All that stuff that happens in the future becomes very poignant as season four goes along. We live in that world a lot more," he said. "Think of the possibilities that open up. We explore the expance of who does survive the island, and how and at what cost; those sorts of issues."
"Lost" fans also will learn more about the story of Alex (Tania Raymonde), daughter of the French explorer Danielle Rousseau (Mira Furlan), whose ship was wrecked on the mysterious island and gave birth to Alex, only to have the infant snatched by the Others days later.
The now-teenaged Alex calls Ben "dad," but Emerson isn't giving away whether Ben is her biological or step father.
"His relationship with Alex will be explored in much more detail and nuance in season four," he said.
Is he her biological father?
"That's a mystery," Emerson said.
Another mystery yet to be revealed to both Emerson and the audience is Jacob, the man who Ben tells Locke he answers to.
"I'm not sure who or what Jacob is. In two or three frames (in "The Man Behind the Curtain"), we did see somebody sitting in that chair," Emerson said. "On the (season three DVD) boxed set, I understand the scene is easier to see."
Another mystery he spoke about is who was in the coffin in the season finale during a "flash forward."
"I don't know (who it is). I think there is a more intriguing answer and a sadder answer than Ben," he said.
The actors also seem to know as little about future "Lost" episodes as viewers do.
"We'll get a script anywhere from three to seven days before we shoot the episode, and we don't know anything beyond that," Emerson said. "I don't know what's in the next episode or two beyond that."
From guest to regular
The role of the devious Ben started for Emerson two years ago this month, as a guest star. The role originally was a three-episode cameo as Henry Gale, an industrialist on a round-the-world balloon trip who crashed on the island and was captured by Rousseau and the Flight 815 survivors as a suspected "Other."
"I flew to Hawaii for first time two years ago . . . the following morning I was hanging from a tree in the jungle," Emerson said. "It was a whirlwind, going from the dead of winter in New York City to the steaming jungle of Oahu in 24 hours."
The role of Henry Gale/Ben Linus was offered to him on the strength of past TV work. Such offers are not common, he said.
"I wish I knew how I landed it. I played a variety of other damaged characters on lawyer and cop shows," Emerson said. "At the time it was three ("Lost') episodes. It seemed like a good one; it was an (story) arc. I had no idea it would turn into the rest of my career."
But it is a role which blossomed from the meek, seemingly victimized Henry Gale into the more sinister, calculating Ben.
Emerson said he has a simple approach to playing Ben.
"Ben is sort of in-the-present moment at all times. In a way, it's freeing," he said. "I don't have to worry about big story arcs or where it is going. I just have to worry about the story at hand."
Not like Ben
Those are modest words from a man who is a Shakespearean actor, has several Emmy nominations and has had parts on shows ranging from "The Practice" to the "X-Files," "Without a Trace" and "Law and Order" on the small screen, to a role in the horror film "Saw."
But Emerson insists that off camera, he's not like Ben. He's playing a part on an upcoming movie "Really? OK," which he calls a bittersweet comedy about a 10-year-old boy who wants to be a cheerleader. Emerson is the sympathetic neighbor next door, a role he thanks his wife, Carrie Preston, for.
"It's one my wife and partner produced over the summer, a sweet, quiet movie," he said. "I don't have a big part. This role couldn't be much more different than Ben."
In turn, Preston played the mother of young Ben Linus in "The Man Behind the Curtain" episode of "Lost."
"It's a Freudian nightmare. That was my dear wife lying in the jungle giving birth to little Ben," Emerson joked.
In real life, Emerson said there aren't a lot of characteristics he shares with Ben.
"I'm not a great planner and not a manipulator of people, which are all trademarks of Ben. I tend to be a cool person, a reasonable listener and not over emotional," he said.
"Something about Ben is satisfying for me to play. I get to live out a kind of fantasy."
How does Emerson define worse? More violence and fewer allies for his character, as the mysterious "freighter people" land on the island, a group that Ben, in season three, warned the survivors "will kill everyone on the island."
"I'd say season four will be far rougher than anything (Ben) has seen," Emerson said in a phone interview about the ABC-TV hit series about survivors of a plane crash and the mysterious supernatural island they are stuck on.
Emerson, as Linus, the apparent leader of the mysterious Others, ended last season on the brink of losing control of that group, after a failed raid on the survivors' beach results in an ambush, which left the raiding party dead. Flight 815 survivor John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) challenges Ben's authority by demanding an audience with Ben's boss, the even more mysterious Jacob.
In true Ben fashion, Emerson's character shoots Locke, leaving him in a ditch filled with the bodies of the failed Dharma Initiative, the research group that Ben orchestrated the deaths of, in conjunction with the island's inhabitants. Even Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) has defected and is aiding the 815 survivors.
"The violence doesn't stop; it ramps up," Emerson said. "Ben is in dire straights. His army has disappeared; he doesn't have the loyalty of Juliet. It will be Ben living by his wits."
Season four will include Ben making some sort of pact with one of the splinter groups of the 815 survivors.
"He never really teams up in the conventional sense. He will, for convenience or leverage, do whatever he needs to do to further his agenda," Emerson said. "And because he is the great chess player, he's always eight to 10 moves ahead of everyone else."
Emerson is sure of one thing; Ben Linus will be part of the "Lost" story through season five.
"He's so deeply interwoven, I'm sure he's good until the end of the season. I'm gonna guess he's good to the end of the fifth season," Emerson said. "I should say this guardedly; they kill people off left and right."
More looks ahead
The new season also will see more use of the "flash forward," introduced at the end of season three to tell more of the story, he said.
"All that stuff that happens in the future becomes very poignant as season four goes along. We live in that world a lot more," he said. "Think of the possibilities that open up. We explore the expance of who does survive the island, and how and at what cost; those sorts of issues."
"Lost" fans also will learn more about the story of Alex (Tania Raymonde), daughter of the French explorer Danielle Rousseau (Mira Furlan), whose ship was wrecked on the mysterious island and gave birth to Alex, only to have the infant snatched by the Others days later.
The now-teenaged Alex calls Ben "dad," but Emerson isn't giving away whether Ben is her biological or step father.
"His relationship with Alex will be explored in much more detail and nuance in season four," he said.
Is he her biological father?
"That's a mystery," Emerson said.
Another mystery yet to be revealed to both Emerson and the audience is Jacob, the man who Ben tells Locke he answers to.
"I'm not sure who or what Jacob is. In two or three frames (in "The Man Behind the Curtain"), we did see somebody sitting in that chair," Emerson said. "On the (season three DVD) boxed set, I understand the scene is easier to see."
Another mystery he spoke about is who was in the coffin in the season finale during a "flash forward."
"I don't know (who it is). I think there is a more intriguing answer and a sadder answer than Ben," he said.
The actors also seem to know as little about future "Lost" episodes as viewers do.
"We'll get a script anywhere from three to seven days before we shoot the episode, and we don't know anything beyond that," Emerson said. "I don't know what's in the next episode or two beyond that."
From guest to regular
The role of the devious Ben started for Emerson two years ago this month, as a guest star. The role originally was a three-episode cameo as Henry Gale, an industrialist on a round-the-world balloon trip who crashed on the island and was captured by Rousseau and the Flight 815 survivors as a suspected "Other."
"I flew to Hawaii for first time two years ago . . . the following morning I was hanging from a tree in the jungle," Emerson said. "It was a whirlwind, going from the dead of winter in New York City to the steaming jungle of Oahu in 24 hours."
The role of Henry Gale/Ben Linus was offered to him on the strength of past TV work. Such offers are not common, he said.
"I wish I knew how I landed it. I played a variety of other damaged characters on lawyer and cop shows," Emerson said. "At the time it was three ("Lost') episodes. It seemed like a good one; it was an (story) arc. I had no idea it would turn into the rest of my career."
But it is a role which blossomed from the meek, seemingly victimized Henry Gale into the more sinister, calculating Ben.
Emerson said he has a simple approach to playing Ben.
"Ben is sort of in-the-present moment at all times. In a way, it's freeing," he said. "I don't have to worry about big story arcs or where it is going. I just have to worry about the story at hand."
Not like Ben
Those are modest words from a man who is a Shakespearean actor, has several Emmy nominations and has had parts on shows ranging from "The Practice" to the "X-Files," "Without a Trace" and "Law and Order" on the small screen, to a role in the horror film "Saw."
But Emerson insists that off camera, he's not like Ben. He's playing a part on an upcoming movie "Really? OK," which he calls a bittersweet comedy about a 10-year-old boy who wants to be a cheerleader. Emerson is the sympathetic neighbor next door, a role he thanks his wife, Carrie Preston, for.
"It's one my wife and partner produced over the summer, a sweet, quiet movie," he said. "I don't have a big part. This role couldn't be much more different than Ben."
In turn, Preston played the mother of young Ben Linus in "The Man Behind the Curtain" episode of "Lost."
"It's a Freudian nightmare. That was my dear wife lying in the jungle giving birth to little Ben," Emerson joked.
In real life, Emerson said there aren't a lot of characteristics he shares with Ben.
"I'm not a great planner and not a manipulator of people, which are all trademarks of Ben. I tend to be a cool person, a reasonable listener and not over emotional," he said.
"Something about Ben is satisfying for me to play. I get to live out a kind of fantasy."
And here's one from St Louis Today, at www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/stories.nsf/tvradio/story/114106000366F113862573DC0003A02B?OpenDocument
Michael Emerson, a mild-mannered guy from Iowa, never knew he was scary until David E. Kelley cast him as a serial killer on "The Practice."
"He clearly saw something in me that I didn't see in myself," says Emerson, who has gone on to specialize in twisted characters including creepy hospital orderly Zep in the film "Saw" and, most notably, mysterious Ben Linus on "Lost."
With "Lost" preparing to begin its fourth season, Emerson talked about the show, and about Ben, last week.
Q. What did they tell you about the role when you were cast?
A. Nothing! They told me nothing. Even when I got (the script), I had no idea of the story arc. As far as I knew, I was playing a balloonist from Minnesota named Henry Gale. But from the beginning, I sensed that this was a character best played in an ambiguous gear.
Q. When did you find out that Henry Gale wasn't the person he seemed to be?
A. At first, mine was just a recurring role, but it grew — from three episodes to six to nine. Near the end of the second season, I became a regular and, by that time, I knew Henry Gale was really Ben, one of the islanders. But I had no idea where they'd go with the character. I'd ask, and the producers would say, just do what you're doing; don't worry about it.
Q. Were you shocked when you finally got the flashback that showed what Ben had been up to, including killing his father?
A. The flashback showed Ben in the worst possible light, much worse than I'd imagined. I told Carlton (show runner Carlton Cuse) that I'd had the notion that he'd turn out to be a good guy. And he said, "Hold on to that." There's a lot we still have to find out about Ben. He has a lot of unfinished business.
Q. Does all this mystery make Ben a difficult character to play?
A. Not really. I play it moment to moment, and that's deceptively simple. As an actor, I don't have to worry about past or future. I play Ben as transparent, but no matter how transparent I play it, he's still mysterious because of the writers. I'm just a vessel for their ideas.
Q. Fans worry that the producers may not really know where the story is going and how it will end.
A. You should not worry. They know. Unlike most shows that promise a lot, this one won't fizzle out.
Q. Some people think that was Ben in the coffin in the season finale.
A. I don't. It's more satisfying if the person who's dead is someone we love, and I don't think anybody would be mourning Ben. But I thought that twist (of flashing forward off the island) was inspired. It was a leap into a more adult realm, and it opened up so many exciting and heart-rending ways we can go.
Q. Tell us a secret about the new season.
A. Consider this: You thought you'd met dangerous characters before, but this season your sympathy system will be dramatically rearranged, and you'll meet characters more terrifying than you'd ever imagined.
Q. Yikes. So, how frustrating was it to complete only eight of the promised 16 episodes before the writers strike halted production?
A. Very frustrating. At first, it was like a snow day, and it was fun to be off. But now, we're sitting at home wondering when we'll get back to work. At least the ending of the eighth episode provides a good button to the action.
"He clearly saw something in me that I didn't see in myself," says Emerson, who has gone on to specialize in twisted characters including creepy hospital orderly Zep in the film "Saw" and, most notably, mysterious Ben Linus on "Lost."
With "Lost" preparing to begin its fourth season, Emerson talked about the show, and about Ben, last week.
Q. What did they tell you about the role when you were cast?
A. Nothing! They told me nothing. Even when I got (the script), I had no idea of the story arc. As far as I knew, I was playing a balloonist from Minnesota named Henry Gale. But from the beginning, I sensed that this was a character best played in an ambiguous gear.
Q. When did you find out that Henry Gale wasn't the person he seemed to be?
A. At first, mine was just a recurring role, but it grew — from three episodes to six to nine. Near the end of the second season, I became a regular and, by that time, I knew Henry Gale was really Ben, one of the islanders. But I had no idea where they'd go with the character. I'd ask, and the producers would say, just do what you're doing; don't worry about it.
Q. Were you shocked when you finally got the flashback that showed what Ben had been up to, including killing his father?
A. The flashback showed Ben in the worst possible light, much worse than I'd imagined. I told Carlton (show runner Carlton Cuse) that I'd had the notion that he'd turn out to be a good guy. And he said, "Hold on to that." There's a lot we still have to find out about Ben. He has a lot of unfinished business.
Q. Does all this mystery make Ben a difficult character to play?
A. Not really. I play it moment to moment, and that's deceptively simple. As an actor, I don't have to worry about past or future. I play Ben as transparent, but no matter how transparent I play it, he's still mysterious because of the writers. I'm just a vessel for their ideas.
Q. Fans worry that the producers may not really know where the story is going and how it will end.
A. You should not worry. They know. Unlike most shows that promise a lot, this one won't fizzle out.
Q. Some people think that was Ben in the coffin in the season finale.
A. I don't. It's more satisfying if the person who's dead is someone we love, and I don't think anybody would be mourning Ben. But I thought that twist (of flashing forward off the island) was inspired. It was a leap into a more adult realm, and it opened up so many exciting and heart-rending ways we can go.
Q. Tell us a secret about the new season.
A. Consider this: You thought you'd met dangerous characters before, but this season your sympathy system will be dramatically rearranged, and you'll meet characters more terrifying than you'd ever imagined.
Q. Yikes. So, how frustrating was it to complete only eight of the promised 16 episodes before the writers strike halted production?
A. Very frustrating. At first, it was like a snow day, and it was fun to be off. But now, we're sitting at home wondering when we'll get back to work. At least the ending of the eighth episode provides a good button to the action.
