A few Wednesday Breaking items

EDITOR'S NOTE: MORE MAYBE LATER, BUT HERE'S A FEW BREAKING-TO-SEMI-BREAKING ITEMS ----

FIRST UP, FROM THE TELEVISION SIDE OF THINGS -----

ABC banks on twists in returning hits for ratings
By Steve Gorman
ABC, on track to post its first profit in years, is counting on plot twists in "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" to keep viewers tuned in to the two hits that have powered the network's rebound, ABC's prime-time programming chief said on Tuesday.

The popular new castaway thriller "Lost" will reveal a key secret to fans early this fall, but the plot revelations on companion hit "Desperate Housewives" will come more slowly, ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson said. EDITOR'S NOTE: WHAT KEY SECRET???!!! TEASE TEASE TEASE......

Either way, McPherson said the twin pillars of ABC's comeback in the ratings last season have helped reinvigorate broadcast television, and he is confident both shows will prove hard to copy by rivals.

"'Desperate' and 'Lost' are not shows you can rip off," McPherson told TV critics gathered for ABC's annual summer showcase for the upcoming season. "You can do shows that are maybe influenced by those or that appeal to the same audience, but I think it gets a little risky when people are trying to imitate them." EDITOR'S NOTE: AS WE'VE ALREADY SEEN FROM A FEW OF THE PILOTS CHEWYANDY SHARED WITH US. (AND WHY DO THOSE TV PROGRAMMING GUYS NOT KNOW WHAT A SLOW 4-YEAR-OLD COULD TELL THEM...."LOST"-LITE AIN'T GONNA FOOL ANYONE?)

The two series picked up a load of Emmy Award nominations this month, and both garnered top prizes on Saturday from the Television Critics Association.

The influence of both shows, especially "Lost," is unmistakable this year as all the networks, ABC included, prepare to launch new serialized dramas built around high-concept, paranormal themes. And many more are being pitched by producers for next season.

"'Lost' has really spurred this idea of a big idea," McPherson said. EDITOR'S NOTE: CORRECTION. IT SPURRED THE DESIRE TO HAVE A BIG IDEA. I DOUBT IT HAS ACTUALLY SPURRED ANY TRUE LARGE NOTIONS.

McPherson said that on this season's premiere of "Lost" in September, viewers and the show's cast of plane crash survivors will discover what lies inside "the hatch" -- a mysterious portal on the fictional island where they are marooned.

LINGERING MYSTERIES
Near the end of the show's first season, the castaways blew open the hatch to find a ladder leading down a dark hole. "You will find out what's in the hatch, and it's not something like, 'Oh, look, there's another ladder,'" McPherson said. EDITOR'S NOTE: WOOHOO!!!

However, viewers will have to wait a bit longer to get answers to lingering questions on "Desperate Housewives," the darkly comic tale of suburban intrigue that ranked as TV's top-rated new show last season.

McPherson reasoned there were fewer loose strands to tie up from last season's finale to "Housewives" -- such as who fathered Eva Longoria's baby -- than there were on "Lost."

The huge success of "Housewives," a show noted for its sexually charged story lines, emerges amid a debate in U.S. political circles over the importance of "family values".

But McPherson said he saw little connection between the nation's political mood and television.

"One's politics, and one's pure fun," he said. "What people are going to watch on television, what they're going to go see at the movies ... I don't know that that really ties in necessarily directly to politics." EDITOR'S NOTE: POLITICS USED TO BE FUN. OR AT LEAST FUNNY. IT'S SO FAR GONE, IT'S EVEN HARD TO SPOOF IT ANYMORE. (PLUS, IT'S HARD TO LAUGH WHEN YOU'RE SUCKING YOUR THUMB AND WEEPING).

Elsewhere on ABC's prime-time lineup, returning espionage drama "Alias" will be undergo a major overhaul to accommodate the real-life pregnancy of its star, Jennifer Garner, newly married to film star Ben Affleck.

McPherson said producers and Garner decided to "embrace" Garner's pregnancy, rather than try to hide it or put the show on hiatus, by writing her impending motherhood into the story.
Garner's participation in action sequences will be toned down considerably, and the network hopes to shift some of the show's "sex appeal" to a new character -- a yet-to-be-cast secret agent who will be introduced as Garner's protege. EDITOR'S NOTE: SEE MORE ON THIS, BELOW.

Garner to Become Pregnant Spy on 'Alias'
Jennifer Garner is expecting a baby so her "Alias" character will be too, even though she's a globe-trotting spy.

"We are going to embrace the fact that she's pregnant," ABC programming chief Stephen McPherson said, referring to the character, Sydney Bristow. But the show will focus on making the situation realistic and not "campy," he said.

"We also don't want to put her in situations where she's endangering herself and the baby," making it difficult for viewers to suspend disbelief, he said.

Garner, 33, and Ben Affleck, 32, her co-star in the 2003 movie "Daredevil," wed in June. Their baby is due around Christmas, McPherson told the Television Critics Association on Tuesday.
"Alias" returns Sept. 29 for its fifth season in a new 8 p.m. EDT Thursday time slot.

Asked if he thought the show might lose male viewers who eagerly anticipate seeing Garner in action, McPherson replied that "she'll be able to run a fair amount."

But he acknowledged her exploits would change when Garner is visibly pregnant. To protect the show's sex appeal quotient, a younger agent who is being mentored by Sydney will be added, he said.

That role has yet to be cast. EDITOR'S NOTE: WHAT ABOUT NADIA?

In the series, Sydney is in a relationship with another agent played by Michael Vartan — who Garner was romantically linked with in real life.

'Smallville' stuntman badly hurt
Veteran stuntman Christopher Sayour was in serious condition late Tuesday after falling from a tower during the filming of the WB Network drama "Smallville" in Vancouver.

Sayour, 35, the stunt coordinator for the show and primary stuntman for "Smallville" star Tom Welling, was badly injured in what one source described as a "freak accident" during filming Tuesday morning on location near the township of Langley.

In a statement, Sayour's family said that he had suffered "multiple fractures and internal injuries during the filming of a stunt sequence." The family also asked that the media "respect our privacy as he undergoes various procedures in the coming days

EDITOR'S NOTE: AND BECAUSE I KNOW YOU AWARDS-SHOW JUNKIES ARE ALREADY SETTING UP YOUR CALENDARS FOR THIS -----

Key Dates Announced for 78th Academy Awards®
Beverly Hills, CA — The 78th Annual Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 5, 2006, and it will start on the hour — 5 p.m. straight up on the West Coast, 8 p.m. on the East.

The traditional red carpet arrivals pre-show that precedes the Oscar telecast will start at 4:30 p.m. on Oscar Sunday 2006.

The telecast will again originate from the Kodak Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.

Key dates currently scheduled are:
Thursday, December 29, 2005:Nominations ballots mailed.

Saturday, January 21, 2006:Nominations polls close 5 p.m. PST.

Tuesday, January 31, 2006:Nominations announced 5:30 a.m. PST, Samuel Goldwyn Theater

Wednesday, February 8, 2006:Final ballots mailed.

Monday, February 13, 2006Nominees LuncheonBeverly Hilton Hotel

Saturday, February 18, 2006:Scientific and Technical Awards Dinner

Tuesday, February 28, 2006:Final polls close 5 p.m. PST.

Sunday, March 5, 2006:78th Annual Academy Awards Presentation EDITOR'S NOTE: IS IT TOO EARLY FOR ME TO BUY MY DRESS?