TV

So much happened in last night's two-hour Lost finale, "There's No Place Like Home," that I'm breaking the usual recap into two parts.

This is the recap of the flash-forward segments, so go to the jump if you're ready to read...

I have pages and pages of notes from the roughly 90 minutes of Lost broadcast tonight, in the Season 4 finale, "There's No Place Like Home." So I'll recap what I can at this late hour, will add more in the morning, and we can continue the discussion as details surface.

Where to begin? Well, for the sake of those who may not have seen the finale yet and don't wish to be spoiled before they can get to their DVRs, we will begin...after the jump.

It shouldn't come as any surprise that a documentary about capital punishment in America is set in Texas. At the Death House Door, the new documentary from Steve James and Peter Gilbert, the same team behind Hoop Dreams, focuses on -- where else? -- Huntsville. The center of the movie is Pastor Carroll Pickett who served as the death house chaplain overseeing the executions of 95 executions.

AMC announced today that its great and much-praised original series, Mad Men, is returning for its second season on Sunday, July 27 at 9 p.m. Central. No word on what happens or where the second season picks up. But its premiere will be one of the big events of the new summer TV season that cable networks like AMC and TNT have transformed the former dead zone of reruns and reality shows into. You have to wonder how long the old-world broadcast networks are going to let their cable competitors steal the thunder of their big fall premieres without a fight. If this year is anything like last year, a lot of viewers are going to be remarking that all their favorite shows on television are ending just as the old-guard networks are sounding the trumpets for their "new" seasons.

Tonight is it, Lost fans -- the Season 4 finale, the last two hours of 14 that marked a return to the excitement of Season 1.

Writer-producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof say tonight will give us the answer to at least one big mystery. We will finally see who was in the coffin at that unattended funeral in LA, the one FutureJack checked out during the Season 3 finale ("Through the Looking Glass").

The news of that person's apparent suicide sent Jack into his own self-destructive tizzy and had him trying to persuade FutureKate that they had to go back to the Island. From all the hints we were given -- especially from what could be gleaned in brief, incomplete glimpses of the Los Angeles Times story reporting that death -- it seemed most likely to me that the coffin's occupant was Michael... albeit Michael under yet another assumed name, disguising the fact that he was an Oceanic 815 survivor.

But was the news clipping just a red herring? The producers recently have admitted as much, saying the clipping was essentially just a mock-up prop, and the clues in it weren't real clues to the identity of the victim.

For speculation and possible spoilers on "There's No Place Like Home," go to the jump...

Fresh out of Southern Methodist University, I moved to Anchorage in January 1975 (darn right, it was cold) and lasted until July 1976. For those of us who consider ourselves proud Alaskan alumni, Men in Trees has been a kick. ABC, its network home, recently canceled the series (bad move, it was truly a guilty pleasure) but agreed to let it finish its story arc by showing the last few episodes left in the vault. The first airs tonight at 9 (on Channel 8), when Marin (played by Anne Heche) helps Jack prepare for his first lecture as a college professor. Cynics say the show is silly and shallow (and how does that make it different from most American television?), but what ex-Alaskans love about it is how it captures the state's eccentricity, its zany individuals, who are like no others. We liked Northern Exposure for the same reason (and yes, that was a better series).

Photo: Anne Heche, who plays Marin on Men in Trees

For devotees of Lost -- and we are many -- Thursday night is a very big night. The two-hour season finale begins at 8 on Channel 8, where Highland Park's own Elizabeth Mitchell, a graduate of the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, will be among the cast members who attempt to survive the island and those villainous "rescuers." Please, take it in slowly. New episodes of Lost won't reappear until early 2009. And for those who feel the need to catch up, please read the Lost blog entries of my esteemed colleague, Joyce Saenz Harris. Ms. Mitchell, by the way, is the oldest of three daughters, whose parents are real estate and tax attorneys. Joe and Josephine Mitchell live in the same house where their now-famous child grew up. Ms. Mitchell has been acting for 30 years, having made her debut as a 7-year-old at the Dallas Theater Center.

Photo by Associated Press

James Gandolfini is selling several of his Tony Soprano costumes for charity, according to the Associated Press. That includes the one he was wearing when Uncle Junior shot him (all bloody). Proceeds will go to the Wounded Warrior Project, an organization that helps severely injured military men and women.

The HBO film chronicling the Florida ballot-counting mess in the 2000 presidential election debuted this weekend. My interview with director Jay Roach ran on Sunday. Space restrictions necessitated abandoning significant sections and topics of our 45-minute conversation (by phone), which already had me thinking that I was going to blog a follow-up item in which I discussed some of the points that fell by the wayside in writing Sunday's review-feature. But then I got some emails from readers responding to my treatment of the movie's treatment of those 36 days and that flitting thought became a steely determination.

If you've ever thought you could be a model if not for all that extra weight you are lugging around, then MTV has a show for you. The network will be in town Wednesday through Friday scouting for Model Maker, a reality show looking for women 18-25 who are 30-100 pounds overweight. If chosen, participants will go through a boot camp to shed the pounds, with the winner earning $100,000 and a possible modeling contract. If you fit the bill, contact the network at modelmakercasting@yahoo.com or call 818-614-7125.

What do you think Betty ended up doing at the end of the Ugly
Betty season finale? Share your theory by commenting.

This is the most boring week of May. You know, the week with no new Lost episode in it.

And so we will refer you to other fun ways to obsess over the fate of the Lostaways. Such as the Television Without Pity recap of last week's show, "There's No Place Like Home."

Tomorrow, be sure to check out The Lost Hour on washingtonpost.com -- you'll be glad you did. Lost fanatics and WashPosties Jen Chaney and Liz Kelly write a weekly dueling analysis of each new episode, and they also tackle readers' questions and theories in a live chat that starts at 1 p.m. (Central).

If you want to get completely geeky, read J. Wood's blog on powells.com, which is both Lost-centric and literary.

And if you missed it, be sure to see Lostpedia.com's exhaustive recap of last week. Lostpedia is the place to research all things Lost -- something fun to do, if you are bored during this interminable bye week.

Just don't forget to tune in on Thursday, May 29, for what ABC is billing as "an all-night Lost event." It starts at 7 p.m. with an encore of the May 15 show, featuring "brand-new footage." Then at 8 p.m., the two-hour finale will wrap up Season 4. Watch an ABC promo here, on YouTube.

How interesting, Bridgette, that you raise the question about Tivo. Yes, ours did it too. We were able to retrieve the missed minutes by keeping the tuner on the same channel and rewinding to the beginning of the next broadcast -- the Channel 4 news. But then another weird Tivo-related event occurred. Right around the time the Tivo cut out, we got a call from DirecTV, our satellite provider. (We have one of the last Tivo high-def DirecTV receivers in existence.) DirecTV was offering a free upgrade to its own high-def DVR, which I said I wasn't crazy about, since my boys love Tivo. And then the guy started throwing out threats -- mild ones, of course, but threats nonetheless.

Associated Press photo

We hear terrible tales of TiVos cutting off before David Cook was announced as last night's American Idol winner. Did it happen to you? Coincidence or conspiracy?

Just had to throw this in: Remember when Carrie won the Idol crown? She was wearing that long, conservative-looking gown and seemed so meek and wide-eyed.
Well, she ain't meek no more. She's gained mucho confidence and stage presence since her Idol days, hasn't she? And her outfit tonight even had a cape attached to the sleeves! Nothing says "superstar" like that does.
I don't mean any of this as a diss, because I love Carrie. Just an observation that once these kids leave this stage, they don't always stay exactly the same.

I'm sure this won't be my last Idol post of the season, but before I forget: Thanks to everybody who weighed in with their opinions on this blog. It always fills me with happiness to see a new comment pop in -- even if the commenter is calling me an idiot. :) It was a fun conversation, no matter what!

Well, we now have proof that while the judges' opinions mattter, they don't mean everything.
David Cook is your new American Idol, beating David Archuleta by 12 million votes. The best man won, as far as I'm concerned: He took the most chances with his songs, his voice was outstanding, he knew who he was as an artist.
And didn't we love how Simon tried to backtrack a bit after basically handing the title to Archie last night? Tonight, just before the winner was revealed, the Brit said he rewatched the Tuesday competition "and it wasn't quite so clear-cut as we called it. In fact, David, I will take this opportunity to apologize, because I think I was verging on disrespectful with you."
Many people will say he was trying to save face. I think I'd agree with them. But congrats to Cookie!

When the gang started in with the medley of Wham!/G. Michael songs, I thought, "Surely they're not about to introduce the man himself. What with all of his recent run-ins with the law." But sure enough -- here he is! Wearing Elvis glasses and sounding pretty great.

I love her, but Worst. Dress. Ever. Is the gold wrapping-paper look in these days? (With orange nail polish?)

They worked well together on the hit song "Apologize." I'd say it was better than David Cook's collaboration with ZZ Top. Mainly because ZZ Top really didn't seem that into it.

Brother Joe has gotten himself a girl haircut, it seems -- it flips up in the back, a la Mary Tyler Moore. (I'm just sayin'.) But they're all adorable.

Yes, his face looks a little "worn" (and who knew he was such a little dude?), but I love his songs. Wish they would have done a little "Cuts Like a Knife" while they were at it.

"I valet-parked outside; how much should I tip Sanjaya?"

Observations from that performance:
- Her new song, "Stamp Your Feet," is pretty darned catchy.
- Brooke has very little rhythm.
- The finale has incorporated many more break-dancers than normal. They're kinda stealing the show.
- DEFINITELY stealing the show was Ryan busting out a few moves with them. Hysterical!

I loved that he did "Hallelujah" again. It was awesome.

The clip of him acting as "spiritual" advisor to the Davids was both funny and annoying at the same time. In equal parts.

Ryan tells us that they received a whopping 97.5 million votes last night. That obliterates the previous record by more than 23 million. Pretty impressive.
He also noted that one David got 56 percent of the vote, while the other received 44 percent. Interestingly, a poll on People.com revealed that among its readers, Cook wins -- with 66 percent of the vote.

A recent trip to London got me even more interested in British television, which is extraordinarily good (i.e., much better than our shallow brand). And a prime example is the series Prime Suspect, which PBS imported to the States a few years ago for airing on Masterpiece Theatre. It features, of course, the sweeping range of lead actress Helen Mirren, who plays the embattled London cop, Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison. The last installment, Prime Suspect 7: The Final Act, played on PBS last fall. But through the miracle of the DirectTV DVR, I had it saved all this time. I started watching it Tuesday night and found myself immediately mesmerized. It's incredibly good. Makes me want to go and rent (or buy) all previous installments, which began all the way back in 1992, when the other Bush was president. Ms. Mirren, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen, is as good as it gets when it comes to acting. Tennison's struggles with alcoholism are just part of the story in Chapter 7, which outshines anything I've seen on American television in years.

Photo: Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect

Anyone who dedicated blocks of their college days memorizing and reciting lines from This is Spinal Tap when they should have been studying for their Cultural Anthropology final -- or some other equivalent scenario -- may want to check out the new web feature National Geographic opened up today.

On Tuesday night's finale, viewers learned that -- are you sitting down -- the best dancer won the title of Dancing with the Stars champion. Kristi Yamaguchi came out and once again did what she's done all season, scoring a perfect 30 with her jive routine.