SPOILERS!

Question: What's the latest on Elisha Cuthbert returning to 24? -- Dominic

Ausiello: Ladies and gentleman, we've got a signed contract! Sources confirm to me exclusively that Cuthbert has inked a deal to reprise her role as Jack's lightning rod of an offspring for a season-ending arc that will no doubt trigger a new round of wholly outdated and painfully unfunny cougar jokes. Per my 24 mole, Kim will return minus her old beau (sorry, C. Thomas Howell) and plus a child! That's right, Kim's got a little puma all her own!



Question: Do you have any scoop on Bones? -- Claire

Ausiello: Tonight's two-hour UK-based season premiere is, in a word, busy. Not only is a notable character whacked, but there's a little partner swappage, a not-so-little breakup, and this shocking reveal from Booth: He tends to laugh during sex. Oh, and special guest star Indira Varma (Rome) makes a strong case for deserving her very own TV series.


Question: My arthritis is acting up. Take pity on me and give me some Bones scoop. -- Holly

Ausiello: Oh, I get it. Arthritis. Bones. Good one. Hey, if you're at all interested, Ausiello TV is looking to hire some new comedy writers. (Didja think the show wrote itself?) Anywhoo, back to your Q, next week's States-based Bones ep ends with what I'm told is Booth and Brennan's most revealing therapy session with Doc Sweets yet. (And if by chance you were serious about the arthritis thing, here's my conscience-clearing tip for you.) One more thing about Bones before you go: If you like the David Boreanaz, then you're going to love his answers to Mandi Bierly's 17 pop culture questions.


Question: Is it true that Chuck has received a full season order from NBC? Please don't leave this until Ask Ausiello. It deserves a blog post of its own! -- Melanie

Ausiello: You make AA sound like some kind of sloppy seconds dumping ground. Take it back this instant! Or don't. Sticks and stones, you know? Anyway, yes, NBC gave Chuck the go-ahead for a full season before a single episode even aired, which pretty much confirms what I had been hearing all summer: NBC feels the show is on the verge of breaking out in a BIG way. Creatively, the network feels Chuck has hit its stride, and a new round of testing seems to back that up. "The entire cast scores high," whispers a Peacock source. "And that's not a common thing. Spirits are very high on that set right now." Couldn't happen to a nicer group of people.



Question: I've heard rumors that Wilson and Cameron are hooking up in the first two episodes of House this season. Is this true? -- Lisa

Ausiello: Um, hello! I started those rumors. Last week. In Ask Ausiello. Am I the only one paying attention to this frakkin' column?! (And for the record, I never said they hooked up.)



Question: I just watched the first five episodes of True Blood. I loved it. Rich characters, a thoughtful story, and, well, vampires! I suggest you drop everything and do the same. -- Dave

Ausiello: Would you believe I did exactly that over the long holiday weekend? After my hit-and-run slam in last week's AA, I decided I should probably form an opinion based on more than just one out-of-context scene. So I popped in my (heavily encoded) HBO screener and watched the first five episodes. Straight through. Stopping only for bathroom and snack breaks. In other words, damn thing hooked me! Is it perfect? Far from it. Alan Ball drives the vampires-are-like-gay-people parallel home with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. My colleague Ken Tucker put it best in this week's EW when he said "Ball has never seen a comic-dramatic premise he can't flatten with leaden metaphors." (Truthfully, I have no idea what the heck that means, but it sounds wicked smaht.) But as a purely escapist piece of entertainment fluff? I kind of loved it.



Source: Ausiello @ EW