SPOILERS!

I heard that Aunjanue Ellis (’True Blood,’ ‘E-Ring’) has been cast on ‘The Mentalist’ as the next CBI boss, and she’ll start appearing in April. With Minelli (played by the ‘24′-bound Gregory Itzin) retiring, who’s going to run CBI until she shows up? – Clarisse
I’ve asked around and best I can surmise, any “gap” in leadership will be a non-issue – especially since Ellis’ “beautiful but tough” CBI boss will likely show up sooner than April.

I’ve read that there will be more flashbacks to 1864 on The CW’s ‘The Vampire Diaries.’ Will Katherine’s handmaiden and Bonnie’s 4th-great grandmother, Emily (played by Bianca Lawson), be appearing again anytime soon? – Tonia
Your instincts are correct. Executive producer Julie Plec tells me that Emily will be seen again in Episode 12, which is titled “Children of the Damned” and airs February 4.

The official episode description for ‘Smallville’s’ “Disciple” is out, and it says that Dark Archer seeks revenge on Green Arrow by kidnapping Speedy. Is there a little something going on between Ollie and Mia at this point? – Debbie
I kinda doubt it. When I suggested such a mentor-padawan romance to Justin Hartley, he countered, “I hope it’s more of a ‘big brother’ dynamic, because, well, she’s a little young” – at least going by DC Comics lore. Besides, he added, “I think it’s more interesting if it’s not a romantic thing, since we’ve seen that with Oliver before.”


I love the writing on ‘Castle’ – it’s smart and funny, and the repartee between the characters is wonderful. Any info or dish for us? – Pager6
This doesn’t fall under “funny” per se, but the January 18 episode revolves around the hunt for a killer who may have played a role in the murder of Beckett’s own mother. Eek.

Do Kristin Kreuk and Zachary Levi have chemistry on ‘Chuck’? – KreukieFan via Twitter
Hells yeah! I finished screening the first five ‘Chuck’ episodes this weekend, and Kreuk positively twinkles when she hits the screen and starts making banter with Mr. Bartowski (who, at the time, is posing as a fellow jet-setting airplane passenger). The lighter, comedic fare suits the luminous ‘Smallville’ alumna, for sure.

I am a huge Jayma Mays fan and was glad to read that she’ll be appearing in the ‘Heroes’ season finale. Any more scoop on that? – Ed
Only that Masi Oka might one day “return the favor” by guest starring on Mays’ show, ‘Glee.’ “I actually talked to [Fox entertainment chief] Kevin Reilly about that, and he was intrigued,” Oka tells me. I know what you’re thinking: Hiro can carry a tune? (And hopefully sans subtitles?) “I can sing enough,” says Oka. “Let’s put it that way.” Ten bucks if he covers a certain song by Enrique Iglesias.


What’s coming up for Noah on ‘Heroes’? – Denise
Not much lovin’, despite having reunited with almost-flame Lauren (played by ‘Law & Order’ alumna Elisabeth Rohm). As series creator Tim Kring explains, “One of the problems for a show like ‘Heroes’ is that romance is harder to do when you need to stop a moving train, so that gets sort of put on hold as they solve the issues at hand.” And that’s a bit of a bummer, since Rohm winningly brings out Jack Coleman’s cuddlier side. Kring concurs: “Because of the stuff Elisabeth played back in the [flashback episode "Once Upon a Time in Texas"], we decided to go farther into that and bring Lauren into the present.”

Did I miss an episode of ‘Eastwick’ somewhere? Kat had been last seen in a tub full of bloody water and the other girls were in trouble, and the next episode I saw featured their pact about not saying that Jamie is dead and buried. Help! – Naomi
A lot of people were bedeviled by ABC’s screwy scheduling of what appear to be the axed series’ final episodes. “Red, Bath & Beyond” was set to air December 23, but it got bumped by a double bill of ‘Cougar Town.’ And then for reasons unknown to even one of my better ABC sources, “Magic Snow and Creepy Gene” – not “Red, Bath & Beyond” – aired on the 30th. Adding salt to your wound of confusion is that ‘Eastwick’ has now signed off for good, with two episodes – including the season finale “Pampered and Tampered” – left unaired. ‘Ugly Betty’ claims the Wednesdays-at-10 slot starting January 13.

Source: Fancast