Big news from Fox Network for two of its high profile shows. It was announced today that for the season finales of the action-drama 24 and the medical-drama House M.D. that these two worlds will collide for one big 2 hour finale event.

Not all details were revealed since there's still no word on how 24 plans to wrap up the terrorist plans currently on-going, but here's what is known as of now:

• Dr. Gregory House will first be called upon to attempt to cure and ailing Jack Bauer (after he recently came into contact with a biological weapon) giving House the most difficult task he's had yet: creating a cure.
  
  
• The outcome of the above is given even less time when House must diagnose a terrorist suspect when he suddenly becomes ill in typical House M.D. fashion where no one is sure what the diagnosis is.
  
  
• House's team will not be with him (as House travels to FBI headquarters to meet Jack Bauer) but they will be in contact via phone.
  
  
• The dynamic between Bauer and House will be hilarious and tense.
  
  
• Finally, this will most assuredly be in real time, so House is really working against the clock without any commercials to pass more that five minutes time.

This is the best thing to happen to television since The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones. Fans of one show who happen to not be fans of the other won't be confused as an hour long clip show will play before the finale to give people some insight into the characters they may not be so familiar with. If you'd like to see a teaser trailer for this epic television event, head right over here to the official Fox website, because unfortunately the trailer cannot be embedded. Does this get you excited?

Labels: 24, Dr. House, Fox, Gregory House, House, House M.D., Hugh Laurie, Jack Bauer, Kiefer Sutherland

Reports from Variety show that Prison Break will not be returning next fall. This comes at a disappointment to many fans, but in reality how many times can you break out, go on the lamb, get caught again, etc. before you jump the shark. Oh wait, they already did... I like to think it was with the brain surgery, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Representatives from FOX say they are axing Prison Break in favor of developing new shows as well as promoting some in the their first season, like Lie to Me. This is good news for shows like Dollhouse.

The only real fear at this point is that FOX will do what it always does and cancel good shows before they really need to. Case in point Arrested Development, Firefly, The Loop, Wonder Falls... I don't think I really need to go on. So to all the folks at Prison Break enjoy your parole, but remember the hotel is only paid for through two months so good luck finding a job with your record.

Labels: Arrested Development, Dollhouse, Firefly, Fox, Lie to Me, Prison Break, The Loop, Wonder Falls

Last week there was what seemed to be a bit of disturbing news from Collider regarding extensive re-shoots happening up in Vancouver for 20th Century Fox's summer blockbuster X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Long story short, people have strong suspicions in Fox micro-managing the film behind director Gavin Hood's back, and even involvement from Richard Donner attempting to fix some sort of debacle that this tentpole film had fallen into.

Well, lo and behold, the waters parted and there was word from up on high. And this information came from a bit of an unlikely source...Wolverine himself, Hugh Jackman. This was such an important matter to clear up that Jackman took time out of these extensive re-shoots and I'm sure his continuing busy schedule regarding his hosting the Oscars to put the collective fan boy mind at ease.

Ain't It Cool News (AICN) received an e-mail straight from Jackman, and a bit of a bonus was also included with the e-mail. Here's what Wolverine had to say:

Hey Mate- Would you mind posting this? Thank you for your support! HJ

Hey everyone -

It's Hugh Jackman, sending this note from freezing Vancouver. I have read a lot of your online comments regarding the footage that we are currently shooting and I share your passion for the Wolverine character and the movie - I owe it all to you guys!

I wanted to reach out and let you know that due to scheduling conflicts with certain cast members and location/weather considerations, we had to wait until now to shoot a couple of scenes. Please rest assured that WOLVERINE will be badass and hopefully meet all of your expectations. I am stoked by the positive response to the teaser, which clearly reflects the tone and scope of the film. If you like that, we've got much more in store!

In the meantime, here's an exclusive shot of some characters you may recognize...

Cheers,

Hugh

Well this seems reassuring enough, but it seems very hokey to me that Hugh Jackman felt the personal need to include this extra exclusive cast picture with the e-mail. This is worrying to me because I wasn't entirely blown away back when we premiered the first trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine and it seems like the studio is using Jackman's apparent trusted nature amongst the web to take care of damage control. I had the same uneasy feeling when meeting Eddie Izzard over the summer and asking him about Valkyrie. Without prompt Izzard proceeded to tell me and his Q&A audience that the jostling around of the film's release date had nothing to do with worry about the quality of the picture but simply a decision to get the movie out of October (apparently a month known for historical dramas) to a better date more accommodating for the thrilling, suspenseful picture that it really was. I love Eddie Izzard, but that just screamed out damage control to me.

Wolverine looks cool enough but maybe too action-packed to the extreme. These re-shoots are worrying and despite Hugh Jackman's reassurance, I'll hold my real judgment until the film is released this May.

Labels: 20th Century Fox, Fox, Gavin Hood, Hugh Jackman, Richard Donner, Wolverine, X-Men, X-Men Origins: Wolverine