Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kid Nasty I am impressed in all the work u have done. and really appreciate it that u did all of this. thanxie ^_^ keep it up *smiles* love everything u put in here 2. Wanted to make a comment on how well u r doing biggrin

Sau

I love you (in a platonic manly way).

Breakout Star: Evangeline Lilly
Get the lowdown on the sexy Lost star's offscreen life

Age: 25
Hometown: Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta
Current gig: Lost's escaped prisoner Kate


Seen her before?: Blink and you might have missed her. Lilly has appeared in a few commercials ("Hated it!"), but before Lost her most significant acting job was a bit part in the short-lived Stephen King series Kingdom Hospital (she was killed off).

Emilie de Ravin is preggers again. As the mysterious alien Tess on "Roswell," the petite Australian actress gave birth to an alien/human hybrid child. And on ABC’s runaway hit "Lost" she plays Claire, a plane-crash survivor who’s eight months pregnant and stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere.
"We shoot 'Lost' in Hawaii, and it’s a little sweaty," de Ravin says, "But it's not too bad, really. The actual prosthetic stomach is hollow, so it aerates slightly. And I take it off when I can.
"Also, even though the beach is hot, there's always a breeze in Hawaii," she adds. "Everyone wants me to complain about the belly, but it's not that terrible."
Those words – "It's not that terrible" – don’t apply to Claire's dilemma. Not only is she surrounded by strangers, but also a polar bear has attacked the group, an even larger, still-unseen menace killed the plane's captain and a radio is repeating a 16-year-old distress signal sent from the island.

A half-dozen episodes into the show's run, Claire remains a low-key enigma. She rarely grouses and has befriended several of the more visible characters, notably de-facto leader Jack (Matthew Fox), fugitive Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and heroin-addicted rock star Charlie (Dominic Monaghan). De Ravin fans, however, will finally get their wish Dec. 1, with the Claire-centric episode "Raised by Another."
"You’ll learn about her back story," the 21-year-old de Ravin says in her thick Australian accent, speaking by telephone from her Los Angeles home. "I really don't know how much I can say, but it's a surprise, what her story is.
"What happens to her is cool and creepy, very creepy in a lot of ways," she says. "Hopefully people will enjoy it."
And what's in store beyond "Raised by Another"?
"Something happens to Claire," de Ravin says, bursting into a chuckle. "It’s not something I can talk about. I've had a few weeks off, because of some happenings. I’m going back to shoot more soon, but there’s not much to report there yet.
"A lot of it is still a mystery to me."
In addition to heightening the on-island intrigue each week, "Lost" executive producers J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof pull back the curtain on a different character’s past in each episode. And there's a common denominator to the revelations: Everyone, well before finding himself or herself on the island, was lost, either emotionally or in terms of their life's path.
"That's definitely something I'm seeing come through," de Ravin says. "In a way, maybe this is all meant to be. Maybe they're on the island for a reason. Maybe it's fate and it's going to help everyone, because everyone was dealing with the same issues.
"Maybe these people just needed to step back and look at their lives," she continues, "and this is their opportunity to say, 'I'm just lucky to be alive. I shouldn't be worried about this and that.' And their issues, the ones they had before, are much more irrelevant because of the situation they're in now. Now they're just trying to survive."
"Lost" debuted Sept. 22, two weeks before the release of the second season of "Roswell" on DVD. The actress relocated from Australia to Los Angeles for the show, and her role as the shadowy alien who came between star-crossed lovers Max (Jason Behr) and Liz (Shiri Appleby) won her kudos and a fervent fan base.
"It was my first big job," de Ravin says. "I got to move down here, to L.A. I was just 18. We had a great bunch of people on that show. I had a lot of creative input and worked with people I learned a lot from, people who were very helpful to me, me being new to the country and trying to figure things out. So I have fond memories of 'Roswell.'"
When the WB network contemplated axing "Roswell" after Season One, fans successfully campaigned for a second year. When WB canceled the show after Season Two, the fans – by inundating UPN executives with letters, e-mails, petitions, trades ads and bottles of Tabasco sauce, a favorite alien condiment – convinced UPN to pick up the series.
And ever since UPN let the sun set on "Roswell," the show’s followers have lobbied for a feature film. It wouldn’t be unprecedented: Joss Whedon’s sci-fi series "Firefly" flamed out fast, but a best-selling DVD collection has emboldened Universal to gamble on an upcoming "Firefly" film.
So why not "Roswell: The Movie?"
"People keep saying that and everyone keeps asking about it," says de Ravin, who herself appears in the upcoming horror/comedy "Santa's Slay."
"But I don’t know anything. I’ve never heard anything official from the producers about a film.
"I hadn't realized it was such a talked-about subject," she adds. "It's an interesting idea."
Returning to "Lost," some fans fear that Claire isn't long for this world. The IMDB doesn't list de Ravin as a series regular, and that ominous title "Raised by Another" has some worrying that Claire may die giving birth. The actress welcomes the conspiracy theories, but says that the theorists are barking up the wrong tree.
"That's not it, but the title is interesting," de Ravin says. "I am a regular on 'Lost.' I think it's great that people are so worried. It ups the excitement about what’s going to happen, and it means that people care about the character, which is what you want to hear when you're playing a role."

'Lost' viewers are addicted to him
By Bill Keveney, USA TODAY
The Lord of the Rings movies and ABC's Lost are divergent tales, but they have more in common than meets the eye. Both are runaway hits. Each features filming on a verdant Pacific island that allows for adventurous off-day activities.

"I love having the opportunity to surf," says Dominic Monaghan, 27, speaking from Hawaii, where he is part of the Lost ensemble.

And, of course, both share Monaghan — who came to renown as the hobbit Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck in the Tolkien trilogy — and his exceptionally devoted fan base.

That last common point has been a boon for Lost (tonight, 8 ET/PT), which drew its largest audience to date, 18.7 million viewers, for an episode Nov. 3 that focused on Monaghan's character, drug-addled Charlie. ABC says that's not a coincidence.

"We saw that over the summer, when we would do events. Dominic was mobbed by fans. They were burning up the Internet," says Lance Taylor, who oversees ABC's scripted shows.

For Monaghan, who was born in Berlin and grew up there and in England, some of the differences between the productions and characters offered special appeal. After becoming so identified as an adventurous hobbit paired with friend Pippin (Billy Boyd), Monaghan now plays a troubled rocker, one of 48 people stranded on an island after their plane breaks up in flight.

"It was important to me to choose something contemporary after the amount of fantasy stuff I've been involved with." Also, "I wanted something I knew was going to appeal to the audience."

He got that. Lost averages more than 17.5 million viewers, making it the second-most-popular new show of the season (behind ABC's Desperate Housewives).

Although some fans were skeptical when Monaghan chose a TV role, they quickly embraced Lost and the very different character of Charlie, says Cyndi Haulk, who runs The Dom Project (dominic-monaghan.us).

"I have not come across any Dominic fan who is not also a fan of Lost," says Haulk, 35, of Charlotte. "I know that many people started watching Lost because of Dominic's involvement, but I think people kept watching because it's genuinely good."

As much as Monaghan liked Lost's concept, he also admired the vision of one of its creators, J.J. Abrams (Alias). The feeling must have been mutual, because the Charlie character originally was to be a 45-year-old has-been rock star. With Monaghan in mind, the role was remade into a younger one-hit wonder.

Charlie's habit of writing such words as "FATE" and "LATE" on the tape on his fingers was inspired by Monaghan's own organizational technique. "I write on my hands, simply from a logistics point of view," Monaghan says.

In early episodes, Charlie has struggled with his drug problem and his identity, gaining self-esteem by rescuing Jack (Matthew Fox) and discarding his drugs in the Nov. 3 show.

That episode also revealed Charlie to have been a religious young man devoted to music who was pulled to the rock world's dark side by his now-reformed brother. (Another Charlie flashback episode is in the works, possibly for February.)

While battling his drug problem, Charlie has formed an intriguing relationship with mystery man Locke (Terry O'Quinn). That addiction will remain a struggle, Monaghan says.

"It will be quite a tough thing to go through," he says, adding that the show's early prime-time spot limits some graphic elements. "It's tough to show as much of the heroin addiction withdrawal as I would like to."

Charlie also has bonded with the pregnant Claire (Emilie de Ravin). The pair face a harrowing situation Dec. 8, although Monaghan won't discuss details. About the only detail he'll reveal is that a main character will die before season's end.

Monaghan is enjoying Hawaii, where he resides with his pet chameleon, Karma. He likes his Lost colleagues, but he generally keeps to himself off set.

He still retains close ties with his Lord of the Rings mates, with whom he spent three years filming in New Zealand. Orlando Bloom sent him a Christmas present, and Boyd and Elijah Wood will visit him during the Christmas hiatus.

But that's still weeks off, and after this interview, a beautiful day off in Hawaii awaits. What's an actor/hobbit/rocker to do?

"I'm going to go for a surf."

Millions of viewers get ‘Lost’No phones, no lights, no motor cars, just good ratings

Evangeline Lilly and Josh Holloway are "Lost."
COMMENTARY
By Brian Bellmont

Only two weeks into ABC's new plane-crash-survivors-on-a-tropical-island thriller "Lost" and already the mysteries are flying fast and furious. Are the castaways alone? Is that really a polar bear? And what's that huge, growling thing in the jungle, flattening trees and sending the island's new residents scrambling in terror?

Yet the most intriguing mystery is less about the adventure and more about the people watching it unfold: How has "Lost" attracted such a huge audience? Nearly 18 million viewers found the Sept. 22 premiere — making it ABC’s most-watched drama debut in nine years. The ratings for the second installment weren't as sky-high as the highly hyped premiere, but the still impressive numbers (16.3 million viewers) suggest that the initial spike in viewership was no fluke.

Scoring big — or, let's be frank. even respectable — ratings has traditionally been an uphill struggle for a show like "Lost," the latest offering from J.J. Abrams, creator of "Alias" and "Felicity." Genre-bending TV — programs that combine several hallmark elements from distinct styles of shows — is more often than not relegated to cult status, pulling in a tiny but enthusiastic audience.

Most cult shows are all but ignored by mainstream America, who'd rather while away the hours with tepid fare like "America's Next Top Accountant" or "Last Pork Roast Standing." "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel," for instance, were extremely well-crafted horror-comedy-drama-thrillers — and attracted a middling viewership in only the single-digit millions each week.

So what's "Lost" got that other hyphenated (and now cancelled) shows didn't? If the number of billboards and bus placards is any indication, it's got the support of its network behind it. More importantly, it's got several buzzworthy elements designed to appeal to a large number of people — and get them talking. In fact, "Lost's" first episode actually added viewers as the show went on, indicating that phones and computers were busy with word-of-mouth suggestions to "Turn to ABC. You've gotta see this show!"

Genre-bending thriller
Ostensibly, "Lost" is about 48 plane crash survivors fighting to stay alive on a tropical island, a basic premise which has been done again and again, from "Robinson Crusoe" to "Lord of the Flies" to the exploits of a certain skipper and his little buddy. But it's already shaking out to be much more than a "Gilligan's Island" retread. Viewers of the show's initial hours already know that "Lost" is a competent, high-concept thriller. But it's also a character-driven drama, a compelling mystery, and maybe even — stay tuned — a sci-fi adventure.

And that’s the beauty of "Lost." It’s made up of seemingly dissimilar elements that each appeal to a specific audience. And the sum of its parts is all the more impressive.

It’s tough to be all things to all people. But "Lost" seems to be enough things to enough viewers to draw in plentiful, if disparate, audiences, each looking for something particular out of the show. From cheesecake and beefcake — good-looking people showing plenty of skin in a tropical setting — to harrowing disaster scenes, tense suspense and smart comic relief, "Lost" is delivering the goods. Something about it is familiar enough to attract mainstream viewers. And it's unique enough to give fans of genre shows plenty to chew on.

Sure, "Gilligan’s Island" employed many of the same basic plot elements. But I'm confident enough in Abrams to know that a group of robots isn't going to challenge the Harlem Globetrotters to a basketball game anytime soon. But, who knows? Just when viewers think they've got "Lost" figured out, it zigs, then zags, then zigs again. It’s "Jurassic Park" one minute, "Gosford Park" the next. If television has taught us anything, it's not to pigeonhole J.J. Abrams.

His "Felicity" started as a girl-moving-to-the-big-city show, and ended as a time-traveling fantasy (seriously). "Alias" is at its core a globetrotting spy procedural. But it's also a science thriller that beats the pants off anything Michael Crichton has come up with recently, as well as an is-it-or-isn't-it-sci-fi-meets-historical-prophecy-techno-jumble that would have "Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown scratching his head.

So maybe a coconut phone or bamboo jet pack is indeed in "Lost's" future. With Abrams, you never know. And that's part of the fun.

Characters to care about
Still, all the rollercoaster plots in the world aren't going to amount to much if the characters riding them aren't worth worrying about. While Abrams can craft multifaceted characters, much of the depth can likely be attributed to another co-executive producer on the show, Damon Lindelof, who co-produced the talkier "Crossing Jordan." Even without the taut suspense and breathless thrills, the characters on "Lost" stand on their own as interesting people, layered with interesting quirks, questionable motivations and, no doubt, plenty of secrets.

And the acting is on par with the slick writing. Matthew Fox ("Party of Five") delivers a sympathetic-yet-heroic turn as a beleaguered doctor who finds himself in the middle of this nightmare. Newcomer Evangeline Lilly is a likable and levelheaded woman who’s harboring at least one big secret. Former hobbit Dominic Monaghan plays a helpful-yet-shifty musician who was up to something when the plane crashed. And nearly a dozen other characters, many of them familiar TV faces, play roles of varying importance. On the surface, anyway. It's plainly clear that a bit player now could become integral to the plot as the series continues.

But don't get too comfortable with these specific castaways. Abrams has killed off major characters before. What's especially intriguing about "Lost" is that if some, or all, of the original bunch of lead castaways are rescued — or picked off by the hungry thing in the woods, there are three dozen other characters hanging out on the beach, just waiting for their time in the spotlight.

Is this finally a horror-sci-fi-suspense-thriller that Great-Aunt Marge can feel comfortable admitting that she watches? Early returns say yes indeed. Abrams has disregarded the traditional rules of these standard genres, deconstructed them, then reassembled them into something wholly new and appealing.

Of course, we still don't know what's lurking amid the foliage or many of the other surprises the show has yet to unleash. But no matter what the producers have planned, it seems that they’ve already learned how to dress up what have typically been dismissed as nerdish elements in normal-people clothes so they appeal to the masses.

It’s still early in the game, but "Lost" apparently knows exactly where it’s headed.