Terry O'Quinn of "Lost"

I thought LOST got off to a rockin’ start last Tuesday. ABC announced the show’s final two hour episode will air on SUNDAY, MAY 21, 2010.  

From flashbacks to flash-forwards to last season’s time-shifting story-telling arc, I’ve admired and loved how the show’s producers challenge the viewer to go along for the ride. For the millions that have made the commitment, this season’s split story arcs (with the characters existing on the island AND actually landing unharmed in LA on their Oceanic Air flight from the first season) are exciting giving us the best of both worlds. 

The season premiere was seen by over 15 million people…I guess the opportunity to get some answers to the complicated story is bringing viewers back to the show.

Too many other sites can offer more incisive takes and theories on what this final season means.

Me, as a fan from the beginning, I’m just going to enjoy the numerous cameos or characters that have shown up throughout the six year run. Great characters are what make LOST work.

One other point I gotta make…actor Terry O’Quinn, who plays John Locke was absolutely remarkable in the season premiere. The guy gets to play a seemingly bad guy and he gets to play the now dead John Locke alive and well in the separate timeline. I made it a point to rewatch the scene from the season opener as Bad Locke talks about what the real Locke’s final thoughts were when he was strangled to death. The actor’s delivery was spooky. Chilling stuff. 

With only 16 episodes left, anything can and likely will happen on LOST.

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Another ABC show is signing off this season. The network announced “Ugly Betty” will have its final episode on Wednesday, April 14th at 10pm.

I was never a big fan of this show, but I do appreciate it getting a chance to wrap up its storylines. For viewers invested in these shows, finales can be very satisfying.   

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Cub Scouts see Domino's new pizza up close!

Have you seen the new, bold Domino’s Pizza ad campaign?

The pizza chain essentially admits their product wasn’t very good. Using customer testimonials, people admit the price was good…but the pizza tasted like cardboard! Ouch! So the CEO is featured in new spots saying they went back to the drawing board and redid the recipe for their pizza.

This is no “New Coke” moment, a mistake to re-do their formula.

Domino’s pizzas did leave a lot to be desired.

I love the chutpah of the chain admitting their product sucked. Now they are making a push for pizza fans to try their new recipe. 

This bold re-launch only works if they’ve improved their product.

I’ve tried it.  I liked it! 

Domino’s brash, big, bold  re-invention works.

It the tough and competitive world of pizza, these guys are making a statement. I’ve used the word BOLD several times in describing it.

And they back it up.

This weekend, I saw first-hand how the pizza chain is doing it. My son and his Cub Scout troop were allowed to see how Domino’s makes their pizzas. We visited the location off Oaklandon road on Indy’s northeastside. For the boys and the parents, we were impressed.

Improved food. Good community involvement. This company is doing it right.

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A thought about Sunday’s Super Bowl…

The biggest surprise for me (outside of the on-side kick to open the second half) was the Letterman/Oprah/Leno promo.

It was funny…having Leno on a spot promoting his arch-rival. But I wondered why Dave and CBS gave Leno the punchline (and publicity) in such a high profile event? I will say this, it takes the edge off all of Dave’s sniping in recent weeks.

Who would have thought Oprah would be overshadowed by two guys, a sequel of her and Dave’s spot from three years ago when it was Chicago versus Indy.  

Now, here’s my idea on how to top it!

How about Leno and NBC give Letterman a shout out during the Olympics?

The Bachelor finale will introduce the new cast of "Dancing"

The season finale of “The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love” won’t just reveal a Bachelor proposal. The stars will be coming out!

On March 1, ABC will use “the Bachelor” finale to reveal the cast of the spring edition of “Dancing with the Stars!” Host Tom Bergeron will apparently announce the stars in segments throughout the show guranteed to be highly rated.

Speaking of “Dancing,” last week co-host Samantha Harris announced she would not be returning for the show’s tenth season. She’s leaving to concentrate on her hosting duties at “The Insider” and “Entertainment Tonight.”

So who will be the new co-host? Nancy O’Dell could be a possibility. She was supposed to be in the cast last spring (until she ended up IN a cast.)

But rumors that ABC wants Paula Abdul on “Dancing” this season are rampant. But the question is do they want her dancing…or co-hosting?

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Oprah has a new slogan.

Her new cable network will launch in January of 2011. While no shows are official yet, the tagline for the new channel is. “It’s Your Life – OWN it.”

A spokesman for OWN points out that it is not going to be called “the Oprah Winfrey Network” but OWN.

Whatever. 

From a marketing standpoint, it works.

UPDATED INFO:

Oprah will appear on her own network even before her talk show is finished on broadcast TV. She is going to participate in a documentary that will air on OWN about the final days of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

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Two of NBC’s stars from their biggest hits are teaming up.

An Emmy Winning star from “The West Wing” is coming back to TV, this time on a comedy.

Allison Janey (remember her as CJ, the President’s Press secretary) will co-star in Matthew Perry’s new ABC comedy “Mr. Sunshine.”

There is a connection. The guy directing the new show, Thomas Schlamme, was the director of many of the “West Wing” episodes. He also directed Perry on NBC’s “Studio 60.”  

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Metal...meets "Iron"

Finally, heavy metal…meets IRON. 

“Iron Man 2″ will have a rockin’ soundtrack.

The soundtrack of the sequel to “Iron Man” will feature AC/DC.

Okay, you’ve been warned.

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