lost

Here's a look at tonight's sci-fi TV:

Lost, 'Dr. Linus' – We jump back to the sideways world and catch up with Ben, who's working in Los Angeles as a simple schoolteacher (or is he an evil schoolteacher?) alongside our old buddy Arzt. On the island, Ben is forced to face the consequences of his lies while Team Jacob learn about The Lockness Monster's attack on the temple. Tonight's ep is supposedly the start of the season's second act. While I'm not exactly sure what that means, I'm excited about discovering what kind of person Ben turns out to be when he's not surrounded by Dharma bums, ageless others, smoke monsters, and killer polar bears. (9 p.m. ET on ABC)

Head after the jump for clips and more TV picks.

There's no shortage of blog posts about Lost fan art on the Interweb, especially since funnyman Paul Scheer got the ball rolling in a big way last year. But superfan Jared Stumpenhorst's latest labor of Lost love deserves a mention.

To celebrate the show's final season, the graphic designer is creating a new piece of art inspired by Lost every day this year. Stumpenhorst calls the effort 'Lost 365', and so far he's created 31 awesome tributes to Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse's addictive island saga.

You can check out Stumpenhorst's clever and imaginative art on his blog. My favorites include the bright piece inspired by Sawyer, a Dharma bunnies poster, and his interpretation of Fake Locke, or Flocke (or whatever the Internet is calling him these days). You can also follow the artist on Twitter, and remember to tell him SciFi Squad sent ya.

The ever-fickle FOX has renewed the struggling sci-fi drama Fringe for its third season. I guess it's about time I start watching, huh?

I'm always complaining and moaning about the lack of good science fiction on the television (and don't bring up Stargate unless you want a good hard slap to your facial epidermis), but I've sat idly by while the buzz surrounding Fringe has gotten stronger and stronger and the storylines have apparently gotten more daring.

"The spiritual follow-up to Lost and The X-Files!" and so forth and so on.

I wasn't too impressed with the pilot (it felt like it was trying waaay too hard to be the spiritual follow-up to Lost and The X-Files), so I gave up on it, but I've since endured friends and acquaintances ranting and raving about how good it got about halfway through the first season. After FOX moved it to Thursdays, up against juggernauts like Grey's Anatomy and The Office, it looked like the show was sunk, but it's managed to cling to the schedule despite mediocre ratings.

With Lost ending, I need a new show to sink my teeth into. Since it's looking like it may be around for awhile, I may as well just jump on the Fringe bandwagon.

In other news, the always-struggling CW has given the always-tedious Smallville a tenth season. Ten years. A decade. A decade of a flightless Superman and his various soap operatic adventures. I've heard the last season got pretty zany (as in Adam-West-Batman-but-not-self-aware zany), but not even that is enough to get me interested. If you are one of the eighteen people still watching this show, please let me know why I'm wrong.

(Via Entertainment Weekly and Ain't It Cool)

Here's a look at tonight's sci-fi TV:

Lost, 'The Lighthouse' – It looks like we'll finally learn why Island Claire has gone all rogue (and where she got that bird's nest of a wig) on tonight's ep. Elsewhere, Hurley tries to convince Jack to follow him on a mission. Does it have anything to do with Jack's father Christian? We'll find out tonight. (9 p.m. ET on ABC)

Head after the jump for clips and more TV picks.

Here's a look at tonight's sci-fi TV:

Lost, "What Kate Does" – The flash sideways continue as Kate goes on the run again, leaving Claire stranded in the middle of L.A. Back on the island, Jack tries to get answers from the other Others and is put in a compromising position. Elsewhere, Sawyer deals with Juliette's passing, and Smoke Monster FLocke (Fake Locke) is still very disappointed in Team Jacob. (9 p.m. ET on ABC)

Head after the jump for Lost clips and more TV picks.

The final season of Lost premieres tonight, and after waiting several months (and years) for more answers than we had to give when taking the SAT test, let us all hope some relief begins with tonight's two-hour premiere. Let us know what you thought of the premiere in the comments section below. Did it hold up to previous seasons? Was it worth the long wait? Do you like the new direction the series is taking in its final season? Should Kate just ditch Jack and marry the smoke monster?

Sound off below Losties!

Here's a look at tonight's sci-fi TV:

Lost – It's finally here, the final season of one of the greatest TV shows of our time. Tonight's season premiere celebration will stretch out for three hours, gobbling up all of ABC's Tuesday primetime real estate. Things kick off with a sixty-minute look back at the past five years of the show, followed by the hotly anticipated two-hour season opener. Our pals at TV Squad will be live blogging the premiere, for those who want to comment on the events in real-time. And feel free to gorge yourself on a large plate of preview clips and promo videos after the jump. (8 p.m. ET on ABC)

'Lost' preview clips after the jump.

Welcome to TV Transmissions -- your (semi) daily sci-fi TV news briefing. Here's what's happening:

- Friday's latex-heavy Smallville "Absolute Justice" event looks like two hours of good geeky fun. Check out some brand new photos of Smallville's JSA in action, courtesy of Comic Continuum.

- Syfy is sticking with what works. After the ratings successes of Tin Man and the recent Alice miniseries, the cable net has ordered a batch of Saturday night movies that give classic fairy tales a contempo twist. Expect bizarro updates of Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel & Gretel, Beauty and the Beast and other favorites to start hitting the air late February.

- Rod Rodenberry, Gene Rodenberry's son, talks about updating his father's 1970s TV pilot The Questor Tapes for a modern audience. Being a fan of the original, I'm really looking forward to this update from Brian Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Television. Joss Whedon pal Tim Minear is in talks to write and produce, but Rodenberry says not to expect a huge departure from the original.

- Fred Willard and Swoozie Kurtz are teaming to play a super spy couple on an upcoming episode of Chuck. The pair will guest star later this season.

Lost, Caprica, and Stargate news (plus more) after the jump.

Welcome to TV Transmissions -- your (semi) daily sci-fi TV news briefing. Here's what's happening:

- Good news, Ron Moore fans. The Battlestar Galactica creator's doomed but intriguing TV pilot Virtuality is coming to DVD on May 4. Sadly, a Blu-ray version doesn't seem to be in the cards, and we don't have a list of special features yet, but stay tuned to SciFI Squad for the latest on this much-anticipated release.

- In other Ron Moore-related DVD news, Universal is releasing another BSG complete series Blu-ray set that includes The Plan.

- Stargate Universe producer Joseph Mallozzi is asking fans what they want to see when the show returns to Syfy in April. Personally, I'd like to see Col. Telford get punched in the face at least once every episode. Hard.

- Here's another Stargate tidbit: Show co-creator Brad Wright says SGU was originally a movie pitch.

- In a mad dash to plug some holes in its primetime lineup, NBC has picked up a pilot for a superhero show called The Cape. Billed as "a light drama with a comic book sensibility," The Cape follows a cop who becomes a masked superhero to "clear his name and reunite with his son."

Head after the jump for Caprica, Doctor Who and Lost news.

I've been a Lost devotee since the beginning. I've stuck with the show through the highs and the lows week in and week out, putting up with all the detractors' complaints of "But they never actually answer any questions!" the entire time. But even I am ready for the series to wrap up. As much as I love the show, I'm glad it has an end date.

ABC, on the other hand, doesn't share that love. They're oblivious as to how an end date has bettered the show by forcing the writers to abandon the waffling narratives that plagued seasons two and three. All they know is that come the end of season 6, they are no longer going to have the mysteries of the island to drive advertising revenue. Their solution? Lost spin-offs! From Variety:

"We've been talking about this for a couple of years now," says ABC marketing exec VP Mike Benson. "We want to keep it alive but make sure we maintain the integrity of the franchise. We're not about milking this thing for all that it is right now; it's important to see this live for years to come."

Now call me a cynic, but to me that sounds like 'we're not just about milking Lost for what it's worth now, we plan on draining its every drop for the foreseeable future.' And as it stands right now, those years to come likely won't find the original creators involved; as evidenced by Damon Lindelof's slightly more reassuring take on the matter, "People deserve an ending, and to promise a continuation of the story in any form in some way negates the finality in some way."