Yes people, it is indeed true! ABC are planning on making a US version of one of the greatest British TV series of all time, Only Fools and Horses. The show played here in the UK from 1981 to 2003 and is possibly my favourite TV show. It has so many classic scenes (some of which I’ve placed below this article for you to watch) and it will be very interesting to see how the show is modified for US audiences.

I’d be quite against this but after recently becoming addicted to the US version of The Office, I have faith that the conversion can be done in a successful manner but time will tell. According to the BBC who have the report, ABC will make a pilot of the show with a view to then continue with a full series if it goes down well.

The BBC (who aired the original show) tell us that in 1996, 24m people tuned into the Christmas special making it one of the most-watched programmes in British TV history! David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst played the two wheeler-dealer brothers who live in a council estate in Peckham, South London and do whatever they can to make a quick buck wherever they can! According to ABC the same formula will be used as two brothers..:

“concoct outrageous, morally questionable get-rich-quick schemes in their quest to become millionaires”.

Still not sure what I think of this news but like I say, I’m really interested to see what they do with it.

Given the incredible effect Toy Story 3 has had on the market since release (both in terms of box office and merchandise), it isn’t exactly surprising that Variety are reporting that Disney have announced soaring profits for the third quarter of the year.

Incredibly, the studio posted profit figures of $123 million compared with a $12 million loss in the same period last year. Overall, revenue rose 16% to $10 billion, while profits increased 37% to $2.5 billion.

The uplift has been pinpointed as being down to the healthy box office returns of Iron Man 2 and the aforementioned Pixar offering, as well as healthy DVD and Blu-Ray sales for Alice in Wonderland (despite the, I think, unfair critical reaction). The big man on campus at the Mouse House, Robert Iger declared in a call to investors (who could probably be heard audibly unclenching in relief after usually more gloomy news) that their strategic focus on branded fare is paying off well for the studio.

The profits have even been healthy enough to take the hit of disappointing domestic purses for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and The Sorceror’s Apprentice (though the relatively impressive foreign performance of PoP will probably have helped soften that blow).

The figures look to be vindication for the studio’s decision to experiment with an early release of Alice (a month quicker than usual), as the swift release allowed the studio to cement already strong figures with the almost $67 million that the release’s three versions have brought in since June 1st.

Despite those impressive home release figures for Alice, Iger confirmed that Disney wouldn’t be resting on its laurels, having identified the DVD market as a difficult prospect:

The DVD market is challenged and will continue to be challenged… You’re dealing with a title-to-title environment. It’s very title driven. Collectability doesn’t seem to be as important as it once was other than for certain brands like Pixar.

In response, Iger confirmed that the studio would be actively seeking new approaches to attempt to continue their rude financial health. He said that Disney “will become aggressive in experimenting with new windows, including digital” to try and encourage more of a return out of the home entertainment market going forward.

According to Variety, Iger remained tip-lipped on the subject of the sale of Miramax, other than saying that the $660 million sale to the Ron Tutor headed consortium “reflects a focus on maximising our assets and devoting resources to branded entertainment with franchise potential” and adding that the sale will only have a minimal impact of future Disney profits.

Also within the Disney stable, ESPN and ABC both posted profits with the sports network’s performance buoyed by an increase of 31% in ad sales from their World Cup coverage, and ABC by overseas sales of Lost, Ghost Whisperer and Castle.

Further business reflected a relative uplift in attendance at the company’s theme parks, though it is still incomparable to periods before the economic downturn of last year, and overall the picture was relatively conservative:

Although profits decreased 8% to $477 million, revenue for Disney’s parks and resorts division increased 3% during the quarter to $2.8 billion. While attendance at Disney’s overseas parks, including Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland, was stronger than expected, ticket sales in Orlando and Anaheim was still down 3% and 4% respectively, while the additional of a new ship to Disney’s cruise business also ate into profits.

However, the pricey addition of new attractions like the World of Color light and water show is “bringing record crowds” to Disney’s California Adventure park in Anaheim, Iger said. This month, Disney also raised ticket prices at Walt Disney World and Disneyland to move away from the practice of discounting to attract parkgoers.

Aside from the movie arms of the Mouse House, it looks like the company is enjoying the greatest return from its games wing. Following the recent acquisition of Playdom for $563 million and mobile gamemaker Tapulous, plus this week’s launch of  “World of Cars Online,” revenue from interactive media soared 74% to $197 million. Losses in the division were also cut by $10 million to $65 million against the same quarter a year ago.

Going forward, while remaining in the console game market- creating Disney-branded games across all formats, like the recently successful Toy Story 3 tie-in, Disney will devote more money to the burgeoning online gaming business, which Iger claimed will grow more than 30% a year:

We’re all aware of the rapid growth of social networks and the huge popularity of games on them… We feel it’s essential for us to have a presence. We now have a diversified games business to meet consumer interests.

So times are looking good at the minute for the company, and with the intelligent approach to new markets that Iger has outlined, they can only go from strength to strength.

Smoke Monsters and Polar Bears, Donkey Wheels, Lottery Numbers and Light Houses, the tale of the survivors of Oceanic 815  has been wrought over six years and a hundred and twenty one episodes and on the day the questions were answered I wanted to take you back to the start, to where we got our first look at Lost.

Below are two videos, the first of which is the outstanding trailer Channel 4 put together to promote their airing of the series in the UK. Directed by Brett Foraker and David La Chapelle and using Portishead’s Numb to introduce characters whose fate would play out over the next six years, it remains captivating.

It is a masterful tease, and now that we’re out on the other side there’s something special about the glimpse of the wider Lost world this video gives us. The series had already premiered in the US and viewers were already hooked on the many questions which orbited the main premise of where these people were.

Here’s the very first time we here in the UK got a look at Lost,

The next video is a recap ABC put out before the sixth season, boiling down over one hundred episodes into eight minutes, fifteen seconds. Watching it today, before diving into the final episode there’s evidence of a complex, and convoluted plot with flashes both back and forwards, and then sideways confusing the narrative. It may have jettisoned viewers on its journey, and the ending when it comes may not satisfy and you can expect theories and analysis to live long after the final credits.

What lasts though is six years of questions, frustrations and secrets revealed and some left unanswered. For the die hard fans there will be some sort of loss, with Lost now in the past tense. And for those who have stayed the course, and returned again and again to the island there will be an emotional payoff, as showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse close the book on Lost and there is a fade to black for the last time.

So, this morning’s viewing of Lost didn’t go quite to plan. I got up at 5am to watch the final episode of a series that I’ve loved and followed for the past 6 years. The first hour set me us up nicely for the perfect end that we’ve all wanted for so long. 55 minutes into my viewing, Sky Player decided to come up with a message stating

“This programme is unavailable to via on Sky Player“

Thinking it might just be me, I turned to my good friend Tweetdeck to discover every single viewer in the UK using Sky Player had exactly the same problem. A major cock-up from Sky? I think so! To day this was annoying is rather an understatement.After around an hour, it started working again but this is obviously pointless. This isn’t come episode in the middle of a season, this was the series finale. To say I was gutted is rather an understatement, and am rather annoyed at Sky for letting this happen.

Sky have now put out an official apology stating:

Hi all,

We’d like to apologise for this morning’s black out during Sky1′s live simulcast of the Series Finale of ‘Lost’.

We’re currently investigating what went wrong, and if it’s any consolation we’ll have the entire episode available to watch as a catch up title by lunchtime today.

Once again apologies

The Sky Player team

Still rather annoyed I got up at 5am for this but hey ho, life goes on.

Anyway, onto the matter in hand. I have now managed to watch  the last hour and a half of the Lost finale which you can see below. There aren’t really any spoilers below but if you want to stay away from anything Lost, don’t read on!

I was a massive fan of Lost when it first began. The opening episode was fantastic and opened with a bang, literally. 6 seasons later and we’ve seen a multitude of characters come and go, many of which we get to see in this final season and with a lovely group setting for the final episode to conclude with.

People on twitter have expressed similar feelings with comments like:

@CarrieKeagan: #Lost was a bit of a cop out! Where are the answers to six years of questions?

@TessNevermind Lost is an epic fail.

However, there seems to be more love for the final episode. Here’s a few examples!

@SimonFairbanks Thank you #Lost for an epic six years. You are one of a kind.

@brynnfoley: No words to that ending. It’s been a great 6 years.

@OliveCecilia LOVED the #Lost finale… it’s all about the people that we touch and let in our lives… indeed.

@anniedm You know what? I loved it. LOVED IT. I have it all put together, so feel free to chat with me about THE GREATEST TV SHOW EVER. #LOST

There are millions of entries on Twitter, in fact so many that ‘Lost’ is now a twitter trend. Click here to view.

In my opinion the ending was excellent, not perfect but excellent. 6 years have passed with hundreds of theories being passed around in schools, offices, pubs & clubs about what the heck is going on at the island and now we have closure! Be prepared if you’re reading this before you watch it though, you’ll probably need tissues, it’s a rather emotional rollercoaster!

One question though and this might have been explained in a previous episode, where was Michael at the end? Did I miss something?!

It’s been a long time coming with polar bears, VW Campers, a company called Darma and a lot of characters but the hit TV show, LOST has been given it’s finale date by hosts, ABC as Tuesday, 2nd February 2010. They also said that they’d end the show with a special “all-night event” which will start at 20:00 ET with a one hour recap special followed by a two-hour premiere leading us up to what we hope might be some answers and the end of one of the best TV shows on the naughties.

Obviously all this info has been released for the US audience. As soon as we find out what’s happening in the UK, we’ll let you know. Matthew Fox was on Jonathan Ross a while back but was giving nothing away. According Fox, Abrams knew at the beginning of the series how it would end, but how he got there was made us as they went along. You can check out the interview here.

One other thing to note is that all of the cast are on the banner above (click to enlarge), does that mean some may return?! Guess we’ll have to wait to find out.

Check out the ABC website for more info.