Harold Perrineau is back on the island — and ready to talk about why he left.

"It only goes about five feet deep," Harold Perrineau says, nodding in the direction of the swimming pool in his backyard. "If I stand in it, part of me's still above water."

From the hint of relief in his voice, you'd think a shallow pool was a major selling point when Perrineau bought the unassuming Los Angeles home more than a year ago. You wouldn't be entirely wrong.

As the T-shirt- and jeans-clad actor, 44, settles onto a sofa in the family room, he admits he's not a big water guy. He doesn't swim and he's prone to seasickness. So it's not hard to imagine Perrineau's anxiety when he found out his hotly anticipated return to Lost (Thursdays at 9 pm/ET, ABC) would take place on a ship in the vast Pacific. "My first day it was like, jump in a speedboat, drive 20 minutes out in the rain, step on the freighter," Perrineau says with a laugh. "I was sick all day."

Nausea aside, the actor is relieved to once again be part of the Lost crew. His character, Michael, hadn't been seen or heard from since motoring off the island in the Others' boat with son Walt at the end of Season 2, leaving fans to wonder what the holy smoke monster had happened to them. "It was time to come back," Perrineau says. "Even if Michael was going to die, I [wanted] him to finish, as opposed to just disappearing."

When the character finally resurfaced, pushing a mop aboard the mystery freighter in the March 13 episode, he was very much alive — if very much pretending to be someone else. The March 20 episode finds Sayid (Naveen Andrews) demanding to know why his former comrade is posing as deckhand Kevin Johnson, a question answered by a series of darkly revelatory flashbacks that involve Michael at home in Manhattan post-island, the music of Mama Cass and a pivotal Friendly encounter. (Walt pops up only briefly, and four dead characters reappear.) Executive producer Carlton Cuse teases, "It's safe to say Michael's return to the outside world did not work out in any way he hoped or planned."

Perrineau's off-screen Lost journey has been nearly as dramatic. By the time Michael — desperate to get his son back from the Others — shot and killed Ana Lucia and Libby near the end of Season 2, Perrineau wasn't hiding his displeasure with the evolution of his character. "Michael's been such a decent guy," he told TV Guide at the time. "To suddenly be the executioner, I don't know how happy I am about that." Still, when he ultimately left, Perrineau says now, "I was a little bummed out. I'd put my heart and soul into the show."

From the start, Cuse and fellow exec producer Damon Lindelof insisted Michael would eventually return. "He was always coming back on the freighter," Lindelof says. "It was just a matter of [when] we were gonna reveal the freighter." The initial plan was the third-season finale, but Perrineau chose to sign on to the CBS pilot Demons instead.

Reports at the time blamed the lack of a Lost deal on Perrineau's outrageous salary demands, something the actor — who starred in the horror flick 28 Weeks Later and wrote and recorded a song called "Stay Strong" in support of the U.S. troops in Iraq last year — denies. "They were not throwing money at me," he says. Instead, he claims he didn't want to again uproot wife Brittany and daughter Aurora, 13, to Hawaii, where the ABC drama shoots. (Demons shot in L.A.) "I was actually making less money on Demons [than Lost]," Perrineau says. "I just needed some stability for my family."

When Demons didn't make CBS' fall '07 lineup, Perrineau was once again available and, this time, the Lost deal came together quickly. Regardless of what came before, "I'm really happy to be back," he says. "It's been like going home to family."

His immediate family, meanwhile, will stay in L.A. while Perrineau returns to Hawaii to shoot the rest of Season 4. His wife is pregnant with the couple's second child and due in less than two months. "We're gonna have a little girl," he says quietly, "and I'm looking forward to meeting her."

To make sure he doesn't miss the blessed event, he's got a plan: "When I have downtime from the show, [I'll] get on a plane. Fly back and forth to make sure the baby hasn't come. It's gonna be crazy."

But at least there won't be any boats.

Check out full episodes and clips of Lost in our Online Video Guide.For more features, news and inside scoop, check out the latest issue of TV Guide, with our exclusive story on the secrets of the American Idol top 12! Plus: A preview of Dancing with the Stars' new season. Try four risk-free issues of TV Guide now!

The boardroom's far from boring when Ivanka Trump hangs with her pops on The Celebrity Apprentice (Thursdays at 9 pm/ET, NBC). In fact, the Wharton Business School grad may be the "dumb blonde" joke's worst enemy.

TV Guide: OK, I am loving this season!Ivanka Trump: I think a lot of people are loving it, which has been a great relief to us all. It's been a lot of fun and I think we allowed a bit of breathing room. My father was very right — he'd been saying for a long time that it was too much. The shows were happening either concurrently, when it was Martha Stewart's and ours, or just back-to-back seasons. And I think the angle of the celebrity factor keeps it very exciting.

TV Guide: How nuts were those boardroom scenes with the celebrities fighting all the time? Trump: We don't have a lot of time to waste at the Trump Organization [Laughs]…. We have too many deals going on. So there are no retakes. It's about as "reality" as you can get.

TV Guide: When you saw the list of stars attached to the show, who were you most apprehensive about dealing with?Trump: "Apprehensive" I don't think would be the word for it. I didn't come into the process in that regard. It's very different for me on a personal level, because I have tremendous amounts of respect for these people and they've all accomplished something. It's not that they just have great potential as in past seasons; it's that they have actually accomplished great feats and have been industry-setters within their respective fields. So I wanted to be careful and respectful of that. I always remind myself that, being 25 years old. I never lost sight of that and was excited to meet everyone. Lennox Lewis, I mean, he's Lennox Lewis. I grew up at my father's casinos in Atlantic City watching all of the heavyweight bouts on his lap when I was six years old. So I have seen Lennox in the ring and now I have seen him in a different ring, which has been a lot of fun. I think Marilu Henner is the sweetest person on the planet…. She is really amazing.

TV Guide: I have never seen, even in past seasons, players get so nasty!Trump: Again, these are people who are extremely accomplished and they all bring different skills to the table. You have to be a winner to get where they are, be it in TV, music, et cetera. That said, you approach things from a different perspective and you've learned through a different context, so sometimes — just like in life — people don't get along or they have different ways of doing things. And I think most of the people on the show are used to doing it their own way. [Laughs]

TV Guide: For a child of fame, you sure have avoided scandal.Trump: See, now I'm jinxed! [Laughs] No, I don't pretend to be perfect or that I stay home every night. I have great friends, I love having fun… But I live for something bigger. I have no interest in dancing on a table at 2 in the morning on a Wednesday because I want to be in the office on Thursday.

TV Guide: How does a guy stand a chance asking you out? Aren't they afraid of meeting your dad?Trump: [Laughs] My dad is a pretty normal kind of guy, despite the obvious public persona. He's not unlike meeting the father of any other young girl, so I think there's always apprehension. Now it may be a little bit heightened for me. [Laughs]

TV Guide: What do you get the dad who has everything? Trump: Once you figure that out, please feel free to call me, because I have no idea. [Laughs] He doesn't want for much from life. He has everything he needs — he's not a gadget guy. He owns his own golf courses so he can raid the pro shop at his discretion. It's not easy.

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The Devil returned in pure-evil form last week when Reaper (Thursdays at 9pm/ET, CW) resumed after a too-long-for-us break. Tonight's episode is the second of this season's eight post-strike episodes, and things are just getting fired up. We'd sell our souls to get some Reaper scoop, and fortunately the show's Devil himself, actor Ray Wise, made us a deal we couldn't refuse. He chatted us up on his demon-catching minion's future, the legacy of Leland Palmer and Satan's burning… feelings. TVGuide.com: So how much of yourself do you bring to your character?Ray Wise: Oh, I think a great deal, like… his sense of style. I say this tongue-in-cheek, but I think it's true. The hair is pretty much my hair and the teeth are my teeth, and the way I wear a suit and tie, that's the way the Devil does it. I bring my own physical characteristics and sensibilities to that character, but there are a few other aspects to the Devil that are a little like mine, including his concern for others. He has a great concern for humankind and a great affection for them, it seems to me. TVGuide.com: Do either of your two children (now in their twenties) ever watch the show?Wise: Oh yeah, they watch it every week.

TVGuide.com: Are they creeped out?Wise: [Laughs] No, they know their dad. They've seen me play a lot of creepy people and a lot of good people. So it's not really that big a deal. I think they rather enjoy the idea that I play the Devil. TVGuide.com: In contrast, Reaper's Devil has a great sense of humor, which is pretty surprising for the most evil guy in the world.Wise: I think this Devil has the best sense of humor found in any Devil I've ever seen. I really loved Jack Nicholson in The Witches of Eastwick — he had a great sense of humor, if a little askew. My Devil's sense of humor is sort of right on. I think everybody would at least feel that most of the things my Devil finds funny really are funny. TVGuide.com: It seems to make him someone to fear more, since you can't read whether he's joking with you or if the joke's on you. Sam seems to get the brunt of that.Wise: Absolutely. He has to walk a thin line, that guy. The Devil keeps throwing him curveballs. Though he's the Devil, he's very adept at making you feel confident in yourself, secure in yourself.TVGuide.com: And then he'll take your soul.Wise: Exactly. TVGuide.com: In tonight's episode, Sam's confidence is at an all-time high, to the point where he tries to reject your help catching a demon. What gives?Wise: [Laughs] Yeah, isn't that what always happens? You give somebody a certain amount of knowledge and all of a sudden they think they know more than you. That always happens. But I think the Devil will be able to keep Sam in line, at least to a certain degree. TVGuide.com: Does the Devil consider Sam a friend? An employee?Wise: I think he considers him both those things. He finds in Sam a sympathetic soul, really. Maybe a soul mate in a way — someone he's simpatico with, somebody he can talk to. I think this Devil can be very lonely most of the time. And I think he enjoys Sam's company and being able to vent his feelings and his philosophy a little bit. He uses Sam as a kind of a student, so they have a mentor-student relationship or even a father-son relationship. TVGuide.com: You know, there are some conspiracy theorists out there who think that father-son thing between you guys could be true.Wise: Oh, you think that Sam might be The Son, huh? TVGuide.com: Some people think that, yes.Wise: I think that's a swell theory. And that's the beauty of our particular story. As many stories as you can think up, that's what it can be. I know these last episodes we're currently shooting step it up a notch as far as the storyline. The conflict between the Devil's world and the world of Sam is going to be greater. Literally, all Hell's gonna break loose. TVGuide.com: Is the Devil rooting for Sam to succeed?Wise: Absolutely. I think he wants that boy to become a real human being. He wants him to take charge of his life and start making those decisions that a responsible person has to make. And I think that he enjoys watching him struggle toward that end. TVGuide.com: That strike was a bummer, and Reaper still hasn't been renewed for a second season. Are you concerned?Wise: I know it's simply a matter of business and dollars and cents, and not because people don't like the show when they see it. And certainly critics have liked it and the CW likes it, too. It's just a business decision and I hope in the next few weeks more people will try watching the show. It's going to be tragic if we get yanked off the air. TVGuide.com: Journalists are always asking you about Twin Peaks. Do you ever get sick of talking about it? Wise: It doesn't bother me at all. It was such a wonderful experiment, and I'm just very proud to have been part of it. In fact, I did a few movies just before Reaper in Bulgaria and Romania, and a lot of people there still know me as Leland Palmer. So I realize the great impact that the show had all around the world, and I never get tired of that. TVGuide.com: It's really a classic. Wise: You know, it sure is great to have one of those on your résumé. It makes you feel like you did something good with your career. I'm feeling the same way about Reaper, too. If they put Leland and the Devil on my tombstone, that would probably be enough for me.

Check out full episodes and clips of Reaper in our Online Video Guide.For more features, news and inside scoop, check out the latest issue of TV Guide, with our exclusive story on the secrets of the American Idol top 12! Plus: A preview of Dancing with the Stars' new season. Try four risk-free issues of TV Guide now!

The Martha Stewart Show celebrated its 500th episode yesterday, so we rang up the domestic powerhouse to say happy anniversary — and steal a few tips for around the house.

TV Guide: After 500 shows, what have been your favorite bits?Martha Stewart: Let's see… stuffing a turkey with Russell Crowe. [Laughs] "Bring Your Bulldog Day" was fabulous. Oh, and "Martha Day," where we had only Marthas in the audience.

TV Guide: What one thing should every kitchen have?Stewart: A stove. [Laughs] It's hard to pick one thing. Kitchens are the most interesting room in a house and there are several things you have to have…. A salad spinner is very time-saving.

TV Guide: March 20 is the first day of spring. What's your spring-cleaning like?Stewart: It's washing windows, putting in screens… a thorough cleaning from the uppermost corner of a room, around the ceiling and then down. Bedding is put outside in the sun — I even take mattresses out if they need it.

TV Guide: Wow. Are friends ever afraid to have you over? Stewart: No! [Laughs] Although I don't get invited over much. That's not very good.

Watch clips of The Martha Stewart Show in our Online Video Guide.

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