Antiborium - a blog by Adam Morgan

New (Sort-of) Blog

2008-11-09T00:58:00.001-05:00

This is old news, but several months ago I migrated from Blogger over to Tumblr:

http://edentwo.tumblr.com

Goodbye, Conner...

2008-06-05T14:32:00.006-04:00

You were the greatest cat to ever lick my forehead.

Who will greet me by rubbing their scent glands all over my legs every day when I get home from work?

Who will stay up with me after my roommates go to bed at 9:30?

Who will sit beneath my chair on the balcony while I read every evening?

Who will sleep next to me and wake me up every hour by crawling around my head and whining?

Who will leave teeth-marks all over my hands and legs?

Who will jump on my kitchen counters and fall behind the refrigerator?
You are missed, Conner, sorely missed. Even though you were named after a B-List superhero. Even though you look like the Firefox logo when you sleep. Even though you didn't have generative glands. Even though you always tried to run out the door every time I left the house, and succeeded about 68% of the time, and then made me chase you around the North End of Greenville until you got so tired you had to stick your tongue out and pant like a dog.

There's an idea. A dog...

(Just to clarify, Conner has not died. He is living with his Grand-Humans for the summer while Joel is working.)

The Galaxy No Longer a Four-Armed Freak

2008-06-04T16:42:00.003-04:00

For years, models of the Milky Way Galaxy (that's ours) have had four "arms" spiraling out from its center.

Now, scientists claim the galaxy only has two, which is, you know, normal by human standards, unless you're a Vedic deity like Durga or Shiva. Further, the arm that our own solar system was thought to be near, the Sagittarius Arm, was one of the nixed arms, making our little niche in the universe even more remote than we thought.

Conclusions? We Earthlings are even more rural than we thought, galactically-speaking, and the Heavens are now more anthropomorphic than ever.

Coming Soon...

2008-06-03T16:58:00.002-04:00

...several posts on this season's Lost finale. I haven't had time to rewatch it...which is necessary.

In the meantime:

This Made Me Laugh

2008-05-23T15:51:00.002-04:00

A bit overwhelmed by planning a future in Chicago this week, but I'll be posting regularly again soon...

I read about this...

2008-05-15T14:53:00.001-04:00

...in National Geographic a few years ago, but this is the first footage I've ever seen.

Crows are considered one of the smartest animals in the world.

Lost tonight!

My Lost Dream

2008-05-14T11:03:00.004-04:00

I have two kinds of dreams. The first kind is completely abstract and random, like, say, the last 15 minutes of 2001: A Space Odyssey, or the musical numbers in Across the Universe. The second kind has a very clear narrative structure, and I can usually remember them very well. Two nights ago, I had the second kind of dream where I was on the Island.

Ever since Ben and I had the same surgery around the same time in Season 3, I've wondered if I have a creepy connection with the show. Strangely enough, this was not my first Lost-based dream; in the last few years, I've actually had several. This one was definitely the coolest though, because it felt like an actual episode. I wrote down everything I could remember the following morning, as I occasionally do after a cool dream. Here's what happened (I don't remember exact dialogue, so I've done my best to make it more readable):

Alex?The first thing I remember from the dream is running through the jungle and coming upon Alex Rousseau's body. At least, I thought it was just her body. As I sat down next to her to get a closer look, when she suddenly woke up. Obviously, I was surprised, having seen her shot in the head by Keamy a few episodes back. But now she was alive again, and quite panicked.

"Is it still here?" she asked, looking around frantically.

"Is what still here?" I said, confused.

She stopped looking around and met my eyes. She could tell I had no idea what she was talking about. The jungle was really quiet, and she seemed to calm down.

Until we heard a gunshot.

I grabbed Alex by the arm (I guess we're all heroes in our dreams) and we ran for cover as more gunshots rang out and nearby trees were hit. We hid behind a rock. I peeked over the top and saw three men in camo, some of those creepy guys from the Freighter, coming towards us with semi-automatic weapons.

Now, I'm sure you're familiar with the discontinuity of dreams, so it won't surprise you to find out that suddenly, I had a rifle strapped over my shoulder. One of those old lever-action Winchesters. So I checked the chamber (though I should have known that in dreams, no one ever runs out of ammo), and then cocked the lever and blew all three of the Freighter baddies away. I am not a violent man, and have only used rifles to shoot clay pigeons and targets, so do not take my trigger-happy nature in this dream too seriously.

Alex thanked me, and then guess who popped out of the trees behind us? Ben.

"Thank you for saving my daughter," he said.

"I thought she was dead," I said. "I saw it happen."

Ben gave me one of those creepy smiles like he does on the show.

"That wasn't Alex."

Ben's Plan"We don't have a lot of time," he said. He took Alex by the arm and started walking deeper into the jungle.

"Will you cover us from behind?" he asked me. But I know Ben all too well from watching the show.

"Why should I let you use me?" I asked.

Ben stopped and looked back at me. He was annoyed that I wouldn't just be a gullible pawn. "What do you want?" he asked.

"Sixty seconds where you have to tell me the truth," I said, or something similar.

"Deal," Ben said, and carried on.

"Dad, wait," Alex said. "Where are we going?"

"To the Muse."

The Muse
At that point I got pretty excited, assuming he meant some kind of mythological figure hidden somewhere in the mountains of the Island that would give Ben supernatural aid. It turned out he was talking about another Dharma Initiative Station.

Another discontinuity - my dream skipped ahead to our arrival at the Muse, and it was night. The place was obviously abandoned and covered with vines (the picture above is the closest-looking thing I could find online).

Ben led us up the stairs and opened the door. Once inside, I saw that the station was very different from any of the other Dharma installations on the show.

It was kind of like a dark, abandoned museum. I remember strange sculptures, stained-glass windows, and murals covering the walls. There were mannequins dressed in colorful suits of ancient armor. I happened to have a camera (of course), and so I started rampantly taking pictures of everything, especially the murals, because they seemed to tell some kind of story.

What I didn't notice was that Ben had stopped stone cold.

I turned around and saw John Locke pointing a gun at Ben's face.

"Is it true?" Locke asked.

"What are you talking about, John?" Ben asked back.

"All of this," Locke said, waving his arms around the room. "Is it all true?"

Ben made one of his faces, and then shots rang out. Not from Locke, but I assume from some Freighter people who'd followed us.

Locke ran one way, and we ran the other. Ben led Alex and I out of a side door and back out into the jungle. I fired some blind shots behind me, and we kept going deeper and deeper into the trees.

Sixty Seconds of Truth
Once we slowed down to a walk, without looking at me, Ben said, "Your sixty seconds start now."

"What was that place?"

"They wanted to understand the 'hostiles'," he said. "You can learn a lot about a civilization from its art."

"Who are the hostiles? Natives?"

"There are no natives to the Island. There never have been."

"Then who made that art? Who built the ruins I've seen?"

"People have been drawn here for millennia," he said cryptically.

"The Others?"

"We don't call ourselves Others." No kidding.

"What do you call yourselves?"

Ben paused for a moment. "The Elect."

"And what are you doing here?"

"We do whatever She needs us to do," Ben said, and he had a look of pride and dedication in his eyes. I'm capitalizing "She" because he said it as though it should have been capitalized.

"You have ten seconds left," he said, so I pulled out the big guns.

"What is the Island?"

Ben stopped. He turned and looked at me.

"The Island is the Earth."

And that's the last thing I remember.

Analysis
Maybe, in my dream, the Alex that Keamy shot was just a manifestation of the Smoke Monster that Ben used as a decoy to protect the real Alex. That's the only thing I can come up with.

I guess the Muse was a Dharma station dedicated to studying the Hostiles, and that Locke found something about them that he didn't want to hear.

As for Ben's answers to my questions...I have no idea what he meant. The "Elect"? I'm assuming that refers to the fact that all of the Others/Hostiles are chosen by the Island. "Whatever She needs us to do"? I got the feeling he was talking about the Island. Is the Island female? "The Island is the Earth"? The only thing I can come up with is the Gaia Hypothesis, where the entire Earth is considered a living being. Maybe the Island is the Earth's mind or soul. I don't know. Crazy dream. I only wish I could have rescued Claire instead of Alex. I mean, Alex is pretty, but she's no Claire. At least I didn't run into Kate or Sun.

Incorporeal Cabin Fever

2008-05-13T15:45:00.006-04:00

Preface
Wow. I doubt many Lost fans will disagree with me when I say that Cabin Fever was a great exemplar of the show as a whole, an amalgam of the various aspects of Lost that make it so great. Basically, that consists of three things:

1. Action and Adventure in the Island’s mysterious wilderness.

2. Revelations concerning the overarching mythology.

3. Further development of beloved characters

In my opinion, there have actually been four of these “exemplar” episodes in this season so far. Other than Cabin Fever, I would include Confirmed Dead, which introduced us to the Freighter Four with on-Island tension and pre-Island intrigue; The Constant, which unraveled the Island’s time-traveling capabilities, introduced a new environment for the show (the Kahana) and deepened the relationship between Desmond and Penny; and The Shape of Things to Come, which solidified Benjamin Linus as a globe-trotting ambiguous Hero and further developed the mythology of the Smoke Monster and the Island’s time-traveling powers.

After four great episodes, two of which have come in just the last three weeks, can the three-part finale top what we’ve already seen? I certainly hope so.

The Birth of a Hero

John Locke’s story is one of the most archetypal, and this episode gave us some of the early chapters we were missing, beginning with Locke’s birth. First of all, let’s note some eerie similarities between Baby Locke and Baby Ben. Both were born prematurely. Both were born to young women named Emily L (Locke and Linus). And finally, both births were witnessed by someone from the Island. In Ben’s case, it was Horace Goodspeed and his wife Olivia (who both figured into this week’s episode, nonetheless). In John’s case, it was my favorite Other, Richard Alpert.

Alpert’s appearance in the hospital was baffling. We knew he was near-immortal, but how did the man get off the Island in 1956, decades before the arrival of the Dharma Initiative and its technology? And how could Richard have known John was special five minutes out of the birth canal? I’m guessing that the answer lies in time travel, and that the Richard we saw at Locke’s birth was really from the future (though ostensibly still from our past, 2008-wise).

Still…what makes John special? Once he crashed on the Island, his chosen-ness became apparent when his paralyzed legs were healed by the Island. But before then, what would make him attractive to the Others? My guess is that present-day Richard Alpert, disillusioned with Ben’s leadership, traveled back to John’s past and tried to get him to the Island earlier, so as to install him as Island-Protector instead of Ben. Perhaps after meeting Locke last season, Richard realizes that he made a mistake in choosing Ben.

“Which of these objects already belong to you?”

This was my favorite scene. It parallels the way a new Dalai Lama is found when the previous Dalai dies. The Panchen Lama searches for a child born around the same time as the previous Dalai’s death, and presents the child with a variety of objects. Some of the objects belonged to the previous Dalai. If the child chooses the correct objects, it is a sign that he is actually a reincarnation of the previous Dalai.

This certainly appears to be the reason Richard is testing Locke. The question is who the previous leader was. Jacob? Interestingly, Toddler-Locke chooses two of the correct objects,a vial of some kind of mineral, perhaps sand or ash from the Island, and a compass. But he chooses a knife incorrectly. My guess? Toddler-Locke just wanted the knife because he liked it. He echoes this sentiment as a teenager, claiming not be interested in science, but instead in “manly things” like boxing and sports.

(For those interested, the other objects that Locke did not pick were an old comic book, a Book of Laws, and a baseball glove. My guess is that the knife, the glove, and the comic book were diversions that Richard brought, thinking that most kids would pick those to keep them. Locke was supposed to pick the Book of Laws (some weird cult book that the Others follow?), in fact he looks at it for a second, but then he picks the knife because he's drawn to it. Locke as an adult ends up being quite the knife expert, if you remember...)

So what are we as Lost fans supposed to gather from this scene? That Locke is a reincarnation of Jacob, or some other previous leader of the Others? The show certainly seems to be telling us that there is an Electromagnetic basis to human consciousness that survives physical death (more on that later). Whatever consciousness inhabits Locke’s mind, it appears to remember a certain smokey entity from one of its past lives…

“You need to go on a Walkabout”

(Doesn't Abbadon look like a velociraptor from Jurassic Park in that shot?)

In the break between Seasons 2 and 3, I came up with a theory that all of the passengers of 815 where subtly manipulated by outside forces into getting onto the plane so that they could be used on the Island. Thank you, Matthew Abbadon. It looks like Abbadon convinced John to go on his Walkabout, which put him in Sydney, which put him on 815. Could ALL of the characters have been manipulated this way? I always thought that Jack’s ex-wife Sarah looked like she was being blackmailed to leave him, for example.

My biggest question is what side is Abbadon on in this colossal chess match? When we saw him recruit Naomi and the Freighter Four, I assumed he was with Widmore. But why would Widmore want Locke on the Island? After all, Locke is apparently going to “move the Island” and hide it from Widmore (remember Ben’s statement in his flash-forward to Widmore? “You’ll never find it…”)

Perhaps Abbadon is part of a third party. Not the Others/Ben. Not Dharma/Widmore. Perhaps he represents a group of incredibly powerful people, some kind of “temporal stewards”, who are attempting to manipulate events in the present so as to create a certain outcome. Other members of this group? Mrs. Hawking, the old lady who told Desmond it was his “destiny” to leave Penny and go to the Island. Brother Campbell, who told Desmond his path lay elsewhere. Perhaps Ben and Widmore are both trying to change the future in their own way. They are tired of the universe being “course corrected” by these temporal stewards. They want a different outcome.

For some reason, when Ben warned Locke that destiny is a “fickle bitch,” it sounded very personal. As if he wasn’t talking about Fate, but about an actual woman. Like Mrs. Hawking…

“I died twelve years ago”

Well it turned out that Horace Goodspeed’s appearance was just an Island-induced dream sent to John in his sleep. I must admit, I was a little disappointed that the Mysterious Cabin was just a getaway house that Horace built for his wife Olivia. However, the writers have assured us that Horace and Olivia are a big part of Season 5 and the overall mythology. Still, I thought this cabin jumped around in space and time. Why would it be where the map said it was? And why didn’t Ben’s ring of ash keep it in place to begin with?

The weirdest part was the way that tree kept coming back up off the ground after Horace felled it. Did you notice that? Horace chopped it down, but then Locke looked up, and there it was again. Horace started over. Some kind of time loop was involved. My guess is that the Island used a real event in its own “memory,” one of Horace chopping down a tree decades ago, and dropped it into John’s sleeping consciousness, adding the part where Horace tells John to find him. Think like the Island for a second. You want to tell Locke that a map to the cabin is in Horace’s dead body’s shirt pocket. How would you do it?

“I can speak on his behalf”

This was the weirdest scene of the night. Maybe of the whole show. I just don’t know what to make of it. Christian Shepherd, as the producers have told us over and over again, is “one hundred percent dead.” His body crashed on the Island along with the plane, but when Jack found the coffin, it was empty. Does this mean that the Christian we saw in the Cabin is the body of the dead Christian inhabited by someone else’s consciousness? And what about Claire? She looked extremely creepy, as though she was privy to some kind of knowledge that we weren’t. She didn’t look like CLAIRE.

The only thing I can come up with (and I don’t even like it), is that perhaps the bodies of Christian Shepherd and Claire (who apparently died when Keamy’s RPG hit her house) have been reclaimed by disembodied consciousnesses on the Island. Perhaps by Horace and Olivia Goodspeed. Perhaps that’s all Jacob is…a disembodied consciousness that, like other people who die on the Island, survived physical death thanks to the Island’s crazy EM field.

I don’t like this explanation. It’s too supernatural. I don’t want my precious Lost Island to be riddled with ghosts, disembodied spirits, or reanimated corpses. It doesn’t fit the show. Hopefully something else is going on. Perhaps everything that Locke saw in the cabin was a manifestation of the Smoke Monster. I might like that better. All I know is that everything I thought I knew about the Island went poof during that scene in the cabin with Dead Jack-Daddy and Maybe-Dead Claire speaking to John “on behalf of” Jacob. I sincerely hope I don’t look back on that scene as the moment when Lost Jumped the Shark…

“He wants us to move the Island.”

My guess? Locke will use the Orchid Station to transport the entire Island through space, and perhaps time. What will that mean for the future of the show, though? Once the Oceanic 6 leave, will the rest of the survivors be transported to the North Pole circa 2910 B.C.? (The Dharma logo above has been seen twice. Once on Ben's stolen parka in Tunisia after he teleported there, and once on Keamy's file from Widmore regarding where Ben was likely to go in a last-ditch scenario. I'm guessing it's the logo for the Orchid, which we'll hopefully see soon.)

Stray Observations:

While Ben seems to be giving up his role as chosen one, I think he’s still manipulating the crap out of Locke.

I really, really hope Claire isn’t dead, and not just because she’s so darn cute.

I was disappointed that all of this anticipation over finding Jacob’s cabin ended in Jack’s dad “speaking on his behalf.” Just show us Jacob. Why wouldn’t Locke demand to see the Man himself? Why would he trust Christian Shepherd (a man he’s never met), and a strange version of Claire who looks like she’s on drugs? Me no sense make of ‘deece.

Why does Keamy have a heart monitor attached to a guitar tuner wrapped around his arm?

Tomorrow…

I retell the bizarre dream I had last night featuring the Island, Ben, Locke, Alex, a gunfight, a chase, and a new Dharma Station. I’m not kidding. At all.

Cabin Fever

2008-05-12T17:00:00.001-04:00

Because of a relatively busy Fri-Sun, I was not able to rewatch Cabin Fever. And there's no way I'm writing about it without seeing it at least one more time. What a great episode.

Tomorrow, I swear.

My Jewish Theory of Lost

2008-05-08T14:14:00.003-04:00

Disclaimer
This is probably all completely wrong, but it's a possible interpretation of the Island's original inhabitants, as well as Jacob and the Smoke Monster.

History LessonAncient Israel was attacked and destroyed a long, long time ago. The two tribes in the south, The Kingdom of Judah, where enslaved and became the Jews we read about in the Bible. The ten tribes in the north, the Kingdom of Israel, were exiled and scattered to the East. Today, they are known as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.

There are all kinds of crazy theories about where these tribes ended up, from South Africa to India to China. My theory is that they wound up on the Island.

Evidence
1. The father of the Twelve Tribes was named Jacob.

2. One of his twelve sons was named Benjamin.

3. Ancient Israelite high priests wore chestplates called ephods that held black and white diving stones called Urim and Thummim.

4. The center of Israel was a Temple where a room called the Holy of Holies (or Tabernacle) was considered to be the dwelling-place of God.

5. When sacrificed to, summoned for protection, or angered, the "presence of the Lord" was made physically manifest as something called the Shekhinah.

Exodus 40:35 "And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle."

6. The Old Testament God was a warrior deity...

...as well as a punitive one.Eko: "I ask for no forgiveness, Father, for I have not sinned. I have only done what I needed to do to survive." (Next scene, Smoke Monster kills Eko).

7. We've seen that the Others live by some kind of ethical code:

"Ben has commuted Juliet's sentence. Execution is off the table. He says the rules don't apply. He has, however, ordered her to be marked."
8. They've alluded to being a "chosen" group of people:

"What I meant to say is you are not capable of understanding. You are not on the list. The man who brought me here, who brought all my people here, he is a magnificent man..."9. And they've displayed some kind of culture of their own.
Am I way off? Probably. I don't imagine many people would be happy with the Smoke Monster being Yahweh, but that's not even what I'm suggesting. I'm just suggesting that the Ten Lost Tribes mistook a cloud of ferromagnetic particles embodied by the electromagnetic consciousness of the Island for a deity like El, Baal, or Yahweh.

Anyway, hopefully Charlotte will confirm or deny my theory when she sees this:
Also...

JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof, and Carlton Cuse are Jewish.

The Real Iron Man?

2008-05-06T12:27:00.002-04:00

Enter the Sarcos XOS Exoskeleton. Brainchild of Steve Jacobsen, reclusive Utah genius engineer. I saw this in Popular Science (yes, I occasionally read Popular Science, so shoot me) and got excited.

Sarcos' newest Powered Exoskeleton allows an average man to carry thousands of pounds and hike for days without feeling fatigued, to jump higher, and to be impervious to enemy fire. Like Iron Man's suit, the XOS acts as a human's "mechanical shadow," meaning that it reacts instantaneously to muscle movement and takes care of all the work for you.

Basically, it gives you super-speed, super-strength, super-endurance, and super-durability. Kinda like Iron Man. Only real.

Don't believe me? Here:

Something Nice-Looking Back Home

2008-05-05T14:31:00.008-04:00

Well, when I first saw the preview for Something Nice Back Home, the word FILLER popped into my head...

Unfortunately, last week's episode was mainly a transition piece, setting our characters in place for this season's three-hour (but two-week) finale. And as my roommate Joel so eloquently put it, "it's hard to care about Jack's health on the Island, when we know he's perfectly fine in the flash-forward." Well-said. And I would add, "it's hard to care about Kate and Jack's ill-fated romance, when we know they end up separated in a later flash-forward."

Other than that utter lack of suspense, this week's episode was full of red herrings, misdirection, and repetition, along with a few un-explain-ables. It wasn't terrible, like Ji-Yeon, but it was certainly a little frustrating.

"People don't get sick here. They get better."So Jack must have gotten sick for a reason, right? According to the writers, it's because he's lost "communion with the Island." I assume that they mean because he called the Freighter, which is obviously a threat to the Island. So now the Island is rupturing his appendix? To keep him from leaving? How smart is this Island? Not smart enough to realize that there is an experienced surgeon on the beach with him (Juliet)? Not smart enough to realize that there is a Medical Hatch full of supplies? Maybe the Island didn't think the survivors could work together well enough (and fast enough) to save Jack (they almost didn't).

"At least I'm not seeing things anymore..."
In my opinion, this trio of jungle adventurers was the most interesting part of the episode. For one, what "things" are Claire referring to having seen? Has she been having weird visions? And then why does Miles take such a keen interest in her and her baby? Some fans are theorizing that Claire actually died last week when Keamy fired an RPG at her house, but I don't (want to) believe that. Maybe Miles knows more about Aaron than we do...

And how 'bout when Miles heard those whispers! It was the first time we heard what he hears, and you know what? It wasn't ghosts. It was the past. That's right - he heard the last few minutes of Rousseau and Karl's lives. So maybe Miles isn't a ghostbuster after all. Maybe he can just hear the past. Maybe, like the precogs in Minority Report said, heinous acts like murder leave a violent mark on the fabric of space-time, and maybe Miles is good at finding those (like Naomi's death).

Also of interest: more Sawyer and Claire romance. How many times has he called her sweetheart this season? I love Sawyer. He's turned out to the unambiguous on-Island hero of Season 4. Claire's the only girl on the Island that'd I'd be interested in dating, (last season I would've included Juliet, but this season she seems to have more baggage than I thought, and she did have an affair with a married man...) so I'm pulling for this romance.

"If you have problems, you need to figure them out, because I can't have you like this around my son."
Oh, Kate. Beautiful, attention-starved, manipulative, two-faced Kate. For a few scenes, I thought she had actually redeemed herself in the flash-forward future, but then she went right back to the character I hate. Some fans were mad at Jack, labeling him "too paranoid" and "distrustful" of Kate. Okay, wait just a second:

1) Jack's last wife cheated on him.
2) Kate has proved herself to be untrustworthy and emotionally fickle over and over again.
3) He overheard her hiding something from him.
4) In the end, his suspicions were correct. She was hiding something from him, and she was doing it for the man she slept with on the Island, Jack's main rival for her affections.

What part of that is paranoid?

True, Jack never should have proposed to her if he can't trust her. But who can trust Kate? She's obviously still not ready for any kind of emotional commitment. If she did make a promise to Sawyer (probably to check up on his daughter), she should have just explained that to Jack, that she was doing it out of friendship, and out of care for Clementine. She shouldn't hide it from her husband all sneaky-like, and then lie about it several times.

Then, when Jack finally got the truth out of her, he asked, "Why didn't you just tell me?" Kate's response was the most revealing: "Because he wouldn't want me to." WOW. I don't blame Jack for getting upset after that. By saying that, Kate is admitting that she cares more about what Sawyer wants than about being honest with her husband. And I didn't see Jack's response as possessive. All he's saying is that he cared about her enough to get her off the Island and to love her and Aaron in the real world, whereas Sawyer apparently chose to stay behind (good for him).

Did Jack handle the event perfectly? No. But still. I couldn't believe it when Kate had the audacity to tell him to stay away from her son while he "figures out" his "problems." Honestly, Kate. You hid something from your husband about your last lover. Then you lied to him about it twice. Then you told him you did it because you cared more about Sawyer's wishes than about being honest with Jack. He gets upset, and then you blame him for having "problems"? Kate, you need to cut this whole histrionic/narcissistic/BPD stuff out...his only problem right now is you. Well, and his dead dad who keeps popping up...

"Dad?"Well, we all knew after that terribly-written scene in the Mental Hospital with Hurley ("We're all dead, dude") that Jack-Daddy would be paying Jack-Junior a visit. Was I the only one hoping they'd actually have a conversation for once? Was the smoke detector a hint that apparitions of Jack's dad are manifestations of the Smoke Monster? I think so. I'm not sure that the Smoke Monster "shapeshifts" though. I think that in addition to pulling memories out of your brain, as it did with Eko, it can also put things into your brain, in order to manipulate you. That could explain many of the visions both on and off the Island. As far as I can remember, each character that has had a vision has come into close contact with the Monster, but I could be wrong.

In the most bizarre part of the episode, Christian Shepherd showed up at Claire's side in the middle of the night, cradling Aaron. Why? And where did he take her? How did he convince her to leave Aaron behind?

I think that Aaron might be Jacob. Aaron is one of the few people to ever be born on the Island, which would give him some kind of special communion. Perhaps in the future, Aaron gets sent way back in time and grows up on the Island becomes the elusive/ancient/immortal/all-powerful Jacob. Why else is Aaron so important to the mythology of the story? Why is the Island insisting that he go back to Claire? What interest does Jack's Dad a.k.a. Smokey have in Aaron? Where did we last see Jack's Dad? Oh yeah...in Jacob's cabin. Perhaps, like the off-Island war between Ben and Widmore, there is an on-Island war between Jacob and Smokey. That might explain why Smokey wants Claire to abandon baby Jacob in the jungle...

Next WeekIt looks like a return to form. Will we finally learn more about Jacob? I really hope so. Will we learn where Claire has been lead to? My guess: Jacob's cabin. Will John Locke have a crazy secret for us in his past? Yes. Will we figure out what on earth Horace Goodspeed is doing in the jungle 12 years after his death? I hope so. Cabin Fever looks like another mythology-packed roller coaster ride in the mold of The Man Behind the Curtain and The Shape of Things to Come.

The most interesting lines from the preview?

"We've been waiting for you for a long time..."

Horace to Locke. Who's this "we"? The dead members of Dharma? Why've they been waiting on Locke? Can't wait to find out.

"There are consequences to being chosen..."

Ben to Locke. I think Ben is referencing his own consequences. When he was chosen, by Richard or Jacob or the Island or who knows what, to lead the Others, he had to carry out the Purge. Will Locke be asked to make a similar sacrifice? Will Jacob tell him to wipe out the Freighter, including the seemingly innocent Miles/Dan/Charlotte/Frank? I won't be surprised...

One last thing, to answer my question last Friday...
Kate: Dead Boyfriend she pretty much got killed
Sun: Jae Lee, who died because of her adultery
Sayid: Either Shannon or Nadia

Later this week: my Jewish Theory of Lost...

Another Delay

2008-05-02T16:12:00.002-04:00

After a very bizarre episode of Lost, I'm going to need a few days to think. I'll have my thoughts up on Monday...

Until then...ponder this:

Hurley has been "visited" by Charlie. Jack has been visited by his father. Will each of the Oceanic 6 (except for Aaron, of course), be visited by a dead person to convince them to go back to the Island?

Sun=?
Kate=?
Sayid=?

Who Is Iron Man?

2008-05-01T11:15:00.003-04:00

If you're a normal person, the only superheroes you've heard of are the staples: Superman, Batman, and Spider-man. Iron Man doesn't show up on your Pop-Culture Radar, except for possibly in reference to a Black Sabbath song. But if early reviews are to be trusted, Iron Man will be a household name after this summer. Here's everything you need to know to stay ahead of the curve:

The comic book world is split into two fictional universes: DC and Marvel, the two publishing powerhouses. After a slew of terrible movies based on their beloved characters (Daredevil, Hulk, and the Fantastic Four, for starters), Marvel decided to finance their own film company, Marvel Studios, and develop franchises in-house. This summer marks the arrival of Marvel Studios' first efforts: this Friday's Iron Man, and June's Edward Norton reboot, The Incredible Hulk.

Writer/Director/Actor Jon Favreau (Swingers, Elf) was chosen to direct Iron Man, and Robert Downey, Jr. was picked to star as Tony Stark. Tony Stark is not your average superhero.
Bio
Born on Long Island, Tony Stark enters MIT at the tender age of 15, where he establishes himself as an engineering genius. When his parents die in a car crash, he inherits the family business, Stark Industries. Tony quickly becomes a billionaire designing advanced weaponry for the American government. On assignment in the Middle East, Stark is injured and captured by the enemy. A piece of shrapnel in his chest threatens to stop his heart. His fellow prisoner, another designer, helps him build a device to keep his heart beating, and later a suit of powerful armor that Stark uses to escape.

Back at home in the U.S., Stark improves upon his armor, eventually becoming Iron Man. As a cover, Stark tells the press that Iron Man is his personal bodyguard and corporate mascot.

Powers
Aside from being an engineering genius, Stark's a normal human being beneath his armor. But then there's the armor. Other than the obvious super-strength, super-endurance, and super-durability that the suit bestows upon him, he can also fly. And shoot "repulsor rays" from his palms, along with a variety of other on-board weapons systems.

Other Characters
Virginia "Pepper" Potts - Stark's secretary and love interest (Gwyneth Paltrow).

Jim Rhodes - Stark's jet pilot best friend, who eventually becomes an armored hero himself, War Machine (Terrence Howard).

Obadiah Stane - Second-in-Command at Stark Enterprises, Stane is ruthless and power hungry. He steals Stark's armor designs and builds a suit of his own, becoming the Iron Monger (Jeff Bridges).

This movie is supposedly one of the greatest popcorn flicks of all time, according to critics, and will likely be the start of a new franchise (sequels). Eventually, Marvel hopes to gather all of their major characters together into an Avengers movie, once their individual movies do well. In addition to Iron Man and the Hulk, Marvel Studios already has Thor, Captain America, Ant-Man, and Nick Fury in the works...

Here's the Iron Man trailer, in case you haven't been assaulted by all the TV ads yet:

I Really Wish I Could Do This

2008-04-30T15:26:00.001-04:00

From the Willie Fuchs/Irfan Rhemtulla 2007 Tour...

Stupid, yet somehow funny...

2008-04-29T15:49:00.002-04:00

I think I only laugh at this because it reminds me of my friend, Irfan. One night in college, at a Jack-in-the-Box drive-thru, he was dared to annoy the people working there. Irfan said, quote, "One Large Vanilla shake, please. And if that shake were an elevator, I'd want it at full capacity," end quote.

The Shape of Things to Come

2008-04-28T14:11:00.002-04:00

Lost is back, and so is Antiborium. We both had a good excuse for our respective leaves of absence.

Last week's episode? Brilliant. In my opinion, The Shape of Things to Come surpassed The Constant as the best episode of the series thus far. It was a gamechanger. No answers, but a whole lot of new questions.

"Hi, Jack...I'm just washing my shoulders. Honestly."
Here's Kate doing what she does best, i.e. reconfirming herself as my least favorite character. How many times is Mrs. Self-Interest going to bounce between Jack and Sawyer? How long until they both figure out she's a manipulative little girl?

Dead Doc?I have problems with this development. So far this season, we've been led to believe that time off the Island is congruent with time on the Island. The only discrepancy has been when objects (Dan's rocket) or people (Frank, Sayid, Desmond) travel to or from the Island, during which time is "dilated" (it passes regularly for them, slower for us depending on their speed).

I'm hoping that Sayid slit Doctor Ray's throat open with a fingernail and then commandeered the communications room, and is lying to Dan about Ray's fate.

The Real Ben
I honestly hope Michael Emerson wins an Emmy for this episode. Performances aside, think about all that we learned about him in 4.09:

1. He can apparently teleport through time and space (more later).
2. He dresses like Jeff Probst.
3. He can speak both Urdu and Arabic.
4. He visits Tunisia often.
5. He's very comfortable with a variety of guns and telescopic batons.
6. He has a secret room inside of another secret room.
7. He has some means of summoning the Smoke.

I absolutely loved his flash-forwards in the Middle-East, and would religiously watch a spin-off called The Linus Identity or Bendiana Jones.

The biggest questions from those scenes are:

1. How did he get to the middle of the Sahara?
2. Why was he wearing a parka that belonged to Dr. Halliwax (a Marvin Candle alias)?
3. Why was there cold vapor coming off of his skin?
4. What logo was that on his parka?
5. Why was his arm injured?
6. Did he kill Nadia himself so that he could manipulate Sayid into working for him?

"Well if we aren't playing by the rules anymore..."
Apparently Ben can summon the Smoke from his secret room, behind a door covered in hieroglyphs that appear to come from two separate cultures. How? What's in that room? A bunch of volcanic ash that he dropped down through a Cerberus Vent? Did the Island take his "offering," embody it with electromagnetic energy, storm up through the underworld and wreak havoc on those who posed a threat to It?

Best Scene EverI won't even attempt to analyze this instant classic. I will simply list the questions I had afterwards:

1. Widmore: "I was wondering when you'd show up..."
Why was Widmore expecting Ben? Because of Alex's death?

2. Ben: "Iraq is lovely this time of year"
Why does Ben mention this? Is he letting Widmore know that he killed Bakir in Iraq?

3. Widmore: "Since the nightmares started..."
Why is Widmore having nightmares? For how long? Are they related to the nightmares that Walt's grandmother mentioned were plaguing that child?

4. Widmore:"Are you here to kill me?"...Ben: "We both know I can't do that."
Why can't Ben kill Widmore? Do they need each other alive? Is the Island keeping Widmore alive? Is he immortal and ageless like Richard Alpert?

5. Widmore: "Don't look at me with those horrible eyes of yours..."
Why do the writers keep mentioning Ben's eyes?

6. Widmore: "I know who you are, boy..."
Why does Widmore call him "boy"? Did he know Ben as a child? Is he hundreds of years older than Ben?

7. Widmore: "I know what you are..."
Who says that? Does he mean Ben's a murderer (the Purge), or that he's not quite human?

8. Widmore: "Everything you have, you took from me."
Is Widmore just talking about the Island, or more than that?

9. Ben: "You'll wish you hadn't changed the rules."
What rules? No killing family members? In what context? I refuse to believe that the show is about a game between two rich white men. I think he may have been referring to Fate.

10. Ben: "I'm going to kill your daughter."
I wonder if Ben will get Sayid to do it...that will make for a great scene somewhere down the line. Sayid was there for the phone call in The Constant.

11. Widmore: "You'll never find her."
Where is Penelope hidden in 2005? Isn't she trying to find the Island/Desmond?

12. Widmore: "That Island's mine, Ben. It always was. It will be again."
Was Widmore in charge of Dharma, or was the Island "his" even before then? Was he on the Black Rock?

13. Ben: "You'll never find it."
How has Ben hidden the Island from Widmore?

Big Question: What is the relationship between these two men? What history do they share? What do they each want with the Island? To protect it versus exploit it? I doubt it's that simple anymore...

Stray Observations:

Sawyer was definitely the Hero in this episode. Do I sense a budding romance with Claire? I hope so. Less men for Kate to manipulate.Charlotte is very attractive. I'm hoping the writers make her more likable pretty quick, before she turns into another Anna-Lucia. And do I sense some chemistry with my fellow-geek Dan?
Hurley is a terrible babysitter.

Complaints
Danielle better not actually be dead. And I'm mad that they took out Alex. Why do all the women on this show get shot just to act as a plot device for a male character? Shannon, Anna-Lucia, Libby, Ben's mother, Nadia, Alex, etc. I will be extremely upset if Juliet, Charlotte, or Claire goes out this way. Is there no room for heroines on Lost? Kate and Sun could bite it next week, though, and you wouldn't hear a word from me.

Next Week
Something Nice Back Home: What's this with Jack? Menstrual cramps? In the promo for next week, I'm pretty sure Juliet mentions his appendix, which has me worried that this subplot is a meaningless diversion. I'm hoping there's an Island-related reason for his illness. My mother made a good point, though, that we could be witnessing the genesis of Jack's painkiller addiction.

Lost Writers Speak

2008-04-18T14:48:00.002-04:00

A Must-Watch Video for Lost fans:

...the second caller is cute...

Lost Extended

2008-04-15T11:06:00.003-04:00

It's official - ABC has greenlit an extra hour of Lost this season, which means we'll get 14 of the originally-planned 16 hours of story. So, the rest of the season looks like this:

4.09 "The Shape of Things to Come" - 24th April, 10pm-11pm
4.10 "Something Nice Back Home" - 1st May, 10pm-11pm
4.11 "Cabin Fever" - 8th May, 10pm-11pm
4.12 "There's No Place Like Home" - 15th May, (Finale Part 1) 10pm-11pm
4.13 "Untitled" - 29th May, (Finale Part 2 and 3) 9pm-11pm

That's right, there will be a two week break between Episode 12 and the two-hour finale, thanks to the two-hour finale of Grey's Anatomy, for those who'd rather watch whiny doctors hook up and then whine about it, and then hook up with someone else to make them feel better, and then whine about that, and then...

Lost's Final Five (Or Six?)

2008-04-11T10:48:00.002-04:00

In less than two weeks, Lost is back with the remainder of Season 4. Whether that means five episodes or six is yet to be determined. Here's a look at what we do know (thanks to EW's Jeff Jensen, and various posts on DarkUFO and LostPedia). First, some overall observations, and then an episode-by-episode preview.

Overall, we'll learn the following:

How the Oceanic 6 leave the Island (not rescued by the Freighter?)
What happens to the survivors who stay behind on the Island
Why Sayid is working for Ben
Who's in the coffin
A new "game changer" at the end of the season (like last year's flash-forward)
We'll see "all three levels" of The Orchid Station
A "major and mysterious" storyline for Claire (finally, my girl gets some much-needed attention!)
Penelope Widmore, Charles Widmore, Richard Alpert, and Matthew Abaddon will appear

Episode 9 - The Shape of Things to Come (April 24th)
The flash-forward is focused on.....Ben........(highlight to reveal).
The Barracks are under attack.
The Smoke Monster will appear, and its mythology will be expanded.
Here's a brand new promo from ABC:

Episode 10 - Something Nice Back Home (May 1st)
The flash-forward is focused on.....Jack........(highlight to reveal).
Walt's Island visitations are "alluded to."

Episode 11 - Cabin Fever (May 8th)
The flashback is focuses on.....Locke......(highlight to reveal).
Richard Alpert will appear.

Episode 12 - There's No Place Like Home (May 15th)
No details yet.

Episode 13 - Untitled Season Finale (Unless a sixth hour is greenlit by ABC)

Extra Hour of Lost?

2008-04-10T14:19:00.003-04:00

Let's get this straight: originally, there were supposed to be 16 episodes of Lost this season. Before the WGA strike, only 8 were completed. Because the strike ended in February, ABC asked the production company to produce 5 additional episodes to begin airing in late May, making Season 4 a total of 13 episodes.

However, the news just hit that ABC is considering asking for another hour of Lost this season, meaning we'd get 14 of the originally-planned 16. Does that mean we'll be watching the season finale in June? How will it affect this season's narrative arc? I actually kind of liked the fact that the season was snipped short a few hours...it meant we'd be subjected to less filler. Here's hoping that extra hour won't be wasted...

Aren't Elizabeth Mitchel and Jorge Garcia adorable? In two extremely different ways?

Pixar/Disney Reveal Slate, Go 3-D

2008-04-09T15:00:00.012-04:00

Pixar is the only studio I can think of that hasn't made a single bad movie. I liked Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monster's Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, and Ratatouille.

You've probably already heard about Wall-E, Pixar's latest flick that hits theaters this July and looks like an instant classic, but Pixar just revealed their next five motion pictures. Plus, Disney's traditional Animation Studios (you know, the guys who made the classics like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King) just revealed their next four.

They all sound pretty interesting to this dork, and they will all be in Digital 3-D.

Pixar

Up (2009)
"Carl Fredricksen spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life. “Up” takes audiences on a thrilling journey where the unlikely pair encounter wild terrain, unexpected villains and jungle creatures. When seeking adventure next summer – look 'Up.' "

Toy Story 3 (2010)The long-awaited third installment of their beloved franchise. This time, Woody, Buzz and friends get dumped at a daycare center when their owner leaves for college.

Newt (2010)"Newt and Brooke live in a community college science lab and don't care for each other, yet as the last remaining blue-footed newts on the planet they are forced to mate to save the species."

The Bear and the Bow (2011)"In mythical Scotland, Merida wants to be an archer. Through her actions, she unwittingly sets in motion a chain of events that involves magic and an ancient curse that affect her father's kingdom."

Cars 2 (2012)Director John Lassetter says, "this time, we're going international." Cars was my least favorite Pixar film, so I'm not too pumped for this one...

Disney Animation Studios

Bolt (2008)"Bolt, a white German Shepherd who has lived all his life on the set of a TV show in which he portrays a superhero dog, thinks that his superpowers are real."

The Princess and the Frog (2009)
"A musical set in the greatest city of them all, New Orleans , “The Princess and the Frog” marks Disney’s return to the timeless art form of traditional animation. The film teams Ron Clements and John Musker, creators of “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin,” with Oscar®-winning composer Randy Newman to tell the most beautiful love story ever told…with frogs, voodoo, and a singing alligator."

Rapunzel (2010)"In this new telling of the classic fairy tale, “Rapunzel,” audiences will be transported to a stunning CG fantasy world complete with the iconic tower, an evil witch, a gallant hero and, of course, the mysterious girl with the long golden tresses. Expect adventure, heart, humor, and hair…lots of hair, when Rapunzel unleashes her locks in theaters for the 2010 holiday."

King of the Elves (2012)
Based on Phillip K. Dick's short story fantasy, King of the Elves is about a band of elves living in the modern-day Mississippi Delta who name a local man their king after he helps save them from an evil troll.

Man, I wish I worked for Disney...

Office Preview

2008-04-08T16:22:00.002-04:00

According to the cast, Thursday night's episode, Dinner Party, is one of the funniest ever.

The Attack of the Webisodes

2008-04-07T11:23:00.004-04:00

The Peacock just announced webisodes for four of its hit shows, promising to keep fans busy during this year's summer hiatus:

The Office
Chuck
30 Rock
Heroes

Hey, I actually care about three of those shows! The ones that don't rhyme with "gyros" and that actually have plots and characters and all that fancy, artsy-fartsy stuff.

I'm praying that ABC follows suit and gives Lost fans something to cling to during our tortuous wait between the Season 4 finale in May and the Season 5 premiere NEXT FEBRUARY.

Who said tennis isn't a contact sport?

2008-04-04T16:37:00.000-04:00

NBC Announces Office Spin-Off

2008-04-03T10:49:00.003-04:00

After ordering THIRTY episodes of The Office for next season, NBC has also greenlit a spin-off that will begin airing after the Superbowl next February. The showrunner for The Office, Greg Daniels, and his entire creative team will be behind the spin-off, which should calm some anxiety about the quality of another Office-related show.

How are they going to pull this off? What is the show going to be called? Will they steal cast members from the original? No official details yet, but here are my suggestions for names:

The Office: Miami
The Office: Special Victims Unit
The Office 2: The Search for More Money
The Office 2 The Streets
The OffIIce
Another Office

Jokes aside, my best idea would be a show called Corporate that followed the daily lives of wunderkind Ryan the ex-temp and his co-workers at the New York corporate offices of Dunder-Mifflin.

And don't forget the Office marathon tonight starting at 9PM on NBC. Geez, you'd think they're paying me to advertise...

Test Your Awareness

2008-04-02T14:16:00.000-04:00

Vincent Gets A Flashback

2008-04-01T11:35:00.005-04:00

That's right - the first post-hiatus episode of Lost, airing April 24th, has been officially confirmed by the writers as a Vincent-centric episode, featuring on-Island flashbacks of key events from the dog's perspective, as well as an intriguing discoveries Vincent may have made on his own treks through the jungle.

"He's a pretty large piece of the show's overall jigsaw puzzle," according to show-runner Carlton Cuse. "He gets a kind of fly-on-the-wall perspective of various events on the Island. What do people do when they think no one's watching except the dog?"

Cuse also says that a Vincent flashback has been a planned part of the show ever since JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof originally conceived the overall plot. "We wanted to give him a flashback last season, but ran out of episodes."

What kinds of things has Vincent witnessed on the Island? The writers are pretty tight-lipped but they do mention a "key event in Ben's life," as well as "more evidence of an ancient civilization" that Vincent may have stumbled across. They also promise Season 4's first appearance of the Smoke Monster. Yay, Smokey!

Pono, the dog who plays Vincent, admitted in an interview with TVGuide that his favorite scene during the filming process was when Vincent stumbles upon Kate and Juliet stripping out of their dirty clothes and washing the mud off of each other during the events of last season's Left Behind. According to Pono, "I kept barking to ruin the takes so that they'd have to keep filming the scene over and over."The writers also revealed that the flashbacks in the remaining episodes of season four after Vincent's would be centered on Ben's white rabbit, the polar bear that Locke sprayed with fire, Mikhail's cow Svetlana, with the season finale going to the chicken that Locke beheaded a few episodes back.

"That chicken knew exactly what the Island is," Cuse promises.

Check your calendar.

The Office Mini-Marathon

2008-03-31T14:10:00.002-04:00

This Thursday, starting at 9PM, John Krasinski (aka Jim) will host a mini Office marathon on NBC, where you can see the last four episodes of this season that aired before the WGA strike. In case you don't remember, those episodes were:

Local Ad - Michael creates his own commercial for Dunder-Mifflin, while Dwight explores the online world of Second Life.

Branch Wars - When Karen tries to steal Stanley at the Utica branch, Michael drags an unwitting Jim into a prank on his ex-lover.

Survivor Man - When Ryan doesn't invite him to a company wilderness retreat, Michael tries to survive on his own in the wild.

The Deposition - When Jan sues Dunder-Mifflin, Michael is called in as a witness.

The mini-marathon will include scenes from Krasinski's Leatherheads, which opens this Friday. New episodes of The Office begin airing next Thursday at a new 9PM time slot. The first three episodes are entitled Dinner Party, Parking, and Night Out.

Season 4 So Far

2008-03-28T15:00:00.015-04:00

Well, it's been a strange season for Lost. We've seen eight hours, and have five hours left. Here's my mini-review of each Season 4 episode, complete with grades. If I sound like a snob below, forgive me, but I'll be as honest as I can.

4.01 - The Beginning of the EndI was incredibly psyched for this long-awaited premiere. It had been nine months since our last episode, and every season's first episode has always been a mythologically-packed thrill ride (Pilot, Man of Science, Man of Faith, and A Tale of Two Cities).

Unfortunately, Season 4's premiere fell flat for me. I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Freighter Four, but only got a one-liner from Daniel at the end of the episode. Other than that, Kate followed a dying Naomi around the Island, and the survivors split into Team Locke and the Jack Pack.

Hurley's flash-forward was a little tedious and a little frustrating for me. Charlie's apparitions didn't seem to conform to the rules of the show. The one bright spot? The introduction of uber-creep Matthew Abbadon, whose calculating, cool aura was a joy to watch. I really hope he becomes a key player in the future.

Conclusion: The On-Island action was virtually non-existent and served solely to split up the survivors, while the Off-Island flash-forward was a little too goofy (like most of Hurleys') and confusing for me to enjoy.

Grade: C

4.02 - Confirmed DeadNow this episode should have been the premiere. All four of the Freighter newcomers have eye-opening flashbacks (memory problems, ghostbusting, airline conspiracy theories, and a polar bear in Tunisia...whew!).

On the Island, Dan and Miles' interaction with Jack, Kate, and Sayid is priceless ("I collect soil samples" is one of my favorite lines ever), while Charlotte's rendezvous with the rebellious Team Locke had me on the edge of my seat. The episode's tag, where Ben shoots a luckily-armored Charlotte and then reveals her entire biography was a classic Lost reveal/twist/cliffhanger.

Conclusion: Revealing flashbacks + Forward motion on the Island = Great Episode.

Grade: A

4.03 - The Economist
In easily the best flash-forward so far, Sayid has turned into Ben's personal Jason Bourne. How did he get manipulated into that? Good question for the latter half of the season. I didn't buy Sayid's flash-and-bang romance with the slightly anorexic German, but seeing Ben stitch him up in a vet's office made it all worthwhile.

On the Island, Dan's too-cool experiment hints at the Island's time-dilating properties, and Sayid finds Ben's hidden room full of passports, money, and a Men's Warehouse clearance sale.

Conclusion: Learning more about Ben is always a fun ride, especially when we find out he's an international man of mystery. Plus, Sayid's always a thrill, and it's about time someone started doing some geeky science experiments on this Island.

Grade: A-

4.04 - EggtownEvery time I hear an episode is centered on Kate, a little part of me dies inside. Okay, exaggerations aside, her episodes tend to be some of the weakest (as were Charlie's and often Hurley's). This episode's tedious courtroom flash-forward seemed to exist solely to set up the twist at the end, where we discover Kate's pseudo-adoption of Aaron. Unfortunately, most of us had already figured it out by that point.

On the Island, Kate uses a lot of people. That's pretty much all that happened. Honestly.

Conclusion: Kate's episodes are usually solely focused on her, which may be interesting to people who care about her character. Too bad I don't. She's an embodiment of two of my biggest pet peeves (selfishness and utilitarianism), and everyone else just kind of stood around on the Island for this episode.

Grade: C+

4.05 - The Constant
The best episode of Lost ever. Everything was good, from the time-traveling consciousnesses to the tear-jerking telephonic reunion. Desmond's episodes are always a roller-coaster ride.

Conclusion: Yes, I missed the good ole Island, but the brilliant script made up for it.

Grade: A+

4.06 - The Other WomanI was pumped for another Juliet flashback, because 1) I love her character and the actress who plays her is both sexy and intelligent, and 2) her previous flashbacks have both revealed new facets to the Island's overall mythos.

This episode, however, added nothing. Yeah, there was a new Dharma station, which usually turns me on, but this one was just a room full of chemical vats. The entire episode felt like filler to me, and the flashback...yikes...even worse. Goodwin, Tom, and Ethan's cameos were forced and pointless, while Harper the Shrink's dialogue made me cringe.

The one high point? The reveal of Ben's childlike possessiveness and how it manifested itself in Juliet's past.

Conclusion: Pointless flashbacks are aggravating when we've only got two short seasons left, and the Tempest/Poison Gas subplot felt very...subplotesque.

Grade: D

4.07 - Ji-Yeon
Quite possibly the worst episode ever. People who enjoy Sun and Jin seemed to like this one, but they've always been one-dimensional characters to me, and we didn't learn anything new about them here. Plus, Jin's flashback was utterly pointless, existing solely to trick us into thinking he was alive.

On the Island...well...nothing happened. Sun got ratted out by Juliet, I guess, but that's about it. Oh and Jin went fishing with Bernard.

Conclusion: If the characters are so one-dimensional and irrelevant that you have to put the rest of the story on pause, and try to liven up the flash-forward with a cheap trick, odds are those characters shouldn't have hour-long episodes devoted solely to them. Harsh, I know.

Grade: F

4.08 - Meet Kevin JohnsonDefinitely a rebound after episode 6's near-miss and episode 7's airball, Michael's long-awaited return and flashback certainly filled in most of the gaps in his story. My only problem is that those gaps weren't all that interesting. A little predictable, even.

The score and direction was spot-on however, and Harold Perrineau sure can act. I'm hoping that his return to the Island will have real repercussions when Lost returns in three weeks.

Conclusion: Michael was great, but his story was a little mediocre, and still left some frustrating gaps.

Grade: B+

To Sum It Up: So far this season, I've liked 4 out of the 8 episodes. I've noticed that the bad ones tend to focus on minor characters who don't contribute to the main plot, and that the good ones tend to focus on the Island.

That's why I'm worried about this season. To me, Lost is successful because of its real main character, the Island. This season has definitely shifted focus away from the Island and onto the Freighter and the world beyond it. Think about it, has anything really happened on the Island this year? Have we learned anything new or explored a new corner of it? No! Ever since the Freighter Four got there, they've all just kind of sat around. Team Locke is just wasting time playing house in the Barracks, while the Jack Pack plays cards and eats cereal on the beach. Why aren't they bugging Dan and Charlotte about getting rescued? Why is Locke just waiting around for something to happen? Looking back at this season in the future, how many of these eight episodes are going to turn out to have been pure filler?

I still think Lost is the best thing since sliced bread, I'm just worried about the direction it's going in this season. But I'm confident, or at least hopeful, that my worries will disappear in April and May.

Next Lost-post: the biggest questions I want answered in the final five hours of Season 4.

What's Behind the Swan?

2008-03-27T15:06:00.002-04:00

Remember in Season 2 of Lost, when Sayid and Jack noticed the strong electromagnetic force coming from a walled-off section of the Swan? They even tried to get underneath it to see what was back there. Sayid said he hadn't seen that much concrete poured since Chernobyl.

Well, thanks to the recent Lost video game, we can now see precisely what was behind that concrete. It appears to be the site of the "Incident" referred to in the Swan Orientation Film. It looks like a large reactor with two giant electromagnetic coils suspended over a deep excavation hole in the Island.

According to the writers, "DHARMA drilled the earth and hit an area with large contained electromagnetic buildup. They broke into the anomaly which allowed the field to leak out. The Swan was built over this area to act as a sort of cork."

Neat!

Animals

2008-03-26T16:22:00.005-04:00

I'm currently reading When Elephants Weep, which is instilling within me a newfound respect for animals. Check out this parrot, Alex. He's so smart, it's scary...

Meet Kevin Johnson

2008-03-24T15:49:00.013-04:00

"Meet Kevin Johnson" was certainly a strange outing in the Lost narrative. It was at times engaging, at others predictable and disappointing. It felt like an episode of a different show. A spin-off, perhaps.

But in the hour of television that we watched, how much actually happened in the story?

1) Sayid tattled on Michael
2) Rousseau and Karl were shot

That's it. The rest was a predictable flashback. How many of us Lost-lovers, when we learned that Michael was Ben's spy, didn't think that Ben figured out a way to manipulate him into getting on the boat? Michael's "revelatory" flashback felt like a chore to me.

Tada...You're in ManhattanUm...maybe I missed something. Didn't we last see Michael and Walt on a tiny outrigger, puttering away from the Island at 3.4 miles per hour? And yet, the flashback opens with Michael in a Manhattan apartment. Dis-a-ppoint-ing. Did he drive that dingy through the Island's electromagnetic bubble all the way from the South Pacific to the Eastern Seaboard of the United States? I was very frustrated that this key piece of information was withheld.

At least we found out that the passage of time was, in fact, congruent. Michael was on the Island for about two months, which is how long Big Momma said he was missing.

Remember Me?Libby popped up twice. Once in the hospital, and once on the freighter just before Mike hit "execute." Looks like the Island, or perhaps the Black Smoke, gets into your mind and then uses your memories to manipulate you...

Are we to assume that the Island somehow infiltrates the consciousness of those who walk Its wilds, and can later use Its unqualified powers within their consciousness to influence their behavior? Was that a poorly-worded sentence?

With the appearance of Libby in this episode, along with Charlie's cameo in Hurley's post-Island life, it looks like the Island's bizarre powers of manifestation are not limited to its boundaries. It appears as though the Island understands the psyche of Its inhabitants very well, and can use that knowledge to Its advantage. If It wants Hurley to come back and do It a favor, for example, It just projects Hurley's memory of Charlie into Hurley's perception of reality, and tells him "You have to go back. They NEED you." Apparently, the Island tried the same trick with Michael, attempting to stop him from setting off the bomb. But the bomb was fake! Is the Island really that dumb? I found these Libby apparitions frustrating and discontinuous.

Mr. Friendly...Very FriendlyAlso appearing in this episode was Tom, dead to us, but still alive in the timeline of the flashback. I thought his performance in this episode was a little forced, but I'm going to blame the over-expositionary dialogue instead of the actor. At least we learned the following things from him:

1) The Others are very well-funded in the Real World.
2) Some Others can come and go from the Island as they please.
3) Tom is definitely gay, explaining his "not my type" comment to Kate in season three (although Kate is nowhere near my type, either). I'm personally glad that another beloved character in fiction, like Albus Dumbledore, has come out of the closet, so that people will stop being so afraid of what they don't understand...

The Island Won't Let You
Does anyone buy this? Or do you, like me, think that Tom switched guns on Mike and gave him one without a firing pin?

One of the key themes of Lost is the dichotomy between Fate and Free Will. Do these characters have Free Will, or are there supernatural forces (Jacob, the Island, the Universe) that govern their fates?

I think that Ben uses "Fate" as an excuse. When he or his minions speak of the Island "not letting" you do something, he's really just manipulating you into thinking that you have no choice. Another character we've seen do this? Mrs. Hawking. She told Desmond his fate was to leave Penny and crash on the Island. But do we really believe that? Or was she manipulating him into making the same decision twice by telling him he had no choice?

"Ive got a bad feeling about this..."
What an unceremonious way to go, Karl (and to blatantly allude to Star Wars). However, I'm 99.9% sure that Rousseau isn't dead. She's one of my favorite characters, and still has plenty of story to tell. If Locke can get shot in the gut and be fine the next day, so can my girl Danielle.

The big question surrounding this mini-cliffhanger is, Who shot them? Are choices are twofold, I believe:

1) Ben set them up. He somehow communicated to his Other Brothers at the Temple that they should snipe Karl and Danielle so that he could have Alex all to himself. This fits into Ben's possessive streak but I don't buy it. The only reason he disliked Karl was that he was afraid Karl would knock up Alex. And that, my friends, has already happened. Remember that shot of Karl and Alex looking at Baby Aaron? Noticed how often Alex has been rubbing her tummy lately?

2) Ben really wanted them safe, but the trigger-happy tattooed militia from the freighter shot them. Remember last week, when Keamy (Mr. Tattoo) told Frank Lapidus to fire up the chopper to "run an errand"? Where else is there to go in the middle of the Pacific other than the Island? And why, 15 minutes earlier, did we get a foreshadowing glimpse of Keamy and Company shooting clay pigeons for fun?

"He's a traitor..."
I don't for one second believe that Sayid would do this. I'm a little angry at the writers for betraying his character. Sayid has always been smarter than this. Why would he be so stupid all of a sudden? Because it makes for a good cliffhanger?

However, after seeing Captain Gault's face when his saboteur is revealed, I think that Gault knew about Michael. How could he not? How could Widmore spend all this money on a crucial top-secret mission just hire a random deckhand without a background check? And how could Gault or Naomi just deliver a gigantic, mysterious steel box to his berth without taking a look inside? Maybe Gault is working for Ben as well.

Stray Observations

Tom has had some kind of martial arts training.

The Others must have a fairly large, well-organized, well-funded presence in the Real World.

Kurt Vonnegut was the answer to the question on the game show Michael was watching.

I wonder what Walt's nightmares are about...Room 23?

The password for the bomb was 71776 (July 1776).

Ben claims to abhor the loss of innocent life, yet was responsible for the Island's genocidal Purge.

Locke promises to keep no more secrets from his rebel group, and yet the only members of his camp present at the meeting were the series regulars (no redshirts, and we know from the season premiere that a few redshirts went with Locke).

April 24th
That's right: thanks to the writers' strike, we've got a month-long wait for new episodes of Lost. Five new hours before the season wraps, to be precise.

Episode 4.09, "The Shape of Things to Come," certainly looks exciting in the promos. My next post will take a look at Season 4 so far, and speculate on the biggest questions that need to be answered when Lost returns for a pitiful 5 weeks before disappearing again until next February...

In the meantime, check out this Lost-based short film that was emailed to me by a reader of the blog (rated PG-13 for language and suggestive content by...me).

I Hate Charter Communications

2008-03-21T11:18:00.002-04:00

So, usually at this point on Fridays, I'd post my thoughts on Lost, but last night at approximately 8:03PM, the sound on ABC was replaced by the sound from channel 5. So instead of hearing Michael, we heard Pauly Shore. Yeah...

I'll be watching Meet Kevin Johnson later today online, and my post will come sometime thereafter...

A Test...

2008-03-20T15:16:00.003-04:00

Watch these babies without laughing:

The Office Returns!

2008-03-19T14:55:00.003-04:00

New footage and pics:

The first post-strike episode, "Dinner Party," premieres April 10th. Any excuse to see Jenna Fischer's pretty smile works for me!

How Lost Happens

2008-03-18T12:47:00.015-04:00

Ever wonder how the best show in the history of television gets made? It's a slow news week, and I'm stoked for this week's Michael-centric episode, so here's a peek at how an episode of Lost comes to life in three general phases:

1. Pre-Production
There are 8 writers currently working for Lost out of Los Angeles. First, they all get together in a big room and "break" an episode as a group (the main plot is outlined). Then just two writers are chosen to take this outline and write a first draft together. Another group meeting takes place, where all the writers chime in on what works and what doesn't in the first draft. The two writers responsible for that episode then do a rewrite, and then finally the show-runner takes the script and does a final polish on the episode. Here are the 8 writers on Lost:

Carlton Cuse - Showrunner, Executive Producer, and Writer
Carlton is the top of the food chain. As the showrunner, he's responsible for preproduction tasks like script assignments and character arcs, as well as production concerns like budgets. Carlton got famous as a creator/producer of Nash Bridges. On Lost, he's also the voice you hear at the beginning of each episode ("Previously, on Lost..."), as well as the voice of Jacob ("Help...me...").

Damon Lindelof - Co-Creator, Executive Producer, and Head WriterDamon was one of the original minds behind the show, along with J. J. Abrams. When J. J. left to make movies, he put the creative reigns in Damon's hands. Most of the series' key episodes were written by him and Carlton Cuse (including all of the season premieres and finales). Damon graduated from NYU, is an avid Star Wars fan, and used to work on Crossing Jordan. In the Season Three finale, he was the voice of the captain on Jack's flight.

Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis - Supervising Producers and Writers
This dynamic duo has been writing together for over 12 years, and have been writing for Lost since Season 1. This season, they collaborated on The Economist.

Brian K. Vaughan - Executive Story Editor and WriterVaughan's role as Story Editor is to help out the two writers assigned to each episode, giving them feedback and advice while they work on their first and final drafts. He comes to Lost from the world of comics, having written for both DC and Marvel, most notably creating and writing the Y: The Last Man series, soon to be a feature film.

Drew Goddard - Staff Writer
Drew used to write for Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Alias. More recently, he wrote the screenplay for Cloverfield. On Lost, he's responsible for some of the very best episodes, like Desmond's Flashes Before Your Eyes and Ben's The Man Behind the Curtain.

Christina M. Kim - Staff Writer and Story EditorLost is Christina's first job as a writer for television. Can you believe that?! I'd like a position, please, if you're just giving them away to newbs!

Elizabeth Sarnoff - Staff Writer and Supervising Producer
Sarnoff usually writes in tandem with Christina M. Kim. How sexually segregated!

2. Production
Once an episode's script is finalized, it goes to the desk of Script Coordinator Gregg Nations, who checks it for copyright violations and continuity errors, marks it up for the production team, and sends it across the Pacific to Hawaii.

Once the script gets to Hawaii, it's up to on-site Production Manager Pat Churchill and Producer Jean Higgins to get the production crews rolling. Pre-scouted locations and sets are prepped and dressed. Grips rig up the lights, gaffers run the wires, and Propmaster Rob Kyker creates anything the actors need to use.

And while over a dozen individual directors have helmed episodes of Lost, an overwhelming majority of them have been filmed by one of two men:

Jack Bender - In-House Director and Executive Producer
Walkabout; Exodus Part 1; Exodus Part 2; Orientation; Live Together, Die Alone; A Tale of Two Cities; Through the Looking Glass; The Constant, to name a few.

Stephen Williams - In-House Director and Co-Executive ProducerAdrift; Lockdown; Not In Portland; Enter 77; Confirmed Dead, to name a few.

And to help these directors, be they "in-house" like Bender and Williams, or guest directors like Eric Laneuville, is First Assistant Director Richard "Schro" Schroer, otherwise known as the skinny guy in the loud shirt:3. Post-Production
Once an episode is filmed in Hawaii (even flashbacks set in places like Iraq, Africa, or London), the film reels are shipped back over the Pacific to Los Angeles, where the "dailies" (raw footage) are delivered to 1)The Executive Producers to review, and 2)the editor assigned to the episode. The majority of Lost episodes are edited by Stephen Semel, who also appeared in a cameo in Juliet's book club as "Adam".

Once the raw footage is cut, it goes to composer Michael Giacchino for scoring, Foley Artists for sound effects, and a sound studio for ADR.

That's a Wrap!
After seeing all of the steps each episode goes through, you can see why Lost has to take a month-long break after this week. The writers and the production team completely stopped working for three months due to the strike, so now they're way behind. At least we get 5 brand-new hours of Lost come April 24th. Lindelof and Cuse just revealed that they've finished the script for episode 9, but are still working on episodes 10 and 11. Talk about cutting it close!

This week's episode, Meet Kevin Johnson, was directed by Stephen Williams and co-written by Brian K. Vaughan and Elizabeth Sarnoff. Isn't it nice to be able to put faces with those names now?

Finally, in retroactive celebration of St. Patrick's Day, I give you the best rendition of "Danny Boy" I've ever heard:

1st Round Upsets That Could Ruin Your Bracket

2008-03-17T15:22:00.004-04:00

Unless you live in a cave, or don't care about college basketball (I'm not sure which is more improbable), you've already printed out your 2008 NCAA College Basketball Tournament brackets. You'll probably spend several hours pouring over it today, changing your fickle mind over and over again (though Malcolm Gladwell says your gut instinct is your best bet).

Here's a look at the games that could ruin your chances at winning whatever pool(s) you've entered. To save yourself mental anguish, you may want to wait until you've already sent in your finished bracket.

Clemson (5) vs. Villanova (12)
Sure, the Tigers showed up to the ACC Tournament, got to the final for the first time since 1962, and hung in there with North Carolina until the end. But Villanova's won more big-time games, including victories over Temple, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, and UConn. I picked Clemson after watching them scrap their way through the ACC Tourney, but won't be surprised if 'Nova pulls this one off.

USC (6) vs. Kansas State (11)
With nearly identical regular season records, I could see either team moving on. USC definitely has the advantage, fishing 4th in the jam-packed PAC-10, but KSU finished third in their conference and pulled one out over Kansas. I'm a big PAC-10 fan, so my money's still on Bob Zemeckis' alma mater.

Gonzaga (7) vs. Davidson (10)
The Ex-Cinderella and the New Cinderella. Davidson only lost to UNC by 4, Duke by 5, and NC State by 1. That was December 21st. Since then, they haven't lost a single game. Granted, they're in the dismal Southern Conference (with 7-23 Furman), but you've got to be impressed with those Out-of-Conference performances. Did I mention that the Gonzaga game is in Raleigh, NC? Home. Field. Advantage. I've got Davidson in my Elite Eight, over Gonzaga, Georgetown, and Wisconsin. Go ahead, laugh. I always pick one team like this every year, and someday I'm going to strike gold, via George Mason's impossible run to the Final Four.

Michigan State (5) vs. Temple (12)
Michigan State can win, but it can also lose...like when they only scored 36 points against Iowa (who?). Temple's no Cinderella, but they did beat Xavier and Marquette earlier this year. I love the city of Philadelphia, and haven't been too impressed with Michigan State this year...this is my 5/12 upset (every bracket should have one, statistically).

Purdue (6) vs. Baylor (11)
Possible. Baylor's got to be extremely excited to be in the Big Dance for the first time ever, and they did beat Kansas State. But Purdue finished 2nd in the Big Ten, which is never a small feat.

Xavier (3) vs. Georgia (14)
I really don't think this will happen, but Georgia "shocked the world baby" with 3 wins in under 72 hours this weekend. That and their conference is a lot tougher to win in than Xavier's relatively puny Atlantic-10. Improbable, but possible given UGA's momentum.

Washington State (4) vs. Winthrop (13)
WSU's only big win this year was to Gonzaga, who wasn't as good as usual to begin with. Winthrop beat Miami earlier this year, who like Gonzaga, is a seven seed in the tournament.

As for the later rounds...

UNC - As much as I love them, I could see them getting upset by Indiana (2nd round), Notre Dame (3rd), or Tennessee (4th), even in Raleigh and Charlotte.

Tennessee - My second favorite NCAA team, but after their performance in the SEC Tournament, I'm worried about Butler (2nd Round) and Louisville (3rd).

Clemson - As per my thoughts above, I think they're capable of upsetting Vanderbilt in the 2nd Round, and possibly even Kansas in the 3rd.

Pittsburgh - Probably the hottest team in the country right now. I've got them upsetting Memphis in the 3rd Round (that is, if Memphis doesn't get upset in the 2nd by Oregon, another hot team).

Xavier - I've got them over Duke. It just feels right. And speaking of Xavier, shouldn't their mascot be the X-Men? I would've gone to school there for that reason alone.

Ji-Yawn

2008-03-14T11:17:00.009-04:00

Warning: I'm going to complain for a paragraph; skip it if you enjoyed the episode last night.

I love Lost, but "Ji-Yeon" was banausic. The problem, in my opinion, is that Sun and Jin have never been key players in the overall chess match of Lost. So every time they get a flashback (or flashforward) the Lost narrative is put on pause for their subplot. They do not contribute to the story. Nothing happens as a result of their actions. They aren't even developed as characters. Did Jin grow from his experience in this episode? Did Sun? Nope. She's still a manipulative liar, and he's still letting her boss him around out of guilt over his previous callousness. Been there, done that, in my opinion. Why waste the audience's time with an episode devoted to them if the characters aren't going to grow or change? If we don't learn anything new about them? If they don't actually do anything to affect the Lost storyline? The writers have done a good job incorporating other minor players, like Charlie and Hurley, into the overall story, but Sun and Jin have always been, and remain, an unnecessary subplot. My biggest beef with last night was Jin's flashback with the Panda. There was absolutely zero story value to those scenes. They existed solely to trick us into thinking he was alive in the flashforward.

Okay, rant over.

The Island of the Day Before
The Island of the Day Before is a great novel by Umberto Eco, about a man marooned on a ship just across the International Date Line from an island. The man goes crazy. Doesn't this remind you of Lost's freighter, the Kahana, which appears to be a day behind Island time (thanks to dilation), and where all of the shipmates are going nuts?

Kahana KarazyLuckily, the Freighter portion of "Ji-Yeon" did have some forward narrative motion. Regina, who was so dazed she was reading a book upside-down, killed herself. I like Jeff Jensen's theory, that she was Naomi's lover (R.G.) and killed herself out of grief. But according to the devilish Captain Gault, all of his crew is "experiencing some kind of heightened cabin fever," which he believes is due to their proximity to the Island. Creepy. Not to mention, whose blood-stain was that in the roach room?

Captain Straight-TalkSo first we get a note from Michael, "Don't trust the Captain." And then the Captain, in an unprecedented move for a character on Lost, straight-up spills the beans to Sayid and Desmond for no reason. According to him, Widmore discovered the 815 wreckage, and believes that Ben is responsible for the fake crash remains.

I say, bologne. This guy wouldn't offer answers like that, unless it was a story he, thus Widmore, wanted believed. I'm betting that Widmore staged the fake crash, to keep other people from looking for it, so that no one else would stumble upon his coveted Island. Though I would like to hear what the Black Box has to say.

Oceanic 6
According to Jin's tombstone, he died on September 22, 2004. The day of the crash. That makes Aaron the fifth member of the Oceanic 6, and Sun the sixth. I was wrong about Jin.

After some blatant trickery by the writers, where Sun has a flashforward and Jin has a flashback, we learned that Jin is not with Sun in the future, and that he is believed dead by the media. The question is, did he really die, or is he "dead" in the sense that all of the 815 survivors are "dead" according to the Oceanic 6 cover story. My guess is that he's still alive on the Island. That gives Sun an impetus to return to the Island, now that her baby is successfully born, in Season 5. If you think about it, each of the Oceanic 6 has a reason to go back:

Jack=Juliet/Survivor Guilt
Kate=Sawyer
Hurley=Ghost of Charlie told him to
Sayid=Duty to protect and save his "friends" that Ben alluded to in "The Economist"
Sun=Jin
Aaron=Claire (though this is more a reason why Kate should want to return)

My Roommate's Clever Theory
Nicolas Kline has a theory that makes Jin's completely unnecessary flashback more interesting. Playing off my theory that the vector you use to leave the Island takes you to a different point in both space and time, Nick suggested that Jin may have traveled back in time, whereas Sun traveled forward. That would, of course, mean that there would now be two Jins running around in the real world. The present-day Jin of 2000, and the 2004-version of Jin that came back from the Island. But maybe, just maybe, 2004-Jin killed 2000-Jin! Whew! The paradoxes of time travel!

Next Week
The Return of Michael, the rechristened Kevin Johnson. The flashbacks are all about him. We learn how he went from Island Escapee to Freighter Janitor/Saboteur in about 30 days (in the show's time). My theory? The vector Ben gave Michael and Walt sent them back in time to before 2004, giving Michael plenty of time to start a new life and get coerced by Ben into getting on the freighter, and giving Walt plenty of time to grow to the stature we saw him in the Season 3 finale.

"Meet Kevin Johnson" was co-written by Elizabeth Sarnoff and Brian K. Vaughan, directed by Stephen Williams, and will be the last new Lost before the month-long break. Lost will then return on April 24th at 10PM (to make room for new Grey's episodes. Ick.), for five more episodes, the fifth of which is actually a two-hour finale that will be stretched into two weeks (once again thanks to Grey's).

Closing Tidbits: The admitting nurse in Sun's flashforward was played by one of Lost's eight staff writers, Christina Kim (she wrote last week's ep with Drew Goddard)......and Sun was watching a Korean-dubbed episode of Nikki's Expose:

Potter, Lost, Hulk, etc.

2008-03-13T11:16:00.004-04:00

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Warner Brothers officially confirmed yesterday that the final installment of the Potter septilogy will be split into two films, released six months apart (a la The Matrix 2 and 3).

They also declared David Yates as the director of both films (he's responsible for last year's Phoenix and this year's Half-Blood Prince). While I really liked Yates' take on the 5th book, I'm a little disappointed that the last four Potter films will all be shot by the same guy (Alfonso Cuaron and Mike Newell both did a great job with 3 and 4).

2. Hulk Trailer Hits the WebAnd it actually looks pretty good. Leave it to Ed Norton to bring an unmarketable character back to life. Ang Lee's 2003 take on the jolly green giant was absolutely terrible. Watch the new trailer over here.

3. Lost FinaleWant another reason to hate Grey's Anatomy? Here's one: because of the two-hour Grey's season finale, the two-hour Lost season finale will be split into two weeks. What a travesty. Apparently ABC thinks viewers would rather watch pouty children sleep with each other and then complain about it afterwards, instead of the greatest show in the history of television (sadly, ABC is probably right).

Episode 4.07, Ji Yeon, airs tonight. We find out the remaining Oceanic 6 and learn who Ben's man on the boat is. Unfortunately, at this point, most fans have already figured those answers out through deductive reasoning. However, EW's Jeff Jensen promises that once Ben's spy is revealed, there's still ten minutes of show left.

Wall-E Will Wow

2008-03-12T12:11:00.002-04:00

You've no doubt heard about Pixar's next film, and probably seen some teasers, but after watching the brand-new full trailer below, I'm convinced that this will be one of the biggest movies of the year. It looks hilarious, touching, and brilliant. And all of that with little-to-no dialogue. Will Pixar ever make a bad movie? I thought Cars was a step down, but other than that, they've got a pretty spotless record with Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille. Watch the trailer below and prepare to giggle.

Wall-E hits theatres July 27. Next year, Pixar will wow us again with Up, and in 2010 with Toy Story 3.

How to Win an Oscar

2008-03-11T15:17:00.007-04:00

Disclaimer - I have not seen Michael Clayton yet, and thus did not use it for the following criteria.

Step 1: Don't write an original story.
Atonement, Into the Wild, There Will Be Blood, and No Country For Old Men were all adapted from books.

Step 2: Set your story in the past.
Juno and Michael Clayton were the only nominees set in the present.

Step 3: Make the majority of your main characters completely unlikeable.
Blood's Daniel Plainview was a sociopath. No Country's murderous Chigurh was chasing after an incompetent redneck. Atonement's stars were snotty and self-absorbed. Into the Wild's "hero" was a self-righteous child. Juno is probably the most annoying adolescent in history ("Honest to blog?" Really?)

Step 4: Hire a very lenient editor.
All of the nominees were around the 150-minute mark. Do these movies really need to be two and a half hours long? I blame Peter Jackson. When LOTR and King Kong come in at over three hours each, two and a half doesn't sound so bad. But it is...

Step 5: Most or all of your characters must die, and the audience must leave discouraged about the state of mankind.
I won't spoil the movies for those of you who haven't seen them, but this year's Oscar crop was one depressing collection.

Addendum: Despite my lack of affection for 2007's noms, there were viable reasons why they were chosen. Day-Lewis is amazing in Blood. Atonement's score and cinematography are top-notch. Tommy Lee's No Country sheriff was perfect (and underrated), as was the Cohen's pacing. And Into the Wild had some fantastic supporting performances from Hal Holbrook, William Hurt, and Catherine Keener.

My Personal Oscar Picks for 2007
Best Picture - Transformers (Eat me)
Best Actor in a Leading Role - Chris Cooper (Breach)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Albert Finney (The Bourne Ultimatum)
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Marketa Irglova (Once)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Saoirse Ronan (Atonement)
Best Director - David Fincher (Zodiac)
Best Score - Hans Zimmer (Pirates 3)
Best Song - "How Do You Know?" (Enchanted)
Best Visual Effects - Transformers
Best Cinematography - 300
Best Animated Feature - Beowulf
Best Original Screenplay - Stephen Knight (Eastern Promises)
Best Adapted Screenplay - Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary (Beowulf)

Are you addicted to Lost? Rest easy, there's a cure:

That guy at the end sure looks like Willie Fuchs.

My New Favorite Comedian

2008-03-10T11:43:00.002-04:00

Maria Bamford dispels the "Crazy Office" Myth...

...and then pitches a sitcom idea.

The Other Woman

2008-03-07T12:00:00.016-05:00

Unfortunately, last night's Lost wasn't quite as captivating as the image above. After last season, I've come to expect a lot from a Juliet flashback. The Other Woman wasn't bad, and wasn't even the weakest of the season (the premiere was, in my humble opinion). There were some great, revealing scenes (all of them Ben-centered), but there were also some weaker ones.

Harper Stanhope-you-never-appear-in-another-episodeThe worst part of the story last night. I don't even blame the actress...I think she did the best she could with the dialogue she was given:

"I'm an old friend of Juliet's. I just told her where the people you're looking for are headed. Maybe you and your gun can go, too."

WOW. Did ABC pull a writer from Grey's to increase the Exposition Factor this week? Not to mention the unnecessary "twist" of making Goodwin a married man. Couldn't this episode have been just as effective had the flashbacks only dealt with Ben's jealousy of Goodwin, instead of wasting our time with Harper? Yes! And that re-telling of the 815 crash with Harper added into the background was a sloppy retcon if I've ever seen one.

Beef aside, I think the writers made it pretty clear that the Harper we saw in the jungle was not the corporeal Harper, but yet another manifestation of the Black Smoke Monster Cloud Dinosaur Shapeshifting Mist. Why? Well, we heard the Whispers before and after Harper appeared, which often accompany the Black Smoke, she disappeared without a sound, and there's no WAY Ben could have communicated instructions from the closet he was in to his remaining Others in their makeshift camp elsewhere on the Island. Like Ben said himself, if the Others still cared about Ben, they would've stormed the Barracks already.

The question then becomes, why does the eerily sentient Black Smoke want Daniel and Charlotte killed? To protect its host, the Island?

Ben's "Other" SideWe knew that Ben was a brilliant, Machiavellian manipulator, but this episode was our first glimpse at Ben's other side: the emotionally stunted, childish side. I was stunned by his possessiveness, his warped notions of love and intimacy, and his incredibly selfish modus operandi. We saw firsthand the impact that Ben's life has made on his character. His isolated, powerless childhood has made him desperate for power as an adult. He's succeeded in getting almost everything he wants. He overcame his oppressors by murdering his father and the Dharma Initiative, and through his special communion with the Island has risen to a leadership position among the Others.

Last night's episode showed that neither his powers of psychology nor his Island-related abilities can change another person's heart. He tried eliminating his romantic rival, Goodwin, but Juliet saw right through it. I was reminded of the story of King David, who sent Bathsheba's husband to the front lines of a war just to get him killed, and make her his own wife. David fared a little better than Ben.

Check out this new interview with Michael Emerson and Elizabeth Mitchell for more insight into Ben's childish behavior:

The Tempest
I must say I was little let down by this Dharma station. Is it really a power station? What are all the vats of toxic chemicals for, then? How cheesy was Dan's last-second save on the computer? How clever were these Dharma scientists who named their stations with so many literary allusions to Shakespeare and Lewis Carroll? Is that logo supposed to be a wave? A sideways yin-yang?

I suppose the station explained exactly how the Purge was carried out, but in the context of the episode, the Tempest felt like a thinly-veiled plot device, a textbook MacGuf fin, that existed solely to set up a conflict between Juliet and the Freighters, and then put a twist on it ("We're helping you, we just forgot to mention it when we stole away from your camp in the middle of the night and then knocked out Kate for asking questions.") I'll never complain about seeing Kate get knocked out, though.
Also, I thought it was interesting that Dan and Charlotte had a little map of the Island that showed them where the Tempest was. It would make sense, if their employer knows about the Purge, for him to tell him to make that gas inert ASAP. (Rest assured, I've already looked at a hi-res image of the map and can't make anything out other than a Tempest logo).

The Wolf Unmasked?
In the words of Ben, "this is the man that's been trying to find the Island." I loved this entire scene, because it reinforced my Light vs. Dark, Protect vs. Exploit theory of Lost. In fact, Ben explicitly said, "Chares Widmore wants to exploit this Island, and he'll do everything in his power to possess it."

Does this mean that Widmore is Sayid's target, the Economist? We know that the Widmore Corporation has ties to Hanso and Dharma. Perhaps the Exploiters lost the ability to reach the Island after the Purge. Ben took every measure he could to hide it. Now Widmore is doing everything he can to find the Island again and exploit it. Is that why he wanted Desmond to wind up marooned there? Did believe in the power of love so much, that he knew Penny would be more successful in locating her partner than Widmore would be trying to locate his profit-machine?

Stray Observations

Is Locke really dumb enough to let Ben walk around the Barracks unwatched? Who knows what kind of resources he's got hidden there? We've already seen a secret room and a secret safe in his house!

Hurley's luck with horseshoes was a total shout-out to his increased power on the Island. Along with Jacob taking an interest in him in the season premiere, this scene showed his ability to subconsciously use the Island's electromagnetic field to guide that metallic horseshoe to its mark, similar to the way Walt guided Locke's knife in season one. I'm sticking to my guns on the manifestation of will theory until Lost inevitably proves me wrong.

Elizabeth Mitchell + Swimsuit = Good Television

I'm pretty sure that when Harper said, "You look just like her," she was referring to Juliet's resemblance to Ben's mother, who was ironically played by Michael Emerson's wife.

Next Week
The previews for next week's episode kinda gave a lot away, but in case you missed them, I won't re-spoil anything. Two of Lost's best writers, Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz are credited for episode seven, Ji Yeon. Lost's editor, Steven Semel, actually directed this episode. You've actually seen him before, in a cameo in the season three priemiere as "Adam", the snobby book critic that Juliet mocked.

At this point, the previews have made it so obvious that Michael is Ben's man on the boat, that I'm starting to worry that we've all been grossly misled, and that it'll actually be someone else! But no, it's Michael. I think we're all pretty set on that.

Watchmen Revealed

2008-03-06T11:36:00.012-05:00

If you aren't a geek, you may not have heard of Alan Moore's (V For Vendetta) legendary graphic novel, Watchmen, and you may not know that hot-shot filmmaker Zach Snyder (300) is currently shooting the epic tale of realistic superheroes. This will be one of the biggest movies of next year. Since the first images were released today, here's a little Watchmen primer for those unfamiliar with the characters. (Click on the pics for bigger versions, or on their names to see what they looked like in the graphic novel).

The Nite Owl - (played by Patrick Wilson)This is the "Batman" of the Watchmen universe, which is set in an alternate 1980's. The Nite Owl in the graphic novel is an idealistic ex-hero who's forced into coming out of retirement by a series of gruesome murders. Someone is apparently trying to kill all of the former superheroes, a group called the Minutemen.

Rorschach - (played by Jackie Earle Haley)This is the disturbed sociopathic investigator, the only remaining vigilante in the 1980's, who's trying to track down the murderer of the former Minutemen. He's based on classic private eye characters like Dick Tracy and The Question. His name comes from his creepy ink-blot mask.

Ozymandias - (played by Matthew Goode)When forced out of vigilantism by the Keene Act, Adrian Veidt decided to cash in on his fame and founded a corporate empire based on his celebrity image. He's well-known to be the smartest man in the world, and took his name from the Greek word for Ramesses II of Egypt.

The Comedian - (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan)
A cynical, sarcastic veteran of the Vietnam War, this munitions expert became government property after the Keene Act made vigilantism illegal. Now he does whatever they tell him to, and gets paid quite well.

The Silk Spectre - (played by Malin Ackerman)This Olympic-level athlete and skilled fighter is romantically involved with the character below.

Doctor Manhattan - (played by Billy Crudup)(No image released yet)

The main reason why the Watchmen universe is different from ours, this physicist was caught in a nuclear accident that granted him god-like powers, and allowed him to transform history and technology.

The graphic novel is one of Damon Lindelof (Lost) and Neil Gaiman's (my favorite novelist) greatest influences. A film adaptation has been in the works since the real 1980's but the project fell apart over and over. Several directors have been attached at one point or another, including Paul Greenglass (the Bourne movies), Terry Gilliam (Brazil), and Darren Aronofsky (The Fountain).

A Study in the Art of Editing

2008-03-05T15:12:00.001-05:00

China Bans Ghosts

2008-03-04T15:26:00.002-05:00

I'm not really sure what to make of this. In case you hadn't heard, Beijing is the site of the next Olympic Games. An an attempt to "clean up" the country beforehand, China has officially banned the following things from all audio-visual content (including film, tv, and internet):

"Wronged spirits and violent ghosts, monsters, demons, and other inhuman portrayals, strange and supernatural storytelling for the sole purpose of seeking terror and horror."

If this sounds ridiculous and Communist, well...China is definitely both of those things. I just hope there aren't too many Chinese fans of Scooby-Doo...

On a completely unrelated note, I'm not sure what to make of these:

Lost What Ifs

2008-03-03T11:48:00.024-05:00

No, Claire isn't important to any of my "What If" theories, but I needed an intro picture, and she's really nice to look at.

Take all of the following theories with a grain of salt. Some reflect what I really think, others are just meant to be playful.

Hey Island, Why No Tykes?So we know that pregnant women on the Island all die around the beginning of their third trimester. According to Juliet, the mother's body treats the fetus as a foreign invader and attacks it, whereby the mother's immune system shuts down.

We also know that Benjamin Linus' mother went into labor, early in her third trimester to be precise, and subsequently died. We also know that Ben's father blamed him for his mother's death for most of his life.

What if Ben is causing the deaths of the Island's pregnant women?

As I've stated before, I believe the Island's immense electromagnetic properties allow for the physical manifestation of human consciousness, be it the Will to Survive (Locke, Rose, and Mikhail's healing), or the Fear of the Past (Jack's Dad, Eko's Brother, etc.) Perhaps Ben's subconscious survivor guilt over the death of his mother is being physically manifested by the Island. We know that Ben was a "special" child, like Walt, who has some kind of special communion with the Island. Perhaps he's killing all of these poor women without even realizing it, just like Walt kills birds. Perhaps Jacob or the Island gave Ben a tumor to get rid of him so that Island love-birds can do their thing without worrying about getting killed in the third trimester.

Me Rousseau, You OtherSimply put, Rousseau's backstory doesn't add up. In case you don't remember, she claims to have crashed onto the Island 16 years ago, when her "research vessel" decided to investigate a radio transmission that was repeating the Numbers over and over. Already, there's a problem with that story, because in the Sri Lanka Video, Alvar Hanso specifically states that the Numbers would be "broadcast in a frequency and encryption known only to us." There's no way Rousseau's "science expedition" could've picked up that signal.

She then claims to have spent the next 16 years surviving alone on the Island, during which time she never came into contact with any members of the Dharma Initiative or the Others. To which I say, "Bologne." How could she manage to travel all over the Island, and make those detailed maps, and completely miss the enormous presences of Dharma and the Hostiles/Others? You may be tempted to say, "Well, what about the Purge, Adam?" However, the producers claimed that Mikhail's account of the Purge was entirely accurate, and he said that he came to the Island in 1993, and witnessed the Purge sometime after that. Rousseau, if we believe her story, has been on the Island since 1988. Doesn't. Add. Up.

What if Danielle Rousseau is actually Annie?The eye and hair colors are right, and the producers have already said that one day Annie will be of "seismic" importance to the show, and she was noticeably absent during the Purge flashback. Also worthy of note is Rousseau's apparent obsession with using dolls as booby traps, and Annie's similar birthday gift to Ben. Perhaps Ben and Roussannie grew to love one another, but disagreed on the Purge. Perhaps Ben, convinced that wiping Dharma out was the right thing to do, but still in love with Roussannie, let her escape into the jungle on her own. Perhaps afterwards, concerned about the upbringing of he and Roussannie's daughter, Alex, he kidnapped Alex from Roussannie to raise her in the community of the Others.

Perhaps Rousseau is not the French Woman in the distress call (she sure doesn't sound anything like her), but assumed that identity when she contacted the 815ers, similar to the way Ben assumed Henry Gale's identity.

Cap'n Jake SparrowWe know that the Black Rock disappeared in 1845 traveling East from Indonesia, and that it was owned by one Magnus Hanso, grandfather of Dharma-founder Alvar Hanso.

What if Jacob is Magnus Hanso, the Columbus/Cortes of the Island?

Perhaps Magnus was the first foreigner to reach the shores of the Island, the first Westerner to make contact with the indigenous population, and was revered as such? His cabin certainly hails from the Black Rock's time period, as did Richard Alpert's clothing in The Man Behind the Curtain. Perhaps Richard was the Black Rock's first mate who kept the journal that Widmore purchased in The Constant. The auctioneer did mention that the seller of the journal was one Tovard Hanso. Could that be Magnus' son and Alvar's father?

It would appear, Magnus or not, as though Jacob was the founder of the Others/Hostiles, an amalgam of people from different groups (Natives, Pirates, Dharma rebels, Real-World Recruits), who want to protect the Island from forces that wish to exploit it. It'd be like Christopher Columbus getting on real well with Native Americans and then saying "Hey, I changed my mind, the rest of you white people need to get out of here and leave these people alone." Or something like that. And then if Columbus communed with the properties of America until he was no longer enslaved by Time or Space. Yeah the analogy only goes so far.

"Each of us is here for a reason." - John Locke
What if each of the people on Flight 815 were hand-picked by Ben to serve his purposes?

Ben had a tumor on his spine - Jack was a spinal surgeon. Ben needs assassins in the Outside World to defeat a greater enemy - Sayid is basically Jason Bourne with a tan, and Jin was already a hit-man for Mr. Paik. Ben needs to fix the pregger-problem on the Island - Claire and Sun are baking bread. The Others are "interested in children with special abilities" - Walt's a freak. The list could go on. Perhaps Ben used his influence in the Outside World to manipulate each of these people into getting on that flight. Manipulation is what Ben's all about, correct?

The Darth Vader of Lost
This is completely off-the-wall, but hear me out. Thanks to Locke's speech in the Pilot, we know that on Lost, "There are two sides. One light, one dark." One side wants to protect the properties of the Island, the other wants to exploit them. In the future, Ben is trying to eliminate the dark side, using Sayid as an assassin. Who is the Big Bad Wolf? I really hope it's Walt.

He was, after all, the person that Locke was talking to during that speech. And Locke was the white side of the Backgammon board, while Walt was the dark. Wouldn't it be neat if the writers were setting up that Good vs. Evil dichotomy right there in the Pilot?

The producers have said, "there's a circularity to the way the story of Michael and Walt is going to unfold in the overall mythology, and that is a long-planned approach." For reasons we don't know yet, and that I'm not going to guess, Walt becomes the power-hungry villain of the show, bent on exploiting the properties of the Island. He'd certainly have reason enough to hate the Others after they kidnapped him in Season 2 and stuck him in that brainwashing room for who-knows-how-long!

I know what you're thinking: "Walt's just a kid!" And yet, we already know that in the 30 days Walt's spent off the Island, he's apparently grown up quite a lot. He's years older than he should be. Perhaps, like Jacob, Walt is no longer enslaved by Time or Space. Which is why I think he may be Matthew Abaddon.After all, Abaddon made his first appearance sitting in front of a black-and-white chess board. Could this be harking back to that Backgammon speech in the Pilot? Abaddon certainly seemed to be in charge of the Freighter mission to find the Island and kidnap Ben. Perhaps power-hungry Walt wants a little revenge.

The Constant

2008-02-29T11:14:00.009-05:00

Without reservation, that was the best episode of Lost thus far. You could disagree with me, but then you'd be wrong. In addition to the fascinating time-related answers and questions in the episode, that phone call between Desmond and Penny had me fighting tears. That's true love if I've ever seen it. She's been tracking him down for three years, and she kept that phone number for eight years. I'm betting that Penelope will be Jack and the Oceanic 6's ticket back to the Island in Season 5.

I promise to make these observations as simple and factual as possible, given how confusing the episode was, but this first observation is complex and I apologize. Blame the writers of the show. Skip this first part if you don't want a headache.

The Little Chopper That CouldThe helicopter should have taken 20 minutes to reach the freighter, and yet it took more like 20 hours. A few weeks ago, Dan's rocket should have taken 30 seconds to reach the Island, and yet it took more like 30 minutes.

Simply put, an unusually large Lorentz Transformation occurs when an object travels between the Island and the Outside World. This has to do with Einstein's Theory of Relativity and something called Time Dilation. Time does not move at a different speed on the Island. The characters in this episode are, after all, talking to each other on the phone in real-time and, as the calendar aboard the freighter proves, it is Christmas Eve both on and off the Island.

The immense electromagnetic properties of the Island cause objects entering or leaving its field to "slow down" in time, from the perspective of people who aren't entering or leaving the field. From the rocket's perspective, for example, it really did only take 30 seconds to reach the Island. From the chopper's perspective, it really did only take 20 minutes to reach the freighter. Typically, these relativistic effects are supposed to be caused by gravity, not electromagnetism, but it looks like Daniel Faraday was proving that wrong at Oxford.

(How, then, can the characters speak to each other on the phone in real-time? Because they are communicating via radio waves on the electromagnetic spectrum, which do not go through any dilation when traveling to and from the Island.)

The Kahana
So there really IS a freighter 40km off the coast of the Island. And it's full of morally ambiguous guys with tattoos. Questions abound. Who are these people? Why did they bring a doctor? Who is the Captain? Were they sent by the Exploiter Side of my Light vs. Dark Theory to take the Island back from the hands of Ben and the Protector Side?

Desmond's Jumps
So, when a human passes through the Island's EM field, it apparently causes his or her consciousness to jump backwards or forwards in that person's individual timeline, like Desmond and Minkowski do in this episode. Their present-day selves go MIA, while a version of their past selves jumps into their present-day bodies. Confusing, isn't it? It sure made for an entertaining hour of television, though.

Flashes Explained
Well, now we know why Desmond sometimes has "flashes" of the future. He's not having visions. His present-day consciousness is jumping into his future body, allowing him to see events before they happen to his present-day self.

Dan's Problem
Remember the card scene from last week? Remember this week when Dan told Desmond that he wore the lead vest to protect himself from the radiation, to which Desmond replied, "What about your brain?" It looks like Dan is having memory problems due to his long-term exposure to the electromagnetic radiation in his office-based time machine. He appears to have figured out a way to use electromagnetic radiation to send consciousness through time. Apparently our consciousness is directly tied to electromagnetism in the sci-fi of the show, making my Manifestation of Will theory (where the Island's EM field allows for the physical manifestation of conscious will) seem even more likely. Hooray!

The LedgerHmmm. Is Charles Widmore getting his hands on the Black Rock Ledger in 1996 so that he can find the Island? Or is it all part of his ruse to send a ship to look for it which "accidentally" stumbles upon the "wreckage" of Oceanic 815? I'm betting on the latter.

All in all, this episode is probably one of the biggest keys to figuring out the show. It's a good thing I can watch it again this weekend for free in HD on abc.com...as long as I have plenty of tissues for the Penny scene.

Next Week"The Other Woman," a Juliet flashback that, as the above image from the preview tell us, will reveal the much-hyped Orchid Station of the Dharma Initiative.

Next Post
My theories on Rousseau, Ben, Jacob, Adam and Eve, and most importantly, who the main antagonist of the show will end up being (aka leader of the Exploiter Side that Ben wants to kill in the future). You probably won't agree with me, but I'd put my money on ______.

Rainn Auditions

2008-02-28T14:31:00.004-05:00

Here's a mock audition tape where The Office's Rainn Wilson tries out for the part of Bob Dylan in the recent biopic I'm Not There. I think his impersonation is perfect.

New Lost tonight...can't wait to get my Desmond fix.

Lost News (Plus 3-Year-Old)

2008-02-27T13:43:00.005-05:00

So, a few days ago, I made a prediction regarding the remaining seasons of Lost. Strangely enough, the following quote from the showrunners in an article today makes it look like I wasn't too far off:

"Season four is about who gets off the island and the fact that they need to get back. Season five is about why they need to get back, and season six is about what happens when they get back."

Also, the schedule for the rest of Season 4 has changed again - ABC is now planning on taking a break after the 8th episode (instead of the 7th). Here's what that means, specifically:

Airing Thursdays at 9PM:
4.05: Feb. 28 (The Constant)
4.06: March 6 (The Other Woman)
4.07: March 13 (Ji-Yeon)
4.08: March 20 (Meet Kevin Johnson)

BREAK

Airing Thursdays at 10PM:
4.09: April 24
4.10: May 1
4.11: May 8
4.12: May 15
4.13: May 22 (season finale)

On a completely unrelated note, here's Star Wars according to an adorable 3-year-old:

Best Songs You Probably Haven't Heard

2008-02-26T13:02:00.004-05:00

Before I begin, allow me to introduce you to the best way to hear full-length songs for free:

www.imeem.com

All you have to do is sign up with an email address (it takes five seconds), and then you can search and listen to full-length songs completely free. No catch. I'm serious. I've linked all of the following songs to their respective imeem pages.

1. "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

Pictured above, you may have heard this duo Sunday night when they performed at the Oscars. The song is from the independent film Once, which I hear is amazing. They sound great together. It's a little melancholy, but wait on the chorus.

Best Line: "You have suffered enough/ and warred with yourself/ it's time that you won."

2. "Killing the Blues" by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant

If it sounds familiar, that's because it's currently playing in a JC Penny commercial. Krauss has the most beautiful voice you'll ever hear, and the bittersweet cowboy melody will leave you pining for your days out West on a horse ranch. Assuming you ever had days like that.

All of Krauss' work with Union Station is great, too.

Best Line: "Leaves were falling/ just like embers/ in colors red and gold/ they set us on fire."

3. "All the World" by Fauxliage

If Leigh Nash's voice sounds familiar, that's because she's the former singer of Sixpence None the Richer, also a decent band, though they were a one-hit-wonder. Fauxliage combines catchy melodies with ambient electronica.

Best Line: "I'm having a hard time/ I'm making you do the hard time, too."

4. "Lighted Up" by Gabriel Mann

If you like well-arranged piano pieces, this one's a keeper. Mann got famous when his music was featured on TV shows like Arrested Development, The Real World, Road Rules, and What About Brian, to name a few.

Best Line: "Sometimes I need to be neglected/ sometimes love looks good in gray."

5. "No One Has To Know" by Eliot Morris

This Auburn University graduate has a way with acoustics and catchy lyrics.

Best Line: "Let's take a ride/ inside the night air."

6. "Hollow of Your Hand" by Jeff Black

GREAT drum loop and piano licks. Jeff used to play with Pixar favorite Randy Newman.

Best Line: "Oh, I am wealthy by/ the measure of where I will be in time."

7. "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap

Remember that cool song from Garden State? Well this isn't it, but it's a hauntingly beautiful a capella by that band's (Frou Frou) lead singer.

Best Line: "Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth/ mid-sweet talk..."

8. "Business Time" by Flight of the Conchords

If this doesn't make you laugh, you aren't human. And it's really catchy, too.

Best Line: "Brushing our teeth/ it's all part of the foreplay."

9. "The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson

That really catchy song from the Old Navy commercials this winter.

Best Line: "If you are chilly/ here, take my sweater."

10. "Suppermassive Black Hole" by Muse

The band name is mythological, the lyrics are astronomical. Is it surprising that I like this song? Or that it's currently my ringtone?

Best Line: "Glaciers melting in the dead of night/ and the superstars sucked into the supermassive." (???)

The Media That Made Me

2008-02-25T13:54:00.018-05:00

Or, the top ten things that have inspired me to date, both creatively and personally. I'll try to list them chronologically instead of assigning rank.

1. Back to the Future (Doe-Eyed Little-Boy Adam)
For one, I idolized Marty McFly as a child. I'm not sure why. Probably some combination of his skateboarding skills, his cute girlfriend, his denim jackets, and his biting sarcasm. For some reason, those traits appealed to me at the time.

Further, Doc Brown introduced the concepts of time-travel and science fiction to me at an early age. It's probably why I'm such a dork now: how else could an 8-year-old pondering the Grandfather Paradox turn out? Perhaps it was destiny: according to my mother, this movie was the last one she saw before giving birth to me in 1985. I think I may have overheard the Doc screaming about the Space-Time Continuum while I was in the womb.

2. and 3. Myst and Riven (Dorky Pre-Teen Adam)
Yes, they were computer games, I admit it. But they were so much more than that to Pre-Teen Adam. These were fascinating worlds that I could explore, complete with mythologies and histories and civilizations lost. In Myst, for example, you start off stranded on a tiny island full of weird buildings. There's no narration. No instructions. No missions. No levels. You just had to wander around and figure stuff out.
By the time the sequel, Riven, came around, I had read the three novels that explained the background mythology for the games' universe, and I was hooked. If you think I'm obsessed with Lost now, you should have seen me during my Myst days. Overall, the games really instilled a sense of wanderlust and adventure in my adolescent soul, a desire for exploration and investigation.

4. Jurassic Park (Awkward Middle-School Adam...Yikes)
It really wasn't about the dinosaurs. Honestly. It was the sheer power the film had over me. I felt like I was on that island, standing right in front of those things. To this day, I think those are the best visual effects of all time. You can watch a VHS copy of Jurassic Park taped off of cable today and those dinosaurs STILL look real. It was how I originally fell in love with Spielberg and movies in general. Plus it introduced me to Michael Crichton, whose books I read voraciously afterwards.

5. The Last of the Mohicans (Blossoming High-School Adam)Other than instilling a vivid sense of I-Wanna-Go-Hit-Some-Bad-Guys With-A-Hatchet-I-Just-Made-From-Scratch in me, I think I really owe this flick for inspiring a sense of awe and respect for nature. Especially after I went to Chimney Rock in North Carolina where they filmed a lot of the third act. I probably owe my love for hiking, orienteering, and camping to Michael Mann. This is still an amazing movie that anyone should see, especially fans of Daniel Day-Lewis.

6. The Magus by John Fowles (Naive College Freshman Adam)
Still my favorite book of all time. A young English teacher travels to a little-known Greek isle to take a new teaching position, and wanders onto a mysterious, wealthy old man's property one afternoon. The 700-page epic is the most confusing, thrilling, and rewarding story I've ever encountered. I re-read it about once a year, and I still don't know exactly what's going on. Do yourself a favor and check it out on wikipedia.

7. No Death, No Fear by Thich Nhat Hanh (Jaded College Sophomore Adam)
This was basically my introduction to Buddhist philosophy, which is not so much a philosophy or a religion so much as a way to perceive existence. Written by "Vietman's Nelson Mandela," it introduces Westerners to a knew way of looking at the world. Nothing is permanent, everything is constantly changing, and our misunderstanding of this principle is what causes the majority of our suffering. You can find this lifesaver in just about any library or bookstore. Just about any of Nhat Hanh's books will change your thinking for the better, and you don't have be a Buddhist or religious to grow from them.

8. The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell (Headstrong College Junior Adam)You'll never read a book or watch a movie the same way again after reading a Joseph Campbell book. Drawing from mythology, Campbell describes the basic, stage-by-stage journey, the monomyth, that all heroes make and compares it to modern stories like Star Wars. As a writer, this was obviously enlightening and changed the way I approached creativity. It sounds simplistic on the surface but it's not about a formula, but a form.

9. Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl (Wiped-Out College Senior and Disillusioned Graduate Adam)Written by a psychiatrist who survived the Holocaust, this book helps you understand the inherent meaning in human life, regardless of circumstance. I think I've already read it five times. In a postmodern world where more and more people are experiencing an "existential vacuum" (Why am I here? Why do I suffer? Why must I die?), Frankl's words are full of hope and encouragement. "He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how." This book gives meaning to even your worst suffering, which makes it much more bearable.

10. Lost (Doe-Eyed, Dorky, Awkward, Blossoming, Naive, Jaded, Headstrong, Wiped-Out, Disillusioned, Present-Day Adam)
What would this list be without Lost? It's emotionally involving, intellectually challenging, and brilliantly executed. And it's kind of a combination of everything else on my list that came before it. And for those of you, like myself, who feel a bit "lost" in the jungle of your life, Lost is a reminder that you're not alone.

Conclusion: I must be obsessed with islands (Myst, Riven, Jurassic Park, The Magus, Lost).

Egg-what?

2008-02-22T11:36:00.012-05:00

Well, it wasn't as exciting or revelatory as the last two episodes, but it was a lot better than the premiere. We got a few answers, forward narrative motion, and a slew of new questions. My thoughts/observations are below, plus some clarification from the producers on a few things, plus a preview of next week.

The Title
Egg-town = A town whose citizens are notably cheap when it comes to bartering. This term comes from the Great Depression, when door-to-door salesmen would go from town-to-town, looking to trade items. A town where people had nothing to trade but eggs was called an "Egg-town." The title probably refers to all of the trading going on in this episode between Locke, Kate, Sawyer, Miles, etc.

Thanks, KateFor demonstrating, over and over, exactly why I can't stand you. How many people does she blatantly, selfishly use in this episode? Off the top of my head, Hurley, Locke, Sawyer, Miles, and Ben. The girl is ridiculous. The worst part was when she used Sawyer for comfort at night, and then was a complete witch to him the following morning, for no apparent reason. Sure, Sawyer was insensitive about the pregnancy, but she was being cold way before that topic ever came up. I did love it when Sawyer called her out with, "You'll just come running back to me when you get mad at Jack." Spot-on, Sawyer. I just wish he and Jack would both smarten up and stop letting Kate use them.

Aaron's a Big Boy NowI totally saw this coming after the scene with Claire and Kate doing laundry, and I'm glad because it was a great twist. But does it mean that Claire died? I hope not, she's my favorite Island female, other than Juliet, and I'm hoping that one day the writers will give her more to do before they kill her off. I'm thinking she's just stuck on the Island in the future. That might explain why Jack doesn't want to see Aaron (Claire's his half-sister, after all). I'm also convinced that Aaron is not one of the Oceanic 6 (more on that later). My biggest question: how is Kate explaining him to the world? Did she adopt him? Did she lie and say that she was already pregnant on 815 and delivered the baby on the Island? They were only there for three months. Or has more time passed in the real world? AHHHHHH!

Jack's TestimonyFirst of all, nice yuppie haircut. Second, Jack gave us some insight into the Oceanic 6's cover-story. It looks like they're all saying that they washed up onto a small island in the South Pacific, that Kate was the hero who dragged them onto shore, and that eight of them survived the crash, but two of them died on the Island. Hmm, I wonder who those other two survivors were in this little alibi?

The Oceanic How-Many-Exactly?
Well we know for certain that Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Sayid are famous for being members of the Oceanic 6. We now know that Aaron made it off the Island, but that Kate is pretending to be his biological mother. And we know that somebody winds up in that coffin that Jack was obsessed with at the end of last season. That's six people, but I don't think that's the Oceanic 6. Why? For one thing, I'm convinced that Michael is the one in the coffin, and that he already established a new identity for himself in the real world the first time he left the Island with Walt back in Season 2. To the public, he and Walt died in the plane crash. Also, watch that scene again from last night with Sun and Jin discussing where they're going to raise their baby. Why would the writers include that seemingly random scene unless Sun and Jin are going to make it off-Island? I think the remaining Oceanic 6 are Sun and Jin. I'm not sure why Aaron doesn't count. Maybe he's too small.

Ben's Wealth
Looks like Miles knows how well-funded the Others really are. This scene totally reconfirmed my Light Side vs. Dark Side theory for me where Ben winds up a hero at the end of the show, protecting the Island from ending up in the wrong hands. Why 3.2 million, though? Does Miles need exactly that much money for something? Who is his employer? Abbadon? How is Ben going to get that money in a week if he's locked in a cellar? What did Miles mean when he said "I know what you can do?"

Dan's MemoryThat scene with the cards was really revealing. It looks like Dan has memory problems, which could explain why he had such an emotional reaction to the news of the plane crash in Confirmed Dead, without knowing why.

Cultural References
Lots of pop-culture shout-outs last night, including:

VALIS by Philip K. Dick, a novel about a vast, ancient grid of satellites that are actually an aspect of God. It's the book that Locke brings to Ben.

The Invention of Morel, a science-fiction novel about a fugitive hiding on a strange island in the South Pacific. It's the book Sawyer's reading right before Kate uses him. Both times.

Xanadu, a weird musical-fantasy film from the eighties about a guy who crosses dimensions. It's also the name of the mansion/estate in Citizen Kane. It's the movie Hurley mentions.

Satan's Doom, apparently a Brazilian heavy metal band. It's the CD Hurley mentions.

Stray Observations
Did you notice where Locke was sleeping at the beginning of the episode? In Ben's bed.

Why isn't the Island and/or Jacob helping Locke figure out what to do anymore? Could it be because he failed to stop the Freighter Folk from reaching the Island?

Why does Kate want to leave the Island? Sawyer and Miles are right, she's got nothing but trouble waiting for her.

When Locke smashes the eggs against the wall, you can tell it's a set, because the entire wall actually bounces back and forth.

How old is that boathouse? Why do the Others need a boathouse? How cool was it when Locke shoved that grenade into Miles' mouth. Where did Locke GET A GRENADE?

Why was the DA so concerned about Kate staying put? Is she one of the Dark Side people who want to keep tabs on all of the Oceanic 6?

Kate's lawyer in this episode was also the creepy serial killer in Frequency, where he played a man named...Jack Shepard, and killed a character played by...Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet).

When Locke played Backgammon, he was the black side, instead of the white (like he was in the Pilot).

What happened to the helicopter? (We'll find out next week, apparently)

Sawyer looks good shirtless.

Claire looks good every time she's on the screen.

Producers' Clarifications (Taken from this interview)

We'll know all of the Oceanic 6 by the end of Episode 7.

We'll know who was in the coffin by the end of this season.

There is no connection between Naomi's bracelet and Elsa's. It was just a similarity in props.

The future we see on the show is definitely THE future. No parallel dimensions or alternate futures are in play.

The polar bear in Tunisia has something to do with The Orchid Station (see the video from last summer), which we will visit later this season.

Charlotte's name (CS Lewis) is a hint to her backstory, as well as events that will occur later in the season.

My Guess On the Remaining Seasons
So Season 1 was the intro to the 815ers and the Island. Season 2 was the Tailies and Dharma. Season 3 was the Others. It looks like Season 4 (about the Freighter Folk) will end with the Oceanic 6 getting off the Island, and with the flashforwards catching up to Jack and Kate's meeting last season. In my opinion, Season 5 will therefore alternate between the On-Island story of the remainder of the cast, and the Off-Island story of the Oceanic 6 trying to get back to the Island. Season 6 will be what happens when they do make it back. Or, I'm completely wrong.

Next Week's EpisodeThe Constant, written by show-runners Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, directed by Lost-vet Jack Bender. We find out what happened to the helicopter with Frank, Sayid, and Desmond. It's a Desmond flashback, which probably means...TIME TRAVEL! My guess is that he has another time-travel flashback. Maybe we'll see one of the Temporal Police again. From the preview, it looks like he runs into Daniel in his flashback/travelback. Crazy!

Three Reasons To Smile

2008-02-21T14:14:00.005-05:00

Number One: The Youngest Performance of "Hey Jude" You'll Ever See. This kid has a long way to go on his guitar skills, but boy does he have some pipes. The best part is his inability to make a "t" sound.

Number Two: Puppies. Lots of puppies. Who are curious and scared at the same time.

Number Three: Music composed entirely of sound effects from Windows 98 and Windows XP.

Tomorrow: my thoughts on Lost, Season 4, Episode 4, Eggtown.

JJ Has a Full Cast

2008-02-20T10:42:00.005-05:00

Everyone's favorite geek (other than me, of course), J. J. Abrams (Alias, Lost, Mission Impossible III, Cloverfield, Star Trek XI), is currently shooting a ten-million-dollar pilot (that's just the pilot, and it's more than some independent features cost) for FOX called Fringe that's set to premiere this fall, described as a cross between The X-Files and Lost. Color me interested.

The main characters are crazy-old-scientist Walter Bishop, played by John Noble, a.k.a. Return of the King's Denethor, his hot-shot high-school-dropout son Peter, played by Joshua Jackson, a.k.a. The Mighty Duck, and a tough young FBI agent named Olivia Wilson, played by Anna Torv, a.k.a. I've never heard of her either (but she's cute).

Word is that FBI agent Cute No-Name is investigating paranormal activity and needs the help of Denethor and the Mighty Duck. Also joining the cast...drumroll please...Lance Reddick, a.k.a. Lost's new ultra-creep Matthew Abbadon, will play Cute No-Name's boss and head of the "Fringe Division."

Maybe this is all a Lost cross-over, and these are the people that Ben has hired Sayid to kill. And the Island is really a bunch of trees growing on the back of the Cloverfield monster, who's sleeping in the South Pacific. And the Dharma Initiative is really a part of Arvin Sloane's SD-6 organization. And the 815ers will be rescued by IMF Agent Tom Cruise, who'll take them aboard the Starship Enterprise and travel back in time to my brain just exploded.

Trivia: Joshua Jackson was in the running for Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins.

Lots of Random Stuff

2008-02-18T16:53:00.008-05:00

1. Where the Wild Things Are

If your parents had any taste, you probably read this book as a kid. If you had any taste, you probably loved it. Soon you'll be able to relive the experience on the big screen, thanks to director Spike Jonze, of all people, and producer Tom Hanks. Check out the clip below. I'm not sure what to make of it. It's strange, that's for sure. And the CGI is amazing.

2. The Format War is Over

Mainly thanks to Toshiba, HD-DVD is finished. Blu-ray has survived. This is huge news for anyone looking to buy a next-gen DVD player, because now we don't have to gamble on which format will hold out. Sucks for people who already bought an HD-DVD player though!

3. The Cast of Wolverine
Maybe no ones cares. I'm not even sure that I do. But I do like Hugh Jackman, and director Gavin Hood is talented, so...

Liev Schreiber is Sabertooth. Ryan Reynolds is Deadpool. Danny Huston is Stryker. Lynn Collins is the Silver Fox. Taylor Kitsch is Gambit (the coolest of the X-Men by far). I really wish they'd gotten Josh Holloway (Lost's Sawyer) to play Gambit, but what do I know? Perhaps the best news about this project is that Harry Gregson-Williams is writing the score, and he's one of my favorites.

4. Kate has a bracelet too?
A co-worker of mine, who re-watched Lost's Season 1 with his girlfriend last weekend, noticed that Kate, during the robbery in Whatever the Case May Be, is wearing a silver bracelet very similar to the ones Naomi and Elsa wore in The Economist. Wardrobe coincidence, or proof that Kate knows more than we thought? I kind of hate Kate, so I hope she's bad. Is that cruel? I like the actress (who doesn't?), just not the character.

Speaking of Lost, they officially start shooting again on March 10th.

5. There Will Be Blood

Don't go see it. All of your movie-snob friends will tell you it's great, but this is an incredibly painful way to spend two-and-a-half hours, and you will not be entertained for a minute of it. You will leave disillusioned with the human race, and with the dissonant orchestra chords that play the entire 160 minutes stuck in your brain. You'll be desperate for some hot chocolate and a hug, and maybe some reruns of Boy Meets World or Fresh Prince if you can find them on cable.

6. My Friend's Blog

My good friend and world-traveler, Cindy Youssef, is keeping a blog here on her adventures Down Under.

7. Cloverfield RevealedYep, that's what it looks like. Hasbro is selling a toy for $99.99, if you want to wreak havoc on some Lego cities or something.

8. Delta-Northwest Merge

It's probably going to happen, and you'll probably have to pay more to fly as a result.

9. Fidel Castro Resigns

His successor? Raul Castro. His brother. Maybe FOX will film it and air a show called Dictator-Swap.

Lost Thoughts - Week 3

2008-02-15T11:43:00.017-05:00

"The Economist"

Wow. Another stellar episode. The writers, directors, and cast are really running on all cylinders this season. My observations are below, plus some interesting bits from the producers, and a description of a weird deleted scene from last night.

The Title
Obviously, it refers to Elsa's employer, Sayid's target. But Sayid can also be considered the "economist" in the episode, because he's doing a cost-benefit analysis of his own. Is it worth becoming an assassin if it means "protecting your friends"?

Future Sayid
It was interesting to see the juxtaposition between present-day, Island Sayid, who was seen praying and taking such good care of the dead body of a stranger (Naomi), compared to the flash-forward, Real-World Sayid who was a cold-blooded killer. Like all of the Oceanic 6, something significant has happened to Sayid to make him behave so differently. Ben alluded to the fact that Sayid had to kill the people on his list in order to protect his friends. What friends? The rest of the Oceanic 6? The remaining 815ers who are still stuck on the Island? I've always loved Sayid, not just for his neck-breaking skills, but because he symbolizes a combination of Jack and Locke. He's a Man of Science and a Man of Faith at the same time.

The Bracelet
So what's with these bracelets? Naomi and Elsa both wore similar silver bracelets around their wrists. Naomi's said "N. I'll always be with you, R.G." on the inside. There are no known-of characters on Lost with those initials. Since we saw Sayid take it from Naomi's dead body, we might assume that he gave it to Elsa as a gift, but that doesn't make sense, because Elsa would likely see the inscription and be like "Yo, Sayid, who's this 'N' chick?"

My guess is that Naomi and Elsa work(ed) for the same employer, and that this man is on the bad side of the war I spoke about (see posts below) in my Lost Theory earlier this week (more on the two sides later).

Dan's Experiment
My favorite part of Season 4 thus far. Dan the physicist got bored moping around the helicopter, so he asked boat-bound Regina to fire a rocket at him. The beacon he set up on the Island was obviously a transmitter that the rocket was configured to follow. However, the rocket took an extra 31 minutes to get there. Back to the Future anyone? That scene near the beginning where Doc Brown puts his dog Einstein into the DeLorean and compares clocks when he comes back?

So what does this say about the Island? Well, if the clock from the Freighter was 31 minutes ahead of the clock on the Island, there are two possibilities: 1) Time must pass more slowly on the Island than it does in the outside world, or 2) The rocket had to travel further than the 80km between the boat and the Island. The question then becomes, are the clocks on the freighter 31 minutes ahead, because time passes more slowly, or is just the clock in the rocket 31 minutes ahead, because it had to travel through one of the Vile Vortices (the Wharton Basin vortex, to be precise, if the freighter really is near Bali)? Both answers could be because the Island exists within a closed time-like curve in Minkowski space.

Jacob's ShackBoy does this thing get around. What confuses me, is that I assumed that Ben placed that circle of volcanic ash around the cabin as a means to hold it in place. I thought he was keeping Jacob a prisoner within it. But Jacob appears to be moving, along with his crib, to wherever he wants. Did Ben, or someone else, create a break in the ash ring somewhere? So that Locke wouldn't know where to look?

And the more mobile the shack becomes, the more it reminds me of the Russian myth of Baba Yaga, an old sorceress who lives in the woods, in a cabin that moves around with chicken legs (see picture above). Perhaps even more interesting, Baba Yaga is said to fly around in mortar that she mixes. Remind anyone else of the Black Smoke? However, I'm still of the opinion that Jacob and the Smoke are two separate entities, as symbolized by Christian Shepherd's chat with Jacob in the season premiere.

Ben's a Travelin' ManSo Ben's got a secret room filled with business clothes, passports, and tons of money (in fact, one of the bills contained the face of Michael Faraday, Dan's namesake). What does this tell us?

1) The Others are extremely well-funded. It proves, to me, that they are only a part of a larger organization in the Real World (more on that below).

2) Ben goes off-Island all the time for various reasons, and lies about it to the Others. He wants to maintain a sense of self-sufficiency, which is why he probably refused to go off-Island to have spinal surgery.

3) It confirms that, even though we see him off-Island in the flash-forward, it doesn't mean that he's left the Island for good. Apparently, he can easily travel whenever he desires.

4) There must be another means of leaving the Island, other than the submarine, that Ben used.

Also, his name on the passport above is Dean Moriarty, after the On the Road character and Sherlock Holme's nemesis, and he lives in Zurich, where Arvin Sloane, from JJ Abrams' Alias operated.

"There are two sides. One light, one dark."

Those are the words of John Locke from the pilot episode, and I still think they describe the overall narrative of Lost. Every episode this season has reaffirmed this idea for me (but that could be just because I want them to). One side wants to protect the Island, the other wants to exploit it. I'm making a prediction right now, that by the end of the series, Ben will turn out to be on the good side, despite his nefarious means of accomplishing an end. Like he said to Michael in the Season 2 finale, "We're the good guys..."

The Protectors
This group is represented by Ben (Benjamin = one of the sons of Jacob, founder of the 12 tribes of Israel, Linus = one of the sons of Apollo). It includes all of the Others on the Island, Locke, and whatever organization is funding them in the Real World. They don't want the power of the Island to fall into the wrong hands (see my Lost Theory below for what I think that power is: the manifestation of Will). Sure, Ben has done some terrible things, but we don't know the context of his actions yet. And in Juliet, Alex, Karl, etc. he appears to have been protecting some wonderful people.

On the Island, this group is symbolized by Jacob, who understands the power of the Island's ability to manifest his conscious will so well, he is no longer enslaved by time or space.

The Exploiters
This group is symbolized, at least right now, by Matthew Abbadon (Matthew = the tax collector of the Gospels, Abbadon = Angel of Destruction). It includes the Temporal Police like Brother Campbell and Mrs. Hawking. It includes the Dharma Initiative and the Hanso Foundation. It includes the corporate might of Penny's dad Charles Widmore and his company and Sun's dad and his company Paik Industries, both of which helped fund the Initiative. I don't think the Initiative was really on the Island to "save the world." I think the Valenzetti Equation is a bunch of PR crap to justify their means. These people are trying to exploit the power of the Island for some unknown reason, and they were involved in manipulating Desmond into being marooned on the Island. And, these are the people that Ben is using Sayid to get rid of.

On the Island, this group is symbolized by the Black Smoke, a Dharma security system gone haywire.

(However, this doesn't mean that everyone affiliated with each group is necessarily good or evil. Not all of the Dharma members were bad. Not all of the Others are good.)

Stray Observations

Ben is one creepy veterinarian. I was shocked to see him utilizing some kind of medical knowledge when he sewed Sayid up.

Sayid's first victim sure sounded scared when he heard that Sayid was one of the Oceanic Six. This is because he's one of the Exploiters that Ben's trying to eradicate, so he would know about 815. On a trivial note, that victim, Mr. Avellino, is named after an Italian town who's patron saint is celebrated on February 14th, the day that this episode aired...

Yay for Jack for not flirting back with Kate. I can't stand Kate. She consistently uses people over and over again, either to accomplish something selfish, or to stroke her ego. I feel bad for Sawyer, who's now being used by Kate since Jack isn't letting her anymore. I bet the only reason Kate stayed behind in the Barracks was to use Sawyer. Guess we'll find out next week.

On a similar note, Juliet is still drop-dead gorgeous.

Sayid found a Koran on Ben's bookshelf.

So Ben's using Sayid to kill people. Ben also used Jack to get rid of his tumor. And Kate and Sawyer to get pregnant on the Island for more testing. And Claire for similar reasons. And Sun and Jin for similar reasons. And I think he's using Michael as his "man on the boat." The more I think about it, the more it seems like he hand picked all of the 815 passengers, manipulated them onto the plane, so that he could use every single one of them.

Ben's bedroom looks just like mine! Books and masks galore! Plus I have a star map, although it's not hanging on my wall.

Teases from the Producers
According to Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse:

"Miles isn't here to make friends. He's here for something else. And it ain't what he told us at the end of Episode 2. (That they had come for Ben.)"

"Physics can be fun. They can also be incredibly dangerous. Watch Faraday demonstrate both."

"Lapidus is like a lot of fans of Lost— he never takes anything at face value. A true conspiracy nut, he has probably seen every episode of TheX-Files, and that's going to pay off for him."

Deleted Scene
According to super-fan DocArzt, who saw an early screening of last night's episode, an interesting scene was cut where Miles, Kate, and Sayid approach the sonic fence. Kate and Sayid try to figure out how to turn it off, but Miles goes into his ghost-trance again, and then decides to walk through the fence. It's off. Did the Island ghosts tell him that? Click here for DocArzt's full description.

Next Week
"Eggtown," written by Elizabeth Sarnoff and Greg Nations, directed by long-time vet Stephen Williams (who directed "Confirmed Dead" last week). We find out one more member of the Oceanic 6, according to the preview, which means it must be a flash-forward (Kate's from the look of it, though we already knew about her...). Word on the street is that this episode has one of the biggest ??? moments in the history of the show. Really? Bigger than off-Island, head-hunting, puppy-fixing, bullet-wound cleaning Ben last night?

Indy Trailer (plus Lost and Star Trek news)

2008-02-14T14:05:00.004-05:00

Click here to watch the teaser trailer in glorious Quicktime.

While I don't like the tedious title, I'm very excited about seeing Ford back in the Fedora. As the image of the skull in the poster above hints, there is an extraterrestrial aspect to the story. I guess that makes sense...Indy can't really fight Nazis anymore, now can he?

However, I'm not crazy about the trailer. I think it's the tone more than the imagery. The whole thing looks a little too campy for my taste. Humor is a big part of what makes the first three so good, but after watching the teaser I'm afraid that George Lucas' newfound obsession with camp, as displayed in Star Wars Episodes One through Three, may spoil Indy's return to the big screen.

In other news, EW's Jeff Jensen has a great tease for tonight's Lost here, where he actually almost sorta-kinda agrees with my "Lost Theory" from a few days ago (see posts below).

In Jeff's words, "There's a secret war raging in the larger Lost world — a war over reality itself. The war is being fought by two rival groups that have knowledge of future events. Each group is leveraging this knowledge to facilitate different, self-serving outcomes. The castaways — and possibly the Freighter Four, too — are pawns in this quantum chess match. They are being moved around the board of the Island — and the larger world — in order to create certain events that generate certain consequences (or useful energies) that are either advantageous to their cause...or disadvantageous to their rival's cause. On one side of the board is Ben. On the other side, Matthew Abbaddon, who, I believe, works for a company that was introduced in the recent online tie-in game ''Find 815'', a group whose name was inspired by James Clerk Maxwell, a group called...the Maxwell Group."

And some bad news for fellow dorks: J.J. Abrams' Star Trek relaunch has been delayed from this December to next May!

This Is Why You Should Watch 30 Rock (plus TV news)

2008-02-13T14:37:00.007-05:00

Believe it or not, this isn't a clip from the show, but one of 30 Rock's stars, Tracy Morgan, on a morning news show. I can't tell if he's trying to be funny, or just really inebriated. The best part is the poor crew of the news show, who can't stop laughing in the background, even though they know they're probably going to be fired after this airs.

In other TV news, the strike is officially, completely over now, after a vote last night by WGA members.

The Office will officially start airing new episodes on April 10th. The first one is called "Dinner Party."

The Lost show-runners also revealed today that they will produce five new episodes, in addition to the already completed eight, which will begin airing in late April! The fourth season will therefore have a month-long hiatus. The plan right now is to hold the 8th episode until the April return, meaning we'll get episodes 1-7 now, and episodes 8-13 starting late April. Can you believe it? Despite the strike, we're going to get a full season of Lost this spring!

Not only that, but Lost will air on Thursday nights at 10PM, right after Ugly Betty at 8PM and Grey's Anatomy at 9PM. People are already buzzing about how powerful ABC will become with that kind of line-up.

For an exhaustive look at every show and when it's returning, click here.

My Lost Theory

2008-02-12T13:30:00.000-05:00

Preface: The following is by no means meant to be a cure-all for every mystery on the show. I don't even claim to be right about anything. It's just the way I've chosen to look at what's happening every Thursday at 9:00 PM.

Intro: Even a casual viewer of Lost can tell that it's a show about dualism. Good versus Evil. Science versus Faith. Physical versus Metaphysical. And perhaps most importantly, Free Will versus Fate. The show challenges us to figure out where to draw the line between these polarities. I'll come back to these themes in the paragraphs below.

In my mind, the show's central mysteries today are:
1) What makes the Island special?
2) What is the nature of its phenomena (visions, whispers, healing properties)?
3) What is the nature of time on the show (Desmond's flashes, etc.)?
4) What was the objective of the Dharma Initiative?
5) What is the nature of the Black Smoke and what is its agenda?
6) What is the objective of the Others?
7) What is the nature of Jacob?
8) What is the objective of the four newcomers?

Thesis: Via its unique, powerful, unexplainable electromagnetic field, the Island allows for the physical manifestation of sentient Will.

Sounds simplistic and dense at the same time, doesn't it? But before you laugh at it, let's see how this perspective could answer the eight questions above.

1) What makes the Island special?

John Locke was paralyzed, but wanted desperately to walk again. Jin-Soo Kwon was infertile, but wanted desperately to father a child. Rose was terminally ill, but desperately wanted to live.

Upon their arrival on the Island, all of them got exactly what they wanted.

In The Man From Tallahassee, Ben speaks to Locke of a box: "What if I told you that, somewhere on this island, there is a very large box, and whatever you imagined, whatever you wanted to be in it when you opened that box, there it would be?"

What if that box is the Island itself?

This could help us make sense of Walt's abilities. When playing backgammon with Hurley, he blew on his dice, and rolled exactly what he wanted to, over and over. When learning to throw a knife from Locke, he was told to visualize the knife's path, and when he did, the nine-year-old threw it just as well as his 50-year-old mentor could. And in Special, Walt's emotional fervor causes a nearby bird to lose its navigational senses, which are based on the earth's magnetic field, and crash into the window (watch the mobisode Room 23 for more of Walt's disruptive effects on birds).

Simply put, the Island is special because it manifests the conscious will of its inhabitants, and some more than others. This is not unlike the Green Lantern's power ring, if you want a metaphor. And where have we seen the Green Lantern? Oh yeah, on Walt's comic book from Season 1.

2) What is the nature of the Island's phenomena?

The manifestation of conscious will can explain the purported "healing properties" of the Island. And perhaps Richard Alpert, and other like him, do not wish to age? And perhaps dying people on the Island, like Boone or Anna Lucia, do not wish to die, thus creating a permanent echo of themselves that won't perish? And maybe other characters, like Jack, Hurley, Ben, or Eko, want to come in contact with people who died off the Island, because of some unfinished business (Christian, Dave, his mother, and Yemi, respectively). Could that explain why they are ghosts and whispers all over the place?

3) What is the nature of time on the show?

If we accept the idea that the Island allows for the manifestation of will, of Free Will with a capital "W," how can we incorporate the words of Mrs. Hawking (named after time-travel theorist Stephen Hawking), a figure from Desmond's past, who says that he has a "defined path" to follow, and that even if he refuses to comply, the universe has a way of "course correcting"? The answer, in my opinion, lies in taking a look at the other people on the show who speak in those terms. Namely, Brother Campbell and Charles Widmore.

Brother Campbell (named after the mythographer Joseph Campbell, obsessed with the "path of the hero"), who actually has a framed picture in his office of himself with Mrs. Hawking, also told Desmond that he had a defined "path" to follow. In my mind, he was manipulated by Campbell into leaving the monastery and thus meeting Penelope on that day. Which, in turn, led to their relationship. At that point, he was manipulated by her father, Charles Widmore, into going on that race around the world. Which, in turn, wound up putting him on the Island. So, these people who've been telling Desmond that he has a destined path are really just manipulating him into following a path they've devised for him. Even when he went back in time, and had a chance to stay with Penny, Mrs. Hawking manipulated him into thinking that he had no choice but to leave her. How do I know that this is true? Just look at his "visions" of the future. They don't show a defined future like they should, do they? He sees all kinds of things that don't end up happening, because he utilizes his Free Will to prevent them. In my mind, this is the Island telling Desmond not to listen to the Temporal Police, which is what I've started calling the group of people who manipulated Desmond. The question then is why is it so important for Desmond to reach the Island?

I think it's because the Island does not exist in the same space-time continuum as we do. It inhabits something called a closed time-like curve, or a "time-loop" in Minkowski space (if Minkowski sounds familiar, that's because its the name of the guy on the freighter). The only way to enter this little mini-universe is through the 12 Vile Vortices that I mentioned in my Confirmed Dead analysis last Friday.

Sounds dense, I know, but all it means is that the events on the Island have already occurred several times before. Perhaps each time they end in a catastrophic way, and the Temporal Police manipulated Desmond into reaching the Island because he would have the courage, unlike Kelvin, to turn the Fail-Safe key and stop the catastrophe.

4) What is the nature of the Dharma Initiative?

In short, to exploit the power of the Island for some unknown purpose. Given the unethical nature of their experimentation (see B. F. Skinner or the Milgram Experiment), I would hazard to guess the goal of the Initiative may have been a benevolent one with malicious means to attain it. In my mind, Dharma is just one part in a larger faction of individuals who represent the Science, Physical, and Manipulation sides of the themes I mentioned at the beginning. Also in this group, the Temporal Police and whoever Abbadon represents. Considering Charles Widmore and Abbadon's Maxwell Group are all funded by the same pockets, I think this is a reasonable theory.

5) What is the nature of the Black Smoke and what is its agenda?

We haven't been given enough information on it to really come up with an answer, but given the fact that the blast door in the Swan called it the Cerberus System, referred to vents that it uses, and alluded to a malfunction, I think its safe to say it's an artificial construction, probably by the Dharma Initiative, that got out of hand and now has a mind of its own. It looks to me like ferrous volcanic ash that's being manipulated by the electromagnetic field of the Island. And it looks to me like it's judging the inhabitants of the Island one-by-one, it an attempt to weed out people who might be dangerous. After all, would you want just anyone to be able to manifest their conscious and subconscious desires? This might explain why it destroyed an unrepentant Eko.

6) What is the nature of the Others?

The Others, too, appear to be charged with the task of separating good people from bad people, such as the ones on "Jacob's List". They may understand the real power of the Island, and want to protect it and the rest of the world from the possibility that its power could fall into the wrong hands. They are probably an amalgam of people who've found themselves on the Island for thousands of years, people who got sucked through those pesky Vortices. They weed out people who want to exploit the powers of the Island (such as the Purge of the Initiative members).

7) What is the nature of Jacob?

He looks to me like an example of what Walt or Locke could become in the future. Someone who really understands the power of the Island. Jacob understands the Island so well, he's not even enslaved by time and space anymore. As for his actual identity, I think he's Magnus Hanso, grandfather of Dharma-founder Alvar Hanso and captain of the Black Rock (where Richard was his first mate, I bet).

8) What is the nature of the four newcomers?

In all of this, there are two sides. Light and Dark, like Locke said in the Pilot when playing Backgammon with Walt (pictured above). One side can be represented by Science, Dharma, Maxwell, Abbadon, and the manipulation of human beings to achieve a goal (I think ALL of the characters were manipulated into reaching the Island like Desmond). The other side can be represented by Faith, the Others, Jacob, Locke, and the Island's rewards for the power of Free Will. These newcomers were sent here by the first side, the Science side, to find out what happened to the Dharma Initiative. They are, after all, looking for the man responsible for the Purge. But that doesn't mean that the newcomers necessarily both fall into the Science side. Miles and Frank, for example, seem to rely on faith and intuition, while Dan and Charlotte rely on science and physical evidence. Like the survivors of 815, they'll have to choose sides eventually. Do we protect the power of the Island to manifest human will, or do we exploit it for our own good?

Am I right about any of this? Probably not, but it'll be interesting for me to read this again after the series finale in 2010!

What I'm listening to right now on Pandora - What Goes Around, Comes Around by Justin Timberlake.

Strike Update: Your Shows

2008-02-11T13:47:00.000-05:00

I started adding these to the end of today's original post below, but there are so many now that I think it deserves its own:

UPDATE #1: Hayden Panettiere (Cheerleader Royale) is saying that Heroes won't start production until April, and won't air until September. I could care less, except to see just how bad this show can get.

UPDATE #2: Office show-runner Greg Daniels says they will produce 6 new episodes before the summer. Can't wait to see how they incorporate Angela's real-life pregnancy! Will there be Baby-Dwights running around the office soon?

UPDATE #3: Chuck will be held back until September. As fond as I am of Chuck and Morgan (and the visage of Yvonne Strahovski), I think it'll be good for the show. As the critics say, it needs a little more narrative direction.

UPDATE #4: Lots of shows are talking now:

24 - Late fall or January 2009
30 Rock - 5 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May/June
Battlestar Galactica - First half of 20-episode season airs April 4th, second half goes into production in March.
Big Love - Season 3 will start production in March
Big Shots - Canceled
Bionic Woman - Canceled
All versions of CSI - 4 to 7 new eps before the summer
Desperate Housewives - 4 to 7 new eps before the summer
ER - No word yet
Friday Night Lights - No word yet, but may be canceled.
Grey's Anatomy - 4 to 7 new eps before the summer, much to my chagrin
House - 4 to 6 new eps before the summer
Journeyman - Canceled
All versions of Law and Order - No word yet
Lost - See post below
NCIS - 3 new eps before summer
Private Practice - Shoved back until fall
Pushing Daisies - Shoved back until fall
Samantha Who? - Three eps already finished, 4 to 6 more to come before the summer.
Two and a Half Men - 4 to 7 new eps before summer
Ugly Betty - 5 to 7 new eps before summer

It's Over...Now What?

2008-02-11T11:15:00.000-05:00

Well, technically it isn't exactly over...yet. The WGA had a meeting on Saturday to discuss the New Deal, and now the plan is to vote on it tomorrow. If they vote YES, writers will go back to work on Wednesday. If they vote NO, the strike will continue until the deal is "ratified," which will take another 10-12 days.

My guess? They're eager to get back to work, and will vote YES tomorrow. That means actual production on most shows will start back in 2 or 3 weeks. Luckily for us, the networks are planning on extending the 2008 season to late June. That's great news for us, because we'll get about 3 1/2 months of new TV before the summer hiatus.

The show-runners behind Lost have already committed to producing as much as six additional episodes this season, for a total of 14 episodes of Season 4, as opposed to the originally-planned 16. My hope is that the writers will re-tool the second half of this season to make it fit into 14 episodes, instead of holding two episodes until next spring (ick). That means we'd get an entire season of Lost this spring, and a fast-paced one at that, with less filler.

No word yet on other shows...it's still really early. I'll post anything I find out here, so you won't have to dig around.

LOST Thoughts - Week 2

2008-02-08T13:13:00.000-05:00

"Confirmed Dead"

Now THAT was a good episode of Lost. New mysteries, forward narrative motion, and character development. Speaking of characters, I'll start by looking at each of the four newcomers (EW's Jeff Jensen makes a great comparison between them and the Fantastic Four).

Daniel Faraday

Who is he?
He's a physicist. He's married. According to Naomi, he's a "head case". He appears to be more trusting and sympathetic than the other three newcomers. In the episode's first brilliant flashback, he watches a news report on the discovery of Flight 815 on the ocean floor, and finds himself crying, completely inexplicably. Is he just emotionally unstable, as Naomi seems to believe? Or is there some kind of time-travel going on here? Compare it to Desmond's experience in Flashes Before Your Eyes, when he recognized his microwave's alarm, but couldn't consciously remember why (it was the sound of the Swan's timer).

Best Line of the Night
"The light...it's strange out here, isn't it? It's like it doesn't...scatter...quite right."
Could he be alluding to an artificial light source? Is the Island really in a bubble on the bottom of the ocean? On a space station? In Truman's dome?

Why was he chosen?
Considering his profession and his name (see Michael Faraday), I'd say for his electromagnetic expertise.

Miles Straume

Who is he?
He's a con-man like Sawyer, and apparently a Ghost Whisperer like Jennifer Love-Hewitt. His name is a homophone for maelstrom, a Nordic word for a swirling body of water, and the name of that creepy boat ride in the Norwegian part of EPCOT that scared the crap out of me in 1993.

In the weirdest part of last night's episode, Miles used a cold-air device to bring out the ghost of a dead drug dealer. I have to admit, I wasn't too hot about this turn of events. So far, Lost has at least been ostensibly grounded in reality. But talking to ghosts? Off the Island? Here's my theory that may hopefully explain Miles' ability in another way:

Could he be pulling a 'Desmond'? Maybe he's not talking to any spirits. Maybe he uses the space/body of the deceased to re-experience the past like Desmond did. I like this idea better than Ghostbusting.

Best Line(s) of the Night:
"I collect soil samples."
and...
"You guys were on Oceanic Flight 815? WOW."
Why aren't they surprised to see survivors? Abbadon assured Naomi that there were none.

Why was he chosen?
Well, we know that dead people make quite an impact on Island events (Jack's Dad, Yemi, Ben's Mom, Boone, etc.), so Miles may be useful for communication purposes. Some people think Jacob is dead as well.

Charlotte Staples Lewis

Who is she?
A British cultural anthropologist. From her flashback, she appears to be pretty tough. However, what is a cultural anthropologist doing with polar bear bones? She's not a paleontologist! She did, however look very happy to find that Hydra Station collar. Is she familiar with Dharma? And as Jeff Jensen points out, her name, Charlotte Staples Lewis, is very similar to Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis.

Speaking of the polar bear, the fact that she found it in Tunisia brings me back to a theory about the Island that I've had ever since the Black Rock popped up in season one. Ever heard of the Vile Vortices? They're nine Bermuda-Triangle-esque areas across the globe where ship/planes purportedly disappear. There's one in the South Pacific, where the REAL 815 could have flown into; one off the Eastern Coast of Africa, right where the Black Rock was last noted sailing; one off the Western Coast of the U.S., near Portland (where Juliet was taken en route to the Island). There's one at each pole, where the wintry listening post could have been in the Season 2 finale. And there's one in...Tunisia, where the biplane carrying Yemi was headed, and where this polar bear turned up.

Maybe these Vortices are the doorways to and from the Island, which acts as a sort of dumping ground. Perhaps the Island doesn't exist in regular space-time, but on a closed time-like curve, and can only be accessed via these nine gateways. After all, a vortex is a whirpool (a maelstrom), and Richard told Juliet that the trip to the Island would be too intense without a sedative, and both Naomi and Frank's helicopter seemed to have a lot of trouble in the air.

Best Line of the Night
"Is that your baby? Did you have him here on the Island?"
It sounded innocent, but I think Charlotte knows about the Island's prohibition on procreation.

Why was she chosen?
My best guess is to investigate the cultural presence on the Island, such as the Others, or the Black Rock survivors and even earlier inhabitants (the four-toed ones). Of course, all of the earlier Island inhabitants are probably part of the Others now.

Frank Lapidus

Who is he?
A washed-up pilot who should've been on 815. Not much more to his character as of yet, other than Naomi's belief that he's a drunk.

Best Line of the Night
"She's a native."
Just what kind of intel did mastermind Abbadon gives these people about the Island?

Why was he chosen?
Well, it looks like he may be the only person who doesn't believe that the plane wreckage is real. Maybe sending him to the Island will keep him quiet? And why wasn't he on the plane as planned? Was he manipulated by the Temporal Police(another post, I promise), or was he too drunk to fly that day?

Other Observations

Ben
How about that picture of him that Miles had? Was it taken off-Island? The giant CRT monitor behind Ben suggests the photo is at least 5 years or so old. Why are they there for Ben? It certainly suggests that Matthew Abbadon, the creepy recruiter of the newcomers, has some kind of connection to Dharma. Perhaps they want their Island back from the man who destroyed the Initiative!

And who is Ben's man on the boat? Minkowski? My guess is that it's Michael. We know he's returning this season. My guess is that Ben sent someone into the real world to manipulate Michael into getting on that freighter and working for him.

Jack's Heroic Moment
I loved the scene where he tells Miles and Dan to put their guns down because they're being sniped, to which Miles replies, "How stupid do you think I am?" When Sayid and Juliet, two of my absolute favorites (along with Locke and Desmond) popped out with guns, I was PRAYING that Jack would say, "I don't know, how stupid are you?" And he did.

Locke's Providence
I totally called this last year! Locke pointed out that if he hadn't been missing a kidney thanks to his terrible father, Ben's bullet probably would have killed him.

Next Week's Episode
"The Economist", written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (D.O.C, Greatest Hits), directed by Jack Bender (the season one finale, the season two and three premieres and finales). Does the title refer to the news publication, or the profession?

The episode features a flash-forward. Another one of the Oceanic 6 is revealed. Dan performs some kind of experiment on the Island. Locke and company head for the Barracks. Jack and company try to fix the chopper. Can't wait!

In other news, Disney drop-out (or kick-out rather) Michael Eisner is claiming that the Writers Strike is over. For perhaps the first time ever, I'm hoping that Eisner is right about something.

It's Almost Over, I Promise

2008-02-06T15:43:00.000-05:00

That's right - this week could be the end of the WGA strike against the AMPTP.

After three months without work, and about a month without talks, both sides went back to the bargaining table this week, and the word on the street is that a resolution is imminent (an interim one, at least). Mark my words, I predict the strike will be over by next Friday.

But what does this mean for TV watchers like you and me? It depends on the show, but most series will be able to start production back up two to four weeks after a deal is made, which translates into new TV for us by mid-March.

Lost, for example, would be able to complete four or five more episodes before the end of the 2007-2008 season, if the strike ends by next Friday. That means we'll get 12 to 13 (instead of just 8) of the originally-planned 16 episodes of Season 4. The leftover eps will likely be tacked onto Season 5 in 2009.

Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty are in almost the exact same situation as Lost, so viewers could hope for four or five new eps before May. Shows like The Office, Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, Samantha Who?, and 30 Rock may be able to crank out more than that, simply because production is cheaper and quicker. Nine or ten new episodes might be possible.

But there are some shows that will probably get pushed back. Chuck, Pushing Daisies, and Heroes will like get pulled until the Fall, because they'd only be able to finish two or three by May. Unlucky fans of 24 will probably have to wait until winter 2009. And NBC's Friday Night Lights may get canceled altogether due to abysmal ratings (sorry, Joel). In my opinion, they should cancel Heroes instead, and I don't even watch FNL. Did we really need 8 episodes of Hiro flirting with a girl in feudal Japan? Or those useless twins? Or the return of the most one-dimensional character ever, Sylar? Get it together, Kring.

Hollywood's Most Date-able

2008-02-05T12:03:00.000-05:00

Not most attractive, not most successful, but most date-able.

Are all celebrities full of themselves like Jennifer Aniston and Val Kilmer? Or tantrum-tantrum-throwing like Russell Crowe and Sandra Bullock? If you ever make it big and find yourself in Hollywood, here are the down-to-earth men and women you should target.

(And yes, I do realize that this is utterly pointless. But who are you to complain about the eye candy below?)

Women

10.
Who: Elizabeth Mitchell

What: Lost, ER, The Santa Clause 2 and 3.

Why: Just watch any episode of Lost that she's in, and you'll see why. She's tough as nails, and extremely versatile. The rest of the cast say she's a joy to work with every day.

9.
Who: Anna Friel

What: Pushing Daisies, A Midsummer Night's Dream

Why: Other than being flat-out adorable, she had the intelligence to marry one of my favorite, most underrated actors, David Thewlis (aka Remus Lupin). I guess that kind of hurts her date-ability, though...

8.
Who: Hayden Panettiere

What: Heroes, Remember the Titans

Why: She's a huge activist, especially for animal rights. And she's cute, which helps.

7.
Who: Emmy Rossum

What: The Phantom of the Opera, The Day After Tomorrow, Poseidon

Why: This girl has got some serious pipes! If you haven't seen Schumacher's 2004 adaptation of Phantom, you need to immediately (and not just for her voice).

6.
Who: Kristen Bell

What: Heroes, Veronica Mars

Why: She's a self-admitted geek. Who wouldn't want a girl you can watch Star Wars and read Spider-man with?

5.
Who: Amy Adams

What: Enchanted, Junebug, Catch Me If You Can, Charlie Wilson's War

Why: She's probably the next Julia Roberts. She smart and consistently makes wise career moves. Her performance in Junebug garnered her an Oscar nomination, and she deserves kudos for making a risky concept like Enchanted work so well.
4.
Who: Tina Fey

What: Saturday Night Live, Mean Girls, 30 Rock

Why: Who says dorky can't be sexy? Fey's not just a talented actress, but a first-class writer. 30 Rock remains the best show no one's watching.

3.
Who: Natalie Portman

What: Garden State, Closer, V For Vendetta

Why: Born in Jerusalem, educated at Harvard, and multilingual in French, Hebrew, Japanese, German and Arabic. She's smart, successful, and approachable at the same time. Not to mention she somehow still looked good with a shaved head.

2.
Who: Rachel McAdams

What: The Notebook, Wedding Crashers, The Time Traveler's Wife

Why: Just watch one of her movies and see if you can keep yourself from liking her. A lot. Plus, she's Canadian!

1.
Who: Jenna Fischer

What: The Office, Walk Hard, Blades of Glory

Why: Don't let her bland, mild-mannered secretary character fool you - the real Jenna is gorgeous, and a huge activist and philanthropist, and according to her Office co-stars one of the kindest people on earth. She even keeps a myspace blog to communicate with her fans.

Men

Who: Eric Bana

What: Troy, Munich, The Time Traveler's Wife

Why: Did you SEE him in Troy? I've never wanted to see someone kill Brad Pitt so much. Let's just all pretend like Hulk never happened, okay?

Who: Shia LaBoeuf

What: Transformers, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls

Why: He's the next Tom Hanks. Period.

Who: Chris Evans

What: Cellular, Sunshine, Not Another Teen Movie, Fantastic Four

Why: He manages to be funny and cocky without being a jerk. Take that Dane Cook. Can anyone stand him anymore?

Who: Matthew Fox

What: Lost, Vantage Point, Speed Racer

Why: He's so tough it's scary. He grew up on a horse ranch in Wyoming and played football in college.

Who: Christian Bale

What: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Prestige, Rescue Dawn

Why: He's Batman. BATMAN, I TELL YOU!

Who: John Krasinski

What: The Office, Leatherheads

Why: Nice, unassuming, and hilarious. Just pretend like License to Wed never happened, because without exaggeration, that was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. So Hollywood, stop casting Dane Cook in all of these movies and give guys like Krasinski and Evans something to do.

This Trailer Isn't Really "Happening" For Me...

2008-02-04T15:07:00.000-05:00

Well, The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable are timeless classics in my opinion. Signs was an amazing interactive experience, if you were lucky enough to see it on a rainy night in a jam-packed movie theater, but it didn't hold up well to another viewing at home. The Village was ruined by its own misleading advertising. Lady In The Water was, well...bad. Except for the score.

M. Night Shyamalan's next, The Happening, stars Mark Wahlberg (The Departed), Zooey Deschanel (Elf, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), and John Leguizamo (Ice Age, Moulin Rouge, Super Mario Brothers), and features one of the worst film titles in recent history. When a word is very rarely used as a noun, it probably shouldn't be a movie title. As for the story, imagine Alfred Hithcock's take on An Inconvenient Truth, and you'll have a general idea of the premise.

I actually read an early, leaked version of the screenplay, and was less than impressed. I was hoping that Shyamalan's original trouble selling the script would have urged him to rewrite it, but watching the trailer, the scenes look exactly the same as they were when I read it 8 months ago. The most exciting part for me was seeing shots of Philadelphia's Fairmount Park and Rittenhouse Square, both of which were stops on my solo visit to the City of Brotherly Love three summers ago. I also saw the church, school, restaurant, and house from The Sixth Sense, and the restaurant and art gallery from Unbreakable while I was there.

The teaser poster above was enticing, but the trailer below looks fairly run-of-the-mill. I'm starting to think that Shyamalan, like George Lucas, fell and hit his head some years ago. The Happening opens this June, Friday the 13th.

Lost Thoughts - Week 1

2008-02-01T12:44:00.000-05:00

Can anyone think of a better/shorter title for these weekly posts? Loughts, maybe? Thost?

Don’t worry, this isn’t a tedious recap. It’s a list of my thoughts/observations. But to tell you the truth, I was slightly disappointed with last night’s premiere. Just slightly. Before you hate me for saying that, hear me out. Compare last night’s episode to the premieres from Seasons 1-3. Think about how much new information those episodes revealed (Desmond in the Swan, the Others in the Barracks). Last night was a great stand-alone episode, for sure, but I guess it didn’t feel like a premiere to me. From what I’ve heard about next week’s, though, it’ll satiate my hunger for information…

In the thoughts below, I will be referring to a few things that we learned through the “Find 815” ARG. So if you see something you didn’t know, it’s not a spoiler, I promise.

1. Future Hurley

So Hugo’s money is gone, giving him a chance to start his life over, curse-free. Until the hobbit pops up in a 7-11, that is. My advice to you is to go back and re-watch the scene in the police interrogation room; you know, the one where Charlie swam up to the glass and made you pee in your pants a little when it shattered? Turns out there was something written on his hand, and this time it wasn’t “Not Penny’s Boat”…

Scroll over to see what it was: They Need You.

Speaking of Future Hurley, I can tell you for certain that the creepy African-American guy who paid him a visit at Santa Rosa Hospital was neither an Oceanic employee nor a figment of his imagination, which brings me to…

2. Matthew Abaddon

Abaddon was originally a Hebrew word for Sheol, which is basically Hell. It later became the name of a demon/dark angel, who in Revelation was the King of Locusts. The Greeks called him Apollyon. Here he is killing someone:

In Lost, Matthew Adabbon is played by Lance Reddick (The Wire), who is one of the five new cast members of the season (you’ll meet the rest next week). In my opinion, his performance last night was the best part of the episode (Ben’s sarcastic remarks were the second best part: “Jack, with your permission I’d like to go with John.”)

It looks like Matthew Abaddon is a high-ranking member of the organization that the “freighters” represent, which was revealed on Find815.com…

3. The Maxwell Group

A division of Widmore Industries (Penny’s pop), the Maxwell Group is named after real-life physicist James Clerk Maxwell, an early pioneer in electromagnetism. They’ve got a website, www.the-maxwell-group.com, but so far no one has been able to login. In the Find815 narrative, they manipulated former Oceanic employee Sam Thomas into joining a search for the wreckage of the Black Rock. Following their clues, Sam lead a boat to a set of coordinates in the Sunda Trench where he found the supposed wreckage of Flight 815 on the ocean floor.

So we know that Naomi wasn’t lying about that. But we also know that the Maxwell Group tricked poor Sam into finding a “dummy” plane, so that the search efforts would stop. My guess? Penelope’s father, Charles Widmore, doesn’t want anyone looking for the real plane (or therefore, the Island). He’s one of the Temporal Police, a theory of mine that I’ll explain in another post.

Speaking of the Maxwell Group, we did meet one other member at the very end of last night’s episode, a character named Daniel Faraday played by Jeremy Davies (Solaris), another new cast member (check the credits). Guess what? Faraday is the name of another electromagnetic physicist, whose work was expounded upon by Maxwell. Maybe Daniel is his descendant? Next week, we’ll learn a lot more about the Maxwell Group.

4. The Oceanic Six

We heard Hurley screaming this at the beginning of the episode. Apparently, the real world thinks that Flight 815 crashed into the ocean, since it was found by Sam Thomas in the Sunda Trench. We know from Through the Looking Glass that Jack is known in 2007 as a hero, apparently for saving the lives of himself and five other people who were aboard the plane. The question is, what kind of cover story did they come up with? Floating on an emergency raft for 3 months? And who made them lie about it? The Maxwell Group? And most intriguing of all, who exactly are the Oceanic Six? We know that Jack, Kate, and Hurley made it off the Island. That leaves three more. Desmond’s flashes told him that Claire and Aaron would be rescued. Does Aaron count as a whole person? If so, that would leave one more unaccounted for. Perhaps whoever winds up in that coffin? I don’t think so (I think that’s Michael). It will be very interesting to see who gets rescued and how. After all, Hurley chose to go with Locke, so how does he end up getting rescued? And why does he regret choosing to go with Locke? And what’s happened to the survivors who were left behind? Why do they need the Six to come back? So many questions!

5. Jacob’s Traveling Shack

Looks like this thing’s mobile. Creepy. And in case you didn’t get a good look inside, that was Jack’s dead father, Christian Shephard, sitting in the rocking chair (see the pic at the top). Someone else popped up in the window and scared the crap out of Hurley (and me). Here he is:

My guess? We’ve seen Jack’s dad on the Island before. We’re pretty sure that the Smoke Monster can look like anything it wants to (Yemi, Black Horses, etc.), so I think that Jack’s dad was an embodiment of the Smoke, and that the mysterious guy who looked through the window was Jacob. Some people think Jacob=Smoke, but this scene argues otherwise, in my opinion. It looked to me as though Jacob and Smokey were having some kind of pow-wow. As for why Jacob decided to show himself to Hurley, that’s beyond me. And speaking of Jacob…

6. Charlie’s Ghost

I’m pretty sure that Charlie wasn’t just a hallucination on the part of Hurley. As Hurley said toward the end of the episode to Jack, “It wants us to go back.” I take “it” to mean the Island, and the appearance of Charlie, who tries to convince Hurley to go back, to mean that Jacob’s (or the Island’s) power extends into the real world. After all, Ben told Juliet that Jacob could heal her sister’s cancer while she was in Portland.

One of the most interesting things about the show now will be figuring out who on earth Jacob is. His living arrangements appear to hark back to the Black Rock. Could he be its captain, Magnus Hanso, ancestor of Dharma-founder Alvar Hanso? That’s my best guess. Something happened to him on the Island and he’s no longer corporeal. My guess is that the inhabitants that were already on the Island (the four-toed ones), saw Jacob/Magnus as some sort of God/Messiah to deliver them from evil (the ever-judgmental Smokey), similar to the way the Aztecs responded to Cortez. But how he went from Captain Barbossa to all-powerful ghost is beyond me. I also think that Richard was on the Black Rock as well. Just look at his clothes in The Man Behind the Curtain. The question then becomes, why aren’t these people aging? Is that why the Island violently prevents procreation, for population control? Did it give Ben a tumor because he was messing with the reproduction rule?

Here are a few shorter observations:

- Jack’s a tool. How could he shoot Locke point-blank in the face? Shouldn’t the Doc just be happy about getting rescued? Obviously Locke has good intentions, Jack, or he wouldn’t have attempted to convince the rest of you to come with him. If he was crazy, he’d have just run away and saved himself. I’ve always liked Jack, and felt awful for him for what his terrible ex-wife did, but he’s losing my affection. Locke’s my boy.

-Ben and Danielle have a history. Watch that scene where he asks her to hide Alex again. She’s claimed to have never encountered the Others before, but there’s a lot more to Danielle’s story.

- Does this season feel like the final season to anyone else? I guess it’s because there are people off the Island, or maybe that nostalgic scene at the cockpit, but last night’s episode really did feel like the beginning of the end.

Next week’s episode, Confirmed Dead, was written by Brian K. Vaughn (Y: The Last Man) and Drew Goddard (Cloverfield). The flashbacks (or forwards?) center around (scroll to reveal): The "freighters" a.k.a Maxwell Groupees.

I’m pumped.

2009's Tentpole Movies

2008-01-31T10:56:00.001-05:00

You're probably already aware of this year's biggest movies (Indiana Jones 4, Iron Man, The Dark Knight, The Happening, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Incredible Hulk). But what about next year?

At the request of a friend, today I'll take a look at the most anticipated movies of 2009. If the WGA strike goes on for much longer, 2009 will be when studios and production companies run out of screenplays to produce!

Here they are (ranked subjectively by my level of anticipation).

13. The Road

This post-apocalyptic novel by Cormac McCarthy (No Country For Old Men) follows a man and his child as they journey across the country after an unknown disaster destroyed civilization as we know it. Sounds depressing to me, but McCarthy is a master wordsmith, and his novels to date have made great movies (although I think I'm the only person who enjoyed All the Pretty Horses). Consummate cool-guy Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn/Hidalgo) is playing the main role, while Charlize Theron is attached to play his dead wife in flashbacks. If you want to see just how cool Viggo can be, watch A History of Violence.

12. The Alchemist

This is one of my favorite books of all time. Go read it and you will instantly be a better person. The movie has been in "development hell" for several years, but Laurence Fishburne, who's writing, directing, and starring as the titular character, has recently promised a 2009 release.

11. Wolverine

I wasn't a huge fan of the X-Men franchise. There were things I liked, but the idiocy of characters like Storm, Cyclops, and virtually every villain were enough to turn me off. I also hate Bryan Singer. Nevertheless, one of the main things I did like was Hugh Jackman, so I've got my hopes up for his solo spin-off, directed by Gavin Hood (Tsotsi) and featuring creepmaster Liev Schreiber and baby-faced Michelle Monaghan as Stryker and the Silver Fox. Reportedly the movie will explore Wolverine's origins (he's over 100 years old).

10. The Goonies 2

I'm not kidding. Writer/producer Steven Spielberg and director Richard Donner both say the original DVD is selling so well that a sequel is inevitable. That means Sam Astin (a.k.a. Samwise Gamgee), Josh Brolin (the hick from No Country For Old Men), and Cory Feldman might be back on the big screen searching for treasure and screaming "HEY YOU GUYS!!!"

9. The Green Hornet

Here's a golden age crimefighter you've probably never heard of. Think Dick Tracy with a blackbelt. A few years ago, some French guys made a pretty cool fan film that inspired Seth Rogen of all people (Knocked Up's leading man) to produce and star in a feature film. The biggest question now is who will play the Green Hornet's Asian sidekick, Kato. Stephen Chow and Tony Jaa are both in talks. If you've never seen Tony Jaa in action, check this out (ignore the awful music):

8. Thor

Not the actual Norse god, but the Marvel version of him. Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Stardust) is set to helm this one, with Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend) on script duty. It's part of Marvel's build-up to an eventual Avengers movie, along with this year's Iron Man and Incredible Hulk.

7. Spider-man 4

Let's all agree, the third one sucked. But the first two were great, weren't they? Columbia Pictures has already committed to releasing at least three more. Luckily, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst say they'll come back for at least one more if director Sam Raimi is involved. Raimi's probably going to end up directing the two Lord of the Rings prequels based on The Hobbit, so he'll likely just be a producer on the fourth Spider-man. The good news is that master screenwriter James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) has been hired to pen the script, and Columbia has restricted the villain count to two per movie. So far, the Lizard and Kraven the Hunter are the top possibilities according to the executive producers.

6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Part 1

That's right, I said part one. Just last week Warner Brothers announced they would split the 700-page tome into two films. Probably a smart move on their part. Pretty soon they aren't going to have any more Potters to make millions with. Why not stretch it out? Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth ) also confirmed this week that he'll be directing at least one of them.

5. Transformers 2

Director Michael Bay fast-tracked the screenplay on this huge sequel so that it would get finished before the WGA strike. What should we expect this time? According to Bay, an aircraft carrier Decepticon, Dinobots, Constructicons, and Soundwave. Sounds good to me. I'd pay $7.50 just to hear Optimus Prime talk again.

4. Y: The Last Man

DJ Caruso is directing, with Shia LaBoeuf likely to star (are they the next Scorsese/Leo, or Spielberg/Hanks?) in this adaptation of the critically-acclaimed comic series by Lost writer Brian K. Vaughn (he co-wrote next week's episode along with Cloverfield writer Drew Goddard). The sprawling epic follows the last man on Earth, after an unknown plague almost instantly wipes out every other male mammal on the planet. That's right, Shia LaBeouf plays one man among 3 billion women. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? It's not, apparently. Caruso says the movie will be the first in a trilogy.

3. Neverwhere

If you don't know who Neil Gaiman is yet, you should be ashamed. He wrote the screenplay for Beowulf, the acclaimed Sandman graphic novels, the award-winning books American Gods, Anansi Boys, and Stardust, which was recently adapted to film. This year Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) is making another stop-motion movie based on Gaiman's Coraline. So far, Neverwhere has been a BBC miniseries, a novel, and a graphic novel. I read the novel, and loved it. It takes place in the seedy, mythical underworld of London, where an ordinary man gets involved with some really weird stuff. I'm hoping he gets M. Night Shyamalan to direct.

2. Interstellar

This is Stephen Spielberg's next sci-fi epic. In his words, it's about "a group of explorers who travel through wormholes and into other dimensions." Sounds cool to me. And Jonathan Nolan is writing the script (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight). I'm a big Spielberg fan, but I haven't really liked anything he's done since 1993's Jurassic Park (except for Minority Report, which was decent). I'm hoping Interstellar will be a return to form, and we can all forget about The Terminal, The Lost World, A.I., and War of the Worlds.

1. Watchmen

No less than the graphic novel that got me into comics. It's amazing. Written by Alan Moore (V For Vendetta), it "is set in 1985, in an alternative history United States where costumed adventurers are real and the country is edging closer to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union (the Doomsday Clock is at five minutes to midnight). It tells the story of a group of past and present superheroes and the events surrounding the mysterious murder of one of their own."

Even better, Zach Snyder is directing (300). The image at the top of the post was hidden in the trailer for 300, and is apparently a special effects test for Rorschach, one of the story's characters. Check out the official site where Synder keeps a production blog.

And don't forget, Lost premieres tonight! I'll post my thoughts/theories tomorrow right here. Same bat-time, same bat-channel.

Who needs new TV shows?

2008-01-30T13:36:00.001-05:00

If you're like me, you're sick of this writer's strike. You're not a couch potato, but you do enjoy watching a few shows each week. The good ones (Lost, The Office, 30 Rock, and a few others).

But who needs TV in the age of the internet? Here's a look at some web-based alternatives to television that will quench your thirst for serialized narratives until the tube bounces back.

1. Nowheremen

On June 22, 2002 Derek Border went missing. Over the last few months, clues regarding his disappearance have started popping up online. This is the premise behind Nowheremen, a high-tech "Social Reality Game" that you can play/watch for free online.

Looks pretty cool so far - something to do with synthetic eyes, the future of surveillance, murdered scientists, kidnapped alumni, a giant data center where Derek is trapped. And Derek's girlfriend is still holding onto hope that he's alive.

Have fun: www.nowheremen.net

2. Sanctuary

This one's purely a web-based fantasy television show that you can download for a couple bucks per episode. From the previews, it looks like a cross between Underworld and The X-Files, and was just entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest budgeted series ever produced for the web.

Could be interesting: www.sanctuaryforall.com

3. Stranger Things

Considerably lower-budgeted than the previous two, Stranger Things describes itself as " a world of ordinary people stumbling into the secret lives of the paranormal, the metaphysical, the unnatural, and the strange. The stories expose the bizarre and the extraordinary things happening all around us everyday, hidden behind the veil of the real world." Unlike Sanctuary, the episodes are free, but I haven't had time to download one yet.

Might be laughable, but worth a look: www.strangerthings.tv

4. Jesus People

I've watched a few short episodes of this mockumentary, and fans of The Office will love it. In fact, Meredith makes an appearance in episode 3. The story follows a group of unimaginative twenty-somethings trying to start a Christian pop group. If you can laugh at the naive characters without taking the jokes as a shot a Christianity (they aren't), you'll enjoy the show.

Have a giggle at www.jesuspeople.tv

Worst Movie Titles

2008-01-29T13:31:00.000-05:00

Don't get me wrong, George Lucas isn't responsible for all of the worst movie titles, but I do blame him for starting the trend. For example:

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

Are all of those words really necessary? Can't he take a hint from his buddy, Spielberg, who uses titles like Jaws and E.T.? And George Lucas' latest development, hitting theaters this summer?

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Ick. Wasn't that the name of one of the challenges on Legends of the Hidden Temple?

Other terrible titles include:

How She Move
In theaters now

Step Up 2: The Streets
You see, the 2 is a double entendre, because in addition to denoting a sequel it also sounds like "to the streets". Get it? Isn't it clever?!

Gigli
How do you pronounce this?

Killer Klowns From Outer Space
It's real. And not as old as you think.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life
This one fell victim to the George Lucas Syndrome.

Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death
Not kidding.

Quantum of Solace
Just announced this week as the next Daniel Craig Bond film.