LOST: Eggtown

So Kate ends up with Claire’s baby, Aaron. As Hurley would say, “Didn’t see that one coming.” And we spent the entire episode wondering if the baby’s father was Sawyer or Jack.

This is the first episode with flashforwards that I really enjoyed. Sure, the other flashforward episodes have been great but really haven’t answered questions that we have about the characters. Instead, they’ve just deepened the mystery and left viewers scratching their heads in confusion. Kate’s flashforwards didn’t do that.

We know that Kate is wanted for murder and other crimes and has a strained relationship with her mother. And, if she ever left the islands, we all wanted to know if the law would eventually catch up to her. Not only did we get an answer to the legal questions, but we saw that her complex relationship with her mother was still rather strained.

If the writers could do flashforwards like this in every episode instead of using them simply to sew mystery and confusion then I think as a storytelling device, they’d work a lot better.

Unlike some, I have faith that the writers will tie everything together in the end and we’ll see that they’ve woven a wonderfully crafted story. It just sucks that we have a million questions that need to be answered in the meantime.

Five Years – Two Weeks Early

I know. I know.

I told the world I was going to write about last week’s LOST episode this weekend. I didn’t do it. And because I didn’t, my inbox was flooded with thousands of emails (well, two, actually) asking me to opine on why Sayid is now Ben’s assassin (I have no idea) and who is he trying to kill (I think it’s the same people that sent the boat people to the island – a.k.a. The Dharma Initiative).

Before someone sends another email, let me explain. The weekend didn’t turn out the way I planned it.

After work Friday I was driving home and thinking about the rest of my day: playing with the kids, eating dinner, and watching a movie with Marathon Girl after they went to bed. If I had enough energy, I was going to make some popcorn for the movie.

I came home and instead of kids eating at the table or seeing Marathon Girl working on dinner, the house was eerily quiet. Too quiet. I double-checked to make sure the van was in the garage. (It was.) Then I thought that Marathon Girl and the kids were playing in the family room and we’d be ordering pizza or something for dinner.

I went to the bedroom to hang up my coat and put away my laptop. Much to my surprise Marathon Girl was sitting on the bed and looking rather sexy.

My first thought was: You look great!

My second thought was: Maybe you should put some real clothes on before the kids see you.

My third thought was: I don’t hear the kids. Where are they?

I must have been completely stunned because Marathon Girl got of the bed and put her arms around me and explained that we were celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary two weeks early because this was the only weekend she could get someone to watch the kids overnight.

Did I mention I knew nothing about this and it was a complete surprise?

So instead of writing about LOST or anything else, I spend most of the weekend alone with Marathon Girl celebrating five wonderful years together.

I wouldn't have had it any other way.

And, yes, you can look for a post about the latest episode of LOST tomorrow.

Unless, of course, Marathon Girl has another surprise for me when I get home tonight.

LOST Mysteries Solved

I’ll post my thoughts on the latest episode of LOST sometime this weekend. Until then, those looking for their LOST post fix should see the super secret storyboards to the series finale posted here. If that doesn’t answer all of your LOST-related questions, I don’t know what will.

LOST: Confirmed Dead

Flashbacks instead of flashforwards in this episode? They were appreciated as we got some background on the new people coming to the island. But switching from flasforwards to flashbacks could become very confusing for views unless the writers take great care in what they’re doing. But so far they’ve done a good job, so I’ll patiently wait to see what happens.

And wasn’t it nice to see the writers start to add some depth to the people that parachuted onto the island? It wasn’t as much information as I would have liked but it’s a start. And we might even get some more background on Naomi in future episodes. I’m crossing my fingers that the writers do a good job with these characters as they have with the other people on the island.

I enjoyed the twist at the end that the group is there for Ben. It makes me think my prediction about them being part of (or at least hired by Dharma Initiative people) is on the right track.

Finally, the best part of the episode was when Locke told Sawyer that Ben had shot him. Sawyer skeptically asked what Locke he was doing walking around if he had been shot. Locke then lifts up his shirt, shows the wound and says “The bullet went through and through. Good thing I didn’t have a kidney or else I’d be dead.”

One of the overarching themes of LOST is that things happen for a reason. I’m guessing Locke isn’t so upset about his father taking his kidney anymore.

Too bad his father’s dead.

***

Oh, and for fans of LOST, how many of you actually watched the Oceanic Air commercial that aired last week? I didn't but thanks to YouTube, I finally viewed it last week. There's an interesting trail of breadcrumbs that will keep you hooked to your computer for hours. You can watch the commercial below.

Who the Boat People Are

Here's my prediction for tonight's episode of LOST. Those people on the boat, who we all know aren't there to rescue the survivors of Oceanic flight 815, are really part of the Dharma Initiative. My theory is that after the Others killed everyone on the island, the Dharma Initiative people back in the real world couldn't find the island again and have been searching ever since. Once they find it their plan is to kill whoever they find on the island and re-establish their research projects.

Anyone have other ideas?

LOST: The Beginning of the End

(Note: This is my second post today. For my other entry – my Super Bowl XLII pick – scroll down or click here.)

I was a little worried about this episode. Sure, it’s been hyped by ABC to no end and the television critics (whatever their opinion is worth) have been raving about it for weeks. But I was worried about the flashforwards working as well as the flashbacks.

The flashbacks have been great because they’ve added depth to the characters, made us care about them, and helped us understand why they act the way they do.

But the flashforwards work differently. They don’t really add any depth or more knowledge to the characters. Rather, they work to add to the mystery. It’s almost like the writers are telling a different tale now – one where the main story is what’s going on in the future and the flashbacks being on the island.

This isn’t a bad thing. I loved last night’s episode. (More on that in a minute.) But I foresee problems unless these flashforwards are handled just right.

My main worry is that we won’t learn enough about the “rescuers” who have come to the island that they’ll will become stock, bad guy characters. You know people that are serve no purpose other than to move the plot along. Like Naiomi. We know little about her other than she had a picture of Desmond and really didn’t care about her when she finally died after reprogramming the satellite phone. Yep, she died. Who cares? Quick, Kate, find Jack.

But look how much better flashbacks make even evil characters. Even though Ben, the leader of the Others, is very one of the most despicable characters on the show, we at least sympathize with him somewhat because we know a lot about his background and how he was treated by his father.

So far the writers have made very few errors so I’m going to see how they work with the flashforwards before I pass judgment. I hope they can find away to make them work so that the people who are coming to the island aren’t more than a) evil scientists, b) greedy businesspeople, or c) secret government agents all trying to harness the island’s power that we don’t care nothing about. There’s nothing wrong with the rescuers being one of the above (or something else), so long as we at least understand their motives and know enough about them that we can understand their motivations – even if we don’t agree with them – instead of a clichéd stock characters.

As for the episode last night, wasn’t it wonderful? It had me on the edge of my seat. And did you get that it was Jack’s dad sitting in Jacob’s chair? I really think that Jacob is somehow held hostage by Ben and Others and somehow he’s going to be the one that brings Jack, Kate, Hurley, and the other three castaways back to the island.

I was also surprised but glad the episode focused on Hurley. Because of Hurley’s previous flashbacks, (see how effective they are!) we know to be skeptical when he sees Charlie but can’t help but wonder if the island is trying to communicate with him. More than anything, I just want him to be happy. His brief respite from troubles ended the moment Desmond told him Charlie was dead.

Great episode and I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens to those who stay on the island. Could we see genocide of some of the no name passengers from the “rescuers”? Cross your fingers that the writers give us some in-depth bad guys!

Lost Countdown

Yep, LOST only a week away according to this fancy coundown clock.

But it begs the follwing question: Do I have to push a button every 108 minutes?

(Thanks to Laura for the link.)

Early Birthday Present

 

It isn't often that someone is told what their going to get for their birthday seven weeks in advance. But thanks to E! Online, I now know that LOST -- the best show in the history of television IMHO -- will start its fourth season on my birthday.

The article attributes moving LOST to Thursday nights to the writers' strike but I can'tt help but wonder if some executive at ABC faithfully reads my blog and decided to throw one of the show's biggest fans a bone for patiently waiting nine months for the new season to begin.

At any rate, I hope the writers' strike ends soon as LOST only has eight of its 16 scheduled episodes in the can. If not, I'll be sending my resume to ABC come February to write the remaining eight episodes. If that falls through I have some other ideas I'm willing to pitch.

So to any television executives that read this blog take note: I'm willing to write scripted shows sans representation from the WGA. Just drop me a line and let's chat!

LOST: Through the Looking Glass

Note (05/29/08): If you're looking for the Jeremy Bantham (also spelled Jeremy Bentham) refrence, scroll down to comment number six. My friend Jon called it a year ago!

I can't think of any time a television show has left me speechless. However, after the season finale of LOST last night, I don't know what to say.

Don't misunderstand. I LOVED the episode. If anything the finale proved that LOST is the best damn show in the history of television and I'm anxiously awaiting season four.

*** Major Spoiler Warning ***

But seriously, a flash forward to where Jack is miserable, his ex-wife is pregnant with another man's child, someone connected to the island (I think so, anyway) is dead, and Jack wants to return to the island.

Yeah, the clues that this was a flash-forward were all over the place, weren't they. Jack was wearing contemporary sunglasses and using a modern cell phone, he was sprawled out in a room full of maps of the Pacific Ocean, and flying on Oceanic Airlines with a glimpse of the Los Angeles Times with a headline from April of this year. But most everyone didn't catch that, did they. Instead we were trying to piece together when in Jack's past this was taking place so we were ignoring the obvious clues.

I was listening to the official podcast a couple weeks ago where and Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse were talking about knowing the show would end in 2010. One of the things they said was that now that they knew how many episodes were left, they could create a beautiful tapestry that would not only answer all the show's mysteries but would show us who the charters would become in the future. I think that little clue was lost (no pun intended) on just about everyone. I think we can look for more flash-forwards in upcoming episodes next season.

So most of the Others are dead and a "escue boat" is on it's way to the island. The good news is that at least Kate and Jack will be rescued at some point. The bad news is that for one of them, that may not have been the best thing.

LOST Will End in 2010

So much of telling a story is knowing when to end the tale. It looks like the writers of LOST now know how long they have to conclude the tale of the survivors of Oceanic flight 815.

ABC announced Monday that it would air 16 uninterrupted episodes of "Lost" from February to May in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

The announcement came several months after executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, whose contracts were up this season, discussed publicly their wishes to negotiate a finite ending for their island mystery instead of letting the show stay on the air indefinitely and die unnoticed.

Overall I think this another groundbreaking move for the television show and a good one for the overall plot, story, and characters. The writers will now be able to carefully plan out the remainder of the story and not have it go on and on until it becomes a shell of it's former self a la The X-Files and Alias.

This does make me wonder if they're ever going to bring Walt back on the show. Say they bring him back in 2010 -- four years since we've last seen him. He'll probably be a foot taller and have a five o'clock shadow by them so it remains to be seen how the writers will deal with him (if he comes back) and all the other children on the island who age as well.

Should this prove to be a success, I wonder if we'll see more shows that follow a more compact season (16 episodes run back to back with no reruns). "24" has played around with the no rerun format with success though they run 24 episodes. If it works (read: television can come up with some quality programming) it means television networks could have a lineup that starts in August/September and a completely new one starting in January. Fox does this to some extent but with limited success. Not that it matters to me that much considering LOST is the only show I watch anyway. At least I get three more seasons of it.

The only downside I see to this new format is that after the season finale in three weeks, there will be a nine month hiatus until Season 4 begins.

I'm sure I'll live.

I'm just not sure how. :-)

***

For those who are interested, a preview of tonight's episode "The Man Behind the Curtain" can be seen here.