Probably worth a read

Lost D.O.C. recap

Lost 3:8 Review (spoilers)

First, re: my theories from the end of the fall set of episodes:
- I was quite sure Alex was a set-up. Turns out, not so much. Now I still think this isn't so feasible, considering she was captured by the Others as a baby, not a 10 year old. So her alliance and belief system would be according to what they had taught her. But, maybe she remembers her mom or something, so okay.
- I was also certain the fish biscuits were laced (with some kind of hyper fertility drug). This one I'm thinking is even more plausible considering what we learned about Juliet's work off of the island.

Onwards:
- Good flashback. Not at all annoying and I didn't feel as though it got in the way of the (excellent) island action. If this is what all flashbacks were like (i.e. about an interesting character, revealing things that add to both their development & island mythology, and most of all - brief!) I wouldn't be bitching about them.
- Great action, with Kate and Sawyer running around getting shot at, Ben waking up (super creepily) on the operating table, Jack making decisions, etc.
- The secondary characters are totally not necessary. I didn't even miss Locke.
- Randomly, I still miss Boone. And sometimes Shannon.
- "God loves Jacob" ... good for him! Could Jacob be Ben's father since Ben was born on the island? It might explain why Ben has a fairly powerful position amongst the Others. Or perhaps he just "creeped" his way into it.
- So ever since the sky turned purple (the hatch exploded) time started working differently between the island and the real world. Likely it slowed down in a relative way, meaning the human race has probably self destructed. This would explain why Ben couldn't go there to get help on his spinal tumor. Or perhaps the time warp itself is enough to make travel impossible. BONE TO PICK: even so, Jack and Kate and Sawyer were already being "hooded" and taken to the Others' side of the island when the hatch exploded. Thus, Ben had made the request for Jack before they knew that the time had gone all wonky. Gaffe.
- Juliet & Jack are doctors named Burke and Sheppard. Just like on Grey's Anatomy!
- I liked the shot of Juliet and the Portland guy talking while their faces have the X-ray image on it - how artsy! But why is that guy wearing massive eyeliner?!

Concluding:
- Well I guess I'm suppose to like Juliet more now, but I totally don't. What a whore. That entirely inappropriate insult aside, I have come to accept her as part of the cast. She is, at the very least, interesting. But I still wouldn't buy any Jack-Juliet love. I just don't see it.
- Very, very excited for 15 more weeks of episodes like this! (hopefully!)
- 9.2/10

In honor of tonight

Lost is back! Yay. Now here's one of the most interesting interviews with Lindelof and Cuse that I've read all year. They 'answer' some of the typical fan's most burning questions. Of course their responses are mostly just vague hints, so I wouldn't really call this spoilerish. But don't blame me if you disgaree! I really liked all of the responses they gave, especially the one about the skeletons. One thing I didn't like was this soon-to-be-infamous tidbit:

" ... it speaks to an interrelatedness among characters, why these people, why do they all connect. No amount of mythological answers will ever speak to this. That's the one thing that when the show ends, you won't have a causal explanation for why did all these people interconnect. Why some, why not others? The answer is just that they just do."

Hmph! I guess if's not a big deal if this is the only significant mystery that remains unresolved. But, along with other remarks like (paraphrased), "I think the fans put more thought into the mysteries than we do!", shakes my faith a little. As Matt would retort, they've been good so far so I'll trust them. So I'm just a little bit worried.

PS. Sayid's name anagrams to (I didn't come up with this): Y I sad? LOL.

What's on your PVR?

Here's a sampling of what you can normally find on mine:

- 1-2 episodes of Beverly Hills
- 2-3 episodes of House Hunters
- The Apprentice
- Grey's Anatomy
- The O.C.
- 2-3 episodes of Location, Location & Relocation, Relocation
- Veronica Mars
- Lost (soon)
- Men in Trees (simply to ensure that I don't miss the end of Grey's Anatomy)
- Heroes
- Studio 60
- Some movie that I'll never get around to watching (right now it's Junebug)

That's about it these days. Can't wait for Lost and some of the other crappy reality shows that I watch to come back. What's on your PVR?

Beverly Hills Life Lessons

Today, on a very special episode of 90210 (aren't they all), a gunfight broke out at "across the tracks" school Shaw. West Beverly was slated to play Shaw in a big important football game the next day, which was quickly cancelled by school administrators. In an act of courageous rebellion, Brandon Walsh (who always knows best) invited everyone at Shaw to come to the West Beverly school dance.

Did you know that all it takes to successfully integrate two radically different and prejudiced cultures is a little synchronized dancing? Now you do!

Another important lesson, courtesy of 90210. And that wasn't all this episode had to offer. Consider the following, Freudian-esque exchange brought to you by Kelly and Dylan after Kelly's dad stood her up for dinner without so much as a phone call.

Kelly: "Dylan, I don't know whether to laugh or cry."
Dylan: "Nobody does, Kell. Nobody does..."

Stuff about the 90s

I think the only songs I like from the 90s are Smells Like Teen Spirit, a handful of U2 songs (though, as a collection, it's 1/100th as good as their 80s stuff), and 1979.

There's probably a handful of others I'm forgetting at the moment, but still - what a terrible decade! Thankfully everything else was great.

- Fresh Prince of Bel Air opening credits (I can still do the entire thing)
- Leggings, the first time
- Babysitter Club, Goosebumps
- Saturday morning TV that was actually good
- Side ponytails and scrunchies
- Smurfs
- Power Rangers, Care Bears, Saved by the Bell, 90210, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Ghostwriter, The Secret Life of Alex Mac, Pinky and the Brain, Ninja Turtles
- Talk to the hand
- Slap bracelets
- The Macarena
- Stickers worn on your face as makeup (I swear this wasn't just me)

etc. etc.

Don't read this

I love 90210 reruns. They make me want to get up in the morning - I just love them that much. It's obviously not a good show in the typical sense, but it's excellent at what it does. And what I particularly like about it is the realism. Ok, now take a few minutes to laugh and feel free to never read my blog again. Not that you should still be reading this anyways, as I clearly told you not to so you have only yourself to blame.

But really, it portrays the popular scene of high school quite accurately. Case in point: the resident dorky, smart, nice girl that is one of the most loveable characters (Andrea) has a crush on the main guy, Brandon (Jason Priestly, who used to be really cute, who knew). They consider going out once or twice, but for the most part he passes. She moves on, meets someone more like her at college, and eventually marries him in one of the show's later seasons. Most other programs would go with the more obvious, sappy, Hollywood ending.

Anyways, it makes me happy so be quiet.

Listen here

Kids of 90210, you don't go to "West Beverly" you go to Sunnydale High!!

A Note on my love of EW

If you hadn't noticed (even after my explicit mention of it), I seem to have a bit of crush on Entertainment Weekly. Such is not the case, folks! In fact, I find their magazine kind of skims the bottom of the "not quite tabloid" bowl of journalism, along with People and Time. And don't get me started on their idiot of a movie critic, Liz Schwarzbaum. Seriously, don't believe a word she says, she's the devil people!!! Deep breath. Exhale.

Ok, so their magazine is crap, but a lot of their writers are good people (and journalists). I enjoy Dalton Ross and Michael Slezak in particular. I frequent their website so often because it is updated so consistently and with so much content that is relavent to ME. Every weekday morning all significant shows that were on the night before have been "TV Watched". A columnist writes up about 1000 words on what they liked or didn't about the episode, and any other random thoughts. Insta water cooler!

They also have this daily blog called "Popwatch" that brings to light recent happenings (deaths, nominations released) and also a scad of other useful and hilarious things. Many a youtube video has been introduced to me this way (including perhaps the best video of the year, national phenomenon Dick In a Box!!!). I also appreciate their intense love of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Veronica Mars.

Anyways, just wanted to clarify...

Ghostwriter!!

Facebook is great for utilizing the often superior memories of your peers. Although, I'd actually thought at Ghostwriter at least a couple times a year since it ended in 1995. Anyways through a friend's profile I found a group devoted to this television masterpiece. Through this group, I found that you can watch episodes on Youtube! Technology is fabulous.

The only downside is that the episodes come in series of 4. So far only 2 parts from separate episodes are posted, so I have no idea who was the culprit! It was great to relive this piece of nostalgia from my childhood, and now I really want to see all of the episodes! They aren't available on DVD (petition online), and only a couple episodes are available for sale on VHS on amazon. Alas. eBay has a DVD set (created by a fan) of all episodes from the first two seasons (which is 90% of all episodes aired) but it's already at $50 US and it's not even close to closing. Ah well. Maybe in a few years when every other show possible has been converted to DVD, so will this.

Marijuana is Fun, Part 2

I am now 6 episodes into Weeds Season 2 and let me tell you, it is fan-tastic. "Turning it up a notch" is an understatement. We're talking the same great dialogue, acting, and good storytelling, now complete with plot twists that will blow your mind!

So far I'd give the second season a 9.3 out of 10 (or 93 out of 100, if you'd prefer!). Not too shabby. For reference / comparability:

Lost Season 1: 9.4
Lost Season 2: 9.0

Veronica Mars Season 1: 9.5
Veronica Mars Season 2: 9.7

Lost fun!

Top 10 signs you're obsessed with Lost (courtesy of Letterman, of course)

10. After each episode you do an all kitty re-enactment in your basement
9. You refer to your in-laws as “the others”
8. While visiting New York, you stood over every manhole and screamed, “Good God, a secret hatch!”
7. You are halfway to your goal of licking every cast member
6. Your friend phoned during Lost. The next day you beat him to death with a hot poker
5. You pitched NBC a show about 12 people stranded backstage at Saturday Night Live
4. Co-workers affectionately refer to you as “that loser who’s obsessed with Lost”
3. Renamed dental practice “flost”
2. Your wife is getting sick of playing the bedroom game “find the castaway”
1. You sat through all 10 of these lame jokes


Why have the ratings been so bad lately? (from EW's resident Lostaholic, Doc Jensen)

So if Lost's lost viewers haven't been sucked into the mindhole that is Criminal Minds... where have they gone?

Here's my theory: I don't think they're watching anything at all. Not really. I don't doubt there are some former Lost fans who've become Lost haters — who believe the show has ''lost it,'' who seriously doubt the producers know what they're doing. But what I do hear from those who've given up watching Lost on a weekly basis — and I know more than a few — is that Lost has let its urgency slip away, most likely as a result of what TV writers call ''The Stall.'' The Stall is what happens to ongoing TV shows that are trying to tell a story that has an ending when the storytellers don't know when or if they'll be allowed to actually ever end it. Lost has definitely moved into Stall mode, atomizing storylines into tiny bits and strewing them across manymanymany episodes (like Jack/Kate/Sawyer's stay in Othersville) in order to fill the time. Kinda like a football team that's jumped out to a big lead, then adopts a prevent defense that allows an opponent to gain yards and maybe put up a few points, just to burn off the clock, which can be risky, because you also allow your opponent to gain momentum or wrest control of the game. Or something like that.

Tortured sports analogies aside, for people irritated by The Stall, Lost has surrendered its must-see status. For them, the watercooler conversation has lost its boil. At the same time, what I've noticed is that these people are still invested in the unfolding story of Lost. Yet they also know that there are other options available to them that would allow them to experience the show without having to put up with its glacial pacing and its ''answer a question with new questions'' tactics. They can bank a bunch of episodes on TiVo, then watch 'em all at once, to get the kind of full-meal deal they wish every episode could deliver. Or they can just wait until the entire season comes out on DVD and binge. In fact, I know of two people who just recently became fans of the show via the DVDs. They loved what they saw and decided to become weekly watchers when the show began its third season. By the third episode, they were burned out. One of them popped into my office and said, ''How can you stand to watch the show this way? It's so... slow.'' He decided he was going to jump off the riverboat and catch up with it downstream, when it docks at his local Best Buy. (Again with the tortured analogies!)

What Lindelof thinks about the new time slot

''I personally am thrilled. Now I can watch American Idol without feeling guilty.

''Oh. Wait. I still feel guilty.''

Depraved enough to watch some clips?

If you were paying good attention at the end of the fall finale, you'll remember ABC's promise to show some new Lost scenes in a desperate (and unsuccessful) attempt to make you watch Daybreak. Here they are:

Lost Moments 1-3

Marijuana is Fun

Did I scare you with my title? :) Don't worry I haven't, and never will, become any sort of crackhead.

I've just started watching the critically acclaimed Showcase series Weeds. In fact, I'm all the way through season 1 and will be starting season 2 shortly, seeing as I have little to do today with all the snow.

And let me tell you, it's pretty great! If you don't mind the premise (suburban housewife is widowed, turns to selling weed to support her family and standard of living), there are a lot of things to appreciate about this show.

1) The acting is pretty phenomenal. Mary Louise Parker at her best. After seeing the results of some bad parenting, she breaks down in front of her source; a great scene.
2) Tight dialogue. Couple of examples:

Nancy Botwin: You listen, you stay away from my customer base, you don't deal to kids.
Josh Wilson: They're too young to bleed, they're too young for weed, no grass on the field no grass will they yield.
Nancy Botwin: You're a poet.
Josh Wilson: You know it.

Heylia James: Serious shit calls for serious cash and your cash got a sense of humor.

3) It's kind of vulgar, like what you would expect from Showcase or HBO. But it does a pretty good job of walking the line between funny/interesting and just plain gross. Kind of like Six Feet Under, but less depressing.

4) Perhaps what I love most about it is the business aspect. Ivey has trained me to think this way, and really it's just a profit venture, regardless of what is being sold. Nancy (MLP) figures this out too and expands geographically, implements somse product diversity, experiments with target markets, wrestles with the competition, and gets political with the DEA.

Anywho, that's my little synopsis of a pretty good show. A solid 8.4 out of 10, methinks. I'm excited to see what the second season brings, because it reportedly "turns it up a notch."

Some clarifications on last night's episode of Heroes

I was confused, so I did some research on the internet and I'm here to present my findings.

1) Sylar didn't kill Eden, Eden killed Eden. Sylar revealed his intention to take her power, so she made one last heroic move and took her own life, making little pieces of her brain. So Sylar will thankfully not have the power of persuasion.

2) Sylar could use his powers because either Haitan or HRG can deflect others' powers, and both were MIA during the Eden visit.

3) Peter was sick because Matt's powers are making Matt, and hence Peter when he's in the vicinity, sick.

Other thoughts:

- Overall a fairly decent episode.
- Still LOVE Peter + Claire, despite the fact that this has been laughed at by Milo in the press because of the age difference (12 years in real life). I think he just personally finds it incestuous, plus Hayden is quite the annoying little brat.
- Other heroes who should bite the dust soon: Matt, Nikki/Jessica and family.
- Peter is so not dying, I am not worried. Consider this: if he was really the bomb and did he exploding thing, wouldn't all the other heroes around him immediately perish and then there would be no more show!

Lost's Loose Ends

Find a fairly comprehensive list here: http://tv.ign.com/articles/745/745595p1.html

Heroes ep 9 review (spoilers)

Save the blah blah blah...

I was a little disappointed, but still thoroughly involved in this episode.

What I liked:
- How Peter headed out to save Claire's life even though it was likely that he would die. No hesitation.
- The absence of Hiro - it made me miss him, and made us depend more on Peter.
- Peter and Claire's chemistry: let's go slightly pedophiliac love!
- Eden's power of suggestion (which never really seemed that important) getting the job done.
- Death of bitchy cheerleader, who died because she pretended to be Claire .. ha!

What I didn't:
- Sylar was decidedly less than scary, not seeming to put much effort into things
- Peter was decidedly less than scary, leading to a very blase conflict between these two snore-fests that consisted of 2 seconds of wrasling, followed by a short fall and quick thud. Oh come on, couldn't they have come up with something better than this? At least a little more of the wrasling.
- Too much Mohinder.
- Micha is starting to annoy me. I kinda like DL, but overall that family is pretty dull.
- Adam from 24 as Sylar. I prefer the rumor (that didn't pan out) of Sean Bean.

What I'm interested in:
- How they expect to hold Sylar in the paper factory which happens to also be holding the ticking time bomb without disastrous consequences!
- How Hiro will save the waitress and somehow not be back in the present when she "dies"
- Sylar's backstory
- The season finale, which I suspect might resolve this tie between Peter and Sylar. If they can gather all the little heroes together in New York and srategically place them near Peter, he basically becomes god, and an easy defeater of Sylar.

Lost: Post- Fall Finale Post

Thoughts:

1) the fish biscuits are laced the fish biscuits are laced! pregnancy scare in the flashback is classic foreshadowing. however, i don't necessarily think she'll have the baby - perhaps a miscarriage mishap? intentional, forced, or otherwise. speaking of that, good job with the sex scenes. and the post-love was ridiculously cute.
2) i knew jack would come through for kate and sawyer despite the rage over now being the third wheel. he still wouldn't/won't let ben die. why didn't she tell him they're on a different island? i bet she will as one of the first few lines in episode 7
3) no eye patch :( not much of anything in the way of developments to the mythology or big unknowns
4) alex is sooooo a set-up!!! didn't everything about her scene in tonight's episode reek of fakeness? and apparently she's also ben's daughter/protege, which helps explain the set-up. I mean really, if she was taken from Rousseau as a baby, she grew up with these people. Her loyalty is to them, no question. crazy french lady will be mighty disappointed.
5) i still think ben will do a switchy swappy but not for a long time probably. end of this season at the earliest?
6) oh jack will get off the island he's on at the moment! tricky!!
7) "sheppard wasn't even on jacob's list" .... ah .... did I hear that right? so jacob is....?
8) NO MORE FLASHBACKS please. LIMITED USE only, not every episode. Not that I particularly disliked this one, but in general I'm so over them. I'd rather watch Hurley and Charlie gather fruit or Desmond skip his rocks for half an hour than sit through another Charlie/Jin/Sun/Hurley/Sayid flashback. The others are acceptable.
9) have i mentioned that I would give anything to have jin & sun dead and boone & shannon/eko back?
10) juliet needs to be dead by the end of this season. she's walking a very thin line with me. she makes a better villain than heroine. and she should stay the heck away from jack! he doesn't want any of that!! there's no one for him right now, and that's fine. he can use some alone time.
11) 16 episodes in a row will be mighty good. 13 weeks off, not so much fun. but we'll get used to it. i think i like this arrangement.
12) "look north" ... don't mind if I do, dead eko!
13) lame ending. oh well.

Lost: Pre-'Fall Finale' Post

I'm awfully excited for this, probably because it keeps being referred to as a finale. And it rather is: 13 weeks without Lost will follow!

So in honor of this memorable occasion, here are some pre-epsiode speculations/predictions/ramblings:

(some are/could be spoilerish)

1) Kate and Sawyer will do it - because they elude to that in the previews. The fish biscuits have fertility drugs in them to make Kate pregnant.
2) Jack will operate on Ben, and save his life. He took the hippocratic oath, after all.
3) We'll get another glimpse of Eye Patch.
4) Alex is a setup.
5) Ben MAY switch over to the "good" side.

Peace the spork out, Eko

Hopefully you've watched it already, cause clearly I'm assuming you have.

I'd heard beforehand that someone was going to bite the dust in last night's eppy, and had actually pegged pre-show that it would be Eko. My logic: the last 3 deaths have been female, Eko was in a vulnerable position, and after the hatch incident it felt like he didn't have much to do on the island anymore. I wasn't by any means sure.

And by jove, he expired around 9:59pm last night (well, 2004). I'm thrilled it was at the hands of the smoke monster; very fitting after how he stared it down last season. It seems to me this implies that the monster has been the cause for everyone's hallucinations throughout the first two seasons (Jack's dad, Kate's horse, DAVE) and that maybe it judges you and if you repent your supposed sins, you live - otherwise you die. I'm trying to think about how this applies to the other hallucinations but I'm too tired.

In other more exciting news, Benji has a tumor and Jack is gonna save him (oh he so is, you know it). Benji will find out about Juliet's plot, and possibly defect to the Losties, or at least shake up the island dynamics. Hopefully Juliet will die as a result... she deserves it. Or maybe it's all just a big set-up to see if Jack is worthy... of something.

Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying

• How do you know if you're doing the right thing with the rest of your life? Such big decisions are effectively made in high school, but with consequences that extend far beyond. And if you are a different person now than then, which is more than likely, how can you be sure you're still on the right path? We're talking about the rest of my life here. But opting for a change of course now is risky and potentially remarkably stupid.
• Is it wrong to like Van Morrison's cover of 'Comfortably Numb' more than the original Pink Floyd? Cause wow is it amazing.
• Delayed musing from last week's Lost: what a great final shot of Desmond skipping his rocks. I love it when shows aim for something more in the visual department, without going over the top.
• New Heroes tonight! How could Claire die?