LOST - Thirty Second Review - "This Place is Death"

Oh, my. Lost has me suckered right in once again. Mind you, I don't have it all figured out, nor am I one of the fanatics watching the show analyzing every scene. I just don't have enough time in my life for all that! And, would it make the show more entertaining for me? I don't think so. I believe if I researched every tidbit of information out there, watching the show would become work ... not entertainment. I'm in it for the entertainment.

Here's my quick take on last night's episode:

• Jin realizes the island is death and makes Locke promise not to bring Sun back (as she'll die). He gave Locke his wedding ring and told him to tell her he's dead.
• The smoke monster attacked the French group, driving them wacky and/or killing them -- except for the pregnant Danielle Rousseau.
• Jin was reunited in time and space with Sawyer, Locke, Juliet, and the newbies with them.
• Locke was told by Jack's father (Christian) to complete the turn of the wheel Ben had started down underground -- that would fix the time warping.
• Sayid and Kate took off and refused to go with Ben.
• Sun, convinced by Ben (who used the wedding ring to prove Jin alive, not dead), went with Jack and Ben to a mysterious church where they met up with both Desmond and Eloise Hawking (who had wanted all six there).
• Eloise is indeed Faraday's mother.
• Charlotte died after making mysterious references to Faraday warning her she would back when she was a child and lived on the island.
• Almost all of the time-traveling group have had bloody noses.
  

So ... Hurley, Kate, Sayid, and Aaron -- four of the six -- aren't there. I have a feeling that we'll see them join Jack and Sun soon enough. They've played up the "must be all of them" bit too much for anything else to happen. Hmmm. I still think Ben is a bad guy. I think Jack's being a dense guy. Probably the best "good guy" would be either Sayid or Hurley.

Once again, I'm including the "Lost Untangled" video here. These are hilarious!

Survivor and TAR Blog Pools, Tonight's TV, and a bit of Off Topic

It's that time again! Thanks to members of this blog community, the pools for Survivor and The Amazing Race will once again go on in the comments area. If you didn't participate before, don't worry -- no money or wagering is involved. Those who want to be in the pool just need to speak up and the show contestants are chosen randomly for us to cheer on throughout the season.

ORKmommy is running the Survivor pool and here's who she has listed as in so far:
Terry in CA
Jennasmom
PDX Granny
Laurie
Becky
Dixie
Rbennie
lynn1
Margo
Joyce
meb
dla
Caroline
ORKMommy
Jackie
Sydney
Gayle
Jodie
Sizzie
Donna in AL
Petals
Zoetawny

Margo has volunteered to run the pool for The Amazing Race. So far (I'm adding my name):
Margo
Donna in AL
Meb
Sizzie
Caroline
ORKMommy
Lynn1
Jackie

If you want in, just reply in comments and mention which pool. Or, if you prefer to notify Margo or ORKMommy, they left messages in my last post's comments. I just don't want to put email addresses here on the main page of the blog.

I have a TV dilemma tonight. I want to watch American Idol as they're going to narrow it down to the final 36. Argh! It's two hours tonight! Meanwhile, at 9 PM ET, Lost comes on. What I'll probably do is record the second hour of AI and watch Lost as it airs. Then it's Life on Mars for me. Hopefully either late tonight or tomorrow I'll at least get some commentary up about both Lost and American Idol.

And, now to a bit of off topic. I haven't seen Roofus the Cat for a few days, but I'm sure he's fine. Unfortunately, there was a murder at the station in the wee hours of Sunday morning. An 18-year-old was shot, no one is in custody. The train station I go to daily and the neighborhood surrounding it are safe as I go through both on my way to work and home. I'm friendly with fellow commuters and the shopkeepers in the area. But I wouldn't be there at 2:30 AM. It's a totally different world there at that hour.




Today's musical non sequitur:
When you walk through the garden
You gotta watch your back
Well, I beg your pardon
Walk the straight and narrow track
If you walk with Jesus
He's gonna save your soul
You gotta keep the devil
Way down in the hole
-- "Way Down in the Hole" by Tom Waits

LOST 30 Second Review - "The Little Prince"

What a week! I got in from work tonight in time to catch American Idol (next post). Now, I'm not going into great detail -- note my "30 Second Review" bit in the header. But, here's your Lost ... in thirty seconds:

• Not only Charlotte has the nosebleed problems, but Juliet and Miles are, too. They all live ... for now.
• Time continues to warp on the island.
• Sayid reluctantly goes with Ben and Jack.
• Ben gets his lawyer to spring Hurley (although he hasn't been sprung yet from jail).
• Kate follows the lawyer of the person after Aaron and it turns out to be Claire's mother.
• But it isn't her after all.
• It's Ben.
• Sawyer sees Kate deliver Aaron in a time warp.
• In another time warp, Jin is discovered by French people on a raft.
• He's alive.
• And Danielle Rousseau is at that time young and pregnant.
• Sun watches Kate, Sayid, Jack, and Ben. Sun has Aaron with her. Sun has a gun.
• Tonight's key phrase: "When are we?"
  

Lost CLUNK.

Hmm ... not many questions answered, but not many new ones brought up, either. We still don't know exactly why the return of the Oceanic Six will stop the time-warping and save the others (not to be confused with the Others). Kate,Sun, and Hurley won't go willingly, methinks.

LOST Last Night

I'm still a bit confused, but the time-warping of the group on the island is making things interesting once again. I'm not sure how Juliette time-warps with Sawyer, Locke, Faraday, and the others when she's technically an Other. The Others don't seem affected by the time zaps at all. Maybe she isn't really an Other because she wasn't born there. But neither was Ben, his father or most of the other Others. Maybe she's lost what made her an Other because she betrayed them. I don't know. Of course, Richard Alpert isn't affected by time at all. "He's old," said Juliette. But he never ages, not a bit.

Hmm ... last night's episode ("Jughead") was all about the island and nothing about the reunion of the Oceanic Six. So, Charles Widmore was on the island under Richard, eh? I wonder what happened which made him a rich man and made him the guardian of hiding the island from the world.

Jughead was an H-bomb. If you bury an H-bomb, it won't just blow up as decomposition goes on all about it? I don't know.

It seems like Mrs. Hawkings is indeed Faraday's mother -- she was in L.A. when Ben saw her and Widmore told Desmond she's in L.A.

We now know why Richard Alpert was there for John Locke's birth -- John Locke from the future told him about it before it happened.

My head is spinning a bit, but this is better than smoke monsters.

A LOST Night

Much like Zoetawny's graphic above, I've found myself pulled right into Lost once again. That said, I'm glad I've decided not to do lengthy recap-type posts on the show this season. Man, it is so darned complicated! And, not only would I have to write the equivalent of a novella on each episode, you know the Lost purists would surely arrive to let me know what I got wrong or forgot to mention. So, the short report is best, methinks. Plus, you can flesh more out in comments. Because, you guys -- the Seekers of Kale Sisterhood -- rock.

It's a good thing that I watched the "questions answered" hour before the two-hour premiere. I had forgotten or not tied together a lot of things. But I'm still a bit confused. Aren't you?

Okay, the folks from Flight 815 are time-shifting, yet the island is remaining in its proper time and place? (Here's a situation for Hiro from Heroes!) The Orchid Station apparently has the key to the time shifting. Hmmm. And, Ben is turning the wheel, yet the show jumps all around in time, thus adding to the confusion.

Both Desmond and Daniel Farraday seem like they're going to be key characters in this new season. They are the constants -- while they know they've previously (or future-ly) met, they carry reminders of the meeting and don't recall the details.

Ben is determined to gather the Oceanic Six for a return to the island but is given a timeframe of 70 hours by Mrs. Hawkings (Daniel's mother). Sayid has turned against Ben and Hurley has his George Washington thing going on -- he just can't tell a lie and can't live a lie either. I loved his line about how Sayid should eat more comfort food and he'd be less likely to go around killing people.

What's up with Sun? She tells Widmore she wants Ben dead, but I'm not so sure she isn't playing him. I think she might realize there's a chance Jin is alive. She blames Kate for his death, yet knows Kate saved her and Aaron. Oh, I'm so confused!

Is Hurley the key to everything? Is it Hurley himself which is so important to return to the island? Or, does it have to be the entire six in time and space? I don't know.

And what's with Locke? I used to say Locke was the key to the series. In a way, he still is. His death will be the force (besides Ben) to bring them back to the island. Plus, he was traveling alone in his own time stream on the island. Could he have a future or past alter-ego thing going on? The Others didn't travel with him through time, yet Richard said he had already told him of the gunshot wound. So Richard had to know the future John Locke even though it wasn't shown. He gave Locke a constant, the compass, so if they meet in time, they'll know there's a connection. It was the same compass young John Locke was previously given.

That leads me to another cute line. Alpert: "Here's a compass, just show it to me when we meet again." Locke: "What does it do?" Alpert: "It points north."

I'm still quite confused with the goings-on, but you know I'll be watching. Did you watch? Your thoughts?

Time to be Lost Soon

Yep, yep! We've gone through our withdrawal and shows are coming back left and right this month. I gave up actually blogging Lost (and Heroes) because they're both too nitpicky and confusing to write up as I watch. I'm also not as enamored with them as I once was. But that's not to say I won't be watching when they're on! I found this little tease preview of Lost for you. The season premiere is Wednesday, January 21 at 8 PM ET/PT.

BB9, Dexter, Lost, and Schtuff

Bring me a glazed donut, please. Wait, I mean a chocolate donut! Better yet, bring me both! This dog was parked outside the donut shop on my way to work. Yes, I'm back to work although I still feel exhausted, drained, and I'm coughing a lot. Darn the flu!

My latest Big Brother 9 live feeds report is up over at TV Squad. I'll be posting another update here late tonight. Today has been on the quiet side in the house after last night's group gropes.

I watched Dexter last night. I've been wanting to see this series since it started, but without Showtime it's all new to me. I find the series as intriguing as I thought it would be from what I've read about it. But, think about it ... Dexter isn't your average serial killer. He's more about going after those folks who are the ills of society. What if ... what if ... we put him in the Big Brother house this season?

With the change to Thursday nights, I'm finding myself not watching Lost until Sunday as I have a deadline for my Survivor review on TVS. It will be worse when it goes to 10 PM, but I already have it delayed by days. That said, the last two episodes have been powerful and have me really into the show once again. What happened to Claire? You know she wouldn't leave Aaron behind or let him go with Kate without her? And Ben becomes even more mysterious!

I haven't seen Roofus lately. Well, I was out of work three days of my five last week and there's snow on the roof. Hopefully the cat is hanging out over at the old rental car place with friends and food.

Thanks for hanging in with me as I fought the flu. I won. I think I won.

'Lost' - "Confirmed Dead"

Wow ... new people! This was quite the episode and, while it didn't really answer that many questions (except about the new people), it definitely moved things forward. We met the freighter people (Freighties) -- Naomi's crew from the helicopter. Each new person came with some backstory, so I'll go into those first.

Daniel Faraday
Essex, MA: Daniel, a physicist, is watching the news footage of Oceanic 815 discovered underwater. For some unknown reason, he begins to tremble and tear up. When a woman with him asks him why he's so upset, he tells her he doesn't know. As the episode progressed, Daniel proves to be sort of an uncertain, but certainly not evil kind of guy.

Miles Straume
Inglewood, CA: Who you gonna call? Miles is a genuine ghostbuster kind of guy and a thief, too. We see him visit a woman who's grandson was murdered, presumably to remove the haunting and send him on his way. He has a ghostbusing helmet-looking noise-making machine and ends up grabbing the dead grandson's stash o' cash, then sending him on his way. Instead of giving the grandmother the money, he refunds her half of the fee he charged -- giving her a mere hundred bucks. As the show progressed, he proved to be intelligent, yet sneaky and excitable.

Charlotte Lewis
Medinine, Tunisia: Hey, it's a giant polar bear (like in season one) -- or, at least its bones. Charlotte is an anthropologist working on a dig, bribing a local, and she's mesmerized by the news of the sunken Oceanic 815. When she dug up the polar bear's collar, it was the Dharma logo. [Insert Lost clunk here] She smiled. She knows something.

Frank Lapidus
Eleuthera, Bahamas: Ah, he's the one who was supposed to pilot the Oceanic 815 the day it went down. Working as a tour pilot in the Bahamas, he watches a news report on the sunken Oceanic 815 and realizes the pilot pictured underwater dead isn't the pilot (Seth Norris) at all. He called to report it, but doesn't get anywhere. For the Freighties, he's the copter pilot.

The Stuff of the Episode

• There are still two groups, one led by Jack and the other by Locke.
• Jack and Kate, with the help of Sayid and Juliet, took Daniel and Miles (the latter is very uncooperative) to Naomi's body.
• Miles "talked" to Naomi to find out that neither Jack or Kate killed her and he knows there's another group on the island.
• Miles knew that Naomi was in danger when she called him due to a code phrase "tell my sister I love her."
  
• Frank saw a cow. Don't ask me why.
• Jack's bunch found Frank by following a flare he sent up.
• Frank landed the copter, didn't crash it. It still works.
• The Freighties didn't come to rescue the 815 survivors -- they thought they were dead. They came for Ben.
• Naomi was the leader of the crew and her boss was Major Daniels of The Wire ... er, Matthew Abbadon -- the one who visited Hurley in the institution last week.
• Sawyer had reason to beat up Ben twice during the episode.
• Sawyer enjoyed doing that.
  
• Locke's group (with Ben, Sawyer, etc.) snagged Charlotte.
• Ben shot Charlotte.
• She didn't die.
• Sawyer beat Ben.
  
• Locke said a taller Walter warned him that the freighter people were a danger.
• Locke showed them a through and through bullet wound he got when Ben shot him.
• Ben knows all about Charlotte and rattles of a "This is Your Life" bit on her to the amazement of Charlotte and all of the others.
• Ben said he knows it because he has a man on their ship.

Yikes. I can't wait until next week! A mass cover-up of the crash, dead bodies and all? Who would do that? Why? Why is Ben so important to Abbadon's mission? Abbadon doesn't seem to believe there were any survivors of 815 and is solely interested in Ben. Or ...?

I just don't know.

'Lost' - "The Beginning of the End"

Finally, after last night's convoluted subtitled repeat of "The Looking Glass" episode and the recap show "Past, Present, and Future" -- it's the new episode! And graphic artist Zoetawny made me a new logo for the show!

The present day mainland Hurley story--

Jack is watching television when he sees a car chase being covered ala O.J.Simpson. It's a '70s model Camaro and, surely enough, it's Hurley being chased by cops and helicopters. When the cops capture him, they know who he is and think someone he saw in a convenience store spooked him. After all, he's one of the Oceanic 6! (Only 6?)

The cops question him -- one cop knew someone on the plane. Oh, Ana Lucia. She had been the cop's partner. Hurley denies ever knowing her. What's up with that?

Hurley watches himself on the tape but then turns to a fishtank. He hallucinates someone swimming towards him and breaking in. It's back to the nuthouse for him.

Back in the hospital, Hugo has a visitor. Why, it's Major Daniels from The Wire! Er, an attorney for Oceanic Airlines on this show. He offers Hurley an upgrade in hospitals. Hurley turns him down. He reminds Hurley he's not fine and in a mental institution. He had no ID and then asks Hurley if "they" were still alive. Hallucination?

Charlie? Charlie's visiting Hurley in the hospital? Yikes! It was Charlie in the store! Charlie tells him that he's both dead and here, slaps him to prove he's real. Charlie tells him that he knew he'd die when he went on his mission down in the Looking Glass. He wants Hurley to do something. "They need you. You know they need you." He vanishes.

A clean-cut Jack arrives to visit. He's supposedly back to surgery. Jack tells Hurley the reporters are leaving him alone, but he still gets asked for autographs. He tells Hurley he's thinking of growing a beard.

Hurley thinks that Jack is checking to see if he's nuts or was "going to tell." Hmmm ... Jack goes to leave. Hurley tells him he's sorry he went with Locke, should have stayed with him. "I think it wants us to come back, it's going to do everything it can..."

"We're never going back!" says Jack. "Never say never, dude," Hurley replies.

Meanwhile, on the island

They're happy to be in preparation to be rescued. Jack tells Kate that if Locke comes back, he'll kill him (for trying to stop them from leaving and attacking Naomi). Sun and Claire are talking babies. Apparently they don't realize that Charlie died in the Looking Glass. Hmmm...

Ben wants Rousseau to take Alex and stash her. She tells him that Alex isn't his daughter.

Hurley tells Bernard about his winnings, then it's off to do a cannonball.

Yikes! Desmond comes ashore to stop them from contacting Naomi's ship only to find out that they already did. And Hurley finds out Charlie is dead.

Jack is talking to the "rescuers" but getting interference. They want to redo the radio settings and ask him to put Naomi on. Instead of telling them she's dead (by Locke), Jack tells them she's getting firewood. Then he heads to Ben at a tree and asks "where is she?" Naomi, that is. She;s not dead after all.

Sawyer, Jin, Hurley, Sayid, Desmond don't want to tell Jack the boat wasn't sent by Penny and raise suspicions. Uh-oh.

Jack, Rousseau, and Ben go off to look for Naomi. Kate thinks she headed west across the island. Kate seems reluctant.

The Know About Charlie and Naomi Crew arm themselves. Hurley looks determined. The crew is walking in the dark. Now Hurley's alone and my TV is digitally pixeling out on me. Whispers. An uh-oh, a commercial.

The blood trail of Naomi ends. Ben is snarky. Ben tells Jack that Kate took the phone when she hugged him and probably followed the right trail to Naomi, too. Sure enough, she's following the trail. The phone rings, so she answers it. She tells the guy on the other end that she's looking for Naomi ... who drops out of a tree and demands the phone from Kate with a knife to her neck.

Naomi talks to George (the guy on the phone), tells him she's hurt, had an accident. "Tell my sister I love her." Dies.

Hurley got separated from the rest of the crew and comes across Jacob's shack. He looks in the window. A face looks out at him! He runs! And there's the homestead place of Mikhail, the door opens. He thinks it's a hallucination and falls over. It's Locke.

Locke asks how Hurley got separated from the group and why he was shouting for help. Locke questions Hurley about the "Not Penny's boat" message on Charlie's hand. Locke wants to to get Jack to believe them so Charlie didn't die for nothing. Hurley meets back up with his crew and Locke comes along.

Sayid wants to know why Locke destroyed the submarine before he accepts his help. Aw, it's reunion time. Everyone but Charlie, that is. Hurley goes to Claire. Cries, tells her that Charlie's dead. They both cry. Locke, Desmond, and Sayid look pensive.

Jack punches Locke to the ground, then tries to shoot him, the gun isn't loaded.

Sawyer and Sayid yank Jack off oh him. Locke defends his actions saying everything he's done has been in their best interest. Kate arrives, gives the phone to Jack, and tells them that Naomi is dead and covered for them. Locke tries to convince them to come with him so they can live. More crying for Charlie. Hurley tells them the last thing Charlie did was warn them that the rescuers in the boat aren't who they said they were.

He tells Jack he won't listen to him, he'll listen to his friend Charlie. "Anyone else?" Locke.

They all start to go with Locke. Ben asks Jack's permission to go with John Locke. "he's all yours," Jack tells him. Rose refuses to go with Locke. Kate confronts Sawyer about going. He tells her he's survivng. The rain starts.

The groups seem to be about half and half, those awaiting a bad rescue and those hiding.

Kate and Jack awaiting rescue in a storm by the fuselage. A helicopter! A parachutist! The music heightens! It's someone I feel I should know ... "Are you Jack?"

And that's it. Who the heck was that guy who parachuted in? Dang. They have too big of a gap between bizarre seasons. I wonder how there are only six in the Oceanic Six, yet Hurley's there and he wasn't with the group awaiting rescue. There were more than six in the group with Jack.

I'd imagine the big secret they're so concerned about would be the rest of the people left behind on the island.

TV Newsy Bits - Friday, June 1, 2007

Yeah, I know this isn't my usual TV Newsy Bits graphic. It's the price of gas this morning in the town where I live in New Jersey. It's full serve as it's illegal to pump your own gas in this state. Oh, don't ask me why. I just live here; I'm not from here.

Supposedly we have some of the lowest prices in the nation due to a low state tax on gasoline. Don't worry -- we certainly pay more than enough for living here! What's the cost where you are?

Here are today's TV Newsy Bits:

• Blog reader and commenter Paul Levinson has an interesting TV-themed blog Infinite Regress which has lots of intriguing Lost commentary. We have plenty of time before the new season (February 2008), so reading his posts on the show might keep our appetites whetted. For seven months... um, well.
• Blog reader Sue out in California sent me a link to the latest on our man Yau-Man Chan from Survivor 14: Fiji. Sue rocks!
• And, while I'm on blog reader submitted doings... blog reader JessiesGirl sent me this link to a BBC article about the latest brouhaha going on with the Australian Big Brother show. One of the houseguests on the show entered knowing her father was dying. The family had discussed it and decided that if he died while she was in the house, she wasn't to be told. Well, he died. Now the fans of the show are freaking out.
• I hear the calls for a blog discussion post for So You Think You Can Dance. If I don't get one up tonight, I will do it tomorrow. I've been watching the show, but know I'll have trouble keeping the names straight if I write about it!
• Ohhh... do you want to try to win a date with Survivor 13 winner Yul Kwon? Check it out!
• Are you ready for some spice on this fall's Dancing With the Stars? Former Spice Girl Melanie "Scary Spice" Brown is slated to be on the show according to this Reality TV World article. Tori Spelling is also in talks with the producers.

TV Newsy Bits - Friday, May 25, 2007

It's the start of a hot holiday weekend here! Today was the first day of over 90-degree temperatures since last August. I just have two words for that...

Air conditioning.

Oh, make it three words. Air conditioning, television.

Yep, that'll do it!

Here are the TV Newsy Bits I found out on the good ol' Internets today:

• Rosie O'Donnell, due to leave The View in about three weeks, has called it quits, asking for an early leave. Thus granted. After the blow-up with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, this doesn't surprise me at all.
• According to Celebrity Spider, some folks don't think Paula Abdul really tripped over her dog causing her broken nose. I don't know. As a pet owner, I have had two injuries caused by tripping over cats. A cut thumb (was carrying the emptied cat food can to the trash when I was tripped) and a greenstick fracture of my arm another time. Both times the pets in question suffered no injuries. So, I think I can believe her, a least a bit.
• Access Hollywood has a "Where Are They Now" interview with Survivor: Africa winner, Ethan Zohn. He's still with Jenna Morasca after four years and has invested his million in good deeds. He was such a cutie, huh?
• The New Jersey Star Ledger has an interesting article comparing the finales of Lost and Heroes. While I don't feel the Heroes finale fell short, per se... I think the Lost finale was better done when the two are compared. However, when I compare the seasons themselves, Lost had some weak episodes at the start of the fall season while Heroes was riveting (and understandable) all season. In its first season Lost was riveting, but often disjointed and odd - giant polar bears, etc. The concept of Heroes has always been more comprehensible for me. I may not know why they have powers, but they do and an evil man and others are after them. Simple.

"Lost' Season 3 Finale - "Through the Looking Glass"

Whoa... now, this was a good season finale! The only real shame is that we'll have to wait until February of 2008 to pick up with it again. At this moment, I still have the excitement of the much better recent episodes and the finale on my mind.

But who knows what might be occupying my mind by February?

The finale had flash-forwards instead of flashbacks and it was no particular character-centric, although leaning a bit to Jack in the flash-fowards. There were sad moments and I moment I outright cheered for Hurley, the Hero of the Day!

The Flash-Forwards

Future Jack is off the island and, while he's still a doctor, he's one with plenty of issues -- more than he had before Flight 815 (and there were a lot then!). He's hooked on heavy-duty prescription painkillers and drinking, too. Eep. Oh, and he has a beard and looks very unkempt. He's suicidal, too. After ripping a funeral announcement from a newspaper, he was going to jump from a bridge, but instead saved a woman and child in a car crash right by him.

Somehow the Flight 815 passengers have been issued Golden Passes and can fly anytime on Oceanic. Jack, perhaps believing he was never meant to leave the island, uses his pass for all it's worth. After all, he just might crash again and return to...?

Jack was the only one to show up to th funeral of what seems to be a mutual friend (or acquaintance) of his and Kate's. We didn't find out who it was who died, but Jack had hoped Kate would show up for the funeral. She didn't. He talked to her and she was a bit distant with him. She was with another man who also wasn't shown. Could it be Sawyer? The funeral itself was in a rough urban area and it really shook him up. Hmmm.

At the hospital where he works, Jack also made mention of his father as if he was still alive, but I think it may have been his condition talking. I don't think the past before the crash could have all been any sort of illusion.

On the Island

As we all pretty much guessed, Locke walks among us... or them, to be a bit more accurate. After all, as I have often said, Locke is a Key to the island. I believe his character is crucial to the whole thing. We had last left him in a DHARMA skeleton-filled burial ditch, shot by Ben because Jacob spoke to him.

He thought he was once again paralyzed and was about to kill himself with a nearby gun when Walt (of all people) showed up. Walt told him he had work to do then went away as quickly as he had appeared. Walt seemed to have aged a heck of a lot more than the days since the crash!

Jack was still leading the 815 crash survivors to the radio tower, leaving Sayid, Jin, and Bernard behind as the shooters. Yes, to shoot the dynamite-rigged tents and kill the ten Others they knew were on the way.

Meanwhile, Ben knows that Juliet betrayed him and he's irked, very irked. I don't think Ben is used to not being in control. He took Alex and headed toward the radio tower. He told Alex he was bringing her to her new family and her "bio-mother." Richard Alpert and Mikhail, as well as the all the Others, found out Ben lied about the Looking Glass. Uh-oh.

What did Ben think would happen when he met up with Jack and the others from the crash? Ah, but then Jack (who increasingly annoys me with his ways) thought he should listen to what Ben had to say. Sigh.

When Jack spotted Ben's radio, he grabbed it and the two had a long talk.

Ben wanted them to call off the plan to contact Naomi's ship. He said he wasn't sure if Naomi was who she said she was. He was scared what might happen if contact was made. Now, was he truly scared of the unknown? Or was he more scared that a way off of the island would be realized? I actually got the feeling it was the former. Ben also told them that the three shooters had all died at the camp. Yeah, right!

That got him a real beating from Jack as Jack went all kinds of crazy at the news. But it was a beating which left him alive... at least long enough to introduce Alex to her mother, Danielle Rousseau. Oh, I'm sure he lived.

Just as Naomi contacted the freighter ship, Locke came out of the woods and nailed her in the back with a flying knife. Then it was a standoff between Locke and Jack. Locke, not wanting Jack to contact the ship, threatened him with a gun. But, like he couldn't kill his father, he couldn't kill Jack either.

Jack contacted someone and was told that help would be sent. Locke can kill a stranger, but not anyone he knows, I guess. You would have thought this would be a kill situation for him. Locke wants to remain on the island more than anything else in the world.

Sawyer and Juliet headed to the camp to see the status of Sayid, Bernard, and Jin. But, before they left, Jack and Juliet kissed. Oh-la-la. The kiss didn't go unnoticed by Kate.

The real action at the camp with the dynamite -- Oh, no! Eek! Jin missed! Only seven of the ten were killed! The three remaining (Tom, Ryan, some Other dude) quickly turned the tables and took Sayid, Bernard, and Jin hostage.

Sawyer and Juliet were watching from the nearby woods after rebuffing Hurley's attempt to help them. Like with Charlie in the last episode, Hurley is shunned on a heroic mission once again. Sawyer wanted to "get them" but they were unarmed. So, who saved the day? Hurley! Yep! He got in the DHARMA van and rammed right into them! Sayid, bound and gagged, killed one by breaking his neck with his legs. And, Sawyer jumped into action grabbing the gun of one of the downed Others.

Sawyer turned the gun on the last Other alive, Tom. Tom said he gave up and seemed like he would cooperate with whatever Sawyer demanded. BANG. Sawyer shot and killed him. "He said he was giving up," said Hurley. "I didn't believe him," replied Sawyer.

The Prophet and His Vision Through The Looking Glass

Sigh. We knew that Charlie couldn't keep being saved by Desmond. After all, the different deaths would keep happening until Charlie's actual death occurred. But our heroin addict sneaky guy from the series start has grown into a man and into a hero in his own right.

Those armed women in the Looking Glass Station were Others. They beat and tortured Charlie to make him talk. After all, the guy is on a suicide mission. What they wanted to know wouldn't change what he had to do to save his fellow 815 survivors. He saw what he wanted to see -- the communications chamber had a flashing yellow light. He knew that's where he wanted to go.

Greta and Bonnie were wo-manning the station as per Ben's orders. Back at the Others' camp, Ben's lie about the station had been exposed -- he had told them that the station was flooded and that Bonnie and Greta were in Canada on an assignment. Mikhail (Eye-Patch Dude) took off for the Looking Glass and Richard seems none too pleased with Ben once again.

When Mikhail got to the station he found out Ben was also lying about the ability to jam distress signals. He killed Greta, and tried to kill Bonnie. But Bonnie had already given Charlie the code he needed for his "mission." Then Desmond, who just can't stop saving Charlie in spite of himself, showed up and killed Mikhail. (How many times can one guy die on a show?)

Charlie, going by Desmond's description of his vision, shut off the jamming mechanism. Then he received a radio call from Penny Widmore, Desmond's gal pal. He told her that Desmond was alive. But... it turns out Penny doesn't have a clue who Naomi is! She didn't send her!

He was going to tell Desmond but Mikhail the Undead (who needs to wear that eye-patch!) showed up once again. Sheesh! Charlie, in his last act, one of a true hero, flipped the switch, sealed the communications chamber to save Desmond so that he wouldn't be killed. He scrawled a note about Penny/Naomi and held it to the window as the chamber filled with water and he drowned... as per Desmond's prophecy.

I know Charlie hasn't always been the most popular character, but I rather liked the Hobbit. I'm going to miss him.

And, for sure, I'm going to miss this show for the nearly-year it will be gone.

Argh.

What did you think of the finale?

'Lost - The Answers' - The Un-Special

They hyped it up. They pimped it out. They promised us... answers.

Due to its odd starting time on Thursday night (10:15 PM here), I opted to watch The Wire on BET and record this Lost "special." I thought I'd watch it today and share with the readers here all of the exciting news.

Um.

Well.

It was a show entirely composed of clips from the episodes we've watched before. Two producers (Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelhof) of the show dramatically would state things like "the show is about who they were, who they are, and who they will become" (regarding the characters) or "the monster processes memories of the people" (duh, even in the first season we got that much) or "the whole island is a magic box" or "the characters are all linked together" or... and it goes on and on.

If you wanted a quick series recap of clips which played important parts to the series thus far, this would be the show for you. That it was hyped as a special which might provide more answers or insight into the series was downright wrong. Heck, maybe even mean-spirited! About the only "new" news (and it's actually old news) the producers gave is that the characters aren't ghosts, are living and breathing, and aren't in Purgatory. That's all way old.

They confirmed it was Desmond who crashed Flight 815 with electro-magnetic waves when he didn't enter the code in on time. They confirmed that Hurley thinks he's unlucky. They explored Roger WorkMan and commented on Sawyer partying alongside Ben's dead father.

Lost, you disappointed me with this special. Next time you do a recap clips show, bill it as such. Don't tell me it's a special and I'll learn all kinds of stuff from the esteemed producers. Just don't do it.

And, make the finale this Wednesday enough to make me want to come back as a viewer next FEBRUARY when the show returns. I'm really not too sure you're doing this scheduling thing right!

'Lost' - "Greatest Hits"

Uh-oh. Next week is the two-hour season finale starting at 9 PM ET/PT. And, we don't know what's up (or not) with John Locke? Is he dead? Alive? I think we'll see that he's alive next week, but that's just a guess on my part. I want to see the battle of wills between Locke and Ben, don't you? The Others seem ready to jump ship and get away from Ben.

This week's episode was Charlie-centric. Is it his time to finally die? After all, Desmond said that the "accidents" won't stop until he's dead. Will he finally stop saving him and let destiny run its course?

In the Flashbacks
The flashback sequences were a bit different from the norm. Directly after they were shown, the present-day cut to Charlie had him listing them on a piece of paper. Now, if he were only singing, "Memories, misty water-colored memories..."

In the first one, his band's song started playing on the car radio just as the band was going through bad times and ready to split up. The second one featured a child Charlie at a pool with his father and brother. He's scared of the water and his father kept encouraging him to jump in. "I'll catch you, I promise!" When Charlie jumped in and found out he was alive, he was thrilled with himself.

The third flashback was when his brother gave Charlie the DS ring he wears. It was their grandfather's ring and a family heirloom pass down to your son kind of thing. They used his initials, DS, to create the band name DriveShaft. Charlie's brother thought that Charlie was more likely to settle down and have a family since he (the brother) was so drug-involved.

The fourth flashback had Charlie saving Nadia (Sayid's once upon a time lady) from a mugger in an alley outside The Convent. He acted on instinct, got her purse back, and was surprised at his own bravery. She told him he was a hero. "Don't let anyone ever tell you different."

The last flashback was just after the plane crashed... when he met then very pregnant Claire. He reassured her that everything would be okay. They're alive on a beautiful island and a helicopter would soon rescue them. In present day, he listed this memory as "#1 - The night I met you."

On the Island
Jack told all of the Flight 815ers that Juliet had told him everything about Ben's plan to kidnap the pregnant women. Juliet tried to fit in as Miss Not An Other telling them that she was leaving the tapes just to look like she was playing along with Ben.

In a bit of an out-of-character move, Danielle Rousseau agreed to work with Jack by retrieving dynamite from the Black Rock slave ship. So, that's what she was doing there last week when Locke was tricking Sawyer into killing his father.

Why would Rousseau do this? She usually keeps to herself and doesn't get involved with happenings which don't directly affect her. And... why did Locke act like it was run-of-the-mill for her to be in the ship getting dynamite? I thought perhaps he knew why she was taking it. But, if it's Jack's plan, Locke wouldn't know about it at this point.

Juliet had been instructed to mark the three tents of pregnant or possibly pregnant women (Sun, Kate, who - my mind must be going unless they want Claire, the ex-pregnant). The plan is to rig those tents with dynamite and blow up the kidnappers.

Sayid took Jack aside and wanted his help. Rousseau's distress signal was interfering with the phone/radio of Naomi's. As he told Jack that they needed to go to the transmitter, Juliet interrupted them. She told them that Ben had all the signals blocked from the underwater Looking Glass Station. She also told them that Ben said the station was flooded and inoperable. (So how does it still block the signals?)

Meanwhile, Charlie knew that Desmond had another one of his visions. He insisted he tell him. Desmond told him that he saw a helicopter rescue Aaron and Claire, but that he (Charlie) had to die in order for it to happen. How should he die this time? By drowning in a hatch with a flashing yellow light while flicking a switch. Desmond didn't know when it would happen and neither was aware of the Looking Glass Station discussion.

Charlie overheard Juliet, Sayid, and Jack discussing the station and how someone needed to go to it, but it would be a suicide mission. Charlie instantly volunteered.

Then Karl, Alex's boyfriend, came ashore in an outrigger. He told them that Juliet's one of "them." Um, yeah. They know. He then told them the plans had changed -- the kidnapping would take place tonight. The Others were on the way, ten of them.

Why the change in plans? Six hours previously, Ben returned to his camp after shooting Locke and leaving him in the DHARMA burial ditch. When questioned about where Locke was, he immediately started ordering the change. "If anyone does anything stupid, kill them," Ben ranted. He gave Alex back the gun and Richard seemed very disturbed about the missing Locke and the changes.

Alex ran to the woods, gave Karl the gun, and told him to warn them. "You owe them. They saved you," she told him. "But your father will really kill me now!" "Is he my father?" Eep.

So, the 815ers had to change their plans, too. They had three tents set up, needed three guns. Karl gave them Alex's gun. Only the three shooters would remain at camp; the others would all go to the south beach of the island. Sayid insisted it was time for Jack to act like a leader. He should lead them to the radio tower.

Charlie and Desmond took off for the Looking Glass Station, but only after Charlie had some last moments with Claire and baby Aaron. Charlie's destiny must be fulfilled. When Claire took Aaron to leave the campsite with the others, the DS ring was shown in Aaron's crib.

Hurley tried to go with Desmond and Charlie, but Charlie told him he couldn't. When Hurley persisted, Charlie told him he was too big for the boat. He immediately regretted saying it, hugged Hurley and let tears stream from his eyes.

Oh, but then, as Desmond and Charlie were just about over the station, Desmond told Charlie he'd go because Claire and Aaron depended on Charlie. Would he save Charlie once again? Nope. Charlie whacked him on the head with an oar, then swam down to the station.

He swam down and into the station, then swam towards light desperately seeking air. He got to the Moon Room of the station, low and behold... above a deck there was air. He collapsed after bringing himself to the walkway.

Only, things aren't exactly right. Nuh-uh. Two heavily-armed women with guns (character names of Greta and Bonnie according to previews) draw down on him.

LOST [thunk]

Hmmm... those women. They either work for Ben or...?

The episode wasn't as good as most have been lately, but I still rate it pretty high. I want to know about Locke's immediate fate (live or die) before January, though. What did you think?

TV Newsy Bits - Saturday, May 12, 2007

It's Saturday, the day before the Survivor 14: Fiji finale and reunion show! That will start at 8 PM EDT with the reunion show starting at 10 PM EDT.

Due to the length of the finale and the hour that everything wraps up (plus the fact I have to get up early for work on Monday morning), I'm thinking of doing a live-blogging report as the show airs here. Chances are I won't have time to snag, crop, and get images in the entry, but it would be up at a reasonable hour. Heck, live on East Coast time.

I still have a day to decide, eh?

In other TV Newsy Bits:

• The most recent episode of Lost has fans buzzing about Jacob. In the scene at Jacob's abode, things went so quickly that it was hard to see if Jacob exists or not. But, the Lost Easter Eggs blog has some of the frames of Jacob.
• Reality News Online has both a transcript of Stacy (recent Survivor boot) on The Early Show and an interview of their very own with her. In the interview, she gives us a different look at Alex, but really seems to admire Yau-Man. She said she doesn't think she deliberately tipped him off to use the Idol.
• Reality TV World has an interview with LaKisha Jones, ousted this week on American Idol. She claims she knew on Tuesday that she would be voted off because she lost her voice. Now, I was a supporter of hers early on, but I think it was her time lost voice or not. I don't think she'll ever have to be a bank teller again and has a lot of doors open now.
• Whoa! Spoilers are out and about regarding The Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentleman. Check them out here and here, but only if you really want the spoilers. Eep. Someone has a big mouth!
• In more Lost news, there will be a special next Thursday, May 17. "Lost: The Answers" will be hosted by the executive directors of the series and will explain some of the... well, the answers! Celebrity Spider has the skinny on it.

'Lost' - "The Man Behind the Curtain"

Yet another dynamite episode!

Now, we all remember that Ben was originally introduced to us as Henry Gale. And, of course, Henry Gale was the Dorothy's uncle in The Wizard of Oz. The "Wizard" himself arrived in Oz via a hot air balloon (as was Ben/Henry's original story, but landing on the island). We all know that the Wizard of Oz was a sham; he was the "man behind the curtain' working all the controls and manipulating the good folks of Oz.

So, what does that make Ben? Or... could it be Jacob? Or, is there a Jacob?

Tonight's episode was Ben-centric and very powerful. Ben has been a real mystery and it's time we got some goods on his background!

In the Flashbacks
A man and his pregnant wife were hiking in the woods. Although she was only seven months pregnant, she gave birth to a baby boy... Ben. Emily Linus died shortly after giving birth as her husband, Roger, carried her and the baby to the roadside. A sign had mileage to Portland listed on it.

A young couple stopped to help Roger, his dying wife, and the newborn Ben. They were Horace Goodspeed and Olivia. Fast forward to when Ben is perhaps ten years old or so... Roger and Ben arrived on the island where Horace had promised Roger a job, Ben good schooling, and a better life. They would be a part of the DHARMA Initiative. Namaste! (That seems to be a welcome greeting.)

Roger Linus was upset as he was given his work uniform. He's a Work Man, the Roger "Workman" from the microbus Hurley found a few weeks back. He thought he would have a much better job. I think Roger was a very bitter and broken man, most likely due to the death of his wife.

In the orientation, Horace told them that they had to remain in the Barracks area and not pass through the pylon fences due to "hostiles" and wildlife on the island.

Young Ben seemed to fit in okay with the other DHARMA kids, and with one little girl in particular -- Annie. She was the only one to ever remember his birthday. She made him a doll and told him that she'd always be with him as long as he had the doll.

While at school studying volcanoes, the teacher told the class that there had been one on the island. All of a sudden, the intruder alert alarms went off. Hostiles! The skirmish with them caused Roger to get angrier and demand another thirty-thousand for hazard pay.

As his father argued about the conditions, Ben saw his mother at the window. Then she vanished, but a photo confirmed it was her. She seemed to be dressed in the same dress as the doll given to him by Annie.

His father saw the box with the doll from Annie and mentioned that he had forgotten Ben's birthday again. He had been drinking and got nasty with Ben. :How could I forget the day you killed your mother?"

Ben ran to the pylon fence where he saw his mother again. But she sent him back, telling him it wasn't time yet.

Now, I'm not sure how I missed how he got it, but Ben later returned to the fence with a note which held the code to turn off the power -- 54439. He sent his pet rabbit through first to make sure he had deactivated the fence. Then he went through, wandering in the woods and frightened at every sound.

Whom does he encounter? Why, I believe it's Richard Alpert with longer hair. Ben is a child, but Richard is a grown man. What's up with that? Richard asked him if he saw his mother here after Ben told him he was searching for her and that she was dead. Ben insisted that he wanted to go with Richard because "I hate it here." "Be patient, be very patient," Richard told him.

Ben did go back to the Barracks, because the next time we see him, he's an adult working for DHARMA. His shirt reads "Ben Work Man." So, he's a janitor like his father. Ben and his father were loading a DHARMA VW bus with beer to deliver to the Pearl Station.

As they went through a meadow with "Shabala" blaring, they stopped to open a beer to "celebrate" Ben's birthday. Roger promised him he'd remember the next year. At exactly 4 PM, Ben popped a beer top, handed it to his father, then put on a gas mask. He set off a cannister of gas in the vehicle and sat emotionless as his father bled from the nose and died.

Ben went back to the Barracks where all the other members of the DHARMA Initiative had also been gassed. Richard Alpert, looking like the Richard Alpert of the present, and a group of armed "hostiles" were at the Barracks, also wearing gas masks. Ben had been patient well into his adult years.

On the Island
Sawyer brought the recorder that Locke gave him to Sayid, telling Sayid that Locke went back with the others. Sayid and Sawyer were looking for Juliet, but neither Juliet or Jack are anywhere around. When Kate arrived, she told them that Juliet had left with Jack. "Play her the tape." What they're hearing on the tape is Juliet's message to Ben about testing Sun.

Juliet and Jack came back to find the camp talking about them. Jack told them that he knew of Sun's trip to the medical station with Juliet. She had told him. They were shocked that the world thinks there are no survivors of the plane crash. Juliet told them to turn the tape over. On the other side there were the plans to raid the camp, take Sun as well as mention of "Austin's sample." They must think that Kate could be pregnant. Jack again told them that he knew because Juliet had told them. When questioned why he didn't say anything, he told them he hadn't decided what to do about it yet.

Huh? What's with Jack? You don't know what to do about an upcoming raid and kidnapping? You don't tell anyone until you're cornered?

At the Others Camp, Ben has the doll. It's his birthday, y'see. Richard arrived to take the recorder back for Juliet when they discovered the recorder had gone missing. Their search was interrupted by John Locke's arrival, dead body of his father over his shoulder. Ben was shocked!

Locke reminded Ben that he promised to tell him everything about the island if he brought his father's body there. Ben told him he (Ben) wasn't the leader -- he had to answer to Jacob. Locke was persistent. He wanted to know about Jacob. In questioning Ben, he found out that no one but Ben had ever seen Jacob. Locke called him a liar, the man behind the curtain.

That's when a not-dead Mikhail arrived. He told them that the pylons weren't set at a lethal level -- that's how he lived. He was stunned to see Locke there questioning Ben. "What are you doing? We don't answer to him!" Ben told him that Locke was with them now. Mikhail told them of Naomi, the crashed "helo" and the freighter ship offshore.

When Ben told Locke that he had to attend to those issues, Locke demanded he take him to Jacob. He told Mikhail, "Ben's not going with you. He and I are going to see Jacob." Then Locke beat Mikhail to a pulp. (Mikhail really gets hurt a lot, eh?) Ben cried for the others watching to stop Locke, but they all stood and watched. It was like a battle of power between Ben and Locke even though it was Mikhail being beaten.

After Locke stopped beating Mikhail, Alex gave him a gun to take with them to go see Jacob. "Happy birthday, Dad."

As Ben and Locke hiked through the woods, Ben told him that Jacob would be angry. After all, he wasn't the kind of man you go to see. He was the kind of man who summoned you to see him. Ben glanced at dirt in passing, then Locke paused and examined it. Volcano ash? I'm not sure.

They arrived at a wooden shack and Ben told Locke he'd have to turn off the flashlight because "Jacob doesn't like technology." "Are you sure you want to go in there?" Ben asked Locke. "So be it."

Inside the shack was a table, a rocking chair, a picture of a dog, and four jars of something on a shelf. Ben started talking to the chair reminding me so much of Norman Bates in Psycho. Apparently the chair was talking back to him, but neither John nor we heard him.

Locke started yelling that Ben was a fraud, crazy! "You made it all up!: Ben told him he must be too limited to see and insisted that Jacob was in the empty chair. Locke went to leave when he heard an unearthly voice say, "Help me." He quickly turned on the flashlight when all went wild in the room. The chair moved, items whizzed through the air, and Ben looked terrified. When a fire started from the lantern, Locke ran out followed by Ben.

"What did he say to you? What did Jacob say to you?" Locke yelled at him that he put on a show and that he was a fraud. He was going to tell his people the truth. They headed back to the Barracks, but not the way they had taken to get there.

Instead, Ben led Locke to a burial ditch containing the skeletons of the members of the DHARMA Initiative. He shot John in the left chest and let him fall in with the bones. "What did Jacob say to you?" "Help me." "What did he say?" "He said 'help me.'" "I hope he helps you, John."

LOST [thunk]

So... Ben wasn't born on the island. The aging thing is odd, too. We know Richard was in Portland, but yet his work is separate from DHARMA. And, the Others are the hostiles, not DHARMA. Has anyone other than Aaron been really born on the island?

Great episode!

TV Newsy Bits - Saturday, May 5, 2007

It's Cinco de Mayo! A time for festivities, tacos, and even parades. I know there are lots of activities going on in this area and it's likely there's something happening in your neck of the woods, as well. Here in the Northeast, the weather is perfect for outdoor doings, whether it's checking out cultural celebration or just enjoying the day itself. Sieze the day, I say.

I want to express my gratitude for the readers and the commenting community here on the blog. I know many of you started reading the Big Brother live feeds either on this blog or the one before it, then you stayed. Big Brother 8 is in casting mode at this time. They historically wrap things up only a few weeks before we see the first show. The cast is put in sequester about ten days before they go into the house. The season usually starts for us during the first week of July, and that seems to be the schedule this year, too. I'm watching for news and will let you know when I hear something concrete. And, yes... I'll be covering the feeds once again this season.

In other TV Newsy Bits:

• Paris Hilton's Simple Life is going to get a lot more simpler -- she's heading to jail for 45 days for violating her probation.
• In Survivor news, Jeff Probst is very impressed with Yau-Man Chan according to this Reality TV World article. Reality News Online (RNO) has an interview with Alex, the most recent castaway, as well as a transcription of his The Early Show appearance. "You can be a Ninja by yourself. You can't be a Ninja with Mookie."
• Kristine Lefebvre, a candidate on the recent The Apprentice: L.A. bares it all for Playboy according to E! Online and TMZ.
• Reality TV World says that Stephanie Wilhite, recently ousted on The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman, saw it coming. Another contestant on the show, Amber Alchalabi, saw her boss resign over her leave of absence to appear. Yikes! Sheesh, it's one thing for reality show contestants to lose their own jobs in pursuit of a dream, but for a boss to be in hot water and blow her career?
• Billy Ray Cyrus' wife claims that he's happy to remain on Dancing With the Stars in this Reality TV Magazine interview.
• Can't get enough of Sanjaya Malakar? Celebrity Spider has the list of concert tour dates for the American Idol Top Ten contestants. Um... no. I won't be going.
• This week we'll see BeeGee Bro Barry Gibb coaching the American Idol contestants. I think that's fitting, don't you? At this time, the four all want to be "Stayin' Alive."
• In other American Idol news, Reality TV World says that Chris Richardson "knew" he was heading home this week. "I seen the band setting up, and the guitar player grabbing a 12 string guitar, and I'm the only person with a 12 string guitar, so you put it together," said Chris. Why am I not surprised that he said "I seen." Saw, Chris... you saw! AOL Television has an interview with both Phil Stacey and Chris Richardson, as well as other exit interviews with previously dismissed contestants.
• We can expect Lost to last for two more seasons according to E! Online and discussed in this TVSquad article. The good news is that this will give the show's creators a timeline in which to address issues raised. The bad news is that once this season ends, we won't see the show again until January. I personally think long hiatus periods hurt shows. I know that I lost interest in Jericho when it went away for so long and haven't watched it since its return. I know they can't run new shows for forty episodes a year, but I think they have to come up with a better plan. The show should move back to the 9 PM slot once it reappears.
• AOL Television has a feature page for May Sweeps and May finales. Check it out and mark your calendars!

'Lost' - "The Brig"

Yes, Lost remains back! Tonight's episode was creepy, mysterious, violent, mind-boggling and more. Although the writers have often said that there is no Heaven, Hell, Purgatory reasoning behind the island, they seem to want viewers to think Purgatory (or Limbo) could be a possibility.

Huh. The writers must have studied Ben's mind games, eh? They seem to want to play them with us. It certainly looks like John Locke is coming along in the mind games case study.

The episode was Locke-centric, but the flashback sequences only dated back to when Locke discovered his father (from the "magic box") and the Others subsequently deserted the Barracks.

The Flashbacks
Ben and Locke are in the room where Locke's father ("Cooper") is secured to a chair. Ben told Locke that he brought him here. He as in John Locke, that is. He also warned him not to get too close. Kind of Hannibal Lechter, Cooper bit John as he tried to untie his gag. Cooper said, "Don't you know where we are?"

But then Ben took Locke away from Cooper, saying that they're leaving. They're going to a "new place, an old place actually." Locke is invited and given the chance to say goodbye to the captive Kate.

3 Days Ago - The Others, including Locke are set up in tents. Ben was listening to the tape from Juliet as Locke enters his tent. He let Locke listen and told him they would take the pregnant women, but no one would get hurt.

Ah, Ben can walk with the aid of a walking stick. He told Locke that he thinks he (Locke) cured him. Then he told him that he's "not ready." Ben claimed that Locke is still crippled by the memories of his father. That's why Locke "brought" Cooper to the island. The magic box is just a metaphor. Ben told Locke that he must make a commitment, a gesture of free will... he must kill his father.

Ben set up a grand display for the Others. "It's time," he told Locke. Cooper was tied to a tree and all were invited to watch Locke kill him. But, Locke just couldn't do it. Ben called him a sad pathetic man, then told the gathered crowd, "He's not who we thought he was."

Locke was crushed, disappointed in himself.

2 Days Ago - Locke sat on a hill overlooking the camp. He took the bandage off of his hand only to find his recent Cooper-bite wound was completely healed.

He was approached by an Other, Richard. Now, I think this was all set up by Ben, but here's what happened... Richard told Locke that Ben had known that he couldn't kill his father and was just determined to embarrass him.

But, if he could now walk after his broken spine and consequent paralysis, he was indeed very special. Richard said Ben was playing with novelties like the pregnancy issues when there are more important happenings, real cases. However, his father must die. Richard handed Locke Sawyer's file and suggests "someone else" kill Cooper, then all would be fine.

Then Ben and the Others packed up the camp. Ben told Locke that they were leaving and he wouldn't be going with them. "Is this to put me in my place? I'm not special enough? Everyone makes mistakes," Locke protested. Ben told him that they would leave a clear trail for him, but he wasn't welcome unless he was carrying his father's dead body.

On the Island
Kate and Sawyer are still shacking up (surprised?). Sawyer packed a gun (why?) to go water some bushes when he happened upon Hurley and Jin. They were obviously spooked by his presence, but I guess nature's call was stronger.

As Sawyer did his thing, Locke came out of the bushes at him. Of course, they all know that Locke had defected. But Locke gave Sawyer a cockamamie story about how he didn't join the Others... he infiltrated them. For a con man, Sawyer, though leery of Locke's story, Sawyer's not too bright. He believed him to a point when Locke claimed to have kidnapped Ben.

Locke told Sawyer he wanted him to kill Ben, but Sawyer said that he would bring him back to the camp instead. He also told Sawyer about the contents of his file -- the fact he killed a man in Sydney, he was a con man, his father killed his mother then himself. Eep. Locke told Sawyer that when he hears what Ben has to say, he'll have no trouble killing him.

They approached an old slave ship in the woods, overgrown with weeds and on land. Locke told Sawyer that Ben was in the brig. Inside the ship there were the skeletons of slaves and plenty of old dynamite.

Sawyer could hear muffled, muzzled human noises and headed to a door. But once inside, Locke slammed the door leaving Sawyer inside with "Ben" chained to a pole with a burlap bag on his head.

Sawyer ripped off the bag to reveal Cooper, not Ben at all. (Who couldn't see that coming?) He pummeled the door, cursing out Locke. Meanwhile, outside the door, Locke had a visitor to the ship (the Black Rock). Rousseau arrived for some dynamite. Hmm. Neither seemed all that surprised to see each other.

When Sawyer released Cooper's gag, once again Cooper hinted they were in Hell. He told Sawyer his son wasn't crippled, he was dead... as are all the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815. He told him that he (Cooper) had been hit from behind while driving in Tallahassee. As he was loaded in the ambulance, the paramedic had an odd smile, he received an IV, then all went black. He woke up on the island. But he's sure it's not an island and that he's dead, gone to Hell.

When Sawyer found out that Cooper was a con man, he asked him if he ever pulled a con in Jasper. As Cooper bragged about a $38 grand scheme, Sawyer realized that Cooper (then posing as a Mr. Sawyer - the one that Sawyer took the name over and sought revenge) was the one responsible for the death of his parents. He gave Cooper the letter he had written. Cooper laughed and ripped it up. Sawyer went into a rage and killed him, choking him with the chain which bound him to the pipe. Only then did Locke unlock the door and let him out.

"Thank you," Locke said to him. Sawyer was upset, vomiting over what he had done. Locke then told him that he could go back to camp. "He ruined your life and mine." He told Sawyer that he didn't infiltrate the Others, he was on his own journey. He advised him that Juliet was a mole and gave him the recorder she had left for Ben. "In three days, there will be a raid and they will take any pregnant women. You must warn the camp." When Sawyer asked him if he had been paralyzed, Locke told him, "Not anymore."

While all of this was going on, the rescued helicopter pilot, Naomi, was being hidden in a tent by Desmond, Hurley, and Jin. None of them trust Jack to help, but they needed someone to give medical attention to her.

Hurley approached Sayid who was digging (what?) and brought him into their confidence. Sayid questioned Naomi who told him about the plane crash of Flight 815 off the coast of Bali. All of the bodies of the passengers were recovered. She told him that she was hired to find Desmond, not the flight victims. She was hired by Penny, Desmond's wealthy woman. She also claimed the helicopter took off from a freighter 80 miles away. But her radio to contact the freighter was broken. Sayid seems convinced that Naomi's lying. No one actually saw the helicopter, did they? Nope.

Hurley and Sayid were trying to fix the radio when Kate happened upon them. They told her about Naomi, but told her not to tell anyone.

So, what does she do? She runs off to tell Jack about Naomi. Jack was with Juliet and was adamant that anything to be said to him could be said in front of her. Kate hesitated, then spilled the beans. Argh!

What happened next was odd. Juliet told Jack that "he should tell them." Tell them what, I asked my TV set? "We should tell her," Juliet said once again.

"No, not yet," replied Jack.

LOST [thunk]

Tell her what? I want to know!

All in all, a very intriguing episode, don't you think?

TV Newsy Bits - Saturday, April 28, 2007

Gee, it rained here yesterday. Like we needed that!

Here are some of the TV Newsy Bits I found while roaming the Big Bad Web:

• Reality News Online has an interview with recent Survivor castoff Mookie - "We May Have Gotten Outwitted, But We're Not Stupid." Just the title alone makes you want to read it, eh?
• The Knox News has an interesting take on The Bachelor with the first woman to go this season, Peyton.
• I found an interview with Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond on Lost).
• While British news source Sky has an article about Heather Mills (Dancing With the Stars) possible moving to the United States, their Daily Mail has Americans cruelly mocking her disability as she got voted off the show. I guess she couldn't be that upset with Americans if she's considering moving here.
• According to Celebrity Spider, Alec Baldwin's request to get out of his contract for 30 Rock has been denied.