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.
The show has started and they want us to think it's all going to be hot action in Miami tonight.
Shannon McGough is slated to be the first featured audition. She knows how to belch and reminds me of a flapper girl from the '20s. She handles meat. And she screams. Not sure what's going on with her, but I hope she doesn't make it.
Phew. She's out of there and it's a shock to her and her family. Poor deluded folks.
Robbie Carrico, an ex-boy bander, is up. They didn't say what boy band and I'm not all that familiar with the more obscure ones, but he can sing. He makes it.
A bad audition run of guys follows a good pretty girls clip.
Ghaleg is up. He's crashing into love. He wrote the song himself. Simon thinks he'd like Ghaleg or is it Ghaleb if he (Simon) was drunk. Paula brings up his accent but says he has talent. Randy says yes just to counteract Simon's no and make Paula decide. Say what? He's going to Hollywood? Now that's bizarre.
Uh-oh. Two rather heavy girls of color are up. They like men. But can they sing? Corliss Smith sings first. She's not bad. Randy has fallen into her trance. Oh, my ... Randy has patent leather red shoes on. Brittany Wescott (?) sings next and gets the judges all happy. Simon says yes to them both, so does Paula ... and then Randy. They make it through to Hollywood!
A sob story from a girl who became a single mom at 18 after her man left her, Suzanne Toon -- takes the stage. She can sing. She's blonde ... sort of. I think she has pretty eyes. She makes it through. She seems to be playing the sultry single mom card.
Filipini-American girl Ramiele Mulabay goes for "Natural Woman." Not so bad. I didn't expect that. Simon thinks she's good, but more like a hotel singer. Simon says no, but Randy and Paula knock her through to Hollywood.
Onto the second day ... Randy is wearing a purple blouse, hopefully without bright red shoes.
It sounds like the next contestant has read THE SECRET or something -- positive thoughts result in positive outcomes for her. She has a father who struggles with substance abuse, but it's not so much a sob story as one of recovery and love. Aw. Syesha Mercado goes for an Aretha song. She's cute, perky, and has a big voice. Once again, Simon doesn't like her so much. Randy thinks she's one of the best so far in Miami. All three judges say yes.
A streak of good auditions follow -- two girls make ti through.
But how are the guys doing? Not so hot. We see sme clutching golden tickets, but only hear the whacked out. One sings through his nose.
A girl from the top 20 in American Juniors four years ago, Julie Dubela, goes for "Me and Bobby McGee." She's no Janis, not even a Kris Kristofferson. Simon thinks she's acting very precocious. She's a no, not ready yet. She won't stop singing.
The end of the second say is coming and it's down to one contestant. Brandon Black is another odd duck. It's another creepy love tribute to Paula. Um. No.
17 golden tickets were given out, two less than Omaha. So much for hot hot Miami, eh?
Next week it's off to Atlanta.
I think it's enough to keep me out. Well, maybe the tall fence topped with barbwire does it for me, too. This sign is near the Bridgewater (NJ) Train Station surrounding an abandoned parking lot. But it looks radioactive, doesn't it?
Today was rainy then blustery here with high wind warnings, but so far we've escaped much of the bad winter weather to date this season. My bad knee is thankful. On the knee topic, I have an orthopedic surgeon appointment set up for the day before the start of Big Brother 9. Not to worry, though. Rather severe surgery may be ahead, but since it's not an emergency I'll be covering the feeds reports and schedule things for between seasons. Of course, if the doctor has a miracle up his sleeve, I'll go for that rather than scary surgery and a hospital stay.
In today's TV Newsy Bits:
- I'll be putting up a live blogging post of tonight's Miami American Idol auditions if the scheduled outage for Blogger ends as expected. I'm not sure if the outage for maintenance will affect viewing the blog, but as long as it's out I can't post. It should end before the show starts, but I'd rather mention it now just in case it goes kerflooey. Plus it gives me a chance to use the word kerflooey in a sentence.
- If you're not a fan of football (I'm not), TNT is having a The Closer marathon all day for Super Bowl Sunday. While I don't watch football, I say "win it, Big Blue" for the sake of territorial fanship.
- The Celebrity Apprentice has been renewed for a second season. I personally don't think the plain old show needs to ever air again, but I'm finding the celeb version entertaining enough. Yeah, I wrote the linked article for TV Squad, but I'm totally not understanding the one commenter. Odd.
Today's random observation:
While crows fly from point A to point B in a straight line (as the crow flies), geese circle about incessantly honking and acting like crazed tourists in Manhattan.
Today's musical non-sequitur:
When it's late
And it's hot
And a date with the Late Show is all that you've got
Don't give out
Don't give up
One of these nights
You might find someone to love
-- "Someone to Love" by Fountains of Wayne
The show is starting here on the East Coast and this post will be regularly updated as it airs. They're in Omaha, Nebraska, tonight. Well, that's different.
Paula was delayed, so we get witty bits. Well, maybe not so witty. A guy is going to explode and infect everyone with his happiness. His name is Chris and he carries a bag, never a good sign. Well, the bad, not his name.
He wants to do anything and Simon eventually says he can go for being the correspondent for the local FOX station talking about the show. @@
Jason Rich, a farm worker good-looking dude, is being featured. He doesn't seem to be a joke. I bet he can sing. Uh-oh. He can sing, but the nerves are getting to him. He forgot the lyrics to the song he chose. He's from a town of 500, so he's nervous. They let him through to Hollywood with a warning not to do it again. Paula is still missing.
Welp, she's here! And it's into a whole series of bad auditions with forgotten lyrics. And women are arm wrestling in the waiting area. A thrill a minute. A girl goes up against Ryan Seacrest and Simon backs off away from the challenge. Rachael Wicker is her name, arm wrestling and singing her game(s). She sings a country song. Simon thinks she sounds or looks old ... one or the other or both. He says no while Randay and Paula say yes.
Now Sarah Whitaker, an ex-wrestler, is featured. I guess there's not a heck of a lot for women to do in Omaha? Oh, my. She sings like a cross between Julie Andrews and the Wicked Witch of the West. Simon thinks she's strange. She is.
Okay, Ryan questioned the decision, so he's been thrust into Paula's chair while Paula takes his place. Samantha Sicley is the first guinea pig. She sings a Nora Jones song ... not bad at all. Ryan critiques her movements and Paula takes over once again. She made it through to Hollywood.
Into a bunch of good auditions, but only snippets of them. Lotsa Hollywood a goin' on.
A girl with a sob story. She's estranged from her father. Tears, tears. Angelica Puente is her name, but can she sing? She mimics the original Celine Dion and pleads nerves. She's through to Hollywood. Simon and Randy want her to be herself. Paula urges confidence. Wrong door. (It's actually the other door tonight.) Aw, her father tells her on the phone that she's always been his American Idol.
It's rocker time. David Cook thinks he brings something different to the table. He goes for "Livin' on a Prayer." Yes, he can sing. He's onto Hollywood.
Johnny Escamilla compares himself to James Brown. He goes for "Shout." He's scaring me with his flowing sparkly shirt and er ... movements.
After a bunch of "Stuck in the Middle" bad bits, I'm ready for a good audition. One person left -- Leo Marlowe. Hmm ... he has a good sense of humor and can sing. He makes it through.
19 made it through to Hollywood from the Omaha auditions. Tomorrow it's off to Miami. The crowd looks very different from Omaha.
A store window in Westfield, NJ. While they also do fortune telling at the shop, what I want is the flying monkeys sign. At times my own personal squad of flying monkeys could come in handy. But with my luck, they'd go out on strike for better wages and benefits.
In today's TV Newsy Bits:
- I'll be getting a post up to live blog the American Idol audition show as it airs here in the northeast. Or am I mid-Atlantic? It depends to whom you're speaking, I guess. Anyway, the post will be up around 8 PM if you want to share your comments on the show.
- Lots of new programming on the cable stations tonight -- truTV (which should have stayed Court TV) has two episodes of The Real Hustle on at 10 PM ET/PT, Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs on at 9 PM ET/PT followed by Some Assembly Required at 10, TLC has a new Bussey Bunch on at 9 PM ET/PT and a new LA Ink on at 10 PM ET/PT, A&E has an hour of new Parking Wars (two episodes in a row) starting at 10 PM ET/PT.
- Celebrity Spider is reporting that CBS has ordered two more seasons of Survivor. (Yay!)
- Wild Bluff Media has an article which outlines the time frame leading into the new season of Big Brother.
- Don't forget! Lost returns on Thursday night with a two-hour show! Of course, that will throw Celebrity Apprentice to the wayside (most likely) -- I'm not sure how I'll deal with both of them and then Survivor arriving on the 7th of February. Something has to give. I'll have to fire Donald, I guess.
Today's random pondering:
Why don't men wear fedoras more often?
Today's musical non-sequitur:
City lights, the pretty lights
They can warm the coldest nights
All the people going places
Smiling with the electric faces
-- "Neon Rainbow" by The Boxtops
