LOST Fan

Once again, there will be only one hour of LOST on Wednesday.

The new episode is called Whatever Happened, Happened. According to Darlton on the March 26 official audio podcast, this will be a Kate-centric episode, complete with flashbacks! I know that some of you are cheering now at the thought of a Kate-centric episode, while others (you know who you are!) are groaning, throwing things, and tearing out your hair.

The episode title appears to refer to the question of time travel paradoxes. Was Faraday correct when he said that what happened in the past couldn’t alter the future — or was Sayid successful in his attempt to change the future by killing little Ben?

At first glance, the title — whatever happened, happened — seems to suggest that Faraday was correct. But perhaps the title was meant to be ironic! So I guess we’ll just have to watch to find out.

Schedule April 1, 2009

9:00 new episode Whatever Happened, Happened

(an hour earlier in Central time)

At the time I wrote this, last week’s episode, He’s Our You, was available on abc.com, but just in the regular version, not the pop-up hint enhanced one. Maybe they’ll post that one later??

ABC got the new “Lost Untangled” up quickly this week! And they even mentioned it on TV, at the end of the broadcast.

Here you go …

“Jack … he’s got nothing.”

Aw, poor Jack. I feel sorry for him.

No, not really.

I’m actually still miffed that he was voted the sexiest TV doctor, beating out (gasp!) George Clooney. Oh, the sacrilege! Oh, the horror! Ha.

Back to the video …

“Oh, no. Little Ben’s dead? What about the space-time continuum? Whoa! Cliffhanger!”

My reaction exactly.

Blogging during commercials …

9:05 Father tells boy to kill chicken, but he can’t. He’s too kind-hearted. His younger brother enters the pen, snaps the chicken’s neck. Which child is little Sayid? I’m thinking it’s the kind-hearted one. Oops! I was wrong about that!

Dharma guy: “Whatever.” Hey, writers, that seems anachronistic! People didn’t say “whatever” like that back then.

But they did read “A Separate Reality” by Carlos Castenada. Oooh! Nostalgia attack.

Little Ben was creepy and Ben-like, even back then. “I think I can help you.” Oh, I bet you can, Creepy Little Ben.

9:16 Long-haired Sayid. Russia. Bang bang! Now what does he do with himself?

Horace, opening and shutting pliers. Menacing. “Put out your hands.” What is this, “24″? No — ha — fake out!

“I’ll have to take this to the next level.” Hmm, maybe they are imitating “24″ after all. But why are the hippies into torture anyway?

Sawyer! And Juliet! In the cute house! Awww.

Sawyer and Sayid! Sayid: “Then I guess I’m on my own.”

9:28 Hurley, Kate, and Jack in the cafeteria. Kate didn’t know about Suliet? Really?

Wow, Ben’s father is a nasty piece of work. This is one for the bad fathers file.

Ben and Sayid in Santo Domingo. Great scene. Ben: “You’re a killer, Sayid. It’s in your nature.”

Sawyer tasers Sayid. Oh, Sawyer, shame on you!

“He’s our you.” There’s the title!

Creepy guy puts Sayid in restraints — his arms out, as if crucified.

9:42 Sayid in bar. Is that the woman from the plane? Not sure.

Sayid talks. The drug wasn’t painful after all! Whew! One “24″ is more than enough.

“I’m from the future.” “Maybe I should have used half a dose.” Ha ha ha!

Kate has engine duty with Juliet! I like the idea of them becoming friends but, hey writers, giving them both mechanics jobs seems like another anachronism. Few women worked on cars in the 70s. Could this be a Dharma experiment in redefining gender roles? I doubt it — they don’t seem that progressive in general.

But thank you, writers, for not staging a cat fight between Kate and Juliet. I was half expecting it, and I’m glad you took the high road here, and steered clear of the looming cliche.

Voting to kill Sayid. Sawyer raises his hand. Shame on you, Sawyer!

9:52 The woman kicks Sayid! “I am a professional.”

Sawyer didn’t betray Sayid after all! Whew! I really didn’t want to have to hate Sawyer!

Van rolling through Dharmaville, like it did in last week’s “Lost Untangled”! Except this time, it’s on fire.

Cloaked figure. It’s not Ms. Hawking again, is it? Ha. Nope, it’s Little Ben.

Little Ben: Will you take me to your people? Sayid: That’s why I’m here.

10:02 Sayid, at gate of Flight 315: “Can we get the next plane?” Ha ha. Sorry, Sayid. This is your destiny!

Sayid shoots Little Ben! OMG! It’s a time travel paradox!!! I was sure they weren’t going to have any of those!! Very, very interesting. Could it be that Little Ben is not really dead? And if he is dead … then what? What does that mean, if the Losties are able to alter the past?

Wow. Cue the Twilight Zone music.

I liked the episode. Lots of action, good set-up of the tension between Sayid and Ben, and a kicker of an ending.

Graphic by Ms Terri, using a smoldering hot picture of Naveen Andrews from the abc.com website (c) ABC

ABC is changing the schedule around again, which is always confusing.

This week, there will be a new episode at 9:00 to 10:02 pm, as usual, but instead of showing a pop-up enhanced rerun at 8:00 the way they’ve been doing all season (except for last week), ABC will be showing non-LOST material in that hour instead. At 8:00 they’ll be showing Scrubs, and at 8:30, the new show Better Off Ted.

Last week, I turned on the TV a few minutes before LOST was about to start and saw the very end of Better Off Ted. From the little I saw, it looked good! The one person I recognized was Portia de Rossi, who was in the late great Arrested Development. Better Off Ted seemed to have some of Arrested Development’s sense of off-beat humor as well, although maybe not as quickly paced. It looked promising enough that I’m to going to try to catch it tomorrow.

LOST’s new episode is called “He’s Our You,” which is a strange title. When I first saw it, I couldn’t parse the phrase at all no matter how I tried, and thought that “You” might be some kind of acronym — something like “He’s Our Yucky Onepiece Underwear.” Well, not that exactly. But I was saved from coming up with even worse acronyms when I listened to the March 19 Official Audio Podcast.

On the podcast, our friends Darlton (Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof) reveal that the episode will be about Sayid (yay!). Where the title comes in is that Sayid will be introduced to someone in the Dharma Initiative with the line “He’s our you” — presumably meaning that this other character is the Dharma Initiative’s torturer (or else the Dharma Initiative’s lover, Darlton joke — at least I think they are joking).

Schedule — March 25, 2009

9:00 to 10:02 pm — new episode He’s Our You

(an hour earlier in Central Time)

If you want to see the pop-up enhanced rerun of “Namaste,” which will not be shown on TV this week, you can watch it on the abc.com website.

I just rewrote my Grand Theory of Everything over on my other blog (if this blog is the living room, that blog might be the basement — or maybe the attic where the crazy aunt lives).

I’ve been trying to make it more coherent, and I don’t think it’s totally there yet. But at least it’s not as incoherent as it was before.

A few warnings:

1. It’s long.

2. It might contain spoilers. If the theory is true, then it could be giving away a lot. It’s very unlikely that the theory is actually true, but unlikely things do happen once in a while.

If you’re still with me: My Grand Theory of Everything

I can’t believe we’re more than half-way through Season 5 already. That went fast!

We started the season with several episodes of vertigo-inducing time jumps which, mercifully, stopped after Locke put the donkey wheel back on its tracks, per Christian Shephard’s directions. Christian Shephard has popped up twice so far, an interesting feat for someone who is, supposedly, dead. Both times, he seemed to have the role of a guide — first to shepherd (pun definitely intended!) Locke back to the mainland, and later to guide Sun, perhaps back to the past.

Sawyer blossomed this season. After four years of watching Jack and Locke bicker about who was the real leader of the Losties, we saw Sawyer effortlessly assume the role, showing leadership skills that far surpassed those of either of the former contenders for the throne. Sawyer made good use of his extensive experience as a con man to create a story to protect the Losties, and his romance with Juliet gave them both moments when they were happy for the first time ever on the show.

Most of the Losties are now back on the Island (with the notable exception of Walt). They are scattered across at least two different time zones, so it’s as if they are walking along parallel tracks. I expect them to reunite, but where and when remains to be seen.

The show seems to have settled in, for a while, into 1970s Dharmaville, a place filled with cheery, cozy homes and love-bead clad workers, but with plenty of sinister undertones. We know Dr. Candle/Chang is not what he seems, and we know that the “Purge” is looming in the future. Will the Losties be gone before then or will they become involved in some way?

We’ve had some questions answered this season, along with some new questions posed. It was a good balance, and I think (knock on wood) that the writers really do know where they are going, and will shepherd us (pun again intended) to a satisfying conclusion next year.

Once again, we have an episode of “Lost Untangled,” the weekly recap video produced by the mysterious “ABC Fred Lab,” narrated by a mysterious narrator, and featuring comic-book style graphics, shaking action figures, and cardboard cutouts.

This week’s edition is a surprisingly straightforward retelling of the episode. The miniature VW bus that rolls through a miniature Dharmaville is adorable. Action-figure Sawyer gets a little snider with his nicknames than his on-the-air equivalent, calling Hurley “Double Chunk” and “King Kong,” and calling Jack “Bed Pan.”

Mostly, though, what we’ve got here is a plot summary:

I’m curious about what people think of these “Lost Untangled” videos. I can see from my stats that these videos are more eagerly searched for than almost anything else. Are you a fan who looks forward to watching them every week? Or do you think they are stupid? Or something in-between?

What do you think of the “Lost Untangled’ videos?” (Pick one or more)
( Online surveys)

If you’re looking for the latest “Lost Untangled” video, ABC hasn’t posted it yet. Last week, they didn’t post it until the day after the show, around late afternoon/early evening East Coast time. So if they follow the same pattern, it should be available later today — and I’ll post a copy here when it is.

Hi there. LOST is back! Yay!

I am blogging during commercials, as usual…

9:07 Wow! Great beginning! We get to see Flight 316 after the flash. Frank lands the plane! But his co-pilot is dead.

Inside the cabin, many of the seats are now empty, which reminds me of the rapture in “Left Behind” — a book I haven’t actually read, but know about from reading some of the deconstructing posts on Slacktivist.

“30 Years Earlier.” I’m liking these title screens. Reminds me of something Darlton said, on one of the Season 4 DVD features, about how we’ve seen the present, the flashbacks, and the flashforwards, which created the framework of a mosaic, and that the show from this season on would be about placing the tiles into place in the mosaic.

Sawyer: “It’s 1977!” Hurley: “Oh … what?”

9:19 Sawyer and Juliet, in their bedroom. Is she jealous of Kate’s being back, or is she thinking of the larger picture? The latter, I think. Jin hits guy with glasses (Radzinsky?).

Ben takes off. Sun, who seems unafraid of anything these days, follows. Sun: “Where are you going?” Ben: “Back to our Island. Do you want to come?”

9:27. The baby is Ethan! Sawyer: “Trust me.” Jack, the new, calmer 2.0 version, nods ok. Sayid!

9:36 The music and Kate’s peasant blouse are giving me a nostalgia attack. The beads are a bit much, though.

Sun: “I have to trust him.” Sun hits Ben in the head. Frank: “I thought you trusted that guy.” Sun: “I lied.” Sun is so badass these days!

Dr. Candle/Cheng: “Namaste.” Juliet: “Hi, Kate. Welcome to the Island.”

9:48: Sun and Frank, in long-deserted Dharmaville. A light comes on! The door creeks! Oooh, this is like a horror film! A figure is in the doorway, in silhouette. It’s Christian Shephard!!! “Follow me,” he says. Uh oh!

10:01 Sun: “Where is my husband?” Christian gives her picture taken in 1977. “I’m sorry, but you have a bit of a journey ahead of you.” Does that mean what I think it means?

Sawyer sends a signal to Sayid with his eyes.

Jack hugs Juliet on her doorstep! That’s weird — aren’t they afraid that the Dharma folks will see them? Why don’t they go inside?

Jack and Sawyer have a showdown. Sawyer says that he thinks, but Jack only reacts, and that’s why a whole bunch of people got killed on Jack’s watch. That’s pretty offensive, but Jack doesn’t seem to mind — seems like Jack is so glad to hand over the reins that he doesn’t care about anything else, even about being insulted to his face.

Kate and Sawyer wave to each other from their porches. Aww.

Kid brings a sandwich to Sayid — it’s little Ben! Ha. Fun with time travel!

Good episode! I like the way everyone seems to be converging (slowly) on the same place and time.

Previous “almost-live” blogging posts:

5×01 Because You Left

5×02 The Lie

5×03 Jughead

5×04 The Little Prince

5×05 This Place is Death

5×06 316

5×07 The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

5×08 LaFleur

The wonderful picture at the top of this post shows the Thailand version of Ronald McDonald performing the Thai “Wai” greeting (very similar to the Indian “Namaste”). The picture was taken by ChrisO in Patong Beach, Phuket.

After waiting two weeks, we finally have a new episode tonight. From what I’ve heard about this episode, it sounds great, so I think our patience will be amply rewarded.

Namaste will run from 9:00 pm to 10:02 pm (an hour earlier in Central time).

They’re not showing a rerun first, the way they usually do — I guess because they already reran LaFleur last week.

I’ll be doing “almost live” blogging here tonight, which I’ll post by 10:30 pm West Coast time.

I like to pick a picture for the “almost live” blogging post in advance, so that when the show comes on, I’ll be all ready to go. I usually look for a picture that is related in some way to the episode title or to the show in general, but that is not from the show itself. I lucked out and found a really good picture this time, and I’m looking forward to posting it tonight! Hope to “see” you then!

Here’s Josh Holloway, before he was Sawyer, singing a country song in the 2002 movie, Mi Amigo.

The movie was rated only one star on Amazon. It must have been REALLY bad — I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything with an average rating of only one star on Amazon before.

One reviewer called it “the worst movie ever.” Ouch! Poor Josh!

But this song, which apparently was only in the DVD extras, not in the movie itself, is quite nice. I say that even though I’m not usually a fan of country music. I am, though, a fan of anything that Josh Holloway does.

The video can’t be embedded, apparently by request of the copyright holder. But you can watch it on YouTube here: Josh Holloway sings

Picture cropped from video (c) 2005 Azalea Film Corporation

I needed my LOST fix tonight, so I watched the rerun of “LaFleur.”

I don’t usually watch the “enhanced” shows with the pop-up hints, and I was struck tonight by how much detailed cross-referencing they were doing, in the hints, to earlier episodes. If ABC keeps this up, it could put us LOST bloggers out of business! Ha!

My favorite moments this time were two “Suliet” moments. The first was the way that Sawyer looked at Juliet after she said that Amy and the baby were both okay. The second was the way that Juliet looked at Sawyer, when they were sitting on the dock, when he talked her into staying.

Those two quiet moments, even more than the climactic hugging-and-kissing-in-the-kitchen scene, conveyed such a strong sense of the love between the two. And it’s striking, as I mentioned earlier, that this was the first time we’ve seen either of these characters appear truly happy in all the time we’ve known them.

Watching the episode again, though, made me feel a little closer to feeling satisfied with the amount of time I’ve had with the story of Suliet — so that when Kate appeared at the end, this time I wasn’t thinking “Oh, no!” as I had the first time I watched the episode. I wasn’t dreading the break-up of Sawyer and Juliet the way I had been before.

I guess I just needed to spend one more hour enjoying the loveliness of Suliet, and now I can deal with moving on.

Watching it again also left me with one more unanswered question: Why did the Others attack Paul and Amy in the first place? They had a truce, which apparently everyone was taking very seriously. So why the attack?

Since there is no new episode this week, there’s more time to contemplate the questions that were raised in the last episode, LaFleur.

Here’s what I’ve come up with. Anyone have any more to add to the list?

1. Who is Amy’s baby?

In this video from TV Guide, Reiko Ayelsworth, the actress who plays Amy, says she knows who the baby is. But, of course, her lips are sealed.

2. What is the significance of the ankh that Amy’s dead husband Paul was wearing around his neck?

3. Where did Daniel Faraday go? He didn’t seem to be part of the later Dharma group with Sawyer, Juliet, and Miles.

4. What is the significance of the giant statue that the Losties glimpsed, from behind, in the beginning of the episode?

5. Will Sawyer and his group finally meet up with Locke? (I have a feeling this one may be answered very soon.)

6. Was the little girl that Faraday waved to really Charlotte, or did Faraday just think she was?

7. Why did Alpert claim that the Dharma Initiative people had broken the truce, when the Others had killed Paul and were trying to kill (or kidnap) Amy? Seems like the Others were the ones who had broken the truce, not the D.I. people. Is there more to the story than we’ve been told so far?

8. Why did Alpert want Paul’s body?

9. Did Amy get pregnant on or off the Island?

And, finally ….

10. Will Kate mess up “Suliet,” the best romance that LOST has ever had?

Picture of Sawyer and Juliet, before Kate had a chance to butt in, from 5×08 La Fleur (c) ABC

There’s no new episode this week — alas!

Instead, there will be a rerun of LeFleur. Then the new episode, called Namaste, will be shown next week.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

9:00 Rerun of 5×08 LaFleur

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

9:00 to 10:02 New episode 5×09 Namaste

There is no official word, that I could find, as to why they are delaying the new episode. My guess would be that they don’t want to have the season end too early.

Dark UFO is reporting that there will be another break in the schedule on April 22, when they will be having a clip show instead of a new episode.

In case you can’t wait another week and a half for a glimpse of the next episode, Buddy TV has 36 photos from Namaste — but, warning, you will be spoiled!

I looked at about half of them, and then decided that I was getting more spoiled than I wanted to be and stopped. I will say that from the photos I saw, the episode looks like a very good one. And I love Kate’s 70s-style peasant blouse! It gave me a twinge of nostalgia for my peasant-blouse days.

You could also read ABC’s press release on the episode if you don’t mind being slightly spoiled. There are some very interesting people in the guest star list! (I won’t say any more for those who don’t want to be spoiled at all, except for one thing: there is someone who is returning to the show who I didn’t expect to return!)

I’m getting very excited about this episode!

Josh Holloway (wearing a shirt, but with the top buttons undone) is the featured actor in this week’s official video podcast. He talks about the evolution of his character, Sawyer.

The podcast also has clips of some of the best moments of LaFleur, including the instant-classic scene of Sawyer and Juliet kissing in the Dharma kitchen.

Holloway said all of that domestic bliss was a shock. Sawyer had always been a “fun weekend,” not a relationship kind of guy.

Not to mention that he and Juliet didn’t get the best of starts. In fact, the first time the two of them met, she shot him with a taser. (I had forgotten about that!)

“Does a tiger change his stripes?” Holloway asks. “I hope not totally. I hope they bring his edge, keep it sharp.”

They didn’t cancel the “Lost Untangled” series after all! They just posted it a day late.

Here it is:

I thought this one was ok, not great, not terrible.

I did like the part with the cute toy VW bus.

Usually ABC puts these up right away, but not tonight.

If they do put one up later, I’ll post it.

So no new episode next week. No instant recap with action figures this week. Maybe the whole LOST family is taking a mid-season break and have gone off to enjoy the Hawaii beaches?

Seriously, I wonder if they decided to discontinue the “Lost Untangled” series. They started it out of the blue, so I guess it would be fitting if they ended it the same way, without any explanation at all.

I tried again to find out who made the series. I thought I had found a clue when I saw that according to Lostpedia, they were made by a company called ABC Fred Lab.

But when I tried Googling “ABC Fred Lab,” the only thing that came up was the Lostpedia page itself!

Blogging during commercials …

9:07 Time jumps are over! The Lost-ies are cured!

Sawyer: “As long as it takes.” Caption on screen: “Three years later.” Ha.

Nervous Dharma workers waiting for the reaction of their boss, LaFleur. The camera is coy, doesn’t show who it is, then it finally pulls back to reveal …. Sawyer!

Sawyer: “Son of a bitch.” Ha ha ha!

9:17 There’s Michelle Dessler from “24″! I better learn to call her Amy now. She’s pregnant. On the Island. That can’t be good.

Miles, snarking at Sawyer: “Who put him in charge?”

I’m really liking the Sawyer-Juliet rapport here.

Will there ever be a time when seeing someone in a hood isn’t reminiscent of Abu Ghraib?

Hood comes off. It’s Michelle, um Amy, again!

9:28 Sawyer, explaining why he should be the one to tell the story: “I’m a professional. I used to lie for a living.” Ha!

Baby and Amy are ok! Sawyer looks so proud of Juliet. I am REALLY liking the idea of the two of them as a couple. If they’re not one already, they should be!

9:37 Horace to Sawyer: “You are not Dharma material.”

Daniel: “We’re not on the song we want to be on.”

Little girl waves to Daniel. He seems to know her. “Charlotte.” !!!

Alarm. Alpert. Sawyer: “Uh oh.”

9:52 Sawyer: “It’s a good thing I’m not asking your permission.” Alpert still has his eyeliner on.

Amy takes her husband’s pendant — is that thing called an ankh? I wonder what the significance is, if any, of his wearing that.

Juliet wants to leave. Sawyer: “Who is going to get my back?” Oh, they are SO right for each other. I feel sorry that Juliet didn’t get off the Island, though, now that she finally had a chance. Though I guess it would be weird to just show up on the mainland in 1974.

Back to the future. Sawyer picks flower. They hug! Yes! Kiss. Juliet looks happier than we’ve ever seen her.

10:02 Sawyer with glasses. He looks so studious.

Sawyer: “I had a thing for a girl once. She’s just gone. She ain’t never coming back.”

Now THAT has got to be a cue for Kate to show up.

And — there she is!

Uh oh! Sawyer still likes her!

I enjoyed this episode. I like the love triangles or quadrangles or whatever they are.

I thought it was set up very well, so that right from the beginning of the episode, when Sawyer and Juliet are walking through the jungle, before they even see Amy being attacked, we are starting to see the rapport that they have together, and we are encouraged to root for them to become a couple. As the episode continues, we see the bond growing stronger, and our investment in their future relationship grows as well, until it culminates in the moment that we see that they are, indeed, together — and we feel a part of it, having hoped it would happen all along.

And then, Kate comes back. After we’ve been led to feel invested in Sawyer and Juliet, then we see Kate.

Very well done.

I won’t say who it is, but if you want to know, it’s “Teaser # 3″ (at 1:01) on the EW Totally Lost video.

Hint: It’s someone who I’ve written about before on this blog.

This one is 1.01 minutes long, features Miles, Daniel, Sawyer, and Juliet, and again is slightly spoiler-ish. It has one great line — “Thanks anyway, Plato!” — but is otherwise rather disturbing.