The Lost Diary

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. No need for much of a pre-amble today, we're halfway through the season finale for chrissakes!

Let's roll:

00:46 -- After going face-to-whatever with the black smoke monster, Locke has now decided running to be the best plan.

00:47 -- Kate threw a stick of dynamite down the hole that the black smoke monster was trying to drag Locke into, which freed Locke from its grasp and made the black smoke monster scream(?) and fly away. Sometimes I just like trying to write out what happens so I can go back and read it later to see how ludicrous it all is sometimes.

00:48 -- "You." -- Jin, giving his watch to Michael. Are they going steady now?

00:50 -- After sneaking into the Losties camp to kidnap Aaron, apparently Charlie thought Danielle would just leave him sitting on some logs. What a wanker.

00:51 -- When you ask an Iraqi torture expert to fix your wound any way he can, getting gun powder poured on your head is to be expected. Man, that looked fun.

00:52 -- Fat guy running equals comedy, I guess.

00:54 -- "My mom's birthday is tomorrow. Or, today I don't know. I don't... I don't really get the whole time change thing, but I've got to make that flight." -- Hurley

00:55 -- More fat guy running equals more comedy, I guess.

00:56 -- "This is your lucky day." -- Jenna, the woman at the gate

00:59 -- "That's why you and I don't see eye-to-eye sometimes, Jack because you're a man of science ... Me, well, I'm a man of faith. Do you really think all this is an accident that we, a group of strangers survived, many of us with just superficial injuries? Do you think we crashed on this place by coincidence ... especially, this place? We were brought here for a purpose, for a reason, all of us. Each one of us was brought here for a reason." -- Locke

01:00 -- Jack tells Locke he doesn't believe in destiny, but Locke says, "Yes you do, you just don't know it yet." I think the flash-forwards in the season three finale prove that Locke is right about that.

01:03 -- "Something's out there." -- Michael

01:04 -- Doesn't matter how many times we see Locke in a wheelchair, they find a new way to make his life seem utterly miserable every single time.

01:05 -- "Can I have the flashlight? Because, uh, the torch with the dynamite thing not making a whole lot of sense to me." -- Hurley

01:07 -- Operation Rescue Turniphead is moving along, and Danielle is crying on the beach while holding Aaron. Watching Danielle cry is easily one of the five scariest things I have ever seen on "Lost."

01:09 -- "I heard them say they were coming for the child. The others said they were coming for the boy." -- Danielle. Oh, they're coming alright.

01:12 -- "No, no, no. Stop! Stop! We can't do this. Stop. Wait. Stop we can't do this. Stop it. Stop it. We can't. Stop. Don't light it. We can't do this. We can't do this. Stop. Wait. You've got to stop it." -- Hurley. Um, I think Hurley doesn't want to open the hatch.

01:14 -- After much debate, Michael fires the flare gun into the sky. The constant beeping of the radar is scaring the shit out of me.

01:15 -- A boat shines its light on Michael and Co. and they are understandably excited.

01:16 -- "Only, the thing is we're gonna have to take the boy." -- Mr. Friendly. Quite possibly the creepiest line in "Lost" history.

01:18 -- "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalt!" -- Michael

01:20 -- Slow motion montage: Claire gets her baby back, Sayid is gonna get some from Shannon and Charlie took a souvenir from the beach craft.

01:21 -- Slow motion flashback montage: everyone getting on the plane, even Boone.

01:24 -- Gee, I wonder what's in that hatch.

You can re-watch a movie or a show as many times as you want -- but unless you have a Haitian guy handy to wipe away your memories, you can't watch something again for the first time.

Some shows, some movies, can't be watched again -- they just don't have that re-watchability factor. Hard to put your finger on it, but for some things, once is enough.

But other things -- man, I could watch them on loop and I'll still get that feeling I had the first time I saw them. Take "Usual Suspects" for example (if you haven't seen it, jump to the next paragraph). I can watch Verbal "turn into" Keyser Soze and still get chills every time. Seeing his limp disappear and his hand straighten has almost the same effect on me now as it did then. It never gets old.

(If you skipped that paragraph -- WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!? GO RENT "USUAL SUSPECTS" NOW!!!!!!!)

Much to my surprise, "Lost" has a fantastic re-watchibility factor. Come on -- when Mr. Friendly said "Only, the thing is we're gonna have to take the boy" tell me you didn't get goosebumps again? Sure, I know now what's in the hatch, but that long tracking shot that showed us how deep it went still gave me the chills.

I can't think of a higher compliment to pay a show.

Looking forward, other than the first 6 episodes of season three, consensus seems to say season two is the worst of the three. Not sure I follow that thinking, so I'm really looking forward to watching that one again too. Henry Gale can't come fast enough ...

See you next week.

Posted by Daniel at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (46)

I've decided to break the two-hour season one finale of "Lost" into two parts -- mostly because I just don't want the season to end. Re-watching season one has been much more enjoyable than I would have thought. I think when it's all said and done, I will have learned two things: Jin is criminally underrated as a character and the show has really gotten better each season.

Some quick notes:

-- Is it me or is "Chuck" becoming really good? Just a perfect blend of action and comedy.

-- I am starting to catch up on "Dexter" (I am now three episodes into this season). There really is no better actor on television than Michael C. Hall.

-- "Heroes" talk for a second. How do they do a whole episode about the gap between seasons one and two and give no explanation about what happened to Sylar?

Let's roll:

00:03 -- "Previously on 'Lost'" was nearly three minutes long. Apparently they thought people might tune into the most confusing show on television for the first time ... for the season finale.

00:04 -- Charlie wants a gun so he can protect Claire, which apparently trumps the safety of everyone else.

00:05 -- Jack and the gang have arrived at the Black Rock and I just keep thinking the same thing: I can't wait for Artz to blow up!

00:07 -- Locke gives everyone a history lesson on slave vessels from Africa. Of course he does.

00:09 -- Artz is kind of a whiny bitch.

00:10 -- And an asshole.

00:11 -- And in pieces. (Still awesome a second time around)

00:13 -- Some random white guy threatens Jin in the airport bathroom, in Korean. Nobody threatens Jin in his own language and gets away with it.

00:15 -- "Who doesn't like Bob Marley?" -- Michael. Me, that's who. I had a roommate freshman year, who I hated, who played Bob Marley constantly. So now I hate his music. Thanks Rob Whateveryourlastnamewas.

00:17 -- "That was messed up." -- Hurley

00:18 -- Jack and Locke are following Artz's instructions, wrapping the dynamite in a wet t-shirt to transport it. Considering how it worked out for Artz, I might have tried a different method.

00:20 -- "Don't touch the sides." -- Jack

00:21 -- Rousseau came back to camp screaming her head off. No one does crazy like she does.

00:22 -- I don't know a lot about heroin, but it doesn't seem like the kind of thing you lose in your hotel room.

00:24 -- I'm actually with Charlie on this one: If I only had a little bit of heroin left, I wouldn't share it with the drugged-up whore I picked up the night before at the bar.

00:25 -- The only thing more annoying than hearing Michael yell "My boy!" is hearing Claire yell "My baby!" Oh, and Rousseau stole Turnip Head.

00:26 -- "You got some ... Artz on you." -- Hurley

00:28 -- Sawyer is, predictably, reading all the messages in the bottle. Now I can't get the Police out of my head.

00:29 -- I hope that some gets my, I hope that someone gets my ...

00:30 -- Dear lord, Claire is annoying as all hell.

00:32 -- Back at the airport, Michael is trying to pawn Walt off on his mom. Can't blame him: the kid is acting like a f'n brat. But on the boat, he's father of the year. A subtle reminder that Michael and Walt are actually better off on the island.

00:36 -- Jack, Kate, Hurly and Locke are heading back to the hatch, in that order. Hurley drew the short straw in that formation, didn't he?

00:38 -- "Do you think all this, all that we've been through, do you think we're being punished?" -- Sun

00:40 -- "The plane was loaded with heroin." -- Sayid. And it's Charlie's birthday!

00:42 -- "So, dude, what do you think is inside that hatch thing?" -- Hurley.

00:42 -- "Stacks of TV dinners from the 50's, or something. And TVs, and cable, some cell phones, clean socks, soap, Twinkies... you know, for dessert, after the TV dinners. Twinkies keep for like 8000 years, man." -- Hurley

00:43 -- "Hope. I think hope is inside." -- Locke

00:44 -- And a puff of black smoke just flew by. Common to us now, but back then, holy shit!

00:45 -- While everyone runs away from the smoke monster, Locke goes towards it. Sums him up perfectly, doesn't it?

Alright, I figure we'll pick up with the last half next week (I promise I won't be late this time).

Also, I think I am going to have to start re-watching season two. I thought I wasn't, then I thought I was, then I wasn't -- now I feel I have to. Why? Henry Gale withdrawl. I've been able to find some of my season two diaries, but I think a re-watch is definitely in order. Not setting it in stone yet (what would we do next summer?), but it's starting to feel right.

Posted by Daniel at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

A few quick things before we start:

-- I just saw "Gone Baby Gone" and I have to warn you: we're about to live in a world where Ben Affleck is an Oscar-nominated director. He did an unbelievable job. He deserves to be nominated and he deserves to win. Just a phenomenal movie.

-- Even Tim Kring knows "Heroes" sucks. Now go fix it.

-- The writer's strike is going to be a bitch. There's talk of "24" pushing back this season to next Fall -- that is some scary shit. Then again, after last season, they could use the extra time. They canceled "SNL" this weekend with my girl, Amy Winehouse. That hurt.

Let's roll:

00:01 -- It's before Oceanic Flight 815 took off, and Walt is acting like a brat to Michael -- even breaking out the "You're not my father!" line. That one always works.

00:03 -- Back on the island, we're treated to the mental image of Walt taking a piss and Danielle wandering into the Losties camp -- equally unnerving.

00:04 -- "The Others are coming." -- Danielle. No joke: that line gave me goosebumps, even now.

00:05 -- "There are only three choices: run, hide or die." -- Danielle. She paints a pretty rosy picture, doesn't she?

00:07 -- I spent the better part of today framing movie posters. The frames are pre-built -- just pop off the back, slide the poster in, put the back back on and then hang. It was a nightmare. The fact that Michael, fictional or not, built a raft and is now setting sail, kind of depresses me. I am not handy at all.

00:08 -- A pillar of black smoke, five kilometers inland. That can't be good.

00:11 -- Pre-flight again, we're introduced to Ana Lucia as she hits on Jack at the airport bar. Ana Lucia will never be more liked on this show than she is right now.

00:12 -- "They stuck me all the way in the back of the plane, " -- Ana Lucia.

00:14 -- Watching Michael and Jin argue is always one of my favorite things to see on "Lost." They don't have the natural chemistry of Hiro and Ando on "Heroes," but they're cute nonetheless.

00:15 -- The Australian cop reads Sawyer a laundry list of things he's been busted for. If he's been arrested that many times, guess he's not as good of a con man as we're supposed to think.

00:18 -- Sawyer tells Jack about his run-in with Jack's dad at the bar in Australia and I have to admit I got a little choked up -- even though I knew it was coming.

00:20 -- The Marshal is checking in his guns with airport security and goes into a whole diatribe about how terrible a person Kate is.

00:21 -- "THAT is why I need five guns." -- The Marshal

00:23 -- Jack is rounding up people to go get the dynamite, Michael is getting set to launch the raft, and Charlie is collecting messages in a bottle. One of those things pisses me off.

00:25 -- The dynamite crew is walking to parts of the island we haven't seen before. Of course, maybe we would have seen these parts before if the Losties had actually bothered to look around the island a bit.

00:28 -- "Just be very careful with it." -- Artz. Gee, they couldn't have come up with that advise on their own?

00:29 -- "RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN!" -- Artz

00:30 -- Danielle explains that the "monster" is a security system designed to protect the island. This is one of those sentences that sounds crazy on any other show.

00:31 -- "He'll take care of you." -- Walt to Shannon, about Vincent. A reader emailed me this week, saying Vincent is more important to things than we realize. I don't know if that's true or not, but this scene sure suggests he might be.

00:32 -- Boone is back. I'll be ok, I just need a minute.

00:33 -- "You have no idea what I'm capable of." -- Shannon. I know you're capable of being a bitch.

00:35 -- "This is the Black Rock." -- Danielle.

00:36 -- "Relax, they don't speak English." -- Bitch in the airport, talking about Jin and Sun. Or do they?

00:37 -- Sun made Jin a Korean-to-English dictionary for the raft trip. Again, I am a tad choked up.

00:38 -- From now on, I am banning any reference to Sun when I rank the hottest women on "Lost" because it would be disrespectful to Jin. She is off-limits.

00:39 - Jin STILL has the handcuff around his wrist. That's crazy.

00:40 -- I wonder if Charlie's bottle will ever come into play again.

00:41 -- The S.S. The Thing Is We're Gonna Have to Take the Boy has set sail.

With all the talk of the writer's strike and how it might affect "Lost" this season, this episode really hit the spot. Hearing Danielle say "The Others are coming" was just as creepy now as it was then -- actually it might have been more so.

I needed a great episode of television to restore my faith. If writers can create an hour of television as good as this, they deserve whatever they ask for.

A+.

Posted by Daniel at 09:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)

Click here to find out which shows are affected and how.

 

Posted by Daniel at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)

So I'm back on painkillers. Let me explain.

I was playing softball Tuesday night and I went to catch a fairly routine relay throw to third. I moved to my left and POP!!! -- felt like someone shot me in the back of the leg.

Seems like it is just a pulled muscle and not a tear (thank God). I still have a massive limp, but the pain has subsided (thank Vicodin).

Point is I spent the last few days with an ice pack on my leg and didn't get to "Lost" this week. We've still got three months til season 4 (YIKES!!!) so taking a week off here or there isn't a bad thing.  

So let's call this week a wash and pick up next week -- Diary on Wednesday, LDQA to be determined. I haven't begged for questions yet, so here goes: Click here to send me a question! Once again, I will answer any and all questions.

A few quick notes:

-- Finally caught up on "Damages." Wow, amazing finale. Highly recommend it on DVD, when it comes out.

-- All caught up on "Pushing Daisies" and I am still loving it.

-- "Chuck" keeps getting better, doesn't it? Nothing amazing, but a good, fun hour of TV every week.

-- Didn't see last night's show yet, but I'll still make this claim: "30 Rock" is the funniest show on TV. 

Posted by Daniel at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)