The Lost Diary

My friend Chris has been great about IMing me the morning of "Lost" and giving me a good one-liner that really sets me up for this blog. Thursday morning he only sent me this: "I totally forgot that 'Lost 'started back up tonight. That's like f**king Christmas." Couldn't have said it better myself.

For all you "Lost" Diary newbies, here's how it goes: I gather with a group of friends watching "Lost," writing what happens on the show as it happens, and throwing in my two cents along the way. I am watching tonight's episode of "Lost" solo -- I needed to watch the East Coast feed so I wouldn't end up staying up all night. Gotta get my shuteye. Let's roll:

10:02 -- Previously on "Lost" has never been so useful. I almost forgot what was going on, it's been so long. So there was a plane crash, right?

10:03 -- I like when "Lost" ends chaotically one week, then starts off slow the next. Particularly when that slow start consists of Kate in a state of undress.

10:04 -- When you're hoping a boat is going to come and rescue you, having the doctor of said boat wash up dead on shore is probably a bad omen. Just a thought.

10:05 -- "Australia is the key to the whole game." -- Hurley. Fun fact: I have never played Risk.

10:06 -- Predictably, Alex turns off the super fence. Question -- is Rousseau really dead? I go with no.

10:07 -- "They're here." -- Ben. Carol Anne, is that you?

10:11 -- I managed to go this entire week without seeing one "Lost" commercial or reading a single spoiler. So the fact that this is a Ben flash-forward is a complete surprise to me. Color me excited.

10:12 -- Ben seems to have fallen from the sky and landed in the Sahara Desert, with a wounded arm, and stumbled onto a couple of guys on horses wearing turbans and armed with Ak-47s. Clearly someone slipped me acid during the commercial brake.

10:13 -- I have to admit, Ben going all Jason Bourne on those guys was kind of a letdown. Ben is like the guy from "Princess Bride" -- he's all intellect. I don't like the fact he's got a black belt, too. It's inconceivable.

10:15 -- "When? When is kind of a relative term." -- Farraday. I missed that guy.

10:16 -- One of my biggest pet peeves about "Lost' is how there are dozens of random people running around who never say or do anything. Apparently the producers have decided to cut that number down by having some of them walk into gunfire. Natural selection.

10:17 -- "Lost" does gunfights about as well as Britney Spears sings. BTW -- did Claire just blow up? That would be anticlimactic.

10:20 -- Dean Moriarty is checking into the Tunisia Hilton ... but he's not 100% sure of the year. Nothing unsuspicious about that.

10:21 -- Sayid is on the TV, and apparently his wife is dead. R.I.P. Nadia.

10:22 -- Ben is planning a field trip to Jacob's cabin and it involves Hurley. Better pack an extra picnic basket.

10:24 -- Ding dong! Miles is at the door and he's got a walkie-talkie.

10:29 -- Yup, Nadia is dead and here comes Ben to pay his respects.

10:31 -- Ben has finally tracked down Sayid and we're beginning to see how he recruited Sayid to work for him -- by exploiting Nadia's death. Same way he always gets people to do what he wants.

10:36 -- Ok, I didn't go minute-by-minute during the Ben vs. Martin the mercenary scene for a reason -- I couldn't. As someone who pours over the minutia of "Lost' every week, I have come to learn something. Since there are so many characters spread out over the island, "Lost" has a ton of scenes, usually lasting about a minute, maybe two in length. But when they decide to hunker down for a good five-minute scene, look out. I loved this scene, I really didn't know how it was going to play out. Have we ever seen Ben truly lose in a situation? Not this badly, that's for sure. A+ scene.

10:37 -- Oh, almost forgot -- R.I.P. Alex.

10:40 -- "He changed the rules." -- Ben. He's not taking this well at all.

10:41 -- Ben scurried off into his fortress of solitude and then snuck of into a Batcave. I literally couldn't make another comic book reference if I tried.

10:44 -- "Benjamin, who is next?" -- Sayid. Ben is pretty happy with himself.

10:45 -- Black Smoke Monster? Hey, it's Ben. Well, not so good actually. I was wondering if you could do me a favor. I am locked inside a house and these six mercenary guys are trying to kill me and they just executed my daughter right in front of me. Yeah, I know. Sucks, right? Do you think you could take care of them for me? Really? Oh, man I totally owe you one. Say hi to the Mrs. for me. Linus, out.

10:50 -- Bernard, who never ceases to surprise, exposed Farraday for lying about the Morse code message. BTW -- Jack looks likes grim death.

10:52 -- After a bit of a pissing match, Hurley agrees to go with Locke and Ben. Of course he does, he has to find the cabin.

10:54 -- Ben is heading up to the Penthouse suite of some building in London. Any predictions on who is there? I am going with Penny, and Ben kills her.

10:55 -- Close, it's Charles Widmore. That was the safe bet.

10:56 -- Why can't Ben kill Widmore?

10:57 -- "I know who you are, boy, what you are. I know that everything you have you took from me." Widmore to Ben.

10:58 -- "I'm here Charles to tell you I'm going to kill your daughter. Penelope, is it?" -- Ben to Widmore. I was close!

10:59 -- "Sleep tight, Charles." -- Ben

I used to judge an episode of "Lost" by what we learned that week. Lately though, I feel like we're learning less each week than ever before (as if that was possible). Yet, I still find myself enjoying every week, even though every episode fails my "What did we learn?" test.

This week is no different; we learned a few things (Ben can control the smoke monster, for example). But how many big "reveals" have we really had this season? Can't say I have ever been totally blown away at any point.

Tonight though gave us a handful of new questions, which on "Lost" is the far more common occurrence. How does Ben control the smoke monster? How he did land up in the desert? Why can't he kill Widmore? Why does Widmore think the island was once his? What happened to the boat doctor and why did the boat people think he's fine? What are the "rules" Ben spoke of? Why did "Lost" start at 10:02? Did America really need two extra minutes of "Grey's"?

In the end, I found this to be another solid episode of "Lost" -- I enjoyed it the whole way through, even if it never gave me that "OH MY GOD!!!!" moment, though I loved the Alex execution scene. Solid B from me.

I am bringing back an oldie but goodie for my question to you this week -- if you could have one "Lost" question answered next week, which would it be?

I'll try and throw together an LDQA every week if we get enough good questions, Feel free to ask me anything and everything. Click here to send me a question.

Posted by Daniel at 06:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (467) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Daniel at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (58) | TrackBacks (0)

Finally!!!

Ok, a few quick things I want to get off my chest before we get started:

-- I am finally all caught up on "Battlestar Galactica." It's good, for sure. Great? I don't know if I can go that far. I was a HUGE fan of the show as a kid, and what they have done with it is amazing -- but sometimes I feel like the show tries a little too hard.

-- I feel like I did you all a disservice by not bringing this up sooner, but "In Treatment" is just beyond phenomenal. It's certainly not for everyone (it's essentially two people talking for 25 minutes) but the writing is amazing and every performance in it is top notch. The girl who plays Sophie deserves an Emmy now for sure. If you can On Demand it, I suggest you give it a shot.

-- If you want to see a totally f'ed up movie that is incredibly good, go see "Funny Games." It's about two yuppy kids who hold a yuppy family hostage and torture them. Is it a downer from start to finish? Absolutely. Is it a superbly-directed, amazingly well-acted movie? Definitely. Not for the faint of heart though, that's for sure.

-- I read every question that comes in. Some I include in the column, some I don't. What makes me pick some over others? I don't know -- I am just looking for the ones that sparks something in me. Most of the time I don't pick a question simply because I don't have a good answer. But keep 'em coming, please. They're all great.

Let's roll:

Q: Now that we know who the Oceanic 6 are, does it make sense to assume that the two other survivors who "died on the island" would have to be Claire (because she birthed Aaron) and Jin (because he had to have impregnated Sun)? -- Jenny

A: Yes. With everything we know now, that would make the most sense to me. But I don't think we know everything there is to know yet. I reserve the right to change my answer on this one.

Q: There is a spot for you on my couch!  Of course my couch is in NH, so you'd have quite a distance to travel, if Ari and Lauren ever come back they are welcome too.  My question for you is this.  If Ben and Jerry's created a Lost Ice Cream flavor what do you think it would be? -- Kelly

A: Thanks for the offer. After my plea for new places to watch "Lost," I have plenty of options across the continental U.S. Good to know if I ever have to travel, I am never hard up for a place to crash. The answer to your question is easy: Chunky Hurley.

Q: I'm new to your posts and site, however, My first visit was last week - you didn't like the episode. I return this week - you didn't like the episode. I know criticism and detail are what you do for this site, but let it go and enjoy the show. There is no other show that grabs me emotionally like this show - from the first frame to the last logo. Remember how you used to enjoy it - and love it for what it is: One of the best shows television has ever had to offer. -- JD

A: Every time I dislike an episode, the majority of the fan reactions fall into one of two categories: totally with me or totally against me. Look, I write down what I think of "Lost" as I am thinking it. I write my summary up as close to when I am done watching as possible. If I don't like, I'm going to say so. I've had people tell me I was too easy on episodes I liked and too hard on ones I hated. Just think of my opinion as a springboard for discussion.

Q: Do you think that you are a little pessimistic this season because you have no one to watch it with and therefore no one to remind you how horrible the show really has been before. I think you are losing a little bit of focus. -- Anna

A: This season I have watched more episodes alone than before. And even when I watch with people, it's fewer people than previous years. The show is on late, I have to wake up early, I've been playing basketball on Thursday nights -- everything has conspired against my "Lost" experience this year.

And when was "Lost" horrible before? Season 3 started off slow, but that's really it to me. I am looking forward to re-watching season 2 this summer because that's the one season that seems to get bashed, when I don't think it should have been.

Q: You grade each episode. What’s your overall grade for Season 4’s first eight episodes? I say B+ -- Matt

A: I'd say a strong B. Every episode has been solid, but it's really lacked those big moments that just knock you on a loop. The Desmond episode was an A+ one for sure, but it wasn't enough to bump the season up for me as a whole. But the season has not been a disappointment to me at all, save for the Michael ep, which could have been better.

Q: First, Did we know that Tom was Gay?! I was suprised by that. Second.  If there is a time-warp idea on the island, couldn't the flash-forwards be contingent on what people Choose to do now on the island?  So if they end up making different decisions (eg joining locke, turning ben over) the future would also change.  Thus, what we are seeing as flash forwards now, might not mean that is how it will actually turn out if and when they get off the island.  What do you think?

A: Yes, we knew Tom was gay in season two when he said Kate "wasn't his type." And if the flashforwards aren't real somehow, I will kill someone. That would be stupid.

Q: What do you think happens to Desmond, will anyone have a happy ending? -- Denise

A: Speaking of killing people -- if Desmond and Penny don't get together, a certain short Mexi-Jew I know is going to go on a rampage. No one wants to see that happen. She may be little, but she's feisty.

Q: You wrote "And they did give him a pretty good reason for working for Ben, when really I never thought they'd have a real good one. But I can't shake the feeling that we missed a good opportunity (but I understand that they pretty much can't show Walt ever again)." Why can't they show Walt ever again?  I must have missed something. -- Megan

A: Walt is pretty much done for, except for when he shows up as "taller, ghost Walt." Only three months have gone by on the show, but three years in real life. Walt looks older than me now and he seems like he grew three feet. They can't explain that one away.

Q: Do you ever panic in the middle of an episode that isn't going well and think that all these years might have been wasted? Sometimes, my enthusiasm for the show makes me a bit paranoid that it could never come out with as cool an ending as I hope. For example, when things get uber-predictable, like with Michael this past week. If this has ever happened to you, what are your "LOST panic" moments (besides the obivously heart-stopping possibility of a Charlie resurrection)? -- Lindsay

A: I don't worry about the show as a whole at all, but I worry about little things. For example, if Charlie is alive, that would be stupid. He's dead, please leave him dead. Leave Eko dead. Leave Ana Lucia dead. Please.

Q: I thought the Oceanic 6 would be revealed last night.  I only count 5. Kate, Jack, Hurley, Sayid and Sun.  Who is the 6th? Thanks for taking the time to respond so I can stop obsessing about it!

A: I got a lot like this one, and I am sure you all put it together by now -- it's Aaron.

Q: I watch TMZ on TV also and wonder who ypu are, do you ever have speaking parts or so they keep you in the back?

A: I sit in the cubicle right in front of Harvey. More often than not, the top of my head is in every show. But yeah, I also have plenty of "speaking parts" -- I even hosted once.

Q: Hi! Love the Diary and appreciate your thoughts and humor.  Have you noticed how being a Lost Fan is a lot like being a Scientologist?  Its life-consuming, only fellow watchers "get it", you constantly "convert" people into watchers, and when you try to explain it to anyone, it (and therefore *you*) sound completely crazy. =) -- Cheryl

A: So does that make me Tom Cruise?

Q: I love your recaps and read them every week. I too watch Lost with a fluctuating group of friends here in Atlanta and our weekly comments are pretty similar to your own. I was hoping you’d mention the ham that Ben cooked for his date, and you did not disappoint. Anyway, my question for you is, what are your personal theories about Annie? There are a lot of crazy ones out there, and we know that she's of some "seismic" importance, which will apparently be revealed to us, but I wanted to know your own thoughts. -- Haley

A: I don't have a good answer except to say this -- it would SHOCK me if we didn't see Annie again.

Q: My, sister, we'll call her Stupid, got me watching "Lost," by getting the 1st season and lending it to me.  She watched the first and second season only and sworn off "Lost," basically saying all the characters are self absorbed and not worth watching.  She is soooooooooooo pulling a Jack by being stupid, hence her name.  My question is,  how do I make her realize her own stupidity without putting a grenade in her mouth and making her watch the third, and so far the fourth and greatest season ever of "Lost"?  If a grenade is needed, where do I find one? -- Mary Ann

A: First off, the Lost Diary does not endorse violence in any way. Secondly, I think you need to use the carrot and the stick -- give her incentive to watch. Offer to babysit her kids or take her out to dinner. Once she gets lured back in, you'll be all good. If that doesn't work, do the opposite -- start withholding favors and sisterly love.

On the flip side, how could you let this happen? This is the woman that got you into "Lost" and you let her fall off the wagon? I think you need to admit your own culpability in this. You've got work to do, my friend.

Q: I know this is the "Lost" diary, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on the final season of the Wire.... so sad it's ending. -- Kristin

A: I was very satisfied at the ending of "The Wire." I thought the 5th season, as a whole, was one of the weaker of the bunch. That said, it ended strong and the finale was great. I definitely need to sit down and watch all five seasons again this summer.

Q: Since Lost premiered in 2004, I have been blessed with two sons. The first one we named Henry, the second one is Ben. In truth this has nothing to do with the show; they're both family names. But, I'm starting to think I might be Jacob. Thoughts? -- John

A: Does your house magically appear and reappear in different places. If so, yes.

Q: Daniel,
 
I am going to graduate from High School this May, and would like to have the quote under my senior picture be associated with LOST.  I'd love your advice as to what LOST quote I should use.  The quote doesn't have to have anything to do with high school - heck, it doesn't even have to have anything to do with me for that matter.  My goal with this is for someone years from now to see the quote in my yearbook and think, "This kid must have been a fan of LOST".
 
Here are the lines I'm considering now, but I am open to yours (and your reader's) suggestions.
 
My favorite quotes so far, in descending order:
 
10)  "Actually, we're not quite in Portland."
9) "Picture a box. You know something about boxes, don't you, John? What if I told you that somewhere on this island there is a very large box, and whatever you imagined, whatever you wanted to be in it -- when you opened that box, there it would be. What would you say about that John?"
8) "There is no curse. You make your own luck."
7) "Welcome to the wonderful world of not knowing what the hell is going on."
6) "Guys, where are we?"
5)  "I've made the biggest mistake of my life. And the worst part is I am pretty sure I made it before."  (By the way, this is a line from Desmond in last year's "Flashes Before Your Eyes".  Kind of has a whole new meaning now, huh?)
4)  "He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us."
3)  "I want you to bring me the man from Tallahassee."
2)  "Same way I get anyone to do anything. I find out what he's emotionally invested it and then I exploit it."
 
And here's the quote I'm leaning towards using now.  I just think this would be so cool.......

1)  "If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant."
 
What do you think?  Are there any more you recommend?
 
Thanks,
Rich

A: This is the best question ever, hands down. I thought about this long and hard and here is what I came up with.

For me, the quote needs to accomplish two things -- it needs to totally confuse anyone who is not a "Lost" fan and immediately draw the respect of any hardcore fan. For example, I am a Prince fan (have I mentioned that before?). If I were to use a Prince quote, would I take one from "Purple Rain" or "When Doves Cry"? Hell no! I'd reach into my bag of tricks and pull something from a 20-year-old, unreleased song that only a real Prince fan could ID.

So the choice is completely and utterly clear to me ...

"If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant."

This quote satisfies the first requirement, plus it's actually a great yearbook quote because it alludes to the future. No one who watches "Lost" will have any clue what it means on any level at all (Who is Desmond Hume? What's a constant?"). But an actual "Lost" fan will immediately know it and give you props for life.

Rich, if you do this, be sure to scan it in for me.  

Posted by Daniel at 01:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (47)

Here's the deal ...

I planned on working on it Sunday, but I called into work.

I planned on working on it Monday, but I got sucked into finishing season 3 of "BSG." 

I planned on working on it Tuesday, but as I literally sat down to write it, I got called into work again.

I am cursed.

Barring an "American Idol" being rushed to the ER, I am plowing through it tonight. Honestly, it's my favorite thing to write and I hate letting questions sit there for a month. I plan on unleashing the biggest, baddest LDQA I have ever done.

In fact, I need your help with the first question ...
 

Daniel,
 
I am going to graduate from High School this May, and would like to have the quote under my senior picture be associated with LOST.  I'd love your advice as to what LOST quote I should use.  The quote doesn't have to have anything to do with high school - heck, it doesn't even have to have anything to do with me for that matter.  My goal with this is for someone years from now to see the quote in my yearbook and think, "This kid must have been a fan of LOST".
 
Here are the lines I'm considering now, but I am open to yours (and your reader's) suggestions.
 
My favorite quotes so far, in descending order:
 
10)  "Actually, we're not quite in Portland."
9) "Picture a box. You know something about boxes, don't you, John? What if I told you that somewhere on this island there is a very large box, and whatever you imagined, whatever you wanted to be in it -- when you opened that box, there it would be. What would you say about that John?"
8) "There is no curse. You make your own luck."
7) "Welcome to the wonderful world of not knowing what the hell is going on."
6) "Guys, where are we?"
5)  "I've made the biggest mistake of my life. And the worst part is I am pretty sure I made it before."  (By the way, this is a line from Desmond in last year's "Flashes Before Your Eyes".  Kind of has a whole new meaning now, huh?)
4)  "He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us."
3)  "I want you to bring me the man from Tallahassee."
2)  "Same way I get anyone to do anything. I find out what he's emotionally invested it and then I exploit it."
 
And here's the quote I'm leaning towards using now.  I just think this would be so cool.......

1)  "If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant".
 
What do you think?  Are there any more you recommend?
 
Thanks,
Rich

Posted by Daniel at 09:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (67)