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June 26, 2010

how i got LOST: part 4 – reflect

Filed under: review,story,storytelling,tv — t. sterling @ 2:10 pm
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There was and still is a lot to download and process from a show like this. Another thing I tell people is to take note of the books that are shown. Surely it could be just random props thrown in, but those who have watched the show know enough to know that these titles have some significance to a particular episode, theme or the entire show.

The show is full of themes. Arguments of science vs. faith, destiny vs. free will, light vs. dark, good vs. evil and even love vs. hate. And in the end, you find that sometimes the winner is both (obviously “love” and “light” won in LOST). Also, especially the last season, the theme of redemption. And did you notice all those mirror shots? Watch again.

There are also a few questions out there that have yet to be answered… and I’ve learned that we will actually get some of these answers on that DVD, such as what the stank happened to Walt? We know he had to be written out due to his age. But really, what was his deal? Why the dead birds? What about the food drops? Why did that still happen? I really wanted to know more about Ilana too. All we know is that Jacob visited her when some accident happened, and she said he was the closest she had to a father. Then she went boom. I would’ve loved a flashback about her. Those are the main three questions that I can remember. I had idle questions I don’t really need an answer to, like the statue… who built it? What about the temple and its healing waters? Is there anyone in charge of it now? What’s up with Kate’s horse? Who is #108 “Wallace” at the lighthouse? (I kinda still wanna know that one.) What about the Hurley bird? Since Hurley was put in charge, did he leave the island to bring people to it? Was he killed or did he just decide to die? Did Ben remain a good guy? (I can only assume yes since Hurley still treated him like a friend.) Do the Whispers ever get to move on? Again, I’m not really looking for an answer to those questions. But things to think about, yes? Check out Lostpedia.com for lots more info and theories.

(And just for the record, that very, very last shot when they rolled the credits involving the plane wreckage on the beach had nothing to do with the anything. Read here.)

I have a theory as to why Sun didn’t return with the rest of the Oceanic 6 when they came back to the island. I think because when she first went to the island, she didn’t want to be with Jin. But this time, since she didn’t recreate the same situations necessary for a successful proper return, she was left in the present while everyone else went back in time because she wanted to be with Jin. There are some loopholes in this theory I’m sure and would much rather have the writers explain it. Or I’m open to anyone else’s theory about why she didn’t travel back in time… other than it would make for an interesting story to keep the tension until they finally met in the final episodes.

Probably more practical questions would be what will those involved with LOST do now? I’ve already seen a few of the cast members signed up for new projects. I would love a Sawyer and Miles cop show. Maybe a few LOST co-star cameos. No mythology though. I heard rumor, although I don’t think it’s true, Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson (Locke and Ben) would pitch a show together. True or not, I hope it happens. I don’t care if it’s a comedy or a drama, I’m there.

As for a show to replace the greatness that was LOST, well even though I didn’t watch it all 6 years it was actually on the air, I was around for the beginning. I try to catch those beginning episodes hoping to stumble upon the next big thing. So far, the only show that’s still on the air that I’m devoted to is Fringe. But fall will be here before you know it with a slew of new TV shows that may or may not make it. But one thing is for sure, there won’t be another show like LOST for quite some time. I’m glad I got to enjoy that journey and connected with so many other people on a brilliantly written and produced show.

There’s so much more I can say about the show that I haven’t touched on in these last few posts, but that’s the joy of a show like this: it keeps on giving especially with repeat showings. So I’ll be sure to be back with more insights. But this concludes my LOST reflections for now. Namaste. [Dramatic drum beat] FOUND.

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June 24, 2010

how i got LOST: part 3 – finale

Filed under: review,story,storytelling,tv — t. sterling @ 2:55 pm
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It’s those questions, theories, and events that made me refuse to blog about LOST because it would only drive me crazy and obsessed (more than I already was/am). Not that that’s a bad thing. But with the show wrapping up soon, I would rather keep my guesses and theories to myself and let the show surprise me with what they had planned up all along. How will it all end?!

And what an ending it was! I don’t think I had ever been so conflicted for an event to happen. Excited and saddened to see the end, but it’s been a month after it ended, I’m coping just nicely. I think everyone has come to their conclusions and are awaiting the release of season 6 to begin watching again from the beginning (if they haven’t already started, or have already begun to do so with Hulu). So many people have their favorite moments from the finale. Many people cried. I don’t know if I would have, there were a lot of distractions going on at my house. We had somewhat of a finale party, but half the people who attended had never watched the show, so we couldn’t help them.

I specifically chose to wait to write about the finale just to gather everyone’s thoughts together. I guess it was to be expected that not everyone was going to like the way it ended… but you can’t please everybody all the time, right? But I also waited because, well, who else wasn’t exactly sure what happened in the last few minutes? It took me a good night’s rest to fully process the events and then later on the next day I figured it out.

I found that explaining the ending of LOST to someone that doesn’t watch it isn’t easy to do, because they don’t fully grasp the meaning behind it. The best I could do was first explain to them how this season was different, “island world vs. Sideways world,” and that the island was real life in real time, and that the Sideways world was somewhat similar to but not really like The Sixth Sense. Sorry, spoiler alert if you still haven’t seen that movie and have been a cave dweller the past decade, Bruce Willis is dead the whole time.

What I try to get across to people is that this show is really about these characters. And it was sure to end on that note too in the Sideways world, reuniting characters with moments that were most significant to them when they were on the island. A lot of those moments, or what I came to call them, “enlightenments” or even “awakenings” if you will, occurred when they touched someone or something that meant a lot to them while on the island. That’s when they “woke up” so to speak. Or I guess, let go. Either way, they became aware of the events that happened on the island and eventually met up at a church so they could all leave to the next life together.

lostpedia.com

I think one of the best scenes had to be Sawyer and Juliet. That brought the season premier right back to memory… which is what everyone had been waiting for. My least favorite reunion, but still a bit surprising was Sayid reuniting with Shannon. In my mind, the girl for him will always be Nadia… but he moved on. The Charlie, Claire and Kate awakenings were special. Another long awaited event many predicted would happen: Jack’s surgery on Locke that effectively fixed him, and in turn, woke him up. All of that lead to Jack’s final moment. I thought Kate would seal the deal, but no… He kept fighting to let go. It took Daddy Shephard once again to step in, but after Jack touched his coffin.

Looking back, that scene was pretty heavy, much like a lot of the show itself.

But still, the scenes that had most people talking took place on the island. Fantastic editing, by the way, that tied the final island scenes with the final Sideways scenes so everything ended together on the same note. The Man in Black had to go, I wasn’t sure how it would happen but I’m satisfied with his demise. I would have loved to have seen more of my “brotha” Desmond. But he served his purpose in removing the cork so Jack could kill MIB. That’s the way I saw it.

"The End" from lostpedia.com

Then Jack had to restore the island, but before doing so, he passed the torch to Hurley to take over protecting the island. And who better to do the job than someone as awesome and caring as him? And with Ben as his #2? And there’s no spin-off to see how much fun that could’ve been? (I hear word we will get an epilogue treat on the DVD.) Meanwhile, a few others that managed to live throughout MIB’s destruction also managed to escape the island that was falling apart due to the removal of the cork. (I realize none of this makes any sense unless you’ve actually seen it. Oh well.) But they wouldn’t have made it home if it wasn’t for Jack restoring the cork, which brought back the light, which saved the island, his friends and the world. Such a task would have killed a man, but it was a sacrifice the island needed, and he was the only one who could do it. With barely an ounce of life left to live, he stumbled to the bamboo forest where we first met him in the pilot. He lay down, looked up into the sky, and let go, smiling. At this point, most people were probably still stable. But no, here comes Vincent. Who appropriately lay down next to Jack as he drew his final breath, letting go happily. Then he closed his eyes. [Soft piano] LOST.

June 23, 2010

how i got LOST: part 2 – journey

Filed under: review,story,storytelling,tv — t. sterling @ 2:31 pm
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I'm smiling because I have no idea what's going on.

I’d like to note, one of the “problems” with a show like LOST is that you need to watch every single episode in order to understand what’s going on. What you find out is even when you are up to date; you can still be a bit lost and confused. I can’t speak for everyone, but it was a good confusion. It’s a show that got you thinking, and kept you thinking after an episode was over. So to fans of the show, it’s like a long, great movie.

Other shows that follow this heavy serialized method are Heroes, FlashForward and 24, just to name a few. Sadly, some people might miss a few episodes then give up since falling behind. Or just lose interest because the story stinks [cough] Heroes [cough]. Serialized TV is fine, but if you don’t have people watching, you aren’t going to make it very far. And one way to make sure of this is to make sure you have a good story and characters to keep the viewers coming back. LOST fell victim to some bad episodes too [cough] season 3 [cough], but overall, it was worth sticking with. I am understating the fact that the writing and character developments were top notch. This show had always been more about the characters than about the island itself. But of course, this was a mystery show at heart, so by keeping the audience guessing was paramount too.

Once my friend and I started renting the DVDs and watching online, we couldn’t stop. Any free time was spent watching this show. Then after a season, we’d talk about what just happened, and then continue watching. A few days at a time, people couldn’t find me because I’d be in my room watching this show. That is one of the best ways to watch this show, by the way. By then I understood why people loved this show. I understood the hype and experienced it first hand. Over the course of a few months, I became a Lostie. However, during those months, I had to completely ignore websites and magazines that were also big fans of the show. Avoiding spoilers was a difficult task, but I succeeded. And once we were completely caught up, we patiently waited for the 6th and final season to begin. Unlike the devoted fans, our season 5 ended in December ’09, so we didn’t have to wait like everyone else did in May.  Prior to this, I managed to acquire the first 5 seasons on DVD for my collection, and brought my parents into the world, with me acting as their guide should they have questions to many of LOST‘s questions. I’d either answer, tell them nothing (because the answer was coming), or (at the time) tell them it’s still a mystery.

"Jughead" (Lostpedia)

So from February to May, I found myself plotting to be home by 9PM every Tuesday. I got to enjoy the agony of waiting a week until the next episode since before, I never had to wait. The fun part was being speechless with other Losties about what we just witnessed. With my parents, I may have had to explain a few things that only made sense if you’ve seen every episode and completely up to date. While I was rewatching every episode up to the finale, they were watching it for the first time getting filled in. So I was also their guide for season 6, filling them in on important details so they could understand what was going on. However, no one I knew could explain the Sideways world until the finale. And with so many questions left unanswered, I’m still trying to wrap my head around what really happened with Jughead at the end of season 5. Success? Failure? Or the universe self-correcting itself? [Dramatic drum beat] LOST.

June 22, 2010

how i got LOST: part 1 – pilot

Filed under: review,story,storytelling,tv — t. sterling @ 2:05 pm
Tags: , ,

Way back, on September 22nd, 2004, I was at my sister’s apartment getting my hair braided. I don’t know who was in control of the remote control but after flipping through a number of channels, we landed on ABC. Surely something good would be on the Alphabet Network. I really didn’t know. I had started my first year in college at SUNY Purchase and didn’t have time to follow any TV shows. I was only home for a few days just to see a few friends and, well, get my hair done. By the time we settled on what to watch, I think we missed the opening credits or title sequence. Keep in mind, we have no idea what it is we are actually watching, but it looked interesting.

“Looks like another Stephen King movie,” I tell my sister.

“Indubitably,” she replies.

The funny thing is, in retrospect, and watching several behind the scenes features, I was very, very close to being correct. The LOST creators are huge fans and admirers of King and the evidence is in many episodes (sometimes a character or theme can be found reading one of his books). Also, what I thought was a made-for-TV movie was filmed like it was a movie. Those who watched the pilot could agree. The proof is in the details. Never before in TV history had anything like this been done. Okay, that may be a lie… but what is true is that it’s the most expensive pilot in TV history. And that’s what I mean by the details. And just the concept alone of this show is something that I’m pretty sure no one had every witnessed before.

With all that said, I had no idea what I was getting into. But I knew it was something insanely entertaining. And I knew that this movie would have to wrap it up soon, unless part 2 is coming on tomorrow night. You know how Stephen King does with his miniseries. But if there’s only a second part, I could go along for the ride.

WRONG. The movie ended on a mystery. [Dramatic drum beat] LOST.

Some announcer dude comes on telling me to tune in next week, or that I’ve just witnessed the first episode of a new show, or a combination of both. Either way, what was more shocking than the cliffhanger was that this was a TV show, not a TV movie. And being in college, I know I won’t have time to watch this show. I wasn’t about to make appointment time to watch something like this. So, in short, it made me mad. And from that night on, I refused to be bothered with the show. I probably went as far as to say that I hated it.

A couple years later, I tuned in to some random episode in season 3, only recognizing a few characters from the pilot episode I saw. But I had absolutely no idea what was going on. So I spread the word to people that you would be lost if you tuned in randomly, like I did. The actual fans, which I later learned are called Losties, really didn’t care what I or anyone had to say. Just don’t bother them when the show is on. None of this made sense to me at the time. I heard people going nuts about it.

Flash-forward to late winter 2009. My friend and I discuss over the Interwebs about this LOST phenomenon and how curiosity is getting the best of us. We had both heard lots of things from friends, family, magazines, etc. and thought, “Maybe we should give it another chance.” I think my friend had also watched the pilot or at least a few episodes from season 1 and quit. Regardless, using Netflix and Hulu, we decided to climb onboard again realizing we have to go back! [Dramatic drum beat] LOST.

May 4, 2009

holding out for some heroes (until the fall)

Filed under: rant,review,tv — t. sterling @ 9:01 pm
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I’d like to open up discussion for the Heroes season three finale. Technically, volume 4 finale. No reruns tonight. It’s been a week since the season finale aired. You’ve had time to catch up. So it’s fair game to talk about, especially for those who might have Heroes withdrawal already. But I will say SPOILER ALERT to be fair for those that are like me, and watch shows a month or so after the air date.

I’m upset with the big fight scene with Sylar, Peter and Nathan. I understand why they did it, to see if Peter managed to get Sylar’s power… but still. Only showing flashes of light that flashed on Claire’s face as she watched behind closed doors? Boo! I’m glad network TV is free. I’d want my money back for a fight scene that you don’t even get to see. Especially a fight scene as climatic as that. During the season finale! However, I understand why they did it like that. So they could set up for the twist in the limo when Sylar goes to shake hands with the “President” who really isn’t. Turns out, it was really Peter! And then Peter get’s the upper hand, by stabbing Sylar with that drug that knocks him out.

But having Sylar brainwashed to play the role of a deceased Nathan? Interesting… I don’t really mean that in a good way, but maybe the writers have something cooked up for that twist. I admit, I was shocked that Nathan was the one to be killed off (again). I was under the impression it was a female cast member. Then again, I was under the impression three people would be killed off… or leaving the show… or something. Then I started to worry it might be Hiro. No, not Hiro! Way too early to say, since he was shown walking away at “Sylar’s” burning. (I think, my memory is fading.) So we’ll see what develops next season with that.

What I have a growing interest in is Tracy’s revenge or redemption… I’m not sure. But she formed out of liquid all T2 style to kill a man who wronged her. And she was naked. For stunts like this, and the violence Heroes has already shown, they might need to make the jump to HBO or Showtime. Or maybe Ali Larter just likes being a tease. Let’s not forget, her original Heroes character Nikki/Jessica was an online stripper and call girl for a certain currently deceased senator. I’m just saying.

So after the little teaser for season four, or volume five, will I return for more in the fall? Probably. I’ve been around since the beginning, and it’s been a staple in my Monday nights ever since. Plus I feel as though the show will be as awesome as it once was. A lot of people lost faith in it since the second season. Even I’ll admit it lost me. I personally liked the “Villains” volume, many people didn’t. But you can’t win them all, right? So let’s see where this adventure takes this time, shall we? Your thoughts, feelings, for this season and/or the next, let me know.

what to do during no new tv show blues

Filed under: babbling,DVD,hulu,tv — t. sterling @ 7:58 pm
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It’s season finale season. The time of year when a lot of top favorite shows like to leave you at a wedding/death/twist cliff hanger to ensure your interest in the show so you’ll return in the fall. Or hope they return in the fall. Yeah, sometimes the powers that be will keep you from knowing secrets that may or may not ever be known unless they come out with a companion book, unaired episode or special feature DVD or movie version a year or so later if the viewership isn’t large enough to keep the show on the air. Some Arrested Development fans still aren’t forgiving FOX.

Today, NBC announced what shows they will or will not bring back for the fall, as well as some new shows line up. Meanwhile, EW resident gossip guru on all things TV has some scoop on the possibilities on TV shows’ fates.

The big news everyone is waiting to hear about is what’s going to happen to Chuck. Unfortunately, at this time, that’s a show I’m not onboard with. To date, I haven’t seen a single episode. So I can’t be on either side of the fence, but I can tell you what: I’ll DVD and Hulu to catch up to see what all the hoopla is all about.

That’s what the summer is for in TV land. TV networks know this, and they usually air reruns, special news fillers or a brand new TV show that didn’t quite make the cut to be in the fall season’s lineup. But hey, at least they are on TV, right? Chances are, they won’t be back next year (not always true).

For me, this is when I would catch up on shows I’m usually not home to see. My dearest sister and her husband would constantly contend that I lack the benefit of DVR. I’ll possibly have that in August. In the meantime, I’ll take Hulu and other shows streamed online. Plus that’s free.

This year, the TV shows I plan on doing some catching up on: How I Met Your Mother, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Dexter (season 3, whenever it’s released), Lost (seasons 4 and 5), Extras, Weeds, and Chuck. Not sure what else, but we’ll see as time goes by. And this is also considering I’m actually home or in front of a TV to watch these shows. Because it’s summertime. That’s another big reason TV show’s end around May: people start going outside. So make sure you get some sun, some rain (be careful if there is lightning, watch it from inside), and even some moon and starlit skies. But when you are done being burnt or attacked by bugs, the TV will be waiting for you.

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