Today's Tweets

Vie @thefutoncritic - Deadliest Catch executive producer Jeff Conroy chats about the loss of Phil Harris, and the beginning of tonight's new season

Via @movieline - Steven Seagal is the worst boss ever.

Via @CuteOverload - 'Tugboat' the bebe pug.

Via @ebertchicago - Great (and too short) New Yorker Mag article about Christopher Walken

Today's Tweets

Just one today.

Via @EW - Favorite Flashback Episode Poll (I had such a hard time choosing! In the end I voted for Firefly, "Out of Gas", but now I'm thinking maybe it should have been BSG, or Futurama, or West Wing...)

LOST: Episode 6.11

Happily Ever After

There's always a choice, brutha.

~Desmond

And now we have a show, people! This was the first episode this season that directly (somewhat) addressed the nature of the "flash-sideways" (an expression widely used around the internets, but one I don't really care for), giving us some clues as to what it could all mean. As with just about all Desmond episodes, this one was one of their best, right up there with my all time favorite, The Constant. And so far, I think it's the best of the season.

Yes, I am biased, but that doesn't mean I'm not also right.

Here's what happened:

Widmore brought Desmond back to the Island against his will because somehow, Desmond's ability to survive exposure to massive amounts of elecrtomagnetism (EM for short) make him the key player in setting things to rights. But first, Widmore needs to verify Desmond's EM-immunity, so he tosses him in a big box and turns up the juice. In a familiar flash of white - remember the same flash when Desmond turned the failsafe key and when Juliette set off the bomb? - we cut to the alt-timeline, where Desmond has just gotten off Oceanic Flight 815.

As it turns out, in the alt-timeline Desmond is not with Penny - doesn't even know her, in fact - but he does work for Widmore. He's his right hand man, who in Widmore's eyes can do no wrong. Just what Desmond always wanted, apparently. Widmore sends Desmond on errand that involves someone named Cholly, who is walking around in a weirdly serene, fairly smug state since nearly choking to death on that bag of heroin. Des has been charged with delivering Charlie to Widmore's harpy-of-a-wife's charity benefit. Widmore's wife is Eloise Hawking.

Charlie tells Desmond that none of "this" is real, that he got a glimpse of the true reality when he nearly died and was in a different state of consciousness and saw a blonde woman he realized was his soulmate (Claire). To prove his theory to Desmond, he forces their car off the road and into the waters of the harbor. With the car submerged, Desmond tries to save Charlie; as Des tries to open the door, Charlie puts his hand up on the car window - that's when the two timelines smash together, I gasp out loud, and Desmond has a vision of the scene from "Through the Looking Glass", where Charlie wrote the message "Not Penny's Boat" on his hand and then drowned in front of Desmond's eyes.

At the hospital, Desmond is ordered to undergo an MRI to make sure his brains aren't scrambled (too late!), but being doused with all of that magnetic energy opens the flood gates of Desmond's unconscious mind and images of his true timeline, his life with Penny, come rushing in. Desmond tries to get answers from Charlie, but he totally bags on him.

Desmond warily tells Eloise that he was unable to get Charlie to the benefit and is surprised when she does not castrate him there on the spot, as he fully expected her to; instead she smiles and says "no problem" and sends him on his way. For now. When Desmond overhears Penny's name as he's walking away and starts asking questions, the claws come out. Eloise tells him to "stop talking" and stop looking for whatever it is he's looking for; she tells him that someone has obviously changed the way he sees things, and that is a "violation". Hmm. Before sending him away, she tells Desmond, "You're not ready yet."

As he's about to leave, someone knocks on Desmond's limo window. It's alt-Daniel (Faraday) Widmore, who in the alt-timeline is still Eloise and Widmore's son, but is not a theoretical physicist. He's a musician who, after seeing alt-Charlotte and falling in love instantly, begins writing complex notes/equations in his journal. He tells Desmond that he thinks that he may have done something that created an alternate life (the alt-timeline) that they are not supposed to be leading. He tells Desmond that Penny is his half-sister and he knows where she is. (How sad is it that in his "true" life, Daniel dies so tragically?)

Desmond finds Penny running at the same stadium where he first met Jack. They meet and have crazy instant chemistry together and when Penny's hand touches his, Desmond's consciousness zooms back to the present Island time, where he's lying on the floor of the EM box. A calm has come over him and he tells Widmore that he is ready to help. As Des walks through the jungle with Zoe and a couple of red shirts, Sayid attacks, kills the red shirts and sends Zoe away. Aw, even as a zombie Sayid is a gentleman. Sayid tells Desmond that Widmore's guys are bad news and he must leave with him, and Desmond's so zen that he's like, "yeah, cool, let's go." But there's something else behind his eyes.

Then we're back in the alt-timeline, post-Penny meeting, and I don't think I've ever seen Desmond so happy, and at peace. He asks his driver (Minkowski!) if he can get him the manifest of Flight 815. Minkowski says yeah, but why? Desmond says he needs to "show them something." (Them being the passengers who are still alive and still on the Island - the candidates - I presume)

I found it very interesting that we weren't shown some sort of catalyst for the final scene in the alt-timeline. His consciousness was sent there when he got blasted by the EM energy, and then his consciousness returned after he made contact with Penny, who is his constant. But what propelled him back to the the alt-timeline? There was no white flash shown before that final scene. What I'm thinking, is that Desmond's consciousness, after exposure to the high EM levels, is now existing in both timelines.

We still don't know exactly what the alt-timeline IS, but we do know what it ISN'T: According to Charlie, "none of it matters" and isn't real, and according to Daniel, he "isn't supposed to live this life". I think whatever it is, the alt-timeline is not a naturally occurring event but something that was created by someone. Eloise knows who and is playing the same part she did in "Flashes Before Your Eyes": steering Desmond in a certain direction, and away from Penny, his constant.

I am really looking forward to seeing how Desmond is going to open the others' eyes and show them that the life they are living isn't the one they were supposed to live. I think that there is a part of all of their consciousnesses that understands that there's something "off" (mirror scenes). And I think that in the end, they will all be presented with a choice between the two realities. And I think I'm going to be doing a lot of crying.

LOST: Episodes 6.9 and 6.10

Real life constraints force me to combine the last two episodes into one brief post, before tonight's new episode airs and I find myself even further behind. I'm such a bad LOST blogger that if I were on the Island, MIBLocke would have no trouble stealing my soul.

Ab Aeterno

From Wikipedia: Literally, "from the everlasting" or "from eternity". Thus, "from time immemorial", "since the beginning of time" or "from an infinitely remote time in the past". In theology, often indicates something, such as the universe, that was created outside of time.

While it didn't feel like a LOST episode in the classic sense, I still enjoyed this immensely. A wonderful character piece that filled in the backstory, at last, of the mysterious Richard Alpert, "Ab Aeterno" revealed not only how Richard got to the Island and why he is immortal, but it also offered more information/hints about the roles Jacob and MIB are playing and what purpose the Island serves and why it must be protected (it's a cork in hellmouth bottle!).

Definitely a solid episode, very entertaining and Nestor Carbonell acted his little pants off. You can read more about it in Alan's review.

The Package

I was right about two things in my "Recon" recap:

1. MIBLocke does apparently have a reason for "collecting" followers. Specifically: He needs to gather all of the candidates together. I suspect he doesn't want to play some pickup basketball with them; and

2. Desmond (DESMOND!) is The Package behind the padlocked door.

I've said this many times before and I'll say it again: Sun and Jin episodes are among my favorites. This one was no exception.

A few things:

• Again, the alt-timeline shows a similar version of the characters, who have made slightly different choices and seem happier, although Sun and Jin's timeline seems to be heading in a tragic direction. I hope the Island timeline doesn't go in a similarly sad direction. Keamy's remark that Sun and Jin weren't meant to be together, however, makes me very worried.
• Hey! It's Alt-Mikhail! And he has both ey--Wait, I take that back!
• And again, the mirror theme continues in the alt-timeline, with Sun pausing an extra moment while looking at herself in the hotel mirror.
• If Sun wasn't already a favorite of mine, the fact that she ran as fast as she could away from MIBLocke would have made her one. Atta girl! It happens so rarely that when a LOST character actually show some sense, it automatically elevates the quality of the episode.
• I loved the Sun/Jack scene on the beach. At the risk of sounding like a broken record...Jack rocks this season. He looks pretty good, too.
• (Paraphrasing) Ben to Ilana: "Why won't you believe me when I say that Sun was already unconscious when I found her?" Ilana: "Because you are speaking." Hee. Speaking of Ilana, her expression when she saw Richard enter the beach camp was so well done.
• I was totally verklempt when Jin was looking at the pictures of Jeon. I hope that's not the only way he's going to see her.

That is so not the best picture of him - in fact, he looks like Russell Crowe - but I don't care. He's back! My joy, however, is mixed with anxiety about what his ultimate purpose is with regard to the Island, and what his ultimate fate will be. I don't like the fact that Widmore had to drug him and keep him under lock and key in order to get him to come back to the Island. He was brought against his will, apparently, and Widmore's plan must involve Desmond's special "connection" with the electromagnetism of the Island. I just hope his role isn't a sacrificial one.

And so I head into tonight's episode filled with anxiety. It's about Desmond, and as Damon Lindelof tweeted last week, "In one week, the conversation is going to change."

What does that MEAN??

Today's Tweets

Via @vanityfairmag - Liam Neeson: A Thinking (Wo)Man's Badass (doesn't he look like Lloyd Bridges in that picture?!)

Via @feliciaday - "Amazon reviewers think this masterpiece sucks"

April Fools!

Official Google Blog: A different kind of company name

The two best Idol performances from last night.

I gave up watching American Idol at the end of the David Cook season, and hadn't watched it since. Not until, that is, Katie Stevens - who hails from my hometown - made the cut. Of course we had to watch. And so, once again I have been sucked in by that evil show.

I think Katie is very talented (and adorable), and I wish her all the best, but I have to confess that she is not my favorite. That would be Crystal Bowersox. There were two performances last night that I loved: Lee's "Treat Her Like A Lady" (wow, welcome to the competition, Lee!), and of course Crystal's "Midnight Train To Georgia". Enjoy.

Today's Tweets

Via @ebertchicago and @nytimes - Father reads to daughter 3,218 nights in a row

Via @moryan - All you wanted to know about "V", and more!

Via @televisionary - Five reasons to tune into tonight's return of "V".

I'll miss Sawyer.

I spent the weekend in NYC - saw the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA, photos coming! - and I'm going to use that as an excuse for not having my recap of last week's episode done. What can I say? I'm a son of a bitch!

Nothing like a good cup of Joe.

True Blood returns on June 13 with the season 3 premiere!

LOST: Episode 6.8

Recon

March 23...I don't have my recap ready - I realized this morning that I never finished it! - so this post will act as a place holder for now. I hope to post more when I get home tonight, before I watch the new ep. In the meantime, consider this:

Am I the only one distracted by Josh Holloway's physical appearance this season? He seems changed. There's something about his face that's different. New teeth? Perhaps. He looks puffy, too. And if he didn't have on a wig or at least some sort of hairpiece or extensions in last night's episode, I'll eat my tin foil hat. It's really bothering me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two days later...Well, I wasn't really successful in putting together a coherent recap/analysis of this episode. I'm not sure why. I do know that I felt a little detached while watching it, and I think that's because it aired following one of LOST's best episodes - "Dr. Linus" - and wasn't as emotionally resonant for me as that one was. It was also really plot heavy, which I don't always mind, but when there's so much going on it can be tough to connect with the characters on screen on a meaningful level.

So what I've got here are a whole bunch of notes and questions that I am going to pretty much just transcribe here. Sort of willy-nilly.

• I loved that Alt-Sawyer is a cop, but still obsessed with avenging his parents. He's clearly made better choices in this timeline of his life, and the portrayal of his alternate character fits with the others we have seen so far: They still have their central conflict, or characteristic, but they don't let it define them. Except perhaps for Kate. And Sayid.
• There were tons of callbacks to prior episodes/characters/episode details in the Alt scenes: Miles and Charlotte were the obvious ones (Charlotte looked beautiful but I really would have preferred she turned out to be Juliette); Charlie's brother Liam looking for him at the police station; the code word "LaFleur"; Little House on the Prairie, which Sawyer admitted to watching in a previous ep; "Watership Down"; and Sawyer bringing Charlotte the sunflower, like he did for Juliette.
• So, if Sawyer is a cop, why did he let Kate go at the airport? Now that we know he's a cop, though, it makes his admonishment to Hurley about people taking advantage of him sincere and credible.
• Do you think Sawyer was planning a con against MIBLocke from the very beginning, or at least since the cave, or do you think it wasn't until he found out that MIBLocke is the smoke monster and killed all of the people at the Temple?
• Sayid and Claire really are off their respective nuts. I think they are lost for good.
• What the heck was MIBLocke talking about when he was telling Kate about his crazy mother? For a second there I thought he was implying that, through some time loop thingy, that he was in fact Aaron and Claire was his mother, but I've since abandoned that one (this show makes you think crazy things). Could he have been manipulating Kate into killing Claire? I'm actually starting to feel bad for Kate.
• OK, so MIBLocke's big plan is to leave the Island on the Ajira plane. Who is going to fly it? Or is he just telling a tale to get people to follow him and help him escape? I doubt he can just get on a plane and fly off the Island. I don't know, it just seems too easy. There must be some reason he is gathering followers, something that he needs them for, like maybe he needs to pay a "ferry man" to get off the Island and the toll is like, 20 souls or something. I'm just not seeing a logical plan yet.
• Speaking of a plan, who's going to pilot the submarine, Sawyer?

And speaking of the submarine, what in the world is behind that padlocked door?? I'd like to think it was Desmond (please please please), but I'm not sure that Widmore would have to keep him locked up like that. Next week's episode is called "The Package", so I think it's a good bet we're going to find out.

I will try to get something posted about this week's fantastic Richard Alpert episode tonight, but I am going to NYC in the morning for the weekend, so I may not get to it. But I will try!

Crystal. Kicks. ASS.

Today's Tweets

I haven't posted tweets in a long time. Facebook and Twitter are seriously impeding my blogging, and I apologize for that (if there are any of you still coming here). I'm not sure how to change that without weaning myself off of one of them. Perhaps it's time to cut back on Twitter. It *is* awfully addictive.

That said, here are some tweets for you! Heh.

Via @reduced - LOST Reduced:



Via @nprmonkeysee - Miley Cyrus as an Idol mentor?? They're joking, right?

Via @popcandy - Banana museum for sale!

TV Talk: Drive By

Very quickly:

Justified premiered Tuesday night on fX, but I haven't watched it yet. Will let you know when I do.

True Blood is back on HBO for a third season beginning June 13, 2010. Woohoo! (HBO's re-airing season 2 beginning on Sunday, March 21)

Discovery's 11-part series life begins on Sunday, March 21 at 8PM.

Not sure I mentioned this here, but Futurama is coming back to Comedy Central with all new episodes in June. Woohoo again! Here's a teaser trailer.

And last but not least, I have half a draft of my recap of this week's LOST episode done, but I don't expect to finish it for another day or so. Don't forget to check back!

LOST: Episode 6.7

Dr. Linus

I went into this episode convinced, based on the "next week on LOST" preview, that Benjamin Linus was going to die. As much as I didn't want that to happen, it made sense: Ben's story seemed to have run its course and his character has been marginalized so far this season. It made sense that he would have to pay for killing Jacob - among other nefarious deeds - by being killed himself. And so I watched with dread as Ilana discovered the truth about Ben's part in Jacob's death and set him to work digging his own grave.

Then MIBLocke appeared and offered Ben a way out of his death sentence. I didn't want him to die, but I also didn't want Ben to accept MIBLocke's offer since doing so would be choosing to go down a path - one in pursuit of power and his own personal interests - that was much like the one that got him into his current messy predicament. Much to my great delight, instead of being his final episode, "Dr. Linus" turned out to be a very emotionally satisfying redemption story for Ben. And it proved once and for all that Michael Emerson is one of the best actors on TV.

I loved this episode, and would rank it as one of my top 5 favorite LOST episodes.

OK, some stuff:

Alt-Ben

I'm still grabbing at straws when it comes to figuring out what these alternate realities actually are, besides being great character pieces. Alan Sepinwall has formulated the theory that they are in fact an epilogue for each character, they we are being shown what reality each person will be "gifted" with as a result of the outcome of whatever war is currently brewing:

"For now, I'm sticking with my theory that the flash-sideways are an epilogue in advance - that this is where and when the characters all wound up in the aftermath of the war between Smokey and Jacob's forces. (I have no idea if I'm right, nor will I be upset either way when the reveal comes, but right now it's important for me to have some idea of what the alt-timeline scenes mean, even if it turns out I'm completely wrong. Otherwise, there's no weight to them this late in the "real world" timeline.)"

I do agree that there is a need at this point to know what they are, but I can't say I buy the epilogue theory. I'm still leaning towards the idea that the time stream split in 1977 when Juliet detonated the bomb, and the universe will course-correct and eventually the two timelines will converge, probably in the finale. Why does everyone so far in the alternate timelines seem to be happier, and make better choices? I don't know. My brain can only process so much.

Alt-Ben is still a little Machiavellian, but it appears that a healthier relationship with his father has stemmed some of his more evil tendencies. In the end, he makes the choice that our Ben, until now, would never have been able to make: the happiness of someone he loves over his own lust for power. He is able to save Alt-Alex this time, choosing her, elevating her needs above his own.

So, we learned a few things in the scene with his father, one being that Alt-Ben has the same microwave as I do! I mean, he could totally be standing in my kitchen in that picture. Ha! We also learned that even in the alternate timeline, the Linuses joined the Dharma Initiative and went to the Island. I suppose that means that they left shortly after they got there (before the 1977 explosion), when Roger was unhappy about being hired as a "Workman". Also, great touch having Ben "gas" his father in the alternate reality, only this time it's just oxygen.

Jack, Hurley and Richard

So we got sort of a confirmation that Richard was on the Black Rock, perhaps in chains as a slave (or a prisoner?). He's been so controlled all along that I love watching him freak out now. The dynamite scene with him and Jack was, well, dynamite. It seems that perhaps Jack is finally beginning to believe. I think he's also going a little crazy, but I suppose that's to be expected since it was only about 11 days ago in LOST time that Jack was going to kill himself by jumping off the bridge. Can you believe that? (check the LOSTpedia Timeline) Check it out:

Jack finds out about Locke's death in 2007 L.A. and tries to jump off the bridge;
5 days later, he's on the Ajira Flight 316 and it crashes and he flashes to 1977;
He spends only 4 DAYS in 1977,until Juliet detonates the bomb;
they get sent back to 2007 at the beginning of this season, and only 2 days have passed since then. That's why this show works SO well on DVD.

Island Ben

There's really nothing more to say about the scene with Ilana except that it was amazing and heartbreaking. Only Michael Emerson could make you love such a weaselly character.

Like I said last week, LOST really knows how to end an episode, and the slo-mo beach reunion this week was awesome. As was the arrival of Charles Widmore! I don't think I speculated here about who the man was that Jacob said was coming to the Island, but I thought it was Widmore right from the start. What his intentions are, I dare not speculate - look how Ben's character has turned around! - but I think there is one big question that must be answered: Is Desmond on that sub?

Desmond's Replacement

I bought a new t-shirt today. If you would like one, hurry: they're only available for a little over 9 more hours.

One of the best fan tribute videos, ever.

TV Talk: Post-Olympics Lull and Randomness

Now that the Vancouver Winter Olympics are over, there has been nothing on TV. Or at least none of my shows have been on except for LOST. It's like the Olympics scared them all away and they won't come back until they're absolutely sure it's safe, which seems to be some time in the next few weeks:

V returns on Tuesday, March 30 at 10:00 PM, right after LOST. I'm looking forward to it.

I'm about 90% sure that I will not be returning to FlashForward when it comes back on Thursday, March 18 at 9:00 PM. I just don't care about it, even if Gaius Baltar has joined the cast, I just don't want to set myself up for that disappointment again. I must be strong...

Fringe is back on Thursday, April 1 at 9:00 PM, and guess what...FOX has renewed it for a full third season! Yay! Best TV news I've heard in a long time, and I don't think there's another show out there that deserves renewal more than they do.

Did you love Discovery's Planet Earth series? If so, then you probably already know about life, Discovery's "sequel" to Planet Earth. It looks AMAZING:



Finally, the new show I'm most excited about: Justified, based on a character created by Elmore Leonard, played by Deadwood's Timothy Olyphant, it premieres on fX on March 16:

Say hello to Bachelor Number One.

Convicted serial killer won on 'Dating Game'

This story is disturbing in so many ways, from the fact that this guy had already raped an 8 yr old 10 years earlier, to the creepy introduction on the show - "Bachelor No. 1 is a successful photographer who got his start when his father found him in the dark room at the age of 13, fully developed" - to the fellow contestant who has somehow made this story all about him.

Weird, weird, weird.

LOST: Episode 6.6

Sundown

Shit just got real, people! For fans looking for some forward plot momentum, this episode was a goldmine. I loved it, but boy was it a dark one.

The scales that balanced the good and evil inside of Sayid were always tipped toward evil - he showed himself skilled at killing even as a boy - and his life as we've seen it has always been about the struggle to overcome those baser impulses and be a good man. This week's episode saw him, under the influence of MIBLocke, finally give in and embrace those impulses. His story has always been one of the most moving on the show, and it was very sad to see what appeared to be the loss of his soul.

Now, with that said, I have to wonder: How much of the real Sayid were we watching this week, or for that matter, have we seen since this season began? He is not the same man: First off, he was dead for 2 hours - remember "dead is dead"? Second, I swear his accent is altered (if only slightly); and finally, I'm sorry, but the Sayid we know would never, ever say he was a good man. Who exactly is this new, infected Sayid? And was his "infected" soul already damned before he spoke to Locke?

There are a lot of comparisons being made to Stephen King's "The Stand", and I believe I read that the show's creators were greatly influenced by King and that story. You can see the parallels beginning to take shape now, with the players taking sides; I'm thinking it will come down to a "war" between MIBLocke and Jack, who will ultimately be Jacob's replacement, harkening back to the "Man of Science vs. Man of Faith" theme the show has been using throughout.

This was not the Sun/Jin episode I had supposed it would be, but it was so good that I didn't mind. I loved all of the action and the kung-fu fights, and I couldn't believe it when I saw Keamey! My God, he makes Christopher Walken look like as harmless as Bing Freaking Crosby. And how about Jin! In the freezer!

LOST has always known how to close out an episode and this one was no exception, from the surprise appearance of Ilana, Frank, Sun and Ben, to Smokey's terrifying rampage through the Temple to the slo-mo final scene of MIBLocke and his army forming ranks and heading into the jungle, I was riveted. The cherry on top? Ben's "Oh shit" face when he realized that Sayid had gone over to the Dark Side. Priceless.