Ramble, Ramble, Doctor Who, Ramble

I know I have been pretty absent lately. Maybe it's because I just haven't felt like writing. Maybe it's because I've been spending all my free time discovering that falling for Battlestar Galactica was NOT, in fact, the last step into total geekdom, but that instead the BBC cult series called Doctor Who claims that honor.

It's not like there's a absence of things to blog about. There's the recent, polarizing Lost series finale. There's my constant worry over what I'll fill all my free time with now that all my shows are off the air until this fall. Oh, and as I mentioned above, there's my last step into what I will now refer to as Level 1,000,000 Geekdom; my surrender to Doctor Who and consequently my surrender to the lovely, charming and wholly miraculous David Tennant. So, to keep this blog afloat, some bullet points. Because honestly, who doesn't love bullet points?

• Let's start with Lost and let's be sweet and simple. I loved it. Yes, I'm one of those. Call it denial or whatever you wish but I thought the finale, though not totally flawless, was still a great finale. I didn't watch it and immediately regret spending six years of my life theorizing and discussing the grand and oftentimes headache-causing mythology of show. Even if the finale did end up being less than great to me, I would still look upon the last Lost years as mind-blowing, eye-opening and generally a fun and educating experience. For The End, the writers obviously made the decision to sideline the Island mythology and instead focus on the characters, which, yes, did leave the fans with many Dharma notebooks full of unanswered questions but left us also with an intensely emotionally and spiritual finale. I know many fans feel differently, but that was a satisfying choice for me. Lost changed the face of television. It opened a door for epic series, showing the networks that high-concept shows can and will attract a large and devoted audience, depending on the quality of the writing behind the show.




• Legend of the Seeker was cancelled. The series finale aired last weekend and I could not be more disappointed with the decision to end the series. For a syndicated show, it was extremely well done. The beautiful location (New Zealand) and the magnificently choreographed fight scenes were only a couple of the great aspects of the show. The main actors were brilliant in their roles and watching Craig Horner slowly become the Richard we know and love from the books was always thrilling. Of all the cancelled shows, this one hit me the hardest. I believe it's a horrible waste of potential, seeing as there were several more books of material to work through.





• On the other hand, Chuck was renewed!!! This was actually very unexpected and I could not be more happy. Chuck is one of my favorite shows and Zachary Levi is slowing becoming one of my favorite actors to follow and watch. He's been touring around Europe all summer and his pictures and videos from the trip and absolutely priceless. The fact that he is obviously a huge nerd only makes me adore him all the more.




• Now, to the most important and life-changing news. Doctor Who. Yup. I fight and I fight and I fight against it but there's just no helping it. I'm not just a Level 1 nerd. I am so far past that, it's not even funny. Akin to my slow acceptance of BSG, I finally gave in and watched the first episode of Doctor Who. And then I watched the next one. And the next one. And so on. I love it. I loved Christopher Eccleston as the first Doctor. So much so that when David Tennant took over the role for Season 2, I was not happy. Not at all. Of course, it took all of two episodes to change my mind. He was brilliant and wonderful and he made the character his own in such a way that when I stopped watching, even for a couple hours, I missed him. The character of the Doctor is such a intoxicating idea, as if Russell T. Davies looked into the heart of a regular, everyday woman and saw the one man that would be worth an eternity (literally) of trouble and sacrifice. And then he wrote him out and the Doctor was created. And then he decided to create a different version of that same man, and Captain Jack Harkness was created. I watched Torchwood before I saw even one episode of Doctor Who, so when John Barrowman started his run as Captain Jack in the first season of Doctor Who, it was the first time that I realized I could actually miss a television character. Watching him being introduced for the first time was like a soothing balm to my soul, something I didn't even realized I needed until that moment. There's just no other way to describe it. This is such an amazing show, filled with such unique and layered characters and focused so keenly on our subconscious fears and desires it feels like the writers know you better than you know yourself. Like Battlestar, the alien worlds and impossible technologies, the spaceships and the time-travel, are not what the show focuses on and they are not the aspects that keep you watching. This is a show about being human, from the point of view of an ageless alien. And it's REALLY good. I dare you to try it and not love it.






• On a similar note and due to my adoration of David Tennant, I have been working my way through the BBC TV adaptation of Hamlet. Working my through, because it's a 3 hour modern production so it's taking me awhile to get through it. Nevertheless, it's breathtaking and groundbreaking. David Tennant is mesmerizing in his turn as Hamlet and I've never enjoyed watching this tragedy as much as I am now, with Tennant starring. I've always been a big Shakespeare fan, but this version certainly takes that fandom to new levels. I'm now of the opinion that David Tennant should play in EVERY Shakespeare play. In fact, he should just play every character in every play. No joking.

Well, all this David Tennant talk is making me miss watching Doctor Who, and seeing as I still have half of the fourth season to go through, I think I'll get back to it. The lord of daydreams is calling my name...

The 'Supernatural' in 'Lost'

Or the Lost in the Supernatural. Whichever works for you.

One of my favorite writers (or blogger, if you will), Maureen Ryan, has recently written a fun little article focusing on the strange similarities between Lost and Supernatural - two of my all-time favorite shows. This is why I love Ryan. She always tends to enjoy the same shows I do and she always has a great perspective on these shows. You can check out her Lost/Supernatural list here. I've included a couple of my favorite observations below:

Minions of powerful forces and factions battle each other for control of the fate of the people on the island.
Minions of powerful forces and factions battle each other for control of the fate of the entire world on "Supernatural."

Mark Pellegrino plays a powerful "Lost" character named Jacob -- who appears to be inhabiting a human body (and may have upgraded into Sayid's body?).
Mark Pellegrino plays a powerful "Supernatural" character named Lucifer -- who appears to be inhabiting a human body (and wants to upgrade to a Winchester body).

The characters on "Lost" have lots of daddy issues.
The Winchesters have lots and lots of daddy issues.

Also, thanks to the miracle of Twitter, the great and powerful Damon Lindelof tweeted a link recently to a blog entitled The Final Season of Lost as Seen by Someone Who Has Never Seen Lost. Sounds awesome, right? Yeah, D. Lindelof thought so too - and so do I. It's absolutely hilarious and definitely worth the time to check out. You can read the Introduction here and this guy's take on Episode One, Two and Three are linked. Let's just say, he thought Jack's name was actually Jake and that's just the tip of the this-guy-is-totally-confused iceberg. The funny is all in the concept and the fact that he's not far wrong on how confusing and convoluted this show really is, even to fans who have loyally watching it from the beginning. Oh, and it's also in his horribly drawn pictures - pregnant Claire smoking is my favorite.

As for Supernatural, you can check out the news on the renewal of the show for a surprising sixth season here, along with the news of Kripke's step-down and Sera Gamble's possible step-up.

As always, I apologize for the lack of posting, but life (coughWORKcough) often gets in the way. Plus, I'm relatively positive that not a one person is missing my amateur writing and blogging skills.

Hazzah!

San Diego Comic-Con - Day 3

Our third day, Saturday, was a doozie. The girls had one panel that was non-negotiable and I had two panels that were non-negotiable. Can you guess our day's targets? Let's pretend you guess correctly...Good job! You are correct! They were Lost and True Blood. You're so good it's scary! You just won a years supply of turtlewax! Now, aren't you glad you played?

Anyhow, back to the blog at hand...

The final Lost Comic-Con panel was at 11am Saturday morning. Apparently people started lining up the night before (lucky ducks got to meet Damon and Carlton!) but since I'm only half a loony-toon, I got up at 6am Saturday morning (Tina and Katie aren't Lost fans, so they got to sleep in) and was in line by 7am-ish. I had a few hundred people in front of me but overall, I liked my seating chances. From what I had heard, Hall H could hold about 6,500 people. I knew it would be a madhouse, but since I was only one person, I knew I could probably sneak to the front and find a single seat that was pretty close to the stage. The four-hour line wasn't that bad actually. We were lined up in a grassy area and the weather was cool and beautiful, so most people just plopped their rumps down, brought out a book or comic, and enjoyed the scenery. I thought it was a swell idea, so I did the same (and called Corrie and my mom to fill them in on all the days activities) and before I knew it, we were being moved into the Hall. I didn't know it at the time, but as I walked in and chose what direction to take (this was seriously the BIGGEST room I had ever been in - it was like the size of a baseball field), I was choosing whether I would be right next to the fan questions line, and therefore right next to, as yet unknown, awesomeness, or on the opposite side of the room from said awesomeness. Fate took me to the opposite side and therefore hates me for no reason at all that I can tell. Later I would pout when Jorge and Michael Emerson showed up on the otherside of the room for the (fake) fan questions. Still, I was able to get a pretty close seat, if a little off-center from the stage. By 11am, I was in heaven. I figure that most of you have probably already seen most of the panel online, so I won't waste everyone's time by doing a in-depth run-through. Instead, here are a few tidbits that you may not know about:

- When walking into the Hall, we were given small posters. They were very simple - all white with the LOST logo and "The Final Season" written on them. I was sneaky and grabbed two. One is now hanging on the last available wall space in my room and the other is somewhere in Brett's new apartment.

- Each actor was introduced in a unique and fun way. No other panel I saw was anything like this panel. Jorge Garcia (Hurley) was in line for fan questions and was then joined in line by Michael Emerson (Ben). The part you may not have seen was the introduction to Nestor Carbonell (Richard Albert):

Fan question: Does Richard Albert wear eyeliner?

Damon and Carlton: Well, since you mention it - we have another guest joining us. Let's go backstage and have him come out and join us.

A cameraman goes backstage and we watch as the camera peeks around a corner, showing Nestor Carbonell at a vanity table, staring at himself in the mirror and pumping himself up for his walk onto the stage. He grabs some eyeliner and starts gingerly applying it to his beautiful eyes. After a second he stops, having noticed the color isn't the one he requested, goes into a fit (something about "amateur hour"), discovers the camera and cameraman, goes into another fit, rushes the cameraman and ends up running onstage.

It was AWESOME!

- Josh Holloway (fake) tazers Damon to get a hold of the (fake) final script pages of the final Lost episode. Michael Emerson reads it for the audience (because Josh can't read) and it turns out to be a really crappy Heroes script. Laughs all around.

- The final video brought tears to my eyes. It was a montage of all the dead of Lost. The last bit was long and torturous, showing our favorite, Charlie. As it ends, Dominic Monaghan walks onstage! He's up there for only 30 seconds, waving to the screaming crowd and then the panel is over.

Favorite Moment:

When Josh Holloway (fake) tazers Damon and then a minute later finds him up and drinking his water. Josh says something like "You better go back to sleep! I will tazer you again!". Priceless.

Scoop/Spoilers:

- We were shown a couple videos - one was a commercial for that chicken joint that Hurley owns, showing Hurley and him saying "I've had nothing but GOOD luck since I won the lottery" and another commercial for Oceanic, promoting "30 years of perfect flying" or something like that. End theory: The bomb DID restart the timeline, where no crash occurred.

- The arrival of Dominic at the end pretty much confirmed that he would be in some episodes next season and that was all later confirmed again. The same goes for Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet), Ian Somerhalder (Boone) and Jeremy Davies (Faraday). Woo and HOO!

Panels missed for Lost:

- Chuck (so sad, I heard it was an awesome panel). Also, later I saw the whole cast signing autographs, but more on that later.

- Eastwick - It was a screening of the pilot for the new show and also a Q&A panel. Not a big loss, but I was curious to see the pilot.

So, after wandering, awed and fulfilled, away from Hall H, I realized had a good hour to walk around before I expected Tina and Katie to arrive. I hadn't had nearly enough time to look around the Exhibition halls and seeing how I was the only one of us that could stand the hall (seriously, it was totally worth the crowds), the unexpected time alone was a boon. I excitedly made my way back to the always teeming, always bright and loud and overwhelming and wondrous Exhibition Hall. As I mentioned before, even four whole days wouldn't be long enough to see everything and so one hour was barely enough time for me to walk the first quarter of ONE of the halls (I think there were two or three big ones). Once again, all I could do was stare and bump into people. I was able to see Jon Favreau as he was being interviewed and that was pretty cool. As I wandered closer to the WB booth, the crowds got completely unmanageable. I went in a different direction to avoid those crowds and eventually looped back to find the WHOLE cast of Chuck lining the square WB water tower. I made like a ridiculous, obnoxious fangirl, raised my camera as high as I could hold it and got some pictures. My main target was actually Adam Baldwin (he of Angel and Firefly fame) and I got a couple pictures but I was so focused on getting the pictures that I didn't actually get to see that much of him.

Less than an hour after I stepped into the Hall, Tina called me to tell me she was getting into line for the 5:15pm True Blood panel. Keep in mind, it was only about 1pm or so at this point. It's almost impossible to sneak into line to join anyone (I was able to do it about two times, using the bathroom as an excuse. Seriously, what are they gonna do?!) since the line goes outside and then back inside again and all the doors are guarded. So, instead of staying in the hall as I longed to do, I joined Tina in line and later Katie was able to sweet-talk her way outside to join us. In line, we passed Eric McCormack doing an interview in an odd, shaded area at the side of the building. I wanted to tell him I was sorry about Trust Me, but we were inside before I could express my condolences or even snap a picture.

By 2:30pm we were in the room, sitting out the last 15 minutes of the Simpsons panel. I understood about .05% of what they were talking about. *Shrug* After that panel, we moved closer and sat through the pilot screening of the new show "V". It wasn't bad and it had a lot of familiar faces. After the screening, Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet from Lost), Scott Wolff, Morena Baccarin (Firefly, Serenity) and others came onstage for the Q&A. Scott Wolff's dimples were, as Michael Ausiello later put it, "a force of nature" and everyone else was very charming and they all seemed genuinely excited about the show. Another plus - Alan Tudyk guest stars in the pilot and its always lovely to see his face.

After V was the Fringe panel, which I was excited about, if only to get to see Joshua Jackson. This ended up being a great panel. Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble and Jasika Nicole joined the panel, along with J.J. Abrams collaborators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. John Noble and Joshua Jackson could not stop smiling and since it was Joshua's first time at Comic-Con, he was overwhelmed by the amount of people and the support for the show. He was absolutely adorable and seemed totally excited about being there. John Noble also seemed excited and couldn't say enough good things about his co-stars. Anna Torv was, well...Anna Torv. Sorry guys, my mind was thoroughly engaged with the boys. It really turned into the Josh and John show and I don't remember a whole lot about what was talked about.

Favorite Moment:

When Joshua realized that the crowd pretty much screamed at anything they would say, he says, "Let me try one thing...RUTABAGA"! The crowd roars and he just cannot stop grinning from ear to ear.

Scoop/Spoilers:

Like I said, I don't remember much but...it seems like next season will only touch on TWO universes, our own and the one that Olivia walks into at the end of last season (the one with the Twin Towers still standing).

Sidebar: This is how much of a nerd I am - I actually typed Two Towers (as in Lord of the Rings) before I realized I meant Twin Towers. Oy.

So finally, we come to the non-negotiable Saturday panel. Katie put down her Harry Potter novel (which she had been reading through the last two panels), Tina and I wiggled to readjusted our numb butt-cheeks and we were ready for one of the hottest casts on television. As each cast member was introduced and walked onstage, the room got louder and louder. Alexander Skarsgard (Eric), Deborah Ann Woll (Jessica), Sam Trammell (Sam), Nelsan Ellis (LaFayette), Charlanne Harris (the author of the book series), Rutina Wesley (Tara), Michelle Forbes (Maryann), Alan Ball (the creator), Stephen Moyer (Bill) and Anna Paquin (Sookie). It was the largest panel we attended the whole of the Con (I think) and it was AWESOME. I really need another word for awesome, I think I am using it too often...

Anyway, I honestly can't remember most of the details, there were just too many people on the panel, but I do remember that Alexander had to apologize to Stephen for openly admiring Anna's "good looks" and hoping for a Eric/Sookie romance due to said "good looks" in answer to a fan question. Anna and Stephen were cute (and aware that everyone in the room was focused on them) but even though they sat next to each other, there was no obvious PDA. But I would bet my left ankle that they were playing footsie under the table. We got to watch a special Comic-Con preview of upcoming episodes and I cannot express how excited everyone got after watching it. Most of the fan questions were aimed at Alexander (mostly the gals, duh), Nelsan, Alan Ball and Stephen Moyer (again, the giggling girls). However, it was Deborah who stole the audience's hearts. She was the cutest thing imaginable. Tall, skinny, beautiful pale skin with that red hair, and sweetest thing you'll ever meet. Which leads me to my favorite moment...

Favorite Moment:

Deborah Ann Woll (in the cutest little sundress) sweetly says, "This is my first time here and I'm sorry if I'm a little nervous...". Everyone claps at her to show their support and Alexander, who is sitting next to her, puts his arm around her, pats her shoulder and smiles reassuringly at her. The moderator says to Deborah something like, "Every girl in the audience wishes she were you right now". Alexander smiles humbly and Deborah laughs in delight as the female members of the audience roar in agreement. I'm not at all ashamed to say that I screamed right along with them. Alexander is most definitely swoon-worthy.

Scoop/Spoilers:

In an unexpectedly direct answer from Ball, he bluntly says "yes" to a fan who asked if the Bill/Sookie/Eric love triangle would unfold in the show like it does in the books. I have no idea what that means, but I'm thinking Eric might eventually get what he's secretly wishing for...Hummmmm.......

Panels Missed for True Blood:

- Bram Stoker: The Joss Whedon of His Day? Come on, that had to have been an awesome panel!

- Glee (sad, but not a terrible, terrible loss)

- Sony Pictures - Zombieland and 2012. Could care less about Zombieland, but wouldn't have minded seeing 2012. Just another movie panel sacrificed for television.

- Heroes. This was a BIG ouchie. BIG BIG.

- The Boondock Saints II. With Julie Benz. Would have been cool to check out.

- Iron Man 2. Another BIG ouchie. I heard the footage shown was pretty awesome. I was not at all happy about missing this one.

- The Vampire Diaries. Yikes, another one I hated to miss. It included a screening of the pilot, which I am really curious to see. But True Blood vamps trump Vampire Diaries vamps. Sorry Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder!

And there ended our third day at Comic-Con. We left the convention center after the True Blood panel and made our way back our hotel to spend WAY too much money on WAY too much Italian food for three girls. And at the same time, we missed all the coolest parties. Lame!

Day 4 coming soon!

Lost - The Incident - Season Finale

Wow. It's interesting how even though LOST has blown me away on multiple occasions, I always find plenty to say about it. This time, however, I am tending towards speechless. It's probably a good thing, considering how it's impossible for my fingers to run across these keys fast enough to keep up with my non-stop, rapidly flowing LOST-esque thoughts. Still, in an attempt to keep all my thoughts from spilling out of my ears and rudely disturbing all my cube neighbors, here are a couple first impressions, theories and general things to scream/cry/wtf? about from last night's 2 hour finale:

* The first scene, where we go through some unknown person's daily routine, only to be surprised by who we were "following" around, brings to mind the first scene from season 2 premiere episode ("Man of Science, Man of Faith"), as we follow around Desmond in the hatch. Meaningful? Maybe.

* In the first scene, Jacob is wearing white and the unknown, Mr. Cranky, is wearing black. Universal signs for good and evil. There was probably a reason behind that wardrobe choice.

* The Egyptian statue is NOT Anubis, but perhaps Sobek or Taweret, both gods related to childbirth.

* Jacob is distractingly gorgeous. I had trouble concentrating on the big reveal of him and not just his face...*swoon*

* My first impression of Jacob is as a good guy, like a REALLY good guy. As in, if this show really turns out to be about the ultimate good versus the ultimate evil, then I'm rootin' for Jacob.

* Something to note: In most of the flashbacks, Jacob apologized in the most sincerest manner to our castaways, almost as if he blamed himself for the pain they were going through (or would HAVE to go through in the future).

* I have only two theories, so far, on who/what Jacob and Mr. Cranky are. One: gods. My main thought: Ra and Osiris, Egyptian gods of the sun and the dead, respectively. Two: time-travelers. My main thoughts: Perhaps once they were human, but I doubt they are any longer. Maybe during their time spent traveling through space/time they acquired certain powers, maybe they got certain powers from the Island. As far as the Island goes, perhaps they got stuck there (astral projection explains Jacobs visits off-Island) or they liked it so much they decided to stay. At some point, rules were made for them or because of them, which caused Mr. Cranky to not be able to kill Jacob by his own hand. Ok, ok, I know I am reaching now, but a this point, I think anything is game.

* Wondering what Richard said when he replied to Illana's riddle, "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" It was Latin and he said, "He who will save us all".

* The Jughead idea was insane. How could any one of the castaways think that blowing up a H-Bomb would help anything? What about everyone else on the Island? Was it ok that they would get all blown to bits? Crazy...

* I love how Miles stay relatively quiet until he asks the one, most important question.

* I loved seeing Rose, Bernard and Vincent (now all you Vincent obsessors can stop whining about where he might have been this whole time). I also loved how Rose bluntly summarized the drama of the whole show and put things in perspective for the viewers and the other castaways. The most important thing is being with the one you love, no matter what happens. And aren't these guys sick of shooting each other yet? Drama, drama, drama girlfriend!

* Juliet. Sigh. What to say? You gave up too easily? You should have fought for your man, for your life, just a little bit harder? Yeah, I could say those things...but all I really want to do is cry. I can't imagine how Sawyer will ever get over the loss of her - oh wait - if Jack's loony-bins plan worked, maybe it will be like Sawyer never even met Juliet. Except, not only would that be even more heartbreaking than her dying right in front of him, but it would mean that Sawyer would never become the good man, the good leader, that we love and know him to be now.

* Jack, dear Jack. Either your plan failed and you're a complete nut-ball or your plan succeed and you're still a complete nut-ball. Either way, I'm shocked to discover that I don't much love you as I once did. Like Kate, your character's natural development is not one that I get a good feeling about. I find myself loving Juliet and Sawyer where once I loved Jack and Kate. Interesting how the tables turn like that.

* Hurley theory: He may have an even bigger part to play in this story than we originally guessed. Of all the cameo visits Jacob made, his visit to Hurley seemed the most significant. He actually spoke in length with Hurley, even going as far as letting him know he wasn't just some stranger. That makes Hurley special...

* People have already been arguing this point - Did Jacob CAUSE Nadia to get run over or did he merely save Sayid from the same fate? I'm on the side that believes Nadia was going to get run over anyway and that Jacob stepped in to keep Sayid from getting run down also.

* Point to me: I totally guessed that it was a body that Frank was looking at in the box. I figured it was John the moment Illana showed up at the statue and spoke with Richard. Go me!

Questions:

* Why did Mr. Cranky Pants want to kill Jacob so bad?

* Why did Jacob not seem to mind that he was about to die? Why didn't he fight? Perhaps not in his nature (as a benign deity)? Does this go back to the idea of FREE WILL - it was Ben's choice to make...Does this go back to what John Locke (the real one) heard when he was in the cabin in season 3, "help me"?

* What really DID happen to the statue?

* Is Richard Albert maybe a sailor/slave from the Black Rock ship, the same one that Jacob and Mr. Cranky were watching at the beginning of the episode?

* Why did Jacob want Hurley, and possibly everyone else, to go back to the Island? What does that mean? Was he hoping they could help him with his Mr. Cranky Pants issue or was it for some other, unknown reason?

* What did Jacob want Ilana to do? How did she know him already? My thought - he wanted her to get Sayid on the plane, among other things.

* What is Mr. Cranky Pants? Some shapeshifter who took the form of John Locke? A ghost like Christian Shepard? Or is the last season of LOST really about ZOMBIES?!?!?!

* Who side is Christian Shepard on anyway?

Ok, so I know I probably missed a hundred other things but my brain is already fried. Let's just say that 2010 can't arrive soon enough. Overall, a pretty amazing season, to say the least. For a real, in-depth review of last night's finale, go check out Doc Jensen's site. He's da man! Yeah, I said it. What?

Lost - Some Like It Hoth - 4/15

So of course, prior to last night's airing, it had been a major discussion point as to who or what "Hoth" was. We assumed it was something/someone of great importance, seeing as an entire episode was titled after it. Yesterday afternoon, the ever informative Doc Jenson quoted a fan's theory that it was a reference to The Empire Strikes Back, to the icy planet Hoth, since 1977 was the year Star Wars was released. I, and others, dismissed this idea on the belief that the writers would never attempt to name an episode after a Star Wars reference. As I was falling asleep last night, after being handed the not entirely unpleasant surprise (after all, I am a Star Wars fan myself) that the writers did in fact title an episode after a SW reference, I mentally smacked my forehead in self-exasperation. Of course they would title an episode after Star Wars! How swiftly I had forgotten who we are dealing with here: comic book and sci-fi nerds. Which, in my opinion, are the very coolest of all nerd types. The writing and creation of last night's episode can be described as a nerd's greatest dream come true (for all nerds out there, I use "nerd" as a term of endearment). I can mentally picture the creators, producers and writers of LOST sitting around a table, animatedly discussing the abounding father issues, etc that can be found in the Star Wars movies and then being able to do what very few from their noble caste can do; personify their passionate Star Wars theories, arguments and discussions in an adorable, intelligent and totally awesome character (Hurley) on a beloved television show (on an international scale, no less). I guess it's true what they say, the Force really does connect everything.

So in hindsight, should we have really been all that surprised that they titled a whole episode after a planet from Empire Strikes Back? Yeahhhhh...no.

Miles To Go Before We Sleep

In a recent interview, Ken Leung (who plays Miles) talked about how even though he (and we) knew very little about Miles and his past, it was obvious that he is carrying around something heavy (perhaps an uncommonly heavy chip on his shoulder), that he is hurting from something that occurred in his past. Last night's LOST illuminated the pieces that we were missing and at the same time validated one of this season's biggest theories; that Miles was Dr. Chang's itty-bitty baby boy. I have to hand it to Brett. He was the first person I heard voice this theory, immediately after the first scene of the season that shows Pierre Chang in his Dharmaville house with his baby son. "I bet that's Miles!", Brett exclaimed. I remember brushing that thought under the rug; it was still too early for any crazy theories like that. But, as it turns out, he was correct and I'm all pride and satisfaction at his brilliantly deduced, early-season conjecture. But I digress...

Obviously, Widmore wanted to hire Miles in order to have him "speak" to the yucky pile of purge-ifed Dharma bodies thrown into the jungle pit where Locke once laid, waiting to die from the bullet wound Ben kindly gave him. I'm not really sure what Miles would have learned from those bodies since clearly they were clueless as to Ben's and The Other's plans because, well...they were DEAD. If they had known anything of use, they probably wouldn't be lying dead in a ditch, but we'll just roll with it.

Question: Who were Bram and his gang of kidnapper-wanna-bes working for? Brett pointed out that Bram was one of the men from Ajira 316 who was helping Ilana take over the Hydra Island castaways. This was confirmed when he echoed Ilana's riddle to Lapidus, "What lies in the shadow of the statue"? So, that's an interesting development but who are they working for? If they are against Widmore, it would be easy to assume they work for Ben, but if that's so, then why didn't Ben recognize them on the plane? If they aren't working for Ben, who are they working for? Ms. Hawkings perhaps? And honestly, what DOES lie in the shadow of the statue?

My Father's Gun

I found it difficult to concentrate on the Kate/Sawyer/Juliet/Roger/Jack storyline, what with all the minor reveals to the Dharma/Others mythology that the Miles story brought out. I keep forgetting that most of the characters don't know how Ben's father treated him as a kid. Every time they converse with him, especially in recent episodes where he is being all dramatic about the loss of his son, I just keep chanting, "smack him, smack him, smack him...". I feel like Ben's daddy issues should be the catalyst of all the other daddy issues that we've seen in this show. Brett and I ticked them off on our fingers last night: Locke, Jack, Miles, Sun, Jin, Claire, Kate, Sawyer...pretty much everyone has daddy issues on this show and I just can't help blaming Roger for each and every one of them, even though that's hardly rational. Still, he's stands there, all blubbery and hysterical about his bleeding and now missing son and if Jack could just smack him and yell "Since when do you give a damn?!?! This is ALL your fault!" for me, that would just be sugar and spice.

The little expansions on the Dharma projects/mythology (the building of the Swan and Orchid, the hint towards the Island's magnetic energy pocket via the dead guy and his fatal filling, etc) were nicely balanced with the subsequent emotions of Miles dealing (or not dealing, essentially) with his father issues and the shock of discovering he has known about him for the past three years. It's always disconcerting to learn that a character knew something vital before you, the viewer, knew of it. It's a good way to throw off your audience, considering that the opposite is usually the case. While we were distracted by things like Jack's uncharacteristic inaction, the Kate/Sawyer/Juliet doomed romance, Locke's Jesus move, Faraday's suspicious absence and thoughts of eating Hurley's yummy ham sandwiches, Miles had known for years (episodes in our time) of his father's fan-sought-after identity. I think that deserves another mental forehead slap, don't you?

Still, we are obviously being driven to one conclusion when it comes to Dr. Chang and what happened with his family. My assumption is that once the "incident" happens, Dr. Chang starts believing that the Island isn't safe anymore and he sends his wife and young son away to keep them safe. He either tells his wife he doesn't love her anymore to get her to leave or Miles' mom lied to him about the event in order to keep him safe and away from the Island. Either way, it;s obviously that Chang loves his baby boy and that Miles should take the opportunity to get to know his father while he can.

I Hate To Say I Told You So...

But seriously, I told you so. Firstly, DANIEL IS BACK!!!! Wippie!!! I'm really am excited because he is one of my favorite characters and I've missed his cute absent-minded, professor face. Secondly, in your face! I knew he was up to something! This backs up my theory that Daniel has something to do with "the incident" and possibly even the not-so-great future of the castaways. He's been doing experiments off-Island! That part was a surprise and I was totally wrong about him being under the Orchid, experimenting on the Island's power core, but still!! What has he been doing? Are the scientist back because of the work on the Swan? Has Daniel been doing all the science stuff in order to save Charlotte or for some other helpful purpose? Or, is he still secretly working for Widmore? Who's side is he really on? The Others, Widmore's, Ben's, Ms. Hawkings, Dharma's??? I almost don't care, because I'm sticking to my guns that he's going to end up a major player in the season's finale episode involving "the incident".

And All That Jazz

- Some quick thoughts

* Radzinsky? Yeah, still an ass. And it still doesn't get old, knowing that he will eventually splatter his brains all over the ceiling of his beloved Swan. I'm sorry, was that a little insensitive? I just really hate that guy...

* It's nice to see Miles show some emotion other than critical disdain, sarcastic annoyance and blank superiority.

* Jack's still sitting on his hands and I'm still pacing the line of whether I like it or don't like it. I guess it all hangs on whether he's making the right move by not moving or if he's been duped into being a mere lemming by the scheming Benjamin Linus. One guess as to the answer to THAT one.

* Hurley is fast becoming one of my favorite characters. I love that they are giving him this outward appearance of unimportance, but that he always ends up saying the one most important thing in any single episode. This seems very Tolkien to me. You know the whole Hobbit thing, "the smallest person can change the world" yadda yadda. Hurley comes off as the least important character in the group, often times sitting on the bench while the real action happens, but he is the heart of the group, the comic relief and the one person who you can count on to be completely honest and sincere. He is just as important and Jack or Sawyer or Kate and this episode reminded us of that.

Alrighty, that's it for this week. We have another dark and pointless LOST-less week next week, but hopefully we will all meet alive and well the following week for a new LOST. Until then, sate your LOST thirst on this, a new Lost Untangled.

Aloha!