Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Top Ten Cases: Favorite Lost Finale Scenes - #9


9. Jack and "Locke" Fight




This would be the companion piece to the scene that ranked in at #10. In my view, however, these two scenes deserve separate acknowledgements. The final confrontation between Jack and the Locke Ness Monster – culminating in a cliff side brawl – not only contained some excellent and subtle references to season one (like the teeming rain, which was a staple of the first season, as well as Locke grabbing his trusty knife), but it was also surprisingly suspenseful. There were several moments that I actually thought to myself, “Wow, are they going to have Locke kill Jack and win?” The symbolism was sweet as well, with Jack at the heavens of the cliff, looking down at the descended Locke (even deeper, one might argue that the fact that this scene concluded with over an hour of the finale remaining is symbolic in and of itself, reminding the audience that this series is about much more than the crazy mythology and mysteries of the island). Not too shabby for a scene that started out with a flying punch.

And this really worked on a visual level. The first four seasons of Lost were fueled by this steadily increasing tension and aggression between Jack and Locke, so seeing these two fighting to the death just felt like an appropriate ending. So there was something surreal and “right” about seeing Jack yelling and referring to the Monster as “Locke” during their climatic brawl. The fact that this battle ultimately led to both of their demises is fitting as well.

Finally, there was the conclusion, which was a wonderful example of alluding to past events without smashing your head with a sledgehammer. You had Jack in a perilous situation, when suddenly a gunshot is heard, Locke drops to the ground from his dominant position, and Kate reveals herself as the shooter. Kate – the girl who is constantly following the adventurers when she’s not invited to the party, only for it to completely backfire and foil their cause – finally comes through and saves the day. And Jack, our hero – the one who is almost always the one to rescue the damsel in distress (often Kate) – is the person getting saved. There was just this feeling of, “all those mistakes and times you helped me were leading up to this pay back.” And while Kate’s “I saved a bullet for you” line is another thing that came dangerously close to being corny (and some might argue that it was), I actually liked it. Sure, Jack was the one who kicked Locke off the cliff, but there was something unexpected and nice about Kate being the one who essentially killed the big bad.



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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Top Ten Cases: Favorite Lost Finale Scenes - #10


10. Team Jack and Team “Locke” confront each other




This relatively insignificant scene may seem a bit out of place given the enormity of the two and a half hour finale, but it’s one that truly sticks with me as we look back at the episode with a certain level of perspective. As I noted in my Revisited column, I loved the wide spectrum of emotions it hit. It started out with a certain twisted lightness, having Kate grab Sawyer’s rifle before shooting somewhat recklessly at an unfazed Locke Ness Monster, forcing Desmond and Ben to simultaneously dive for cover. But despite the amusing visual, Kate’s actions reminded us of the very somber reality that two people she loved and cared for are dead. It’s easy to criticize Lost (or perhaps the characters) for being somewhat lackadaisical about some of their losses – Hell, Sun had to remind everybody that they should bury Locke’s dead body – but this scene did a great job of reminding everybody that, yes, these people DO care that Jin and Sun are dead.

But upon later viewings of the scene, I must say the real highlight is the interaction between Jack and Smokey. Once again, I loved the range of emotions their brief conversation hit, and their metaphoric tug of war was rather brilliant. You had Locke using his subtle intimidation, reminding Jack that he’s but a young pup in this eternal struggle. Conversely, you had Jack exuding humble confidence. He didn’t know HOW he was going to win, he just knew he would. And just like the literal and proverbial balance scale this season has centered on, the weight continually shifted as the discussion wore on. And as the advantage changed, the tone shifted accordingly. Locke, in particular, went from nonchalant, to annoyed, to argumentative, to aggressive.

Mechanically, this was a fun little scene that bridged the two groups’ journal to their climatic battle. But it did more than that – the scene really did prepare you for the wide range of emotions the viewer would experience while watching the finale.


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Monday, June 28, 2010

Raw: Ongoing LIVE Thoughts

11:09 - Solid enough Raw. I am mildly curious who they'll have win the Money in the Bank match. I hope it's not Edge, Orton, or Jericho, who are always just a storyline away from a WWE Championship feud. If I were a betting man, I'd guess they're going to have Miz win it, but I'd like them to take a real gamble and go with Morrison, or bite the bullet and give the nod to Bourne.

Who do I think should be in Smackdown's ladder match? CM Punk, Christian, Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes, and I don't know, how about MVP, Big Show, Matt Hardy, and Dolph Ziggler?

10:41 - I REALLY think they need to reunite Morrison with Melina when she makes her return. It can be like an Edge/Lita thing, where the female maintains her own career in addition to appearing with the male. I think that would do wonders for setting him back on track. And it'd work with them as faces or heels.

10:39 - Wow, did they just remember that Jericho came up with the MITB idea? Wow... Oh, and why didn't Jericho get the "last entrant" honors?

10:37 - Okay, I kinda like that the briefcase for the Raw MITB match is red (and presumably the Smackdown one will be blue). Nice little touch. Oh, and Edge needs to grow his beard back, especially if he's going to be a heel.

10:22 - I do appreciate WWE taking the time to explain perceived "plotholes" to its viewers. But still, some of these babyfaces, particularly the goody-goody ones, are a little tougher to root for now. I mean, I'm to believe that Edge would pass up an opportunity to capture the WWE Championship, instead opting to help his opponents (including arch rival Orton and mortal enemy Cena) mid-match due to an NXT attack.....but John Cena wouldn't sacrifice a suspension to help a bunch of old men?

10:15 - I thought that was a pretty solid beat down. I'm sure some people will complain about how the Legends got the upper hand during certain parts, but I didn't really have a problem with that, because they were on dominant ground. And I liked the way it played out. The rookies couldn't make their attack, so they began systematically thinning the herd. But like the Cena attack, the lack of assistance from the backstage area was a little disconcerting. I mean, am I to believe that somebody as virtuous as John Cena cares more about his career and getting a title shot than the well being of a bunch of highly respected elderly Legends?

But man, how nervous must those NXT rookies been? I mean they come to ringside and everybody's wearing a tie.... In fact, the Legends should have just kept on their ties. It's the best way to ensure that they won't get touched.

10:02 - Methinks these WWE Legends are going to be the latest Nexus victims...

9:46 - Another great segment. The Raw MITB participants are pretty flawless. I'm glad to see John Morrison in a PPV match (a high profile one, no less) and it's great to see Jericho in an ANNOUNCED PPV match. A bit curious including guys like Orton and Edge, though, as they've flirted with the injured list a bit much this past year.

And while I criticized the AIM "bleep" sound last week, I have to say it's been really well utilized this week. It's actually been pretty cool seeing a scene get really tense, or seeing a heel character get really cocky, only to be interrupted with the "bleep" sound, as if to say, "Oh yeah, well how about this?"

9:40 - That answers that. By the way, Metalingus is sooooooooo much better than the Zombie song.

9:38 - It's too bad Mike Knox isn't still on the WWE Roster, as he's an absolute spitting image of the Zombie-version of Michael Myers from his Halloween 2. Any chance they'll acknowledge that he used to do Edge's theme?

9:33 - Wait, are Santino and Kozlov still doing that WWE-produced sitcom?

9:16 - It was an interesting opening segment. I actually think the over-the-top computer set up for the Raw GM is pretty hilarious. At the moment I don't think Cole is the GM, only because (a) it's too obvious, and (b) McMahon was on the phone with the GM during Raw's broadcast. But I think it's a bit of a moot point -- Cole is smarmy enough that him acting as the GM's representative works just as well.

So, the NXT rookies are now officially now known as Nexus. Works for me. Although I hate this "if you attack anybody this week, you're fired!" crap. For one, if these attacks have been so incredibly vile, why not just say "if you ever do that again, you're fired"? And why is Nexus worried about getting fired? Surely they wouldn't have attacked the owner of the company if they feared losing their job.

Overall, I thought it was a good opening. They accomplished a lot in 20 minutes.

Be sure to check the blog at 9:00 for my ongoing Raw thoughts.


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Top Ten Cases: Favorite Lost Finale Scenes - Introduction


Starting tomorrow, I'll be posting my top ten favorite scenes from the Lost finale. Now, to warn you, while the past month or so has afforded me some perspective, which has altered the ranking of certain scenes, there IS a strong -- STRONG -- bias towards the various "Remembering" moments. And honestly, I think that's a fair enough prejudice. After all, those scenes were emotionally powerful, and reminded us of significant moments from each character's past. Plus, many of those scenes brought closure to relationships that were cut short or unresolved. For what it's worth, I did try to go easy on the Jack/Kate love.

I will be posting one scene a day, every day, for the next ten days. Here's the schedule:

#10 - Tuesday, June 29
#9 - Wednesday, June 30
#8 - Thursday, July 1
#7 - Friday, July 2
#6 - Saturday, July 3
#5 - Sunday, July 4
#4 - Monday, July 5
#3 - Tuesday, July 6
#2 - Wednesday, July 7
#1 - Thursday, July 8



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Friday, June 25, 2010

Wow, that's surprising...

So I finally got around to reading that Lost finale review over on that Fishbiscuit website -- you recall that site, with the nasty readers who bombarded my column with some very harsh and personal attacks -- and, shock upon shock, the reviewer DETESTED it. Could it be because Kate ended up with Jack? Methinks the review might have been a bit brighter if she picked Sawyer.

http://www.docarzt.com/lost/lost-recaps/the-last-word-on-lost/

That's the site above, but I'm not going to hyperlink it. The last thing I need is those nasty fans taking over my site with their negativity and attitude.

Word of advice: Don't let a TV show -- even one as addictive as Lost -- get you so riled up. It's not worth it.


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Thursday, June 24, 2010

They're baaaaaack....


Anybody else excited for the return of Futurama tonight? I'll be honest -- I actually didn't really enjoy the series all too much during its original run, but I really came to appreciate it and became an avid viewer when it aired on Adult Swim. The "movies" were adequate at worst and stellar at best, so I have high hopes!

And hey, now my KidRobot collection is completely relevant!


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Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Matt vs. The Bee

Or "Bee" Stands for Brutality....




Might as well visit my friends....


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No need to fret -- I'm alive!

Sorry for the lack of updates this past week, it's just been busy and I haven't had much time to devote to the blog. That'll change, though.

Some quick thoughts -- really thought Raw was strong last night. I'm slightly disappointed that the NXT rookies were already signed, because it takes a bit of the motivation away from their savage attacks. Plus, it sorta negates the whole purpose of the current season of NXT. Nonetheless, their attack on Vince looked absolutely brutal. Seeing Vince in the sleeved referee shirt really accentuated his age, and watching him get so recklessly thrown around was borderline uncomfortable. Which, I suspect, was the point.

Taking the title off of Cena was a curious decision, and I'm especially perplexed that they gave Sheamus the nod (out of all of the challengers, I thought Edge might have the best shot). Oh, and while it's nice to see Mysterio with the gold, I REALLY wish they had gone with WWE's MVP, CM Punk.

Not sure who the mystery GM is, although I do not think it's Michael Cole. Remember, Vince was on the phone with the mystery person at one time, meaning that it can't be Cole, who was broadcasting at the time. JR maybe? Seems like a longshot, but who knows.

Come back either later this week or next week, and I'll have a new Top Ten Cases posted, ranking my favorite scenes from the Lost finale. Hard to believe the show's been over for, like, a month already!


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Thursday, June 17, 2010

Watch it.....

....and then live in anticipation for next summer.



http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810033015/video/20369007


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Monday, June 14, 2010

LIVE Raw Thoughts!

11:12 - Okay, so in WWF Attitude fashion, the big attack concludes with some attempted vehicular manslaughter (which, if you're keeping score, is less violent than using a tie as a weapon). I actually did like how it worked out, with the entire roster out on the stage, leaving the backstage area unprotected. And with the power outage, the Superstars out front had no way of knowing what was happening in the back. Now, where do they go from here? I actually hope they don't get their contracts yet, because then they're just ordinary wrestlers and their "outsiders" mystique is gone.

Oh, and I'm sure we'll learn that Chris Jericho (who was oddly absent from the Raw stage) was the limo driver.

And hey, that was a pretty snazzy main event too.

11:04 - "The Master Psychologist"???? Is that even a nickname????

10:57 - Just a random observation, but Orton's shoulder is looking awfully good. No sign of injury at all.

10:45 - I have to admit, when Bret Hart came out after a screwy finish and promised not to let history repeat itself, I had fears that we were going to have Montreal brought up AGAIN. Over a Santino/Kozlov storyline, no less!

But I'll repeat what I said earlier - sure, seeing the NXT rookies bested immediately was irksome, but once again, they're the center of the show right now. They have the entire Raw roster out there to act as muscle in case these eight rookies show up. That's a pretty big deal. Although I do have to wonder, why are they on the stage? Their two attacks happened with an attack from the crowd...

10:08 - So things are getting frustratingly negative over on Scott Keith's blog. This entire angle has gone from the greatest thing in the history of mankind to utter crap and a complete waste of time. Forget the fact that these eight....er, seven rookies are now the centerpiece of the flagship program, getting even more attention than the WWE Championship match at the upcoming PPV. Nope, it's an utter failure.

People have been equating this angle with the nWo, and this was a pretty accurate retelling. You had heels and faces -- rivals -- teaming up to take out a common evil. You had Edge, Cena, Orton, and Sheamus....who are fighting in a few nights, teaming up to take out these rookies. They may not have gotten the upper hand (night's not over yet), but they ARE being portrayed as a legitimate threat.

9:53 - I gotta say, Evan Bourne's Shooting Star Press really is pretty damn picture perfect. Also, I tend to hate losing streak angles, as they rarely if ever actually help the Superstar. It's actually almost always an excuse to keep somebody on television when you have no idea what to do with them. Keep in mind that Chris Jericho was the World Champion on Smackdown. Since moving to Raw, he's been in a throwaway tag title match and appears to be completely left off of this PPV card.

9:41 - I have to ask, why does Ted DiBiase even want to co-host Raw? The host no longer has any power or clout. I actually never used to mind the Raw host gimmick, because it was relatively harmless and it changed things up a bit. But now that the host doesn't have any power, it comes off as completely pointless and a real waste of time. We already have to sit through 4 minutes of commercials every 15 minutes or so, do we really need to see advertisements during the show as well?

9:32 - I kinda suspected that we'd see a new US Champion (75% of me believed it would happen), if only to show us the likelihood of the champ dropping the title. But I have to be honest, yes, he's a super hot heel....but part of me is just sorta tired of the Miz's act. I would've liked to have seen Morrison take the gold, so that he could get back on course.

9:20 - Just a random pet peeve, but I hate when announcers constantly say stuff like, "Cena only has a 25% of retaining the title." Yes, I know what they're trying to accomplish -- they just want to accentuate how a champion can lose the title without even being involved in the decision -- but it's just a silly comment. That's like saying every single match the champion participates in, they only have a 50% chance of retaining, whether he's facing the Big Show or Funaki.

9:14 - Pretty good opening segment. I was really, really glad they didn't just sign the NXT rookies to a contract. It may sound silly, but it would have really damaged the credibility of the competition they are running right now on Tuesday nights. It also made sense to "fire" Wade Barrett, as now they are complete outsiders (although, at the very least, having Barrett on contract did allow them to make sense of how all the rookies would get into the building).

And yes, they did mention Daniel Bryan, and basically set up a nice little story arc for his eventual return. And while they may not have done it on purpose, they did create the precedent of "if you're not with us, you're against us." Still interested in seeing how this plays out. Oh, and incredible touch having everybody empty the ringside area.

9:04 - Like most others, I made it a point to see who and what they showed during the opening video. I was glad to see they didn't completely gloss over Daniel Bryan. And I was glad they gave him a fairly positive edit. The real question is if they mention him in this opening promo.

Been a while since I've done this, but check out the blog at 9:00 for my streaming LIVE Raw thoughts. I know the blog has been a little wrestling-heavy for the past couple of weeks, but at the very least it's allowed an open discussion with some blog mainstays like Kyle and Javier. So I'm inclined to ask: DaBooty, what sort of entertainment is catching your eye this summer? Perhaps there's something you're watching that I am as well. Hate to lose you just cuz Lost is gone!

Anyway, check back in a few for my Raw thoughts.


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Saturday, June 12, 2010

Have you seen this deadly weapon?





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Art or Life?

http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/14734694

So WWE.com just posted the news that they have released Daniel Bryan from his contract, and I can't help but wonder if this is legit, or if this is just a continuation of the storyline from Raw, where the NXT rookies attacked John Cena.

The part of me that believes it's real, unfortunately, is the fact that -- in storyline terms -- there's no reason to release him. According to the story, he was never under contract to begin with (the whole point of NXT is to win the contract, so according to WWE the only one under contract is Wade Barrett). So what exactly are they releasing him from?

A lot of people also believe that this is just a way for them to distinguish the "Daniel Bryan" character so that he can be properly reintroduced as "Bryan Danielson." That WOULD make sense, except for the fact that the WWE.com article openly refers to him using both names. So, essentially, BOTH of those characters are being released.

And finally, why single Bryan out? As of now, none of the other NXT rookies have been "released."

But the part of me that thinks this is a work is that, despite the inconsistencies above, it is conceivable, storyline wise. Along with that, the NXT rookies were thrust into the centerpiece of all three WWE programs, so I don't see Bryan asking for his release after suffering through several months of looking like a loser. And with the NXT rookies being in such a substantial story arc, WWE must know they need to keep their most talented rookie workers. So I'm not sure why they would let him go.

Personally, I hope it's a fake firing. But I'm guessing we'll learn more about this in the coming days.


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Thursday, June 10, 2010

You never forget your first time!

So in my column earlier today I made a comment in the passing about how John Cena is a giving Superstar given his main event position, and noted that he’s dropped the title to three people who had never previously held a World Championship. And that got me thinking, in modern history, how does every champion compare? How many of their reigns ended with a Superstar who is holding the title for the very first time?

I did need to set some criteria, however. I contemplated long and hard, and ultimately decided that if a Superstar held the WCW Championship, their first WWE Championship would not count as a “first time champion.” Guys like Ric Flair and Goldberg were the main reason. After dominating the World title scene in WCW for so long, how could I possibly argue that they were a first time champion when they captured the gold in WWE (the downside, on the other hand, was Big Show, who had a forgettable run with the WCW Championship as the Giant)? The ONE exception I made was Chris Benoit. I didn’t count his WCW title win. Conversely, I decided not to include the WWE’s version of the ECW Championship. So CM Punk’s World title win IS included as a “first time champion.”

I have to admit that there were some surprises. Like more than half of Hogan’s title reigns ended with somebody who had never before been a World Champion. On the other hand, all of Orton’s reigns ended with an established champion nabbing the gold. And only ONE of Austin’s reigns ended with a first timer, and that was Kane’s joke of a one-day run!

For what it’s worth, I began the list with Hogan’s first run as champion. And I included both WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship reigns. Enjoy (and kindly point out any errors):

Hulk Hogan – 3/5 (Andre the Giant, Ultimate Warrior, Undertaker)
Andre the Giant – 0/1
Randy Savage – 0/2
Ultimate Warrior – 1/1 (Sgt. Slaughter)
Sgt. Slaughter – 0/1
The Undertaker – 0/7
Ric Flair – 1/2 (Bret Hart)
Bret Hart – 2/5 (Yokozuna, Shawn Michaels)
Yokozuna – 0/2
Bob Backlund – 2/2 (Iron Sheik, Diesel)
Diesel – 0/1
Shawn Michaels – 2/4 (Sid, Steve Austin)
Sid – 0/2
Steve Austin – 1/6 (Kane)
Kane – 0/1
The Rock – 4/9 (Mankind, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Brock Lesnar)
Mankind – 1/3 (Triple H)
Triple H – 3/13 (Mr. McMahon, Chris Benoit, Batista)
Mr. McMahon – 0/1
Big Show – 0/2
Kurt Angle – 1/5 (Rey Mysterio)
Chris Jericho – 1/4 (Jack Swagger)
Brock Lesnar – 1/3 (Eddie Guerrero)
Eddie Guerrero – 1/1 (JBL)
JBL – 1/1 (John Cena)
John Cena – 3/9 (Edge, RVD, Sheamus)
Edge – 2/9 (Jeff Hardy, CM Punk)
RVD – 0/1
Randy Orton – 0/6
Jeff Hardy – 0/3
Batista – 0/6
Sheamus – 0/1
Goldberg – 0/1
Chris Benoit – 1/1 (Randy Orton)
Rey Mysterio – 0/1
King Booker – 0/1
The Great Khali – 0/1
CM Punk – 0/3
Jack Swagger – Undetermined



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In defense of Cena

http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2010/06/10/the-peoples-column-how-john-cena-could-ruin-the-wwe-nxt-invasion/

So I came across this article over on Pulse Wrestling, and I have to say, I found it incredibly unfair. The author says that John Cena is not known for making his opponents look good, which I completely disagree with. Sure, more times than not he wins more often than not -- typically cleanly, and often times through submission -- but I also think he gives far more than anybody in his position. No matter the status or size of his opponent, he's typically on the receiving end of the punishment, and he sells his opponent's offense quite believably.

Also keep in mind that when he returned from his pec injury, he spent practically an entire year jobbing. I don't think people realize how often he lost in that span of time. I'd easily say he takes more losses than anybody at his level. Actually, consider the fact that he's dropped the WWE Championship to a number of Superstars who hadn't held the title yet: Edge, Sheamus, RVD. How many first time champions have Triple H or Undertaker lost the title to?


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Tuesday, June 8, 2010

What will happen NXT?

So the verdict for last night's Raw was that it was about 2 hours and 50 minutes of crap (of which I cannot argue or deny, I missed the first hour and a half), with an absolutely explosive last 15 minutes -- perhaps the greatest ending to Raw in years. This is said with no exaggeration, and I have to say I agree. Take a look for yourself:





Color me intrigued. There's so many questions to be asked. How did Cole escape the attack? Did he have some sort of foresight, allowing him the opportunity to run off, or is this just to accentuate his heelish NXT character? And what are the motives of these rookies? Particularly, what does Wade Barrett gain? He's already got his contract, a guaranteed PPV title shot, and a powerful ally in Chris Jericho (and an easy future alliance with William Regal). What does he benefit here? And how will this impact season two of NXT?

Not to mention that this attack was just all around awesome. It was straight out of the nWo handbook -- attacking both heels (the Straight Edge Society) and faces (Cena) without prejudice. We even saw the incredibly heelish and cowardly CM Punk jump into the ring, despite the 8 on 1 odds. Hell, the NXT rookies even attacked the referee, the ringside commentators, the "host" of their show, the ring announcer, the timekeeper. They went all out. And they were pretty damn brutal as well.

And finally, what a visual! They absolutely decimated everything. They destroyed Cena to the extent that he had to be taken out on a stretcher. And they literally tore the place apart. The ring canvas was ripped off. The apron taken down. Ropes dismantled. Mats thrown around. The barriers removed. Tables flipped over. It really did look like a natural disaster had blown through. And there were little touches, like Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel -- two guys who typically wore colorful or white tights -- decked out in black. And the black and yellow "N" armbands were great.

Overall, awesome, awesome segment. Can't wait to see how it plays out.

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Sunday, June 6, 2010

Anybody else watching this crap?

I'm not even entirely sure why I've submitted to exposing myself to such drudge, but I decided to watch the MTV Movie Awards, as there really isn't anything on television right now. And man, has it been painful....

First was the opening monologue. I'm sure the actor from Parks and Recreations is hilarious, but that monologue was just plain awful. I don't think I laughed once. Nor did anybody in the audience. It was just uncomfortable, and it kept going and going. Wow...

Then despite having people like Tom Cruise, Will Smith, and Sandra Bullock in attendance, they open the show with....David Spade and Rob Schneider???? Really? And then Kristen Steward proceeds to give one of the most awkward acceptance speeches I've ever seen, well, ever.

And in the opening 20 minutes, I'd venture to say there were no less than 239 Twilight jokes. And they were lame jokes. And the franchise is lame as well. And they had the nerve to use the True Blood theme when presenting a Twilight scene as a nominee. Sacrilegious!

Anyway, don't watch. But do be sure to visit the blog in the upcoming days, as I'll be unveiling another Top Ten Cases. I'm also thinking of some ideas to keep us going through the summer. Thanks for the loyal support, folks!


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Thursday, June 3, 2010

WWE.com facelift

So WWE.com got a slight makeover earlier today, and the reaction, as best as I can tell, has been mixed. And rightfully so, because I'm not even sure what to make of it. Again, relatively speaking, the changes were minor, the most significant of which was getting rid of the side navigation bar and making their top navigation bar a bit more user friendly. This was a wise move, in my opinion, because about a year ago they altered their side navigation bar and I couldn't stand that change.

Why? Because it wasn't the least bit more efficient. I used to be able to check each of the three Superstar roster pages. But when they reshuffled their side navigation bar, there wasn't a direct link anymore. If I wanted to check out, say, the Raw Superstar page, I'd either have to go to the Raw TV Show page and hit the Superstars link, or I'd have to hit the general Superstars link to then go to the Raw page.

Anyway, this more efficient top side bar basically allows you to directly check out any section you want. That's a HUGE improvement. And WWE.com has also publicly embraced the social media world, now offering icons for their Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages on their front page like every other website in the world does (including this one). Actually, WWE.com now even has a Social Media section of their site! So that is pretty cool.

But there are some things I don't like as well. I feel like that top bar is way too big, and the advertisement banner below it is rather large as well. So I feel like the actual content of the site doesn't begin until halfway down the screen. And it seems like they've merely replaced the side navigation bar with bigger ad banners on the opposite side of the page. So, as a result, there's A LOT of empty white space. And it's really awkward looking.

And, again, there's the directness. Let's say I go to CM Punk's Superstar page. With the side navigation bar, I could easily check his Bio, Photos, or Videos at any time. Now that the side navigation is gone, I have to return to his main page to check out another part. That can get annoying.

Overall I'd say it's a slight improvement, but a lot more would could be done.

What do you think of the new WWE.com???


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Tuesday, June 1, 2010

A Case of the.... Lost - Episodes 6-17 & 6-18 Revistied


Are you real?
I sure hope so. Yeah, I'm real. You're real. Everything that's ever happened to you is real. All those people in the church, they're real too.
They're all dead?
Everyone dies sometime, kiddo. Some of them before you. Some of them long after you.
But why are they all here now?
Well there is no "now." "Here."
Where are we dad?
Well this is a place that you all made together so you could find one another. The most important part of your life was the time that you spent with these people. That's why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone, Jack. You needed all of them, and they needed you.
For what?
To remember. And to let go.
Kate....she said we were leaving.
Not leaving, no. Moving on.
- Lost – Episode 6x18 – “The End, Part 2”


You know, I sometimes ride the explanation scene in the Matrix pretty hard, but this heartfelt exchange between Jack and his dad is a lot closer to that scene than I’d like to admit. And so I find it pretty remarkable that there are people out there that actually misunderstood the ending (like hans), and believe that EVERYTHING we’ve seen (including the island) was their own personal purgatory, and that they had all died in the plane crash. Says one person from the comments section in the EW.com episode recap:

I thought the end of lost made it clear that they had died and were in purgatory the whole time.
Which explains the whole series.
For example the reason why nobody could have a baby on the island was because they were dead. Except for Claire and Sun who were pregnant when they died.


Yes, certain things are open to interpretation, but I think lines such as “Everything that’s ever happened to you is real” and clarifications like “Everyone dies sometime…some of them before you. Some of them long after you” are pretty damning evidence that the island stuff actually happened, and that only the sideways reality occurred while the characters were “in limbo.” Not to mention that Sun WASN’T pregnant when the plane crashed. Remember, that was the whole issue regarding the date of conception.

And unfortunately, a lot of viewers seem to be fueled by a whole lotta nothing. I am referring to the photos of the wreckage of Flight 815 that were shown over the closing credits. People are saying that this proves, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that everybody died in the crash, as it shows the remains of the plane but no survivors. I personally saw it as a nostalgic, reminiscent, retrospective look at where the show began. Another poster from the EW.com review shed some light on this matter:

ABC seriously needs to come out and make a statemtent about this. The footage of the original plane crash set was done by ABC, not by the writers. This has severely caused many people to think everyone died right away on the 815 crash and the whole series was about them being dead. This is not true....it was just a bittersweet tribute to where it all started. Much like the Cheers finale, when the bar was shown empty.

Personally, I can’t even believe this is a debate. I mean, do we also believe that some claymated “bad” robot suddenly slid into the scene as part of the afterlife at the way end as well?

Anyway, before getting to some reader comments and excerpts from other reviews, I wanted to discuss something from the finale that I didn’t really touch upon in my original review. In rewatching some of the scenes from the finale, I didn't give proper credit to one of the best ones of the episode – that being when Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley came face to face with Locke, Ben, and Desmond. It started off somewhat light, believe it or not, with Kate shooting several rounds at Locke. Yeah, I know....that's hardly "light," but the visual of Desmond and Ben simultaneously diving to the ground as this crazy girl shoots wildly at the monster was hilarious.

And the interaction between Jack and Locke was phenomenal. Jack almost sounded Jacob-esque – that is to say, his manner of speaking was reminiscent of his predecessor – when he bluntly admitted to Locke that, "I can't stop you." And then when Jack dared to challenge him, Locke's offended "I THINK?" was brilliant. And finally, the complete shift in tone after Jack said he would kill him was just great stuff. Excellent scene.

Another scene that I didn’t discuss at length, but has grown on me significantly, was Kate saving Jack with a gunshot to Locke’s back. Not only was it a sweet role reversal (how often does the heroic male have to rescue the helpless female?), but it was also a fun allusion to the fact that Kate interjects herself into various situation, but this time it actually worked!

Now, let’s try to tackle – for the last time – what some others had to say. Get comfy, it’s a doozy.

Continue reading "A Case of the.... Lost - Episodes 6-17 & 6-18 Revisited"....

THE SIDEWAYS WORLD
The big winner of the finale was undoubtedly the sideways world. When this new universe was introduced in the premiere episode, viewers were confused and unsure. As the season progressed, a lot of fans grew frustrated, and even those who were willing to wait and see how it plays out remained somewhat skeptical. Yet in the final moments of the last episode, it was revealed to the viewer that this “fake” reality was actually a form of purgatory that was created by the characters as a means for them to find each other so that they could pass “move on” and pass over to the afterlife together. It was an absolutely beautiful moment, as characters throughout the series happily embraced. Even those disappointed with the lack of answers seem to agree that this particular reveal was well done and satisfactory.

One matter people were left wondering, though, was why the characters created certain aspects of their new lives. For example, why were Jack and Juliet once married? Here’s an interesting perspective on that matter:

Similarly, Sideways Jack's surprisingly healthy friendship with his ex-wife spoke to his lingering guilt for emotionally wounding his ex-wife Sarah. They never should have gotten married, and he knew it, and in driving her away, he hurt her terribly. Now, Sideways Juliet was no Jack figment made pseudo-real — she was Island Juliet's Purgatory avatar. And if you recall, Island world Juliet had a pretty bad relationship with her former husband, too — a husband, by the way, who had a pretty enmeshed, guilt-streaked relationship with his mother, not unlike Jack. Bottom line: Jack and Juliet's overlapping Sideways fantasies assuaged similar regrets. – EW.com review

This is an excellent explanation for an otherwise unique scenario. I mean, aside from characters that are undeniably tied together (like Jin and Sun), no two characters share such an intimate history with each other in the sideways world than Jack and Juliet. And while these two were initially tied together on the island, when the latter was part of the Others, they drifted significantly following the fourth season. Thus, their bond here seemed a bit….off. But the observation above satisfies me, and it certainly does make it feel a lot less than mere shock value.

But speaking of Juliet and Jack, following the finale I had a deep thought. After realizing that the sideways world was not the result of the detonation of Jughead, that means that Jack really was responsible for Juliet’s death, and his actions really didn’t have any silver lining. That’s a pretty tragic outlook, and it suddenly makes Sawyer’s anger a whole lot more justifiable. Yet the reviewer over at EW.com has a different view:

Did the bomb go off?
My Interpretation: No.
Theory: The Lost producers always insisted that they were ''anti-paradox'' when it came to their time travel story. The detonation of Jughead wasn't part of the fixed ''whatever happened, happened'' timeline. When the castaways attempted to reboot history by producing paradox, Jacob or perhaps the self-regulating force of time itself (''course correction,'' to use the show's jargon) prevented the detonation from occurring and brought the quantum leaping rule-breakers back to their proper era. – EW.com review


This is an interesting idea, as we never really saw the bomb blow up. Juliet just kept hitting the damn thing and then the screen flashed to white – and suddenly there was a new world, and in the familiar world the castaways had returned to the present day. What if the reviewer here is right, and the jump to 2008 was actually an act of course correction (by Jacob or the universe or something else)? I mean, if you think about it, if the bomb did go off, Juliet would’ve been blown to smithereens. But she was intact and died in Sawyer’s arms. So maybe the bomb never went off after all.

When we were first presented with the sideways world, one of the first visuals we saw was the nick on Jack’s neck. This was something that popped up a few times throughout the season, most recently in the penultimate episode. We’d come to learn the significance in the finale, as explained here:

Fake Locke reached for his knife and jammed it into Jack's side — a spear wound for the would-be Island Christ. Fake Locke straddled Jack. Fake Locke put the knife to Jack's throat and drew blood. (Now we know the origin of Sideways Jack's neck nick — and, I think, Sideways Jack's alleged appendix scar, which was actually a scar from Fake Locke's skewering. We now see that all season long, Jack's own body had been screaming at him: Soul Sleeper, Awaken!) – EW.com review

Surprisingly, though, there was some criticism of the way the sideways world played out as well:

And yet, I can't say the Sideways device totally worked for me. I wanted to get lost in Lost during its last 18 hours. But the Sideways conceit often left me standing outside of it, trying to figure out what it was all about. It's kinda hard to emotionally connect with people when wondering if they're also, like, ''real.'' In the end, I think it was asking too much of us to buy into a creatively uneven season-long storyline whose purpose only revealed itself in the last moments of the finale. The Sixth Sense was awesome. The Sixth Sense stretched over 18 hours? A much tougher magic trick, and Lost didn't quite pull it off. – EW.com review

I can’t say I agree with this assessment. On the contrary, I think the big reveal at the conclusion of the finale worked because of the fact that we had grown to care and become invested in these sideways characters. If this reality was sprung upon us near the conclusion of the season, I don’t think it would have had the same emotional impact. And for that matter, I think it was important that we went on the same emotional journey as these characters – recognizing that something isn’t right, slowly coming to the realization that these characters share a “real” history, and then finally making the dramatic discovery that they’re all dead. Again, I think the big twist worked BECAUSE it was a season-long arc that allowed us to become emotionally invested, and I think the show pulled it off impeccably.

REDEMPTION AND RECONCILIATIONS
Of course, the sideways world was fueled by the concept of redemption and reconciliations. This was accentuated in the episode’s final scene, where all of the central characters – now fully aware of their island past – reunited in the church and embraced each other. The one thing that struck me was how incredibly genuine their happiness appeared to be. There was no bitterness or anger. No resentment or grudges. Instead, we got acceptance, forgiveness, and joy. And it was just a really nice, happy way to end the series.

Like I’ve said countless times in my recent columns and top ten lists, but it seems like forever since we’ve seen this group as one. There’s always something dividing them – whether it’s death, geography, or even time. So it was downright pleasant seeing all of the characters – from season one originals like Boone to later season additions like Juliet – together, with the full knowledge of their experiences. Jack could tell Locke that he now understands what he meant. Boone can tell Jack he understands that he did everything he could in his attempts to save him. These characters received all of the closure they needed. Here are some other comments and observations:

I Here's another thought: I loved how things ended for Ben (in Island world, not the sideways world). I think he's semi misunderstood. Ben never wanted to be Jacob. All he ever wanted was for Jacob to confide in him, to trust him, to tell him he's important. Which is almost exactly what Hurley did in the end. – Kyle, my blog

For the most part, I agree with Kyle here. I, too, am glad that things worked out well for the former Others leader. He did redeem himself and when push came to shove, he finally did the right thing. I’m not necessarily sure I agree that Ben never wanted to be Jacob, because he did have aspirations of power. Actually, part of me was expecting Ben to nab the water bottle out of Hurley’s hands after Jack handed it to him, so that HE could take over the reins of the island. But thankfully that didn’t happen, and it was actually far more poignant that he supplied the bottle for another man to take over the island. I think Ben’s ending was perfect for his character – willing to go down with the island, but ultimately assisting it in its next phase. But this time, as a humbled but legitimate second-in-command.

Of course, for most people, including the author of this column, the real highlight in regards to emotional reconciliations and reconnections was between Jack and his father Christian. For years I, like most others, had assumed that Christian’s island ghost was merely a manifestation of the Smoke Monster. But at the beginning of this season, when we learned that Smokey was “stuck” as Locke, I began to question this theory. And my main argument was that Christian has played such a pivotal, albeit it “behind-the-scenes” role in so many characters’ lives that it was hard for me to accept that he would be written off so nonchalantly. I mean, has any person appeared in more character flashbacks? Jack, Sawyer, Claire, Ana Lucia. And how many people has he interacted with on the island (as a ghost)? Jack, Claire, Locke, Lapidus, Sun. Considering all of that, I was absolutely thrilled to see him return for the finale, and it once again play such a crucial role. And others seem to agree:

loved Jack's long-awaited confrontation and reconciliation with his father. We had been anticipating this moment since ''White Rabbit,'' when Jack went chasing after Christian's ghost and found his father's empty casket. I had always imagined a slightly angry encounter, with Jack using the opportunity to settle some old scores with his dad. Instead, it was all about Prodigal Son joy. It spoke to and for any parent and child, young or old, who hopes for an afterlife where they can see their family again, especially their parents, and especially if they parted company with too much unsaid, too much unresolved. I know that some people found the Jack/Christian moment to be ''mawkish'' and ''sentimental.'' Not me. I thought — and felt — that the moment was painfully honest. It was direct and knowing about the very real and very frightening prospect of eternal separation and loss. I felt and could relate to the pain and the anguish and the yearning of both the father and the son. – EW.com review

In my original review of the finale, I noted that I was quite pleased that the episode opted to focus on love instead of death. At the time, I was referring to the moment that triggers island memories in the sideways world. But the sentiment rings true here as well. As the reviewer over at the Entertainment Weekly website notes, this COULD have been an opportunity for Jack to completely go off on his dad, and tell him, “See, I did have it!” But instead, it was just a beautiful moment where father and son embraced each other. I’ve rewatched that scene several times since the finale, and I just loved the way Christian gently “pushed” Jack into coming to the realization that he was dead. The tone of their interaction was just spot-on. Christian was sympathetic, loving, and at ease. Jack was vulnerable, open, and forgiving. Like the reviewer above notes, it was honest and real. They hit all the right notes, and it was honestly one of my favorite scenes of the entire series. A poster at the EW.com website agrees:

I cried for at least 20 minutes after the finale ended and all I have to do is think about Jack, crying in Christian's arms, after saying, "I died," to get the waterworks going again. I don't know if I am feeling LOST's finale so profoundly because I was so attached to the LOSTies or because of my own struggle to find something greater than myself to be a part of or because I wanted them so badly to be happy in "real life" after all of the suffering they went through on the Island. – EW.com comments section

Agreed. As indicated above, Jack’s dysfunctional relationship with his father has been such a central aspect of his character that making peace with him automatically made it a happy ending for Jack.

And not to be overly complimentary, but this was an extremely satisfying ending for me. People go on and on about how certain mysteries weren’t solved (more on that later), many of which haven’t been relevant for years, but to me this was a culmination of a six season story. And while Lost is undoubtedly an ensemble series, this was very much Jack’s journey. I don’t think it’s any mistake that when virtually every other character had their awakening moment, they remembered one character or moment they were very closely tied to. Yet when Jack had his moment of enlightenment, he had a series of memories – one with each central character, before settling on a number of them involving Kate. The series began with Jack’s eyes opening, and ended with his eyes closing. In many ways, this was very much his story – and his reconciliation with his father was the climatic resolution.

SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGION
In what may be considered a risky decision, the big twist revelation was pretty heavy on the religious connotations. Wisely, they didn’t single out one religion as being “right.” Yes, the scene took place in a church, but if you caught the colored glass windows in the background, you’d see symbols of conflicting religious – crosses, Star of David – and general spirituality (yin yang). But nonetheless, bringing religion into a story that isn’t outwardly religious can be dangerous, as shown in this comment here:

I loved the ride but let's just say I will not be buying the box set. I would have loved it to be anything but the big sky daddy says so. I would have gone for aliens on another planet. I love the characters and I am glad I watched. Now I am glad it's over. Thanks for all your work, Doc. You tried to warn us it was spiritual, guess we should have listened. – EW.com comments section

I remember when WWE Superstar Eddie Guerrero passed away, and during the special Tribute Raw episode, Shawn Michaels made some sort of bible reference. Eddie Guerrero and Shawn Michaels have both gone through troubled times, and they found peace and solace in religion. And both had seemingly turned their lives around after being born again. So Shawn Michaels’ religious comments likely meant a lot to him, and very likely had a special meaning to those who knew Eddie. Yet there were many, many fans who said, “I wish Shawn Michaels didn’t talk about God and religion.” I couldn’t help but shake my head and get a little agitated. Are some people so anti-religion that they are unable to listen to anything remotely religious?

And I felt the same way after reading this comment. Are certain viewers so incredibly afraid of the topic of religion that they can go from loving the show for six years, only to now be glad it’s over? And what’s this shocked response to the show being spiritual? How often was the word “faith” uttered? Or the idea of blindly believing something? Or the theme of people being magically healed? Or falling ill as some sort of penance? But this person would have preferred aliens – of which there was no hint of – because religion is THAT taboo? Geez. Thankfully, not all of the reactions were negative:

One of the things I have most appreciated about the season is that for all of its spirituality and mysticism and supernatural hoo-ha, Lost was all about human beings — really screwed-up human beings who do really screwed-up things. Even the Gods (read: Jacob) and Monsters (read: Smokey) and mythic heroes (read: Richard Alpert) revealed themselves to be just like you or me, give or take some smoke and some superpowers. It's funny that so many people cynically bitch about Lost not having ''a master plan'' — the Lost story is all about the folly of ''master plans.'' Anyone who has ever had a master plan on this show has failed catastrophically. Mother. Jacob. The Man In Black. Ben. Charles Widmore. Jack. Sawyer. The best we can do is live our lives with enlightened improvisation — to be so self-aware and fearless that we can live fully in the present and redeem our every moment and every human connection. – EW.com review

So, yeah, they were in a church. And there were some heavy allusions to an afterlife. But don’t worry, the box set won’t be coming with a Communion wafer. It’s still about human begins – it’s time to try to see the forest for the trees.

LIVE TOGETHER, DIE ALONE
One thing I liked: When Jack was finally dying, I loved that Vincent came out, for two reasons. One, you get the callback to Vincent waking him up, but two, with all the "live together, die alone" stuff they kept saying, Vincent made sure that Jack didn't have to die alone. By just laying down next to him as he died, he wasn't alone. Maybe it was intended more for reason #1 than for reason #2, but that's what I got from it. Somehow Vincent's presence made the scene more heartwrenching than I expected it to be. – Kyle, my blog

I quite loved this observation. When I initially watched the scene, I saw it as plainly as I could have: To me, it was a great reflection of the series’ opening scene. Jack wakes up in the jungle and the first thing he sees is a dog. Here, he collapses at that very spot, is joined by that same dog, and peacefully passes away. But Kyle brings up a wonderful observation, that Vincent’s presence made it possible for Jack to not die alone – a message he’s been encouraging since the very first season. In my columns leading up to the finale I discussed my trepidation of Jack becoming the new Jacob, basically saying that Jack being alone on the island didn’t seem like a happy ending for the character. He deserves better. And although I didn’t realize it, but he also deserves better than to die alone, especially after all he’s sacrificed for the well being of his friends. So, yes, Vincent’s appearance did make the scene a lot sweeter.

UNSOLVED MYSTERIES
Undoubtedly, the biggest disappointment from those who did not enjoy the finale was the fact that it didn’t answer all of the questions that the series had presented to us. Some of them are fair points, others I think are a little petty and ridiculous. Let’s take a look at some of the unanswered questions.

The following three questions come from a poster on Scott Keith’s blog:

I was enjoying the finale until that final 15 minutes. Then it tried to do a lame twist ending that I think just created more confusion for me.
I don’t mind not answering little questions. But there were some whoppers that I don’t think got an answer but needed it:
1.) When you think about it, just what was the purpose of the island to begin with? Yea, it had some magical abilities (curing Locke’s paralysis and Roses’s cancer, allowing some to speak to the dead) but it’s not like they were carried over off the island. They only worked on the island.

This is not true. If you recall, they were able to use the island’s magical healing abilities to cure Juliet’s sister’s cancer. Along with that, when Locke returned to the real world via the magic donkey wheel, he retained his ability to walk. So clearly whatever “cured” him on the island carried over to the real world as well.

2.) Why exactly couldn’t the main in black get off the island? It’s not once he got off he was gonna take over the world or anything. He just wanted to be free of the island. No wonder he went insane.

No, they never spelled it out for us why the Man in Black couldn’t leave the island, but they did make it awfully clear that it would devastate humanity. And based on his actions throughout the season, I’m willing to bet that he didn’t want to leave the island so that he could donate his time to reading for the blind. Actually, if anything, I’m more interested in why he wanted to leave the island in the first place.

3.) What exactly was the golden light that was supposed to be protected? I read online that it was some stopgap between heaven and hell. If we accept that, than was the island hell all along? – Scott Keith’s blog

I’m afraid I don’t follow this logic. If the light was a stopgap between Heaven and Hell – which would imply that it is NEITHER Heaven nor Hell – then why would the island be Hell all along? Just writing that sentence confused me. But, to me, I’m not sure the light NEEDS to be explained. At what point can we just stop asking follow up questions? “What’s the island?” “Well, it’s this place with a magical light.” “But what’s the light?” This process can go on forever.

The following comments also come from Scott Keith’s blog:

I loved the finale, personally. What was most striking about it is that all the questions I’d had that I thought I wanted answered ultimately wound up not bothering me.
Yes, I loved the show because of the mythology more than for the characters, but I feel like I’ve gotten just enough to be able to enjoy/figure it out for myself (although, to be fair, I shouldn’t even really have to – not everything needs to be spoonfed, no, but not everything needs to be ambiguous either). One question though…
Once the power source was unplugged and MIB became mortal again, why were they STILL trying to keep him from leaving? For all intents and purposes, he was just a regular guy now. Granted, it could simply be that the Losties still wanted their revenge for all the people he’s killed, but I guess I never really understood the motivation in keeping him there to begin with. What would really happen if he left? Why couldn’t he just leave from the start? What was keeping him there?
That’s the only real question I want answered. I could give a damn less about Dharma food drops or on-island pregnancies or even Walt. I could make reasonable conclusions about all of those myself. But I can’t come to any such conclusion, really, on the MIB, because we aren’t given any idea of what the stakes truly are if he makes it off the island. Maybe if they had down the whole “Island is erupting, Earth is shaking, everything becomes Hell” tease earlier in the season, then I wouldn’t have this problem. But as it stands, that’s the one sore point I have with this show.
That said, it’s still my favorite TV drama. And the ending was immensely satisfying in a strange kind of way. I say “strange” simply because, even for a few moments, it made all of my questions irrelevant behind how beautiful it all was. – Scott Keith’s blog


Honestly, I’m sure a big part of it was getting revenge for what he had done to their friends. But on top of that, you have to also remember that there’s only one boat and one plane, and they want to get off of the island too. After all he had done – and he explicitly stated he wanted ALL of them dead – I just don’t see them sharing a peaceful boat ride to Hydra Island and a several hour plane trip home. You don’t see that being just a tad bit awkward?

These questions here come from the comments section over at the EW.com review:

Sideways issues, issues, issues JUST FROM THE FINALE!
1) Eloise's ultimate motivations and what she knew. This was never explained.

I don’t agree with this. This is just one example of how every little thing should not have to be spelled out for us. What did she know? Just as much as everybody else. She was already enlightened, much like Desmond and several of the other characters by that point. And what were her motivations? Well, in this world she didn’t have to kill her son, and he was still alive. She was also in a loving relationship with Widmore, and he appeared to be somewhat subservient to her as well. Quite simply, she enlightened, but wasn’t willing/ready to “let go and move on.”

I mean, one scene Juliet was at the concert with David and Claire and the next she was at the hospital running into Sawyer. They never explained how she got there, but can’t we safely assume that she got in her car and drove over?

2) Desmond's end game. Did he even have to "activate" the castaways? Ben chose not to enter the church; Anna Lucia wasn't "ready." Desmond said (in a clever ode to MiB) that he just wanted to leave. But the process that led to the church reunion was never explained.

I’m sorry, what? The whole point of the sideways world was that they were in this self imposed purgatory that was preventing them from moving to the next level – presumably Heaven, a place of eternal happiness. By activating them, they made peace with their “real” lives and were able to “let go.” Some people hadn’t achieved that inner peace yet, such as Ben (and Eloise), and chose not to enter the church to move on. Others simply weren’t ready for to reach that level of awareness yet, like Ana Lucia.

3) Christian. Why was Christian even at the church? He had nothing to do with the crash or the castaways.

Nothing to do with the castaways? He was Jack’s father. He was Claire’s father. He had previously met Sawyer and Ana Lucia. Oh, and his body was on the plane when it crashed! I’d say he had a hell of a lot more reason to be there than, say, Penelope Widmore.

4) If Christian is to be believed, and the castaways "created" the world… how did they do it? Was Boone first (because he died first)?

I interpreted it that the sideways universe was created when the last person died, which could have been fifty years after the events of the island. But Christian was clear that time was pretty irrelevant, so maybe that isn’t the case. But, again, why does it matter how they did it? Is this honestly something that they need to explain? And would the explanation have a dramatic impact on how much you enjoyed it?

5) Even though not specifically related to the finale, in the season premiere, the island was shown sunk. Based on what Christian said, the island's disposition would appear utterly irrelevant. You can determine if that was "bait and switch" by Darlton. – EW.com comments section

“Bait and Switch” seems overly harsh here. The creators clearly wanted us to be guessing and theorizing as to what this sideways world meant, and this was just one piece to get the debate started. A lot of what we found out was ultimately irrelevant, though. For example, what was the point of not having Shannon on the sideways 815 flight? In my view, in this “ideal” world that they created, which is still somewhat based on the events of their actual reality, they fabricated a universe in which the island can play no part whatsoever. And so it’s sunk, at the bottom of the sea.

The following questions come from my blog, asked by DaBooty:

Now, if you wanted to nitpick, I will throw some things out there for discussion purposes only. I would have liked a little explanation about Eloise. I found the Hurley taking over thing to be somewhat predictable. Once he said he was staying, i immediately texted my friend "prediction: jack sacrifices himself and hurley becomes the new protector." which i then followed up with "ben is new smokey? or richard?"

The word “predictable” sometimes gets a bad rap. A lot of the times things are predictable because the story had been leading us in that direction, which means it’s just a sign of a well told story. But you were right, as Ben did take over as the new Richard, of sorts.

some other nitpicking and i will do it hail of bullets style.

- Jack was stabbed, but once the island was turned back on, why wouldnt he heal? did he really need hurley? I would think that if he is the protector of the island and he plugs the thing in, he can't die and would be fine. or at the very least the water would heal him like it has healed almost everything else.

I really didn’t have a problem with this, as we never really saw the island heal anybody of mortal wounds. Even when Locke was shot, he explained that he would have died if it hadn’t been for the fact that his kidney had been removed. But people like Sawyer and Kate suffered from their gunshot wounds for quite some time. And as we saw from last year’s finale, the island protector is not immortal. On top of that, there really wasn’t anything to lead us to believe that the light in and of itself had any healing capabilities.

- why didn't jack die from putting the plug back in? desmond was special because he could survive electromagnetism, but jack didnt die from that either. i loved him going back to where he started and the eye closing thing, but the elctromagnetism probably should have killed him.

To tell you the truth I’m not quite sure, other than to say that perhaps being the island protector does afford you certain abilities. I’d have to rewatch the scene, but I was also under the impression that the electromagnetism was more an issue when pulling out the plug (which Desmond did) than when putting it back in (which is what Jack did). I suspect, though, that the writers simply wanted to give Jack another opportunity to sacrifice himself for somebody else, and this allowed them to literally transport himself to the place where he originally arrived on the island.

- my theory on why the island was sunk in the sideways world is that just like the rest of them, the island died at some point. We saw that when the light goes out, the island crumbles. Well at some point in the future, someone puts that light out and the island sinks and just like the rest of them, they it ends up in the sideways.

See the question above for my thoughts on the sideways sunken island, but I suppose it’s possible that the island itself dies as well, and that it too ends up in the sideways universe. But to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I see it that way.

Let's call a spade a spade. #Lost finale sucked. What do numbers mean? Why was Walt magical? Nada. – Murtz Jaffer, Twitter

With all due respect to my IPTV brethren, this sort of comment annoys me. “The End” was a wonderful, beautiful tribute to a cast of characters we’ve emotionally invested six years in, yet the episode “sucked” because it didn’t mention a character that hasn’t been relevant in four years? That’s just silly.

More than anything else, the lingering mystery of Walt is mentioned as something that is missing from this series. And for reasons that completely escape me, many people believe this to be a reason why the finale – or the series as a whole – is a disappointment. Honestly, is Walt looking at a picture of a bird only for that bird to crash into a window THAT significant? Do people really believe that THIS is the question that will explain the entire series?

Much of me believes that several cynical viewers out there held onto this Walt mystery because they felt fairly secure that they’d never get an answer, and they wanted to point this instance out as an example about how the writers have no idea what they’re doing. Then I believe there’s another legion of viewers who assumed that Walt would play a huge part in the show’s mythos. But that didn’t pan out, and they feel a certain sense of entitlement – like they deserve an answer to this relatively minor story – because of their preconceived notions of its overall importance.

Again, Walt has made, what, a grand THREE appearances in the past three years – all of which amounted to less than ten combined minutes of screen time – yet we expect the finale to go out of its way to integrate him into the story?

And then there’s the Numbers. It’s my perspective that the writers have left us with enough information to come up with our own answer to this question. I mean, the fact that the numbers appear on the island and in Hurley’s life isn’t all that mythological. I think it’s been established that the numbers were being repeated in a transmission from the island, but reached beyond the island, where it eventually reached somebody in the navy, who mentioned it to a guy who ended up in a mental institution, which is where Hurley heard it from. From there, I think Hurley – and the viewers – was victims of confirmation bias. Yes, the numbers appear many, many times throughout the series, but we conveniently ignore all of the times numbers appear, and they’re not “The Numbers.”

And if we’re forced to deem the numbers significant, I’d say that they’re special because each number represents the top candidates to take over for Jacob. But were we ever left to believe that there was something magical about the numbers?

Long story short (too late), anybody who watched this finale expecting to have every little thing answered was just setting themselves up for disappointment. And worse yet, you missed out on two and a half hours of beautiful television. I think this was echoed by DaBooty on my blog:

I also agree with a lot of what was said. The end was so powerful and moving that I sort of forgot what questions I still wanted answered anyway. I absolutely loved the resolution of the sideways world because the whole time i was hoping that it wouldnt be something that negated or diminished the on-island stuff that we had watched all of these years and it turns out it was just the oposite. The island stuff was so significant that it brought them all together in the afterlife. Truly brilliant stuff. – DaBooty, my blog

POSSIBLE ANSWERS
Of course, with a number of questions left unanswered, people are speculating their own answers. Here are some of the ones I’ve come across:

The Dharma food drop was similar to how the doctor from the freighter showed up on the island with his throat sliced 30 minutes before it happened or the beacon sent to Faraday and it arrived way after it should have multiplied by a lot more. It must’ve been dropped in the 80s or whatever and hit a wormhole and it dropped on the island in 2004. – Scott Keith’s blog

I have to admit that the Dharma food drop IS one of those lingering things that bother me, only because there’s really no conceivable explanation whatsoever. This, more than most things on the show, reeks of “we didn’t really think this through.” I actually can buy into this time warp thing, except that we’re talking about twenty years, and not a half hour or an entire day. Did this matter have any impact whatsoever over my enjoyment of the show as a whole? Nope, not in the least. But I wouldn’t mind an ACTUAL answer, just to ease my curiosity.

Next up:

Let's pause and do some math and come to a conclusion about a mystery/question that was not explicitly spelled out in the finale. We've been told for many episodes that if the Monster left The Island, the castaways and their loved ones would cease to exist. I took this to mean that if Fake Locke got away, reality would go POOF! Instead, this is how I add it up:
1. In the Lost world, people are an inextricable blend of matter and spirit.
2. Fake Locke was all spirit — an unnatural state of being. But it made him invulnerable, because spirit is indestructible.
3. To kill Fake Locke, you had to either restore him to his natural state of matter and spirit... or convert him from all spirit to all matter, which is to say, a completely mechanical animal, and thus killable.
4. The rub is that to the procedure renders everyone into mechanical animals, which is to say, devoid of a soul.
5.Without the soul, we cannot pass into the next life or into the afterlife without our community of redemption partners — the people we love.
6. Fake Locke wanted to leave The Island.
7. Fake Locke was bonded to The Island by Island magic.
8. The same procedure required to break that spell (i.e., destroying The Island) is the same procedure that would convert Fake Locke and everyone into soulless zombies incapable of having a happily ever after with our loved ones (i.e., your community of redemption partners) because we need our souls to move into the afterlife.
9. Hence: Fake Locke leaving The Island = Annihilation (when you die) for you and everyone you love. – EW.com review


THAT’S spelling it out for us?

Next:

I like how someone posted that the answers are there, you just have to look hard enough. An example: no babies being born on the island. I think that was one of Jacob's rules. The Dharma folks proved to him time and time again that they were incaple of "playing nice in the sandbox". To punish them he took away their ability to conceive/ multiply. Jacob wouldnt kill them himself, but this way they would eventually fade away. – EW.com comments section

Hmmmm, an interesting idea, but I’m not sure I buy into it. First, there’s Ethan, who WAS successfully born on the island. Second, it’s not that babies couldn’t be born, it’s that they couldn’t be conceived AND born on the island (hence why Claire and Rousseau didn’t have any issues – of course, do we know for certain that Ethan was conceived on the island?) I’m more inclined to believe that the Incident was responsible.

as to not knowing what the island is, i thought we got an answer to that. it is the source of good and evil in the world. the light in the core of the island is in every man. i think that is why when jack and company come to the light, it is dimmer than it was in Across the Sea. Either that was a commentary on the lack of goodness in the world, or it was because the population of the world is so big that the light is spread out more. – DaBooty, my blog

See, I quite like this answer. And I think it expresses why the finale didn’t harp on answering questions. If somebody asked, “What is the island?” and you answered, “It’s the location of the source of light that exists in all humanity,” they’d probably say, “Well, what’s that?” As I noted a few sections above, these follow up questions can go on forever. So, yes, I do think – to an extent that personally satisfies me – we do know what the island is.

And finally:

Good news, the DVD set is supposed to have a reported 20 minutes of extra footage that didn’t make it into the series finale. Said to have answers to questions that weren’t answered in the body of the show, I suspect its their way of answering some of the lingering questions in a manner that they couldn’t do in the finale. Which makes sense, if they stop and suddenly answer, say, “Why were pregnant women dying?” it would be very awkward to the pacing and overall feel of the final episode. Looking forward to it! – Creed, IPTV review comments section

I agree with Creed here. And I am interested in seeing what deleted scenes and special features exist out there.

YOU CAN’T PLEASE ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME
Of course, some people out there were particularly harsh, angry, and bitter about the Lost finale. There were some interesting adjective used, actually. Here’s what the naysayers had to (nay) say:

I believe the following….
The writers of the show are the two biggest smug pricks I have ever seen.
They completely made up all of it as they went along and they were backed into a corner where the ending was the only possible ending that they had.
Just a big cop out all around. – Scott Keith’s blog


I hate, hate, HATE when people make this argument. If you don’t enjoy a show, that’s just fine. But don’t try to act like the show is any less enjoyable, entertaining, or clever if it isn’t planned out in advance. And for the life of me, I don’t know how this person came to the conclusion that this was “the only possible ending they had.”

And if you honestly believe that they “completely made up all of it as they went along,” then I present to you this screencap, from the season one episode “Numbers.” In the background you faintly see a man falling from above. This would not be explained until two years later, when we came to realize that man was Locke, moments after getting thrown through a window by his father.


I’ll say it again this was a downright disgusting and lazy end to a great show. The writers should be deeply ashamed of themselves. Setting up that many plot points and then ending it in such a contrived and cliched manner, and THEN having the nerve to excuse it by saying wellll it was a character driven show is ludicrous.
That’s like calling in a repairman if you’re refrigerator isn’t working, having him load it with ice as the fix, and then him excusing himself by saying, wellll it’s a cold driven appliance. – mike, IPTV review comments section

First off, what? If we’re comparing Lost to a refrigerator, who does the repairman even represent? Secondly, a refrigerator is not a cold driven appliance. It’s a cooling appliance, yes, but it’s driven by electricity. And I’ll again ask, what major plot points went completely unanswered?

An awkwardly squeezed-in thought about Claire: I thought her Island storyline was probably the weakest thread in the finale. A hasty, too-compact resolution for her character. I loved the way she was reintroduced into the series. Her Rousseau makeover was great, and the Emilie de Ravin played it well. But she got lost along the way, and if the season could have given us one more hour, I think it should have focused largely on Claire. – EW.com review

This is actually a really fair point, and I can’t help but feel like we were a big deprived. I think a flashback episode showing us exactly what Claire went through over the past three years would have been really beneficial on a number of levels. I would have enjoyed seeing Claire’s mental breakdown. It would have been nice to see how she became infected. I wanted to see how Claire coped with being abandoned, and how she defended her decision to leave Aaron alone in the jungle. And finally, it would have been nice to see how Smokey – under the guise of her father Christian – toyed with and manipulated her. I’m actually pretty disappointed we never got this episode.

I know I included “The Last Recruit” in my list of top ten Lost episodes, but part of me feels like that episode should have been reimagined (since it wasn’t character centric) to tell Claire’s island story.

With the island conclusion we have been given, i find myself deeply disappointed in Jacob as a leader. Clearly, if Hurley can run things different as the leader, then much of the island mysteries that interfered with peoples' lives were the work of jacob, who was very very flawed. What else can explain the women's issues having babies, or the tolerance of the Dharma initiative for so long. The answer "Jacob did things poorly" is unsatisfaying. – EW.com comments section

I think, to an extent, this may be the point. I think, following “Across the Sea,” we’re supposed to realize that Jacob is an exceptionally flawed person who has made some severe mistakes. Sorta appropriate that Jack took over for him, when you think about it. But I don’t think it’s fair to blame everything on Jacob, nor do I think people are using “Jacob did things poorly” as an excuse (is that the 2010 version of “A wizard did it”?) Remember, Jacob was thrown into this thankless, lonely job with without any choice. He was wise enough to not put his successor in that position (although, ironically, his successor essentially DID put his successor in that position).

Well, that’s a wrap. After 15 pages, I think you guys deserve a break. Those of you who read this entire manuscript, anyway. But before I close things up for good, please indulge me as I get a bit sentimental. When I first began formally recapping Lost, it wasn’t particularly easy for me. I tended to either post things quickly, only to leave out a bunch of fun tidbits I had forgotten or completely missed. Or I would wait a few days to make sure I caught everything, only for the column to no longer be completely relevant, as most people had already read about and discussed the show.

And so “Revisited” was conceived. I decided that I would post my initial review the night the episode aired, and would then write a follow up column the next week, before the new episode aired. I would browse around other reviews and would compile reader feedback, and respond to all of these thoughts and theories. Initially, I would have to provide what I referred to as, with tongue firmly in cheek, “homework assignments.” To ensure that/motivate people to actually send me their thoughts, at the end of each original recap I would list a series of questions from that night’s episodes.

Well, this year that wasn’t even necessary. I was lucky enough to have a loyal following of some great fans and readers that provided me with some wonderful feedback each and every week. I don’t want to forget anybody, but I’m referring to people like Kyle and DaBooty and Andy Campbell and Creed and Ninja Raiden and Jennifer and Jaime and cpbasil and Frank and many, many, many others. I am extremely grateful that visitors such as yourselves made this sometimes daunting task much easier and far more enjoyable. I hope you guys continue to visit my blog, as I’ll do my best to keep the Lost discussions going. And hey, maybe we’ll come across another show we all enjoy.

And I also owe a huge thank you to Jeff Jensen, who I know doesn’t read this column, for his brilliant recaps over at the Entertainment Weekly website. While some of his theories were a little out there, his insight was absolutely unreal. And he provided my Revisited columns with a great deal of material, so I’m very grateful for that. He’s a talented dude.

And that’s that. This once-in-a-lifetime series has now come to a close. And while some of us may not agree on the satisfaction of the finale, I think we can all concur that Lost has been an amazing, thrilling, and crazy journey. A ride no other show will likely take us on.

Thanks for reading.


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