Question: Brad do you think that dead people who appear on the island are unstuck in time? That scene with Locke and Horace (with him seeming out of sync with reality and having a nose bleed) might indicate that.

Nice indulgence in geekdom btw… I got into LOST when my brother handed me the first two seasons and told me “WATCH.”

I’m not a big fan of this sort of thing (go for the straight sci-fi, which is better written than as moving picture) but for some reason I thought Lost looked interesting, & so tuned in when it first appeared, & was pleasantly surprised to find Jorge (“Hurley”) Garcia, w/ whom I had worked in the “stacks” at the Borders in Westwood, Calif. So on that basis (wage-slave makes good) I continued to watch & enjoy the show, but past the second season my patience ran out…

P. S.: Shouldn’t that be Lost Weekend blogging?

Eh, if it’s not The Wire, I have a hard time getting excited about it.

I’d sworn off Lost, but this season has been so good I’m hooked again. It was Desmond’s time travel episode that really won me back. And somehow, Ben’s become one of my favorite characters, next to Hurley.

Lost doesn’t even know what Lost’s about.

As for the women being “well rounded” compared to other tv shows, that’s really not saying much since 99.9% of American television is complete crap. The one thing the female actors share with other female teevee characters is above average beauty, hairless legs (I guess they stumbled on a wax supply or razors), near perfect makeup, (including nails which should be in tatters), and bodies that only 3 hours of weight training and aerobics a day with a private coach can achieve.

Gosh, TV isn’t real? Who’da thunk….

This season of Lost has been remarkable. It still suffers from a lot of flaws, but the battle between Ben Linus and Charles Widmore has taken it to a new level. And the guy who plays Keamy is truly menacing. Just out and out cool this season.

It’s been an amazing season. I thought I knew what was going on in the middle of season 3, but now the writers have blown my theories all to hell hehe. At this point I’m just glad to be along for the ride, and trust the show to deliver an awesome series finale.

My real fear…plotwise…is that Penny will turn out to be one of the bad guys, and that Desmond will end up being the one killing her. I hope I’m wrong.

Lost? pfffftt, at least BSG has a recognizable plotline.

Is this what your Lost Weekend was like?

I still have never seen lost. I am entirely unreliable with episodic tv. I don’t have a DVR so I miss the goddam things all the time. I guess I should admit I’m professionally unfocused. I have to make a list to remember to feed myself and bathe.

But I can relate to your attachement. After 9/11, when I spent a year + unemployed, I got madly attached to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Um, along with Beavis and Butthead and Food Network.

But mostly Buffy. There is something overwhelmingly compelling about an entire construct, what we called the “Buffyverse”, and making the stories stay consistant within the overarching rules that have been set.

The constraints enable a kind of creativity that is rare, when you have a Wheden or a Sorkin or the like in charge….

mikey

My new toy is Moka5…

Fellow Sadly Geeks. Check out the Ubuntu LivePC on USB.

I’m having a BALL with this thing…

I still have never seen lost. I am entirely unreliable with episodic tv.

Torrents remove the problem if you have no DVR.

But I don’t care about Lost. Get Metalocalypse.

I’m totally sucked in to Lost, as are my wife and daughter.

I was sucked in from the beginning, but worried that the “invisible monster” was going to be the extent of the weirdness on the island. I’m glad that they largely dropped the “invisible monster” aspect of the environment. That being said, I wouldn’t have chosen the “smoke monster” as an example of the show’s awesomeness to non-viewers. While I’ve come to appreciate the “smoke monster,” I think if that was all I was exposed to about the show, it would look pretty dumb.

I am particularly impressed with the complexity of the John Locke character.

mbouffant: What was J. Garcia like?

Glad you all liked the last episode. I think I could ha’ done wi’ more screen time, though.

That Keamy is a right bastard. But every time he starts to give me the willies, I go back and watch a few episodes of Stargate SG-1. He’s a lot less scary as “Zipacna“.

The one thing the female actors share with other female teevee characters is above average beauty

If Emilie de Ravin is “above average” in your neighborhood, I’m freakin’ moving there.

Sorry, Brad, but I checked out of your “Lost” discussion when the word “patriarchy” came up more than once.

There’s no doubt that in a Wire-less world I would be much more interested in Lost than I already am.Sadly, Lost and many other fine television shows ain’t nothin’ in this world with The Wire. And there ain’t no other world than this on.

one. on. whatefer.

Shows worth watching, IMO

Mad Men (season 2 due to start in July, torrents for season one widely available)

Breaking Bad (right up there in quality with The Wire – season one over, but this show is being renewed)

BSG

Damages (on hiatus, season 2 due sometime soon)

30 Rock (Chris Hitchens says women aren’t funny…oh yeah?)

Boston Legal

Desperate Housewives

The Trailer Park Boys (I think this show is over now)

Gone but not forgotten:
Deadwood (collector’s item, loved this show to death)
The Wire (ditto, especially seasons 1-4)
Intelligence (sadly, not renewed, but like The Wire, also worth the replay)
A little Australian short-lived wonder called The Surgeon.
From England: Bodies, The Office, Extras, Prime Suspect, Inspector Morse

Not a Lost watcher, but while we’re on toob links, this page features the dance remix of Bill O’s meldown: http://theopinionmill.wordpress.com/2008/05/15/your-morning-meltdown/
Send the kids from the room, tho’. Mine were drawn in by the first bar.

Mikey:

You made a great point about the constraints of the plotted story arcs enabling some brilliant creativity as exemplified by the Buffy universe.

If you never wached it, go pick up the DVDs of seasons 1-4 of Babylon 5 for, IMHO, one of the best examples of such arc-driven scripting. J. Michael Straczynski built and was able to maintain a coherent story across 4 seasons – a feat that I don’t think has been often matched. Other similar shows seem as if the writers had to adapt the story to external forces: cast members leaving, stars getting pregnant, studio suits interfering, whatever. There always seems to be a make-it-up-as-you-go feel for most of them that gets them off track.

The only flaw with B5 was that it was planned as a 5-year-long series, and it got cancelled halfway through S4, so he had to wrap up all the storylines in that last half season, and it was rushed. Then, it got picked up for a 5th season, and he had to write about a storyline that was not part of the original vision. Hence, for the purposes of the above discussion, S5 doesn’t really work. But the rest of it is brilliant.

Lesley – Morse! Haven’t seen that in ages. I was very saddened to learn of John Thaw’s passing.

I have never seen “Lost” and don’t know much about it. I misinterpreted your introduction and thought it was about a program called “Lost Geeks”. That might be a more interesting program.

Count me in as a fellow LOST geek. This season in particular has been great, and I’m really looking forward to the 2-hour finale.

Gotta love ol’ smoky.

Lost….the show that doesn’t know shit about Iraq and yet has a world-class Indian-British actor play an Iraqi character? Lost…the show that has so many laughable biblical references, it’s no wonder it is a hit with evangelicals. Lost…the show where every character’s a sinner and once we know all the details of their past sins, they are brutally killed?

I fucking hate that show. Give me The Wire or Brotherhood any day.

Lost haters are the true liberal fascists.

Troop Supporter (Athletic?):

Jorge was (& may still be) a perfectly nice guy. He hadn’t hit the big time when I knew him, & was fairly excited about playing a cab driver on Spin City at one time. Not at all full of himself, & I’d have to doubt he’s become that way, even after going over big time. He does have a real good singing voice, as demonstrated at a corporate X-mess party in a bar w/ karaoke, where he did some Motown numbers, I think. Or R&B, anyway. (Not a karaoke bar, we weren’t that lame.)

Feh. Without B5, there’d be none of these story-arc driven shows out there. The model before Babylon 5 was Star Trek, and we all know how tired that got.

Pimp, my man, JMS’ feat is officially a record. Before him, no one had ever even written a single entire season of a show. He did THREE.

For the record, I’m obsessing over BSG right now. This last season just kicked in the afterburners, and I can’t wait to see how it unfolds.

Without B5, there’d be none of these story-arc driven shows out there.

It’s called The Young and the Restless and don’t you forget it.