LOST: Stranger in a Strange Land

This weeks episode of Lost was yet another Jack episode that helped to answer the question behind his tattoo's and conclude the Alcatraz saga. It wasn't the strongest episode of Lost ever, but it did have some cool moments, and in the end served it's purpose as a bridging the gap eppy.

One of the small mysteries of the series that has been lingering on since season one is the meaning of Jacks tattoos and why he, a spinal surgeon, would ever get sweet tats like that.
The answer is easy. A hot Asian woman played by Bai Ling. She's a terrible actress but that doesn't matter, if you've seen her you understand. Jack meets her (Achara) when he is on vacation in Phuckett ,China. They fool around for awhile, but she never reveals to Jack her occupation. She only tells him that she has "a gift". Jack being the crazy fool that he is, he follows her to her "tattoo shop" to find out what she does. It turns out she isn't a tattoo artist, she can actually see into people's souls and tell them who they are. Achara nails Jack, telling him that he's a a "great man and a leader" but that he's "scared and angry". Jack is moved by the revelation and violently forces her to "mark" him, even though it's against her peoples tradition. When Ling's brother finds out, he and his buddies beat down Jack and force him to leave the country. Whether he left right away remains to be seen.

Back in the present, Sawyer and Kate make it back to the main island with Karl. Sawyer has a funny little seen with Karl, giving him a pep talk about Alex, and Sawyer gets it out of Kate that she only slept with him out of pity. The chunk of the island story however, is focused on Jack, and Juliet's punishment for shooting Pickett. Jack gets to Ben, and is able to wager for her life. Ben's cuts are infected and Jack is the only one who can take care of him. So Ben has no choice. Instead of executing Juliet they mark her with what looks like the upside down mark of Scientology (I mean it really looks like it). After all of that is worked out, the Others pack up and are forced to leave the island out of fear the 815ers might try to come find Jack, before they leave, the "sheriff" reads Jacks tattoo's out loud. "He walks among us, but he is not one of us". Interesting.

Like I said, this wasn't the strongest episode of Lost. It did a good job bridging some story lines together, like the moving of Jack to Otherville, Kate and Sawyer getting back to the island, and the re-introducing of a brainwashed Cindy and the kids. The Jack and Juliet partnership grew a little bit in this episode as well. However the flashback was very flat, despite some serious eye candy in Bai Ling.

The ABC promo department did a terrible job promoting this episode. I hope that they learn that misleading the fans about what's on their shows isn't a good idea. That's not the Lost producers fault, they don't control what the network does. So beware of the promos, they usually lie. For instance next weeks episode, I've heard good things, but it's not what the promo says its going to be.

As for that eppy, it's titled "Tricia Tanaka is Dead" and it's a Hurley episode. It's supposed to be a bit of comic relief, so we will see how that works out. Until then........

Huh? This is news.

So I was watching some tele yesterday, and I was flipping around the news channels to catch up on world affairs, when I noticed a disturbing trend. This trend I'm reffering to is the Anna Nicole Smith story. MSNBC has been devoting their entire afternoon block to the coverage of the trial that determines who gets to bury her. WHO CARES!!!! Not that it isn't a sad story for the families, and I feel for them, but national news outlets need to get their act together. This story should be nothing more than a blip on the ticker, or a mention in the closing moments of a news cast. There are plenty of people in this country who aren't millionares that go through problems like that everyday and it doesn't make news, and it shouldn't. Britain is pulling out of Iraq, Iran is widening their nuclear development, the Dick Cheney/Scooter Libby/Karl Rove CIA leak trial is going on. Why aren't these the headlines. I have serioulsy had it with cable news. Mainly because of the scary thought that many people use those networks as their only source of news. Anna Nicole and Brittney Spears belong on E! not on CNN. The same thing happened when freakin Tom Cruise had his little spawn child. It has to stop. American's are getting dumber and dumber and it starts with TV. I just hope that sometime soon, or at least in my lifetime, that the news outlets will start collecting real news.

LOST: Flashes Before Your Eyes

I think it's safe to say that the episode quality of Lost isn't going downhill, and if this streak continues, Season 3 may end up being classic. Flashes Before Your Eyes brought a new method of storytelling into the lost arena and also changed the way time as whole on the island could be viewed.

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Most of the episode, and by most I mean almost all of it, takes place in a Desmond flashback/lucid dream. After Desmond turned the failsafe key he slipped into a state that seemingly was letting him relive his past, only this past was infused with flashes from the future (which is the present). Unsure of whether or not he dreamed the island or whether he was dreaming his past, Desmond tried to change the events of his future by not leaving Penny and asking her to marry him. Only win he went to buy the engagement ring he was confronted with the truth of his situation. Desmond was in fact in a lucid dream but the dream itself is only a precursor to the abilities and the conflicts he will face in the future (which is the present). Desmond is told these things by the shop owner who reveals to Desmond that he can not change his destiny, and no matter what he does the universe will "course correct" itself.

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This point brings up a lot of interesting questions for Desmond's character and the show in general. Are the characters paths pre-determined, is there destiny set in stone? Or can they change the path that is set in front of them. Desmond doesn't seem to think so by the end of the episode, but I have a feeling this might not be the case. It's that question however that has been a driving force in the show for sometime now, and what has kept the story lines so compelling. Where he passengers of flight 815 meant to be on the island like Desmond, or was it truly an accident that the fate is attempting to course correct. The same thing applies to the personal storyline of each character. Every single one of them has issues in the past they are trying to overcome. Can they? Or is their path set. Man, I love this show.

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The episode close with Desmond revealing to Charlie the nature of his new ability and that his flashes of the future are of Charlie dying, and if he indeed can't change the future, then Charlie is going to die.

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Whether or not Charlie does indeed die or not will be a big factor in the shows direction, not from a character standpoint, but a thematic one. If Charlie dies, then they are saying the characters can't escape their destiny, if he lives, then it's saying that one's destiny isn't set in stone. Either way would make for some better than good television.

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"Flashes" was by far one of Lost's deepest episodes, both in its themes and its mythology. One viewing doesn't do it justice because there are so many layers that need to pulled back, and a ton of possibilities that have been opened up for the show going forward.

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Start reading up on time lapse theories folks. It's a legitimate theory.

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Next week is another Jack episode that should give some answers to some lingering mysteries of the show (Jack's tatoo's are the only one I know for sure). It's called "Stranger in a Strange Land". Let's see if the show can make it 3-for-3 to start the year.

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9.5/10

LOST: Not In Portland

Oh it's back. I've been waiting two long months for the reutrn of my beloved Lost, and the wait was worth it.Not In Portland was packed full of information, some of it hidden, some of it a little cryptic, but all of it awesome. Now hows that for some objective writing.

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The episode centered around our hot new Other friend Juliet. It turns out she was and I guess still is, a very accomplished fertility doctor whose accomplishments include, impregnating a male field mouse and her sister who from what I could gather wasn't able to have children because of her cancer (cervical I would assume). The coolest part about Juliet's flashbacks, besides showing her transformation from a follower to leader, then back to a follower again, was how she was recruited by the others. It starts out as a job offer from a research organization out of Portland called Mittelos Bioscience (which as an anagram comes out as "Lost Time"). Juliet blurts out the only way she could escape her current position would be if her ex-husband/boss was hit by a bus. She was kidding in the interview, but when her ex-husband is hit by a bus, it's revealed how ruthless the Others are when it comes to getting something they want. It was also nice to Ethan as part of the recruitment process. This shows that not only did the Other's have access to the mainland, but they probably went back and forth fairly often.

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On the island side of things it was a little crazier. Sawyer and Kate almost don't escape, but they are helped by Rousseu's daughter/Ben's adopted daughter Alex. Alex agrees to help them off the island if they help rescue her boyfriend Karl. Karl is trapped in another facility on the island that is being gaurded by that dude from It's Always Sunny In Philadlephia. Sawyer and Kate take him out and go inside to find Karl strapped to a chair with an IV in his arm, watching a series of images that are no doubt meant to brainwash him. It was a very surreal scene and one of the trippiest Lost moments of the series. It brings up more evidence as to how ruthless the Others can be when they want to get their way. Sawyer then Grabs Karl and they head for the shore and Alex's boat. When they make it to the beach they are confronted by Danny/Pickett who before he can gun down Sawyer, is shot by Juliet. (Another crazy moment). Kate then radios Jack to let him know they are safe as he finishes up Ben's surgery. The episode ends with Juliet telling Jack what Ben had said to her to make her let Kate and Sawyer go (she originally ordered them to be killed). Juliet says that Ben would finally let her off the island, because she had been there for 3 years and 28 days. Which puts her arriving there sometime in early Septemeber of 2001.

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Overall this was a beyond solid episode an a great way to kick off the second part of the season. There was a lot more insight given to the motives of the Others through Juliet's flashback, The brainwashing film, and the snippets of information Tom Divulged to Jack. With an end now in sight to the series as a whole, there will certanly be more episodes like Not In Portland that start to give out answers. Just don't expect those answers to be given quickly or bluntly, this is Lost were talking about. It's not fun if it's easy.

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Next week the show heads back to the beach for a Desmond-centric episode called "Flashes Before Your Eyes" and based on the preview it looks saucy. Until then.......

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9/10

Review: Infinity on High

I've said it a million times. I like Fall Out Boy, and I don't care who knows it. I'm not alone, I know, these guys are huge. This album is going to sell quickly and in big numbers, but FOB's orginal fan base that was there before they blew up has thinned out quite a bit over the last two years. Sure there are legitimate reasons for some people to move on, because granted Fall Out Boy is not a band that makes deep albums that will make you re-examine your life, and some people just grow out of that kind of music. That's understandable. Then there are the music snobs, who once a band gets big they turn on them like a pit-bull on a kitten covered in gravy and hot sauce. Which is silly.

Fall Out Boy has indeed flirted with the dreaded "selling out" disease in the media, but what makes them fail to do so in my mind is the fact that they deliver when it comes to their albums. Yeah ,Pete Wentz is kind of lame, yeah, they aren't the best live band in the world, but truth be told, Infinity on High is a solid album. It wont be competeing for any awards, but if you are a fan of any of Fall Out Boy's previous albums, then there is no way you wont like this one, or any reason why you should pass on it.

Infinity On High starts out with a slightly surprising Jay-Z intro that leads into 5 straight head nodding, rear view mirror shaking pop punk songs that make driving in your car fun. Then their is a track called "Golden" which breaks the album up, and would have been much better off left on the cutting room floor. It's without a doubt Fall Out Boy's worst song. After that there is more of the same fast paced formula, including a song titled "Don't You know Who I thing I am" which is one of the catchiest songs I've heard in a long, long time. I'm a sucker for hand claps, what can I say.

Overall Infinity On High delivered exactly what I thought it would. A fun album that you can stick in, nod your head to and get in a good mood. I understand how people are bothered by the way Fall Out Boy portray's themselves, but at least to me, in the end it's all about the music and how it makes you feel, and sometimes a little face paced pop-punk is just what I need.

8/10

RANT!!

How many of you upon first seeing the image above, had the instincts to call the local authorities and report it as a bomb. Well aparently the entire city of Boston had this thought cross their mind. Me personally would have called and reported that some poor kid lost their Lite-Brite.

Well it wasn't a bomb, and it wasn't even a Lite-Brite. It was a viral marketing campaign by Cartoon Network to advertise AquaTeen Hunger Force (a show which I hold very near to my heart). Any fan of the show would recognize the Mooninites, and while they don't like Earth to much, they aren't terrorists. So ok, this was a bad way to market the show, but they didn't hurt anybody, slap the guys on the wrists and let them go, right? Wrong. The creators of the devices are being charged with felonies, that's right, FELONIES! If you ask me, the people who thought these were bombs should all be issued stupidity citations.

This country is so scared of it's own shadow sometimes. Yes terrorisom is a real threat, but to be scared of cartoon characters, thats a whole new level of fear.

So next christmas becareful how many lights you put up, your neighbors might report you for trying to build a nuclear reactor, and you will get charged with a felony because your neighbors are idiots.

Rant over.