Lost

[murlough23]

Someone brought up Lost in the "What was the last movie you saw?" thread, and rather than hijack that one, I thought I'd bring it up here. It's my favorite TV show; has been since about January. I like the blend of mystery and character development, and the ensemble cast, quite a bit (even the episodes focusing on characters I've hated tend to be quite surprising and entertaining). I post quite a bit on Television Without Pity's boards for the show, and while I try not to read spoilers, I'm constantly entertaining myself by looking for clues, either things that the creators/stars let slip in interviews/podcasts, or by rewatching episodes on the Season 1 DVD's (which I proudly owned, signed by some of the writers even).

Alda was just saying that she just finished up Disc 4. Enjoy Disc 5. ...In Translation, which is my favorite episode of the series so far, is first in that disc, followed immediately by Numbers and Deus Ex Machina, two of my other all-time favorites.

I was just discussing with my wife yesterday who our favorite characters on the show were. For a while, I'd have said Sun. She was great last season, in the episodes where they really used the character. This season, we haven't seen so much of her, and the storyline in her episode was filler, so I'd have to say either Hurley or Locke. My wife likes Hurley a lot... and she's a big Sayid fan too.

Least favorite characters? Last season, I really would have been OK with either Jack or Kate blowing themselves up. Jack can be a bit of an ass and his insistence on being everyone's savior starts to bug me. Kate is just a buttinsky, and I'm not buying that she used to be some bad-ass criminal. But she's become considerably less annoying this season. Nowadays, I have Charlie to hate because he whines even more than Shannon did. Michael has become rather one-note these days, too. And then, of course there's Ana-Lucia. My hatred for Ana-Lucia burns with the fire of a thousand suns after last week's episode. (But I know they'll make me like her once she gets her own flashback. Darn you, J.J.)

Alright, I've opened it up, so other obsessive viewers, please fire away.

[PaulDA]

I've never seen an episode. I don't even know what it's about, beyond the fact that it is a serious type of 'Gilligan's Island'. I would like to watch an episode, when is it on?

[murlough23]

I've never seen an episode. I don't even know what it's about, beyond the fact that it is a serious type of 'Gilligan's Island'. I would like to watch an episode, when is it on?

The basic synopsis is that roughly 50 people are marooned on a Pacific island in the middle of nowhere when a flight from Sydney to L.A. crashes there. The main cast is 14 of those survivors, and each episode focuses in on one of them, showing flashbacks to their life before the crash as well as the developing story on the island. There are some seemingly supernatural or sci-fi elements, such as a strange unseen "monster" guarding the island, polar bears, a mysterious hatch leading underground that they can't figure out how to open, a French woman who's been stranded there for 16 years, etc. But a lot of that's turning out to be explained in more scientific, rational terms - they just like to mess with your mind for a while before explaining a lot of stuff. (It's not a show for the overly impatient or the easily confused.)

For the most part, the show's real strength is its cast, and the drama between the characters. I think the storylines are really well done and a lot of the characters are normal, relatable people, even if some of them have pretty messed up backstories. I don't see many shows with principal characters who are Black, Korean, Latino, Australian, or Iraqi, so they win bonus points for diversity (even if the three or four biggest stars are all white; the others aren't just there to be token characters). Some of them have interesting connections to each other from before the crash, and part of the fun is piecing it all together, but it takes a lot of patience and sometimes multiple viewings for certain things to make sense.

It's on Wednesdays at 9. The upcoming episode might be a little more creepy and intense than usual; hard to say. It promises to be more of an unorthodox episode since it's about a different group of survivors and reportedly doesn't feature any of the show's cast from the first season.

In any event, I'd give it a few episodes before you'll really have a feel for it. That's how it was for me. Even better, go out and rent the first disc of the DVD set for Season 1. Probably a better place to start than right in the middle of Season 2.

[AldaForPresident]

Yay! (I'm a she, btw...just wanted to clear that slightly significant detail up.)

So far, my favorite characters are Sayid (although I HATE that he's apparently sucked into Shannon's evil web of deceit) and Jack. Should I ever be stranded anywhere, I would trade in any necessary survival component for a Jack, because I think he could fix it anyway. Least favorite...Shannon (Shut up!), and before I watched "Hearts and Minds" I would've said Boone, just because he was friggin' annoying, but I like how he's not fawning over Shannon now. Before the episode where Claire gets taken (can't remember the title) I would've said Sawyer, but he cracked me up when he was talking to Walt. "Downright fiendish." He's such a jackass, but he's a loveable jackass. The scene in "House of the Rising Sun" (I'm pretty sure) where Jack's packing up and going to the caves and Sawyer waves at him also makes me like Sawyer.

I liked Kate at first, but now she annoys me. The man I loved, the man I killed? WTF? I hope they cleared that up in season one. I like everyone else a lot, particularly Locke, who also amuses me.

I dug out an old issue of Entertainment Weekly from last April the other night that talked about a lot of the "conspiracy theories" people have about the show, which I didn't read before because I hadn't seen it. Of them, the weirdest idea to me was that it's purgatory. The more typical explanation was that it's a government experiment, and I could actually buy that - it seems fairly implausible to me that they haven't seen any ships or planes or vice versa. Plus, having a doctor onboard, someone with the knowledge that Locke has, someone like Michael who's worked in construction, someone who doesn't speak English and might possibly be outcast as a result, a woman who's about to give birth... I don't know, it seems like a good mix to observe. Of course, I wouldn't mind if it is what it looks like on the surface, because there's enough mystery for me to ponder as it is. The only thing that would truly piss me off is if it was a dream. Just no.

It's on Wednesdays at 9. The upcoming episode might be a little more creepy and intense than usual; hard to say. It promises to be more of an unorthodox episode since it's about a different group of survivors and reportedly doesn't feature any of the show's cast from the first season.

Well, that's just beautiful, since it'll be my first season two episode. Oh well, there's no way I'm missing any more of it NOW.

[RedcoatJones]

Lost! My favorite show as well. I didn't get into it until ABC started rerunning season 1 this past summer, then I just had to rent the DVDs to make sure I was completely caught up before the beginning of season 2.

I agree with murlough that the characters are what makes this more than just a good mystery or action show. Character who you think are stereotyped show interesting wrinkles, making you consider them in a new light.

Favorite character: Locke. He has an interesting mix of blind faith, creepy knowledge and great characterization. I sometimes wonder, though, if he might be just a little insane.

As much as Ana-lucia bugs me, though, I am looking forward to seeing how their first 48 days went.

[Guest]

count me in too. it is also my favorite show on tv right now. actually, it is pretty much the only first-run tv show i keep up with.

right now my guess (and some elements of my guess are kind of out there) is that the whole thing is a big sham/psychological experiment. i.e. there really wasn't a plane crash, but they were somehow psychologically conditioned to believe there was one and the debris was just planted for a convincing element. both sets of people were also planted on opposite sides of the island and given different sets of stimuli.

Locke is "in" on the gimmick. how or why he is in on it i don't have a guess. but i do think he knows more than the rest do. why do i think this? partly because he was VERY insistent that Jack and others push the button; thus creating a psychological crutch that would be difficult to overcome later.

but i could have it all wrong. the guesses just keep me from going nuts watching the show.

[Tom]

BTW "guest" was me.

[AldaForPresident]

I meant to ask, murlough, how did you come by DVDs signed by the writers? Right now I'd settle for the DVDs, period, but that's pretty awesome.

[murlough23]

I meant to ask, murlough, how did you come by DVDs signed by the writers? Right now I'd settle for the DVDs, period, but that's pretty awesome.

I have a friend who works for the WB in Burbank, CA. She knows someone who works for Buena Vista, and she sent that person to pick up the DVD for me when it was released. What she didn't know was that the writers would be there that day doing signings. So it was a very unexpected bonus.

I'm normally not obsessive over getting things signed, since it's not like I plan to sell them on Ebay or anything. But it's kind of cool anyway.

Anyway, regarding theories, the psychological experiment one is popular, but I still believe the crash (as well other folks marooned on the island, such as Danielle and another character you'll meet in Season 2) was an accident, caused by freak electromagnetic coming from within the island. I also think that's what controls "the monster".

Oh, and something will happen in Season 2 that I think will make you very happy. It happened last week, actually, but I don't expect any reference to it in the upcoming episode, so you can remain unspoiled for at least a little while.

[MJanke]

Yay! (I'm a she, btw...just wanted to clear that slightly significant detail up.)

Murlough should know who you are, since you both go way back to the About.com message board days. Alda used to be the (in)famous FFHFan!

[bloop]

I'm going to miss much of it tonight, I'm sure, and it looks like a good one.  I'm a club sponsor, and we have a meeting scheduled at 7.

[AldaForPresident]

[murlough23]

[AldaForPresident]

I had a really tough time with that episode. I'm not a spoiler hound, but since I post on the Television Without Pity boards, I have to remember not to read any posts that take place after the show has aired on the East Coast, but before the show has aired here. I mistakenly read a distraught viewer's reaction to Boone's death about two hours before I saw the episode for myself, so it made the whole thing very anticlimactic and agonizing for me to watch, because I knew he was going to die and all of Jack's efforts would be useless.

My friend Amanda basically posted on my Xanga that Boone died, and also that Boone and Shannon were, and I quote, "fuck buddies," before I knew Boone and Shannon weren't blood-related, so that freaked me out and led to some rather frantic posts on her and also Mike's Xangas. It pissed me to no end that she told me that. Blah!

Puncturing the collapsed lung was a bit much for me, though.

Oh God, I didn't see that coming at all. I actually rewound it and watched it again because it was one of those car crash moments. Wow.

His dying words, "Tell Shannon..." have sparked a bit of a game on TWoP where we all try to come up with funny ways to finish that sentence. (My favorites being, "Tell Shannon... sucks to your ass-mar" and "Tell Shannon... I have chlamydia".)

 =D I like the chlamydia one. Because I hate Shannon and she should suffer.

I had started to like Boone, but I wasn't really mad or anything that he died. Mainly because, like you said, they did all they could with him, plus I already freakin' knew it was coming.

Oh yes...my least favorite episode so far is definitely "Whatever the Case May Be." Pointless!

[murlough23]

Oh yes...my least favorite episode so far is definitely "Whatever the Case May Be." Pointless!

I think people got frustrated with Kate flashbacks 2 and 3 because they did nothing to shed light on what the heck Kate did to get herself into this mess, and people weren't buying the sympathetic angle and couldn't relate to her need to have the stupid toy plane in her possession. Having said that, I actually enjoyed Born to Run (you'll get there soon) quite a bit, more for the island story than for Kate's flashbacks.

There's an episode coming up this year entitled What Kate Did. I say it's about friggin' time.

[AldaForPresident]

I think people got frustrated with Kate flashbacks 2 and 3 because they did nothing to shed light on what the heck Kate did to get herself into this mess, and people weren't buying the sympathetic angle and couldn't relate to her need to have the stupid toy plane in her possession. Having said that, I actually enjoyed Born to Run (you'll get there soon) quite a bit, more for the island story than for Kate's flashbacks.

There's an episode coming up this year entitled What Kate Did. I say it's about friggin' time.

I watched "Born to Run" earlier and liked it quite a bit as well. I liked Kate a little better than I previously had, although it is indeed frustrating to not know what exactly she did. (But I feel better knowing that no one knows yet, as opposed to everything else, which everyone but me knows!) I could kill Jack for telling her he didn't care and not just letting her tell him way back.

I'm taping tonight's episode because I'm only halfway through "Exodus Part 2". I didn't realize it was two hours (approximately, I guess), and I thought I had it timed all perfect to finish by nine. Oh well. I'm off tonight so it really doesn't matter. Wish I had access to another TV and DVD player right about now...I'm pacing around and biting my nails, trying to figure out what's in that friggin' hatch.

Charlie following Sawyer around and making him read to Claire's baby? Priceless.

[AldaForPresident]

Are they serious? That's the season finale? Obviously it IS, and how did you people go three months with that to live with? I'm at a loss for what to do. I can A) just start watching with tonight's episode and wait until the DVD release to see the six or seven episodes I've missed or B) just start watching with tonight's episode and go look up what happened in the six or seven episodes I've missed. What's in the damn hatch?! I gotta know. I gotta know.

(Obviously, I gained access to another TV and DVD player, although I didn't run out and buy one or anything.)

[Brenden]

Tonight's episode was pretty good, I don't quite get why Eko wasn't talking, though, and I now have even more disdain for Ana-Lucia. Next week it looks like her paranoia will go into action. She must be evil, somehow she has to be.

[murlough23]

Yeah, they gave us the shaft with the S1 finale. (Heh, heh.) I thought Walt getting kidnapped made for a much better cliffhanger. (Interestingly, that scene, with Michael screaming for Walt, is the last spoken dialogue in Season 1.)

Remember what I said about tonight's episode not referring to the shocker at the end of the previous episode? I was wrong. So, watch out of order at your own risk. (Though I would be interested to see the reaction of someone who saw this episode without seeing the rest of the season. It followed a very different format and basically filled in the other side of a story.)

I definitely think that finding out for yourself what's in the hatch (revealed in the S2 premiere) is much cooler than just reading about it. The way they reveal it is just awesome.

NP: "Ready Fuels", Anberlin

[AldaForPresident]

Okay, I didn't read anything about the first six episodes of season two and just went ahead and watched last night's episode. At first I was entirely confused, but it became pretty obvious pretty fast. I assume that when they started basically doing a montage thing that that was stuff you guys have already seen? Is Sawyer dead?!

Ana-Lucia...subject of what I felt like was a very random flashback in season one. Not so random after all, I suppose. In the first few minutes I kept thinking "Where have I seen her before?" and then it (finally) clicked. She shot Shannon?! Shannon's really dead? I love her for that. Somebody needed to shut Shannon up, I don't care who it was. (Although, what Sayid and Shannon were doing out there anyway - yet another thing I don't know.) Why does everyone hate Ana-Lucia so much? She seemed pretty paranoid in the scene where they were hearing Boone's radio message, but really, wouldn't anybody be? Shooting Shannon, from the bit I saw, it looked like she did exactly what Sawyer did in the season finale, shooting without really knowing what she's shooting at. She's essentially a female hybrid of Sawyer and Jack, isn't she? I thought it was hilarious when she threw the rock at Nathan to get him to move so she could see the banana peel.

How many other survivors are there? Has a number been mentioned? It looks like this group definitely got the short end of the stick, no doctor, no Locke, no luggage, no wreckage....

I guess, apart from the season premiere, I picked basically the best episode to start watching with. Or maybe the island picked it for me.

I definitely think that finding out for yourself what's in the hatch (revealed in the S2 premiere) is much cooler than just reading about it. The way they reveal it is just awesome.

I'm gonna try very hard not to read anything. I will wait. I will.

[RedcoatJones]

I really enjoyed last night's epsiode. Mr Eko seems to be the tailies version of Locke ... slightly mysterious, very capable in the jungle, and a faith (though Eko's faith seems to be more biblical-based, while Locke's is more karma based).

Now we understand the "trust issues" and "remember what happened with Goodwin."

I certainly think the Others targeted certain people, but I wonder why Claire, Walt and the baby were the only targets from the front section when they targeted a total of 12 from the rear. I also don't think the Others are killing the ones they kidnap (targeted), but have no problem killing anyone else (Nathan, Steve, attempt on Charlie).

[AldaForPresident]

I certainly think the Others targeted certain people, but I wonder why Claire, Walt and the baby were the only targets from the front section when they targeted a total of 12 from the rear.

Really. Are we supposed to think that Claire, Walt, and Aaron - I'm assuming she sticks with that - are the only good people in a group of 45? (47 minus Ethan and Joanna, right?) If that's the criteria and we're going with a fairly mainstream definition of "good," then I would think Jack, Rose, and Sun would qualify, and it's fairly easy to make a case for any of the rest of them, too. Of course, maybe Goodwin was talking out of his ass and it didn't have anything to do with anything. Or perhaps you all know the reasoning behind their targets and I don't yet. I'm all for releasing the season two so far DVD NOW. Today.

[murlough23]

Okay, I didn't read anything about the first six episodes of season two and just went ahead and watched last night's episode. At first I was entirely confused, but it became pretty obvious pretty fast. I assume that when they started basically doing a montage thing that that was stuff you guys have already seen? Is Sawyer dead?!

I thought the montage was pretty lame. They could have ended it with the Tailies finding the Rafties, and not trumped up the "special extended episode!" crap, and I'd have been just dandy with it.

But yeah, that was all stuff we already saw, from episodes 3-6 of this season. The basic rundown is, Tailies don't trust the Rafties, throw 'em in Ana-Lucia's makeshift brig, then Ana-Lucia pretends to be a prisoner (at this point, the Rafties still think the Tailies are "The Others"), gains their trust, steals Sawyer's gun, and is then revealed to be one of "them", but we find out that "they" are plane crash survivors as well, not "The Others". Then Ana-Lucia gets all demanding and bitchy and basically her usual self and demands that the Rafties take the Tailies back to where the main group of survivors is living. A few days of traisping through the jungle ensue (complete with a ridiculously unnecessary subplot about Michael running off into the jungle looking for Walt - about all he does in episodes 2-6 is scream for Walt over and over again... like, shut up Michael!), with Sawyer getting weaker and weaker due to the infection from his bullet wound (and Ana-Lucia reiterating over and over that she doesn't give a rip if he dies so long as everyone shuts up and keeps moving). Finally, they come to a ravine that they have to scale (at this point they're carrying Sawyer, who is unconscious), and when they get to the top, they realize they've lost Cindy (the flight attendant; she's the one who gave Jack the extra alcohol on the plane) and they start hearing whispers, and they panic, which results in Ana-Lucia being trigger happy and using Sawyer's gun to shoot the first thing that moves, which turns out to be Shannon.

Episode 6 was all about Shannon. Now you know that she's dead, so no point holding back on that surprise. Why she and Sayid were out in the jungle, I'll leave it to you to catch up on that for yourself if/when they rerun the episode (I'd expect some repeats over Christmas break). But yes, she really is dead. Episode 7 (last night) ended exactly where Episode 6 did, just from the Tailies' point of view. And that's why I hate Ana-Lucia, because I was actually starting to like Shannon, and her death means no more back story for her or Boone.

Ana-Lucia...subject of what I felt like was a very random flashback in season one. Not so random after all, I suppose. In the first few minutes I kept thinking "Where have I seen her before?" and then it (finally) clicked.

Another drawback to having to wait all summer... word got out that Michelle Rondriguez would be a regular cast member in Season 2, thus revealing to everyone that the tail section had survived. We kind of knew that already since Rose was so adamant that Bernard was alive... but still. I spent quite a bit of time trying to convince folks on TWoP not to judge the character before we really saw her in action, and then, ironically, I ended up despising her.

But the addition of Adewale whatever his name is (Mr. Eko) and Cynthia Watros (Libby) as regulars was a nice surprise. I'm guessing Bernard will be a recurring character once he and Rose are reunited. (There was a rumor over the summer that Samuel L. Jackson would be playing Bernard, but obviously that was a hoax.) Don't know if we'll ever see Cindy again.

How many other survivors are there? Has a number been mentioned? It looks like this group definitely got the short end of the stick, no doctor, no Locke, no luggage, no wreckage....

...no guru, no mother, no method, no style, nice smile, bad form, is the body still warm?

Sorry. I'm on a Steve Taylor kick this week.

By the time Jin, Sawyer, and Michael met up with Ana-Lucia and crew, the only survivors left were Ana-Lucia, Cindy, Libby, Bernard, and Mr. Eko. Libby mentioned to Michael that there were originally 23 of them. Ana-Lucia later elaborated that The Others (though the Tailies don't use that name for them) took 3 the first night, then 9 later. That left us to assume that The Others had killed the remaining 8. Jin stumbled across Goodwin's body in episode 5, and at the time we were left to assume The Others had killed him.

Anyway, this episode was very predictable for me since I could basically piece together what had happened to this group since the crash, but that opening sequence was great; very reminiscent of the horrific first minutes of the pilot episode. They faced a lot of the same dilemmas at first, too. I definitely didn't predict Goodwin being this group's Ethan Rom (Nathan was a good red herring), or Ana-Lucia being responsible for the makeshift jail or Goodwin's death. But most of the rest of the episode, I probably could've written a script for that would have come very close to what was actually aired.

[AldaForPresident]

Thanks for the pretty much spoiler-free rundown. I really hope they show some re-runs next month, and I never thought I would say that about anything.

It's interesting that The Others went after basically all of the survivors from the tail section, and only three of the originals. That makes zero sense.

And that's why I hate Ana-Lucia, because I was actually starting to like Shannon, and her death means no more back story for her or Boone.

Maybe I missed most of Shannon's redeeming moments. (I will admit that in the season finale she finally started to become a bit more likeable...until the flashback where she told the airport security about Sayid leaving his bag in the terminal. Then the Shannon-hate resurfaced with a vengeance.) Of course, I've only seen Ana-Lucia's point of view, but to me it looked like she was just trying to protect herself and everyone else from what she thought was one of The Others, and I can't really blame her for being sort of hasty, given that they'd taken so many of their people and they were apparently in the dark territory anyway. I would probably be pissed if it were anyone but Shannon, though. I can't really look at this objectively. Aside from that, Ana-Lucia's a little bit of a control freak, but I like her so far. If she goes after Sayid, though, seriously, she'll be on notice. (Trademark Stephen Colbert.)

Anyway, this episode was very predictable for me since I could basically piece together what had happened to this group since the crash, but that opening sequence was great; very reminiscent of the horrific first minutes of the pilot episode.

I loved that sequence...both it and the one in the pilot episode. If that doesn't grab you, what will?

So, numbers-wise, there were originally 47, minus Ethan, Joanna, Steve, Boone, Walt, and Shannon, leaves 41, plus the five from the tail section, assuming they're all alive and everything, there's 46 of them, and the baby puts it back at 47? I hope that's right.

[murlough23]

Thanks for the pretty much spoiler-free rundown. I really hope they show some re-runs next month, and I never thought I would say that about anything.

I do too, because I'm taping the entire season for a friend who is still catching up on S1, and my tape ran out about 45 minutes into episode 5.

It's interesting that The Others went after basically all of the survivors from the tail section, and only three of the originals. That makes zero sense.

Well, they seemed to have a list, most likely drawn up by Goodwin after his first few days with the survivors. Ethan Rom likely made a similar list, but he may have somehow split off from the rest of the group and decided to pick them off one at a time.

Maybe I missed most of Shannon's redeeming moments. (I will admit that in the season finale she finally started to become a bit more likeable...until the flashback where she told the airport security about Sayid leaving his bag in the terminal. Then the Shannon-hate resurfaced with a vengeance.)

She definitely became more of a sympathetic character after Boone died. She was still a bit snippy with people, but it made more sense in the context of the anguish it was coming from. I will say that the episode leading up to hear death was the only episode ever to feature Shannon's flashbacks (minus that one from the season finale), and they did attempt to make her more sympathetic with those, though how successful they were in doing so is up for debate. (You'll understand when you see it.)

What really pissed me off was that after episode 5, there was a 3-week gap before episode 6, and they had the nerve to show us a rpeview promising that "This'll be the episode everyone's talking about because one of these survivors will be LOST FOREVER!", adding to already strong speculation that another death was in the works for this year. At that point, I pretty much figured out that it would be Shannon, since the rumor mill said the death would be female. I was honestly hoping for Claire, because she's become such a one-note character. I knew they wouldn't kill Kate, or any of the brand-new cast members, and Sun was a long-shot.

But I mostly miss Shannon because of the now closed backstory for both her and Boone. Even if the character wasn't so likeable, I wanted to know more about the story. I heard that Maggie Grace's dismissal was a result of her thinking she could earn more making movies and basically asking for a pay raise, and they told her to take a hike. Something like that.

Of course, I've only seen Ana-Lucia's point of view, but to me it looked like she was just trying to protect herself and everyone else from what she thought was one of The Others, and I can't really blame her for being sort of hasty, given that they'd taken so many of their people and they were apparently in the dark territory anyway.

I get that she was paranoid, and probably not thinking straight. But "shoot first and think later" is never a good motto to live by. She knows now that there are other Flight 815 survivors on the island. If she's so dedicated to protecting her own group, why is she so cavalier towards Sawyer and other people who are supposed to be allies? And even if it had been The Others that she was about to encounter in the jungle, what's to guarantee they didn't have one of the children in tow? She could have shot one of the children. Maybe she doesn't give a rip about Shannon, but she should have at least waited to see a face before shooting. It's not like The Others have guns.

I loved that sequence...both it and the one in the pilot episode. If that doesn't grab you, what will?

The pilot actually gave me nightmares the first time I saw it. If that had been my introduction to the series, I don't think I'd have continued watching it. (It was a good episode, just a lot more brutal than the typical episode - I couldn't handle that every single week.) I started at episode 6 or so, and had to catch up during the winter reruns last year.

So, numbers-wise, there were originally 47, minus Ethan, Joanna, Steve, Boone, Walt, and Shannon, leaves 41, plus the five from the tail section, assuming they're all alive and everything, there's 46 of them, and the baby puts it back at 47? I hope that's right.

I'm assuming they counted Goodwin at first, so yeah, that sounds about right. J. J. Abrams has a thing for the number 47.

NP: "Love Heals Your Heart", Third Day

[AldaForPresident]

What really pissed me off was that after episode 5, there was a 3-week gap before episode 6, and they had the nerve to show us a rpeview promising that "This'll be the episode everyone's talking about because one of these survivors will be LOST FOREVER!", adding to already strong speculation that another death was in the works for this year. At that point, I pretty much figured out that it would be Shannon, since the rumor mill said the death would be female. I was honestly hoping for Claire, because she's become such a one-note character. I knew they wouldn't kill Kate, or any of the brand-new cast members, and Sun was a long-shot.

My friend Amanda told me about that promo, and she thought it was going to be Claire. (Or, actually, at the time, "the girl with the baby" because I didn't watch it then.) Before she got taken, I really liked Claire a lot - compared to Shannon and Kate, she and Sun seemed so sweet and, in Claire's case, transparent, in a good way. I also loved the scenes where she was helping Locke build the cradle for the baby. But after she lost her memory and had the baby, she became sort of whiny and something just changed in her - she became less trusting and lost some of that personality, which is understandable considering they were probably trying to make her more guarded after that experience, but make her a lot less endearing.

I get that she was paranoid, and probably not thinking straight. But "shoot first and think later" is never a good motto to live by. She knows now that there are other Flight 815 survivors on the island. If she's so dedicated to protecting her own group, why is she so cavalier towards Sawyer and other people who are supposed to be allies? And even if it had been The Others that she was about to encounter in the jungle, what's to guarantee they didn't have one of the children in tow? She could have shot one of the children. Maybe she doesn't give a rip about Shannon, but she should have at least waited to see a face before shooting. It's not like The Others have guns.

All this is true. I think it's just that I would've shot Shannon after a couple hours with her, so I'm ready to get whoever got rid of her a standing ovation. If it had been anyone else, I would be pissed. (Or, for instance, if it had been Sayid instead of Shannon. And like I said, if she really does go after Sayid, she's on my bad list.)

The pilot actually gave me nightmares the first time I saw it. If that had been my introduction to the series, I don't think I'd have continued watching it. (It was a good episode, just a lot more brutal than the typical episode - I couldn't handle that every single week.)

I had this really horrible stomach virus last weekend, and I had just woken up and was sick anyway, and I popped the first disc in not expecting anything like that. It definitely freaked me out, but I figured that it was mostly the impact of just waking up and being sick. I watch entirely too much TV and movies, so I'm fairly desensitized, but that had an effect on me. That, the episode where Ethan takes Claire and Charlie, and when they take Walt all led to some pretty weird dreams for me.

I'm assuming they counted Goodwin at first, so yeah, that sounds about right. J. J. Abrams has a thing for the number 47.

J.J. and his numbers! Yet another thing that's driving me INSANE.

[AldaForPresident]

My mom got me season one for my birthday; apparently it was on sale at Best Buy. Very exciting.  =D  

[RedcoatJones]

Heh. Great line from Television WIthout Pity's Recap that would find an appreciative audience here:

Ana-Lucia, meanwhile has found some sort of control panel and turns on some lights, which is very exciting. And they find a trunk. Inside are a bible, a radio and a...glass eye? Is this Tom Waits' office? Half his songs on my iPod are about or inspired by those three things.

[murlough23]

To quote the vernacular, "Hee!" TWoP rules.

[Brenden]

Ana-Lucia, meanwhile has found some sort of control panel and turns on some lights, which is very exciting. And they find a trunk. Inside are a bible, a radio and a...glass eye? Is this Tom Waits' office? Half his songs on my iPod are about or inspired by those three things.

 

=D    =D

[AldaForPresident]

I thought last night's episode was pretty solid. Ana-Lucia's starting to look a tad more crazy to me, but her flashbacks weren't horrible and made her a bit more sympathetic, at least. (I still don't hate her for killing Shannon. Still pretty stoked about that, actually.) I liked the last scene a lot.

I'm not quite as pumped about next week - on the one hand, I DO want to know what Kate did, but I'm just not crazy about her overall.

[murlough23]

I'm still a hold-out in the "Hate Ana-Lucia" camp. We can now add misguided vigilante justice to her list of murders, along with "Shoot first, ask questions later". This woman should NEVER be trusted with a gun. I'm glad that at least Michael, Libby, and Bernard finally got the balls to stand up and say "Screw you, you can shoot me, but I'm not following your orders any more."

Yes, the guy who shot her and caused her to miscarry was a bastard, and deserved to die or at least be locked up for a life. But as a law officer, she should've known to let the legal system she worked to support do its business. She very intentionally lied to get him off so that she could do the deed herself. Not cool.

Anyway, I called it weeks ago that she was a cop. First time I've been right about something like that on this show. (I thought Hurley was a hacker.)

Any guesses on Eko's pre-crash profession?

NP: "You Rescued Me", Kent Henry

[AldaForPresident]

Yes, the guy who shot her and caused her to miscarry was a bastard, and deserved to die or at least be locked up for a life. But as a law officer, she should've known to let the legal system she worked to support do its business. She very intentionally lied to get him off so that she could do the deed herself. Not cool.

Oh yeah, definitely. She handled it completely wrong, to say the least, but it did make her a little more human, if not super likeable. (Although, it did remind me of how much she's like Sawyer in a lot of ways. He tried to do the exact same thing.)

Any guesses on Eko's pre-crash profession?

Wow. There's no telling. I've only seen him in two episodes, but he's so the tail section version of Locke.

Did the others take the flight attendant? I must've missed that somewhere. (Surprise, surprise.)

[murlough23]

Did the others take the flight attendant? I must've missed that somewhere. (Surprise, surprise.)

We're left to assume that. Ana-Lucia assumed that, which is why she got so paranoid right after that and shot at the first thing that moved.

But Cindy could also be an Other... a more out-there speculation, but possible.

Anyway, it pissed me off that despite seeming so distraught over Cindy's loss right after it occurred, nobody seemed to give a damn five minutes later (in island time; two weeks later for us), and Ana-Lucia had all the time in the world to sit around and ponder shooting either herself or Sayid.

Talk about a death wish.

[AldaForPresident]

Anyway, it pissed me off that despite seeming so distraught over Cindy's loss right after it occurred, nobody seemed to give a damn five minutes later (in island time; two weeks later for us), and Ana-Lucia had all the time in the world to sit around and ponder shooting either herself or Sayid.

That bothered me too. They're supposedly in this "dark territory" they're all so freaked out by, and yet they have no problem staying there friggin' forever. Okay.

[dgp11776]

I'm not reading any of this thread.  My brother-in-law recently got an iPod video, and bought the pilot episode.  I watched it and immediately requested Season 1 for Christmas, which I know now that I'm getting.  That pilot was awesome.

[AldaForPresident]

Oh dear. On the one hand, I really want a new episode next week, but on the other, I HAVE to catch up with the six I've missed.

What a quandry.

[Brenden]

Good episode, intriguing, but a weak Kate backstory.

 

[AldaForPresident]

Good episode, intriguing, but a weak Kate backstory.

Yeah, I was pretty disappointed in that. I don't know what I expected, but after this huge build-up, blah. Then again, Kate just bugs me, so her flashback episodes are never as interesting. And the whole "ghost" thing was just goofy. I like her a lot better when she's around Sawyer, though.

Aside from that, I thought it was really good. It's the first one I've seen to have so much hatch-related stuff, so I was fairly confused, but hopefully not for long.

[AldaForPresident]