sammi says

"127 Hours"

2010-12-05T14:56:00.006-06:00

Warning: Do not go see this movie without a bottle of water.

"127 Hours," directed by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) tells the true story of Aron Ralston, an avid rock climber who gets his hand trapped by a boulder that breaks free in a canyon. Ralston, played by James Franco is stuck between a rock and a hard place for 127 hours before he takes the plunge and cuts his arm off to free himself.

You probably remember hearing about this story on the news when it happened in 2003.... you know how it turns out, he cuts his arm off and survives...Despite knowing how this movie ends, it is so worth seeing.

The film moves at a pretty fast pace. The score by A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire) fits perfectly. The music, along with Boyle's direction kept me on edge and anxious the whole film, even before Ralston is trapped. Every move Franco made kept me guessing if this was the moment it was going to happen and what is going to happen next.

Franco's performance, the way he embodies this character that is absolutely hopeless was incredibly moving. I loved the moments where he was speaking into his handheld video camera, giving his last words to his family and examining his life. The use of flashbacks and hallucinations blended seamlessly into the narrative. It's not all doom and gloom. There's a scene where he is so dehydrated and incoherent that he hosts his own talk show, interviewing himself, which lightens the mood but also reveals a lot about his character and the life that he's led.

I had heard that viewers passed out or got nauseous during the amputation scene. I was skeptical about their reactions...I watch "Dexter," so I've seen my fair share of limb removal...Wow, was I wrong. There was a moment where Ralston breaks his bone and as I was watching with my mouth agape, this loud, disgusting noise involuntarily came out of me. Was it a scream? Was I gagging? I don't know, but it was pretty unexpected. My own ridiculousness made me start cracking up during one the most intense parts of the movie. Let's just say that the scene is as disturbing as they say. No matter how many scary movies you watch, seeing a man amputate his own arm and knowing that this 100% actually happened, is so much different.

This is one of those films that really makes you want to examine your own life. Not so much in the sense of what would you do in a survival situation, but about your priorities. He should have called his mom back, he shouldn't have acted like such a hot shot to his co-worker, the list could go on and on. Sure, he lost his arm but you get the sense that he gained so much more from the experience.

I left the theatre with sweaty palms, incredibly thirsty and a little overwhelmed. I really enjoyed the movie, but it's definitely not one of those movies you can watch over and over again.

Best (Worst?) Boy Band Songs of the Late 90's

2010-09-09T18:54:00.012-06:00

Upon hearing about the tragic death of LFO lead singer, Rich Cronin, I went straight to YouTube to watch the “Summer Girls” music video. YouTube’s related video suggestions took me on a trip down memory lane. I ended up spending way too much time watching music videos from some of my old favorites and videos from some groups I haven’t thought about in years.

So here’s my list of the best (worst?) boy band songs of the late 90’s…

"Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"- Backstreet Boys, 1998

I could have easily put every single Backstreet Boys song from the late 90's on this list...It was very difficult for me to a choose a favorite so I chose the one with the best music video. Why were the Backstreet Boys trapped in a haunted house and transformed into monsters? I don't know and I don't care- this video is AWESOME! Some of my fondest pre-teen memories are watching the behind-the-scenes making of this music video with my friends and learning the moves to the dance break (at 3:50 in the video). You can't watch this and tell me you don't remember busting a move to this song.

"Tearing Up My Heart"- N'Sync, 1998

If you couldn’t tell from the previous song description, I was (am?) a die-hard Backstreet Boys fan and despised N'Sync. Before I bought into the manufactured competition between the two groups, I admit that I loved hearing "Tearing Up My Heart" on Radio Disney.

"Because of You"- 98 Degrees, 1998

Nick Lachey. Oh my god. So hot and the best voice. For some reason 98 Degrees wasn't really involved in the competition between Backstreet Boys and N'Sync. Was it because they lacked a 5th member? Because they didn't dance? The world may never know...but what I do know is that I really liked 98 Degrees.

"Summer Girls"-LFO, 1999

Amazing song with lyrical gems such as, "You like fun dip and cherry coke. I like the way you laugh when I tell a joke," "Like the color purple, macaroni and cheese. Ruby red slippers and a bunch of trees. Call you up, but what's the use. I like Kevin Bacon but I hate Footloose." This song made us white girls feel like we could rap.

"Hardest Part of Breaking Up (Is Getting Back Your Stuff)"- 2gether, 2000

MTV decided to capitalize on the boy band phenomenon with the spoof group, 2gether. How can you forget U+Me=Us? Looking back at it now, this song still cracks me up. The music video is perfect too...it definitely brings me back to the days of rushing home to see who would be the top video on TRL.

"Back Here"- BBMak, 1999

Aww, this is still a pretty solid pop song. I'm only a little ashamed to say that I still remember a lot of the lyrics.

"When the Lights Go Out"- 5ive, 1998

I can't say I really remember a lot about 5ive, but I definitely remember liking this song. It screams 90's.

"I Love You Came Too Late"- Joey McIntyre, 1999

I was a little too young to be a fan of New Kids on the Block but I was a fan of the group's solo endeavors. I couldn't help but fall victim to Joey Mac's baby blue eyes in "I Love You Came Too Late."

"Give it to You"- Jordan Knight, 1999

He wasn't nearly as cute as Joey Mac, but Jordan Knight's "Give it to You" was a TRL summer favorite.

"Can I Get Your Number (Girl Like You)"- No Authority, 2000

Hit me with those seven digits! This was one of those songs that I knew was dumb at the time but was so bad it's good.

"Liquid Dreams"- O-Town, 2001

Looking back at this song and music video I can't help but think, "Did this really happen?" It just proves how huge the boy band craze became and that we would literally listen to anything MTV threw at us. Four seasons later and MTV still hasn't learned that "Making the Band" just does not work.

"Mmm...Bop"- Hanson, 1997

I was never a huge Hanson fan but how could I make this list and not include "Mmm...Bop?" I still don't know what they're saying or what this song means but it's so much fun! They were the blonde, long-haired predecessors to the Jonas Brothers.

I’m sure there are some great (terrible?) songs I’ve overlooked. Let me know what I’m missing!

P.S.You’re welcome!

Rubicon

2010-09-02T16:54:00.007-06:00

I watched the pilot of "Rubicon" on AMC after the finale of "Breaking Bad" earlier this summer. The pilot set it up to be a show about conspiracy theories, superstitions and code breaking. It centers around Will, an analyst at a top secret government agency called API. In the first episode Will cracks some sort of code spanning all major newspaper crossword puzzles. He tells his boss, who also happens to be his father-in-law, about his discovery. Dear old dad tells him that it's nothing and to forget about it but then mysteriously dies in a train accident the next morning. Several clues lead Will to believe that his father-in-law's death was no accident and that there are greater powers at work.

I tend to like shows about mystery, finding out pieces of the puzzle, big reveals at the end of each episode...So I added "Rubicon" to my TiVo season pass. I think I'm about five episodes in and besides the pilot, "Rubicon" has been a total bore. Each episode moves at a snails pace and is very quiet. Seriously. Minutes go by several times in each episode with absolutely no dialogue.

We see Will brooding, thinking, walking, reading...basically a nightmare for a multi-tasking TV watcher like myself. Did I mention that Will, played by James Badge Dale, looks like Matthew Morrison's (Mr. Schuester on "Glee") older, more serious brother? (Upon googling their photos for a side-by-side, I discovered I'm not the only with this astute observation. Read New York Magazine's "Guide to Telling Apart the Wills")

I keep telling myself to let it go and stop watching, but I can't help but feel like it's going to start getting good. I'm probably too hopeful but AMC has proved to be a pretty exciting TV network with shows like "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men." Maybe it's just a show geared towards old men and I'm clearly not it's target demographic. Is there hope for "Rubicon?"

"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," Best Twilight Yet

2010-06-30T21:03:00.005-06:00

"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" lived up to my expectations. The best book in the series translated into the best "Twilight" movie yet. Go figure that the movie with the most supernatural activity seems to be the most realistic.

In case you've been living under a rock, here's what's happening in this installment...Edward and Bella are back together after Edward's plan to leave her to a normal life fails. Jacob is still in love with Bella and is not happy with her decision to be turned into a vampire. Victoria, still bitter after Edward killed her mate in the first "Twilight" movie, creates an army of newborn vampires to seek vengeance on the Cullen family and kill Bella. The vampires and werewolves team up to save Bella's life.

This is the first "Twilight" movie to step away from Bella's perspective for a few scenes. We got to see what was going on in Seattle with the newborn vampires, their leader Riley (major hottie, Xavier Samuel) and the red-haired villainess, Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard). I think this really helped break up the intense mood set by the Edward-Bella-Jacob love triangle.

Robert Pattinson finally brings the undead, Edward Cullen back to life. In the first two films Edward was always sulking in the shadows, brooding and silent. This time he is full of genuine emotion. He was secretive, jealous, vindictive, sly and despite all of that he had captivating moments of lightheartedness. Just a few months ago Robert, Kristen and Taylor had to go to Vancouver to reshoot the infamous "tent scene" and I'm so glad they did. Granted, I don't know what it looked like before, but Rob stole the show and lit up the screen. He made Edward human and it made the entire film.

We finally got to see Bella grow up. "New Moon" showed Bella's immaturity while "Eclipse" portrays Bella as composed, decisive and even a little funny. A monologue at the end of the movie (that wasn't in the book) really makes the whole movie, even series, believable. Bella basically puts it out there and makes you understand why she's choosing Edward and not for the obvious reasons. I thought Kristen Stewart made Bella much more likable in this movie. My only complaint was with her terrible wig.

More vampires and less werewolves really seemed to agree with the film. But I thought the addition of Leah and Seth Clearwater (Julia Jones and BooBoo Stewart) was wasted considering they're barely in the movie, at least not in human form. I remember really liking Seth's character and his relationship with Edward in the books. I thought after Edward and Seth's victory there should have been some recognition of their teamwork. I realize Seth couldn't phase into a human but I would have accepted a scratch on the head or something. Am I the only one?

The battle was pretty cool. I was surprised at how violent things actually got. I've never seen so many headless vampires. It was pretty gross. It was totally creepy seeing *spoiler* Victoria's head lying next to her body and Edward setting her on fire.

Bringing on David Slade as director was a great idea. The film was dark without taking itself too seriously. It was fast paced and left you wanting more. "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" could stand on its own outside of the series as an exciting and romantic film.

Why "The Office" Needs to Call it Quits

2010-06-30T20:57:00.005-06:00

Steve Carell has announced that he will be leaving "The Office" after its seventh season this fall.

He says, ""I just think it's time. I want to fulfill my contract. When I first signed on I had a contract for seven seasons, and this coming year is my seventh. I just thought it was time for my character to go."

That's fine. You can't begrudge the guy for wanting to move on, but NBC needs to wise up and make season seven the last season of "The Office." While I still love "The Office," I think it would be absolutely disastrous without Michael Scott as boss.

Seven years is a long time to play the same character. Not all shows can go on for ten seasons like "Friends" or "Seinfeld." "The Office" deserves to go out on a high note. It's never fun when TV shows overstay their welcome and end up getting cancelled.

If NBC decided that "The Office's" seventh season would be its last it would give the writers and actors a chance to develop and move to other projects. The writers and actors of "The Office" are some of the most creative, funny people in the business...I'd actually be excited to see what they could come up with next and that can't happen with "The Office" still on the air. The actors, especially, have really established themselves in TV and film and I have no doubt they could thrive on a new or different series.

So listen up, NBC. Work with the producers of "The Office" and come up with a way to go out with a hilarious bang.

5 Reasons You Should See “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”

2010-06-23T18:20:00.022-06:00

It's that time again. We're only days away from the opening of "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," the third installment of the hit franchise, in theatres June 30.

I used to be a little embarrassed about my love of all things "Twilight," but not anymore. I was an apprehensive "Twilight" fan at first, but fully jumped on board after last year's "New Moon" (read my review). I know these movies aren't for everyone but I think I can come up with some very good reasons for you to quit hating, have some fun and see “Eclipse.”

"Is it high art? No. But it’s not trying to be," says "Twilight" screenwriter, Melissa Rosenberg. Even she understands that "Twilight" is all about fun. They aren't trying to make cheese-free, serious movies. The films are exciting and entertaining...there is no need to feel guilty. The movies are geared towards a slightly younger crowd but as long as you aren’t wearing “Team Jacob” t-shirts or making YouTube trailer reaction videos, I don’t think there’s anything to be ashamed of…(I cried I was laughing so hard watching the link above)

Oh, did I mention the films star the super-hot, super-charming Robert Pattinson? My love for "Twilight" has grown just because of the R-Pattz interviews I've seen and read. It's possible that he's the whole reason I'm into this phenomenon in the first place. He's so incredibly charismatic, funny, self-deprecating and I love him. It's hard to watch an interview with Rob and not feel warm and fuzzy. Plus, he’s British. Hello? Who doesn’t love a man with an accent? I think it’s safe to say that Rob Pattinson is not going anywhere anytime soon. Since his “Twilight” success he’s landed the lead roles in some pretty interesting projects. He recently filmed “Bel Ami,” a period piece about a man who uses sex to work his way up the social ladder co-starring Uma Thurman and Christina Ricci. He’s currently shooting “Water for Elephants,” co-starring Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz. Lucky for me, Rob should be around for many years to come. His co-star/girlfriend doesn't show any signs of slowing down either...

Can you say K-Stew? That’s right, I’m totally behind the sometimes grouchy and slouchy Kristen Stewart. The more I see and read about her, the more I like her. I don’t think she’s half the grump the media makes her out to be. I think she’s completely self-aware, wears her heart on her sleeve and has had her moments of really great acting. Recently, she compared being followed by the paparazzi to rape and all hell broke loose. In an upcoming Entertainment Weekly article, her boy-toy Rob comes to her defense and starts seriously hating on internet media going as far as calling bloggers nerds. Kristen, knowing Rob can do no wrong, responds, “You could say, “I just took a s***on the Queen’s face,” and people would be like, “Oh, I love him! I love him!” So, so true. Love it!

“Eclipse” is not just brooding vampires and shirtless werewolves. Ok, that’s a big part of it, but there’s supposed to be a lot of action in this film. The director, David Slade, has a reputation of making brutally violent vampire movies. The action should make the movie a little more fast-paced and exciting and a little less heavy breathing and longing stares.

And lastly, if you see “Eclipse” you’ll finally get the answer to the question you’ve been dying to learn. Who does Bella choose? Edward or Jacob? Ok, I’m sure if you’re reading this you already know that answer. For those of us who have read the books we know that some of the most anticipated moments in the series are in “Eclipse.” We finally get to see Edward propose to Bella, even some sexy-time between the two and of course, the infamous tent-scene.

What more could you want? I’m super excited to see the movie and hope it lives up to my expectations. “Eclipse” is my favorite book out of the series and I’m hoping it will be the best “Twilight” movie yet.

If anything, you should go see the movie so we can talk about how hot Robert Pattinson is…

Doubly disappointed in "My Sister's Keeper"

2010-06-14T21:47:00.003-06:00

Sometimes girls just want a good cry. It's true. There are days where we just want to read a cheesy book or watch a sad movie and remember that our problems aren't so bad. Such was the case when I borrowed the book, "My Sister's Keeper," by Jodi Picoult from a friend. I remember seeing previews for the movie so I knew it was going to be a real downer. What I didn't know was that a very popular and widely received book could be so incredible juvenile.

Each chapter of the book is told from the first person narration of each character and is written in different fonts in case you needed more distinction that you're reading someone else's opinion. I've read books with two or three different perspectives...but seven different points of view? It left absolutely no sense of mystery and left nothing up to interpretation. The story itself was an interesting take on a family struggling with cancer. The main character, Anna, is admirable. So when I finally got over the cheese factor and started enjoying the book thinking things are going to wrap up just how I imagine they will then...BOOM!

It seems like Jodi Picoult consulted M. Night Shyamalan in writing the last ten pages. Picoult throws in a major, unexpected tragedy and gives us ten whole pages (from three different perspectives) to deal. Because she shocked us and made us cry are we supposed to think that this is good or worthy literature? Hardly. It's a cheap, trash novel that could have told a emotional story about a struggling family, but instead took the route of ripping our hearts out and calling it a day.

I was so furious with the ending that I immediately wanted to watch the movie to see if it would redeem itself. I had heard friends say the movie was nothing like the book, so I figured that perhaps the movie would take the high road and eliminate the trick ending while keeping the heart of the story. Well, wrong again. Yes, the ending is different but the entire movie is focused on Kate, the sister with cancer, rather than Anna, the book's protagonist. So basically they removed the only good parts of the book (Hello? Campbell and Julia!) and added a super whiny Cameron Diaz.

Boo's all around for "My Sister's Keeper."

Lost Recap: The End

2010-05-24T19:10:00.028-06:00

Here are my final thoughts on the series finale of "Lost."

What happened on the island happened. Oceanic 815 crashed on September 22, 2004. Some survivors stayed on the island, some left and some even came back. Jacob, the smoke monster, the Dharma Initiative and the time travel were all real. Jack died on the island, Hurley and Ben stayed to protect it and the others flew away on Ajira 316. That much I can say with certainty.

The alternate reality or flash sideways world is where things start to get tricky. I really do believe that the creators wanted to leave this up to our own interpretation. I believe Christian Shepard explains it all. He tells Jack that he and all the others in the church are very real. Alive, not so much...Real, yes.

We were assuming that the sideways timeline was taking place in September 2004 after Oceanic 815 landed safely. Yet, Christian explains that there is no now. They are in a world that transcends time. Once Jack realizes that he's dead Christian explains that these people all died at different times, some before Jack, some long after Jack. Life went on for the remaining survivors after Jack died on the island. When Hurley greets Ben outside the church he says, "You were a great number two." Ben tells Hurley he was a great leader. This leads me to believe that Hurley and Ben stayed on the island for some time and share a history together after Jack's death. When Kate kisses Jack and is trying to make him realize what is going on, she tells him how much she missed him. She misses him because she had to live the rest of her life without him after she left the island.

Now onto the plot in the sideways world leading up to the church scene. Why were they all back in that time? Why were the meeting up with each other. If they all died at different times how come they look the same age? Christian tells Jack that the time they spent on the island was the most important time in their lives. These were the people that mattered most. So in death, they still needed each other to let go and move on.

All these people were brought back to this time in their lives because it dealt with the ultimate "what ifs." What if Oceanic 815 had never crashed? What if Ben was never brought to the island as a child? What if Alex grew up with her mother? What if Sawyer became a cop instead of a con-man? What if Desmond had not met Penny? In the alternate reality the characters were still dealing with the choices they made and similar situations that led them to the island in the first place...like Jack dealing with the death of his father.

Which brings me to this point...Jack's son was not real. After Locke wakes up from surgery, wiggles his toes and has his 'awakening' he even tells Jack, "You don't have a son." Jack and his son's relationship represents the relationship Jack had with his father. Which is ultimately the most important relationship Jack had in his whole life. Jack worked things out with David, which gave him a better understanding of what went wrong between he and Christian. Jack needed to do that to be able to move on to his afterlife. Christian had to wait for Jack, too.

The entire series has been about the big questions...Life, death, fate, destiny...So it's not surprising to me that the end of the show took a more spiritual route than some maybe were hoping for. When you think about it, how else could they have ended the show and wrapped up the alternate timeline? I'm under the suspicion that people would never be truly satisfied. Say that the alternate reality really was real- so what happens when Kate, Sawyer, Claire and the gang land the Ajira plane back in LA? The two timelines can't both exist. I agree with the popular opinion that it would have been a real let-down if the sideways world turned out to be a dream or just a fantasy.

I am very satisfied with the ending. I think it was great way to make it ok that all of our favorite characters had died, knowing that somehow, someway they did get their happy ending. Many of us pray and hope that we will see our own loved ones when we die and that we will all go on to a better place, so why can't it be the same for TV characters? I loved that we were able to see some of our old favorites again before the show ended for good. The reunions between Sawyer and Juliet and Claire and Charlie had me crying my eyes out. "Lost" has always been about the characters and I think it was fitting that it ended with the typical music and panning shot of everyone reuniting...Something we've seen at the end of several "Lost" episodes.

So why were some people missing? Ben told Hurley he simply isn't ready. I like to imagine that he is going to make things right with Alex and Danielle Rousseau. I loved that Ben apologized to Locke for killing him. Desmond mentioned in the previous episode that Ana Lucia wasn't ready either. Eloise Hawking kept telling Desmond it wasn't time. She was worried that Desmond was going to take her son, Daniel Farraday with them. Eloise hadn't let go yet of the fact that she killed her own son, so they stay put...same with Charlotte and Miles. We learned earlier this season that Michael is roaming the island as a lost soul, which brings us to Walt. Walt was on the island for a much shorter time than everyone else...maybe it wasn't the most important time in his life like it was for the others. Or maybe he wasn't dead yet, which I'm assuming is the case with Ji-Yeon (Sun and Jin's daughter) and Charlie (Desmond and Penny's son).

As for the the action on the island- I thought it was amazing. I knew Lapidus was going to turn up sooner or later. I wrote in my last recap that he was going to eventually wash up on shore to serve his final purpose, to fly the plane off the island. Remember that Lapidus was supposed to be the original pilot of Oceanic 815. Claire finally gets to be reunited with Aaron and will learn how to be a mother from Kate. I could not have asked for a better ending for these people.

Having Jack and the Man in Black peering down into the cave felt so poignant and of course reminded us of when they were looking into the hatch in the season one finale. The dialouge between Jack and the Man in Black was perfect...Jack telling him that John Locke had been right all along and how it was a disgrace for the Man in Black to be taking his form. Desmond finally played his part. He removed the stone, extinguishing the light making it possible for the Man in Black to die. It was fitting that Kate got to be the one to kill the Man in Black to avenge Sun and Jin's deaths. Hurley was destined to become the protector of the island. He was the only one that is completely pure of heart and deserving of the job.

Jack sobbing and laughing as he put the rock back into its place in the cave was such an emotional scene. And let me tell you, when Jack laid down in the bamboo field and Vincent stayed with him, I lost it. I'm losing it right now just typing about it. It really was the perfect ending. It was genius to put Jack right back where he started and to end on his eye closing. Jack had finally fulfilled his destiny.

Everyone's saying they still have questions. I feel like all of my questions have been answered. I mean, maybe not the ones about the physics of time travel, the space time continuum, and what happens after you die- but who can answer those anyway? As for the shot of the Oceanic wreckage over the credits, I think it is nothing more than a red herring and I'm pretty much disregarding it all together (see update below).

I will miss "Lost" like crazy. It was one hell of TV show that told a really great story. Most of all, I'm going to miss the characters. Thanks to the creators, crew, actors and everyone who made "Lost" possible...You took us on a great ride that we won't soon forget.

Goodbye, "Lost." I'll see ya in another life, brother.

UPDATED 5/25/10: I just read a great theory on Doc Arzt on what the images of the Oceanic wreckage over the final credits of "Lost" could possibly mean. They say that it's similar to the Black Rock, the Dharma stations, the temple and the four-toed statue...The wreckage is what our characters have left behind. Life goes on and when the next group of castaways or explorers are brought to the island the Oceanic wreckage could be just one of the oddities or mysteries they could discover.

For some reason these images lead a lot of people to believe that the crash survivors were dead the whole time which is just simply not true. Yes, for half of seventeen episodes in the last season they were dead, but not the whole series! I don't think the flash sideways timeline was a cop-out. In every other season there were flashbacks and flash forwards. How could they have done flash forwards when most of the cast dies over the course of the final season? It definitely would have taken away a lot of the suspense and shock surrounding the deaths of Jack, Sun, Jin and Sayid. It just simply wouldn't have worked for the show. I also think we would have felt cheated if there wasn't any kind of alternate timeline. We would have been worn out if this season only took place on the island.

SECOND UPDATE: Fifteen minutes after I posted my previous update I found out that ABC has released a statement saying the the final images over the credits were added by ABC not the producers of the show and were only put there to soften the transition between the ending and the following program. So that solves it once and for all. Here's the link to the statement.

(Pictures from lost-media.com and lostpedia.com)

TV says goodbye to some good (and some bad) shows

2010-05-15T15:51:00.010-06:00

Farewell, "Heroes." I'm not shocked at all to learn that NBC has officially given "Heroes" the ax after 4 seasons. "Heroes" was a show that had absolutely the most potential to succeed but after one amazing season it lost all of its magic. Season one of "Heroes" stand alone is the some of the greatest TV in the last ten years. It had so much potential. Rich characters that we cared about with great backstories and even greater futures ahead of them.

It's such a shame that instead of focusing on these characters that we already knew and loved, the show's creators brought on too many new heroes and gave them too much screen time. The new heroes had interesting abilities but they didn't deserve to become season regulars. Why not just feature them in an episode or two? I think they wanted to capitalize on the success of the first season dealing with ordinary people coming to understand their superhuman abilities and went overboard. "Heroes" became boring and did very little to progress the stories of the characters we already liked.

I am sad that NBC has canceled "Mercy." This is totally not a show I would normally watch, but I caught the first episode and consistently wanted to see more. I usually overlook medical dramas because I find them unoriginal, but this one offered us a little more. My dad calls it the "poor man's 'Nurse Jackie'" which I find hilarious because it's kind of true. They both focus on no-bullshit nurses in New Jersey. "Mercy" doesn't push the line as much as "Nurse Jackie," but it still has some edge. The main character, Veronica, is an emotional wreck. She suffers from post traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq and is an alcoholic going through a divorce with her high school sweetheart all while dating a doctor at her hospital. This show had serious potential and I enjoyed it. I would have loved to have seen a second season especially after the cliffhanger season finale.

Another cancellation that hurts is "Flash Forward." I'm disappointed the show didn't catch on. I think it had a great premise but was maybe hindered by the fact that viewers don't know how the show could progress past the date the characters saw of the future. I agree, I don't know where they could take the show, it could have been another "Heroes" on our hands, but I enjoyed it. I don't know what kind of resolution we'll get in the remaining episodes but I'm sure it won't be a proper finish for a worthwhile show.

It consistently blows my mind that shows like "Minute to Win It," "The Marriage Ref," "The Bachelor," "Wife Swap," "Wipeout," "Undercover Boss," and any other contrived, cheap and ridiculous reality/competition show the networks can come up with get picked up over scripted TV shows. If "Chuck" hadn't been renewed for a fourth season, I'd really start to lose faith that the networks have any idea what people like to watch. Don't get me started on the whole ratings system. The whole thing is a bunch of nonsense the numbers are so flawed. With all the technology in today's world there's still no better way to track TV viewership than for a couple thousand households in our country to type in codes into a box? Please.

Shows like "Modern Family," "Glee," and even "The Vampire Diaries," give me hope for the future of network television...even though we all know cable's where it at.

Lost Recap: Across the Sea

2010-05-15T14:33:00.011-06:00

There's been a a bit of backlash against "Lost" following last week's episode, "Across the Sea." The episode featured none of the series regulars, took place a couple hundred years ago and starred Allison Janney. What the heck? Right?

I've always been eternally optimistic about "Lost" Even a bad episode of "Lost" is still infinitely more enjoyable to me than half of the TV shows out there. But I don't even think the episode was bad. Do I think it should have been the third to last episode of the entire series? No! This episode answered a ton of our "Lost" questions. Origins of Jacob and the Man in Black on the island. Check. Purpose of the island protector. Check. Birth of the smoke monster. Check. Adam and Eve. Check. You get the point.

I think that this episode would have gone over a lot better if it had aired earlier in the season, or even three or four episodes ago. It threw off the whole rhythm of action they set up in the previous episode. I mean Sun, Jin and Sayid? Gone so fast? Is Lapidus dead? He kind of fell off my radar with all the madness in the submarine, but I wouldn't doubt if he washes up on shore next Tuesday. In a "Lost" discussion my boss brought up a great point...Why would they have him tag along for the last two seasons if he wasn't going to serve some greater purpose or at least go out with a bang? He got hit with a door and disappeared.

I'm still in disbelief that there are only two episodes left and I've given up on guessing what's going to happen. I'm sure it has something to do with them all staying on the island (well, those who survive) so that they can have their happy lives in the alternate reality/flash sideways world. I'm still wondering where the heck is Desmond? I'm hoping the first piece of business they take care of next episode is getting Desmond out of that well so he can finish saving the world!

It's all been done before

2010-04-30T19:42:00.030-06:00

I'm fed up with everyone hating on Christina Aguilera claiming that she is ripping off Lady Gaga in her new video "Not Myself Tonight."

Christina's been pushing the boundaries of acceptable expression of sexuality since 1998. She's been dressing slutty since Lady Gaga was in grade school. She wasn't the first, and she won't be the last pop star to dress like a whore. Don't get me wrong, I love Lady Gaga, but truth be told, I've loved Christina longer.

I can certainly appreciate people, especially the younger crowd, seeing Lady Gaga as a great innovator and ground-breaking artist...And I wouldn't necessarily disagree. But I can also remember when Christina wore ass-less chaps, wrote a song called, "Dirrty," and showed up to award shows wearing ridiculous costumes.

When Lady Gaga first hit the radio with "Just Dance," I remember thinking, "Wow, she's going to blow up...She reminds me of Christina Aguilera." And she was a welcome replacement to fill my pop music needs while Christina got married and had a baby. But now Christina's back and I think we need to make room for our old favorite and quit pitting them against each other.

Has it occurred to anyone that Christina acting like other pop stars (or porn stars for that matter) in her video, "Not Myself Tonight," was intentional? It is called, "Not Myself Tonight," after all. The song title is not exactly an enigma. Perez Hilton, is one of Gaga's main supporters and is ripping Christina to shreds because of this video. Look at his side by side comparison of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" and Christina's "Not Myself Tonight." I don't know, I can certainly see some similarities, but I also think he's grasping at straws....Lady Gaga wore red, Christina wore red. Gaga's video featured a hot guy on a bed, clearly, groundbreaking in a music video. And somehow Lady Gaga made wearing sunglasses original. Please.

Here's a cheesy slideshow showing the long line of borrowed fashion trends on pop stars.

Can't we put on our favorite wig and leotard and all be friends?

It's also best to remember that while I'm insisting that Christina has done it all before Gaga, we have to remember that Britney and Beyonce have done it too, and Madonna did it before everyone else...

...and Christina is vocally superior to all of them.

Kick-Ass

2010-04-25T16:53:00.006-06:00

Simply put, "Kick-Ass" kicked ass.

I wasn't thrilled by the trailers leading up to the release of the movie but it got an 80% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes so I figured I'd give it a go. I didn't really know what to expect, is it an action movie? Is it a comedy? Turns out, it was a healthy mixture of both.

The premise...Dave (Aaron Johnson), a comic book-loving high schooler who is mugged frequently, decides to take matters into his own hands and become a superhero despite his lack of superhuman strength, the ability to fly, or any kind of power other than a high tolerance for pain. He orders a scuba diving suit and transforms himself into Kick-Ass. He becomes a YouTube sensation and finds out that he's not the only civilian to take matters into his own hands. He encounters the father-daughter duo of Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) along with the dorky Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse).

Sounds pretty funny, right? It is hilarious but is also the most graphically violent movie I have ever seen. No kidding.

I'm not really into super violent movies but I didn't find the violence as disturbing as it probably should have been. It's done in such a ridiculous, tongue in cheek way that I was mostly able to laugh rather than cringe in horror. The goriest violence is perpetrated by the foul-mouthed, ten-year-old Hit Girl. She's not invincible and takes a beating a few times which should be really disconcerting, but again, you're able to suspend disbelief and just go with it. There's a lot of blood, limbs are chopped off, people are blown up and set on fire. I'm really not joking about the violence. But lucky for us, the comedy is strong enough to balance the movie.

Definitely go see the movie but be prepared for brutal violence and lots of laughs.

Most Overrated TV Shows?

2010-04-22T16:42:00.007-06:00

Here's an idea. Let's take the most popular and highest rated shows on television and write an article about how bad they are and insult all their viewer's intelligence in the process.

(see "The Most Overrated Shows on Television")

Thanks, TV.com for telling me that my shows suck. The article lists "Lost," "The Office," "Weeds," "American Idol," "NCIS," "Glee," "Mad Men," and "30 Rock" as the most overrated shows on television. Hit me where it hurts, why don't ya! "Lost," "The Office," and "Weeds" are three of my all time favorite shows. "Glee" is still too new to call it an all time favorite, but right now it's pretty high up there on my list. "30 Rock" isn't a favorite but I have definitely enjoyed it on the occasions that I've caught an episode.

I'm having a real problem with this article mostly because it's written by so called television lovers. As a television lover myself, I can find value in all TV shows even if I think they are pieces of crap. People like TV for different reasons. Some watch for information, some for entertainment, some watch out of boredom and some watch for escape. I respect all TV viewers. As a TV critic it's one thing to review a show and say that you don't like it...but to say that everyone else who does is wrong makes me angry. TV.com could write an article on the TV shows they think no longer work or were never good in the first place, but don't call them overrated insinuating that the viewers are wrong for watching. These are some of the highest rated shows on television, so did they really think it was a good idea to alienate a large portion of their readers?

I don't watch "American Idol," "NCIS," or "Mad Men." In fact, I would go as far to say that I hate "American Idol," and "NCIS." My dad watches "NCIS" reruns like it's his job and on occasion I've had to suffer through watching it during dinner. So even though I can't stand it, I can respect that my dad likes the show...it's clearly not targeting my demographic. "American Idol," is the show that will never die. The show is so popular because people like the familiarity. They know it's going to be on every six months or so and it's just for fun. No complicated story lines, no major drama (my definition of drama is Walt almost getting his head chopped off for wronging drug dealers on "Breaking Bad" not wondering if folk-singer, Crystal, is going home this week) and if you miss a week, you're not completely lost.

No one is being forced to watch television shows they don't like. So all you watchers of the good, bad and "overrated" TV shows, keep tuning in as long as you're still entertained. If you don't like a show, don't watch but don't hate on everyone else that loves it.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

2010-04-18T13:59:00.005-06:00

Jonathan Safran Foer has easily become my favorite contemporary author after reading his second novel, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close." I'm a little late in the game considering it was written in 2005, but I finally got around to reading it and have no idea why I waited so long. I fell in love with his first book, "Everything is Illuminated," after reading it on a whim, mostly because I wanted to read the book before watching the movie. "Everything is Illuminated" is one of those books that isn't easy to read, I often had to reread entire chapters and found myself flipping back pages to see if I missed anything. It's told in the form of letters from a Ukranian translator (whom I can only describe as Borat-like) who is guiding the "hero" on a journey to find a woman who may have saved his grandfather from the Nazi's. Interlaced in the narrative are fairy-tale like chapters describing the mythical, confusing, and comical history of a small Ukrainian village in the 1940's. As promised in the title, everything is eventually illuminated and it makes for a rewarding story.

Foer's writing style is extremely similar in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close." It is also the story of a young boy's journey and partly told through letters. It reads almost like a scrapbook, journal or diary, with letters and photos placed throughout the narrative. Nine-year-old Oskar Schell's father died in the 9/11 attacks and so he embarks on a mission to find the lock that matches a key he finds in his father's possessions. Oskar is incredibly intelligent and always coming up with ideas or inventions that would make the world a better place. Oskar is tortured by his father's death and is having a terrible time coping. His journey to find the lock gives him a sense of purpose and he meets some extremely interesting people along the way.

There is the same sense of mystery in this novel as in "Everything is Illuminated," but I found it much easier to understand and extremely exciting. As a reader, it's an incredibly silly task that Oskar hopes to accomplish but you play along because he's a child, as do the characters in the book. As the search goes on, as expected, we learn there's a lot more to the journey than just the end result. If you're thinking this is story about 9/11 you're wrong. It's simply the event that caused his father's death and not a gimmick to gain readers. This novel is about family and serves as a reminder of the imagination, resilience, bravery and optimism of kids and our inner-child. The book is hilarious, smart, heartbreaking and uplifting. There are people that will read this book and be cynical of its motivations but I think that is the exact feeling this novel is trying to protest.

The Runaways

2010-04-18T12:24:00.004-06:00

"The Runaways" was probably the movie most likely to disappoint, that didn't. The music is what intrigued me to see this movie; the actors chosen to play Runaways member's Cherie Curie (Dakota Fanning) and Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) scared me. Kristen Stewart is one of those actresses you either love or hate, there is no in between. I had not been aware of Kristen in her pre-"Twilight" indie movie roles and only started paying attention when she became a gossip-column fixture. I was not impressed with her acting skills in "Twilight," but since I've seen more of her body of work I want to blame her bad rep on the "Twilight" material and the character she plays.

If you've ever seen an interview with Stewart she seems like the most awkward, confused, twitchy person which can certainly rub people the wrong way. In a way, I think she almost has John Mayer-syndrome. We're so used to celebrities acting a certain way; having rehearsed answers to questions, to keep their opinions to themselves and basically have their guard up at all times. Like John Mayer, I think she says the first thing that comes to her mind and is more honest and real than most young actresses. She dresses like crap, doesn't smile at the paparazzi and generally doesn't enjoy her level of fame. I wouldn't expect a clothing line, perfume or ad campaign out of her anytime soon and that's sort of refreshing.

It seems that smaller roles like Joan Jett in "The Runaways" really suit Kristen Stewart. I thought she sounded amazing, had a kick ass attitude and was overall extremely likable and believable as Joan Jett. Even though the story is focused more around Cherie Curie, Kristen stole the show. I never once thought during the movie that Bella Swan was playing a rock star, whereas I had a harder time believing sweet, baby-faced Dakota Fanning was the over-sexualized, sultry, drug-ridden Curie. I don't think it was necessarily Fanning's acting that didn't work, but more along the lines of forever remembering her as the adorable brat in "Uptown Girls." During the more racy scenes I couldn't help but think, "You're just a little girl!!!" Which in retrospect, is probably what the audience is supposed to be thinking considering the real-life Curie was also only 15 years old during the Runaways rise to fame.

I left the movie feeling pleasantly surprised. The music was great. The hair, make up and costumes kept me interested the entire time. There were a few scenes that seemed too dragged out, but other than that, the movie rocked*.

*pun intended

Lost Recap: Happily Ever After

2010-04-11T14:05:00.011-06:00

"I'll see you in another life, brother." Desmond's signature catch phrase since his first appearance on "Lost" has never been more true. (Refresh your memory here)

All my wishes came true (see the end of my last "Lost" recap) and this week's episode of "Lost," "Happily Ever After," was Desmond-centric and really shed light on the whole flash-sideways/alternate reality situation. We learned last week that the flash sideways world is in fact a reality in which the Man in Black has left the island and evil has spread. Widmore brought Desmond back to the island because he is the only person who can withstand huge amounts of electromagnetic energy (remember when the hatch blew up?). Clearly, somehow Desmond is a key to keeping the Man in Black on the island and it will involve the island's huge amount of electromagnetism. Widmore's people test Desmond's immunity to the energy which sends him into the flash sideways world--a world in which he not only works for Charles Widmore, but is his right-hand man. Oh, and he doesn't even know Penny.

Widmore gives Desmond the task of collecting Charlie from the police station and delivering him to his son's concert. Charlie is less than thrilled to see Desmond. Charlie explains that when he was choking on his bag of heroin on the airplane he had a vision of the love of his life. Desmond doesn't understand because it's stressed several times in the episode that Desmond has no family, no connections, nothing tying him down. In an attempt to kill himself or to show Desmond what he means, Charlie grabs the steering wheel sending their car into the water. Desmond escapes but Charlie is passively drowning. But of course, in true "Lost" fashion, that super sad music starts playing, Charlie puts his hand to the glass and Desmond flashes. He sees Charlie's hand go to the glass and written on it is, "Not Penny's Boat." (Watch Charlie's original death here) Desmond does what he couldn't do the first time around and saves Charlie's life. At the hospital Desmond is inside a MRI machine (hello, radiation!) and flashes again and sees his life with Penny.

Needless to say, he freaks out, but loses Charlie in the process. So it's up to Desmond to inform Mrs. Widmore that due to Charlie's absence, Drive Shaft will not be performing at the concert. Mrs. Widmore, is of course the all-knowing, Eloise Hawking. She takes Desmond's news extremely well....until Desmond overhears the name "Penny" on a guest list and starts asking questions. Mrs. Hawking quickly changes tones and demands that Desmond "let it go" and continue living his life as planned. Eloise is definitely aware of the alternate reality. Desmond returns to his limousine (the chauffeur is none other than George Minkowski, the communications officer from the freighter who died from the lack of a constant) feeling defeated until he is stopped by none other than Daniel Faraday-Widmore. Daniel overheard the exchange and tells Desmond he had a similar situation after seeing a woman named Charlotte for the first time. He went home that night and spontaneiously wrote a physics equation in his notebook, despite his lack of scientifically knowledge. He tells Desmond that it's an equation for an atomic bomb that would reset time. Desmond asks if he's going to detonate a bomb, Daniel's reply, "I think I already did." Daniel tells Desmond that Penny is his sister and how he can find her.

Desmond finds Penny at the stadium (where he initially met Jack 3 years before the crash of Oceanic 815). He shakes her hand and flashes back to the island where he has survived the electromagnetic radiation. He is no longer hesitant. He tells Widmore he'll do whatever he needs. But before any of that can happen, Sayid "rescues" Desmond from the bad guys. Desmond willingly goes with him. Back in the flash sideways world, Desmond and Penny set up a coffee date. Desmond asks Minkowski for the flight manifest and says he's going to show them something.

Time and time again Desmond-centric episodes have always been my favorite. I love the tie-ins and parallels with previous episodes. I was screaming when Charlie put his hand to the glass. This episode really proves that this series' focus is not about time-travel, science fiction, or even the ultimate battle of good vs. evil, when you boil it down, it is a character based show and is based on love. Think about the power couples- Desmond and Penny, Charlie and Claire, Sun and Jin, Daniel and Charlotte, and even Rose and Bernard....these relationships have transcended time and space and still mean something even in the flash sideways world where some of these people haven't even met each other yet. I can't believe there are only 5 episodes left. I'm going to be so sad when the show is over. I have no idea what's in store for the next episode but I'm sure we can expect to see what Widmore has in store for the Man in Black, or vice versa for that matter.

BREAKING NEWS: Ricky Martin is Gay

2010-03-29T15:20:00.006-06:00

I am shocked to learn that Ricky Martin, the Puerto Rican singing sensation is gay. Ok. I'm not shocked at all. In fact, I thought it was a widely known fact. So it was much to my surprise when Twitter blew up this afternoon with the "breaking news." On Martin's official website he posted a long statement about why he's hidden his sexuality and why he is finally coming out. He says, "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am."

I think it's great that Ricky is finally accepting who he is and that he isn't ashamed of his sexuality. I just can't believe the amount of hoopla surrounding the announcement. Remember back in 1999 when he was popular and wore mesh tops and leather pants? Or when he'd do yoga on the beach with his boyfriend? Or when he adopted two babies seemingly out of nowhere?

Sarcasm aside, I think it's great. The less closeted actors/musicians/politicians the easier it may make it for young people to come out and be more accepted by their peers. You go, Ricky! Oh, and for full disclosure, I attended a Ricky Martin concert in my youth and really enjoyed myself. I think he could be popular again if he went Lady Gaga-style crazy and did fun pop music.

Lost Recap: Ab Aeterno

2010-03-26T17:16:00.011-06:00

I can't believe it's almost over. There are only eight episodes left until "Lost" is gone forever. In an unprecedented move, this week's episode of "Lost" featured none of the main characters and mostly took place in the 1860's. Pretty risky, right? Well, that risk paid off. We finally know what the island is! We found out the island's secrets through the story of our favorite, eyeliner wearing, ageless Other, Richard Alpert, played by the fabulous actor Nestor Carbonell. Let's recap.

It's 1867 on the Canary Islands and Richard Alpert is desperately trying to save his dying wife's life. In his attempts he accidentally kills the doctor, his wife dies and he is sent to prison. A day before his hanging he is sold as a slave to Magnus Hanso (great-grandfather of Alvar Hanso, of the Hanso foundation the financial backer of the Dharma Initiative) because he speaks English. He is chained to the walls of the Black Rock slave ship which during a treacherous storm knocks over the famous four toed statue and winds up in the middle of the island. The Man in Black/Smoke Monster kills the remaining crew members but passes over Richard. After days of being chained up he thinks he sees the ghost of his wife. She tells him they are both dead and that they are in hell. She leaves the ship and is "killed" by the smoke monster.

The Man in Black finally appears to Richard and frees him of the chains. He instructs Richard to go to the statue and kill "the devil" if he wants to see his wife again. Jacob tells Richard that he is not the devil, he's not in hell and certainly isn't dead. Still apprehensive, Jacob attempts to drown (or baptize?) Richard who screams, "I want to live!" convincing him he is not dead. Jacob explains to Richard that he brought the Black Rock to the island. He brings candidates to the island so that he can prove to the Man in Black that despite people's pasts the are inherently good, not evil. He explains using a bottle of wine that the wine represents, "hell" or "evil" and that the island is the cork keeping it from spreading to the rest of the world. Jacob asks Richard to be his representative to the candidates, as he does not want to intervene or persuade the people to do good. Richard agrees and in return Jacob grants him eternal life.

Jacob and the Man in Black meet and the Man in Black asks Jacob to be set free from the island. Jacob says that as long he is alive, that will not happen. The Man in Black says he will kill Jacob and anyone else he chooses to replace him. Jacob gives the Man in Black the bottle of wine who smashes it. In the present day, Richard is furious and believes his entire life has been a lie. He tells the group (Jack, Hurley, Sun, Miles, Illana, Frank, and Ben) that they are all dead and in hell. He says that he has given up listening to Jacob and is going to follow someone else. Ben informs the group that Richard has been on the island a very long time and has not aged. Richard begins his trek through the jungle to find the Man in Black but is being followed by Hurley. Hurley reveals that he has been speaking with the ghost of Richard's dead wife. They stand next to each other and have a final moment together with Hurley as the translator. She tells Richard that he must stop the Man in Black from leaving the island or they will all go to hell. Locke (Man in Black) is in the distance watching the interaction and does not seem pleased.

Everyone has been complaining that there have been no answers, but I think there's been some pretty big reveals this season.
• The island acts as a cork keeping evil from seeping into the rest of the world. (Could the flash sideways taking place this season be telling what the world would be like if the island didn't exist?)
• Jacob has brought people to island to prove that despite their pasts people are inherently good. So far all the candidates have died except #8- Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, #15- James "Sawyer" Ford, #16- Sayid Jarrah, #23- Jack Shepard, and #42- Sun or Jin Kwon.
• Which brings me to the point of the numbers, one of the most puzzling parts of the series. We learned earlier in this season that they represent the candidates who all have met Jacob at some point in their lives and that they are in fact on the island for a reason.
• We learned definitively that the Smoke Monster is an incarnation of the Man in Black and also that he takes on the forms of dead people on the island such as Christian Shepard (posing as a representative of Jacob who convinced John Locke to die), Alex Linus (who convinces Ben to follow the orders of Locke/Man in Black), and John Locke (who instructs Ben to kill Jacob).
• We now know how the statue came to be broken, where the Black Rock came from and why Richard Alpert never ages. Although, I'm still curious about the eyeliner.

I loved this episode and am so happy Richard Alpert finally had his day. Nestor Carbonell has waited around patiently for three and half seasons and it's finally paid off. I wonder if he knew back in 2007 (after his first appearance in the episode "Not in Portland") that he would turn out to be one of the key players in the show. Speaking of key players, where in the hell is Desmond? Is he ever going to be seen again? He's listed as a series regular this season but hasn't been seen since his tiny part in the first episode. I'm having Des withdrawals. Hopefully with last episode's appearance by Charles Widmore we'll be seeing more of his son-in-law, Desmond.

Returning Favorites

2010-03-25T19:22:00.012-06:00

A few of my favorite TV shows returned this week. I feel like I was waiting forever to get some answers to some of the cliffhangers we were left with last season. First up, on "Breaking Bad" (AMC, Sunday) last season Skylar found out that Walt has been keeping secrets from her and that Walt's rich friends Elliot and Gretchen have not been paying for his cancer treatment. After Jesse's girlfriend, Jane, died of a drug overdose (partially Walt's fault) he checked himself into rehab. Jane's father, an air traffic controller wrought with grief, accidentally caused two 737's to collide in the air above Walt's home. Which finally shed light on the creepy, foreboding season two opening that showed debris and body bags being wheeled down the White's driveway.

This season's bizarre opening showed a bunch of Mexican's crawling on their hands and knees to some sort of shrine. Among them, two very wealthy looking, Mexican gangsters who enter the shrine and post a drawing of what looks like Walter White's drug dealer persona, Heisenberg. Although it also looked a little like the amateur drawing of a leprechaun or the cover of Jason Mraz's CD. Then the gangsters travelled across the border and killed a bunch of people. So we'll see where this is going to lead us...A lot happened in the first episode...Jesse's out of rehab, Walt is struggling with the fact that due to him allowing Jane to die he inadvertently caused the death of 167 people in the airplane crash. He reveals to Skylar that he in fact manufactures methamphetamine. She's sickened. Walter Jr. aka Flynn is not handling his parents separation well and wants some answers.

Next up, "Nurse Jackie's" (Showtime, Monday) first season finale left me dying to know what happens next. (Click here to read my full summary of season one) Eddie, the man Jackie's been having an affair with, found out that she has a husband and children and decided to introduce himself to Jackie's husband. He doesn't reveal his affair but he isn't going to let go of Jackie very easily. Jackie had to fight of Dr. Coop's advances after she made out with him. Now he has feelings when she was just trying distract him to get him off her case. All of it became too much for Jackie to handle so she downed a couple of bottles of liquid morphine.

In the season opener I was a little disappointed that so far there have been no repercussions for Jackie's actions. I thought for sure she was going to get caught for stealing the drugs. Instead, she was forced by Akalitus to give the nurses a talking to about the drug shortages. Eddie keeps trying to get a hold of Jackie and decides a fake accidental overdose is the best way to get her attention. Dr. Coop is still torn about his feelings and lodges a formal complaint about Jackie. The previews for what's to come seem pretty exciting but this episode was a little lackluster. Oh, and Momo's (Jackie's gay bff) absence was very noticeable. I did some googling and Haaz Sleiman (Momo) is no longer on the show. Now we're left with only one gay nurse, the ogre, Thor, who just isn't the same.

And finally, "United States of Tara," (Showtime, Monday) was a crazy ride last season. It is the most interesting, funny, sweet show with the most likable characters. Tara's alters spun out of control and started ruining her family's lives. In an effort to find the cause of her dissociative identity disorder Tara contacts a man she believes raped her in boarding school. Turns out, he was just having sex with "T" one of Tara's alters. Another alter is introduced, one that wears a poncho and pees on things. So we were left with little resolved and I was ok with that. It's a great show that is always entertaining to watch.

The first episode of season two sets up the path for Tara to discover what truly happened to her to cause her disorder. She's back on her meds and hasn't transitioned in months but when their neighbor commits suicide she seems all too interested in the details. Conveniently, the man's sister asks Tara and her family to look after the place and take in the mail giving Tara an easy in to the home. I hear that this event is going to force Tara to face her past and begin to understand why she is the way she is...after being in his house once it already caused her to transition into Buck and to flirt with a bartender played by Joey Lauren Adams who will be back for at least 3 more episodes.

I was very glad to find out today that both "Nurse Jackie" and "United States of Tara" have already been renewed for a third season.

John Mayer visits St. Louis

2010-03-24T17:43:00.007-06:00

John Mayer returned to St. Louis Saturday night for his Battle Studies tour at the Scottrade Center. It was the first time I've seen John Mayer indoors. He usually tours during the summer and plays at outdoor arenas so I was a little weary about what it would be like to see him in such a huge venue. Would it sound the same? Would it be sold out? One of the best parts of seeing John Mayer outside is that everyone is cramped together on the lawn, singing and dancing along, warm weather, nighttime....you get the picture. I was pleasantly surprised to feel comfortable inside. It didn't seem too big and it looked like most of the seats were filled. I would have been bothered if I could see empty seats...it would just seem wrong. Anyways, Michael Franti and Spearhead opened the show. He was probably the most entertaining opening act I've seen in a long time. People really seemed to be into his set which is interesting because I've only ever heard one of his songs. After waiting in a line for 15 minutes to use the bathroom, John Mayer finally hit the stage and kicked off the show with his hit single, "Heartbreak Warfare."

He ditched his leather jacket, bared his arms and went straight into a mash up of "Why Georgia" and "Message in a Bottle." Next came "Vultures," "Something's Missing," and "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room," which was definitely a crowd favorite. He played "Perfectly Lonely," and "Assassin," from the album "Battle Studies," and then he really shocked me. Out of nowhere he played "Wheel," the final track on "Heavier Things," a song he almost never plays in concert, and one of my all time favorites. It's a pretty emotional song and reminds me of high school. I flipped out when I heard it. It made up for all of my other favorite songs he didn't play. I took a bathroom break during "Daughters." He then played "Crossroads," "Waiting on the World to Change," "Half of my Heart," and ended with "No Such Thing." I was a little sad that out of all of his music he played "No Such Thing." It's not a bad song, but it's not great either. I would have rather heard just about any other song from "Room for Squares."

For the encore he came back with "Who Says." Despite the concert being indoors, people definitely started lighting up during his, "who says I can't get stoned," song. With everyone throwing up their lighters and cell phones, John decided to turn off all the lights on stage and went into "Gravity." Appropriately the lights came up during the lyrics, "keep me where the light is." John then went into 5 minutes of some serious guitar playing...over his head and on the ground. It was really amazing and was the perfect way to end the show. I was ready for him to smash his guitar and light it on fire after all the theatrics. My favorites of the night- "Heartbreak Warfare," "Why Georgia," "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room," "Wheel," "Half of my Heart," and "Gravity." I loved the show and I love John. Can't wait until I can see him live again.

(as always, click on the pictures to make them bigger!)

Get Ready for Glee

2010-03-24T16:16:00.007-06:00

It's only three weeks away until "Glee" returns to TV on Tuesday, April 13. The first half of the season was a such a success and now they're coming back with a full "Madonna" themed episode and bringing on guest stars like Neil Patrick Harris, Jennifer Lopez and Idina Menzel. I'm definitely ready for more after seeing the latest promos.

Let me just say that hearing Lea Michele sing "Like a Prayer" gave me serious chills. She is so talented it's sick. This second promo had me laughing out loud. Take a few minutes and watch "Sue's Corner," the hilarious news segment featuring cheerleading coach, Sue Sylvester, played by the outrageous Jane Lynch. This week's "Sue's Corner," is all about sneaky gays.

What will happen to Quinn and Puck's baby? Will Mr. Schue and Emma work out? Will "New Directions" finally get the respect it deserves? We'll find out when Glee returns. You can watch "Glee" on Fox on Tuesday nights after "American Idol" starting April 13. If you missed the first volume of "Glee: Road to Sectionals" you can buy it here on Amazon or watch online at Hulu.

Lost Recap: Sundown

2010-03-03T19:28:00.009-06:00

Last night's episode of "Lost," "Sundown," was another doozy. I will admit that this episode didn't necessarily reveal a lot, but the last ten minutes were phenomenal.

On the island, Sayid confronts Dogen (Asian Other) and wants to know why he wants him dead. They get into an insane fight and right as Dogen is about to off Sayid a baseball drops to the floors and Dogen suddenly stops. Out in the jungle, Locke (Man in Black) sends Claire into the temple to do his dirty work. She goes in and tells Dogen that he wants to speak with him outside of the temple. Of course Dogen knows better to so he proposes to Sayid that he go out into the jungle and kill what he considers, "evil incarnate," someone who will appear to Sayid as someone he knows that is dead. For some reason Sayid agrees, leaves the temple and sees Locke and stabs him in the chest. Absolutely nothing happens and Locke seems pretty pissed off. Locke has a super fiesty 'tude and tells Sayid that Dogen knew he would fail at killing him and sent him out there in hopes that Locke would kill Sayid. Locke knows better and promises Sayid anything he wants, including his dead wife, Nadia, in exchange for Sayid to go back into the temple and deliver a message.

Sayid goes back to the temple and tells the Other's that Jacob is dead and that everyone needs to leave the temple if they don't want to die at sundown. Chaos ensues. Kate returns to the temple after leaving Sawyer several episodes earlier. Miles fills her in that the Australian chick is back. Claire, who has been put into some sort of restraining hole at the temple is singing a creepy rendition of "Catch a Falling Star," the song she wished to sing to Aaron before he was born. Kate meets her and Claire seems genuinely happy to see her, that is until Kate let's her know that she took Aaron off the island and raised him and that she came back to rescue her. Claire, in a super creepy tone tells Kate that she's not the one that needs rescuing. She says "he's coming."

Sun, Illana, Lapidus and Ben arrive at the temple and meet up with Miles. Miles informs Sun that Jin is still alive but they have to get the hell out of there. Sayid stays behind and confronts Dogen. Dogen gives his sob story about how he nearly killed his son because he was drunk driving him home from baseball practice. Jacob came to him and promised he would save his sons life if he came to the island and promised never to see him again. Sayid takes little pity and drowns Dogen. All hell breaks loose and Smokey (aka Locke, aka Man in Black) is killing people left and right. Ben finds Sayid standing in the pool of water and sees something different in him. He runs away looking truly terrified. Sun, Illana, Lapidus, Ben and Miles escape through the secret exit. Kate goes after Claire. Claire suggests she jump into the hole, which she does just before Smokey passes overhead.

Claire, Sayid and Kate walk outside the temple among all the wreckage. An even creepier sounding "Catch a Falling Star," is playing, it's definitely very eerie. Claire and Sayid come face to face with Locke and Others who are waiting for them. Over their shoulders Locke see's Kate.

In the alternate reality, what most people are calling a flash sideways (similar to previous season's flashbacks and flashforwards), Sayid arrives at Nadia's house (his dead ex-wife for those keeping track). Turns out she's married to Sayid's brother, Omar and has two kids with him. Omar has made some bad business deals and people are after him. He gets mugged and put into the hospital. Nadia confronts Sayid why he pushed her towards his brother if he loves her so much. He says it's because he wasn't worthy of her he's been trying to wash his hands clean of the horrible things he's done. Either way the bad guys kidnap Sayid. Turns out Keamy (that bad guy from the freighter) is the head bad guy. Sayid knocks one of them out, gets a gun and kills them all. He hears muffled noises and who's tied up in a meat locker? None other than Jin Kwon.

My thoughts- So is Kate joining the Man in Black and is going to the dark side? Could it have something to do with the fact that she was not one of Jacob's remaining candidates? I'm really curious to see more confrontation between Claire and Kate. Also, Dogen told Sayid that this "evil incarnate" takes the shape of someone who has died, now I know Hurley has talked to dead people before, but when he thinks he is talking to the ghost of Jacob, is he really talking to the Man in Black??? And also when he has seen the ghosts of Charlie, Libby and Ana Lucia, was that the Man in Black, too? Or was it Jacob manifesting himself in their bodies? It's all very confusing.

Lost Recap: The Numbers, The Lighthouse, Jack's Son!

2010-03-03T15:57:00.010-06:00

I work on Tuesday nights so I've fallen a little behind on my "Lost" recaps. But wow, a lot has happened in the last three episodes. I still can't believe that there are only ten episodes left and "Lost" will be finished forever. I've read a lot of complaints that people think the episodes aren't moving fast enough and that not enough has been revealed...I completely disagree....shall we recap?

"The Substitute" which aired February 16 was the first episode to reveal one of "Lost's" great secrets. Locke (Man in Black) takes Sawyer to a creepy cave promising to tell him why they are all on this island. He shows him writing on the walls and ceiling. It reads, 4-Locke, 8-Reyes, 15-Ford, 16-Jarrah, 23-Shepard, and 42-Kwon. Locke explains that Jacob has appeared to all of them earlier in their lives and that the choices they made that lead them to the island weren't their choices after all.

They are all Jacob's candidates to take over as protector of the island. Sawyer is obviously super confused and asks Locke what he's supposed to do. Locke says they're are three choices. 1. Do nothing and possibly get crossed of the list (meaning death) 2. Accept the job and become the new Jacob (even though Locke says the island really doesn’t need protecting) 3. Get off this island and never look back. Locke asks Sawyer if he's ready to go home. Sawyer's response, "hell yes."

Oh, and I almost forgot...Sun, Lapidus, Illana and Ben bury the body of the real John Locke. Benjamin Linus delivers an amazing eulogy, "John Locke was a believer. He was a man of faith. He was a much better man than I will ever be and I’m very sorry I murdered him.”

Meanwhile, off the island, John is still with Helen (played by Katey Sagal), which makes me super happy. He's still living a pretty miserable, handicapped life, but at least he has Helen! Locke gets fired from his job but runs into the new owner of the cardboard company, Hugo Reyes, who tells John to go to his temp agency and he'll hook him up with a job. John's employment consultant- Rose. Rose reveals that she still has terminal cancer. She finds John a job as a substitute teacher in a middle school. John walks into the teachers lounge and meets a whiney fellow teacher, none other than Benjamin Linus. Dun dun dun!

My thoughts- So we finally have some meaning to the numbers, thank god. But I'm wondering, after all the other numbers (candidates) have been gradually crossed out, why have 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42 been stand out numbers the entire time? Hurley first heard the numbers from Leonard, a fellow mental patient at Santa Rosa. Leonard heard the numbers with Sam Toomey on a repeat transmission when they were naval officers in the 80's. The numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42 were the serial numbers engraved on the door to the Swan station as it was being built by the Dharma Initiative in the 70's. So I'm still unsure how or who knew those numbers would be important 30 years before the gang came to the island. Oh, and Kate? Not a candidate? That's pretty shocking. Off the island, I'm wondering why Rose still has cancer. Everyone else's paths seem to have changed, but not hers...I wonder if she's still with Bernard.

The next episode, "The Lighthouse," which aired on February 23 reveals more in the alternate reality than it does on the island, in my opinion. Jack is still reeling after his father's coffin has been lost by Oceanic Airlines. After viewing his father's will with his mother, they see that Claire Littleton is listed. Neither have any idea who she is or her relationship to Christian Shepard. Oh and did I mention that Jack has a brooding, moody teenage son!?! What the heck? The kid, David, acts just like Jack and their relationship is very similar to Jack and Christian's relationship. Turns out little David is a piano prodigy, one of Jack's favorite pastimes.

On the island, Jacob appears to Hurley and gives him detailed instructions (which Hurley writes on his arm, love it!). Hurley takes Jack out into the jungle and reminisces saying it’s old school, and cool, hiking through the jungle on their way to do something they really don’t understand. Good times. Hurley asks why Jack came back. “I came back here because I was broken and I was stupid enough to think this place could fix me.” They finally reach their destination, the lighthouse. At the top Jack is following Hurley's instructions turning a giant wheel to specific coordinates which are moving a set of mirrors reflecting sunlight. Jack sees his own name next to the number 23. He turns the dial and sees a reflection of his childhood home in the mirror. Jack puts two and two together and realizes that Jacob has been watching and brought him here for a reason. Jack is pissed and smashes the mirrors. Jacob appears to Hurley who asks why he wanted Jack to see that, Jacob says he wanted Jack to see how powerful he is....and he succeeded.

If you're curious about all the other names on the dial and who they are click here.

Oh and Jin is hanging with Claire in her humble abode in the jungle. She has a crib with an improvised baby made of animal bones and fur, a box full of dynamite, along with other troubling things. She interrogates one of the Other's she shot about where Aaron is. As she's about to kill the Other, Jin spills the beans and reveals that Kate took Aaron off the island. Claire kills the Other anyway. Jin recants his story and Claire is relieved because if she did, Claire would have to kill her.

My thoughts- Who the hell is the mother of Jack's son?! If you remember, last time we saw Jack's ex-wife Sarah, was last seen picking Jack up from the emergency room when he tried to jump off the bridge. She was very pregnant. Could Sarah and Jack have stayed married and had David? And if Sarah isn't David's mother, I'm awfully curious who is...

Wow, that was a lot to handle....now off to recap last night's Sayid-centric episode, "Sundown."

Lost Recap: You're not a zombie, right?

2010-02-10T15:17:00.013-06:00

“What Kate Does,” the third episode in the final season of “Lost,” definitely was not as shocking as the first two episodes but I still think it packed a punch. I am loving all the intentional similarities and parallel situations that are happening on and off the island that resemble previous seasons of “Lost.” In my recap I’ll try to refresh your memory if you haven’t seen each episode as many times as I have thanks to reruns on the Sy-fy network. Be sure to click on all the links for more clarification and maybe some humor! (It's easier to right click on links and choose, "open in new window" so you don't have to keep leaving and coming back.)

On the island, Sayid wakes from the dead. Everyone’s stunned reactions reminded of “The Lion King,” (Simba! He’s Alive!). The Asian Other and Other With Glasses take Sayid, strap him to a table and torture him. Sayid doesn’t understand why. Other With Glasses says they are testing him and he passed.

Meanwhile, another Other runs in and tries to start trouble with the gang (Kate, Jack, Hurley, Jin, Miles, etc…) and holy crap...Is that Mac from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia?” I had to rewind a few times, but then I remembered Mac (Rob McElhenney) was definitely on “Lost” and played a guard who Kate knocks out in order to save Karl from brainwashing. Either way, Sawyer breaks up the little scuffle with a gun, obviously, and demands to be let out of the Temple. Kate and Jin volunteer to go with Aldo (Mac) to bring him back. Kate clearly just wants to go wherever Sawyer goes and I assume Jin volunteers because he wants to find Sun. Out in the jungle all of my suspicions are confirmed. Much to Aldo and that other Other’s dismay Kate knocks them out and she and Jin go off on their own.

Back at the Temple Jack tries to confront Asian Other and Other with Glasses. They want Jack to give Sayid a pill to stop the infection. Jack is skeptical and starts asking questions. After Jack tries to take the pill himself and Asian Other heimlich’s it out of him, it is revealed the pill is poison. The Other’s want to kill Sayid because he has been claimed. Finally, Hurley asks the question that all of us nerds have been wondering for a long, long time…”You’re not a zombie, right?” Unfortunately, Sayid’s answer is no. What an interesting turn of events that could have been.

Kate eventually tracks Saywer to the Dharma Barracks and finds Sawyer in he and Juliet’s old house. Kate follows him to the dock and explains she came back to the island to find Claire and says she’s sorry about Juliet. Sawyer says it’s his fault because he kept her from leaving on a submarine three years earlier. He tells Kate, “Some of us are just meant to be alone,” and then in a totally “Titanic” (you will not regret clicking that link!) moment throws a wedding ring he was going to give Juliet into the ocean.

At the Temple, Asian Other tells Jack, that there is a darkness growing inside Sayid and once it reaches his heart everything about him will be gone. Jack asks, “How can you be sure about that?” Asian Other’s response, “Because it happened to your sister.” DUN DUN DUN. (If you don't remember, Claire is Jack's sister. They share the same father, Christian Shepard.)

Flash to Jin in the jungle, Aldo (Mac) and the other Other catch up to him and are about to kill him when all of sudden Aldo gets shot several times. In a classic Jin moment, he looks up and sees some sort of jungle creature with frizzy blonde hair wielding a rifle and says, “Claire?” Apparently she’s been in the jungle, Rousseau style this whole time. I guess more on that next episode.

In the alternative reality in Los Angeles, Kate is still in the car-jacked taxi with Claire. Arzt has dropped his luggage in the middle of the street which holds them back from speeding off. This gives Kate a chance to look out the window and make some weird eye contact with Jack, who at this point is a stranger to her. The cab driver flees. Kate takes the wheel and finally Claire grows a pair and escapes from the taxi. And Aha! We see that Claire is still pregnant. Kate goes to a mechanic to get her handcuffs removes and sees in Claire’s luggage that she’s pregnant. Kate feels guilty and finds Claire sitting on the side of the road. She gives her bags back. Claire explains that the couple adopting her baby was supposed to pick her up at the airport but they must have forgotten. In some strange turn of events Claire decides to trust the gun wielding Kate, and Kate drives her to the couple’s home.

At the door, the weepy woman tells Claire that her husband has left her and even though she wants a baby she can’t do it on her own. The exact reason Claire gave for giving up her baby in the first place. But of course the drama doesn’t end there, Claire spontaneously goes into labor on the front porch. Kate takes Claire to the ER and stays by her side. Guess who Claire’s doctor is….Ethan! Of course. Ethan explains she can have the baby now or he can try to stop the labor and they can try again in a few weeks. He says, “I don’t want to stick you with needles if I don’t have to.” Which is exactly what he was doing on the island; giving her injections in the middle of the night and eventually kidnapping her and taking her to the medical station. Creepy!

And for one more bit of suspense, the machine’s start going crazy and Claire screams out asking if Aaron’s ok. Ethan responds, “I have a feeling Aaron is going to be a handful.” Clearly this is in reference to the speculation that Aaron is a very important part to the “Lost” story. Claire asks Kate why she’s running from the law, Kate says, “Would you believe me if I said I was innocent?” Claire does. Kate tells Claire she should keep Aaron.

In this episode we learned…
Other’s believe Sayid needs to die because of his infection.
Sawyer is still super down about Juliet’s death.
Kate and Claire still have a connection even in the alternate reality.
Claire is still alive on the island.

My thoughts, theories and questions…
In regards to this whole Sayid being infected issue- could this have anything to do with the sickness Rousseau claimed her entire team was infected with leading her to kill all of them?

Kate starts crying when Sawyer leaves her on the dock. Is she sad because she feels bad for Sawyer? I kind of got the feeling she was feeling like things were never going to happen between them.

We last saw Claire acting pretty strange in Jacob's cabin with Christian Shepard. Where has she been this whole time and why did she go off with him the first place? There's definitely a lot of questions about her whereabouts and if she is even the same Claire.

I love that Kate is still going to be involved with the birth of Aaron. If you remember, Kate birthed Aaron on the island. Also, could Kate be innocent in the alternate reality? I thought it was poignant that the episode was titled, “What Kate Does,” and showed Kate being a good person whereas the season two episode, “What Kate Did,” tells the story of how Kate killed her father.

While this episode wasn’t the greatest in terms of answering our many questions I think it’s a good setup in terms of things to come.

What the??? Lost Recap

2010-02-03T21:42:00.027-06:00

The bomb has detonated on the island. We flash to see Oceanic flight 815 still in the air. Jack and Rose chat through the turbulence. The turbulence ends and the plane does not crash. But who decides to take a seat next to Jack? DESMOND! Whaaaaaaat? He was looking super sexy, but he was never on 815, so what’s really going on here? Meanwhile, back on the island Kate wakes up in a tree. Jack, Sawyer, Jin, Hurley and Miles are all close by, disoriented from the explosion. Clearly this is some sort of alternate reality. It’s hard to say whether or not what’s happening on the plane is reality or if being on the island is real, or if it’s both real, so I’m just going to go ahead and take the plane/LA story line as it’s own. Feel free to skim over this insanely long recap but be sure to read what we learned in this episode, my theories/questions and the death tracker

On the island...
Kate, Sawyer and Jack realize that they are at the site of the hatch. Sawyer is pissed. He kicks Jack right in the face sending him tumbling into the hole. Sawyer blames Jack for Juliet’s death and is even angrier that his plan to reset time did not work. But through some crazy miracle Kate hears a feeble voice calling for help. It’s of course Juliet, who somehow survived detonating a hydrogen bomb. The gang starts digging up the metal to save her. Back at the Dharma van Sayid is still suffering from a gunshot wound and near death. Jin and Miles run to help save Juliet. Hurley starts seeing dead people again and comes face to face with Jacob (who was stabbed and thrown into a fire at the end of season 5). Jacob sends Hurley on a mission to save Sayid telling him to take him to the Temple.

Back at Jacob’s foot-statue-home, Ben and Locke (the Man in Black is possessing John Locke’s body) are still inside hovering over the fire. Ben looks terribly confused and frightened. Outside of the foot, Richard makes sure that Ben comes face to face with Locke’s dead body on the beach. He goes back into the foot and bring the Ajira “In the shadow of the statue” folks with him. They of course go nuts and start firing at Locke. Locke disappears and we hear that familiar noise of the smoke monster. Smokey takes out all the Ajira folks but the Ajira ogre surrounds himself with a circle of white ash which apparently Smokey can’t get through….it takes all of 5 seconds for Smokey to knock him out of the circle and kill him. Smokey disappears, Locke returns….clearly the Man in Black is also the smoke monster. Ben looks like he’s going to pee he pants, Locke’s response? “I’m sorry you had to see me like that.”

At the hatch, Sawyer finds Juliet under the metal. They share some words and a kiss and Juliet dies in his arms but not before mentioning she had something really important to tell him. Jack, Hurley, Kate and Jin take Sayid to the Temple. Sawyer and Miles hang back to bury Juliet. Sawyer forces Miles to find out Juliet’s last thought, which is, “It worked.” At the Temple the gang is captured by the Others and brought into the Temple. What was up with the Others back in the their crazy tribal clothes? The Others who lived at the barracks dressed in modern clothing. Either way, they are about to shoot the group but Hurley once again saves the day and turns over the guitar case that Jacob gave him back in LA. Inside the case is a wooden ankh, inside it is a note. The Others ask the group their names. I’m assuming their names are all on the list. Jacob’s lists were referenced in the early seasons. The Others tell them they must save Sayid or else really bad stuff will happen. So they put Sayid into a pool of some questionable spring water and flip an hourglass. Sayid starts thrashing about but eventually drowns. Jack performs never ending CPR despite Kate begging him to stop, reminiscent of his fight to save Charlie’s life after he was hanged by Ethan. It doesn’t work. Cindy, a tailie and the flight attendant from the original Flight 815 who was captured by the Others is alive and well as are the two children who were also taken. The Others want to know where Jacob is and Hurley tells them he’s dead. The Others start going crazy, manning their posts, spreading ash and shooting a flare into the air. The gang starts to panic, wondering what’s going on, the Other’s say it “isn’t to keep you in, it’s to keep him out.”

Inside the foot, Locke (Man in Black) and Ben have a heart to heart. He reveals that the real Locke’s last thought before Ben murdered him was, “I don’t understand.” He says Locke was wise; he was the only one who didn’t want to leave the island, the only one who realized how pitiful the life he left behind really was. But the Man in Black wants the one thing John Locke didn’t….he wants to go home. They return to the beach and Richard sees the flare. He realizes who Locke (Man in Black) really is. Locke says it’s nice to see Richard out of his chains, leading us to believe Richard came over on the Black Rock, the slave ship shipwrecked on the island. Locke (Man in Black) knocks Richard out and throws him over his shoulder. At the Temple we see one last glimpse of the gang and holy shit, Sayid’s alive.

On the plane….
While all hell is breaking loose on the island we keep seeing glimpses of Oceanic flight 815. Kate is still a prisoner. Sayid is looking at a picture of his long, lost love, Nadya. Sawyer talks to Hurley who claims, “he is the luckiest guy alive.” Hurley is hassled by Arzt! Sun and Jin are together, Jin acts as oppressive as always. Boone is sitting next to John Locke. Boone says he left Shannon in Australia. John says he did in fact go on his walkabout. Boone says if “this thing goes down, I’m sticking with you.” So bittersweet considering that happened during the first crash and his friendship with Locke caused Boone his life. Flight attendant, Cindy, calls for a doctor because someone’s passed out in the bathroom. CHAAAAALIEE!!! Charlie’s unconscious with a bag of heroin down his throat which sends Jack looking for a pen…..like in the pilot episode where Jack sends Boone on a frenzied search for a pen. Jack saves Charlie but Charlie claims he “was supposed to die.”

Captain Norris (aka Greg Grunberg, the pilot who was Smokey’s first kill) makes the announcement the plane is about to land. Kate escapes from the air marshall and has a little encounter with Sawyer in the airport elevator. In her desperate attempt to flee she jumps in the cab line ahead of Frogurt who is not having it. The air marshall is on her tail so Kate hops in a cab with none other than her good pal Claire Littleton. Jack finds out that his father’s coffin was never put on the plane. Locke, who is still wheelchair bound (despite telling Boone he did his walkabout) is missing his bag of knives. Jack asks John about his condition and says he’s interested because he’s a spinal surgeon. John says he can’t be fixed. Jack says, “Nothing is irreversible.” Quite the role reversal of faith verse science, eh?

In this episode we learned…
Man in Black is the smoke monster.
Man in Black is in fact inhabiting John Locke’s body, despite the fact his actual dead body is on the beach.
White ash, like the ash surrounding Jacob’s cabin, repels Smokey.
Jacob is dead. The Others are very afraid of the Man in Black.
According to Juliet’s last thought, detonating the bomb worked.
Sawyer is not going to take Juliet’s death lying down.
Everyone minus Shannon and plus Desmond are on Oceanic Flight 815 in some sort of alternate reality.

My theories and questions…
So as we suspected last season, the Man in Black is able to possess or take on the appearance of dead people on the island. That’s how we’ve seen Christian Shepard (Jack’s dad) walking around and giving advice saying he was acting on Jacob’s behalf. Especially important consider Christian told Locke before spinning the donkey wheel he was “going to have to die” if he wanted to set things right in season 5. Did the Man in Black want Locke’s body? I believe the Man in Black also possessed Alex’s body (Ben Linus’s daughter) when she told Ben to do whatever John said. I don’t think Sayid is really all of a sudden magically alive, I think it’s the Man in Black.

I can’t even take a stab at how the whole alternate reality, 815 landing situation is going to play out.

I thought Juliet being alive for a final goodbye was pretty cheesy. I understand they had to bring her back to refresh everyone's memories how in love she and Sawyer were to justify his anger this season, but I could have done without it.

I loved the chat between John and Jack at the airport. It was interesting to hear Jack sound so positive and John say he couldn't be fixed. It was great hearing the old John Locke, not the evil one. I squealed when I saw his giant orange peel smile.

I'm really looking forward to finding out Richard's backstory. Why doesn't he age? Is he a leader or a follower? Why does he wear eyeliner?

Death Tracker
I came up with a little rundown of people who are dead, who we thought were dead and people who were dead but aren’t anymore at the end of season 6, episode 1.

John Locke- definitely murdered by Benjamin Linus in season 5, although the Man in Black is using his body.
Juliet- presumed dead at the end of season 5 after detonating a hydrogen bomb, actually alive, but only for ten minutes or so...long enough to say goodbye to Sawyer but eventually kicked the bucket.
Sayid- wounded at the end of season 5, still wounded, then drowned and declared dead, yet comes to at the end of the episode.
Charlie- drowned in the hydra station in season 3, in alternate reality almost died choking on a bag of heroin, resuscitated by Jack.
Boone- crushed by beachcomber and died in season 1, alive on flight 815 in alternate reality.
Leslie Arzt- high school science teacher who blew himself up with dynamite in season 1, alive and well on flight 815 in alternate reality.
Frogurt- yogurt storeowner, shot and killed with flaming arrow by Widmore’s group in season 5, alive and in LA in alternate reality.
Seth Norris- pilot of Oceanic 815, first victim of the smoke monster in season 1, alive and safely lands the plane in alternate reality.

Thoughts? Theories? I loved the episode. I’m so glad it’s back and I feel like we’re finally going to be rewarded for all our hard work trying to figure out this madness!