"...I hear you call my name..."

I am getting increasingly annoyed at US TV shows getting the axe, and ending on a whopping cliffhanger. This year it happened to both V and The Event, last year FlashForward and to a lesser extent, Heroes.

[Incidentally; spoilers for said shows follow.]

American TV has always been ready to chop shows with little mercy, and in the days when each show was always a self contained story, this was much less of an issue. However, now many shows have epic, overarching storylines, and when a show like this gets the axe, it mostly never gets an ending to the story. Instead we are left dangling.

V ended with Anna giving her Bliss to the world, a trio of key deaths, another character in peril, and the introduction of a whole new aspect to the show in the shape of Project Aries. Its axing meant that Marc Singer's character, instead of being the important person he was destined to be is now a mere footnote to proceedings; little more than a fan-pleasing cameo.

The Event ended with the plan to unleash the virus thwarted, the array rather than just brining Sophia's people to Earth bringing the entire frickin' planet; and even with that brief last exchange between the president's wife and her son; "What is it mommy?", "Home" just made you ache for more.

FlashForward ended just as we actually got to the point of the first flash forward, with tantalising hints of the end of the world in a few years time.

And Heroes... although the main points of the season had been wrapped up - the carnival storyline, there was that tantalising moment at the end where Claire announces the existence of those with powers to the world...

You see, the trouble is that by the time a show gets word it's getting the axe, it's too late to give a conclusion. Both V and Heroes had already aired when they got the axe, with the other two getting the chop after filming had finished with just a couple of episodes to screen. This meant there was no way that any of the shows could have an ending. They just had to put up with what they had already got in the can. Moments intended as cliffhangers had to serve as cliffhangers.

In the case of all of these, they were pretty much gamechanging moments; however, in the end, they're now only gamechangers in the same way that Eric Cartman picking up his ball and hissing "Screw you guys, I'm going home" is to the kids' ball game.

I really can't help but wish that they'd all got the word of the axing earlier; that way last episodes could have been changed so that they were able to fashion an ending, even if a rushed one. That's not an unreasonable demand, is it?

I remember Quantum Leap ending; that last ever episode was just meant to be an end of season episode. But, with a small amount of overdubbing, and a couple of captions (which still manage to make me wonderfully happy, and depressingly sad at the same time) the show got an ending. But, that was an episodic, rather than a serial, show, and thus much easier to tweak at the last moment.

Lost spoilt us, I think; from the end of Season 3 we knew that there would definitely be just three more, shorter, seasons and then it would be The End. That meant they had the space to give the show the ending they wanted, and they wouldn't have to to either stretch out or unduly compress the ending.

And it really makes you wary of investing time in a new show, as you'll have it in the back of your mind that there'll be a chance that it won't last beyond 24-ish episodes, and be unresolved. Of next year's crop I'm looking forward to Alcatraz (with Jorge Garcia; there's a trailer already. It's great), and Person of Interest (with Michael Emerson). But part of me thinks I should wait until the end of the season to see if they get picked up at least for a second season. I just don't want the disappointment should one or the other get the axe with a whopping cliffhanger.

Of course, there is one inherent irony here; my favourite show remains Twin Peaks. A show that got axed after 30 episodes. And ends on a whopper of a cliffhanger. And they knew they were getting the axe in time to give the show an ending. But Lynch and Frost chose to end on that cliffhanger.

"...we've been waiting for you..."

Okay. So I have been rather slack in respect to the ol' blog of late. I had meant to post after every episode of Lost, for example, but events seemed to overtake me. So, I never got to say how moving I felt the sideways Ben episode was, how great it was to see Sawyer as a cop, the brilliance of the Richard episode, and how moving the Libby & Hurley scenes were, and how it was great to see Charles on the island, and the sense of dread that pemeated through episodes 12-14, and how shocking the events on the sub were, and how flat the Jacob episode was (could have been done in half the time), how I shed a tear at a scene of two people talking in a kitchen, and how Charles was so offhandedly killed... and... so many things.

But, in The End...

First of all, I would like to stake my colours to the post right from the off; I loved the final episode of Lost to bits. It wasn't what I expected from the show at all, but it gave a resolution to all that really mattered in the show. Yes, there were questions remaining unanswered, but that really doesn't matter. I have seen so many posts just whinging that a minor plot point from an episode in Season 2 (or whatever) has been left hanging. I've even seen people complaining that things that had already been answered hadn't been. And there were also many questions that, although not directly answered, can be answered if the brain is put together and you actually think about the show. Does everything need to be spoon fed? Strewth. Get a grip. I've seen people say that if a pseudo-scientific explanation was given for, say, the light, or for how the island moves that would have improved things. I mean, would it really matter if, in all solemnity, if Jacob had said to the Candidates that this was due to the transperambulation of pseudo cosmic antimatter, or something...??? I mean, really? Damon and Carlton had said in interviews during the season they didn't want to get all "midi-chlorian" with answers, as sometimes if you know too much about something, it lessens it. Does the midi-chlorian explanation enhance understanding of the Force, or does it diminish it. I suggest the latter...

Anyway; what is needed from a resolution is that it is true to the programme, and true to the characters, and what we got most definitely was. I tell you; for about the last 10-15 minutes, when it was becoming obvious what was going on with the sideways world, and the significance of the location of the light (behind the bamboo grove), I started to blub. It had such an impact on me, so by the time Vincent lays down next to the almost dead Jack, I was in floods. All I cared was that the finale was a fitting end, and that when that last "Lost" pinged on screen it felt like a complete whole. And that's exactly what it did.

I also loved that Hurley ended up as the islands latest protector, with Ben as his "number 2". I was so glad Ben made it to the end, as I had long feared he would end up dead by the end (when the tree fell on him, I thought that was it and was shouting "noooo!" at the screen). But, no. He lives. It was good also to see Rose & Bernard living their idyllic island lives.

Also a suprise was those who made it off the island in the plane... the "Ajira 6", if you will... Sawyer, I was sure, was going to make some noble sacrifice (probably to save Freckles, and without his shirt) , but he made it off.

You do have to hand it to the producers, though, for the spectacular misdirection they used for the sideways world; all along the theory was that this was a timeline, created by the bomb going boom at the Swan site, that had time changed completely from 1977 on... right from the Comic-Con videos of Hurley, Kate, and the Oceanic Ad, that was always what it was; an alternate time line... In hindsight, given that all signs pointed to that interpretation, it should have been obviously an incorrect assumption. The eventual, afterlife, explanation was far more satisfying than any other alternative. It harks back to the idea that in each life we find ourselves with the same people.

I just love it. The perfect end to what, to my mind, has been the best TV show ever.

"...Dr Linus, actually..."

There is, to my mind, a general rule of thumb with Lost, and it runs something like this; if an episode concentrates on Ben Linus, it will be a fantastic episode, and probably the best episode of the season... The latest episode of the final season of Lost does nothing to disprove this theory, and in fact is not only the best episode of this season, but one of the very best episodes so far (The Shape of Things to Come; Ben episode from Season 4 is probably the very best).

There was so much about this that was great, it's hard to know where to begin...

The parallel Ben showed all the same Machiavellian tendencies as his on-island counterpart, but he lacked that killer instinct needed to follow through with his plans. When it became obvious that had he gone through with his plan that Alex would be unable to go to Yale, he backed down. This is something that on-island Ben would never do. Even when faced with the situation of a ruthless killer with a gun to his "Daughter's" head, he would back down, and we know how that ended...

...this was also something that came up in the on-island thread; that he had been unable, after all this time (I forget exactly how long it would have been as I forget the date he arrived in Tunisia) to come to terms with the action that led to Alex' death. Tying this in with the reasons he killed Jacob, and then Illana's subsequent forgiving of him was quite something. The range of performances put in by Michael Emerson in this episode only goes to prove, once more (if it were needed), that he's one of the very best actors on the planet. I was convinced island-Ben was going to die... but then, I was also convinced of this last season when he went up against Smokey for judgement... (and subsequent events put that in a whole new context...)

But this was an episode just jam packed with greatness. From Ben's "stood over them with a bloody knife" line being used back at him by Miles. Miles getting his hands on Nicki & Paulo's $8 million worth of diamonds. To Smokey-Locke attempting to out-maniplate the arch-manipulator to Jack and Richard...

That scene in the Black Rock with the dynamite was, well, for want of a better word; dynamite. Jack is finally coming to terms with his role in the bigger picture. The sheer tension there was as the dynamite came closer and closer to exploding... and then fizzled out. Ooh... It was just like Michael in Season 4 when the island wouldn't let him die as he still had work to do. What is the work that these two have to do?

Cast your mind back to the web only Missing Pieces, especially the one set immediately prior to the first scene of the first episode, in which Christian speaks to Vincent and tells him to wake his son up as "He has work to do..." It's a phrase that has appeared many times in the show. Walt appearing to Locke when he's in the pit of Dharma bodies, for one.

With only eleven episodes to go, things are getting hot...

And with Widmore almost back on the island...

[Incidentally before I carry on, I should mention this blog's spoiler policy. The following are not considered spoilers to my mind;

1 - titles of forthcoming episodes.

2 - centricity (that is, which character is focussed upon) of episodes.

3 - contents of trailers and officially released "sneak peaks".

4 - officially released cast information.

All other details of forthcoming episodes, plot points, events, anything else is a spoiler. If your spoiler threshold is lower, please do not read on...]

Sawyer fans should like next week, Recon, as it's the Sawyer parallel-flash, and he is seen in the state all Sawyer fans love to see him in the most; shirtless.

But I'm rather more looking forward to the week after, Ab Aeterno, which is all about Richard Alpert, and his backstory. Also, it's six minutes longer than normal. Excellent! : )

"...it only ends once..."

I had meant to blog weekly, after every new episode of Lost, but thus far this appears to have fallen by the wayside... ho-hum.

So, the final season so far, five episodes in;

• This parallel timeline is clearly there for a reason (everything happens for a reason, remember...?). But what that reason is remains a mystery. It's clearly not there as a "what if?" kind of aside, as there are clear indications of both timelines bleeding in to each other; I mean, you'd remember if you'd had your appendix out, wouldn't you? You'd have seen the scar every day of your life...
• Claire being claimed and acting all Rousseau makes me think that Rousseau was claimed, too, and that this, not the time displacement exhibited by Desmond and Minkowski, is "the sickness" previously mentioned. Now, I contend that by enterting the Temple, Rousseau's party got protected from the sickness (captured by the others and innoculated, perhaps?) and the sick person all along was Rousseau. (Or was it the businessman in his suit and tie?)
• The numbers return in force, both on the roof of the cave and on the contraption in the lighthouse. That contraption had space for 360 names, but there were clearly higher numbers on the cave roof.
• As for the Candidate; I'm going to call it now, and say that Sawyer will take over from Jacob as the islands protector. Unless the real Locke is somehow brought back to life in which case he'll take over. Or maybe there'll be a mashing of timelines and parallel Locke will take over. "Don't tell me what I can't do?"
• Sayid's an odd one. He appeared to die, but did not die. Dogen suggests he'd been "claimed" like Claire, and Miles keeps looking at him funny... something's clearly wrong there. I think we may find out this week what it is...
• In anycase there's a theory that the whole malarkey as to what's really going on with Jacob and the Man in Black (I really wish we could learn his name; I suspect that when we do it will be a significant name) is like a game of chess on an epic scale. Remember that in a game of chess that kings cannot take each other, and have their pieces do their work for each other. Smokey-Locke is getting his pieces (Sawyer, Claire, previously Ben) in to place, and Jacob is doing the same (Hurley, Jack). Whereas there is something going on between Ben and Widmore, this may be small potatoes in comparison to the Jacob/MIB feud.
• Oh, and seeing the skeletons in the caves this week is a definite precursor to the imminent revelation as to who they are...

Still, 108 episodes in, 13 to go... part of me can't wait until May 23rd (well, 24th...!), but part of me wants it to never arrive.

"...random shoes..."

It's been a while since I updated this ol' blog, and this in some ways is normal for me, but in other ways, not so. Especially since there's been so much I really need to be writing about. So, this post will cover most of the things I wanted to cover. And probably in a much briefer manner than I really should. There's one thing that I really want to cover in much more detail, and that will be the subject of another post, entitled "...you start missing everybody..." If you can't work out what it's going to be about, please hang your head in shame.

Okay. So. Things.

Heroes

So, Season 4 of Heroes is now ended, and it's been almost a return to form. It was a much better season than 2 and 3, and whilst not reaching the heights of season 1, it's certainly been damn good. There have been patchy moments, and I'm unsure with the direction they're taking Sylar in... but, I do hope that there's a season 5. I'll not say what the end of season cliffhanger is, as it's not aired in the UK yet, but it offers up intriguing possibilities.

Oh, and there's a scene in the finale which, if it does not make a tear flow from your eye... well, you have no soul. It's beautiful.

Lost

We're in the home straight now. 15 to go, and the ending approaches. The parallel timeline is most intriguing. It is obvious that this is not a mere frippery; a "what if?", but rather something integral to the plot. How it is integral is another matter... it'll be interesting to see how.

I'll blog properly on each new episode from now on. But here's some comments I posted elsewhere on the latest episode;

The whole business with Sayid potentially being "claimed", like Jack's sister... that does raise some interesting possibilities. I do not think it was any coincidence that when we see Claire in the woods at the end of the episode, her pose and manner is very much that of Rousseau... Think back to the last time we saw Claire even pick up a gun, let alone shoot one, let alone as expertly as this...

Imagine if, for example, the "sickness" that Rousseau described in prior seasons wasn't in her colleagues, but in her? And that it was some kind of "possession"/"claiming"... And with Rousseau's obvious death, it had to find another consciousness to inhabit... and found Claire.

'Cos there was something not right with Claire since the attack on Dharmaville in The Shape of Things to Come. Even if the entity that "claimed" them could reanimate the dead, it would probably be too conspicuous to bring Rousseau back to life. But Claire... trapped under the debris, not see to be dead. Well, there's an obvious candidate. I dunno, it may be a mile off of what's really the case...

The "not-crash" timeline is getting more and more intriguing; the sudden thought of the name "Aaron" is interesting. There's talk that there's some bleed through in the time lines, and this is one of those occasions. Also, remember that there's no way this "not-crash" timeline is a mere interesting diversion. It's fundamentally important to the story is some way that's yet to be revealed.

Fanzines

I will have something interesting to say about fanzines soon. Both about the old, and the new... Two hints;

1 - it makes me want to shout.

2 - September's not so far away.

Ah... cryptic. : )

Anyhow, must get back to playing Desktop Defender. I tell you, it's like crack...

"...I always have a plan..."

I've now finished my big Lost rewatch in preparation for Season 6; I watched all of the first five seasons over the last three months or so. Or was it longer? May have been. Anyhow, I've been thinking of what to do when Season 6 ends, and to console myself that when it does I should plunge myself headlong either in to a rewatch of something else in its entirety, or something completely new that I've not seen before. The thoughts that are going through my head;

Babylon 5 - a good, big epic story. 111 episodes should last me just long enough until I'm ready to do a "complete Lost re-watch" when I'll watch all six seasons. B5 would be good in this respect as that's all one big (albeit "incomplete") story, with some truly wonderful moments in it.

Twin Peaks - I've not seen Twin Peaks all the way through in quite some time now. I don't even think I've watched most of Season 2 on DVD at all. It'll be good to revisit it.

The Wire - I started this a little while back, but only got three or four episodes in to season 1 before getting distracted by other things. Having heard so much about it, especially the praise heaped on it by Charlie Brooker, I really should get around to watching it.

There are of course other shows. Battlestar Galactica would probably frustrate me too much, as I'd have to skip some of the really bad episodes and concetrate on the great ones. Oz is a possibility too; Mr Eko's in it. Even The Sopranos; never seen a single episode of that. Some of the box sets of these can be picked up quite cheaply now...

...still, I guess I'll decide closer to the time... : )

"...I was there at the dawn of the third age of man..."

Reading a post over at one of the internet forums I frequent, I was reminded that today, December 31st 2009, it is exactly ten years since Channel 4 aired the last ever episode of probably the best pure science fiction show ever made; Babylon 5. It was one of those shows that really grabbed me by the throat and never let go.

The idea behind the show was a great one; it was to run for five years, and in those five years tell one, big, self contained story with a clear beginning, middle, and end; and by the time we got to that end that would be it. That's where the story ends, and there would be no loose ends...

(Of course, mice and men intervened; Season 5 was, for about 2/3 of it somewhat below par, there were loads of loose ends, some left deliberately to set up a spin off series which only managed half a season, and a movie that never happened... Anyway...)

At the point Babylon 5 started, TV sci-fi series were pretty much just a string of separate stories, with episodes that could (with odd exceptions) be watched in pretty much any order. They were designed so that you could turn on an episode and watch a complete story in 45 minutes. Babylon 5, initially, appeared to follow the same pattern, as many of the early episodes did tell complete stories. There were some obvious threads running through the episodes - such as the hole in Sinclair's mind, and why the Minbari surrendered when on the brink of victory in their war against Earth - but these were background. However, pretty soon this changed and B5 pretty much became a serial. I hesitate to use the phrase "sci-fi soap opera", as that will stir up negative connotations in people's minds, but that's more or less what it was.

There were turning points in the first season; the sixth episode, Mind War, introduces us to the Psi-Corps, and the wonderful Mr Bester, played with a chilling menace by Walter Koenig. You always knew you were in for a treat when he turned up... but the biggest shocker in this episode was the glimpse at the end of a creature not seen for thousands of years... just the briefest of appearances, but enough to make you think there is much more going on here than we know of.

This would be expanded further in the biggest turning point of all in the season, Signs and Portents, in which a mysterious man, Morden, arrives on the station and goes to the main ambassadors asking them one, simple, question; what do you want? (Of course; that question is at the core of all drama. Remind me to tell you about that one day.) It is their reaction to this question that shapes the entire future of the show. It is Londo Molarri of the Centauri Republic who Morden, and his associates, ends up allying with, doing Londo a favour with a promise that somewhere along the line, Londo will do one for him... Faust, anyone? When we see his associates at the end of the episode, and what they can do... we know there's only one way this will end; in fire.

Mention of Londo brings me to, what in my mind, was the best thing about the show. The relationship between Londo and G'Kar. The changing relationship between these two characters over the course of the show was a joy to behold. Every time they had scenes together the screen was on fire. Episodes that were humdrum and run of the mill were elevated just because they had scenes together (the "mad bomber" episode, for example, is completely redeemed by the scene when the two of them are trapped in a lift. G'kar's reaction is priceless.). This is largely due to the fact that the actors portraying them were so great; Peter Jurasik and, the late, Andreas Katsulas were just perfect. They sparked off each other brilliantly, no matter what was asked of them. There is a scene, in a bar, in the season two episode The Coming of Shadows where this is exemplified; Jurasik has hardly any lines in the scene, almost everything about his performance is conveyed by the expression on his face, he doesn't need to say anything. It's all there.

Now, I could go on and write a couple of dozen more paragraphs about how great the show is, and wonderful scenes, and moments that will make you cry, and moments that will make you laugh... but if you've seen the show before, you'll know them. If you haven't I'll end up spoiling it for you.

And, if you've not seen it; get it. But, be warned; don't bother with the TV movies or Crusade. Just watch the 111 episodes from The Gathering to Sleeping in Light.

Thinking back to how eager I was to see each new episode, it's really like how I feel right now with Lost. I'm just so keen to see these last 18 episodes. And the anticipation and speculation as to what will happen next. And the spoiler avoidance... oh, it's going to be fun...

...but when it's all over; what then...?

"...I sometimes feel I'm sweeping the nation..."

Just looking at this blog, I realise I've not updated in almost two months. I managed to go the whole of July without typing a word. I mean, it's not like the time since June 10th has been uneventful; it's been packed. New baby. New job. New Dr Who costume. Teasers for the last Season of Lost. It's not like I've had nothing to write about. Odd.

Other things I've not written include any kind of fiction. I keep on trying to start, but end up failing. I seem to be as productive as Douglas Adams (early 80s on) only I don't have a publisher to lock me in a hotel room and refuse to let me out until I've written something. I'm not even sure that would work. It's not like I don't have ideas. I do. But it's the whole process of taking those ideas, those vague character notions, the stories (I hesitate to use the word "plot"), and weaving it all together in to at something at least bearing a slight passing resemblance to a coherent whole.

Now, reading back through this blog post; it's not that bad. I'm churning it out at a fair old pace, it's largely (typos, and the odd change of word) unaltered. It's not like I've been moving around sentences, changing paragraph structure, or indeed really doing much more than just typing the first thing to come in to my head. But it's working. Well, in as much as this is just meant to be a throwaway blog post that'll be the electronic equivalent of chip-paper tomorrow. Heck, with the speed the web moves it'll probably achieve that status in an hour or so.

So, why, when I have a screen in front of me in which to type fiction, do I freeze? Unable to commit to putting a word down in front of me. Even though, pinned to the top of the monitor is a quote from Paul Cornell reading;

"Don't agonise about what you're going to write. Have an idea. Write it. It will be bad. Then you re-write until it's good."

It's brilliant advice. Concise. Clear. To the point. Yet, I cannot get around to writing anything. From memory, my total finished fiction output since starting to attempt to write things properly amounts to four short stories, and really only one of them is any good. 25%. Not a bad hit rate, really. Oh, there's loads of fragments, starts of things, things that go nowhere. Some of these fragments are even quite good. But, rightly, no-one cares for fragments; they care for the whole. 

I really, really, must get on with at least one of the ideas. So, I've been listing them in my notebook (that's olde worlde pen and paper notebook; not a 'puter), in the hope that something will spark off. Other ideas, and notions. I'll get there in the end. Sooner, or later. 

Probably later...

"...I sometimes feel I'm sweeping the nation..."

Oh, mere days after the Lost season finale and I am becoming ever more aware of how a junkie must feel if told he's got to wait something like 8 months for his next fix... 

But what of this blog? Surely it cannot have escaped your keen gaze that the number of entries here with the tag "Lost" is roughly the same as the four next most common tags put together... what will I write about? Never fear, oh faithful reader. (They always say you should address each reader as if they were the only reader; however, just between you and me, you really are the only reader...) There are many more things to write about. 

This is the shape of things to come;

There's that thing starting the next Bank Holiday Monday (that's next week, dude). There's my further plan to start up some kind of new fanzine. Really, this time I'll get it done. There's talk of the novel; which will mostly be me berating myself for lack of output, and the sub-standard quality thereof. And plenty of other TV shows. I'm behind on Dollhouse by four weeks, and behind on Fringe by pretty much the whole season. 

So, there's plenty for me to yak about...

"...it only ends once; anything that happens before that is just progress..."

In my last post, I commented on how Heroes really doesn't know how to do end of season episodes... they could do well to take a few hints from Lost which, conversely, does end of season episodes brilliantly. The Incident, the two part finale to Season 5, does not disappoint. 

Oh, where to begin, though... 

...the beginning. And at long last we get our first, genuine, look at the elusive Jacob. Here he engages in a conversation with another, un-named, chap, who appears to be his rival, and we learn that all the people who come to the island are there because of Jacob. He brings them there. In the specific case at the start of tthe episode, we see a boat - presumably The Black Rock - appraoch the island. In an echo of the Ben/Widmore conversation from season 4, it seems that the other chap - already dubbed MaybEsau on the interweb (Biblical reference...) - can't kill Jacob unless he finds a "loophole"... 

Intriguing is that Jacob is another ageless character (the first being Richard who says "I'm this way because of Jacob") who essentially looks the same in the Black Rock times, as the 70s, and through on in to 2007. He visits (and in each visit touches) various of the castaways. Kate, whilst shoplifting; Sawyer at his parents' funeral; Jack just after the operation on his wife; Sun and Jin at their wedding (the only time this season we see the two characters together); Sayid just before Nadia dies; Hurley, to get him on A316; and most  intriguingly Locke just after his plunge from 8 floors up... he is unconscious to start with, and when he gets Jacob's touch he wakes up. There has been much talk in the past of how someone or something had been manipulating the 815ers in order to get them on the island, and now it seems that we have this person. How exactly all this works... well, that remains to be seen.

Anyhow... as per recent times we have two parallel story thread; 1977 and 2007. 2007 concerns Locke's plan to meet, and get Ben to kill, Jacob. As well as this Ilana and Bram have a mysterious box with something interesting in it. "Terrific" says Frank as he is shown in it... As ever, we're kept waiting for the answer...

... which comes quite quickly. As Ben and Locke enter the room under what's left of the statue, we get probably the biggest shock of the episode. In the box is Locke's corpse. Now, it's a skill that a show can pull the same trick in two consecutive finales and still make it work... and work it does... 'cos if that's Locke in the box, who exactly has been walking around the island since the A316 crash...? We soon learn when Ben and notLocke meet Jacob. He talks of a loophole, and is clearly, somehow, the same person Jacob was talking to in the opening scene of the episode. But, again, how does it work? If we take it there are these two forces on the Island, Jacob and MaybEsau, which is for good and which for evil? And how are they connected? We've seen various other dead people appear on the island - Christian, Yemi, Alex, etc - are they all some manifestation of MaybEsau? When notAlex told Ben to do everything notLocke commanded was this because they were one and the same entity? Is this other entity the smoke monster?

Still, whatever, Ben does exactly as notLocke commands and kills Jacob. Or does he? They make a great play of the stabbing, and how when he's down he's kicked on to the fire, and catches fire. As if to somehow intend to be saying "he's not only merely dead, he's really most sincerely dead". So, I think we'll be seeing Jacob again next season...

Meanwhile in 1977 things are going as expected. Faraday's previous dictum, "whatever happened, happened" is once more evident. Whatever the 815ers do, the Incident will happen, and indeed it does. We get to see how Pierre Chang loses his arm. There's huge wodges of electromagnetism, the bomb is dropped... and doesn't go off. All sorts of metal things go rushing in to the drill pit... including some chains which wrap around Juliet who plunges down to what looks like certain death. There have been some comments that the way how Juliet is pulled down the hole is similar to how Smokey pulled Locke down a hole in Season 1. There's even a school of though that suggests that this incident is what leads to the creation of Smokey, and that Juliet is somehow turned in to it. Still. I think it's a load of baloney... 

And then we get to see Juliet, down in the pit. Still clinging to life. She bashes the bomb with a rock. It goes off and we fade to white. Black text "lost" on a white background. And we scream "NO YOU UTTER SWINES, YOU CANNOT END IT THERE!!!" at the television. This is the mark of a wonderful finale. It built the tension up wonderfully throughout to a - literally - explosive ending. And all the events occurring followed logically on from each other (unlike the Sylar/Nathan thing in Heroes), which makes it ever more satisfying. That we also got to see some key moments in the characters' hirstories - Sawyer starting to write his letter, Jack counting to five to let the fear out for the first time - was the icing on the cake. Just wonderful.

We now have an agonising wait until February next year for the final season. Those last 17 episodes. It's going to be a long wait, and I kind of want to be even more spoiler-phobic about these episodes. I've long since disliked spoilers, but haven't minded teasers, but I think for the final season coming to not even look at casting lists. As soon as they announce the regulars for the next season, and early guest casts it'll be obvious if Jacob, or Juliet, are actually dead or not. And, really, I don't want to accidentally find out the final ending before I see it on the telly. I may, for the duration of Season 6, go to almost complete internet exile. We'll see.

Still, if the accuracy of some of the "spoilers" for this finale are anything to go by, it won't matter as they'll pretty much all be baloney. Such as:

• Sawyer sacrificing himself for the greater good at some point during the incident. (Can you imagine the outrage if ol' shirtless were killed off and not be in Season 6?)
• A scene some time in the future whereby we see Aaron and Ji Yeon in their twenties getting married. (Which actually turned out to be a flachback to Sun & Jin's wedding...)
• An aged Jin, 30 years older, emerging from beneath the statue and being reunited with Sun. (Total tottenham...!!!)

I could list more, but... 

Still, it's going to be very interesting to see where they go from here. It's very hard to see what's going to happen next. According to Damon Lindelof, once you've seen the season 5 finale and the season 6 opener you will have enough information to hypothesise how the show will end. This is again another reason why I'm kind of wanting to avoid, at least Lost places on, the internet in the approach to Season 6. 'Cos someone will work it out, and whilst it will be mere speculation, I just don't want to know it. I want to work things out myself. Maybe the only Lost place I'll go is Lostpedia as they are very good about ensuring spoilers are not shown. We'll see. 

So, 17 to go. The last season. Let's just hope it doesn't go all Babylon 5...

As a coda to this post; one of the finest moments in the whole episode is the Rose & Bernard scene. The world and his lobster has wanted to see them again since they were last seen just before the time jumps started. It's a truly touching moment; the pair of them are clearly at peace with themselves, and are living a great life on the island. "We just care about being together; that's all that matters in the end" Bernard says. They're clearly unbothered by the hostiles; I can't imagine they do not know they are there. Maybe the hostiles realised that the pair of them want to live in harmony with the island, not exploit it, and are happy to leave them alone. It only ever appears to be those who wish to harm, or exploit, the island that the hostiles are... er... hostile to. The way the scene is played, I can't help but think this may be the last time we see the pair of them.

"...that hurt..."

Strewth. Heroes really can't do Season finales properly, can it? The end of Season 3 is really only the second "proper" season finale they've had (let's not forget that the "end" of Season 2 was only meant to be the mid-point of the season; and, ironically, ended up being the best "finale"). Season 1 had it's somewhat anticlimactic fight at the Kirby Plaza; blink and you almost missed it. Which was a shame, as everything up until that point was pretty much superb. But, in terms of massive suckiness, it pales in comparison to the guff that is the Season 3 finale...

...oh, and I suppose I should interject here and state the blimmin' obvious; from this point on there are massive spoilers. Oh, and later on I'll be talking Lost episode 100, The Variable, and there will be massive spoilers there, too...

...so, of you've not seen them, don't read on...

...again, to start with it was going so well. Ever since Bryan Fuller came back, the show has really got back on track (even if that did mean one of the better characters, Daphne, being killed off in order that Janice could make a comeback). So, high hopes for the finale. And it started off so well; a great deal of tension being built up, with a great sense of danger that someone would be killed. Sadly, the lack of budget showed in a couple of places, most notably the Peter & Nathan vs Sylar fight which consisted of a bit of blue light shining through a door. Hmm... but we'll forgive them this one. Clearly the big Peter vs Sylar fight we've been leading up to since Season 1 is still to come.

Then we get the episodes big shock moment; Sylar slitting Nathan's throat and killing him dead. I mean, proper dead. Ange even says he's dead. Dead is dead is dead. And suddenly you think Sylar's going to win; he's going to get to the President and bosh...

...and there he is in the car with the Pres. But we get the biggest "YES!" punch-the-air moment as he turns in to Peter who injects Sylar with a trank. Beaten by his own game, with the powers Peter presumably took from him in the fight earlier. But before you know it... here comes the utter wank moment. The bit where, after crafting a wonderful work of art you think that the best thing you can do with it is to put it on the floor, drop your trousers and do a big shit on it. They turn Sylar in to Nathan...

...somehow, Matt is able to force Sylar to change his appearance in to Nathan (well, he did have the shape shifting powers), supress all Sylar's memories, and keep only the memories of Nathan that Sylar acquired by using the "touch an object and get memories" power... So, Sylar - to all intents and purposes - becomes Nathan. *sigh* Bunch of utter wank. And why didn't they inject Nathan's corpse with Claire's blood? It cured him before. It cured Noah when he'd been shot in the brain. Surely rather than go through all that bollocks with Sylar, that should have been the first thing they tried. It's not as if she'd have said "no". I mean, the guy's her bio-dad and all... 

Anyhow, this Nathan/Sylar malarkey is, of course, going to lead to a most predictable plot (and one which any buffoon could see coming even before the teaser with Nathan and the clock) whereby Sylar will internally fight Nathan for control of the body. A Jekyll and Hyde kind of plot...

Far more interesting is whatever will happen to Hiro now? And how come Tracy can now turn in to water...? Also, it's a shame Greg Beeman's no longer on the show; his blog, with all sorts of behind the scenes chat, and photos and so on was an essential visit every week... 

Much better this week was episode 100 of Lost, entitled The Variable. At last we got to see Daniel again, who had been absent since the first episode since they on-island Losties ended up in 1974. There was another unsurprising reveal that his mum is Eloise Hawking, also that she was the "Ellie" in the Jughead episode, also that his dad is Charles Widmore. All things that had been guessed quite some time ago. Still, it was good to see them confirmed. 

In his time off island, Daniel's clearly come to think that his previous hypothesis that "whatever happened, happened" may be flawed; he thinks that the Losties can change the past as they are the variables in the equation. The people that are not constants... now it does seem to me that this new hypothesis is the flawed one. They were always clearly meant to be there. Whatever things they do in 1977 have already happened (from the perspective of the time frame of the crash and Oceanic 6 etc), so whatever they do to try to change things is doomed to failure as everything will happen as it always did. 

This is best illustrated by the episodes big shock moment. Daniel getting a bullet in the chest and dying. Killed by his own mother (though, before she ever conceived him... time travel, don't you just love it...). Every action Eloise has made subsequent to shooting him was made with the knowledge that at some day in the future she would have a son, that he would do certain things, that he would be a scientist, go to the island, go back in time, and one day in 1977 be shot dead. There was nothing she, or even Charles, could do to stop this. It has happened. It will happen again. "All this has happened before and will happen again" was a phrase that cropped up again in Battlestar Galactica, but really it's far more appropriate for Lost. As the show moves towards the season finale, and the Incident it's clear that whatever Jack et al do in 1977 to stop the Incident occurring, it will happen. Their actions or inactions will cause it. 

One thing comes to mind though; there's the video of Dr Chang recording a message in 1977 (age of the baby Miles means it can't be any earlier), and the camerman of this is thought to be Daniel (his voice is heard). So, when was this recorded? 

What's left of the Season is going to be very interesting. It's still hard to see exactly how those on the Ajira flight will connect with the 1977 characters, or indeed what they're doing there. Ilana and Bram are the most intriguing as they are clearly there for a reason, but what is that reason? And will we get that Sun and Jin reunion this season? 

"..you’re free to leave whenever you want; but I’ll shoot you in the leg..."

We all knew that The Island in Lost was special; that it had healing powers, and that there were many things about it that are strange indeed. I never realised it had the power to move bullet wounds. Next time you watch the latest episode of Lost, episode 11 of the fifth season, Whatever Happened, Happened, pay heed to the side of the chest that Sayid shoots Young Ben (it's in the recap of the previous episode) and then compare and contrast with where the would is when Jin turns him over... 

Anyhow. Small potatoes...

Much of the last few episodes has been relatively sedate, doing what Lost does so well; really getting under the skin of the characters. However, this episode is clearly a transitory one. Going from the character stuff, building up to the season finale. 

This is one of those episodes that mixes the emotions so well. Any scene this episode with Miles and Hurley is practically a sit-com. Miles' efforts to explain how the time travel to Hurley are brilliant. Though, really, it's hard to fathom how Hurley isn't grasping how it's all working. Young Ben can't die as they know he lives to become Big Ben. But any of the characters who've gone back in time can, as their fate is not known. Hardly rocket science...

So, Young Ben can't die. Jack clearly knows this, as he refuses point blank to save Ben. He's ascribing to the Faraday theory that "whatever happened, happened". So, whatever Jack does or does not do, Ben lives. So Jack refuses to help. Kate, and Sawyer, however have to help; he's just a kid, and you don't let a kid die; no matter what he grows up to be. 

And, yet, whatever happened, happened. The way things are going it's obvious that the way how Big Ben turns out is a direct consequence of the actions (or inactions) taken here by Sayid, Jack, Kate and Sawyer. When Ben's handed over to Richard, and taken in to the temple, that's where he becomes the Ben we know of old. And what exactly will happen to him in the temple? And what will Smokey have to do with things? It just gets more and more intriguing...

Intriguingly just before he's taken in to the temple, one of Richards people notes that Ellie and Charles will freak out if they find out; Richard retorts that he doesn't answer to them. Are Ellie and Charles somehow in charge of Richard's people - the Hostiles? And is he less than impressed at this? We know Ben will eventually lead these people, overthrowing Charles (and presumably Ellie?) and banishing him (and her?) from the island. Could this all be at Richard's instigation?

Other aspects of the episode were a little predictable; Aaron being left with Claire's mum was pretty much the favourite explanation for where he was. The only really surprising thing was that Kate's reason for going back was, essentially, to rescue Claire and bring her back. The sheer effort it must have taken for her to come to that conclusion, and to give away the child she'd been looking after the last three years must have been overwhelming. No wonder she orders Jack never to mention Aaron's name. 

So. 11 down. 6 to go this season (and 23 more overall). Next week's looks like a corker. It's centred around Ben - both small and big - and we get to see Smokey again. 

"...awaiting an audience..."

Ah... Skins... what were they doing with that ending...? That last episode (which rather annoyingly completed excluded the twins, Naomi, Panda and Thomas) ended with somewhat of an anticlimax. The first had ended with that wonderful Tony gets hit by a bus (or was it a car? I forget now) cliffhanger, and the really odd "Wild World" moment. Season 2 ends with you just willing Sid to find Cassie, with that moment where they're so close to each other... and you just don't know if he's going to turn his head (and, of course Time to Pretend - but more on music in a minute)... and there's that cut to Effy in bed with a smile that oozes the same kind of charm and menace as Malcolm McDowell at the very start of A Clockwork Orange... but Season 3...

That last episode was actually a very good one. It brought to a head all of the things that had been bubbling throughout the season. Seeing Cook's dad really helped you understand the reasons as to why Cook is the way he is; the two Cooks were two peas in a pod, behaving in essentially exactly the same manner as each other. Cook Sr even tries to hit on Effy. There were so many things that were right about the episode. Perfect blend of drama and humour throughout (the Granny steeplechase was a partcicular highlight). But the ending... the boat speeds away.No-ones saying anything. They've reached some kind of understanding, and appear to have all made up. Though Cook looks a little contemplative. And finally Freddie says... "So, what do we do now?" And that's it. It just felt so underwhelming. It's almost as if they weren't confident of getting a Season 4, and decided to leave all the storylines at a place where if this occurred there would be some kind of a conclusion. It just felt a weedy way to end the season, and if there's one thing Skins never normally is, it's weedy. Even when there are things that are utter wank, it's never weedy.

Oh, and the last line is (almost) the same as the last line of the last episode of the last season of Buffy...

One thing I must also mention about Skins is the music. Back at the end of Season 2, the last couple of minutes of the action (from Sid arriving in NY) and over the end credits, they played a wonderful track; that was Time to Pretend by MGMT. And I found myself adoring, so I went out and bought the album. I immediately wished I hadn't as most of the album is tosh. Time to Pretend remains the only track from it I've ripped to my MP3 player. 

So, at the end of the first episode of this season when I heard the track playing over the end credits, I downloaded the album to see if the rest of it was any good. Within a day, I'd ordered all three CDs that band had released, so impressed I was with the one I d/led. This band is Asobi Seksu, and you must buy all three of their albums. Though, if you want to try just the one, get Citrus. I haven't been this excited about a band in ages, and the more I listen to them, the more I love them. Sheer beauty!

(Note; if you're waiting for my regular Lost post, it'll be up here when I've seen the episode a second time. There's a few things to say about this one...!)

"...Namaste, new recruits..."

I actually find myself with very little to say about the last two episodes of Lost, Namaste and He's Our You, as they're both relatively straightforward episodes. Just, really, a handful of points;

It was good to see Radzinksky at last, and even better to see his model of The Swan, which in 1977 had yet to be built. However... Pierre Chang, in his introduction to new Dharma recruits which we saw in Season 3 when Ben arrived on the island as a small boy (now dated to 1973), was wearing a Swan patch on his clothes...

Another point is that Sayid is meant to be trained in the art of the assasin. We see him giving the Russian bloke a double-tap (that is, two shots in quick succession). Yet, when he shoots the young Ben, he just shoots him once. Why not a double-tap? And knowing how slippery a fellow Ben is, and how he keeps on getting out of sticky situations etc, why not also just make sure with a shot to the head at point blank range...

...'cos there's no way Ben's dead from that shot. Not a chance in the world. 

"...others, others, others, OTHERS..."

Okay. So, in some sort of effort to pretend that this blog isn't really just a Lost blog at the moment, here are some thoughts on TV shows other than Lost:

Skins

My opinion (see previous posts) of Cook really hasn't changed. I'm still hoping for something bad to happen to him. I just can't work him out, though. He's odd. His reaction to when Naomi spurned him was unexpected; I expected anger, but instead he was very calm and cool, and even indifferent. Odd. Still, we're clearly building up to something. 

Whilst I'm still loving this season, I'm finding I'm loving it less than previous seasons. I do still miss Cassie et al, and although this new lot are a decent enough bunch, I'm not really sure they gel as a group. Like previous seasons, it does veer between absolute genius and utter wank. The episode with the school elections at one stage seemed to be heading towards making a point about how politics these days is all about personalities and not policies; but it never quite got there. We just got a riot, which didn't work at 

Still, overall it remains well worth watching...

Battlestar Galactica

BSG is nearing the end of its run now; three episodes to go by my reckoning. Again, this is a show that veers between absolute genius and utter wank, and I've never quite been able to figure out why. Until a day or so ago. Broadly speaking you can tell how good an episode is depending on which of these categories it fits in;

1 - militaristic episodes where either the Cylons are on the attack, there's a threat of attack, or there are factions within the fleet causing trouble; episodes like 33, or the Pegasus 2-parter, or the New Caprica arc, or the recent mutiny. They have all been stunning examples of great drama. Episodes that have kept you on the edge of your seat, and left you gasping for breath at the audacity of the things that are happening. The second of the mutiny episodes was breathtaking, it completely floored me. This is BSG on top form.

2 - any episode that focuses on prophecies, or Caprican Gods, or the Cylon God or any kind of mystical gumph. Sometimes I lose the will to live when watching these. They're not always all bad, but there always seems to be way too much padding. I mean, how many times do we have to see sodding visions of a Six taking Hera away...? Puh-lease!

And this is the fear I have for the forthcoming finale; that it will veer too far towards the latter, and not close enough to the former. 

Law & Order: UK

Strewth! This moves at one heck of a pace. There's enough plot in each episode for a 4 hour Lynda La Plante style mini-series. Sometimes you can blink, miss a scene, and miss a vital plot point. Still, for what it is, it's enjoyable hokum. 

Neighbours

I'll miss Harold. Ramsey Street won't be the same without Jelly Belly... : (

Lost

Oh, okay, I know I wasn't meant to speak about Lost here, but... 

...the promo pictures that have been realeased for the next episode of Lost are very intriguing...

 (Those of a really sensitive disposition towards spoilers should look away; even though what I'm about to say isn't really what I would call a spoiler; it's what I would call a teaser, in that it will tell you a little information about the episode, but gives no context.)

...they show Sayid, as expected in 1977. However, there is a shot showing Sun with Ben and Frank. So, she must somehow be in 2008 in the same time frame as the Ajira plane. Now, the question that this raises is this; why did Kate, Hurley, Jack and Sayid get caught in the time-flash that occurred as the plane approached the island, and Sun didn't? My presumption was that the time-flash affected the O6, which was why Ben wasn't caugt in it. Locke didn't go either as at that time he was still "dead". But an O6 split... that puts a different spin on it. It couldn't be at all contrived to give a delay to a Sun & Jin reunion, could it...? 

"...we're the good guys..."

So... Another week, and another Lost blog post... Season 4, episode 8, La Fleur, was a rather straight forward episode, but none the less it was another quite compelling one. 

First of all, we have an end to the time-flashes, leaving the Losties stranded in the seventies - the episode flits between 1974 and 1977 (another Star Wars reference...?). I was somewhat surprised by this, as I was sure that when time was stabilised they'd end up in the late 80s, shortly before The Purge, and circa when Danielle's lot arrvied on the island... 

Still, like I said, although straightforward, it was an epsiode that raised many interesting points and questions;

* - just before the last time-flash we get a glimpse, albeit from behind, of what appears to be the four-toed statue first seen at the end of Season 2. Based on this glimpse, and endlessly pored over screen grabs, many theories have been posited as to what the staue is of. Most have talked of Egyptian gods such as Anubis, Set et al (after all, this would tie in with all the hyroglyphics that are dotted all over the island), but there is one rather out there suggestion that the statue is of Juliet...

* - after being told they were not "Dharma material" after arriving at the DI in 1974, how did the Losties ingratiate themselves with the DI to the point that Sawyer managed to get himself made Head of Security? I would guess it started with the encounter with Richard, which probably meant that the truce that there had been was maintained. 

* - very interesting that the sonic fence around the DI camp doesn't keep Richard and the "Hostiles" out... It's been seen to be effective on people before, so what does that make Richard et al? Must mean the fence has been built for one specific purpose; keeping Smokey out. Which means he's nowt to do with the DI... 

* - despite that the women of the DI "always give birth on the mainland", Amy manages to give birth on the island, and there are no ill effects. She lives, the baby lives. Now, we know from earlier, or in temporal terms later, events that any woman that gets pregnant on the island dies. So, this problem must have occurred since 1977. Well, either that or Amy got up the duff at some point when she left the island for a short while. Also, is the pregnancy problem one that only came to light after the Purge... or is it tied in to the discovery of the Frozen Donkey Wheel...? And is Amy's baby going to grow up to be someone significant...?

* - oh, and of course, being in 1977 there's a number of people who should be on the island that we've not yet seen; notably Ben and Widmore. We're seeing young Ben in the next episode (don't whinge about that being a spoiler; it's not. It's not. It's obvious we're going to see him), and for a few more epsiodes. Widmore certainly should be on the island as well at this time, as he said that it was Ben who banished him from the island. He says to Locke that he was on the island for 30 years. He was there in 1954, but we don't know how long he'd been there then. Could the reason why, when Ben visited Widmore at his home last Season, Widmore referred to Ben as "boy" be that it was when Ben actually was a boy that he manipulated Widmore in to leaving the island...?

* - and where are Rose and Bernard? And the other red-shirts. I would assume that's who Jin's looking for when he's saying his grid searches haven't found anyone yet. Could they all survive on the island for three years? Could R&B et al have stumbled across Richard's lot...?

* - oh, and someone who shouldn't be on the island; Charlotte. She wasn't born until 1979, so unless young Charlotte was doing some time hopping, the red head Daniel saw wasn't her. Either that or he was seeing things. Wouldn't be the first time someone's seen someone that wasn't there in this show...

* - also, is it coincidence or fate that the 06 were off island for three years, and that Sawyer et al have now been with the DI for three years also? The only one that three years hasn't passed for is Locke... (and if you really want to be picky, Ben, but for him it's circa 2 1/2 years...).

* - okay, returning to Ben. Young Ben is around in 1977. Juliet is around in 1977. Ben in the 21st century is obsessed with Juliet (there are plenty of episodes which bear this out). Could the reason be because she had some sort of efffect on him in his formative years? Will she do something to save his life? Who can tell...?

But, yes, it's going to be very interesting to see what's going to occur in coming weeks. Will they stay in 1977? I doubt that very much. I reckon we'll see them figure out some way to shift themselves in time again. Locke, (adult) Ben and Frank are seperated from the rest of the cast (well, bar the noobs Cesar and Ilana) by over 30 years. That won't last long. Also, Desmond... he's not even on the island at the moment. I can't believe (bar the forthcoming "what happened after he stormed out of the Lamp Post" flashbacks) we've seen the last of him... 

...but we're going to have to wait. There's no episode next week. Grr! And there's another week long break after episode 13... Grr...

"...we're going to need to see that again..."

For what is increasingly turning in to a Lost blog, I completely forgot to post at all about last week's episode, 316. So, this one's going to have to cover that, and The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham... So;

316

In which the Oceanic Six finally got back to the Island. Well, apart from Aaron. And Desmond, but he doesn't really count... 

The most intriguing thing about the episode is how they had to recreate the circumstances of the original crash to ensure the return to the island. So, Jack once again was escorting a dead body, only this time it was Locke's rather than his dad's. There is a theory that all the others were tasking on the circumstances of other characters, albeit unwittingly, to aid the returm;

Sayid was taking the role of Kate in the original crash, in that he appeared to be under arrest and handcuffed to some sort of marshall.

Hurley was taking on Charlie's role; he came on board with a rock and roll guitar.

Ben took Hurley's role in that he almost missed the flight.

There is a suggestion that after Kate and Jack's night of passion she's pregnant, and thus she's taking on Claire's role.

The only doubt is which role Sun is taking... the only one that appears to fit is Rose, as initially she was seperated from her husband, but that occurred after the original crash, so doesn't really fit. 

Then, of course, the fact that we saw events solely from Jack's point of view meant that there were many unanswered questions;

• Who beat up Ben? (My money is on Desmond.)
  
• Who told Hurley about the flight? (I reckon he had another vision of Charlie, who told him to take the guitar...)
  
• Why is Sayid is custody?
  
• What happened to Aaron? Where is he? Who has him? (I reckon she's with Claire's mum.) 
  
• Where did Desmond go to, and is he going to return to the island?

Still... I guess these are all things we'll find out in forthcoming episodes...

The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

This episode did answer one question that was dangling from the previous episode; did Jack et al get back on the island via a time-flash or the plane crashing...? 

The appearance of Jin in Dharma gear made it obvious that at least Jack, Kate and Hurley were caught up in a time-flash, but it's clear that this isn't the case for all of them. We know that at some point after the O6 rescue the Ajira plane arrives on the island, as we can tie this in with the earlier episode with the canoes. And here we see the Ajira plane landed on the Hydra island. Remember at the start of Season three where Sawyer and Kate were clearing a path of some kind... and Sawyer joked it was a runway for a flying saucer... well, he was half right; it was a runway. But for this plane. 

So, now we have the question as to why some time-flashed and others didn't. We know Jack, Kate and Hurley time-flashed, and we can assume Kate and Sayid did. So... if these 815ers time-flashed, why didn't Locke...? It's odd.

This whole episode was quite something. We had more of Abbadon in this one episode than we've had in all of his appearances put together. And just as we get to know him... BAM... gunned down. Mind you, I guess Lance Reddick is busy with Fringe these days... There were some very intriguing things...

There's the whole timescale of events. It appears that from Locke seeing Jack in the hospital there is little time passed between that and his death, but then that should mean there's little time between his death and when Jack sees his coffin, and corpse, at Hoffs Drawlar. But that can't be the case as it's Locke's visit that causes Jack to start taking flights in the hope that one will crash him back on the island, and going by his beard growth that's got to be a good couple of months. So, the times don't seem to add up unless... there are events we've still to be shown. Which, knowing Lost, wouldn't surpise me in the least.

Also, you have Widmore and Ben on opposing sides, yet both are trying to get the O6 back on the island... this seems odd, as you would think that this would aid one side over the other yet both seem to be wanting the same thing. Curious. 

But the oddest thing... after spending all that time talking Locke out of killing himself, at the mere mention of the name "Eloise Hawking", Ben strangles him to death. It is really most odd indeed. We see a different side to Ben when he's speaking to Locke. He's tender, compassionate even. And then, with the mention of the name it all turns on its head. It's a sudden, and shocking moment. Yet, when Ben apologises afterwards you know he genuinely means it. What is it about her that caused that reaction...?

You really have no idea what is going to happen next.

This is the best thing about this show; you make assumptions about what the show is about, and where it's going and it cheerfully leads you one way and then... oh, it takes you another. I mean, the assumption from the start was that the show would just be about how they got off the island... the end of season 3 smashed that assumption. I am really quite sure that any guess as to where the show will end up by the end will be somewhat way off the mark. It's very interesting to note that apparently one of the titles considered for the show before they settled on Lost was The Circle. I only read this recently, and in light of recent events, the whole time-flash malarkey, it does throw some light on things. Oh, and then you have Mrs Hawking's brooch from the first time she appeared; an ouroboros symbol. Now, Lost does have a habit of hiding things in plain sight, so I think this brooch is significant. Really, I can't help but think that the whole show will end where it began; with the crash of 815. How, I don't know, but it does seem like a distinct possibility... 

"...blogging in the name of..."

Ah, I guess how this blog is perceived is entirely my own fault... an offhand comment elsewhere has made me realise that there must be a perception that this blog is dedicated to TV programmes. This is, by no means, the intention. The title of the blog;

Digression

should be a clue. It's meant to be about diverse, various, subjects. About whatever I feel like writing about at the time. It just so happens that at the moment, I seem to be writing mainly about TV. And in particular, Lost. This is mainly because I love and adore Lost more than any other TV programme at the moment. And, and the moment, we are 5 episodes in to the 17 episode run of season 5. So, there'll be plenty more Lost blog posts over the coming weeks... it'll die off a bit in the gap between seasons. 

In many ways, this blog is meant to be a 21st century version of my fanzine. When I wrote things for that it was about my main interests at the time. Had I started a fanzine in January 2009, rather than 2008 chances are it would have been called 108 and had loads of articles on Lost in it. Rather than, say, Kenickie... 

So, although it appears this blog is mainly about TV this is not the intention. There will be more digressions as time passes. Really. 

Talking of fanzines, I did have an idea late last year about the old fanzine I used to do that lasted for 24 issues between 1998-2000. You see, I did have this plan to upload them all to my website, but this kind of got stalled at #3. There were all sorts of hassles with the OCR on the scanner, and even now you can still see blatant typos on there.

So I came up with the idea of reprinting the lot of them.

All of them.

But all 24 issues in just one volume. 

The idea was to do this via lulu.com, the self publishing site. I'd set a nice low price that covered the costs of producing each issue and bosh... but it wasn't to be just a straight reprint of the 24 issues. I'd also include the one mini-Munch produced, as well as all the flyers. And maybe even reproductions of the actual Munch Questionnaires as filled out by various bands (they all had on the back page one request - draw a picture of anything you want - that never made it to the zine itself). There would also have been an article about how the zine came to be, and reminiscneces and so on, and introductions to each issue. And I was going to canvass as many Munchers as possible to get their contributions. Oh, and I'd have persuaded Timmy 2Hedz to have written something for  it as well...

...however, the page count of the thing, and the eventual cost to get copies printed seemed too high to me. Maybe I'll have another look one day to see if it's viable. It's something I'd like to do, though. The thought that all 24 issues of Munch would be available to anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time... it's exciting. 

Every now and then, I'll pick out an issue of Munch and have  a flick through it and think "ah, I did good there". I know it sounds egotistical, but those 24 zines (well, 23; #24 is, really, a bit rubbish) are something I'll always be proud of. They're not perfect. Some of the stuff in them is a bit dodgy. But with all of them I kept on trying to do something different each issue; to keep it fresh and new, and not get in to the trap of every issue, essentially, having the same template. Ah, I still maintain that if you took Deadline #12, and The Zine #1 and mashed them together you'd have the perfect zine.