"Lost" on ABC - Chapter 2

[Linkmeister]

Her character is so obviously positioned to be disliked, that even I'm hoping she's the first "main character" to bite the bullet. Of course, that's why I imagine she'll be among the last one standing. She may even be redeemed at some point.

Given how the show goes out of its way to have ambiguous characters (no one is purely honorable, no one is purely evil), there's lots of room for other characters to take turns being the outcast.

The last time I got involved with a tv show to this extent it was Hill Street Blues, and that was a really simple program compared to this.

What the heck is going on here? Who's dead, who's alive, what's the critter???? To quote Frank DeLima, "I am so confused!"

[helen]

Re: "Lost" on ABC

I don't think anyone has died since that girl drown in the 5th or 6th episode. Also I am bit surprised that none of them thought about getting some trees down and spell either SOS or HELP on the beach.

[pzarquon]

Re: "Lost" on ABC - Chapter 2

Boy. This week's episode is probably my least favorite of the season. Weirdly enough, it went from possibly being one of the most surprising to one of the weakest in an instant.

Considering all I've written here about how Shannon would probably not be among the first major characters to die, I was very nearly proven wrong. And I was also happy to see the supernatural finally return, instead of the mere machinations of hapless and flawed people.

Then it turned out I was wrong on both counts.

Well, we got Shannon and Boone's backstory, and it was as uninteresting as I'd feared. ("Cruel Intentions," anyone?) At least we can stop feeling creeped out by his jealous vibes. And we got a lot of talk about "secrets" and who knows what (now Kate's in on Jun's secret, but Jun had just learned about Kate's, but Kate might not have realized it, ad nauseum)... making me fear I'll soon need a soap-opera style map to figure out who might betray whom.

At least it was fun seing the "King Cross Police Station" (a.k.a. the set in the former bank at King & Smith streets that I photographed a few weeks ago), and the unexpected appearance of Sawyer. And seeing Waikiki in full glory behind the yacht club (the Ilikai is too distinctive). I couldn't place the other two locations, though -- Boone's yacht club (someplace up Tantalus?) and Shannon's house (looked like Manoa).

Next week? Dad and son's backstory, maybe. Sadly, it also looks like there's another "we need to get something from Sawyer!" fight a-brewin' too. That's getting old.

[Linkmeister]

Re: "Lost" on ABC - Chapter 2

Imagine my surprise to find this article in the current issue of Time Magazine as I was blearily heading off to bed last night. It's sort of a backstory on JJ Abrams.

[pzarquon]

Re: "Lost" on ABC - Chapter 2

Neat article. Continues the "we're just making this up as we go along" sense the show has. Though I take issue with "Evangeline Lilly as the stunning, and stunningly tough, fugitive Kate" - I don't like her, or at least her character, at all. Being pouty and sassy does not a "tough" girl make.

The bit about the music he writes reminded me, though... my wife discovered, watching the intro to the episode of "Alias" that followed "Lost," that the song playing in the background of Sydney's swank party was Driveshaft's "You All Everybody." That is, the fictional hit song of the fictional band in which the fictional Charlie of "Lost" played. Neat!

[helen]

Re: "Lost" on ABC - Chapter 2

I have to reply that episode of Alias to check that out. But back to the 1/12/05 episode. I take it Boone didn't see the creature?

I am beginning to wonder if there is some sort of device on the island or something on the island that makes these things up like the Ego (or was that Id) in the movie Forbidden Planet.

[pzarquon]

Re: "Lost" on ABC - Chapter 2

I liked last night's ep, which is good, because I was still really quite grumpy about last week's show.

I enjoy the different characters' backstories, and will probably like any episode that doesn't just revisit Jack or Kate (though again, the Shannon/Boone "reveal" was disappointing). Michael and Walt are among the few preexisting pairs (along with Shannon/Boone and Jin/Sun), so their history can be more complex. There was a lot of ground to cover in this one, but it still seemed realistic.

All the "Lost" theorists that got excited about the "subtle" link between the comic book polar bear and the real one in episode one were probably knocked off their feet by the flashing red light version this week. And among the many themes that are running here (i.e. "daddy issues"), "kids" is definitely a big one now. We know Claire's baby was special, somehow, and now we know Walt's got something funny going on as well...

So. Is Claire's baby gone now (I think so, but it was hard to tell)? Will Walt be the next kidnapee? Will Locke and Boone start making out? Reruns for a while, though, sadly.

As for the Hawaii angle... it was fun to see Honolulu's skyline in the background of a swanky, supposedly exotic locale (again), and to see a Honolulu Star-Bulletin rack quite visible in what was supposed to have been a New York street scene. I have to admit, though, compared to the detail that went into the King Cross Police Station set, the baby store set they used was among the least convincing - you could practically feel the false walls and lighting rigs. (So it'd be funny if they actually used a real store for that scene.)

[Kilinahe]

Re: "Lost" on ABC - Chapter 2

I don't know what to think since last week. I really wish they hadn't done the whole Locke-and-his-psychedelic-head-salve thing because now, we can't take anything at face value. Was Claire really kidnapped or is someone dreaming it? Is there a polar bear? And what about the French lady? Sayid was bonked on the head, too; how can we assume it wasn't Locke who hit him? And how did Locke know that the stuff would give Boone the bad dream? He must have tried it at least once before. But on whom?

So now we have four things: supernatural kids; a monster; a bunch of evil people who may or may not really be there; and a person who seems to be able to control minds to a certain degree. There are just too many forces at work here. The show is going to collapse under all the weight of all the unanswered questions.

[helen]

Re: "Lost" on ABC - Chapter 2

As for the Hawaii angle... it was fun to see Honolulu's skyline in the background of a swanky, supposedly exotic locale (again), and to see a Honolulu Star-Bulletin rack quite visible in what was supposed to have been a New York street scene.

I taped that episode since I wasn't around to watch it when it aired but after viewing the scene a few times where Michael is talking on the pay phone it turns out the scene was filmed on the makua, diamond head side of the intersection of Bishop and Hotel streets.

[pzarquon]

Re: "Lost" on ABC - Chapter 2

There's a fun profile of Jorge Garcia, who plays Hurley on "Lost," in today's Star-Bulletin.

"I love my character," he says. "I'm not the best-looking person on the show or the smartest, but everyone loves Hurley because he keeps a level head through everything. He can be funny and angry and dramatic."

Also, I missed this "Reel News" update last week with several "Lost" tidbits.

Several sources tell us ABC/Touchstone executives may move the hit TV show "Lost" out of Hawaii because they're losing as much as $500,000 an episode. The production has spent more than $48 million in Hawaii, about 75 percent of its budget. Studio execs don't want to relocate, so are working with state officials to brainstorm ways to cut expenses here, which run about 35 percent higher than in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Australia is courting the production. Expect a decision no later than March ...

[helen]

Re: "Lost" on ABC - Chapter 2

New episode is on tonight after 2 weeks of repeats. Cable listing has tonight's episode about Clair coming back and not remembering anything after the crash.

[pzarquon]

Re: "Lost" on ABC - Chapter 2

Even though last week's show was a rerun, TiVo grabbed it so we were able to see the promo for this week's new episode. I suppose we have to stop getting excited about the promises of Big Twists with these, since it seems there's one every week. That said, it did feature an especially pouty Kate and a body bag...

You can read the official synopsis here. The episode is titled "Homecoming."

[Jeff]

Re: "Lost" on ABC - Chapter 2

What's Locke's story? Beside ex-parapalegic.

[helen]

Re: "Lost" on ABC - Chapter 2

Locke worked at company that made boxes. As far as his talent for living in the wild, I don't know if he read up on the subject or he had some non-miltary experience before being confined to a wheelchair. I suppose the knife throwing talent would come from practice.

[pzarquon]

Re: "Lost" on ABC - Chapter 2

Specifically, Locke later described himself to Boone as the "regional collections supervisor for a box company." I've been wanting to use that as my online bio ever since. Of course, since he's built a rep as a tough hunter, his straight answer was seen as a sarcastic, mysterious reply.