Quad Blogs

Well, I’m back. And this is how I look:

It’s been just over one week but I can’t stay away from this damn site even if it still doesn’t tell me nor any other writer how many page views a single post has gotten. It’s even more baffling that I’m back because I havent’ been a student at this school for six months. It’s MOST baffling because LOST is no more and I haven’t written about ANYTHING else in this place for over a year. As far as you know, I have no other interests BESIDES LOST. Perhaps that is true.

But there was a time when I wrote and was overlord of the entertaiment section. I wrote about television, movies and music. Maybe I return to my roots and, by roots, I mean blowharding about television. While I can’t guarantee that I’ll write nearly 4,000 words on the latest episode of The Real World/Roal Rules challenge, I can guarantee that I’ll try my best to write 4,000 words about the latest episode of said challenge.

How do I begin navigating this post-LOST/post-Jacob’s Foot world I now find myself in? I do watch other shows besides LOST. Perhaps I’ll start there. Yes! Perhaps I begin by giving a brief rundown of other shows I could potentially write about in exhaustive and (for the reader) infuriating and unnecessary detail. Eh why not?

TREME: This has been my first true experience of a David Simon show. Fans of The Wire proclaim that series to be the greatest drama they’ve ever watched and critics have declared that The Wire is the greatest television series EVER. I’ve seen bits and pieces of The Wire, and by bits and pieces I mean the first half of season six, key scenes on YouTube as well as the series finale. But I’m in position to comment on The Wire. I figured I’d give Simon’s newest show a chance. He created it with Eric Overmyer. Treme tells the story of post-Katrina New Orleans. There’s a whole bunch of characters and they are united in their post-Katrina struggles. The show has delved into the buercratic nightmares the city found itself in and especially its residents following the floods which has, for me, been the most interesting part of the show. There’s a ton of great music in each episode and a couple of engaging characters like Antoine Batiste, Davis, Chief Lambrioux and John Goodman’s Creighton; however, the show hasn’t won me over and I have no real desire to write about it.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: I’ve watched the show since the beginning. I love the first season. I hate the second season. I enjoyed the third season and I’m intrigued by the fourth season. I do not have DirecTV so I’ve been watching the episodes as NBC aired them. I would probably enjoy writing about each episode even though I’ll barely get to make Saracen/Coach’s daughter jokes. Don’t be surprised if there’s something up about episode five. Also, don’t be surprised if I don’t remember stuff about past episodes. My photographic memory of television only includes LOST, Buffy and ANGEL. Plus, FNL can be inconsistent with their own story.

TRUE BLOOD: I wrote about a few episodes last year in this very blog before I decided devote all the content to LOST. Plus, Maryann destroyed any enjoyment I had in watching the show. I’ll see how the first episode goes on June 13. But probably not.

ENTOURAGE: Jacob’s Foot made it seem like I’m not capable of criticizing anything. Not true. Should I write about Entourage, a show that’s gotten worse as the years go by, there could be a ton of criticism. Consider last season when nothing happened at all. I’d use it in my “Why I Should Be a Television Writer” argument because, literally, Doug Elin and his band of writers got away with absolutely nothing happening for an entire season. The only show to come close to this feat has been the fifth season of How I Met Your Mother. That felt like Jack’s Tattoo episode dragged out throughout 24 episodes.

HEROES: Oh wait, this show got canceled! BAM!

MAD MEN: It’s rather daring for me to even put this here considering the fourth season begins in July and I’ve only seen the first three episodes of the series but I’m anticipating AMC OnDemand allowing people like me to catch up slowly but surely. I’m enjoying the show so far. Two Whedon alums in the cast: Vincent Kartheiser (the best actor ANGEL had…no offense to Alexis Denisof) and the lovely Christina Hendricks (who portrayed Saffron on Firefly for two episodes). The writing’s terrific and the direction of the show is pretty great. I’d like to but I’m in a race against the clock.

DEXTER: It’s even more daring for me to include this considering I’ve seen just one episode of the series and the fact that Showtime OnDemand only has the fourth season available to watch. Plus, it’s four seasons and lengthy in time. Could I do it? I’ve got to take in account all of the LOST I’ll be re-watching again when the DVD hits in August. FOUR COMMENTARY TRACKS. While I’m here, here is who I’m hoping to hear from in the LOST season six audio commentary tracks.

1.) LA X–the premiere episode of season six. I expect Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse to break their ‘no more 88 minute commentary’ rules for this one. I also expect it to be quite like the season five commentary for “Because You Left.” I expect a lot of tidbits and inside stuff they couldn’t reveal during the season about the entirety of season six and much information about the process of developing and executing the sideways.

2. Dr. Linus–I expect to hear Eddie Kitsis, Adam Horowitz and Michael Emerson on this commentary. Emerson usually terrific to listen to when he’s talking about LOST. I hope Emerson breathes some life into Kitsis and Horowitz because those two are pretty brutal to listen to. One would think after working on the show for as long as they did that they’d have interesting things to say but nope. Emerson will be the MVP of this one. Plus, Dr. Linus is probably the best episode of season six.

3. Ab Aeterno–the epic, epic Richard backstory. Who do I expect to hear? Nestor Carbonell of course, Gregg Nations and Melinda Hsu-Taylor and (hopefully) director Tucker Gates. But the only directors we’ve heard from in past commentaries have been Jack Bender, Paul Edwards and Steve Semel. I’d love to hear from Jack Bender on “LA X” but I don’t think that’s happening. I’m not really sure what I expect to hear on this commentary. Nestor usually has a lot of good thoughts about the show. Gregg Nations was in charge of the LOST bible during the show so he should have much to offer. I’d love to hear how Tucker Gates prepped this epic episode in just eight days and shot it all in just ten. It’s amazing.

4. Across The Sea–Damon and Carlton said on the final LOST podcast that they recorded a commentary for this episode so I imagine it’ll just be them. If you listened to that podcast or read any post-Across The Sea interviews with them or tweets, you know what to expect. For the record, I LIKED “Across the Sea.”

Anywho, returning to Dexter now: I probably won’t write about the show.

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: I’m a big Kevin Williamson fan because of SCREAM. I’ve only seen one episode and don’t really care to catch up. If I’m home and there’s no sports on, I’ll watch a re-run. But this might be fun to write because of how much information and story I won’t know. I think the lead actress of the series is gorgeous.

THE REAL WORLD/ROAD RULES CHALLENGE: There is only two episodes left of Fresh Meat II but who says I can’t start late?

Also, I’m bringing back THE EPISODE OF THE DAY feature. This time it won’t be solely for LOST episodes (though LOST will appear because I’ll never really stop writing about the show totally). This entry’s already long enough so I’ll save the return of the EPISODE OF THE DAY for another day.

Oh yeah, listen to my online radio show/podcast here: http://blogtalkradio.com/fiveminutesoffame

Written by Chris Monigle

I have come to the realization that less is certainly more for this blog. There’s about a 1% chance you’ll see a another 3,800 word entry for the rest of the summer. LOST might strike my fancy which is why I left a 1% chance. I also remembered that entertainment is my biggest focus at The Quad since I am, you know, the editor of that section; therefore, the experiential piece I planned to write will no longer be written as it would contain very little entertainment besides a bit about LOST, two video games, and multiple failed journeys to see Pixar’s UP, so it wouldn’t even be a review of the movie but rather a review of my experiences trying to see the movie. I did battle Colin, our Editor-In-Chief, for the position of Editor-In-Chief in a game of Touch Football. Do not misunderstand me: it was literally touch football that we played on Peter J. Smith’s iPod touch. I set an over/under of 19.5 points. I took the under. Colin didn’t even put the position on the line as much as I stated that me and him would play for the position of Editor-In-Chief. It’s a simple game. All one does is slide their index finger on the screen to try to a score a touchdown. I sadly lost the touch I had when I battled Smith months earlier. It was Diddy’s first time playing the game (and Diddy is the nickname I’ve given Colin).

The question that everybody seeks an answer to is: Am I the new Editor-In Chief of The Quad? Did I, in fact, defeat and whisk the title from Diddy? 
I did not. In fact, he shut me out. A 12-0 final. I didn’t even come close to ever scoring. Either my slide was too powerful or my index finger betrayed me when it was my turn i.e. it barely moved. Diddy displayed a calm poise, allowing the game to come to him, to reveal itself. It was fun though.

Back to the point: I was struck on Sunday night by the realization of the entertainment aspect of this blog. It’s not like I strayed. I didn’t. I merely planned to stray into other areas of non-entertainment. I was also struck by how enjoyable “less” can be than “more.” I will write as much as needed for LOST and anything else entertainment but I won’t put an entry on life support to satisfy an internal blowhard word-count that is in no way mandated by The Quad. I can be my own worst enemy.

‘True Blood’ has become the show that will occupy me during the hiatus of LOST. I’m not the type of person to toss a show aside once LOST returns though. In fact, Dawson’s Creek was an ‘Occupy Me’ show once upon a time.

The year was 2003. Summer 2003. ‘Everwood’ had wrapped up its exceptional first season and ended with one doozy of a cliff-hanger. TBS began syndicating Dawson’s Creek. I began watching towards the end of the school year, when I’d get home early because of the final examination high school schedule. The first episode I saw of Dawson’s Creek is entitled ‘Hurricane.’ It’s first season. Joey’s all about Dawson and Dawson’s oblivious. I do wonder whether Joey wishes she never let her affections be known to Dawson since Dawson made things miserable for her and Pacey during a time despite Joey’s insistence that he wasn’t completely insane. All I did that summer was watch the first five seasons of Dawson’s Creek on TBS. I was riveted. It was fantastic. I own two seasons on DVD. During past LOST hiatus’, I’ve watched Firefly in its entirety, finished Buffy, became a fan of ‘Entourage,’ etc. Don’t get me wrong: nothing replaces LOST when it’s off-the-air. What I watch during the hiatus’ do not suck though. I mean, Buffy and Firefly are fantastic. Definitely Top 5 shows of all-time (and of course ANGEL is also in the top-5). 
‘True Blood’ caught my eye last fall when it premiered; however, living at school with no HBO didn’t motivate me to begin watching it. It caught my eye because Anna Paquin looks awesome as a blond. God bless the costume designer of ‘True Blood’ because Anna Paquin looks amazing in every scene she’s in.

Reviews began trickling in that it wasn’t a terrible show. I didn’t expect it to be since Alan Ball is overseeing and running the production. I have no interest in reading the books the show is based on though. I’m not an insane fan of vampire stories. I’m a huge ANGEL and Buffy fan but I’ll never read Anne Rice novels or read or watch “Twilight.” “Dracula” is a cool story.

In addition to Alan Ball running the show, “True Blood” had HBO in its favor. HBO produces quality television. “True Blood” is a good show. It reminds me of Buffy and ANGEL. The characters are well-developed. The plots are interesting and substantial. The secondary characters have plenty of life and depth. It keeps me guessing. It surprises me. The cliff-hangers at the end of each episode are great. I am through the first seven episodes of season one and am looking forward to the rest of the season. The show stood out for me once I reached episode four “Escape from Dragon House.” The following three episodes I’ve seen have been great. It’s an enjoyable viewing experience. I’m getting involved with each character’s story (or arc). All of you with Netflix out there, I recommend watching the first season on DVD.

Once the second season begins, I’ll give my thoughts on each individual episode. Time for some LOST.

I’m going to comment briefly on what Carlton Cuse told Michael Ausiello about the return of a certain someone to the show (don’t read if you don’t want to know but it doesn’t give anything away except the joy and surprise but i’d be expecting so it doesn’t matter to me). What struck me about this was, for starters, Cuse breaking radio silence. He and Damon never talk about the next season until comic con. I imagined that when (i happened upon an interview with Emilie before season five began so i knew this news would come before season six) they announced her return, it would be at Comic Con just like how it was announced Harold Perrineau was returning for season four at comic con 2007. Then of course Carlton offered these words about how they are more excited for how the character returns than the simple fact that she is returning. I mean, COME ON! It’s early June, Carlton! Don’t do that to me! It’s only been a month since season five ended! I immediately began thinking about where we last saw Claire, what it means now with Mr. Nameless seeming to be the dude who inhabited the Cabin, what it means for the whole “Did they change the future?” cliff-hanger. How she returns might be with an unborn Aaron in her belly, landing at LAX. But I doubt that. I’m on record believing the season opens in 2007. What I came to realize is that, simply, Claire’s return is going to be awesome and it’s going to make for one hell of a flashback. I am stoked.

www.lostpedia.com

Quite possibly the best Kate episode the show has ever produced. Actually, no, scratch that: it is the best Kate episode ever produced. Gone is Kate the fugitive and all of the breaking-into-the-bank-to-find-an-airplane fun that we got in episode 22 of season one. I’ll be honest with you all, my excitement for the episode took a hit when I saw the Cassidy stuff in the previously. I don’t know why. Perhaps it is still my unresolved feelings for aspects of season two. But I’m of the opinion that “Left Behind” from Season Three is Kate’s second best episode, and it featured Cassidy. I digress though. This episode showed the new side of Kate in all of its glory. The big picture is not about Jack and it is not about Sawyer. It is about Aaron.

I didn’t buy, and I don’t buy, what Cassidy said to Kate about needing Aaron because Sawyer broke her heart. It was always about Aaron for Kate. “The Little Prince” reminded the viewers that Kate delivered Claire’s child. Those two will always be connected because of that. And those two refers to both Kate and Claire AND Kate and Aaron. ‘Destiny Calls’ is the tagline of season five. Destiny once again showed its face in the scene at the super market. After losing Aaron, she found him with, basically, Claire’s twin. Evangeline Lilly played the reaction to the woman perfectly: relieved to have found Aaron but aware of Claire always. Claire visited her in a dream, telling Kate to never bring Aaron back. So now, Kate is going to bring Aaron his mother to him because Claire and Aaron are supposed to be together. It’s destiny. There’s a beautiful scene at the end of season two’s episode ‘Maternity Leave.’ It is a Claire episode. In the episode, Aaron has is sick so Claire treks into the jungle with Rousseau and Kate (of course it’s Kate. Always connected.) When she returns, Aaron is better. There’s a scene with Claire putting a sock she knitted for him while she was with the Others and drugged in The Arrow on Aaron’s foot, and she says, with tears: “You know, I wanted them to take you. But now I know — I know that we’re supposed to be together, you and me. We’re supposed to take care of each other, okay. — You’re mine and I love you. I love you so much.”

Here are some other thoughts:

–Lindelof and Cuse wrote this one, and they did a great job (which is expected). They know their fans so well. I could hear Cuse and Lindelof in the scenes between Hurley and Miles. Cuse would be Miles and Lindelof would be Hurley. I’ve been listening to their podcast since 2006 so I know the minds of Lindelof and Cuse in regards to this show obviously. I knew they wouldn’t kill Ben because WHATEVER HAPPENED, HAPPENED! HE COULD NOT DIE! Hopefully, the fans of the show will finally understand that very simple concept. Pierre Chang, in the premiere, says to a construction worker, when the worker jokingly asks if time-travel means a person can travel back in time and kill Hitley: “Don’t be absured! There are rules! Rules that cannot be broken!” It’s been there since the premiere. Whatever happened, happened.

–This episode did a solid job of advancing the plot. Jack understood that Ben would not die. Don’t mistake that for Jack being a so and so, folks. He’s supposed to be on the Island. He knows this, and he’s content waiting until the Island tells him what to do.

–There’s no way Kate, Sawyer, and little Ben disappear without any Dharma catching wind of it. There’s still the key issue. It shall be interesting.

–I loved the scenes between Hurley and Miles. Miles said what I was thinking about the time travel business in 1977 that I had trouble putting into words. It is the past but it is the Losties present. 

–We saw a new, gentler side to Roger. That moment explains the difference between how Roger was when Ben was 8 in ‘The Man Behind The Curtain” and how Roger was with Ben before Ben killed him in The Purge. It is also worth noting that Kate is involved in key moments in the Linus history. As soon as Roger realizes how far away he is from the father he wanted to be when Ben was born, Ben will never be the same again after Richard saves his life.

–The scene between Kate and Mrs. Littleton was fantastic. Scenes like that are why I love the show as much as I do. It got a bit dusty in the 619. I won’t lie. I’ve been waiting a long time to hear Claire’s name again, and for her story to be brought back, and how they are doing it is great. Kate’s goodbye to Aaron was very touching. The music was quintessential LOST. Definitely my favorite part of the episode.

–Did I see a bright light as Richard entered the Temple? I missed a name the one Other said. I heard Ellie but I missed the other name. I still think Ellie is Ms. Hawking. 

–And last but not least: Locke and Ben are finally back! Locke was the last thing Ben wanted to wake up to. 

And that’s about it. Next week’s episode looks awesome.

 

THE OFFICIAL LOST RANKINGS!

Exciting rankings. Kate makes a huge jump in me and STEVE’s rankings. The rankings are tough though. I really like every character and sometimes characters have to be low because it is a harsh numbers game. It is very tough. Anywho, here are the rankings:

AFTER EPISODE 11

RANKED: 4/1/09

 

CHRIS

1. Locke

2. Desmond

3. Sayid

4. Sawyer

5. Kate

6. Jack

7. Jin

8. Ben

9. Juliet

10. Hurley

11. Daniel

12. Sun

13. Richard

14. Miles

15. Frank

16. Widmore

 

STEVE

1. Sayid

2. Desmond

3. Sawyer

4. Kate

5. Locke

6. Jack

7. Jin

8. Richard

9. Ben

10. Miles

11. Frank

12. Juliet

13. Sun

14. Widmore

15. Hurley

16. Daniel