Friday, May 30, 2008

'Lost' Rocks! (Warning-Spoilers); New Summer Programming

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FROM THURSDAY'S "LOST" FINALE


SKIP DOWN TO THE ASTERISKS **** AT THE END FOR THE WEEKEND'S BEST BETS


SERIOUSLY, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FINALE, WHY ARE YOU READING THIS?


OK, YOU WERE WARNED!


One thing about those "Lost" finales is that they are never dull. As Michael Emerson alluded to in yesterday's posting, we did get major questions answered and the producers did give us plenty of possible new directions for the show.

HERE COME THE SPOILERS!!!

I had an inkling that Jeremy Bentham would turn out to be Locke. I mean, how many people in life do you meet that are named after famous British philosophers? (Bentham has always been a personal favorite). It's an interesting choice of names on many levels. The real John Locke gave us a philosophy of everyone starting life with a clean slate, which is what happened to the fictional Locke when he arrived on the island. Bentham espoused utilitarianism, when one tries to do the greatest good for the most people. That seems to be the fictional Locke's philosphy as he tries to protect the survivors in his own way.

The real Bentham also came up with the idea of the Panopticon, a prison in it which it would be possible to keep an eye on all the inmates at all times, but without the inmates knowing they were being watched. Sounds a bit like the stations on a certain island, doesn't it?

Of course, it begs the questions why everyone calls him Bentham after all that time of knowing him as Locke.

I give the producers major props for answering a lot of the questions on the minds of viewers. Why didn't anyone else get off the island? Who was the other man Sun blamed for Jin's death? (Actually, that one's a bit ambiguous, since she seems to finger Widmore while Jack thinks she blames him). How does one move an island?

Of course, even more questions have now popped up? How do Sawyer and Locke get back to the mainland in the future? What's the deal with Christian and Claire? What happened to all of the people on the zodiac? What's going to happen between The Others and the remaining survivors? What did Sawyer whisper to Kate?

It was hard not to get a little misty at the Desmond-Penny reunion, but the cloud of Ben Linus still hang over her head. It was also heart-breaking to see Jin's death, though Sun's transformation into a ruthless badass is cool.

Now the most depressing news to contemplate: We have to wait until January or February before it returns. AARRRGGGHHH!!!


******OK, NO MORE LOST TALK - YOU CAN LOOK NOW!*******


OK, don't look above the asterisks.

'SATC' OPENS: I hated, hated, HATED the series "Sex & The City" the few times I had the misfortune to watch it, but I can't deny the cultural phenomenon it gave us. Since I'd rather drink battery acid than pay $7 to go see the new movie in a theatre, I've asked Stephanie Hartley, the Cherry Blogger at macon.com, to post a review this weekend. She's a big fan of the series and knows a lot more than I ever could, so she can tell you if the movie passes muster.

WEEKEND'S BEST BETS: I had planned on devoting this space to a full review of some of the new summer fare, but it looks like I'll have to cut back a bit.

USA debuts the new summer series "In Plain Sight" Sunday night at 10 p.m. It stars Mary McCormick as a US Marshall who works with the Witness Protection Program. I've seen three episodes, and while it's not quite on par with "Burn Notice," it's well worth your time. McCormick manages to mix the right amount of wit and empathy, and it's an interesting look at how joining the program can completely uproot your life.

On Friday, "Doctor Who" (Sci Fi, 9 p.m.) wraps up its two-part episode as the Sontarans try to implement their plan. (Not good planning on the Sci Fi Channel's part to split up a two-parter with last weekend's holiday). It follows the season finale of the "Sarah Jane Adventures" and a new "Battlestar Galactica" at 10 p.m.

Viewers may also want to check out the Scripps-Howard Spelling Bee (ABC, 8 p.m.)

On Saturday, "Robin Hood" (BBC America, 9 p.m.) is brand-new.

On Sunday, "The Tudors" (Showtime, 9 p.m.) wraps up its second season. Not to spoil anything, but things aren't looking good for Anne Boleyn.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was going to start off talking about "Lost" but I have to start instead by scoffing at you for not appreciating the brilliance of "Sex and the City" - and I say this as straight, married man. Great show and although I won't get to see it in the theaters since it's a rite of passage for my wife to go with her girlfriends, I do eventually want to see the flick.

Anyway, "Lost" was brilliant and extremely entertaining and Yujin Kim's (Sun) performance was especially impressive last night.

Anonymous said...

Very pleased with the Lost finale. Can't wait to see how they get back to the island. And I'm betting Ben will find some sort of loophole in the 'can't go back to the island' thing.

Speaking of 'Burn Notice', new season premiers July 10, 10 p.m.

Phillip Ramati said...

Zod, I stand by my battery acid comments.

Ryan, I'm also eager for the return of Burn Notice, and hope to get advance screeners of the series from USA.

Anonymous said...

Mr. TV Guy,

So you love "Lost" but you don't watch "The Wire." From the NY Times, here's why you should:

"In the years since Sept. 11 and the Iraq invasion, television has captured the national anxiety by dismissing the notion of easy resolutions. At its best — on the HBO series “The Sopranos” and “The Wire”— we were shown just how far out of our reach the gratifying conclusion really is. “Lost” is nowhere near as philosophically refined, but it has maximized the potential of narrative uncertainty and made it a beguiling constant."

Phillip Ramati said...

Anon, as I stated in a post a while ago now, I didn't have HBO for the first three or four years of The Wire. Once I got HBO, I didn't want to start the series in the middle. At some point I have planned on getting the DVDs and watching it from the beginning. As a Wire fan, I'm sure you will agree that is the way to view it.