The Redemption of Doctor Linus

I suppose it’s only fitting that Benjamin Linus, the man that has pulled all the strings on the Island and manipulated everyone into doing his will is, in a sideways reality not quite in control of what’s going on around him.

He’s under the thumb of a corrupt and uncaring principal.  He eats TV dinners with his disabled father.  And he chooses to hang out with Dr. Arzt.  Hardly a man in control of his own destiny.

Continue reading The Redemption of Doctor Linus…

Jack Bauer Vs. The Boy In The Iron Lung

The main arc in tonight’s episode of 24 took place in a hospital, where Jack Bauer tried to lure a teenage suicide bomber out of an iron lung.

For most of the episode, Jack tried sweet-talking the kid (who looks like a dullard but somehow, in a manner of minutes, managed to sketch out the bomb wiring on the inside wall of his chamber) out of the iron lung, before bringing in the big guns: the kid’s mother.

At last, I thought, something to break the monotony of this episode.  I thought Jack would pull a gun on the mother, aim it at her head and tell the kid he was going to watch his mother die.  But no.  Jack let the kid and his mother have a few moments to discuss things.  Sure, Jack even busted out the “I give you my word” card for (what felt like) the first time this season, but nothing happened.  I was convinced this episode was another waste of what could have been perfectly good TV, but then Jack ordered the mother pulled out of the room.  And then Jack really went to work…

Continue reading Jack Bauer Vs. The Boy In The Iron Lung…

Keeping Things Interesting

With a little more than a month to go before the baby, The Civee and I decided we didn’t want life getting too boring.

So we bought a house.

It’s something we’ve wanted to do for a while.  We had been looking (not too seriously) for the past year and a half or so, but around January decided if we were going to make a move, it would be better to do so before the arrival.

For the past month, we’ve been embroiled in bidding and negotiating over the house,  and praying for the snow on the roof to melt so the inspector could make sure there weren’t any gigantic holes or leaks.  And it all came down to yesterday- the closing date.  I’ve heard the horror stories from others- the feeling that you’ll be paying forever for a house, having to sign your name hundreds of times and the general nervousness about the whole situation.

But it wasn’t that bad.  Sure, my hand still hurts from signing my name so many times.  And I don’t even remember half of the things I signed.  The worst part was trying to keep up with all the different conversations that were going on between the other people in the room as we were trying to sign the papers.  But I had The Civee with me.  And at the end, we got a set of keys to a house that we can call our home.

For the past ten years, I’ve lived in apartments where the walls had to stay white.  Before that, for most of my life, I’ve lived in homes attached to other structures.  Well, our house is free-standing.  And we can paint the walls whatever color we want.  It’s an older house, and I can’t stand in the basement, but I don’t care about any of that.

So for the next few weeks, we’re going to be painting and moving.  I should have time to write about 24 and Lost and whatever other nonsense I usually write about.

Hopefully, we’ll be able to get everything done before the arrival of  ….   I can’t say her name yet.  But you’ll find out soon enough.

Sundown At The Temple

Last week on Lost, after being told that Kate was the one who took her son Aaron, Crazy Claire promised that she’d kill Kate.

In tonight’s episode of Lost, Sundown, Kate admitted to Crazy Claire that she did take and raise Claire’s son as her own.  Crazy Claire glared and seethed from a hole in the ground in Kate’s general direction.  As everyone with a clue vacated the Temple before sundown, fLocke attacked and laid waste to the Temple inhabitants (saving two in particular for someone else).  Kate and Claire walked out of the Temple together following fLocke.  During last week’s promo for tonight’s episode, we were promised answers.  Here’s one question that I’d like answered in the wake of tonight’s Lost episode:

When will Claire kill Kate??

Continue reading Sundown At The Temple…

What Makes 24 Fans Tick

As I do every Monday night (during the season), I’d like to share some thoughts about 24.

No, not about tonight’s underwhelming episode (although we’ll get to that).  But about 24 in general.  I’ve been watching the show since the beginning hours of Day Two.  I’ve been blogging about Jack’s adventures here at the Kingdom since the first hours of the awesome Day Five.  I like to think I know the show.  I also pay attention to my blog statistics.  I don’t get thousands of visitors each day (more in the 20s or 30s each day), but I get a solid number of people each week who arrive at the Kingdom having searched for something 24-related.  Taking some of these most popular searches reveals a lot about what interests 24 fans.  Here are some of the most popular terms which have brought 24 fans to the Kingdom:

• Jack Bauer stabbed
• Jack hotwire bulldozer
• Jack Bauer screwdriver
• Jack Bauer German Glasses disguise
• Jean Smart Cleavage
• Tony betray Jack
• Jack Bauer Mad Cow
• Brian Hastings Hunchback
• Jonas Hodges
• Jonas Hodges killed a guy on a balcony
• Jonas Hodges killed a guy with a liquor bottle
• Buchanan Yoga
• Charles Logan horny

Quite an interesting list.  Most of these are about Jack and the various ways he’s taken out bad guys or killed their lackeys.  The ones that aren’t about Jack are about other, interesting main characters the show has had over the years.  I can say that I have never gotten Web hit from any of the following (and we’ll only cover those plots from the time I’ve been blogging):

• Wayne Palmer action scene
• Wayne Palmer coma
• President Wayne Palmer
• Chad Lowe convincing villain
• Dumbass teen terrorist
• Dana and rubes
• The IRKian first family
• Janis Gold, effective FBI agent
• Martika and Ike Dubaku romance
• Audrey coma
• Jack Bauer Rain Man

Unlike the previous list, I’ve gotten none (or close to none) Web hits from people searching for these terms (or similar items).  Leading to the conclusion that not only are plotlines such as those on the second list not interesting, but people don’t want to find out more (or read more) about them.  It’s understandable that 24 can’t feature 24 straight hours of Jack running around, killing people with staple guns, circular saws and other items you’d find in a hardware store.  No, Jack is subject to the rules of real life and will get stuck in traffic.

The show needs supporting characters with plotlines to set up Jack, and occasionally, waste time.  The thing is, in more recent seasons, those additional characters haven’t been worth paying attention to.  The early days featured the Palmer family drama (which yes, was tedious in Day 3), compelling stories like the romance, break-up and re-romance of Tony and Michelle, and villains who you actually feared.

These days, the supporting characters are boring (or, as made popular by Kingdom fave Edgar) are killed off all too soon.  The political plots are predictable re-hashes of what we’ve seen before.  And the villains are cookie-cutter stereotypes who don’t even last long enough to get interesting.  The two exceptions- Jon Voight as Jonas Hodges, who was Blofeldian in his evilness and David Anders as, well, he didn’t last long enough to get a nickname, much less have me care about his real name.

I can’t tell you who the villains are this season, except for some dude stuck in an oxygen chamber and his cronies hanging out in a diner.  And I can’t tell you about a non-Jack storyline I care about.  And I wish it weren’t that way.

I’ll continue to watch 24, more out of duty and the promise that Jack might do something awesome once every three or four hours.  But it’s tough.

Now about tonight….

Continue reading What Makes 24 Fans Tick…

Life After Lost for Ben and John

I’ve been saying for years that Ben Linus and John Locke should star in a buddy comedy of some sort.  Looks like I’m not the only one who thinks this way:

Maybe Ben could get an eye patch of some sort to cover up that disfigurement.

Waiting and Waiting (for Pinkerton Deluxe)

Last fall, Weezer announced a special Deluxe Edition of their second album, 1996’s Pinkerton would appear in stores in February or March 2010.  Not only would this deluxe album feature the 10 tracks of Pinkerton, it would also contain demos, alternate versions and possibly other unreleased gems like a full-band version of Superfriend (from Songs from the Black Hole), Getting Up and Leaving or even the (now) mythical track Tragic Girl.

Last November, I wrote a post speculating what would comprise Pinkerton Deluxe, and I’ve gotten some traffic to the Kingdom thanks to it.  Well, I feel it necessary to post an update: It’s February (almost March) and we’re going to have to wait a little longer for the album.

Weezer Homie Karl Koch posted on allthingsweezer this week that while the tracklist is done, we will have to wait a little longer for Pinkerton Deluxe.  No word on how much longer.

However, before we get Pinkerton Deluxe, we can expect Odds and Ends, a CD featuring a number of unreleased Weezer songs that were recorded for album releases, but never saw the light of day.  If you want to speculate on what songs will be on Odds and Ends, you better have some time on your hands.  All I can say is check out the Weezer Recording History, and anywhere you see a song mentioned as being recorded during an official album session, you have a potential O+E track.

Candidate Party At The Lighthouse

Over the six seasons of Lost, Dr. Jack Shepard has undergone an amazing character journey.  From an annoying man of science with meaningless tattoos, Jack has seen enough miracles and other amazing things happen on the Island to turn him into a man of faith who is somewhat tolerable.  At least on the Island.

As seen in tonight’s episode of Lost, The Lighthouse, the off-Island/sideways Jack is still an unsufferable bore.

But he is a candidate.

Continue reading Candidate Party At The Lighthouse…

Jack Goes Rogue. For Ten Minutes.

At least once a season in 24, Jack Bauer will go rogue.  Whether it’s to save a colleague, a family member, or to exact vengeance on a villain in a way the government won’t let him, Jack throws all rules aside and acts as a free agent.  Heaven help those, good or bad, who get in his way.  Usually, Jack’s rogue status lasts a few episodes, by which time, either Jack lets himself be taken into custody or the authorities realize Jack is right and get out of the way.

Well, in Day Eight of 24, Jack Bauer went rogue.  And it lasted all of ten minutes.

Continue reading Jack Goes Rogue. For Ten Minutes….

The Softer Side of Ben Linus

I already thought Ben was in love with the Island, but I have to agree, there’s one side of acting that Michael Emerson hasn’t been able to show off yet: