Category: On TV

Things on TV

Well Conan, It Was Nice While It Lasted

Sometimes I feel out of touch with the rest of society.

For example, I’ve never understood the appeal of Jay Leno.

The comedic stylings of Conan O’Brien are more my speed, and I’ve been a quasi-regular watcher of Conan’s for the past 15 years.  When The Civee and I first got our DVR two years ago, Conan’s Late Night was the first show that got added to the record list.  And when Conan took over the hallowed Tonight Show last June, I couldn’t have been happier.  As Conan took over Late Night, Jay moved to 10:00 and the once great NBC saw the ratings for its last hour of primetime drop off a cliff.

Well, it looks like NBC is putting the Jay Leno Show (or, as it’s known in my house, the Talentless Jay Leno Show) out of it’s misery.  But the effects may not be good for Conan.  From the New York Times:

NBC executives held discussions with both Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien Thursday about the future of the network’s late-night lineup. And while executives said that no final decision has been made, they did not deny that the network is considering moves that could include returning Mr. Leno to his old job as host of “The Tonight Show.”

NBC executives said a decision would definitely not be announced Thursday but did not deny a report posted by the website TMZ that NBC was considering making the switch and replacing Mr. O’Brien at “Tonight” with Mr. Leno.

So what would they do with Conan? They can’t exactly move him and his crew back across the country and give him his old show back because that would upset Jimmy Fallon.

Back in the day, CBS had a reputation as the old folks’ network and NBC was cutting edge.  Kinda sad to see the network that brought you the A-Team, Knight Rider and Seinfeld fall like this.  Sure, they’ve got things like The Office, Chuck and Conan (still under contract), but this is just digging an even deeper hole.

Don’t worry, fellow tall pasty one, I’ll still watch ya.

King Tom3 Comments

What’s The Box?

Ben Linus: And now you have a choice. Because if you stop and if you think, I can show you things. Things I know you want to see very badly. Let me put it so you’ll understand. Picture a box. You know something about boxes, don’t you, John? What if I told you that somewhere on this island, there’s a very large box… and whatever you imagined, whatever you wanted to be in it, when you opened that box, there it would be. What would you say about that, John?

–The Man from Tallahassee

A bedridden Ben Linus used the above analogy to illustrate to a desperate John Locke just how special a place the Lost island was.  Sure, we viewers have seen people on the island cured of terminal illness and paralysis.  Others (literally) are ageless.  Viewers (and John Locke, from experience) know the island is a place where wonderful things happen, but in the above analogy, Ben hints that the island’s magic isn’t random, and that individuals can have the island make their dreams come true.  A few episodes later (in The Brig), Ben admits the box is a metaphor.

So the subject of this edition of I Want Some Freakin’ Answers is Ben’s magical mystery box, a topic only brought up twice during the series, but which may be the driving force behind some of the mysteries of the Island.

The only other time the box is mentioned is during the fourth season finale, There’s No Place Like Home, when Locke asks Ben whether The Orchid station is “the Box.”  Ben dismisses Locke’s question, later saying that the purpose of the Orchid is the same as all the other DHARMA stations- to conduct “silly experiments.”

So viewers (and Locke) are left with Ben’s metaphor promising a device which could grant one’s heart’s desire.  We’ve never seen it, but have had plenty of evidence of its existence, kind of similar to the way Hawking describing the way DHARMA first found the island.

Because of this, I’m led to believe the whole island is the Box.  One just has to know how to use it.

We find out through the course of the series that there are unique pockets of energy housed on the island.  DHARMA, a group of scientists, created a number of stations to try and harness this energy.  I argued a while back that DHARMA messed up by trying to turn the island’s magic into science.  I still think they did.  But this energy is there for a reason.  It healed Rose’s cancer.  It let Locke walk again.  Perhaps because these people believed it could happen, or in Rose’s case, had someone believe on their behalf, their wishes came true.

In The Man from Tallahassee, Ben showed Locke what “came out of” the Box when he used it: Locke’s father.  It’s probably more accurate to say the resources of the Others enabled Locke’s father to get to the island, but it’s that magic (along with appropriated DHARMA technology) that enabled the Others to travel the world and acquire detailed files on visitors to their Island.

I have no doubt that in this upcoming season, we’ll find out more about the powers of the island.  And then finally, we’ll have some freakin’ answers related to Ben’s analogy. Either way, I’m sure there’s much more in the Island’s box than this one:

King Tom2 Comments

Claire’s Psychic: Soothsayer on a Slow Ride

The next and final season of Lost is a little more than a month away.  With less than 20 episodes to go, there are a lot of unanswered questions that remain part of the show’s mythology.  This series, “I Want Some Freakin’ Answers” will take a look at some of the lesser mysteries that I’d still like answered.

He was the bassist for Foghat.

He was also the Russian President for two seasons of 24.

And as an accomplished voice actor, he’s been a part of shows like The Critic and nearly every Star Wars video game until a few years ago.

Yet it’s Nick Jameson‘s role as Australian psychic Richard Malkin that interests Lost fans.  He’s only appeared in two flashback episodes, and is potentially responsible for two characters getting on Flight 815, which brought them to the mysterious Island.

Or maybe not.

Claire visits Malkin, who appears spooked by some vision of Claire’s baby.  After finding out that Claire intends to put her baby up for adoption, Malkin later implores Claire that she must not allow the “baby to be raised by another.”  However, he later changes his tune, saying he knows of an acceptable couple in Los Angeles, but she has only one option for transportation: Oceanic 815.  In fact, he’s quite adamant about it:

MALKIN: It has to be this flight. It can’t be any other. They’re already scheduled to meet you when you arrive. Flight 815. Flight 815.

We next meet Malkin in Season 2, during Eko’s flashback episode “?,” when his daughter has a near-death experience.  Malkin tells Eko the near-death experience was  mistake and that he’s a fraud as a psychic.  Only, we later find out that Malkin’s daughter did experience something supernatural.

(And yes, there’s a deleted scene where Malkin admits to Eko that he was paid by the Los Angeles couple to convince Claire to give them her baby.  But since it was deleted, it never happened).

So the question remains: is Richard Malkin for real or a fraud?

It would tie in well to Lost’s mythology if Malkin was able to see the future.  Claire and Aaron are important players in the whole story.  It’s hinted at the end of Raised by Another that Claire suspects Malkin knew all along that Flight 815 would crash and she would survive. This would ensure that Claire and no one else raised the baby.

But Malkin’s encounter with Eko (and the deleted scene) are evidence that Claire’s being on 815 was coincidental and he was perpetrating a ruse.

I’d like to think that Malkin was an important player.  The biggest piece of evidence is his insistence on Flight 815.   It’s likely though, that this mystery won’t be answered.  There are other, bigger mysteries, and this might not fit in to the time left to tell the Lost story.

Still, as long as there isn’t a Foghat reunion going on this winter, maybe Malkin will reappear on Lost one last time.

King Tom5 Comments

Forgive the Mess

So this afternoon I noticed that we’re a little more than a month away from the next season of Lost.  I was ready to write a new entry in the I Want Some Freakin Answers series (hint: it involves a former Foghat bassist, Russian Premier and voice of Emperor Palpatine), but then got a note that I should update the version of WordPress the blog is running.

Most of the time, upgrading WP takes two minutes.  But this time, it was more like two hours.  Had some difficulty with the version of SQL I’m running not being compatible with WP and the flux capacitor mucking everything up.

I had to upgrade the SQL and re-install (and re-configure) WP.  Not everything is working yet.  But it will be soon.

And hopefully I’ll get to the longawaited post about what a Foghat bassist has to do with the mysteries of Lost.

King Tom

The Island Moves Again…To Tuesday Nights

It’s a good thing that the only decent thing on TV on Tuesday nights is already on ABC, because the alphabet network announced today that the final season of Lost will air Tuesday nights at 9.  Or as Lost Boss Carlton Cuse tweeted earlier today:

LOST will premiere Tuesday, February 2 at 9PM.

And yes, Tuesdays @ 9 PM will be the regular time slot.

I’m glad it’s back at 9:00 again.  That one season where it started at 10:00 kept me up way too late.  I’ve actually enjoyed ABC ‘s V revival, and it will be nice to have these two shows back-to-back.

Another good thing about the move to Tuesday nights- April 7, 2010 is a Thursday.  So I won’t be distracted by…other things.

King Tom1 Comment

Ben Linus Has a Plan [To Win An Award]

I’d like to take a minute to congratulate Michael Emerson, who portrays Kingdom favorite Ben Linus, for winning an Emmy award for his work on Lost.

Not that I make it a regular habit to watch award shows.  In fact, I only caught wind of Emerson’s win after seeing the news pop up in my reader.  As they formally refer to it, Emerson won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, which is quite a mouthful.

Still, it’s some much-deserved recognition for one of the people who does a great job of bringing one of the key players to life week in and week out.  Say what you will about the other characters- Jack’s a dope, Kate’s annoying, Richard wears eyeliner, whatever. But there’s never been a bad or even sub-par Ben storyline.

(True- he had a bad haircut in the mid-80s, but that was redeemed by that swank hat he wore in Russia during that Sayid episode last season).

Anyway, even though the new TV season is about to start, Lost will be a little late to the party, starting its final season sometime this winter.  It’s an understatement to say I’m looking forward to this.  Hopefully, this will be the year Ben is proven to be one of the good guys.

I think it’s a testament to Emerson’s acting chops that I feel that way about a character who’s done everything short of mass murder (well, at least in the 100-plus people category).  Congratulations again Michael, and thank you.

King Tom

Things I'm Looking Forward To

I’m sure there are a few things I’m leaving out, but here are some things on the calendar:

October 7/8: MLB playoffs begin

October 27:  Release of Raditude, Weezer’s seventh Studio Album

November 26: Thanksgiving

December 25: Christmas

February 2010: Final season of Lost begins

February 14, 2010: Pitchers and catchers report/International Weezer Day

March 28, 2010: Wrestlemania XXVI/MLB Opening Day (a.k.a. The Days of Greatness)

April 7 (est.), 2010: The Civee and I are havin’ a baby.

King Tom7 Comments

Who Is Number Two Working For?

Some of the inhabitants of Lost Island see dead people.
These dead people are more than just mere visions of the departed–they have actual interactions with the main characters.  Some are apparitions of the Smoke Monster, passing judgment. Others we’re not sure about yet.  But one has appeared to a variety of people in different times and ways–Christian Shepard, father of Jack.
As first seen as a hallucination to a water-deprived Jack Shepard. Christian has appeared to other island inhabitants, and in the case of John Locke, has given instructions, claiming to speak for the mysterious Jacob.  But Christian’s advice led Locke to play right into the game plan devised by Jacob’s adversary, leading to the question “who is Christian (Jacob’s self-proclaimed number two) really working for?
Christian and Jack Shepard, father and son, are in many ways responsible for the state of each other’s life.  It’s hinted that Christian wasn’t the best father throughout Jack’s childhood.  During Jack’s adulthood, it’s much of the same, as Jack has to break free of his father’s shadow after choosing to follow in his father’s footsteps as a spinal surgeon.  Eventually, Jack’s career overshadows Christian’s, and he breaks free of his father’s influence.
Christian, on the other hand, is a recovering alcoholic, who tries to advise his son, but doesn’t always do so in a fatherly way.  Eventually, Christian is driven back to drinking by Jack, after Jack suspects his father of having an affair with his wife.  Christian hits the bottle again, leading to a failed operation on a pregnant woman.  When the patient dies, Jack (rightly) rats out Christian, who loses his medical license and decides to take a drinking tour of Australia (while trying to visit his secret daughter).  In Australia, accompanied by Ana-Lucia, Christian bumps into Sawyer and eventually dies of alcohol poisoning.
Jack travels to Australia to claim the body back home, but books a flight on Oceanic 815 and they both end up on the island.  Still, Jack retains bitterness and a need to fix everything-behaviors detrimental to his well-being.
Just as Christian shaped Jack during his formative years, Jack’s actions (accusing his father of having an affair with his wife, turning him into the hospital board) are the reason Christian goes to Australia.
In the early days of their time on the island, Jack saw Christian a few times while the 815 survivors were still getting acquainted with the island. At first, Christian only appeared to Jack, until Season 4, when Hurley and Michael both saw him, Hurley seeing him in Jacob’s cabin and Michael having a weird encounter seconds before the freighter blows up.  Also meeting Christian (or the ghost of) in season 4 was Locke, who met him in Jacob’s cabin.
While trying to find a way to save the island from Keamy and the rest of Widmore’s goons, Locke, Ben and Hurley search for Jacob’s cabin, looking for answers.  Because of his cancer and Alex’s death, Ben felt he fell out of favor with Jacob and let Locke be the one to speak with Jacob.  However, Jacob wasn’t in the cabin, and Christian (who was there with Claire) claimed he was authorized to speak on Jacob’s behalf.  Christian told Locke to move the island, an act that Ben was familiar with.
Because exile from the island was the result of moving the island (done by turning the wheel at the bottom of the Orchid), Ben claimed he had to do the deed, as that exile was his punishment from Jacob.  Ben turned the wheel, but because he either turned it incorrectly, or wasn’t supposed to have turned it in the first place, bad things happened.  Locke ended up back at the Orchid, this time with a broken leg, where Christian appeared again, berating him for letting Ben turn the wheel,  confirming the fact that Locke has to die to save his friends and being of little help as Locke has to push (although I still say pull) the wheel, gimpy leg and all.
Christian also appears to Sun and Frank during their 2007 return to the island, telling them they have a long journey to find their friends (who ended up in 1977) and to just wait for the path to appear.
At first glance, it looks like Christian is doing the work of Jacob.  But there are several other factors which make me think that he’s actually working for Jacob’s adversary (or is the adversary in disguise).
First off, Ben confirmed in “The Incident” that he never met Jacob.  Still, Ben took Locke to a cabin, that, according to Illana during her visit, had been empty for some time.  The people/spirits Locke communicated with while in the cabin may not have been Jacob, but rather, Jacob’s enemy.
Additionally, Jacob’s adversary has a game plan of using Locke (and his body) to manipulate Ben into killing Jacob. Locke has to die for the adversary to use his body, an idea that the adversary (as Locke) implants in Locke through Richard Alpert during one of the island’s time shifts.  However, when Locke tells Christian (still claiming to speak for Jacob) that he was told he’d have to die to save his friends, rather than telling Locke that’s not true, Christian coldly replies “Well, I suppose that’s why they call it sacrifice.”
Locke is crucial in the adversary’s plan. But it’s possible he’s also important in Jacob’s.  There are many reasons Locke can be seen as special, from regaining his ability to walk to being touched by Jacob after his accident, an argument can be made that Jacob and/or the Island needs Locke.  If that were the case, and Christian worked for Jacob, why would he send Locke to his death without batting an eye?
Even though I think Christian is “working for” the adversary, there is some evidence leading me to doubt this.  Christian can be seen as a positive force working on behalf of the island.  First, in his appearances to Jack, he leads his son to water, necessary for the survival of the marooned 815 passengers.  Secondly, when he appears to Michael (even though Michael doesn’t know who Christian is), Christian confirms Michael is doing the Island’s work.  Lastly, in the final Missing Piece aired prior to season four, Christian appears to Vincent minutes after the 815 crash, concerned about his son’s well-being and urges Vincent to wake Jack up, saying Jack has work to do.
Plus, judging from the artwork in the cabin (as long as it’s Jacob’s cabin), we can see that Jacob is fond of dogs.
Either way, even though Christian Shepard is dead, he’s important to both the Island and several of its inhabitants.  I’m not the only one confused by his appearances.  Izikavazo over at Not Confused Just Lost also ponders the question, but believes Christian is on the side of evil.  Me?  I’m not sure.
As we know, people who die on (or off) the Island don’t really disappear.  Hopefully, in the show’s upcoming final season, we’ll see more of Christian and get some freakin’ answers as to whom he’s working for.

This is the third entry in a series titled “I Want Some Freakin’ Answers.”  From time to time, I’ll talk about some of the things we’ve seen over the past five seasons of Lost that I’d like answered.  I’m not going to deal with topics we know will get answered (like the smoke monster), but rather those things that no one but die-hard Lost fans would care about.  It’s very likely that not everything will be answered, and even possible that some may be passed off as continuity errors, but Lost wouldn’t have obsessive fans if people didn’t care about the little things, right?

Some of the inhabitants of Lost Island see dead people.

These dead people are more than just mere visions of the departed–they have actual interactions with the main characters.  Some are apparitions of the Smoke Monster, passing judgment.  Others we’re not sure about yet.  But one has appeared to a variety of people in different times and ways–Christian Shepard, father of Jack.

As first seen as a hallucination to a water-deprived Jack Shepard. Christian has appeared to other island inhabitants, and in the case of John Locke, has given instructions, claiming to speak for the mysterious Jacob.  But Christian’s advice led Locke to play right into the game plan devised by Jacob’s adversary, leading to the question “who is Christian (Jacob’s self-proclaimed number two) really working for?

Christian and Jack Shepard, father and son, are in many ways responsible for the state of each other’s life.  It’s hinted that Christian wasn’t the best father throughout Jack’s childhood.  During Jack’s adulthood, it’s much of the same, as Jack has to break free of his father’s shadow after choosing to follow in his father’s footsteps as a spinal surgeon.  Eventually, Jack’s career overshadows Christian’s, and he breaks free of his father’s influence.

Christian, on the other hand, is a recovering alcoholic, who tries to advise his son, but doesn’t always do so in a fatherly way.  Eventually, Christian is driven back to drinking by Jack, after Jack suspects his father of having an affair with his wife.  Christian hits the bottle again, leading to a failed operation on a pregnant woman.  When the patient dies, Jack (rightly) rats out Christian, who loses his medical license and decides to take a drinking tour of Australia (while trying to visit his secret daughter).  In Australia, accompanied by Ana-Lucia, Christian bumps into Sawyer and eventually dies of alcohol poisoning.

Jack travels to Australia to claim the body back home, but books a flight on Oceanic 815 and they both end up on the island.  Still, Jack retains bitterness and a need to fix everything-behaviors detrimental to his well-being.

Just as Christian shaped Jack during his formative years, Jack’s actions (accusing his father of having an affair with his wife, turning him into the hospital board) are the reason Christian goes to Australia.

In the early days of their time on the island, Jack saw Christian a few times while the 815 survivors were still getting acquainted with the island.  As previously mentioned, Christian helped lead Jack to finding water in the caves.  But Jack found more than water–he also found his father’s coffin, which was empty.

At first, Christian only appeared to Jack, until Season 4, when Hurley and Michael both saw him, Hurley seeing him in Jacob’s cabin and Michael having a weird encounter seconds before the freighter blows up.  Also meeting Christian (or the ghost of) in season 4 was Locke, who met him in Jacob’s cabin.

While trying to find a way to save the island from Keamy and the rest of Widmore’s goons, Locke, Ben and Hurley search for Jacob’s cabin, looking for answers.  Because of his cancer and Alex’s death, Ben felt he fell out of favor with Jacob and let Locke be the one to speak with Jacob.  However, Jacob wasn’t in the cabin, and Christian (who was there with Claire) claimed he was authorized to speak on Jacob’s behalf.  Christian told Locke to move the island, an act that Ben was familiar with.

Christian's not happy with John LockeBecause exile from the island was the result of moving the island (done by turning the wheel at the bottom of the Orchid), Ben claimed he had to do the deed, as that exile was his punishment from Jacob.  Ben turned the wheel, but because he either turned it incorrectly, or wasn’t supposed to have turned it in the first place, bad things happened.  Locke ended up back at the Orchid, this time with a broken leg, where Christian appeared again, berating him for letting Ben turn the wheel,  confirming the fact that Locke has to die to save his friends and being of little help as Locke has to push (although I still say pull) the wheel, gimpy leg and all.

Christian also appears to Sun and Frank during their 2007 return to the island, telling them they have a long journey to find their friends (who ended up in 1977) and to just wait for the path to appear.

At first glance, it looks like Christian is doing the work of Jacob.  But there are several other factors which make me think that he’s actually working for Jacob’s adversary (or is the adversary in disguise).

First off, Ben confirmed in “The Incident” that he never met Jacob.  Still, Ben took Locke to a cabin, that, according to Illana during her visit, had been empty for some time.  The people/spirits Locke communicated with while in the cabin may not have been Jacob, but rather, Jacob’s enemy.

Additionally, Jacob’s adversary has a game plan of using Locke (and his body) to manipulate Ben into killing Jacob. Locke has to die for the adversary to use his body, an idea that the adversary (as Locke) implants in Locke through Richard Alpert during one of the island’s time shifts.  However, when Locke tells Christian (still claiming to speak for Jacob) that he was told he’d have to die to save his friends, rather than telling Locke that’s not true, Christian coldly replies “Well, I suppose that’s why they call it sacrifice.”

Locke is crucial in the adversary’s plan. But it’s possible he’s also important in Jacob’s.  There are many reasons Locke can be seen as special, from regaining his ability to walk to being touched by Jacob after his accident, an argument can be made that Jacob and/or the Island needs Locke.  If that were the case, and Christian worked for Jacob, why would he send Locke to his death without batting an eye?

Even though I think Christian is “working for” the adversary, there is some evidence leading me to doubt this.  Christian can be seen as a positive force working on behalf of the island.  First, in his appearances to Jack, he leads his son to water, necessary for the survival of the marooned 815 passengers.  Secondly, when he appears to Michael (even though Michael doesn’t know who Christian is), Christian confirms Michael is doing the Island’s work.  Lastly, in the final Missing Piece aired prior to season four, Christian appears to Vincent minutes after the 815 crash, concerned about his son’s well-being and urges Vincent to wake Jack up, saying Jack has work to do.

Plus, judging from the artwork in the cabin (as long as it’s Jacob’s cabin), we can see that Jacob is fond of dogs.

Either way, even though Christian Shepard is dead, he’s important to both the Island and several of its inhabitants.  I’m not the only one confused by his appearances.  Izikavazo over at Not Confused Just Lost also ponders the question, but believes Christian is on the side of evil.  Me?  I’m not sure.

As we know, people who die on (or off) the Island don’t really disappear.  Hopefully, in the show’s upcoming final season, we’ll see more of Christian and get some freakin’ answers as to whom he’s working for.

King Tom4 Comments

What About Waaaalt?

This is the second entry in a series titled “IWant Some Freakin’ Answers.”  From time to time, I’ll talk about some of the things we’ve seen over the past five seasons of Lost that I’d like answered.  I’m not going to deal with topics we know will get answered (like the smoke monster), but rather those things that no one but die-hard Lost fans would care about.  It’s very likely that not everything will be answered, and even possible that some may be passed off as continuity errors, but Lost wouldn’t have obsessive fans if people didn’t care about the little things, right?

Out of all the Lost cast members, life outside the show has been most unkind to Malcolm David Kelley, who played Walt Lloyd (a.k.a. WAAAALT! or “My boy”).  Originally playing a ten year old boy, Kelley started his growth spurt in the years following Season 1, as he was removed from the show’s main cast (in a surprisingly benign way) while making cameo appearances throughout the following season.

During Season 1, we got the impression that Walt was not quite normal.  Called “special” by several people, Walt was kidnapped by the Others after flashing some knife throwing and bird attracting skills.  In addition, Walt also hinted at having the abilities of precognition and astral projection–all leading up to the question behind this week’s I Want Some Freakin’ Answers — what is (or was) up with Walt?

Originally portrayed as Michael’s rebellious kid (or alternatively, the kid Michael was stuck with raising) after crashing on the island, Walt quickly became friends with Locke and Hurley.  Locke and Boone taught Walt how to throw a mean knife, and Hurley taught Walt all about gambling (although, Hurley lost a lot of money to Walt, so maybe Hugo was really teaching him how not to play backgammon).  “Special,” a flashback episode devoted to Walt and Michael established that Walt was raised by his mother and an unwilling stepfather who was spooked by some weird things that happened whenever Walt was around.

More weirdness happened later in the first season, during a discussion between Walt and Locke.  Locke reached out to touch Walt, who got implored Locke “Don’t open it, Mr. Locke. Don’t open that thing.”  Spooked by his encounter with Locke and a chilling vision of things to come, Walt willingly left the island with his father on the raft, only to be kidnapped by the Others.

Even though he was in the care of the Others, Walt appeared to Shannon twice, speaking backwards (much like another little man from another place), warning of doom shortly before Shannon’s death.  Walt (or more likely, the Others) communicated to Michael through the Swan’s computer, who was slowly losing his sanity.  The trick worked, sending Michael off the deep end and giving the Others their bargaining chip in Ben’s plan to get Jack to do the spinal surgery which would save Ben’s life.

In a Missing Piece produced between the third and fourth seasons, we learned that the Others were just as scared of Walt’s powers as his step father was.  We didn’t learn anything of the powers or what benefit they would serve to the Island, but we learned that he was one scary kid.

After being captured by the Others, Michael is asked several questions about Walt, including “has Walt ever been somewhere he wasn’t meant to be?”  Partially because he was an absent father for most of Walt’s life, Michael is unable to answer these questions, but is able to bargain for his and Walt’s freedom, as well as a safe way off the island.  In a brief meeting, Walt tells Michael the others aren’t who they seem to be and that he spends his time taking tests.

Finally, Michael turns in Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley (in addition to killing Ana Lucia and Libby) and at the end of Season Two, sets off for civilization.  Here, Walt and Michael’s paths diverge.  Michael agrees to help the Others by posing as a spy on Widmore’s ship.  On the other hand, Walt goes back to school (but not before appearing to a near-death Locke on the island and urging him to finish up his work), and meets Jeremy Bentham/John Locke and travels to visit Hurley.

Walt meets Jeremy Bentham.

It would be nice in the final season to find out what was going on with Walt.  Why did the Others want him?  How did they know that he was special?  Did he have other gifts than killing birds and appearing in places he wasn’t supposed to be?  What did the Others get out of him?  And why was he so fearful about the hatch.

There are a lot of loose ends in regard to Walt.  And because he’s appeared on the show sparingly since the end of Season One, I don’t have many guesses as to how and if he fits in in the overall scheme of things.  If they were to bring him back, at least Walt would reach Malcolm David Kelley’s real-life age, so if they were to bring him back, now would be an appropriate time.

And hopefully, we’d find out whether Walt got that $83,000 Hurley owed him.

King Tom3 Comments

Pierre Chang: Man of Mystery

In an effort to post more (not to mention milk everything I can out of the Lost franchise before it ends next May), I’m starting a new feature (with a title inspired by Hurley) called I Want Some Freakin’ Answers.  From time to time, I’ll talk about some of the things we’ve seen over the past five seasons of Lost that I’d like answered.  I’m not going to deal with topics we know will get answered (like the smoke monster), but rather those things that no one but die-hard Lost fans would care about.  It’s very likely that not everything will be answered, and even possible that some may be passed off as continuity errors, but Lost wouldn’t have obsessive fans if people didn’t care about the little things, right?

The big mystery around the end of Lost’s first season was what was in the hatch.  We later found it was a station built to study the unique electromagnetic properties of the island by a group calling themselves the DHARMA Initiative.  Aside from the weird swan-specific symbols scattered around the station and on it’s boxes of food products, our (not to mention the Lostaway’s) first introduction to the Initiative came through the Swan Station orientation film, way back in Season Two’s aptly titled third episode “Orientation.”

Hosted by a man calling himself Doctor Marvin Candle, who only has the use of one arm, the film gives us some background about the Initiative, as well as details as to the function of the Swan.

After that, the Lostaways find different DHARMA stations, some of which have their own orientation films/videos, and while they’re hosted by the same person, he doesn’t always go by the name “Marvin Candle” and in some cases, has two functioning arms.

In “?,” Locke and Mr. Eko find the Pearl Station, where they find an old school video cassette tape of an orientation video.  Copy-written 1980, the gentleman hosting the Pearl video goes by the name Mark Wickmund and can use both arms.

In Season three, we see clips in the computer video for the Flame and the “Welcome to the Island” flick, but don’t catch the presenter’s name.

We don’t see any more DHARMA films presentations until the end of Season Four, when Ben has Locke view the Orchid‘s video. Again hosted by the same gentleman, but this time under the name Edgar Halliwax.  “Edgar” even has a custom Orchid-station Parka which Ben appropriates for his trip to spin the wheel.

Finally, in Season Five, we actually meet the man in a setting outside of the orientation films.  Everyone in the Initiative knows him as Dr. Pierre Chang, and he can use both his hands.  Throughout the season, we find out Pierre is a bigwig with the DI, is a scientist and acts periodically in DHARMA films. He has a son named Miles, and much to [future] Miles’ consternation, he likes country music.   We also see Pierre shooting the film for the Arrow Station, where he again calls himself Marvin Candle.  In Season Five’s finale episode, The Incident, Pierre loses his left hand in an accident while trying to shut the drill at the Swan site down.

So we know this about the man of mystery: His name is Pierre and he lost his left arm in a construction accident in 1977.  He shot the films for the Pearl, the Orchid, the Arrow and “Welcome to the Island” before 1977 (when he lost both his hands).  However, the years for the Pearl and Orchid videos are after 1977, so either the DI fudged the copyright dates, or that’s a continuity error on the part of the Lost creative team.

The thing about Pierre that I’d like some freakin’ answers to is what’s with all the different names?  Through the video for the Pearl, we learn that DHARMA is involved in studying psychology- though the answer to who’s the subject of the mind games – the observers or the observed, is up in the air.  And these fake names all being somewhat related (Candle, Halliwax, Wickmund) make it seem as if the whole situation is more than a continuity error.

The DHARMA members who are the audience of these films/videos are being lied to for some reason.  As seen in the episode Namaste, a large number of the DHARMA people know Pierre Chang (and one of my favorite moments of the episode is when Jack meets the man he knew as Marvin Candle, 27 years from that moment).  So who’s he fooling?

My guess?  There’s still more of DHARMA’s story to tell.  After the incident, the Initiative implemented some heightened security protocols–changing how people dealt/communicated with each other, in some cases, even cutting off communication between stations.  So giving people in each of its stations a unique frame of reference would serve to that advantage.  And with what little we’ve seen of the functions of the Pearl Station (they were being watched too, the notebooks that were the “fruit of their diligent work” went nowhere), the Initiative wasn’t above lying to its employees/test subjects.

One of the few things we know about the DI in the time period between the Incident and Desmond’s arrival is that Stu Radzinsky worked in the Swan.

And why not?  He had some science background, was a high-ranking member and even had a hand in designing the Swan.  But as Kelvin told Desmond, he also killed himself in that very station.

Here’s what I think:  Because of the incident, operators at the Swan (and other DI stations) were locked down- the Quarantine hoax was put in effect to keep workers confined to their stations.

Stu (who may have been punished for the incident with his tour of duty in the Swan) knew the truth.  To keep himself sane, and to pass along his knowledge of the DI, he started the blast door map before finally losing it (or his conscience got to him) and ending up as a spot on the ceiling.

As this extrapolation of Stu’s saga shows, there’s more of the DI’s story to tell.  As part of that story, I’d like some freakin’ answers as to why Dr. Pierre Chang’s IMDB credits can include the roles of Dr. Marvin Candle, Edgar Halliwax and Mark Wickmund.

King Tom2 Comments