The Reyes-Straume Roundtable Will Address Whatever Happened [Happened]

Hurley and Miles prepare to discuss the news of the day.Usually, when Lost throws a Kate episode out there, I get very bitter afterwards, wishing the episode had focused on someone more integral to the show’s overall mythology.

Don’t get me wrong, I still think there are plenty of other characters on the island (everyone but Sun) who has a more interesting story and who is more integral to the Lost saga.  But at least tonight, after Whatever Happened, Happened, I’m not bitter.  For a Kate episode, it was not that bad.

There are a few reasons for this; The continued self-assertion of Sawyer as leader of the survivors.  DHARMA.  The continued downward spiral of Jack into the biggest idiot on the island.  The Others.  But most of all, the two conversations between Hurley and Miles discussing time travel and whether they’re living in their own future or their past. (And by the way, Miles is right, he just doesn’t know why.  I think)

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King Tom

We're Number One!

The Kingdom hasn’t been this popular since a picture of my foot ruled the Chinese version of Google.

Today, I noticed an increased amount of traffic resulting from Google searches for the words Jack Bauer Mad Cow.  So I did a little googling of my own, and the number one site for those four words is the Kingdom (specifically, yesterday’s review of 24).

So for at least today, we here at the Kingdom are the number one in the world for something.

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He's Our You [All Everybody]

I don’t know about you, but if someone told me they were from the future,  I’d listen to what they had to say.  I’m not saying I’d believe them, but I’d let them talk.

And if even they happened to talk about things (I think) they weren’t supposed to know about and get a few details right and then end their rambling with an omnious preminition along the lines of, oh, I don’t know, “You’re all gonna die,”  I’d let them keep talking.  I’d maybe even take some notes, ask a few questions.  Again, I wouldn’t believe them outright, but I’d listen.

Well, in tonight’s episode of Lost, He’s Our You, the DHARMA Initiative proved why they didn’t stick around on the Island all that long.

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A Waste Of A Great Supervillain Moment

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that this season’s villain [My Name is] Jonas Hodges could be the best yet bad guy we’ve seen on 24 because he is similar to Ernst Stavro Blofeld, nemesis of James Bond.

Well the comparison stays apt, because one of the few interesting scenes in tonight’s episode of 24 showed Hodges acting in a Blofeldian manner, even if (forgive the pun) the execution wasn’t all the same.

It’s possible that there were things about tonight’s episode that I wasn’t seeing, but for the most part, I found it boring, especially in the White House scenes.  All of that drama was between the President, the Sherri Palemeresque First Daughter and the (soon to be former) Chief of Staff.

Jack and Tony met up with lucky to be alive security guard Karl before taking on a team of Blofeld Hodges’ lackeys over a shipping container full of Sentox Nerve Gas a mystery chemical or bacterological agent.  That action, taking place in the last 15 minutes of the hour was interesting.  Although, I was befuddled as to why Jack and Tony didn’t take on team terror right away.  Or at least make it look like Karl killed the goon (hey, it could’ve happened!) so as not to arouse suspicion that they were on the case.

Other than the final scenes involving the shootout and Jack’s theft of the big rig, the only other interesting part of tonight’s episode was Hodges’ meeting of SPECTRE the Starkwood Board of Directors.  Hodges was quite animated during this meeting, even taking some time to deal with a dissenter on the board who looked like Bryan Cranston (the guy who played Dr. Tim Whatley on Seinfeld).  The one thing that surprised me about this scene was we didn’t see the Whatley wannabe die–either in front of the rest of the Starkwood Board or during their private moment together.  Even after Whatley accused him of murdering Senator That 70s Show, Hodges kept his cool and didn’t have Whatley walk over a gimmicked bridge that fell into a shark pit.  Hodges makes a great villain, but that was his moment to shine, and he dropped the ball.

One other thing about this episode- at the end when Jack was on the horn with Special Agent Larry Fine, I was wondering- is Jack now off the hook?  You think that Larry would call the White House and clear up the situation.  But then again, this is Larry we’re dealing with.

I leave you tonight with an image of a man and his truck.

What did you think?

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Namaste, Aloha and the Muppet Show

In the realm of Lost, as well as the rest of TV, I enjoy episodes that are either action or mythology-oriented. For the most part, I lose patience with episodes centered around emotions and relationships.

Even though I’d call tonight’s episode of Lost, Namaste, emotional, my reaction was different.  I enjoyed it.  It was a lot like a ‘set-up’ episode of 24, where characters and devices are introduced so the plot can shift into the next gear for the next episode.  Even though that’s usually a recipe for a so-so episode, that didn’t happen tonight.

First of all, things started off pretty quickly.

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Season's Greetings From All Of Us To All Of You

The calendar may say it’s still winter, but around here, grilling season has begun.

With the weather in the 50s and 60s the past few days and the daylight lasting past 7:30 p.m., The Civee and I decided it was time to start grilling again.  And as you can see from the above image, it was worth it.  We’re a little rusty, not having done the half-inside, half-outside cooking deal in some months, but we did just fine.

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A: A Bulldozer, A Screwdriver and A Two-By-Four

Q: What are three things not to leave laying around when Jack Bauer’s coming after you?

So Jack Bauer escaped from the hospital and is fighting for his life at a construction site, Secret Agent Larry Fine is having a helicopter escort him all around DC, the folks in the White House are going through damage control with the media and what is Tony Almeida doing?

Enjoying himself a nice mocha latte.

Heck of a season it’s shaking up to be for 24.

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Ode To Bill

Bill does yogaI have to admit, when Bill Buchanan showed up at CTU all those years ago (season four, anyone?) as a division stooge, I wasn’t a fan.  But over these years, Bill has grown on me.  And now, he’s gone.

Usually, when 24 introduces a character, I know right away whether I like them or whether I want Jack to put us out of our misery by crushing their windpipe with his legs.  I have to admit, I was wrong about Bill.  Maybe it’s because even though he was a division guy, he didn’t get in the way.  Maybe it was because even though he was “seeing” Michelle, that was all water under the bridge between him and Tony.  Or maybe it was because he was one of the few authority figures who saw the benefits in letting Jack be Jack.

Well, after five seasons, Bill is gone, having gone out in a selfless (typical Bill) blaze of glory in a successful attempt to liberate the White House and it’s hostages.  

At least he got a silent clock.  And in an effort to memorialize Bill, I’d like to quote something that I wrote in an episode recap from February of aught-six:

I read James Morrison, the guy who plays Buchanan, is a yoga instructor and poet. Because of this, I imagine Buchanan lives in a sparsely-decorated home, and sleeps on a stone tablet. Bill Buchanan is the man.

Yes Bill, in a television world where 95 percent of government authority figures are portrayed as idiots, you were the man.

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