Thursday, January 26, 2006

"Lost" - Fire + Water

“Fire + Water” – Charlie Story: Oh yeah! You all (everybody) may know that I’m a sucker for a good Charlie story, mainly because I like seeing the inner-workings of Driveshaft so much. And this one surely didn’t disappoint. Not only did it blend outrageously absurd back story moments with Charlie’s unexpected descent into madness, but it also had some of my favorite “Lost” lines ever.

First, the back story. The “You All Everybody” diaper commercial – AWESOME. They were in diapers in front of a green screen! You All Every-Butties! I didn’t see the Golden Globes, but if they didn’t use that scene as the footage for the Best Drama reel, then I’m shocked. But Charlie’s brother’s heroin addiction was a little out of control. Oh, and the song that Charlie wrote and performed actually made my ears bleed and broke several glasses in my apartment. But it was kinda sweet to see that impact that Charlie’s mother had on him and how it related to his feelings for Claire’s baby. But the end fell kinda flat for me, mainly because we already knew that his brother leaves the band to clean himself up. But he sells the piano their mom gave him for Christmas?? What an asshole!

But man, that island story was pretty sweet. Charlie has vivid sleepwalking dreams chock full of weirdness, religious references, and a typical “Lost” “young-child-in-a-precarious-or-awful-and-dangerous-situation” moment with Claire’s baby stuck inside either a floating piano or a floating crib. That leads to the first of my favorite lines – when Charlie says, “Kate sees a horse, nothing. Everyone’s seen Walt wandering around the bloody jungle, but when it’s Charlie it must be the drugs.” He forgot about the monster that ate the pilot or the giant plume of black smoke that can read your mind.

Poor Charlie, no one believes him. Is the island in some way changing him? Is he possibly the first victim of “the sickness” Rousseau talked about? Who knows, but when Eko said the baby should be baptized, he just took that advice and ran with it full steam. He almost reminded me of Jack with his illogical go-getter attitude. I mean, burning down a section jungle (and Eko’s poor trees) just so he could take Claire’s baby and baptize/drown it - ballsy, Charlie. His rapid decline was nicely capitalized by a demoralizing, thunderous beat down in front of the whole camp by Locke. I would have liked to see Eko get in some licks for messing with his favorite trees, but then again, how much lower could poor Charlie get.

In other story news, Hurley’s kicking some game to Libby, which would be cute if I could ever get the nauseating thought of Hurley-Libby sex out of my head. Oh, and Libby asks about the new washing machines in the hatch (but no explanation).
Also, Jack and Ana Lucia seem to be heating up. And for about 10 seconds I actually liked Ana Lucia/Michelle Rodriguez when she asked Jack (re: Kate), “You hitting that?”

Score (out of a possible 20)
Back Story: 7.5
Island Story: 8
Overall: 15.5

Thursday, January 19, 2006

"Lost" - The Hunting Party

“The Hunting Party” – Jack Story: Overall, not a big fan. I mean, that woman, Gabriella, was smoking hot, but not enough to sustain my interest in the back story. We get it, Jack’s a good surgeon, he gets frustrated when he can’t save everyone, and he’s a lousy husband. I did like that fact that Jack was revered as somewhat of a miracle-worker – possible Jesus allusion?

What happened on the island was much more interesting. First, you get the return of M.C. Gainey as the leader of the Others sporting a ridiculously bad-ass beard. Then you get some actual banter with the Others about the island. Apparently there’s a “line in the sand” which Jack and company shouldn’t cross, after all, it’s not their island. But what made me crawl out of my skin was the fact that no one said, “Hey, keep your damn island. Let’s us get the f**k off! Can we borrow your boat and go back to our lives? It sucks here, and we would like nothing more then to leave and not be killed by you.” But alas, it’s “Lost”, so no such luck.

(Oh, and having someone shoot Sawyer but graze his ear as a warning?! Pretty ridiculous, but what IS funny is how many times Sawyer has been shot, stabbed, punched, and had bamboo shoots stuck up his finger nails. I’m surprised the guy is still breathing, let alone coming up with snappy nicknames.)

So, Jack’s pissed that Kate didn’t listen to him, blah blah, and Kate’s sorry but then sees Jack with Ana Lucia, blah blah. And how bout Jack asking Ana Lucia how long it would take to train an army? For some reason I don’t think Rose and Bernard are any match for some Others sharpshooter that could graze an ear in pitch blackness.

Score (out of a possible 20)
Back Story: 4
Island Story: 6
Overall: 10