03/15/10 11:39 AM
Many know him as Jacob from Lost or Lucifer from Supernatural. I know him as a really nice guy who was a joy to interview. I caught up with Mark Pellegrino (photo left, credit: ABC) a few weeks ago to discuss being on such an iconic television show, life in Hawaii and his plans for the future.
When you were cast as Jacob on Lost last year, had you been a fan of the show, or did you have to do some quick catching up?
I had to do some quick catching up, that's for sure. I almost don't own a TV. We have one here for watching movies and stuff, and my wife watches TV to relax, but I'm so busy I can't usually watch unless I get cast in something and have to watch to do some research.
Because of the great secrecy, do you receive the entire script, or just the scenes you are in? How protective are they of that?
The scripts do come with a special tape on them – I don't know what the tape means, it's a kind of reflective tape – and it is delivered directly to the house. I do get the whole script for the episode, surprisingly enough, and I get it about a week in advance. And I'm surprised about that, because people are so hot after the material, you'd think they'd be even more cautious that somebody would steal it off the doorstep.
How is the cast to work with, and how do you like shooting in Hawaii?
Shooting in Hawaii is great. I don't get to see the island too much unless I have some free time and I'll bring my wife out there. Otherwise I am in my hotel room hunkered down, reading the script and working on that, and writing and catching up on movies and stuff. But it is really beautiful, and I've done a few of the touristy things.
The cast is just phenomenal – not only great actors, but they're really good people. I've worked a lot with Jorge Garcia (giggles) and he's a really funny guy, (giggles) and a really really good actor (giggles). I'm laughing at something, I don't even know if I can say – just the way that we work with each other off-camera, he kind of laughs at me and has fun with me. And I've worked with Matt (Fox). He's a really great guy, and so intense, as intense as his character onscreen. So is Nestor (Carbonell), who actually studied at the theater company that I teach at and studied there for a while. He's a really great guy. It's nice – it's a nice group of people.
Were you intimidated to join a show that already had such a faithful following and was such a huge phenomenon?
Luckily I didn't know it was a huge phenomenon until I landed on the island and was told. There audition sides are not the character name, and the scenes are not the scenes you end up doing. It's all made-up stuff to throw off all the bloggers and people on the Internet who are trying to get the material. Sounds crazy, but I had no idea what it meant until I got there.
That must be difficult for the casting team, because they have people auditioning for roles, but it's not the material they'll be doing, or even the character name.
You know, in a way I am glad they did it that way, because it's such an iconic role, you don't want to fall into traps. You could try to act the stature of the part, and it's really so much more simple and down-to-earth. It's a good thing to be Jesus the carpenter, as opposed to Jesus in the Gospel of John, the God-like figure. That's hard to act – the carpenter's better.
If you had Jacob's God-like powers, how would you like to see the show end?
I hope it ends well, and I hope Jacob's point of view about human nature is born out, that's for sure, because I think it says something about us. I don't know what that means, but I just hope it ends well, and that my point of view wins out. But I don't know what that means in concrete fact; I don't know what that means with respect to the characters.
Playing Jacob certainly is a change from playing your character on Supernatural, which happens to be Lucifer (photo left, credit: David Gray/The CW).
It is fun. In fact I leave on Monday to do some more Supernatural stuff, and I'm looking forward to that because we're in the middle of the apocalypse. But playing Lucifer is fun; he's a fun bag of tricks.
How did you make your Lucifer different from other Lucifers in past movies and TV shows?
I guess it's just to enjoy the different Lucifers I've seen in past films and know that this Lucifer is written very differently than the other ones. This Lucifer is written as a very down-to-Earth, honest person. I think I have justice on my side, and that's a very strong place to come from. I don't have to lie, pretend, fool anybody, charm anybody – I just tell the truth. That's pretty unconventional. I can't think of too many Lucifers who've had to deal with those circumstances. They are usually big, iconic, charming, interesting ... although Viggo Mortensen was kind of an interesting – he played Lucifer in Prophecy, didn't he? He was an interesting, down-to-earth kind of devil, in a way.
You've been on a lot of top-notch television shows, like Burn Notice, Dexter, Grey's Anatomy. What have been some of your favorite experiences and why?
I was coming out of the make-up trailer of Grey's Anatomy, and Sandra Oh was like, "Oh my God!" and grabs me by the face, kisses me on the face and hugs me. She's apparently a big Dexter fan. It was a totally shocking experience to have that happen. So that was a really nice, enjoyable experience.
Being on Dexter was funny too, because me and Michael C. Hall were rivals in the show for Julie Benz's affection, and for the first episode or two, we didn't really speak to each other. And I thought he didn't like me, and he thought I didn't like him. So we had this totally antagonistic type of relationship, and we never really dealt with it for the first couple of shows until one day by chance, we were at craft services eating something at the same time. And I forget who broke the ice, but one of us just started talking, and we realized that he thought I didn't like him, I thought he didn't like me, and we became friends. He's a nice guy. And I hope he found out I'm nice too.
Is there a particular show you get recognized for more when fans approach you on the street?
Well lately it's been Dexter, Lost and Supernatural, but I do get a lot of: "I think I know you from somewhere." Like they think they met me at a party somewhere, but they really saw me maybe on Burn Notice or something. But I've been getting a lot of recognition for Lost now. I've been getting people walking up to me in the supermarket. Just the other day when they had the premiere, I was getting groceries for my family, and a girl asked, "Are you Jacob from Lost?" And I said, "Yes." And she said, "We are having a dinner party for you tonight. What are you doing in Valencia?" And I told her I live here with my family, and she says: "Oh, OK, good. Well, all right. Bye!" It's an interesting phenomenon, definitely.
You played lots of different and interesting characters in your career, but what would your dream role be?
A dream role would be Charlie in Flowers for Algernon, I'm kind of obsessed with it, but I think Will Smith is going to do it. But it's been a project that I've loved for a long time. Actually there is a pilot that Frank Darabont is doing called Walking Dead that I am totally into, and I just went out for it. That would be kind of a dream role. I love the zombie/apocalypse thing and horror. This is from a series of graphic novels, and I like the main character a lot. It's kind of like 28 Days Later. He wakes up in the hospital after being shot, and the apocalypse has happened and he has to find his way to safety. It's kind of a cool scenario. And you can't go wrong with Frank Darabont; I love his work.
http://www.tv.com/interview-mark-pellegrino-andmdash-jesus-or-lucifer/webnews/51360.html
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Dr. Linus Poll Results
What did you think of "Dr. Linus"?
So AWESOME it was dynomite!
11 (52%)
As GOOD as a reunion on the beach.
9 (42%)
OK
1 (4%)
As BAD as getting caught in a lie.
0 (0%)
As HORRIBLE as having to dig your own grave.
0 (0%)
Votes so far: 21
Can Jack be Killed?
Yes
9 (52%)
No
8 (47%)
Votes so far: 17
Whose side will Widmore be on?
Jacob's
6 (37%)
The Man In Black
5 (31%)
Neither
5 (31%)
Votes so far: 16
What was your favorate parts about "Dr. Linus"?
Lunch talk between Ben, Arzt and Locke
3 (13%)
Ben and Rogers moment
4 (18%)
Miles revealing that Ben killed Jacob
2 (9%)
Ben digging his own grave
4 (18%)
Jack and Richard's explosive conversation in the Black Rock
14 (63%)
Dr. Linus lesson about Napolean
3 (13%)
Ben saving Alex's future
5 (22%)
Ben's conversation with Ilana at gunpoint
11 (50%)
The Beach reunion scene
6 (27%)
The Widmore reveal
7 (31%)
Another one
0 (0%)
Votes so far: 22
So AWESOME it was dynomite!
11 (52%)
As GOOD as a reunion on the beach.
9 (42%)
OK
1 (4%)
As BAD as getting caught in a lie.
0 (0%)
As HORRIBLE as having to dig your own grave.
0 (0%)
Votes so far: 21
Can Jack be Killed?
Yes
9 (52%)
No
8 (47%)
Votes so far: 17
Whose side will Widmore be on?
Jacob's
6 (37%)
The Man In Black
5 (31%)
Neither
5 (31%)
Votes so far: 16
What was your favorate parts about "Dr. Linus"?
Lunch talk between Ben, Arzt and Locke
3 (13%)
Ben and Rogers moment
4 (18%)
Miles revealing that Ben killed Jacob
2 (9%)
Ben digging his own grave
4 (18%)
Jack and Richard's explosive conversation in the Black Rock
14 (63%)
Dr. Linus lesson about Napolean
3 (13%)
Ben saving Alex's future
5 (22%)
Ben's conversation with Ilana at gunpoint
11 (50%)
The Beach reunion scene
6 (27%)
The Widmore reveal
7 (31%)
Another one
0 (0%)
Votes so far: 22
Monday, March 15, 2010
Lost Preview: "Recon"
Some familiar faces return.
by IGN TV
March 15, 2010 - Last week ended with the surprising return of Charles Widmore (Alan Dale) via a submarine. Widmore hasn't made his presence known to the island's inhabitants, but that could happen very soon. Ben's nemesis isn't the only one returning to the show after a break. After being killed last season, Charlotte Lewis (Rebecca Mader) will be returning this Tuesday. Charlotte looks to join a long list of characters who died and are finding new life thanks to the new flash-sideways sequences the Lost producers devised.
Meanwhile, The Man in Black (Terry O'Quinn) and his band of misfits are preparing for their fleeing the island. However, before they hit the high seas, The Man in Black convinces Sawyer (Josh Holloway) to go on a rather eventful mission for him.
Click above to watch two scenes from ''Recon''Be sure to tune in to "Recon" when Lost airs on Tuesday, March 16th at 9:00pm ET on ABC.
http://tv.ign.com/articles/107/1077606p1.html
by IGN TV
March 15, 2010 - Last week ended with the surprising return of Charles Widmore (Alan Dale) via a submarine. Widmore hasn't made his presence known to the island's inhabitants, but that could happen very soon. Ben's nemesis isn't the only one returning to the show after a break. After being killed last season, Charlotte Lewis (Rebecca Mader) will be returning this Tuesday. Charlotte looks to join a long list of characters who died and are finding new life thanks to the new flash-sideways sequences the Lost producers devised.
Meanwhile, The Man in Black (Terry O'Quinn) and his band of misfits are preparing for their fleeing the island. However, before they hit the high seas, The Man in Black convinces Sawyer (Josh Holloway) to go on a rather eventful mission for him.
Click above to watch two scenes from ''Recon''Be sure to tune in to "Recon" when Lost airs on Tuesday, March 16th at 9:00pm ET on ABC.
http://tv.ign.com/articles/107/1077606p1.html
Michael Emerson offers expert commentary on "Dr. Linus"
ABC.com has a pretty neat feature that allows you to watch each episode of Season Six with some special guest commentary. And this week, it's none other than Michael Emerson himself, offering up his inside thoughts on his very own episode, "Dr. Linus." Here's some info on how you can find the expert commentary, and how to make it work.
First, visit ABC.com - this link takes you right to the expert commentary for this particular episode. You need to do a couple of things before you can see the written commentary from the actor: First click the Connect with Facebook icon and connect to your Facebook account. And then you'll be prompted to sign in to ABC.com (or create an account if you don't have one). You'll find the links you see in the picture above quite a ways down on the page -- scroll down and they'll appear.
Last step: Click on the title of the show, "Dr. Linus" that you see right under the picture of Michael Emerson (again, a good ways down the page). That will launch the episode with commentary.
It's an interesting way to watch- I just caught the first few minutes, and I'm thinking I'll watch it all tonight before tomorrow's latest, "Recon."
Here's a screen cap of what it looks like with the expert commentary playing.
NamasteAndGoodLuck
http://wabc.typepad.com/7_things_about_lost/2010/03/michael-emerson-offers-expert-commentary-on-dr-linus.html
First, visit ABC.com - this link takes you right to the expert commentary for this particular episode. You need to do a couple of things before you can see the written commentary from the actor: First click the Connect with Facebook icon and connect to your Facebook account. And then you'll be prompted to sign in to ABC.com (or create an account if you don't have one). You'll find the links you see in the picture above quite a ways down on the page -- scroll down and they'll appear.
Last step: Click on the title of the show, "Dr. Linus" that you see right under the picture of Michael Emerson (again, a good ways down the page). That will launch the episode with commentary.
It's an interesting way to watch- I just caught the first few minutes, and I'm thinking I'll watch it all tonight before tomorrow's latest, "Recon."
Here's a screen cap of what it looks like with the expert commentary playing.
NamasteAndGoodLuck
http://wabc.typepad.com/7_things_about_lost/2010/03/michael-emerson-offers-expert-commentary-on-dr-linus.html
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Andalone was nice enough to mention my Trading Cards on Blog
Theres a lot of great Lost products collected on this blog.
http://amazingexgirlfriend.blogspot.com/2010/03/lost-room-23-character-trading-cards.html
http://amazingexgirlfriend.blogspot.com/2010/03/lost-room-23-character-trading-cards.html
Doc Jensen: 'Lost' recap: Lessons Learned
Episode 6 of season 6 was chock full of answers as we got a Ben-centric episode. Doc Jensen sifts through it to find new Island-Sideways parallels
By Jeff Jensen Mar 10, 2010
Even as a mild-mannered teacher, Ben had the urge to be the one in control. And Arzt was ready to help him... for a price All AboutLost
Get the latest photos, news, and more
There was a moment back in the most polarizing episode of Lost's most turbulent season when the Island's god of lies told the truth about the way he works. No, I'm not talking about His Royal Smokeyness, FrankenLockenstein, although the confession sure fits him, too. I speak of Benjamin Linus, the Little Napoleon of the Others — or, in the spirit of last night's very special back-to-school edition of Lost, the devious Tracy Flick of Craphole Island High 90666. The episode was ''Expose,'' a.k.a .the Nikki and Paulo vs. the Spiders episode, and the moment of truth came when Juliet asked Ben how he intended to get Jack to operate on his tumor-choked spine. ''Same way I get anybody to do anything. I find out what he's emotionally invested in and I exploit it,'' Ben said, sounding sadly resigned about his own nefarious nature, as if his conniving character was innate and immutable, or at least fixed and unchangeable. In the divine election of all possible worlds (''divine election'' being a fancy theological term of predestination), Ben Linus is forever doomed to manifest as some Machiavellian devil, some power-grabbing Brutus, some Jesus-betraying Judas, no matter the reality, no matter the world. Right?
Wrong. In ''Dr. Linus,'' Ben Linus was exposed as a soul who only has himself to blame for his woe-is-me bad self, whose corrupt nature is an accumulation of freely made choices. Which also means that Ben is also fully capable of resisting evil and selecting virtue, as well. His Sideways story was the proof. We were presented with a new version of Ben that was a truly decent man — a smart, idealistic teacher who cared for his students; a devoted son who cared for his ailing father, Roger Linus — but also one who yearned for a grander station in life. Dude had a doctorate! He was owed! On Planet Sideways, Doc Linus was presented with the opportunity to tricky-Dick his way to higher office, albeit at the expense of sweet, innocent Sideways Alex. But in his defining moment, Ben's conscience got the best of him, and he was a better man for it. Sorry, Arzt: those new lab aprons will have to wait.
On the Island, Ben the Dethroned seemed set to pay for his sins and abuses of power after Ilana smoked out his Jacob-stabbing secret and sentenced him to death for killing her beloved godfather. Then the Man In Black showed up and made him an offer he seemingly couldn't refuse: restored Island rule in the future in exchange for his loyal service in the present as part of his Hydra Family gang. Ben made a choice. He bolted. Ilana chased. Ben got himself a gun and was about to put a Bada-Bing in Jacob's girl the way he blew away Caesar the Whodat? last season. But then Ben made another choice: He bared his soul. He told the truth about killing Jacob, shared his rage over feeling betrayed by his Island god and his shame for choosing Island power over his daughter, and then offered this heartbreaking explanation for why he was joining Mr. Evil Incarnate (Allegedly): ''Because he's the only one that will have me!'' Then Ilana did something that left Ben gobsmacked: She forgave him. ''I'll have you,'' she said, and walked away. Ben shuffled after her, as if sucked in by the undertow of her grace. He came to the outskirts of the Beach camp, then stopped and considered his options. Stay and serve in this humble little patch of heaven, or join Devil Locke and coldly play for a shot at living the ''Vida La Vida'' once again. You always have a choice. This time, Ben made the right one — fulfilling, perhaps, Jacob's dying thought hope that Ben had the capacity for change. Has Ben the flip-flop artist truly embraced redemption? If so, would his redemption have been possible without Jacob's death? If so, did Jacob know that when he offered his chest for Ben to puncture? And so we debate like theologians.
This was a good episode. For fans starved for ''answers'' the way Hurley craved for cheese curds last night, ''Dr. Linus'' offered a plate of appetizers — salty-yummy scooplets of Richard Alpert, Black Rock, Jacob, Charles Widmore — in advance of more substantial courses that now appear imminent. Meanwhile, the Sideways story was played like a rich, full metaphor for Ben's Island arc and a kind of veiled, Roman-à-clef theory for almost all of Lost. On the whole, I was intellectually stimulated by yet another complex sketch of nature/nurture psychology and redemption dynamics, and I must admit my geeky heart was microwaved to soggy mush by the (partial) castaway reunion at the beach (The Beach! At last, the Beach!), complete with slo-mo montage and Michael Giacchino strings, to boot.
Not everything worked for me, though. I hate to begrudge genuine humor in Lost, but I felt Ben's Sideways story could have been a smidge better if played a little more straight. (Put another way: I am not exactly the most ardent patron of the Arzt.) A great scene for Richard Alpert in the Black Rock was overshadowed — literally — by a distracting lighting choice, a self-conscious use of chiaroscuro that may have been a go-for-Baroque attempt at communing with Caravaggio's ''The Incredulity of Saint Thomas'' that Lost referenced last year in ''316'' but... well, see, now I'm talking myself into loving that strange scene. Ditto: Jack's leap of faith with the dynamite stick, which left me debating between ''Totally genius!'' and ''Totally ridiculous!'' And how about finding another way to bring Fake Locke into a scene than having characters looking frantically about as they hear the tikatikatikatika while the camera pans over to Smocke popping out of the bush behind them with a smug smirk on his face?
Finally:
Bueller?
Bueller?
Bueller?
Translation: It's time for Ferris Sawyer's Multi-Episode Day Off to come to close. Seriously.
Nitpicking concluded. Your scorn? Bring it. Your agreement? Not necessary. I hope we can all agree that bugs aside, ''Dr. Linus'' gave us stuff to ponder and moments to savor. And so we take out our textbooks and begin the lesson.
The Sideways World
No Child Left Behind
''None of this would have happened if Mr. McAllister hadn't meddled the way he did. He should have just accepted things as they are instead of trying to interfere with destiny. You see, you can't interfere with destiny. That's why it's destiny. And if you try to interfere, the same thing's going to happen anyway, and you'll just suffer.'' — Tracy Flick, Election
''Just follow your heart. That's what I do.''— Napoleon Dynamite
There was a funny moment at the start of Ben's Island story line when he stumbled into Ilana's company, or rather, glommed on to them, as a lost soul always on the make for somewhere to belong is wont to do. Like a stray searching for a home, like a parasite in need of a host, like that creepy Orphan chick in Orphan. Ilana — sensitive, inquisitive Ilana — immediately asked Ben about... Sayid. Ben was stung. ''I'm fine, thank you,'' Ben said sarcastically. It was a primo Linus snark, but it was a window into his wounded heart, too. Benjamin Linus: unappreciated, unloved, and unwanted. He has spent most of his entire misbegotten existence hustling to secure and maintain a toe hold in the world, improvising his relevance and significance to the narrative of life that he worries would otherwise neglect him and forget him and leave him behind. When the cosmos is that indifferent to you, you might gas a village, too. Ah, they were just stupid hippies, anyway.
Sideways Ben was similarly afflicted, but less severely so. I was struck by his relationship with his father. They lived together in a humble home. They dined on microwave (organic) turkey dinner meals. They grieved broken ideals and unrealized dreams. We learned they had been on the Island as members of the Dharma Initiative — but they had left, before the Island had sunk. ''This isn't the life I wanted for you, Ben. I wanted so much more,'' Roger wheezed. ''Imagine how different our lives would have been if we had stayed.'' (Cut to: Roger Linus throwing a Dharma beer can at his boy's head and berating him for the thousandth time for killing his true love during child birth.) (An extremely little known fact: the subtitle to the season 3 classic ''The Man Behind The Curtain'' was actually ''Very, very loosely based on the novel Push by Sapphire.'') Sideways Roger presented himself as a sad old soul who viewed his son as an underachieving talent but only blamed his own bad parenting choices for Ben's fate. An improvement over Island world Roger? Yes. But I was left to wonder what it must have been like for Sideways Ben to grow up burdened by his father's ambition for him. Regardless, we saw the result: Ben the Overeducated, Overqualified High School Teacher, dogged by enough feelings of inadequacy to deem himself a loser. I got the sense Ben saw his father clearly — clearly enough to feel a little resentment, but not so much that he hated him, or, like, wanted to drive him out into the jungle and gas him to death. In a clever flick at ''The Man Behind The Curtain,'' we got a scene where the Good Son changed his ailing father's oxygen tank and doted on his comfort. Bottom line: Sideways Ben was more like Florence Nightingale, less like Heinrich Himmler.
THEORY REVISION ALERT!
Categories: Sideways Island Sinkage; Parallel World Historical Discrepancies.
Analysis: Until last night, it had been safe to assume that both the Island and Sideways worlds shared the same history until 1977, which is when the time-traveling castaways detonated Jughead. But the Linus men of the Sideways world blew up that thinking. I took the story to mean that Sideways Roger and Ben left the Island prior to its sinking. But Island Roger and Ben were still on the Island when Juliet banged the bomb. Implication: If the two worlds share a common history, the fork in the road is sometime before 1977. Rebooted Theory: The divergence begins on that fateful night when some phantom stranger struck John Locke's teenage mother, causing her to give birth three months early. That phantom stranger? I'm saying it's Charles Widmore.
Sideways Ben was a history teacher. Fitting for a man forever fighting for a place in history, and whose Island iteration may have been stalling the flow of destiny, if not meddling with it and making a mess of it, all in order to keep and preserve his Island good thing. He only ever succeeded in manufacturing suffering — for himself, his daughter, the Others, the castaways, and more. Through Teacher Ben, we got historical citations that I dare to now apply to Lost lore. We got a reference to Napoleon in exile on Elba, neutered by the loss of his power. Island Ben would later link himself to the reference. But Charles Widmore and Smokey also fit into Napoleon's pantaloons. After all, Napoleon ultimately escaped from his Island prison and reclaimed France (if only for 100 days) — and both Widmore and Smokey are exiles wanting to get back to their respective kingdoms/homes. (Something to also think about: after Napoleon got booted out of power again, he was exiled to another, less desirable island, Saint Helena, where he would die of stomach cancer/ulcer/poisoning. Foreshadowing for Smokey or Widmore's final fate?) (I'm telling you, that knife Sayid stabbed Smokey with last week? Dogen poisoned it.) (And didn't Alex last night mention she was nursing a stomach ache while the principal and the nurse were... you know... ''doing it''?) Dr. Linus also spoke of the East India Trading Company, the powerful British business entity that was established to execute trade with India, but wound up ruling much of it. And we recall that Ben has long alleged that all Widmore wants to do is exploit the Island for his material gain... although I personally suspect what Widmore wants most the Island is to use it to cheat death.
Ben's Sideways story mirrored his entire Island arc and even suggested many possibilities for the entire saga. You might even say Ben's parallel world yarn works as a theory of Lost. Let's bunker down in that conspicuously labeled REFERENCE section of the high school library and cross-reference the Sideways story with what we know about the greater epic, beginning with...
THE HIGH SCHOOL
The first several scenes of the Sideways story line emphasized the sad state of Ben's school. It was struggling to fulfill its educational mission, hit hard by ''budget cuts'' and ''crises'' that were ''above the pay grade'' of the school's administrators and teachers. This expression of our once glorious public school system was deeply imperiled.
THE ISLAND
The Island is like a school — a school for the soul. A place for people to learn and improve; a place where mistakes can be made without fear of failure, and instead be learning opportunities. But the Island is dying. Because it is a mystical/spiritual/mythical place, because it is an ideal, it exists only as long as we believe in it. But science and catastrophe and war and cynicism and reality television have rocked our faith and interest, thus weakening the Island's power. Or maybe it's not our fault at all! Maybe the Island has shrunk from view and gone awry because its owner is a proverbial absentee landlord, and the managers he installs to run the joint routinely suck or become corrupt. Yes! Let's blame them! And let's start with...
PRINCIPAL REYNOLDS
We knew he was going to be a big meanie the second we saw he was being played by William Atherton, the very fine character actor famed for playing pricks in movies like Die Hard, Ghostbusters, and my favorite of the bunch, Real Genius. (Essay time! 300 words on the relevance of those titles to Lost. Go! Seriously! GO!) Ben painted him out to be a heretic soulless political player who had lost sight of priorities and values. ''Principal Reynolds is an administrator. He's not a teacher,'' Ben said. ''He's forgotten what the public school system is about... taking care of the kids. That's what important.'' By contrast, Dr. Linus positioned himself to be as idealistic as his Charlie Brown namesake. After Arzt dismissively told Ben to ''keep dreamin','' Linus replied as ''I know you've given up but I refuse to.'' All this said, it should be noted that the story gave us no reason to believe Reynolds was some unenlightened, uninspired Enemy of Education. (You know, besides that whole thing about cheating on his wife and boinking the school nurse on campus.)
CHARLES WIDMORE
The Others' former majordomo was forced to abdicate by Ben for violating one of the many rules Island magistrates must abide by if they wish to hold office. His offense: allegedly sneaking off the Island and knocking up some mainland honey, presumably Penelope Widmore's mother. We don't have confirmation that he was still romantically linked with Island consort Eloise Hawking at the time of his indiscretion, but we presume that to be the case. Still, was Widmore really such a bad Island caretaker? Not if you asked him. ''You might find this difficult to understand, Benjamin, but every decision I've made has been about protecting this Island.'' Widmore said these words to Ben during their defining conflict:
HISTORY CLASS VS. DETENTION
Reynolds ordered Ben to execute detention duty for a week. Ben balked. Doing detention would mean he'd have to pull the plug on history club, and Ben thought that would be a horrible idea. Cutbacks were bad enough. But to deny the kids the investment of time from teacher who wish to freely give it? For shame! The kids, Reynolds! Think of the kids! But the principal scoffed. Facilitating history club
with only five members, including Alex Rousseau
was a waste of precious resources. Besides, history club wasn't about the kids, Reynolds said. ''It's for you. It helps you feel needed.'' Ouch! And true. Regardless, Ben went rogue and began tutoring Alex privately — to help her, to spite Reynolds, and to exert his will. During their sessions, Alex tipped Ben off to Reynolds' unethical sexual conduct with the intense glee of a gossip girl. Ben's reaction was interesting. He seemed genuinely appalled, as if Reynolds' conduct was heretically offensive to high-minded ideals. But he also saw an opportunity for a power play, too. The idealist became a revolutionary.
THE BEN/WIDMORE CONFLICT OVER ALEX
Shortly after Rousseau had finished off the rest of her fellow French scientists and given birth to Baby Alex, Chief Executive Other Widmore ordered Ben to ''exterminate'' both of them from the Island. He coldly dismissed baby Alex as an ''it,'' as if she were an animal that would just be a drain on Island resources that needed to be devoted elsewhere. Yep: definitely sounds like a guy that ain't about ''taking care of the kids.'' So Ben balked. He couldn't bring himself to murder. Ben clearly had developed a different vision for how the Others should be managing the Island and living their lives. Widmore dismissed Ben's ''idealism'' as sentimental and self-serving — about him needing to feel needed. But he didn't stop Ben from taking on the project of raising Alex alone. Ben's victory inspired him to dream bigger. And when he uncovered the truth about Widmore's off-Island slick willying, he staged his coup and forced him into exile. He also moved the nomadic Others out of the wild and into Dharmaville. But Ben's dream of settling down and playing house — modifying Others culture in such a way to service and fulfill his own desires and needs — was surely antithetical to the Others' true purpose, and was most likely what earned the Others' their baby-making curse from the Island/Jacob. Richard Alpert said as much when he encouraged Locke to make a play for Ben's job. ''Ben has been wasting our time with novelties like fertility problems,'' Richard said. ''We're looking for someone to remind us that we're here for more important reasons.'' Of course, Richard had himself to blame for his Ben problem, which brings us to...
LESLIE ARZT
Ben needed help to remove Reynolds from office and enlisted Arzt, who leveraged his unique expertise to get Ben the inside intel he needed to blackmail the principal. In exchange, the science teacher wanted better lab equipment, new aprons, and a better parking spot.
RICHARD ALPERT
Alpert undoubtedly helped Ben with his insurrection. Why? What did he get in return? (Besides a Dharma purge.) I'm hoping future episodes will tell the tale. But Ben had another ally in his revolution — the person who actually planted in him the seed of regime change dreams. And that would be...
JOHN LOCKE
While Ben and Arzt ate lunch and griped about Reynolds, it was the Substitute who spoke up and encouraged Ben to act on his dissatisfaction. ''Maybe you should be principal. It just sounds like you care about this place,'' Locke said. ''And if the man in charge doesn't, then maybe it's time for a change.'' When Ben wondered who, if anyone, would listen to someone like him, Locke raised his hand and flashed either his warm smile or mischievous, baiting one. ''I'm listening,'' he said. I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING! I have no doubt the burning question that'll be making the rounds in the Lost fan culture is going to be this: Is Sideways Locke actually...
THE MAN IN BLACK/SMOKEY/FAKE LOCKE...
Throughout his Others reign, Ben insisted he was hearing the voice of Jacob and heeding his will. He justified everything by putting it all on his Island god. But the time has come to begin wondering how attuned to Jacob that Ben has been — if he's been attuned to him at all. In our real world, there are those who claim to know God and hear God's voice in their lives, but they could be wrong. Doesn't mean there isn't a God, just that God ain't talking to them. I suspect Ben is one of those people. ''What about you?'' Jacob asked Ben last season. It sounded so dismissive. But Jacob could have also been challenging Ben on his self-deception, or basically saying, ''I'm sorry. Do I know you?'' Ben's either been faking his rapport with Jacob, or (and this is my theory) the supernatural entity that's been speaking to him all along has been the Man In Black. Ben thought he was serving Jacob the Christ, but he was most likely the victim of a long con perpetrated by a snake oil-selling false messiah, Smokenstein the Anti-Christ, who was just using Ben in his master plan to escape the Island and live anew as a man in a separate reality, one with no Island and no Jacob to trap him: the Sideways world.
Sideways Ben didn't go through with his blackmail plot. Or at least, not all of it. He got far enough to throw incriminating emails in Reynolds' face and demand that Reynolds quit and leverage his clout to install Ben in the job. (One wonders if Island Ben made Charles Widmore do the same — recommend him to the post Ben was forcing him to vacate.) Reynolds in turn threatened to ''torch'' Alex's chances at getting into Yale and thus destroy her future, just as Widmore sent his goons to ''torch'' the Island and kill Alex unless Ben bent to his will. Ben chose the Island over his daughter and both he and his girl paid dearly the choice. Sideways Ben made a different selection. He backed off his demands for Reynolds' position, and instead ''negotiated'' to shore up the humble station he already occupied, one that allowed him to live out the values and ideals he believed in, budget cuts and higher orders and crises and heartless administrators be damned. In other words: no detention. He took pride in watching Alex walk away toward promising future. And when Arzt complained about getting screwed, Ben compensated him by sacrificing his parking spot. That's Sideways Ben for you. A giver.
We were left to wonder why Ben chose as he did. As a historian, Ben probably is familiar with the phrase from George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Maybe Sideways Ben was able to avoid duplicating the fate of his Island world counterpart because of some genetic or past life memory bubbled into his consciousness. Maybe he gleaned a lesson or two about power, priorities, regret and responsibility from what his otherworld avatar had learned in the trial-and-error spiritual classroom of the Island. Maybe that info radiated into his brain via the reflection he saw of himself in the window of his microwave as he was zapping organic turkey for his father. Or maybe not. Maybe Sideways Ben is simply made of slightly better stuff and slightly better experiences — a well-meaning if flawed father; exposure to the well-meaning if flawed idealistic culture of the Dharma Initiative; and surely more. Either way, this version of Benjamin Linus found redemption by following his heart. In the words of Napoleon: GOSH!
+++ INTERMISSION: A BRIEF WORD ABOUT ADULTERY
Last week, I suggested that Lost 6.0 was akin to The Decalogue, famed director Krzysztof Kieslowski's series of one-hour films meditating on the Ten Commandments. Last week being the fifth episode of the season, we got a meditation on the Fifth Commandment, Thou Shall Not Kill. ''Dr. Linus'' was the sixth episode of the season, and the Sixth Commandment is Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery. What did we get? A story about Ben blackmailing a guy for cheating on his wife. Okay, that's not really what ''Dr. Linus'' was about. But it was about fidelity, about remaining faithful to your beliefs and values and ideals even if they don't get you what you want in the moment or even what you want most; it was about what happens when all those convictions get tested and challenged and seemingly proven useless, foolish, and wrong. And what does happen? Well, for some, there is chaos, despair, and the feeling that their whole world has been blown up and annihilated. Yep: sucks to be them. And last night, suckage reigned on....
This Island Earth!
The Hurt Locker
''It makes us aware of how frail and tiny we are and of how much we must depend upon the Master of the Universe.''
The Chosen by Chaim Potok
''I was robbed! I spent the whole night waiting for the Great Pumpkin, when I could have been out for tricks or treats. Halloween is over, and I missed it! You blockhead. You kept me up all night waiting for the Great Pumpkin, and all that came was a beagle. I didn't get a chance to go out for tricks or treats. And it was all your fault. I'll sue! What a fool I was! I could have had candy apples and gum and cookies and money and all sorts of things, but no, I had to listen to you. You blockhead. What a fool I was. Trick or treats come only once a year. And I missed it by sitting in a pumpkin patch with a blockhead. YOU OWE ME RESTITUTION!'' — Sally Brown to Linus Van Pelt, It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie BrownIn my recap of ''Sundown'' last week, I proposed that the Island portion of Lost 6.0 will take place over three full days, using the Biblical template of Christ's long Easter weekend trip to hell and back. The first six hours of the season took us through the dark night of Good Friday, which means that ''Dr. Linus'' brought us to Saturday morning. On Saturday, as Jesus assayed the Harrowing in the underworld, his disciples on Earth were presumably freaking out, feeling a little bit like Sally Brown, I'm sure. The Island story in ''Dr. Linus'' focused on three disciples of Jacob who processed their grief and despair and anger over his death in different ways. Richard wanted to die. Ilana wanted vengeance. Ben, as usual, just wanted to survive, by any means necessary. All three were on the precipice of making dark, damning choices to resolve their agita. Instead, they each chose something different, and found themselves stumbling into something totally unexpected: hope.
ILANA AND BEN
She called Jacob the closest thing she ever had to a father. Which means only one thing for certain: Jacob wasn't her real father. He could have been her father in the God sense of father — a supernatural entity responsible for her existence and purpose. Maybe it's more of a Godfather thing; she could be Jacob's consigliore (like Tom Hagen, a Ben-esque stray/outsider taken off the street and groomed into a top assistant), maybe his Luca Brasi. We have a few missing years on the Island — the three years between when the castaways began time traveling (late 2004/early 2005) and 2007. We also know that Ilana spent some time in the hospital with bandages wrapped around her face and Jacob visited her and tasked her anew with a mission. How did she get injured? I'm guessing she was on the Island during those missing three years fighting a battle that went badly, possible trying to keep Smokey bottled up. She is now charged with protecting the candidates to replace Jacob. Don't ask her what it means: she doesn't know or isn't telling us. She was asked how many were left, she said six. Was she counting John Locke? Fake Locke? Jin and Sun twice?
Ilana asked Miles to work his magic and chat up Jacob's ashes. We had been led to believe last year that Miles doesn't speak with cremated bodies, but he could have been lying back then. She discovered Ben had murdered Jacob, then did nothing about it until reaching the beach camp. Everyone got to work. Ben scavenged through Sawyer's tent finding two books, The Chosen and another sporting Benjamin Disraeli's name and famous quote ''Justice is truth in action'' on the cover. On, a porn rag, too, all about the butt. Headline: ''Getting to the bottom if it!'' (''The things people bring to read on an airplane....'') Ben perked up when Frank Lapidus explain that he was supposed to have flown Oceanic 815, but had overslept. Frank floated the question: How might have things been different? Again, we are left to wonder: Are the SIdeways stories resolving that mystery? If not, what are the Sideways?
Ilana quietly stripped the camp of cables and locks and then abruptly, violently put a gun to Ben's head and marched him out to Boone Hill and made him dig his own grave. She was going to shoot him dead in it — shades of ''Man Behind The Curtain,'' which ended with Ben shooting Locke (seemingly) dead into the mass grave of dead Dharma members.
While Ilana brooded and nibbled on mangoes, Fake Locke appeared to Ben and made him one of his Faustian offers: future management of the Island. I couldn't tell if Smokey was being sincere; this promise would be the easiest to keep, but I was kinda getting the sense — or maybe just making the assumption — that the Monster had no desire to see the Island continue existing. Fake Locke's screen time here was about equal to the amount of time Sideways Locke got with Sideways Ben. He also presented to Ben as a sympathetic, supportive ally. Ben's survival instinct — and Somebody Wants Me!! instinct — kicked in. He ran to where Smocke had said he'd find a rifle. He got the drop on Ilana, but instead of shooting her, he was suddenly overwhelmed by a desire to explain himself — as if realizing for the first time what he really wanted: to be known, understood, and not rejected, even though he was about to reveal his ugliest inner bits. His confession was part self-laceration, part rage against the Jacob/Island machine: ''I watched my daughter Alex die in front of me and it was my fault. I had a chance to save her. I chose the Island over her. All in the name of Jacob. I sacrificed everything for him, and he didn't even care. I stabbed him. I was so angry. Confused. I was terrified I was about to lose the only thing that ever happened to me, my power. But the thing that really mattered was already gone. ...I can never forgive myself.''
Maybe he couldn't — but surprisingly, she could. Or maybe she decided life would be better — and grieving would be just a little easier — if she let go of the anger. He was floored. It was like he had experienced a new emotion he had never known existed. I might call it ''Amazing Grace.'' Saved, the once-lost, now-found wretch made the first of two heroic choices that represent the proper response to such a gift. The first: renouncing evil. Ben became the first person this season to turn down a FrankenLocke bargain. That's going to have consequences. The second: sacrifice. He entered the beach camp and offered Sun his help putting up the tarp, just as his Sideways version would have easily, effortlessly offered assistance to one of his students. Sun looked at him with eyes that said, What the hell got into you, Guy Who Wanted To Use Me As Breeding Stock In Season 3? Please, Sun: Let's not resort to name-calling. Call him Linus. Dr. Linus perhaps...
JACK, HURLEY, AND RICHARD
Everything about this arc seemed loaded with meaning. Hurley waking up in the field of flowers reminded me of the poppy sequence in The Wizard of Oz. Jack wanting to get moving toward whatever destiny awaited him while Hurley wanted to eat first — reminders that Hurley is gripped by hunger when he's anxious and Jack defers food until his deeper yearnings are sated. They then fought over the right path back to the Temple. Hurley was either going to take the long way or the wrong way, while Jack wanted to go directly back the way they came. It was hard to hear the line and not think Lost was saying something about its two-track, parallel world structure. Then Richard showed up and offered a third path. Jack followed. When Hurley asked if Richard could be trusted, Jack said, ''At least he's not stallin'.'' It was another wink at the audience in an episode full of them. Combined with the line about Napoleon's Elba being the place where ''everything became clear,'' I wondered if Lost was addressing anyone griping about the pace of ''answers'' and saying, Don't worry. Trust us. Okay?
Ironically, then, Richard's path ended with... a lie. He took them to the Black Rock, which was not where he said was taking them, although it was where we've been wanting Alpert to go for a couple years now as we've wondered if the ageless Others came to the Island via the slave ship. (Another reading of Richard's third way as a metaphor for Lost's storytelling: We won't lead you astray, but we're not going the way you expect. We'll be doing this ''answer'' thing our way. ‘Kay?)
But I remain suspicious of Jack. When we last saw him, he was furious over the Lighthouse revelations. Now, after a long gaze out over the beach, it seemed Jack had thought over a few things and was totally activated to chase after all of the Island's magic white rabbits — whether they look like his father or wear eyeliner — and see where they lead. Does Jack want to know Jacob's purpose so he can faithfully fulfill it... or so he can angrily subvert it? He crackles with so much crazy mania, it's hard to know if he's a true believer or a great deceiver. Is it possible the title of the episode hints at an even more provocative possibility: that Ben, a.k.a. ''Dr. Linus,'' has replaced Dr. Shephard as the story's hero, while Jack has replaced Ben as its villain? Consider that sentimental slow-mo reunion sequence that ended the episode. We saw everyone in their huts and tents — including Miles, inspecting the diamonds he purloined from Nikki and Paulo's grave (all $8 million of it? No going dutch on coffee with him!) — as Jack, Hurley and Richard approached. This moment was staged to deliberately echo the scene from the season 3 episode ''One Of Us,'' when Jack, Kate, and Sayid returned from New Otherton, bringing Juliet with them. When the beach crew saw her, the happy-huggy moment abruptly ended, and everyone gave her the stink-eye (especially, ironically, Sawyer) — just like Jack and Ben traded suspicious looks in last night's episode. We learned at the very end of ''One Of Us'' that newbie Juliet was indeed shady; she had been sent by Ben to spy on the camp. (The moment was mirrored, I think, by having ''Dr. Linus'' end with Widmore's submarine spying on the castaways.)
Why might Jack be so angry? Oh, I don't know. The same reason Sally Brown was so angry after spending all night in a pumpkin patch with Linus Van Pelt waiting for transcendent revelation to arrive. This Island thing — Jacob, Ben, everything — has made a big mess of his life, and he wants someone to take responsibility for it. He wants payback. Sally's cry is his cry: ''YOU OWE ME RESTITUTION!''
Of course, back in season 3, Juliet and Jack were nurturing heroic double-crosses. Still, at this point in the season, I'm looking inside Jack's heart, and wondering which way his scales are tilting. Will he be replacing Jacob by season's end... or Smokey?
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20313460_20350039,00.html
By Jeff Jensen Mar 10, 2010
Even as a mild-mannered teacher, Ben had the urge to be the one in control. And Arzt was ready to help him... for a price All AboutLost
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There was a moment back in the most polarizing episode of Lost's most turbulent season when the Island's god of lies told the truth about the way he works. No, I'm not talking about His Royal Smokeyness, FrankenLockenstein, although the confession sure fits him, too. I speak of Benjamin Linus, the Little Napoleon of the Others — or, in the spirit of last night's very special back-to-school edition of Lost, the devious Tracy Flick of Craphole Island High 90666. The episode was ''Expose,'' a.k.a .the Nikki and Paulo vs. the Spiders episode, and the moment of truth came when Juliet asked Ben how he intended to get Jack to operate on his tumor-choked spine. ''Same way I get anybody to do anything. I find out what he's emotionally invested in and I exploit it,'' Ben said, sounding sadly resigned about his own nefarious nature, as if his conniving character was innate and immutable, or at least fixed and unchangeable. In the divine election of all possible worlds (''divine election'' being a fancy theological term of predestination), Ben Linus is forever doomed to manifest as some Machiavellian devil, some power-grabbing Brutus, some Jesus-betraying Judas, no matter the reality, no matter the world. Right?
Wrong. In ''Dr. Linus,'' Ben Linus was exposed as a soul who only has himself to blame for his woe-is-me bad self, whose corrupt nature is an accumulation of freely made choices. Which also means that Ben is also fully capable of resisting evil and selecting virtue, as well. His Sideways story was the proof. We were presented with a new version of Ben that was a truly decent man — a smart, idealistic teacher who cared for his students; a devoted son who cared for his ailing father, Roger Linus — but also one who yearned for a grander station in life. Dude had a doctorate! He was owed! On Planet Sideways, Doc Linus was presented with the opportunity to tricky-Dick his way to higher office, albeit at the expense of sweet, innocent Sideways Alex. But in his defining moment, Ben's conscience got the best of him, and he was a better man for it. Sorry, Arzt: those new lab aprons will have to wait.
On the Island, Ben the Dethroned seemed set to pay for his sins and abuses of power after Ilana smoked out his Jacob-stabbing secret and sentenced him to death for killing her beloved godfather. Then the Man In Black showed up and made him an offer he seemingly couldn't refuse: restored Island rule in the future in exchange for his loyal service in the present as part of his Hydra Family gang. Ben made a choice. He bolted. Ilana chased. Ben got himself a gun and was about to put a Bada-Bing in Jacob's girl the way he blew away Caesar the Whodat? last season. But then Ben made another choice: He bared his soul. He told the truth about killing Jacob, shared his rage over feeling betrayed by his Island god and his shame for choosing Island power over his daughter, and then offered this heartbreaking explanation for why he was joining Mr. Evil Incarnate (Allegedly): ''Because he's the only one that will have me!'' Then Ilana did something that left Ben gobsmacked: She forgave him. ''I'll have you,'' she said, and walked away. Ben shuffled after her, as if sucked in by the undertow of her grace. He came to the outskirts of the Beach camp, then stopped and considered his options. Stay and serve in this humble little patch of heaven, or join Devil Locke and coldly play for a shot at living the ''Vida La Vida'' once again. You always have a choice. This time, Ben made the right one — fulfilling, perhaps, Jacob's dying thought hope that Ben had the capacity for change. Has Ben the flip-flop artist truly embraced redemption? If so, would his redemption have been possible without Jacob's death? If so, did Jacob know that when he offered his chest for Ben to puncture? And so we debate like theologians.
This was a good episode. For fans starved for ''answers'' the way Hurley craved for cheese curds last night, ''Dr. Linus'' offered a plate of appetizers — salty-yummy scooplets of Richard Alpert, Black Rock, Jacob, Charles Widmore — in advance of more substantial courses that now appear imminent. Meanwhile, the Sideways story was played like a rich, full metaphor for Ben's Island arc and a kind of veiled, Roman-à-clef theory for almost all of Lost. On the whole, I was intellectually stimulated by yet another complex sketch of nature/nurture psychology and redemption dynamics, and I must admit my geeky heart was microwaved to soggy mush by the (partial) castaway reunion at the beach (The Beach! At last, the Beach!), complete with slo-mo montage and Michael Giacchino strings, to boot.
Not everything worked for me, though. I hate to begrudge genuine humor in Lost, but I felt Ben's Sideways story could have been a smidge better if played a little more straight. (Put another way: I am not exactly the most ardent patron of the Arzt.) A great scene for Richard Alpert in the Black Rock was overshadowed — literally — by a distracting lighting choice, a self-conscious use of chiaroscuro that may have been a go-for-Baroque attempt at communing with Caravaggio's ''The Incredulity of Saint Thomas'' that Lost referenced last year in ''316'' but... well, see, now I'm talking myself into loving that strange scene. Ditto: Jack's leap of faith with the dynamite stick, which left me debating between ''Totally genius!'' and ''Totally ridiculous!'' And how about finding another way to bring Fake Locke into a scene than having characters looking frantically about as they hear the tikatikatikatika while the camera pans over to Smocke popping out of the bush behind them with a smug smirk on his face?
Finally:
Bueller?
Bueller?
Bueller?
Translation: It's time for Ferris Sawyer's Multi-Episode Day Off to come to close. Seriously.
Nitpicking concluded. Your scorn? Bring it. Your agreement? Not necessary. I hope we can all agree that bugs aside, ''Dr. Linus'' gave us stuff to ponder and moments to savor. And so we take out our textbooks and begin the lesson.
The Sideways World
No Child Left Behind
''None of this would have happened if Mr. McAllister hadn't meddled the way he did. He should have just accepted things as they are instead of trying to interfere with destiny. You see, you can't interfere with destiny. That's why it's destiny. And if you try to interfere, the same thing's going to happen anyway, and you'll just suffer.'' — Tracy Flick, Election
''Just follow your heart. That's what I do.''— Napoleon Dynamite
There was a funny moment at the start of Ben's Island story line when he stumbled into Ilana's company, or rather, glommed on to them, as a lost soul always on the make for somewhere to belong is wont to do. Like a stray searching for a home, like a parasite in need of a host, like that creepy Orphan chick in Orphan. Ilana — sensitive, inquisitive Ilana — immediately asked Ben about... Sayid. Ben was stung. ''I'm fine, thank you,'' Ben said sarcastically. It was a primo Linus snark, but it was a window into his wounded heart, too. Benjamin Linus: unappreciated, unloved, and unwanted. He has spent most of his entire misbegotten existence hustling to secure and maintain a toe hold in the world, improvising his relevance and significance to the narrative of life that he worries would otherwise neglect him and forget him and leave him behind. When the cosmos is that indifferent to you, you might gas a village, too. Ah, they were just stupid hippies, anyway.
Sideways Ben was similarly afflicted, but less severely so. I was struck by his relationship with his father. They lived together in a humble home. They dined on microwave (organic) turkey dinner meals. They grieved broken ideals and unrealized dreams. We learned they had been on the Island as members of the Dharma Initiative — but they had left, before the Island had sunk. ''This isn't the life I wanted for you, Ben. I wanted so much more,'' Roger wheezed. ''Imagine how different our lives would have been if we had stayed.'' (Cut to: Roger Linus throwing a Dharma beer can at his boy's head and berating him for the thousandth time for killing his true love during child birth.) (An extremely little known fact: the subtitle to the season 3 classic ''The Man Behind The Curtain'' was actually ''Very, very loosely based on the novel Push by Sapphire.'') Sideways Roger presented himself as a sad old soul who viewed his son as an underachieving talent but only blamed his own bad parenting choices for Ben's fate. An improvement over Island world Roger? Yes. But I was left to wonder what it must have been like for Sideways Ben to grow up burdened by his father's ambition for him. Regardless, we saw the result: Ben the Overeducated, Overqualified High School Teacher, dogged by enough feelings of inadequacy to deem himself a loser. I got the sense Ben saw his father clearly — clearly enough to feel a little resentment, but not so much that he hated him, or, like, wanted to drive him out into the jungle and gas him to death. In a clever flick at ''The Man Behind The Curtain,'' we got a scene where the Good Son changed his ailing father's oxygen tank and doted on his comfort. Bottom line: Sideways Ben was more like Florence Nightingale, less like Heinrich Himmler.
THEORY REVISION ALERT!
Categories: Sideways Island Sinkage; Parallel World Historical Discrepancies.
Analysis: Until last night, it had been safe to assume that both the Island and Sideways worlds shared the same history until 1977, which is when the time-traveling castaways detonated Jughead. But the Linus men of the Sideways world blew up that thinking. I took the story to mean that Sideways Roger and Ben left the Island prior to its sinking. But Island Roger and Ben were still on the Island when Juliet banged the bomb. Implication: If the two worlds share a common history, the fork in the road is sometime before 1977. Rebooted Theory: The divergence begins on that fateful night when some phantom stranger struck John Locke's teenage mother, causing her to give birth three months early. That phantom stranger? I'm saying it's Charles Widmore.
Sideways Ben was a history teacher. Fitting for a man forever fighting for a place in history, and whose Island iteration may have been stalling the flow of destiny, if not meddling with it and making a mess of it, all in order to keep and preserve his Island good thing. He only ever succeeded in manufacturing suffering — for himself, his daughter, the Others, the castaways, and more. Through Teacher Ben, we got historical citations that I dare to now apply to Lost lore. We got a reference to Napoleon in exile on Elba, neutered by the loss of his power. Island Ben would later link himself to the reference. But Charles Widmore and Smokey also fit into Napoleon's pantaloons. After all, Napoleon ultimately escaped from his Island prison and reclaimed France (if only for 100 days) — and both Widmore and Smokey are exiles wanting to get back to their respective kingdoms/homes. (Something to also think about: after Napoleon got booted out of power again, he was exiled to another, less desirable island, Saint Helena, where he would die of stomach cancer/ulcer/poisoning. Foreshadowing for Smokey or Widmore's final fate?) (I'm telling you, that knife Sayid stabbed Smokey with last week? Dogen poisoned it.) (And didn't Alex last night mention she was nursing a stomach ache while the principal and the nurse were... you know... ''doing it''?) Dr. Linus also spoke of the East India Trading Company, the powerful British business entity that was established to execute trade with India, but wound up ruling much of it. And we recall that Ben has long alleged that all Widmore wants to do is exploit the Island for his material gain... although I personally suspect what Widmore wants most the Island is to use it to cheat death.
Ben's Sideways story mirrored his entire Island arc and even suggested many possibilities for the entire saga. You might even say Ben's parallel world yarn works as a theory of Lost. Let's bunker down in that conspicuously labeled REFERENCE section of the high school library and cross-reference the Sideways story with what we know about the greater epic, beginning with...
THE HIGH SCHOOL
The first several scenes of the Sideways story line emphasized the sad state of Ben's school. It was struggling to fulfill its educational mission, hit hard by ''budget cuts'' and ''crises'' that were ''above the pay grade'' of the school's administrators and teachers. This expression of our once glorious public school system was deeply imperiled.
THE ISLAND
The Island is like a school — a school for the soul. A place for people to learn and improve; a place where mistakes can be made without fear of failure, and instead be learning opportunities. But the Island is dying. Because it is a mystical/spiritual/mythical place, because it is an ideal, it exists only as long as we believe in it. But science and catastrophe and war and cynicism and reality television have rocked our faith and interest, thus weakening the Island's power. Or maybe it's not our fault at all! Maybe the Island has shrunk from view and gone awry because its owner is a proverbial absentee landlord, and the managers he installs to run the joint routinely suck or become corrupt. Yes! Let's blame them! And let's start with...
PRINCIPAL REYNOLDS
We knew he was going to be a big meanie the second we saw he was being played by William Atherton, the very fine character actor famed for playing pricks in movies like Die Hard, Ghostbusters, and my favorite of the bunch, Real Genius. (Essay time! 300 words on the relevance of those titles to Lost. Go! Seriously! GO!) Ben painted him out to be a heretic soulless political player who had lost sight of priorities and values. ''Principal Reynolds is an administrator. He's not a teacher,'' Ben said. ''He's forgotten what the public school system is about... taking care of the kids. That's what important.'' By contrast, Dr. Linus positioned himself to be as idealistic as his Charlie Brown namesake. After Arzt dismissively told Ben to ''keep dreamin','' Linus replied as ''I know you've given up but I refuse to.'' All this said, it should be noted that the story gave us no reason to believe Reynolds was some unenlightened, uninspired Enemy of Education. (You know, besides that whole thing about cheating on his wife and boinking the school nurse on campus.)
CHARLES WIDMORE
The Others' former majordomo was forced to abdicate by Ben for violating one of the many rules Island magistrates must abide by if they wish to hold office. His offense: allegedly sneaking off the Island and knocking up some mainland honey, presumably Penelope Widmore's mother. We don't have confirmation that he was still romantically linked with Island consort Eloise Hawking at the time of his indiscretion, but we presume that to be the case. Still, was Widmore really such a bad Island caretaker? Not if you asked him. ''You might find this difficult to understand, Benjamin, but every decision I've made has been about protecting this Island.'' Widmore said these words to Ben during their defining conflict:
HISTORY CLASS VS. DETENTION
Reynolds ordered Ben to execute detention duty for a week. Ben balked. Doing detention would mean he'd have to pull the plug on history club, and Ben thought that would be a horrible idea. Cutbacks were bad enough. But to deny the kids the investment of time from teacher who wish to freely give it? For shame! The kids, Reynolds! Think of the kids! But the principal scoffed. Facilitating history club
with only five members, including Alex Rousseau
was a waste of precious resources. Besides, history club wasn't about the kids, Reynolds said. ''It's for you. It helps you feel needed.'' Ouch! And true. Regardless, Ben went rogue and began tutoring Alex privately — to help her, to spite Reynolds, and to exert his will. During their sessions, Alex tipped Ben off to Reynolds' unethical sexual conduct with the intense glee of a gossip girl. Ben's reaction was interesting. He seemed genuinely appalled, as if Reynolds' conduct was heretically offensive to high-minded ideals. But he also saw an opportunity for a power play, too. The idealist became a revolutionary.
THE BEN/WIDMORE CONFLICT OVER ALEX
Shortly after Rousseau had finished off the rest of her fellow French scientists and given birth to Baby Alex, Chief Executive Other Widmore ordered Ben to ''exterminate'' both of them from the Island. He coldly dismissed baby Alex as an ''it,'' as if she were an animal that would just be a drain on Island resources that needed to be devoted elsewhere. Yep: definitely sounds like a guy that ain't about ''taking care of the kids.'' So Ben balked. He couldn't bring himself to murder. Ben clearly had developed a different vision for how the Others should be managing the Island and living their lives. Widmore dismissed Ben's ''idealism'' as sentimental and self-serving — about him needing to feel needed. But he didn't stop Ben from taking on the project of raising Alex alone. Ben's victory inspired him to dream bigger. And when he uncovered the truth about Widmore's off-Island slick willying, he staged his coup and forced him into exile. He also moved the nomadic Others out of the wild and into Dharmaville. But Ben's dream of settling down and playing house — modifying Others culture in such a way to service and fulfill his own desires and needs — was surely antithetical to the Others' true purpose, and was most likely what earned the Others' their baby-making curse from the Island/Jacob. Richard Alpert said as much when he encouraged Locke to make a play for Ben's job. ''Ben has been wasting our time with novelties like fertility problems,'' Richard said. ''We're looking for someone to remind us that we're here for more important reasons.'' Of course, Richard had himself to blame for his Ben problem, which brings us to...
LESLIE ARZT
Ben needed help to remove Reynolds from office and enlisted Arzt, who leveraged his unique expertise to get Ben the inside intel he needed to blackmail the principal. In exchange, the science teacher wanted better lab equipment, new aprons, and a better parking spot.
RICHARD ALPERT
Alpert undoubtedly helped Ben with his insurrection. Why? What did he get in return? (Besides a Dharma purge.) I'm hoping future episodes will tell the tale. But Ben had another ally in his revolution — the person who actually planted in him the seed of regime change dreams. And that would be...
JOHN LOCKE
While Ben and Arzt ate lunch and griped about Reynolds, it was the Substitute who spoke up and encouraged Ben to act on his dissatisfaction. ''Maybe you should be principal. It just sounds like you care about this place,'' Locke said. ''And if the man in charge doesn't, then maybe it's time for a change.'' When Ben wondered who, if anyone, would listen to someone like him, Locke raised his hand and flashed either his warm smile or mischievous, baiting one. ''I'm listening,'' he said. I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING! I have no doubt the burning question that'll be making the rounds in the Lost fan culture is going to be this: Is Sideways Locke actually...
THE MAN IN BLACK/SMOKEY/FAKE LOCKE...
Throughout his Others reign, Ben insisted he was hearing the voice of Jacob and heeding his will. He justified everything by putting it all on his Island god. But the time has come to begin wondering how attuned to Jacob that Ben has been — if he's been attuned to him at all. In our real world, there are those who claim to know God and hear God's voice in their lives, but they could be wrong. Doesn't mean there isn't a God, just that God ain't talking to them. I suspect Ben is one of those people. ''What about you?'' Jacob asked Ben last season. It sounded so dismissive. But Jacob could have also been challenging Ben on his self-deception, or basically saying, ''I'm sorry. Do I know you?'' Ben's either been faking his rapport with Jacob, or (and this is my theory) the supernatural entity that's been speaking to him all along has been the Man In Black. Ben thought he was serving Jacob the Christ, but he was most likely the victim of a long con perpetrated by a snake oil-selling false messiah, Smokenstein the Anti-Christ, who was just using Ben in his master plan to escape the Island and live anew as a man in a separate reality, one with no Island and no Jacob to trap him: the Sideways world.
Sideways Ben didn't go through with his blackmail plot. Or at least, not all of it. He got far enough to throw incriminating emails in Reynolds' face and demand that Reynolds quit and leverage his clout to install Ben in the job. (One wonders if Island Ben made Charles Widmore do the same — recommend him to the post Ben was forcing him to vacate.) Reynolds in turn threatened to ''torch'' Alex's chances at getting into Yale and thus destroy her future, just as Widmore sent his goons to ''torch'' the Island and kill Alex unless Ben bent to his will. Ben chose the Island over his daughter and both he and his girl paid dearly the choice. Sideways Ben made a different selection. He backed off his demands for Reynolds' position, and instead ''negotiated'' to shore up the humble station he already occupied, one that allowed him to live out the values and ideals he believed in, budget cuts and higher orders and crises and heartless administrators be damned. In other words: no detention. He took pride in watching Alex walk away toward promising future. And when Arzt complained about getting screwed, Ben compensated him by sacrificing his parking spot. That's Sideways Ben for you. A giver.
We were left to wonder why Ben chose as he did. As a historian, Ben probably is familiar with the phrase from George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Maybe Sideways Ben was able to avoid duplicating the fate of his Island world counterpart because of some genetic or past life memory bubbled into his consciousness. Maybe he gleaned a lesson or two about power, priorities, regret and responsibility from what his otherworld avatar had learned in the trial-and-error spiritual classroom of the Island. Maybe that info radiated into his brain via the reflection he saw of himself in the window of his microwave as he was zapping organic turkey for his father. Or maybe not. Maybe Sideways Ben is simply made of slightly better stuff and slightly better experiences — a well-meaning if flawed father; exposure to the well-meaning if flawed idealistic culture of the Dharma Initiative; and surely more. Either way, this version of Benjamin Linus found redemption by following his heart. In the words of Napoleon: GOSH!
+++ INTERMISSION: A BRIEF WORD ABOUT ADULTERY
Last week, I suggested that Lost 6.0 was akin to The Decalogue, famed director Krzysztof Kieslowski's series of one-hour films meditating on the Ten Commandments. Last week being the fifth episode of the season, we got a meditation on the Fifth Commandment, Thou Shall Not Kill. ''Dr. Linus'' was the sixth episode of the season, and the Sixth Commandment is Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery. What did we get? A story about Ben blackmailing a guy for cheating on his wife. Okay, that's not really what ''Dr. Linus'' was about. But it was about fidelity, about remaining faithful to your beliefs and values and ideals even if they don't get you what you want in the moment or even what you want most; it was about what happens when all those convictions get tested and challenged and seemingly proven useless, foolish, and wrong. And what does happen? Well, for some, there is chaos, despair, and the feeling that their whole world has been blown up and annihilated. Yep: sucks to be them. And last night, suckage reigned on....
This Island Earth!
The Hurt Locker
''It makes us aware of how frail and tiny we are and of how much we must depend upon the Master of the Universe.''
The Chosen by Chaim Potok
''I was robbed! I spent the whole night waiting for the Great Pumpkin, when I could have been out for tricks or treats. Halloween is over, and I missed it! You blockhead. You kept me up all night waiting for the Great Pumpkin, and all that came was a beagle. I didn't get a chance to go out for tricks or treats. And it was all your fault. I'll sue! What a fool I was! I could have had candy apples and gum and cookies and money and all sorts of things, but no, I had to listen to you. You blockhead. What a fool I was. Trick or treats come only once a year. And I missed it by sitting in a pumpkin patch with a blockhead. YOU OWE ME RESTITUTION!'' — Sally Brown to Linus Van Pelt, It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie BrownIn my recap of ''Sundown'' last week, I proposed that the Island portion of Lost 6.0 will take place over three full days, using the Biblical template of Christ's long Easter weekend trip to hell and back. The first six hours of the season took us through the dark night of Good Friday, which means that ''Dr. Linus'' brought us to Saturday morning. On Saturday, as Jesus assayed the Harrowing in the underworld, his disciples on Earth were presumably freaking out, feeling a little bit like Sally Brown, I'm sure. The Island story in ''Dr. Linus'' focused on three disciples of Jacob who processed their grief and despair and anger over his death in different ways. Richard wanted to die. Ilana wanted vengeance. Ben, as usual, just wanted to survive, by any means necessary. All three were on the precipice of making dark, damning choices to resolve their agita. Instead, they each chose something different, and found themselves stumbling into something totally unexpected: hope.
ILANA AND BEN
She called Jacob the closest thing she ever had to a father. Which means only one thing for certain: Jacob wasn't her real father. He could have been her father in the God sense of father — a supernatural entity responsible for her existence and purpose. Maybe it's more of a Godfather thing; she could be Jacob's consigliore (like Tom Hagen, a Ben-esque stray/outsider taken off the street and groomed into a top assistant), maybe his Luca Brasi. We have a few missing years on the Island — the three years between when the castaways began time traveling (late 2004/early 2005) and 2007. We also know that Ilana spent some time in the hospital with bandages wrapped around her face and Jacob visited her and tasked her anew with a mission. How did she get injured? I'm guessing she was on the Island during those missing three years fighting a battle that went badly, possible trying to keep Smokey bottled up. She is now charged with protecting the candidates to replace Jacob. Don't ask her what it means: she doesn't know or isn't telling us. She was asked how many were left, she said six. Was she counting John Locke? Fake Locke? Jin and Sun twice?
Ilana asked Miles to work his magic and chat up Jacob's ashes. We had been led to believe last year that Miles doesn't speak with cremated bodies, but he could have been lying back then. She discovered Ben had murdered Jacob, then did nothing about it until reaching the beach camp. Everyone got to work. Ben scavenged through Sawyer's tent finding two books, The Chosen and another sporting Benjamin Disraeli's name and famous quote ''Justice is truth in action'' on the cover. On, a porn rag, too, all about the butt. Headline: ''Getting to the bottom if it!'' (''The things people bring to read on an airplane....'') Ben perked up when Frank Lapidus explain that he was supposed to have flown Oceanic 815, but had overslept. Frank floated the question: How might have things been different? Again, we are left to wonder: Are the SIdeways stories resolving that mystery? If not, what are the Sideways?
Ilana quietly stripped the camp of cables and locks and then abruptly, violently put a gun to Ben's head and marched him out to Boone Hill and made him dig his own grave. She was going to shoot him dead in it — shades of ''Man Behind The Curtain,'' which ended with Ben shooting Locke (seemingly) dead into the mass grave of dead Dharma members.
While Ilana brooded and nibbled on mangoes, Fake Locke appeared to Ben and made him one of his Faustian offers: future management of the Island. I couldn't tell if Smokey was being sincere; this promise would be the easiest to keep, but I was kinda getting the sense — or maybe just making the assumption — that the Monster had no desire to see the Island continue existing. Fake Locke's screen time here was about equal to the amount of time Sideways Locke got with Sideways Ben. He also presented to Ben as a sympathetic, supportive ally. Ben's survival instinct — and Somebody Wants Me!! instinct — kicked in. He ran to where Smocke had said he'd find a rifle. He got the drop on Ilana, but instead of shooting her, he was suddenly overwhelmed by a desire to explain himself — as if realizing for the first time what he really wanted: to be known, understood, and not rejected, even though he was about to reveal his ugliest inner bits. His confession was part self-laceration, part rage against the Jacob/Island machine: ''I watched my daughter Alex die in front of me and it was my fault. I had a chance to save her. I chose the Island over her. All in the name of Jacob. I sacrificed everything for him, and he didn't even care. I stabbed him. I was so angry. Confused. I was terrified I was about to lose the only thing that ever happened to me, my power. But the thing that really mattered was already gone. ...I can never forgive myself.''
Maybe he couldn't — but surprisingly, she could. Or maybe she decided life would be better — and grieving would be just a little easier — if she let go of the anger. He was floored. It was like he had experienced a new emotion he had never known existed. I might call it ''Amazing Grace.'' Saved, the once-lost, now-found wretch made the first of two heroic choices that represent the proper response to such a gift. The first: renouncing evil. Ben became the first person this season to turn down a FrankenLocke bargain. That's going to have consequences. The second: sacrifice. He entered the beach camp and offered Sun his help putting up the tarp, just as his Sideways version would have easily, effortlessly offered assistance to one of his students. Sun looked at him with eyes that said, What the hell got into you, Guy Who Wanted To Use Me As Breeding Stock In Season 3? Please, Sun: Let's not resort to name-calling. Call him Linus. Dr. Linus perhaps...
JACK, HURLEY, AND RICHARD
Everything about this arc seemed loaded with meaning. Hurley waking up in the field of flowers reminded me of the poppy sequence in The Wizard of Oz. Jack wanting to get moving toward whatever destiny awaited him while Hurley wanted to eat first — reminders that Hurley is gripped by hunger when he's anxious and Jack defers food until his deeper yearnings are sated. They then fought over the right path back to the Temple. Hurley was either going to take the long way or the wrong way, while Jack wanted to go directly back the way they came. It was hard to hear the line and not think Lost was saying something about its two-track, parallel world structure. Then Richard showed up and offered a third path. Jack followed. When Hurley asked if Richard could be trusted, Jack said, ''At least he's not stallin'.'' It was another wink at the audience in an episode full of them. Combined with the line about Napoleon's Elba being the place where ''everything became clear,'' I wondered if Lost was addressing anyone griping about the pace of ''answers'' and saying, Don't worry. Trust us. Okay?
Ironically, then, Richard's path ended with... a lie. He took them to the Black Rock, which was not where he said was taking them, although it was where we've been wanting Alpert to go for a couple years now as we've wondered if the ageless Others came to the Island via the slave ship. (Another reading of Richard's third way as a metaphor for Lost's storytelling: We won't lead you astray, but we're not going the way you expect. We'll be doing this ''answer'' thing our way. ‘Kay?)
But I remain suspicious of Jack. When we last saw him, he was furious over the Lighthouse revelations. Now, after a long gaze out over the beach, it seemed Jack had thought over a few things and was totally activated to chase after all of the Island's magic white rabbits — whether they look like his father or wear eyeliner — and see where they lead. Does Jack want to know Jacob's purpose so he can faithfully fulfill it... or so he can angrily subvert it? He crackles with so much crazy mania, it's hard to know if he's a true believer or a great deceiver. Is it possible the title of the episode hints at an even more provocative possibility: that Ben, a.k.a. ''Dr. Linus,'' has replaced Dr. Shephard as the story's hero, while Jack has replaced Ben as its villain? Consider that sentimental slow-mo reunion sequence that ended the episode. We saw everyone in their huts and tents — including Miles, inspecting the diamonds he purloined from Nikki and Paulo's grave (all $8 million of it? No going dutch on coffee with him!) — as Jack, Hurley and Richard approached. This moment was staged to deliberately echo the scene from the season 3 episode ''One Of Us,'' when Jack, Kate, and Sayid returned from New Otherton, bringing Juliet with them. When the beach crew saw her, the happy-huggy moment abruptly ended, and everyone gave her the stink-eye (especially, ironically, Sawyer) — just like Jack and Ben traded suspicious looks in last night's episode. We learned at the very end of ''One Of Us'' that newbie Juliet was indeed shady; she had been sent by Ben to spy on the camp. (The moment was mirrored, I think, by having ''Dr. Linus'' end with Widmore's submarine spying on the castaways.)
Why might Jack be so angry? Oh, I don't know. The same reason Sally Brown was so angry after spending all night in a pumpkin patch with Linus Van Pelt waiting for transcendent revelation to arrive. This Island thing — Jacob, Ben, everything — has made a big mess of his life, and he wants someone to take responsibility for it. He wants payback. Sally's cry is his cry: ''YOU OWE ME RESTITUTION!''
Of course, back in season 3, Juliet and Jack were nurturing heroic double-crosses. Still, at this point in the season, I'm looking inside Jack's heart, and wondering which way his scales are tilting. Will he be replacing Jacob by season's end... or Smokey?
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20313460_20350039,00.html
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
"Sundown" Poll Results
What did you think of "Sundown"?
As AWESOME as Sayid and Dogen's fight
19 (73%)
It was GREAT to see Keemy again!
3 (11%)
Just OK
3 (11%)
As BAD as being shot, stabbed or drowned by Sayid
1 (3%)
As HORRIBLE as stabbing the Man in Black and realizing that he can't be killed.
1 (3%)
Votes so far: 26
What were your favorate moments in "Sundown"?
Seeing Nadia again
3 (11%)
More Cindy
1 (3%)
Sayid and Dogen's Fight
17 (65%)
Sayid stabbing MIB and realizing that he wasn't dead
13 (50%)
Dogen's backstory
5 (19%)
Sayid killing Dogen and Lennon
11 (42%)
Kates 2 minutes with Claire
2 (7%)
Ilana, Frank and Ben showing up
5 (19%)
The Smoke Monster barreling through the Temple
12 (46%)
Keemy and Omar!
9 (34%)
Sayid finding Jin
6 (23%)
Kate, Claire, Sayid and the Others following The Man in Black into the jungle
15 (57%)
Votes so far: 26
As AWESOME as Sayid and Dogen's fight
19 (73%)
It was GREAT to see Keemy again!
3 (11%)
Just OK
3 (11%)
As BAD as being shot, stabbed or drowned by Sayid
1 (3%)
As HORRIBLE as stabbing the Man in Black and realizing that he can't be killed.
1 (3%)
Votes so far: 26
What were your favorate moments in "Sundown"?
Seeing Nadia again
3 (11%)
More Cindy
1 (3%)
Sayid and Dogen's Fight
17 (65%)
Sayid stabbing MIB and realizing that he wasn't dead
13 (50%)
Dogen's backstory
5 (19%)
Sayid killing Dogen and Lennon
11 (42%)
Kates 2 minutes with Claire
2 (7%)
Ilana, Frank and Ben showing up
5 (19%)
The Smoke Monster barreling through the Temple
12 (46%)
Keemy and Omar!
9 (34%)
Sayid finding Jin
6 (23%)
Kate, Claire, Sayid and the Others following The Man in Black into the jungle
15 (57%)
Votes so far: 26
Friday, March 5, 2010
ABC Celebrates The Passionate Fans of Lost Online With Ultimate Fan Promo Contest
Posted on 02 March 2010 by Robert Seidman
ABC CELEBRATES THE PASSIONATE FANS OF “LOST” ONLINE
AT ABC.COM WITH ULTIMATE FAN PROMO CONTEST
Winning Promo to be Shown On-Air the Week Prior to the Series’ Finale??
With less than three months until the final episode of “Lost,” ABC celebrates the series’ dedicated fans, providing them with the opportunity to become a part of “Lost” history. Sponsored by Kia Motors, the Ultimate “Lost” Fan Promo Contest gives fans the tools to express and share their passion for the groundbreaking hit drama series through the production of an original promo which will air on the ABC Television Network the week prior to the highly anticipated finale, airing on a special night, Sunday, May 23 (9:00-11:00 p.m.), preceded by a recap special from 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET, on ABC.
“For the past six years, the fans of ‘Lost’ have shown extreme passion and unwavering commitment. They’ve spent countless hours watching and re-watching episodes, and formulating their own theories about the island’s mysteries,” said Mike Benson and Marla Provencio, executive vice presidents, marketing, ABC Entertainment Group. ”We invite the entire ‘Lost’ fan community to play an active part in the series’ final season by participating in the ‘Ultimate Fan Promo Contest’ and look forward to celebrating their creativity and passion like never before.”
Beginning this week, “Lost” fans can visit ABC.com to create and submit their own original 35-second promo. Entries will vie for the opportunity to be broadcast on-air in the week leading up to the final episode of “Lost.” In addition to having their promo televised, the Grand Prize winner will receive a trip to Los Angeles to attend the series’ special finale party.
ABC.com has made available a robust archive of pre-cleared “Lost” assets including video, still images, music, sound bites and special effects audio that fans can use to create their pieces. Additionally, the site is offering an online mash-up tool that can be used to create videos. Original promos can be uploaded to ABC.com through March 21, 2010. The top creative and original entries that promote the series’ finale will be evaluated by a special panel of judges, including “Lost” executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, as well as executives from ABC Entertainment. Once the top five videos are selected by the special panel, fans will be able to go to ABC.com April 19 through April 23 to cast their vote for the Grand Prize winner.
For complete details and official contest rules, visit http://abc.go.com/shows/lost/fan-promo-contest.
Consistently one of the most-viewed series on ABC.com’s full-episode player, “Lost” continues to connect with fans across the web. This season, ABC.com offers highly-interactive, community-driven features including user-created Top 5 lists which allow fans to arrange, rank and share their personalized lists of show-related favorites; and Episode Commentary where fans can not only access commentaries created by series’ insiders, but also create and share their own commentaries for each episode.?
A 2008 recipient of the prestigious Peabody Award and awarded the 2005 Emmy and 2006 Golden Globe for Best Drama Series, “Lost” is back for its final season of action-packed mystery and adventure — that will continue to bring out the very best and the very worst in the people who are lost. Oceanic Air flight 815 tore apart in mid-air and crashed on a Pacific island, leaving 48 passengers alive and stranded on a remote island in the South Pacific. The survivors include a diverse group of people from different walks of life — a doctor, an escaped fugitive, a con man, an Iraqi interrogator, a married Korean couple and a man formerly confined to a wheelchair who is now inexplicably healed. As the castaways attempt to get home, flashbacks (and forwards) illuminate their troubled lives before and after the crash, when the island they find themselves stranded on begins to slowly reveal its mysterious nature. Faith, reason, destiny and free will all clash as the island offers opportunities for both corruption and redemption… but as to its true purpose? That’s the greatest mystery of all.?
“Lost” stars Naveen Andrews as Sayid, Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, Emilie de Ravin as Claire, Michael Emerson as Ben, Jeff Fahey as Frank Lapidus, Matthew Fox as Jack, Jorge Garcia as Hurley, Josh Holloway as Sawyer, Daniel Dae Kim as Jin, Yunjin Kim as Sun, Ken Leung as Miles, Evangeline Lilly as Kate, Terry O’Quinn as Locke and Zuleikha Robinson as Ilana.?
“Lost” airs regularly Tuesdays (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on ABC. The series’ finale is set to air as a primetime event on a special night, Sunday, May 23 from 9:00-11:00 p.m., ET. Preceding the finale will be a recap special from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET.?
As the online home of the ABC Television Network, ABC.com is dedicated to providing users with innovative ways to experience their favorite shows. In addition to the Emmy & Webby Award-winning ABC Full Episode Player, the site also offers the viewers of ABC’s hit series everything from games, blogs, community forums, photos and downloadables to the new ABC Music Lounge and the ABC Store which provides fans access to a wide variety of unique ABC-related merchandise. ABC.com is available anytime, anywhere on mobile devices at m.abc.com.
ABC CELEBRATES THE PASSIONATE FANS OF “LOST” ONLINE
AT ABC.COM WITH ULTIMATE FAN PROMO CONTEST
Winning Promo to be Shown On-Air the Week Prior to the Series’ Finale??
With less than three months until the final episode of “Lost,” ABC celebrates the series’ dedicated fans, providing them with the opportunity to become a part of “Lost” history. Sponsored by Kia Motors, the Ultimate “Lost” Fan Promo Contest gives fans the tools to express and share their passion for the groundbreaking hit drama series through the production of an original promo which will air on the ABC Television Network the week prior to the highly anticipated finale, airing on a special night, Sunday, May 23 (9:00-11:00 p.m.), preceded by a recap special from 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET, on ABC.
“For the past six years, the fans of ‘Lost’ have shown extreme passion and unwavering commitment. They’ve spent countless hours watching and re-watching episodes, and formulating their own theories about the island’s mysteries,” said Mike Benson and Marla Provencio, executive vice presidents, marketing, ABC Entertainment Group. ”We invite the entire ‘Lost’ fan community to play an active part in the series’ final season by participating in the ‘Ultimate Fan Promo Contest’ and look forward to celebrating their creativity and passion like never before.”
Beginning this week, “Lost” fans can visit ABC.com to create and submit their own original 35-second promo. Entries will vie for the opportunity to be broadcast on-air in the week leading up to the final episode of “Lost.” In addition to having their promo televised, the Grand Prize winner will receive a trip to Los Angeles to attend the series’ special finale party.
ABC.com has made available a robust archive of pre-cleared “Lost” assets including video, still images, music, sound bites and special effects audio that fans can use to create their pieces. Additionally, the site is offering an online mash-up tool that can be used to create videos. Original promos can be uploaded to ABC.com through March 21, 2010. The top creative and original entries that promote the series’ finale will be evaluated by a special panel of judges, including “Lost” executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, as well as executives from ABC Entertainment. Once the top five videos are selected by the special panel, fans will be able to go to ABC.com April 19 through April 23 to cast their vote for the Grand Prize winner.
For complete details and official contest rules, visit http://abc.go.com/shows/lost/fan-promo-contest.
Consistently one of the most-viewed series on ABC.com’s full-episode player, “Lost” continues to connect with fans across the web. This season, ABC.com offers highly-interactive, community-driven features including user-created Top 5 lists which allow fans to arrange, rank and share their personalized lists of show-related favorites; and Episode Commentary where fans can not only access commentaries created by series’ insiders, but also create and share their own commentaries for each episode.?
A 2008 recipient of the prestigious Peabody Award and awarded the 2005 Emmy and 2006 Golden Globe for Best Drama Series, “Lost” is back for its final season of action-packed mystery and adventure — that will continue to bring out the very best and the very worst in the people who are lost. Oceanic Air flight 815 tore apart in mid-air and crashed on a Pacific island, leaving 48 passengers alive and stranded on a remote island in the South Pacific. The survivors include a diverse group of people from different walks of life — a doctor, an escaped fugitive, a con man, an Iraqi interrogator, a married Korean couple and a man formerly confined to a wheelchair who is now inexplicably healed. As the castaways attempt to get home, flashbacks (and forwards) illuminate their troubled lives before and after the crash, when the island they find themselves stranded on begins to slowly reveal its mysterious nature. Faith, reason, destiny and free will all clash as the island offers opportunities for both corruption and redemption… but as to its true purpose? That’s the greatest mystery of all.?
“Lost” stars Naveen Andrews as Sayid, Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, Emilie de Ravin as Claire, Michael Emerson as Ben, Jeff Fahey as Frank Lapidus, Matthew Fox as Jack, Jorge Garcia as Hurley, Josh Holloway as Sawyer, Daniel Dae Kim as Jin, Yunjin Kim as Sun, Ken Leung as Miles, Evangeline Lilly as Kate, Terry O’Quinn as Locke and Zuleikha Robinson as Ilana.?
“Lost” airs regularly Tuesdays (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on ABC. The series’ finale is set to air as a primetime event on a special night, Sunday, May 23 from 9:00-11:00 p.m., ET. Preceding the finale will be a recap special from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET.?
As the online home of the ABC Television Network, ABC.com is dedicated to providing users with innovative ways to experience their favorite shows. In addition to the Emmy & Webby Award-winning ABC Full Episode Player, the site also offers the viewers of ABC’s hit series everything from games, blogs, community forums, photos and downloadables to the new ABC Music Lounge and the ABC Store which provides fans access to a wide variety of unique ABC-related merchandise. ABC.com is available anytime, anywhere on mobile devices at m.abc.com.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Lighthouse Poll results
What did you think of "Lighthouse"?
I looked into Jacob's mirror and the episode was AWESOME
22 (73%)
It was as plain as the writing on Hurley's arm that it was GREAT
6 (20%)
OK
2 (6%)
As BAD as 7 years of bad luck
0 (0%)
As HORRIBLE as an ax to the chest by feral Claire.
0 (0%)
Votes so far: 30
What did you think of "Lighthouse"?
Jack and Dogens frank conversation
2 (10%)
Hurley writing Jacob's instructions on his arm.
5 (25%)
Jack & his Mom looking for Christian's will.
0 (0%)
Jack running into Dogen at the Williams Conservatory audition.
4 (20%)
Hurley telling Dogen that he's a candidate and can do what he wants.
11 (55%)
Jack actually offering Kate the chance to come with him.
1 (5%)
Jack finding Shannons inhaler
2 (10%)
Jack and Hurley at the cave with the coffin and Adam and Eve.
9 (45%)
Jack and Hurley trekking through the jungle while talking about why they returned to the island.
7 (35%)
The Lighthouse
8 (40%)
Jacob's device to see Candidates
12 (60%)
Hurley's conversation with Hurley
5 (25%)
Jack and David's Father/Son moment
5 (25%)
Claire's Skull baby
7 (35%)
Finding out that Claire's friend was the Man in Black.
5 (25%)
Votes so far: 20
I looked into Jacob's mirror and the episode was AWESOME
22 (73%)
It was as plain as the writing on Hurley's arm that it was GREAT
6 (20%)
OK
2 (6%)
As BAD as 7 years of bad luck
0 (0%)
As HORRIBLE as an ax to the chest by feral Claire.
0 (0%)
Votes so far: 30
What did you think of "Lighthouse"?
Jack and Dogens frank conversation
2 (10%)
Hurley writing Jacob's instructions on his arm.
5 (25%)
Jack & his Mom looking for Christian's will.
0 (0%)
Jack running into Dogen at the Williams Conservatory audition.
4 (20%)
Hurley telling Dogen that he's a candidate and can do what he wants.
11 (55%)
Jack actually offering Kate the chance to come with him.
1 (5%)
Jack finding Shannons inhaler
2 (10%)
Jack and Hurley at the cave with the coffin and Adam and Eve.
9 (45%)
Jack and Hurley trekking through the jungle while talking about why they returned to the island.
7 (35%)
The Lighthouse
8 (40%)
Jacob's device to see Candidates
12 (60%)
Hurley's conversation with Hurley
5 (25%)
Jack and David's Father/Son moment
5 (25%)
Claire's Skull baby
7 (35%)
Finding out that Claire's friend was the Man in Black.
5 (25%)
Votes so far: 20
Monday, March 1, 2010
The Lost Blog
The LOSTBlog just posted an interview that I did with them about my love for Lost, how I got into the show, the creation of this blog and my store and designs along with much more. They have such an awesome blog with tons of great Lost related stuff! Make sure to check out my interview and then check out all of their awesome stuff that they have posted. http://lostblog.com/2010/03/01/interviewpaulborrowsroom23/
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Kristen: Lost Cast Prepares for Predicted Hawaii Tsunami
Sat., Feb. 27, 2010 9:31 AM PST by Kristin Dos Santos
UPDATE: Good news! The tsunami warning has been lifted with no apparent damage.
________
Hours after a massive 8.8 earthquake hit Chile, the residents of Oahu, Hawaii, have been bracing for a predicted tsunami, and the stars of Lost, who live and work on the island, are among them.
We've just heard from star Daniel Dae Kim—whose trip to Los Angeles today for a fan event was derailed because of the tsunami warning—and also Lost boss Damon Lindelof, and here is the good news they shared...
"All our cast and crew is accounted for and safely away from coastal areas," Damon tells me this afternoon. "Jorge Garcia continues to thrash me in Scrabble via iPhone from Ken Leung's house. Our entire team in Hawaii appreciates all the positive energy being sent their way."
Daniel decided not to fly to Los Angeles this morning for tonight's Paley Festival fan event to stay with his family druing the tsunami warning. "My family and I are doing fine," Daniel told me less than an hour ago. "We've moved to high ground and are staying with friends who generously opened their home to us. All that's left to do is wait. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who sends their thoughts and good wishes."
According to the show's ABC rep, the other cast members expected at tonight's Paley event—Michael Emerson, Terry O'Quinn, Nestor Carbonell and Zulheika Robinson—are already in Los Angeles, so Daniel is the only cast member whose plans have changed because of the tsunami warning. The rest of the cast is still in Hawaii and were unable to attend tonight's event because they were working on Lost, according to a rep for the show.
Meanwhile, Modern Family boss Steve Levitan told me last night that the cast was planning to fly to Hawaii to shoot a family vacation episode within the next 2 weeks. No word yet from ABC on whether the expected tsunami might change those plans.
Damon and fellow Lost boss Carlton Cuse have taken to Twitter today:
@DamonLindelof: Praying for Chile and all the islands of Hawaii. Please send our cast and crew all your positive energy.
@CarltonCuse: To ALL on the LOST crew -- responding to the Tsunami warning -- safe refuge is available at the studio.
@CarltonCuse: Waves to reach Hawaii just after 11 AM.
Read more: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b169274_lost_cast_prepares_predicted_hawaii.html#ixzz0gtvxXcGf
Read more: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b169274_lost_cast_prepares_predicted_hawaii.html#ixzz0gtvxnkHA
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b169274_lost_cast_prepares_predicted_hawaii.html
UPDATE: Good news! The tsunami warning has been lifted with no apparent damage.
________
Hours after a massive 8.8 earthquake hit Chile, the residents of Oahu, Hawaii, have been bracing for a predicted tsunami, and the stars of Lost, who live and work on the island, are among them.
We've just heard from star Daniel Dae Kim—whose trip to Los Angeles today for a fan event was derailed because of the tsunami warning—and also Lost boss Damon Lindelof, and here is the good news they shared...
"All our cast and crew is accounted for and safely away from coastal areas," Damon tells me this afternoon. "Jorge Garcia continues to thrash me in Scrabble via iPhone from Ken Leung's house. Our entire team in Hawaii appreciates all the positive energy being sent their way."
Daniel decided not to fly to Los Angeles this morning for tonight's Paley Festival fan event to stay with his family druing the tsunami warning. "My family and I are doing fine," Daniel told me less than an hour ago. "We've moved to high ground and are staying with friends who generously opened their home to us. All that's left to do is wait. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who sends their thoughts and good wishes."
According to the show's ABC rep, the other cast members expected at tonight's Paley event—Michael Emerson, Terry O'Quinn, Nestor Carbonell and Zulheika Robinson—are already in Los Angeles, so Daniel is the only cast member whose plans have changed because of the tsunami warning. The rest of the cast is still in Hawaii and were unable to attend tonight's event because they were working on Lost, according to a rep for the show.
Meanwhile, Modern Family boss Steve Levitan told me last night that the cast was planning to fly to Hawaii to shoot a family vacation episode within the next 2 weeks. No word yet from ABC on whether the expected tsunami might change those plans.
Damon and fellow Lost boss Carlton Cuse have taken to Twitter today:
@DamonLindelof: Praying for Chile and all the islands of Hawaii. Please send our cast and crew all your positive energy.
@CarltonCuse: To ALL on the LOST crew -- responding to the Tsunami warning -- safe refuge is available at the studio.
@CarltonCuse: Waves to reach Hawaii just after 11 AM.
Read more: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b169274_lost_cast_prepares_predicted_hawaii.html#ixzz0gtvxXcGf
Read more: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b169274_lost_cast_prepares_predicted_hawaii.html#ixzz0gtvxnkHA
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b169274_lost_cast_prepares_predicted_hawaii.html
Saturday, February 27, 2010
The LOST ARGs
Zort70 of The LOST ARGs was kind enough to plug Room 23 store and my designs. http://www.lostargs.com/ I have been following Lost ARGs ever since Damon, Carlton and a Polarbear ARG first started and off and on before that. This blog is THE best resource for Polarbear related prints and all of the previous ARGs. The comments area is also an awesome place to just hang out and discuss Lost Prints and other Lost related stuff!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse on Lost
The Lost show runners (Darlton) on the final season.
by Fred Topel
Feb 26, 2010
This is the end of an era. Not only is the series Lost coming to an end, but this is probably the last time Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse will give us vague non-answers about what’s coming up on Lost. Thanks for this last press conference, guys. We’ll miss you.
Q: When exactly did you figure out how this all ended?
Carlton Cuse: You know, there isn't really a completely definitive answer to that. I mean, we came up with the final image of the show a long time ago back when we were first plotting out the mythology in the first season, and then we started adding elements to that as we went along. Really, between the first and the second season is when we cooked the mythology. We kind of knew what the end point was, but as you move towards the end point, you add elements. And obviously, the end is not yet written, and there are certain sort of mythological, architectural elements that are intact for that ending, but a lot of character stuff will get worked out as we go along. I mean, that's part of the discovery process of writing. Obviously, for instance, like Michael Emerson wasn't on the show at that point, and it's a fun process because we sort of have a concept of where we're going to end the show but there is still the process of actually executing it and there still is the process of discovery, particularly on a character level, that will come into play as we finish the show.
Damon Lindelof: So if you guys have any ideas, we are open-minded.
Q: In recent interviews, you've said that of all the seasons, the upcoming season of Lost will be closest to the first season. Can you at least explain sort of in what way the coming season will refer back to the first season more than any others?
Damon Lindelof: One of the things that I think we are trying to do, all of us, the actors and the writers, as well, in the sixth season is to show the audience the before so they have some sense of, oh, this is what he used to be and who they are now so you really get a sense of how far that person's come. And obviously, the process of doing that, not just thinking about it, but doing it on a story level, really makes you feel like we felt in Season 1.
Q: Was it really important all along to keep the actors from knowing what happened to their characters in advance?
Damon Lindelof: That's a great question. Our dialogue with the actors, it's one of those things where, quite honestly, we just don't speak to them at all.
Carlton Cuse: It's better that way.
Damon Lindelof: But with Terry, it's kind of one of those things where the actor reads the script, and they decide what they need in order to play the scene and they know that we are completely available to answer any questions. But I do feel like the fun of the show for us as writers and producers is to send these scripts down to Hawaii and then see what we get back as opposed to trying to micromanage it.
Carlton Cuse: And for the actors, I think, the fact that they don't know where things are going kind of makes them very present in performing those given scripts, and I think that's actually a good thing. I mean, I think they do a remarkable job basically reading the next week's episode and basically kind of bringing it to life, and there's that immediacy that's part of that process.
Q: Have you given any thought to a Lost spin-off, like the further adventures of Sawyer?
Carlton Cuse: They have not pressured us at all. I mean, the network has been fabulous, and we owe a great debt of gratitude to Steve McPherson again just for this whole notion of ending the show. We are definitively ending this story of these characters and the show that we wanted to tell in May, and there's not going to be an implanted sequel. There's not going to be a secret back-door pilot embedded in that. The story of Lost that we've been telling for these six seasons is coming to a close this May.
Q: What have been your most memorable moments in the six years of Lost?
Carlton Cuse: The raft launch in the first season was such a great example of the kind of collaborative way in which this show is made and that's, I think, the thing that really distinguishes and makes it special. It wasn't enough that we just wrote that raft launch. It was also what all the actors brought to bear. It was Jack Bender who actually came up with the idea of the dog swimming out and then turning back. And then, I remember sort of most vividly being on the scoring stage, and the orchestra that plays the music for the show was playing Michael Giacchino's cue for that and they sight-read and they hadn't played it. And after they played it the first time, it was so moving and beautiful that they all just started spontaneously applauding, tapping their bows across their instruments, and everybody was crying and it was just this moment where you realize that the show is so much larger than any one individual, and collaboration on this show is really, truly probably the most special thing that will happen for all of us.
Q: How will the events of the season finale cliffhanger wit the bomb impact the characters?
Carlton Cuse: The season premiere picks up right after the finale, and we really don't want to say too much about it. We've obviously been very circumspect about the sixth season, and primarily because there's this big cliffhanger. Juliet hits this bomb. There's a white flash. What happened? Jack and Faraday were postulating that that was going to reset the clock and the Oceanic 815 would fly along and land in Los Angeles. If she taps that bomb and something else happens, maybe they're still stuck on the island. We don't really want to kind of give away what the show is going to be this season, so that's why we've been very circumspect about what we said and why we haven't shown any new footage.
Q: Even though you set the end date and decided on the story, how do you deal with the inevitability of die hard fans having issues with the finale you wish to give them?
Damon Lindelof: It would be great to cover my bases and guarantee everybody a sh*tty ending of Lost. Now you're actually going to see the ending to Lost, and all we can do is, basically, put our best foot forward. We do feel like the worst ending that we could possibly provide everyone who has invested this amount of time and energy into watching the show is the safe ending. You know, the ending that is basically sort of like, "What's going to be the most appealing to the most number of people?" At some point, you can't take a risk just to take a risk because that's a betrayal in and of itself.
Carlton Cuse: Obviously not every question's going to be answered, so obviously, some people are going to be upset that those particular questions don't get resolved. We felt if we tried to just answer questions, it would be very pedantic. Apart from that, we also really embrace this notion that there's a fundamental sort of sense of mystery that we all have in our lives, and certainly that is a huge part of the lives of these characters, and to sort of demystify that by trying to literally explain everything down to the last little sort of midichlorian of it all would be a mistake in our view. So I think there would be, hopefully, a kind of healthy cocktail of answers, mystery, good character resolutions and some surprises.
http://www.craveonline.com/entertainment/tv/article/damon-lindelof-and-carlton-cuse-on-lost-97097
by Fred Topel
Feb 26, 2010
This is the end of an era. Not only is the series Lost coming to an end, but this is probably the last time Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse will give us vague non-answers about what’s coming up on Lost. Thanks for this last press conference, guys. We’ll miss you.
Q: When exactly did you figure out how this all ended?
Carlton Cuse: You know, there isn't really a completely definitive answer to that. I mean, we came up with the final image of the show a long time ago back when we were first plotting out the mythology in the first season, and then we started adding elements to that as we went along. Really, between the first and the second season is when we cooked the mythology. We kind of knew what the end point was, but as you move towards the end point, you add elements. And obviously, the end is not yet written, and there are certain sort of mythological, architectural elements that are intact for that ending, but a lot of character stuff will get worked out as we go along. I mean, that's part of the discovery process of writing. Obviously, for instance, like Michael Emerson wasn't on the show at that point, and it's a fun process because we sort of have a concept of where we're going to end the show but there is still the process of actually executing it and there still is the process of discovery, particularly on a character level, that will come into play as we finish the show.
Damon Lindelof: So if you guys have any ideas, we are open-minded.
Q: In recent interviews, you've said that of all the seasons, the upcoming season of Lost will be closest to the first season. Can you at least explain sort of in what way the coming season will refer back to the first season more than any others?
Damon Lindelof: One of the things that I think we are trying to do, all of us, the actors and the writers, as well, in the sixth season is to show the audience the before so they have some sense of, oh, this is what he used to be and who they are now so you really get a sense of how far that person's come. And obviously, the process of doing that, not just thinking about it, but doing it on a story level, really makes you feel like we felt in Season 1.
Q: Was it really important all along to keep the actors from knowing what happened to their characters in advance?
Damon Lindelof: That's a great question. Our dialogue with the actors, it's one of those things where, quite honestly, we just don't speak to them at all.
Carlton Cuse: It's better that way.
Damon Lindelof: But with Terry, it's kind of one of those things where the actor reads the script, and they decide what they need in order to play the scene and they know that we are completely available to answer any questions. But I do feel like the fun of the show for us as writers and producers is to send these scripts down to Hawaii and then see what we get back as opposed to trying to micromanage it.
Carlton Cuse: And for the actors, I think, the fact that they don't know where things are going kind of makes them very present in performing those given scripts, and I think that's actually a good thing. I mean, I think they do a remarkable job basically reading the next week's episode and basically kind of bringing it to life, and there's that immediacy that's part of that process.
Q: Have you given any thought to a Lost spin-off, like the further adventures of Sawyer?
Carlton Cuse: They have not pressured us at all. I mean, the network has been fabulous, and we owe a great debt of gratitude to Steve McPherson again just for this whole notion of ending the show. We are definitively ending this story of these characters and the show that we wanted to tell in May, and there's not going to be an implanted sequel. There's not going to be a secret back-door pilot embedded in that. The story of Lost that we've been telling for these six seasons is coming to a close this May.
Q: What have been your most memorable moments in the six years of Lost?
Carlton Cuse: The raft launch in the first season was such a great example of the kind of collaborative way in which this show is made and that's, I think, the thing that really distinguishes and makes it special. It wasn't enough that we just wrote that raft launch. It was also what all the actors brought to bear. It was Jack Bender who actually came up with the idea of the dog swimming out and then turning back. And then, I remember sort of most vividly being on the scoring stage, and the orchestra that plays the music for the show was playing Michael Giacchino's cue for that and they sight-read and they hadn't played it. And after they played it the first time, it was so moving and beautiful that they all just started spontaneously applauding, tapping their bows across their instruments, and everybody was crying and it was just this moment where you realize that the show is so much larger than any one individual, and collaboration on this show is really, truly probably the most special thing that will happen for all of us.
Q: How will the events of the season finale cliffhanger wit the bomb impact the characters?
Carlton Cuse: The season premiere picks up right after the finale, and we really don't want to say too much about it. We've obviously been very circumspect about the sixth season, and primarily because there's this big cliffhanger. Juliet hits this bomb. There's a white flash. What happened? Jack and Faraday were postulating that that was going to reset the clock and the Oceanic 815 would fly along and land in Los Angeles. If she taps that bomb and something else happens, maybe they're still stuck on the island. We don't really want to kind of give away what the show is going to be this season, so that's why we've been very circumspect about what we said and why we haven't shown any new footage.
Q: Even though you set the end date and decided on the story, how do you deal with the inevitability of die hard fans having issues with the finale you wish to give them?
Damon Lindelof: It would be great to cover my bases and guarantee everybody a sh*tty ending of Lost. Now you're actually going to see the ending to Lost, and all we can do is, basically, put our best foot forward. We do feel like the worst ending that we could possibly provide everyone who has invested this amount of time and energy into watching the show is the safe ending. You know, the ending that is basically sort of like, "What's going to be the most appealing to the most number of people?" At some point, you can't take a risk just to take a risk because that's a betrayal in and of itself.
Carlton Cuse: Obviously not every question's going to be answered, so obviously, some people are going to be upset that those particular questions don't get resolved. We felt if we tried to just answer questions, it would be very pedantic. Apart from that, we also really embrace this notion that there's a fundamental sort of sense of mystery that we all have in our lives, and certainly that is a huge part of the lives of these characters, and to sort of demystify that by trying to literally explain everything down to the last little sort of midichlorian of it all would be a mistake in our view. So I think there would be, hopefully, a kind of healthy cocktail of answers, mystery, good character resolutions and some surprises.
http://www.craveonline.com/entertainment/tv/article/damon-lindelof-and-carlton-cuse-on-lost-97097
Locke and Ben as Hitmen?
After Lost's final season, we might see O'Quinn and Emerson team up again.
by Matt Fowler
February 25, 2010 - Lost's Terry O'Quinn (Locke) and Michael Emerson (Ben) will no doubt go down as one of the best pairings in TV history. And while it's true that Lost producers Damon Lindelof and Cartlon Cuse have been adamant about the fact that there won't be any Lost spinoffs (although our fingers are still crossed for CSI: LAPIDUS!), there's a chance that we might see O'Quinn and Emerson back together on the small screen. What whaaat?
According to TVGuide.Com, Terry O'Quinn has been writing up ideas for a new series and shopping around a show bible (outlines of characters and stories) for it. Envisioning it as a TNT-style show, O'Quinn told TVGuide.Com that the show would re-team him up with Michael Emerson, with the two of them playing suburban hit men juggling family issues.
SO IN!
While we don't know any more specifics, O'Quinn has spoken to Lost creator J.J. Abrams about it and said "I really hope this works out because Michael would be in his prime in this. We'd play kind of awkward partners."
In response to the idea, Emerson stated "It's very sweet of him. I'm all in favor of it. Any reason to work with Terry again."
http://tv.ign.com/articles/107/1072457p1.html
by Matt Fowler
February 25, 2010 - Lost's Terry O'Quinn (Locke) and Michael Emerson (Ben) will no doubt go down as one of the best pairings in TV history. And while it's true that Lost producers Damon Lindelof and Cartlon Cuse have been adamant about the fact that there won't be any Lost spinoffs (although our fingers are still crossed for CSI: LAPIDUS!), there's a chance that we might see O'Quinn and Emerson back together on the small screen. What whaaat?
According to TVGuide.Com, Terry O'Quinn has been writing up ideas for a new series and shopping around a show bible (outlines of characters and stories) for it. Envisioning it as a TNT-style show, O'Quinn told TVGuide.Com that the show would re-team him up with Michael Emerson, with the two of them playing suburban hit men juggling family issues.
SO IN!
While we don't know any more specifics, O'Quinn has spoken to Lost creator J.J. Abrams about it and said "I really hope this works out because Michael would be in his prime in this. We'd play kind of awkward partners."
In response to the idea, Emerson stated "It's very sweet of him. I'm all in favor of it. Any reason to work with Terry again."
http://tv.ign.com/articles/107/1072457p1.html
Candidates Numbers compared to verses from Psalms
One of our great readers and also one of the Talkbackers at Ain't It Cool sent thins interesting theory to me, which I thought that I'd pass along. He compares the candidates numbers with Biblical Psalms of the same number and finds some interesting similarities. Thanks Brent!
Paul-
Ive never written on a message board or even e-mailed anybody Lost stuff other than my friends. I'm sure you have run into this now that the names and # have been revealed on who they correspond to...BUT. My wife did some digging. Though you might be interested just in case you have NOT been sent this. Take a look at the following psalms and how they match up with the individual we know of:
Psalms in the Bible:
#4 Locke - Psalm 4 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+4&version=KJV )
#8 Hurley - Psalm 8 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%208&version=KJV )
#15 Sawyer - Psalm 15 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2015&version=KJV )
#16 Sayid - Psalm 16 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2016&version=KJV )
#23 Jack - Pslam 23 ("The Lord is my Shepherd" http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2023&version=KJV )
#42 Kwon - Psalm 42 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2042&version=KJV )
Psalm 108 - Psalm of David ... very interesting verses here http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20108&version=KJV
#51 Kate - Psalm 51 ("Create in me a Clean Heart" ... http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+51&version=KJV )
There was a post on AICN talk backs that mentioned some "spoilers" and that the island was a 4 letter word that didnt include an A or an E
ZION? 4-letter word?
Sorry to bug you..Love your site and thought I might try and contribute something!
Brent Sander
Paul-
Ive never written on a message board or even e-mailed anybody Lost stuff other than my friends. I'm sure you have run into this now that the names and # have been revealed on who they correspond to...BUT. My wife did some digging. Though you might be interested just in case you have NOT been sent this. Take a look at the following psalms and how they match up with the individual we know of:
Psalms in the Bible:
#4 Locke - Psalm 4 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+4&version=KJV )
#8 Hurley - Psalm 8 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%208&version=KJV )
#15 Sawyer - Psalm 15 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2015&version=KJV )
#16 Sayid - Psalm 16 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2016&version=KJV )
#23 Jack - Pslam 23 ("The Lord is my Shepherd" http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2023&version=KJV )
#42 Kwon - Psalm 42 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2042&version=KJV )
Psalm 108 - Psalm of David ... very interesting verses here http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20108&version=KJV
#51 Kate - Psalm 51 ("Create in me a Clean Heart" ... http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+51&version=KJV )
There was a post on AICN talk backs that mentioned some "spoilers" and that the island was a 4 letter word that didnt include an A or an E
ZION? 4-letter word?
Sorry to bug you..Love your site and thought I might try and contribute something!
Brent Sander
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Sangria Thursdays? LOST Cast Secrets!
Lost: Preparing for The End
IGN | MySpace Video
The LOST cast talks about their feelings entering into Season 6, how they felt about the Time Travel storyline from Season 5, returning cast members, the mysteries THEY want to see solved, and how this season feels like Senior Year in High School.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
'Lost' recap: Mirror Image
Jack's Sideways life echoes his Island life as he continues to wrestle with his daddy issues
By Jeff Jensen Feb 24, 2010
In the season premiere of Lost three weeks ago, Jack Shephard looked at himself in the mirror and saw a small cut on his neck that left him baffled. He wondered: How did that get there? We wondered: What does it mean? In last night's episode, ''Lighthouse,'' Jack's man-in-the-mirror season continued with a series of peculiar looking glass encounters. On the Island, Jack's story began with a shot of the flawed and fallen castaway leader scrutinizing his reflection on the surface of Temple Lake like a seer trying to discern his fate in a scrying pool. It ended with Jack smashing the enchanted glass inside the Lighthouse after peering into it and seeing the haunted manse of his unhappy childhood home. He was left to ponder the implications while gazing out on the ocean; here's hoping his deliberations will include the epiphany that his paranoid conclusions about what he saw inside the Island's derelict divination tower were all wrong. (That's my theory, at least. More on that in a little bit.)
By Jeff Jensen Feb 24, 2010
In the season premiere of Lost three weeks ago, Jack Shephard looked at himself in the mirror and saw a small cut on his neck that left him baffled. He wondered: How did that get there? We wondered: What does it mean? In last night's episode, ''Lighthouse,'' Jack's man-in-the-mirror season continued with a series of peculiar looking glass encounters. On the Island, Jack's story began with a shot of the flawed and fallen castaway leader scrutinizing his reflection on the surface of Temple Lake like a seer trying to discern his fate in a scrying pool. It ended with Jack smashing the enchanted glass inside the Lighthouse after peering into it and seeing the haunted manse of his unhappy childhood home. He was left to ponder the implications while gazing out on the ocean; here's hoping his deliberations will include the epiphany that his paranoid conclusions about what he saw inside the Island's derelict divination tower were all wrong. (That's my theory, at least. More on that in a little bit.)
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