amazing Function: adjective
: causing amazement, great wonder, or surprise
LOST: The Beginning of the End
(Note: This is my second post today. For my other entry – my Super Bowl XLII pick – scroll down or click here.)
I was a little worried about this episode. Sure, it’s been hyped by ABC to no end and the television critics (whatever their opinion is worth) have been raving about it for weeks. But I was worried about the flashforwards working as well as the flashbacks.
The flashbacks have been great because they’ve added depth to the characters, made us care about them, and helped us understand why they act the way they do.
But the flashforwards work differently. They don’t really add any depth or more knowledge to the characters. Rather, they work to add to the mystery. It’s almost like the writers are telling a different tale now – one where the main story is what’s going on in the future and the flashbacks being on the island.
This isn’t a bad thing. I loved last night’s episode. (More on that in a minute.) But I foresee problems unless these flashforwards are handled just right.
My main worry is that we won’t learn enough about the “rescuers” who have come to the island that they’ll will become stock, bad guy characters. You know people that are serve no purpose other than to move the plot along. Like Naiomi. We know little about her other than she had a picture of Desmond and really didn’t care about her when she finally died after reprogramming the satellite phone. Yep, she died. Who cares? Quick, Kate, find Jack.
But look how much better flashbacks make even evil characters. Even though Ben, the leader of the Others, is very one of the most despicable characters on the show, we at least sympathize with him somewhat because we know a lot about his background and how he was treated by his father.
So far the writers have made very few errors so I’m going to see how they work with the flashforwards before I pass judgment. I hope they can find away to make them work so that the people who are coming to the island aren’t more than a) evil scientists, b) greedy businesspeople, or c) secret government agents all trying to harness the island’s power that we don’t care nothing about. There’s nothing wrong with the rescuers being one of the above (or something else), so long as we at least understand their motives and know enough about them that we can understand their motivations – even if we don’t agree with them – instead of a clichéd stock characters.
As for the episode last night, wasn’t it wonderful? It had me on the edge of my seat. And did you get that it was Jack’s dad sitting in Jacob’s chair? I really think that Jacob is somehow held hostage by Ben and Others and somehow he’s going to be the one that brings Jack, Kate, Hurley, and the other three castaways back to the island.
I was also surprised but glad the episode focused on Hurley. Because of Hurley’s previous flashbacks, (see how effective they are!) we know to be skeptical when he sees Charlie but can’t help but wonder if the island is trying to communicate with him. More than anything, I just want him to be happy. His brief respite from troubles ended the moment Desmond told him Charlie was dead.
Great episode and I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens to those who stay on the island. Could we see genocide of some of the no name passengers from the “rescuers”? Cross your fingers that the writers give us some in-depth bad guys!
My Super Bowl XLII Pick
After the big game on Sunday, the New England Patriots are going to be known as the first 19-0 team in NFL history or the team that laid the biggest egg in this history of professional football.
Either way the New York Giants are going to be overshadowed by what is probably the best NFL team to ever play the game. Even if they manage to beat the Patriots (which they won’t), everyone will be talking the next day about what the Patriots did wrong and not what the Giants did right.
A lot of people are sure the Patriots are going to blow out the Giants. Last time I checked, the Patriots were 12 point favorites in Vegas.
I don’t buy it.
The Giants are on the upswing coming off three road playoff victories including a great victory on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. They have momentum and nothing to lose by throwing everything at the Patriots – something I fully expect them to do. They’ll make it interesting but it won’t be enough.
The Patriots looked awful against the Chargers and if it wasn’t for their defense, the Chargers would be the AFC Champions. But that’s what makes the Patriots such a good team. If one part of their team breaks down, the rest of the team more than makes up for it. Tom Brady can have an awful day (3 INTs against the Chargers) but their defense will rise to the occasion and stop the other team. Someone is injured and they have someone just as good to take their place. There’s just no way to win against a team like that.
I expect the Giants to put up a good fight – even a better fight than they did in the last game of the regular season against the Patriots – and make the game exciting from start to finish. However, they’ll lose it the waning moments to a Patriots touchdown or field goal.
Patriots 24 Giants 21
Alice's Birthday
Happy Birthday, Alice.
Life Imitates The Simpsons
Life Imitates The Simpsons A freak blizzard hits Springfield, turning it into a winter wonderland overnight. However, Springfield Elementary School is the only school that did not declare a snowday. Only some students from both Bart and Lisa's classes show up while Skinner and Willie are the only faculty members to still be working. To pass the time, Skinner plays the ultra-boring movie "The Christmas That Almost Wasn't, But Then Was". While they are watching the movie, the snow piles up and traps everyone in the school. – The Simpsons, Skinner’s Sense of Snow
Students in the Alpine School District have now been sent home, after dangerous weather forced the schools to keep students who walk or ride a bus in the building after the final bell rang. -- Weather forces students to stay at schools, (Provo) Daily Herald, January 28, 2008
Random Thoughts January 2008
Whoever anonymously paid for my and Marathon Girl’s dinner the other night, we want you to know how grateful we are for your generosity. While attending a Utah Jazz game the other day I was looking over the rosters for both teams and realized every player on the court was younger than me. It made me feel old even though I’m only 32.
Though I appreciate the tax rebates Congress and the President have put together, I really wish they’d do something about all the FICA taxes I pay. That’s money I’ll never see again.
The only thing harder than getting up for work on Monday morning is waking up on Monday morning and knowing you’ll have to drive to work in a blizzard.
The most amazing thing about adding 25 pounds of muscle in the last year is the amount protein I need to maintain it.
Big talkers are generally the most insecure people I’ve ever met.
The best way to get a membership to a gym is to buy one of someone who’s looking to get rid of it. Not only can this save you a lot of money, but you don’t have to deal with pushy salespeople.
I hate the two weeks break between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. We end up with too much pointless hype and not enough football.
A journalist can be your best friend and your worst enemy.
No matter what you think of his politics, you have to admit that Barack Obama knows the art of seduction. From the way Hillary Clinton is reacting to Obama’s recent victories, it’s obvious she doesn’t have the first clue about seducing the masses.
The older I get, the more I dislike cold weather.
The best part of coming home from work is seeing the faces of all three kids light up when I walk in the door.
Saving Independent Bookstores
For those who wring their hands over the demise of small, independent bookstores, there’s an excellent article in the Wall Street Journal on how to save them. Be warned: It requires putting your money where your mouth is.
Lost Countdown
Yep, LOST only a week away according to this fancy coundown clock.
But it begs the follwing question: Do I have to push a button every 108 minutes?
(Thanks to Laura for the link.)
Ideating
I like IBM commercials. No, I’m not a business or technical nerd. I simply like any advertisement that can not only speak to its target audience but effectively communicate a general audience as well. IBM's advertisements generally do that.
Which is why I really like the following IBM commercial.
Even if you never visit their intended website, the message is loud and clear to anyone: To be successful, stop dreaming and get to work.
And then, might I add, once you start working, do a better job and/or make a better product than anyone else.
Anyone can talk.
Only a few turn their ideas into reality.
Way to go IBM.
How to Fix the NFL Playoffs
Satire: How to Fix the NFL Playoffs The NFL needs experts and computers decide what teams are truly worthy to advance to the Super Bowl.
Those cries of despair you heard after last Sunday’s NFL Divisional Playoff games weren’t from distraught Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts fans mourning the upsets of their highly touted teams. Rather, it was from professional football fans around the world that now have to settle for a low quality AFC and NFC championship matchups.
Instead of watching Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts defend their Super Bowl title against the undefeated New England Patriots, we’ll be forced to watch a bunch of nobodies try to stop Tom Brady.
Zzzzzzz.
And we won’t be wondering if Jessica Simpson will curse Tony Romo into playing poorly against the Green Bay Packers. Instead the other, unheralded Manning (What’s his name? Oh yeah, Eli.) slide around on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field.
Boring.
The NFL owes it to its fans to deliver high quality postseason matchups – one with overhyped stories and intriguing rematches that professional football fans live for. To avoid even the possibility of letting down their fans next year, the NFL needs a system where only the best teams are selected to play in the AFC and NFC Championship Games. You know, one where sports writers, coaches, and computers decide what teams are truly worthy to advance to the Super Bowl.
And no one knows better how to pick champions than college football.
Since 1998 college football has used the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) to pick teams to play for the national title with wild success. If the BCS has taught us anything, it’s that many schools simply don’t deserve a shot at upsetting, more highly respected football programs. This year Hawaii got a shot at BCS glory and they were pounded by Georgia 41-10.
Face it: The AFC West was this year’s equivalent of college football’s Western Athletic Conference. Even letting the Chargers play the Colts was an insult to the defending Super Bowl champions. Instead of holding Wild Card and Divisional playoff games, the NFL should have simply let the sports writers take a poll and runs some stats through a computer program or two to determine the best teams.
The results would have undoubtedly put the Colts against the Patriots and the Packers against the Cowboys. These matchups are what every real NFL fan wanted to see this Sunday and the Chargers and Giants would be where they really belong — at home watching the game on TV instead of being anywhere in the vicinity of a football field. Instead, football fans have to settle for games without the hype and interest that computers and sports writers could have given us.
A BCS-type system for the NFL's postseason would have other advantages too. Pitting the two best teams in each conference would guarantee a quality Super Bowl. The way the system is set up right now we could be watching the Giants play the Chargers on February 3.
Please.
Not even a glitzy ad with a naked supermodel could get me to watch that game.
And with no Wild Card or Divisional Playoff games to watch we’ll get weeks of incredible, important hype in the papers, television, and online about intriguing quarterback matchups, which athlete is dating which supermodel, and the latest allegations against Randy Moss. The NFL owes its fans high-quality postseason matchups.
Going to a BCS-like system and eliminating the Wild Card and Divisional Playoffs is the only way to ensure exciting, memorable postseason games every year.
This column was first published on BlogCritcs.org.