"Stranger in a Strange Land" (Season 3, Episode 9)

In the words of Comic Book Guy from "The Simpsons":

Worst. Episode. Ever.

Okay, maybe not that bad (after all it could have been a Sun and Jin episode), but this show following last week's Desmond-rific show was a major letdown for me. The other factor that contributed to my disappointment was ABC's promotion that we would have the answers to three of the island's biggest mysteries. Umm, to which mysteries did we get answers? Let's see.

1. What's the story of Jack's tattoo? One of the biggest mysteries? Not really. Plus, the literal translation, "He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us", is according to Jack not the true meaning. So was the mystery solved or not?

2. Whatever happened to Cindy the flight attendant and the children? They're on the island walking around like extras from "The Village of the Damned". And they like to watch. Again, not really an answer.

3. What is Latin for "teddy bear"? Ursa Theodorus. Thanks, Carl.

Best Line: "You got a map you ain't showin' me, Magellan?" Sawyer to Kate.

Did You Notice? (That there wasn't much to notice?)

• Does the episode's title "Stranger in a Strange Land" refer to the science fiction novel by Robert Heinlein about a human raised by Martians on Mars or the biblical quote from Exodus?
• The song Sawyer was singing in the boat, "Show Me the Way to Go Home", was the same song sung by the guys in the movie "Jaws" before the shark attacked them.
• I got the same vibes between Jack and Achara when he confronted her as I did when Claire was turned away by the psychic and Rose met with her psychic at Ayers Rock. Every time, it seemed like the person with the "gift" saw something in the future island resident that they didn't like.
• The boat the Others was using at the end of the show looked an awful lot like the one Michael and Walt were given to leave the island.

The Numbers - Not a one.

Previews - Next week's "Tricia Tanaka is Dead" features a Hurley flashback including his dad played by Cheech Marin of Cheech & Chong fame. It also has a VW van with a Dharma logo. And Vincent the dog is back. (I guess he didn't leave with Michael and Walt.) Next week's show has to be better than last night's show. I hope.

"Flashes Before Your Eyes" (Season 3, Episode 8)

After watching last night's show, then re-watching it just now, I feel like Desmond after the hatch implosion - it blew my socks off! Incredible. This show never ceases to amaze me. The episode "Flashes Before Your Eyes" made my head spin. Last week's brainwashing sequence with Carl included audio when played in reverse said "Only fools are enslaved by time and space." How appropriate. This was the first time "Lost" did not follow the typical format of alternating between the island and a character's past in a series of flashbacks. I am of the opinion that what we saw was not a flashback (no "whooshing" sound) but what went through Desmond's mind after the hatch implosion, mixing actual events from his life with aspects of the island. He even explained at the end of the episode that his life flashed before his eyes.

Best Line: "This is why we don't do drugs." Charlie to the passersby regarding Desmond's erratic behavior.

Did You Notice?

• The book Hurley took from Sawyer's stash was "Laughter in the Dark" by Vladimir Nabokov. The story deals with the affection of a middle-aged man for a very young woman, a theme Nabokov would address again in his novel, "Lolita".
• Prior to the implosion, the magnetic force pulled paint cans off the shelf. Is this why Desmond "came to" in the middle of painting his flat?
• Speaking of which, the partially painted over label on the paint can read "Futu". Future?
• There was one of those reocurring eyeball close-ups (Desmond's this time) we've seen featured throughout the series.
• Penny's comments "It's not the end of the world" and "Des, where are you?" both take on a deeper meaning in the big picture.
• Daddy Widmore's office included a painting of a polar bear and the word "Namaste" written backwards across the top. This means "good luck" and was used to close the orientation film and video.
• Charlie's donation sign revealed his middle name: Hieronymus. Rearrange the letters and you get "heroin yums". Also, Hieronymus Bosch was a famous Dutch painter known for his depiction of Hell. And Hieronymus of Cardia was a Greek historian during the time of Alexander the Great.
• Charlie was singing Oasis's song Wonderwall, which has the lyrics "You're gonna be the one who saves me." Appropriate since Desmond did it twice.
• During the soccer game on the pub television, the advertisers around the stadium's walls included these familiar names: Apollo Candy Bars, Oceanic Air, Hanso Foundation, Butties Diapers (Charlie's band Driveshaft's attempt at a commercial); Mr. Cluck's Chicken Shack (Hurley's former employer), and a company called Kronos (the Greek titan Chronos was the personifacation of time).
• There were a number of chiming and ticking clocks in the jewelry store with the mysterious white-haired woman who knew quite a lot about Desmond. Again, the reminder of time.
• I liked the ripple effect the ring made when Desmond threw it into the river. Symbolic of the impact one action can have on everything around it.
• Another Wizard of Oz reference: The man crushed by the scaffolding reminded me of the Wicked Witch of the East after Dorothy's house fell on her, right down to the footware. Granted, he had on red sneakers and not ruby slippers, but close enough.
  

Did You Notice All the Red Stuff?
Much like "The Sixth Sense", last night's episode used the color red as a recurring theme. Included were Claire's top when she was drowning, Desmond's shirt in the photo, the whiskey bottle's label, the hatch's countdown clock, the paint, the microwave's clock, the redhead with Desmond's physicist friend, the crushed man's sneakers, and the exercise bike mangled after the hatch's implosion.

The Numbers - 4 8 15 16 23 42 (and sometimes 108 and definitely 2 and 6)

• There were the obvious ones that Desmond noticed: the clock reading 1:08 and the delivery going to 815.
  
• Desmond and Penny had been together for 2 years.
  
• There were 2 minutes left in the soccer game on the pub's TV.

Previews - Next week's "Stranger in a Strange Land" is promoted as answering three of the island's biggest mysteries. We also see the return of Cindy, the Oceanic Air flight attendant who disappeared as the Tailies were returning Sawyer in Season 2. Also, actress Diana Scarwid (who played Joan Crawford's daughter in "Mommie Dearest") questions Jack about his tattoo in this episode that features a Jack flashback.

"Not in Portland" (Season 3, Episode 7)

"Lost" is back! Boy, is it ever. The recap show, "Lost Survivor Guide" at 9 p.m. was a great refresher of what went on in the last two and a half seasons. Narrated by Kyle MacLachlan ("Twin Peaks", "Desperate Housewives"), the special got the viewers up to speed for tonight's episode and the upcoming shows.

The new episode itself, "Not in Portland", was the first to feature a flashback focusing on an Other. The opening was brilliant, leading the viewer to believe we were seeing Juliet on the island. Then Ethan Rom (!) walks by, so this must be a hatch flashback, right? Then it concludes with the view of Miami and an Oceanic Air plane flying overhead. This is the "Lost" we know and love.

Best Line: "Because you're insufferable and you're mean. Well, you asked me for the truth, Mom." Juliet's ex-husband talking on his cell phone to his mother. It just struck me as funny.

Did You Notice?

• In Juliet's sister Rachel's beach house, there was a lamp with a Dharma logo-shaped base next to her bed.
• Juliet's ex-husband, Edmund Burke, shares the same name as the Irish-born English statesman and philosopher. This continues the trend of "Lost" characters being named after famous philosophers (John Locke and Rousseau).
• The company trying to recruit Juliet, Mittleos, is an anagram of "lost time" (or "time lost").
• Aldo the Other was reading Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time", a popular science book on black holes, the Big Bang, and string theory.
• Alex believes Ben is her father. In Season One, Rousseau claimed she was pregnant when her ship ran aground on the island, and her daughter, Alex, was taken by the Others. Did Ben adopt her?
• The brainwashing slides in Room 23 (which made the boat ride in "Willy Wonka" seem like a Sunday in the park) included the comments "Plant a good seed and you will joyfully gather fruit", "Everything changes", "We are the cause of our own suffering", "Think about your life", and "God loves you as He loved Jacob". In the Bible, Jacob was a twin, had a vision of a ladder reaching to Heaven, and had a wife named Rachel (same name as Juliet's sister) and a son with her named Benjamin (Ben). The name Jacob was also mentioned in the last episode by Danny the Other when he said "Shepherd (Jack) wasn't even on Jacob's list."
• Also in the brainwashing slide show were images of Alvar Hanso in the office building window and Gerald DeGroot, both from the hatch's orientation film.
• The pregnancy test that Juliet's sister, Rachel, used was from Widmore Labs. This was the same brand Sun used on the island and Kate used in her last flashback. For those of you who have forgotten, Widmore is the father of Penelope, Desmond's true love.
• In the split second before the bus hits Edmond, there is what appears to be a wall of black smoke just like the island monster.
• I did not notice this myself but apparently there was an ad for the Apollo candy bar on the side of the bus that killed Juliet's ex-husband.
• Some website posters believe that Juliet's comment that she has been on the island for three years, two months, and 28 days indicates, since island time puts them currently in December 2004, that she came to the island on September 11, 2001.
  

The Numbers - 4 8 15 16 23 42 (and sometimes 108 and DEFINITELY 2 and 6)

• Juliet's key card was for Research Lab A-4.
• Juliet's appointment with the Mittelos rep was at 2 p.m.
• The Others' smaller island is 2 miles offshore of the larger island.
• The Mittelos medical scans were from a 26 year old woman.
• Carl was being brainwashed in Room 23.
• When Ben's heart rate was restored, it was at 108.
• Mr. Albert asks Juliet to "Just give us 6 months."
  

Previews - Next week's "Flashes Before Your Eyes" focuses on Desmond with what looks like an explosive episode.

Bonus link: Go to http://www.mittelosbioscience.org/ and go to Projects at the top. (If you don't see the tool bar, refresh your page until you do.) The login is jburke and the password is rachel. Let it load then check out Current Projects. Sit back and watch.

This is it!

It's finally here. The long wait is over. After 12 weeks of no new episodes, tonight marks the first of 16 shows airing consecutively until the season finale. I know some of you were losing faith in the series after the first six episodes, but based on a number of reviews I read for tonight's show, that faith should be restored. I guess we'll find out at 10:00 p.m. Remember that the recap show airs at 9:00 p.m. in case you forgot what went on three months ago. Also, look for my take on the new episode to be posted to this blog sometime early Thursday evening.