"Tricia Tanaka is Dead" (Season 3, Episode 10)

Last night's episode had to be one of the most entertaining shows in all of the seasons of "Lost". Granted, it didn't necessarily move the overall story along that much, but to quote Hurley, "We could all use some fun." And what better way for the guys to have fun but fixing a car and drinking Dharma Initiative beer? Plus, we saw the return of Vincent the dog and crazy French scientist Rousseau and a return to the less creepy Charlie. I loved Hurley's recap of what had happened recently with the reveal that he was at Libby's grave. This episode also has us adding Hurley's name to the list of characters with daddy issues (the least of which was the horrendous wig Cheech wore as his younger self).

Best Line
How could I pick just one? Here are my many favorites.

• "Yeah. Chase the dog with the skeletal arm into the creepy jungle. You be my guest." Charlie to Hurley.
• "We'll get that later." Hurley after Roger's head came free of his body.
• "It's like . . . when you're good at . . . crafts." Hurley trying to explain the meaning of crafty to Jin.
• "Well, look at that. Somebody's hooked on phonics." Sawyer to Jin after he speaks English to him.
• "Now that's a hell of a Jesus." Hurley's dad referring to the gold Jesus statue.
• "I have needs." Hurley's mom, her fingers over the ears of the Jesus statue, breathlessly explaining to her son why she wants his dad around.
• Hurley: "I'll give you $1,000 right now if you admit that my dad told you to say this stuff." Psychic: "The mystic arts are not subject to bribes. How dare you -" Hurley: "$10,000." Psychic: "Your dad put me up to it."
• "Shut up, Red . . . Neck . . . Man." Hurley's struggled attempt to nickname Sawyer, to which he replied, "Touche."
• "I'm sorry. You were right. Those pants don't make you look fat." Jin repeating the English phrases Sawyer felt every man should know.

Did You Notice?

• The song playing in young Hurley's flashback, "Shambala" by Three Dog Night, is what began playing on the 8-track in the Dharma mini-van.
• Hurley's dad called him "Little Dude". Now we know where Hurley picked it up.
• Young Hurley's candy bar was not an Apollo bar but a Glacier bar. Polar bear connection?
• The key chain for the mini-van had a rabbit's foot. Wasn't so lucky for Roger the work man, was it?
• Randy Nations, Hurley's former boss and new employee at Mr. Cluck's, was also Locke's boss at the box company.
• The tail of the meteor that destroyed Mr. Cluck's had a smoke monster-like appearance to it.
• What was with the dart that Sawyer stepped on? Had it been thrown from the hatch when it imploded?
• What was up with all the paperwork in the Dharma mini-van? The map Sawyer picked up showed what appeared to be a road connecting the stations.
• So Mr. Eko's Jesus stick now acts as compass. Interesting.

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

• The license plate on Hurley's car 429 PCE included 42 and added up to 15.
• Asian reporter Tricia Tanaka said Hurley had won $114 million when we had previously learned in Season One that it was $156 million. The difference? $42 million.
• Sawyer missed 2 months of school due to mono, also known as the "kissing disease". Why am I not surprised?
• Kate said she had 2 good reasons why she didn't ask for Locke's and Sayid's help in rescuing Jack.
• Kate mentioned to Rousseau that she had her escape from the Others was aided by a 16-year old girl named Alex.

The Color Red Again
As in Desmond's recent episode, the color red was prominent throughout the episode.

• Young Hurley's fixer-upper car was red as was his shirt, his tool box, the towel which held his tools, and the tool handles themselves had red accents.
• The exotic flower Hurley laid on Libby's grave was red.
• Mr. Cluck's chicken shack had red in its color scheme.
• Asian reporter Tricia Tanaka's blouse was red.
• Nikki, the new island girl, had on a red top.
• There were red-colored wine glasses on Hurley's dining room table.
• The Dharma van had a red button on the dashboard and the 8-track tape was red.

Is the color red the new Numbers? Should we be watching for it like we listened for the Numbers?

Sawyer's Nicknames

• To Charlie: Oliver Twist, Munchkin, Jiminy Cricket
• To Hurley: Snuffy (as in Sesame Street's Snuffleupagus), International House of Pancakes, Jumbotron
• To Jin: Jin-bo
• To Roger, the Dharma work man: Skeletor

Previews - Next week's "Enter 77" marks the return of Eye-Patch Adams, the mysterious one-eyed stranger last seen on a hatch monitor. Is this the mysterious Jacob? Was his missing eye the one found by the Tailies in their hatch in Season 2? And what does Dr. Marvin Candle's announcement mean: "Manual override achieved. For mainland communication, enter 38"?