5 Weeks and Counting

With just over a month until the premiere, tvguide.com reports that actor Jorge Garcia (Hurley) says the return to the Island does not go successfully when they try to travel together and each person may need to use a separate route back. Also, check out the link below for a sneak peek of Jack and Ben discussing the return to the Island and why it's so important they go back.

http://vids.eonline.com/services/link/bcpid1396519019/

6 Weeks and Counting!

As I write this, there are only six weeks from tomorrow before "Lost" returns for its fifth and penultimate season. I remember when last season ended and I thought we have to wait eight months to find out what happens next?! And, now it's almost upon us. I'm anxious to find out how the Oceanic Six plan on getting back to the Island (remember Ben's cryptic words to Jack as they stood over Locke's body in the casket?). And where did the Island go? (Or did it stay still and everything and everyone else moved?) Season Four was released on DVD today so you can guess how I'm going to be spending my Christmas vacation.

As one of 147,000 close friends of show producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, I have been getting e-mails with sneak peaks of the new season. The latest is shown below: a glimpse of a new Dharma station logo. At first, I thought it was a light house, but I believe it's actually more of a lamppost. I was reminded of the lamppost where Lucy meets Mr. Tumnus in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" written by C. S. Lewis (not to be confused with the Island's Charlotte S. Lewis).

Check Out This New Trailer with Subliminal Image

As I mourn the demise of "Pushing Daisies" and "Eli Stone" and anxiously await this Sunday's "24: Redemption" prequel movie, I count the days to the premiere of "Lost": just under nine weeks remain. While waiting, check out this article and watch the new video/trailer:

http://www.tvguide.com/News/New-Lost-Trailer-1000062.aspx

Does Oceanic Airlines have some new competition in Ajira Airlines whose logo appears briefly twice in this video? Or will this be how the Oceanic Six return to the Island? Destiny calls.

Mark Your Calendar!

It's official: ABC has confirmed that Season Five will premiere on Wednesday, January 21, 2009. At 8 p.m., there will be a recap of the first four seasons (in case you've forgotten what's happened so far!), then at 9 p.m., "Because You Left" will air followed by "The Lie" at 10 p.m. The series will then continue on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. The early episodes are titled as followed: "Jughead", "The Little Prince", "The Place is Death", and the intriguingly titled "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham".

Our First Look at Season 5!

I just got an early Christmas present. Check it out. The first promo for Season 5 of "Lost" including new footage. And yes, I did get goosebumps!

http://vids.eonline.com/services/link/bcpid1396519019/bctid1877535133

Four Months to Go; Two New Cast Members

Actress Zuleikha Robinson will play the role of Illeana, a European femme fatale who's both smart and incredibly dangerous.










Actor Saïd Taghmaoui will play the role of Caesar, a mystery man.

Two Months Down, Six to Go!

I know there are still some die-hard Lost and Founders out there checking my blog on a regular basis during the hiatus so as a reward for your loyalty, here's some Season Five scoop from show creators Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof at the San Diego Comic-Con (the big comic book/movie/TV convention which was held last weekend in California):

• Jin and Locke will be still be on the show in some form.
• We will see Richard Alpert bare-footed (but with how many toes?).
• Stories are going to be told in a new and exciting way. When the season starts, viewers are not going to know when or where they are.

And finally, my nephew David's friend Becky was nice enough to share the following photos from the Dharma Initiative Recruitment Booth and Lost panel discussion at Comic-Con:

"There's No Place Like Home" Part 2 (Season 4, Episode 13)

Will there ever be another series like "Lost"? A series that consistently entertains and surprises the viewer week after week. Where it's not-so-great episodes are better than most shows' best? A show that made me create a blog dedicated to it and for you fine readers to check out each and every week? I think not. We are really spoiled. At least we have two more years to look forward.

Before We Get to the Finale:

• If you didn't watch the rerun at 8 p.m. ET, then you didn't see the "extra footage". This occurred during the Oceanic Airlines press conference. Added in was Jack explaining that the three "survivors" who didn't make it back were Boone Carlyle, a woman named Libby, and Charlie Pace. Also a reporter asked Sayid if he was aware of what was happening in Iraq and if he was going back, to which he answered no. Also, Jack was asked about his plans and he said he wanted to have a service for his father.
• During the last commercial break of the last hour, did you catch the ad for Octagon Global Recruiting? This fake commercial offered anyone interested in "unpaid positions" to visit their website, http://www.octagonglobalrecruiting.com/ , which I of course did. It plays a video of the same ad then explains they are part of the Dharma Initiative (hence the octagon in the name - same shape as their logos). You can also submit your e-mail address (which I alsoe did) for a representative to contact you regarding an event in San Diego in late July. Coincidentally, this is also the location and date of Comic Con, one of the largest comic book/movie/TV conventions where the producers and cast of "Lost" have frequently been guests. No response yet, but I'll keep you posted.
• Finally, you may have seen where "Good Morning, America" was going to show alternate endings to last night's show. I DVRed it this morning and watched it tonight. Alternate ending #1 had Sawyer in the coffin. Alternate ending #2 had Desmond in the coffin. I'm happy they went with Locke.
  

Although not a jaw-dropping finale like last year, I feel this was a very satisfying close to another excellent season. Old questions were answered, new questions were raised (what else is new?). Exciting actions sequences balanced with emotional moments made for a full two hours. (What would they have cut out if ABC hadn't given them the extra hour?)

Best Line

• "If you mean time-traveling bunnies, then yes." Ben responding to Locke's questioning of what the Orchid Station experiments involved.
  

Did You Notice?

• I thought the "previously on 'Lost'" recap had the perfect scenes to set up the finale, especially last season's final scene continuing as this season's first scene.
• The man in the coffin has a name: Jeremy Bentham. Interestingly enough, this was a real person. He was an English philosopher and social reformer in the 1800's. Ahead of his time, he argued for equal rights for woman, separation of church and state, and the end of slavery. When he died, the real Bentham's will stipulated that his body be preserved and stored in a wooden cabinet, which he called his "auto-icon". This is not unlike Locke's Bentham whose body was stored in a wooden box, which we call a "coffin". Another interesting point is that the real John Locke was also a British philosopher, whose works later influenced other philosophers such as David Hume (Desmond Hume?) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Danielle Rousseau?).
  
• Was it foretelling that Sawyer referred to Jack as "Sundance" since later Sawyer would leap from the helicopter not unlike Butch and Sundance did off a cliff at the end of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"?
• Since the ghostly whispers occurred right before the Others attacked the mercenaries, are they the origin of them or some other, unrevealed island party?
• The fight between Keamy and Sayid was amazingly choreographed and brilliantly edited. You really believed these were two military men fighting for their lives.
• Walt (or Walt Chamberlain as I believe he should now be called) hardly even looks like the same kid from the island. Hurley summed it up nicely when he said "Getting big, dude."
• So Locke was the one who suggested the Oceanic Six should lie to protect the island. And sure enough, that's just what they did.
• I loved that Locke couldn't find the elevator because he didn't know what anthuriums looked like!
• The quick scene between Miles (a.k.a. Shorty) and Rose was priceless.
• I now believe stronger than ever that Charlotte is really Ben's childhood friend on the island, Annie. That she wanted to get back and was trying to find where she was born just confirms it for me.
• Locke's question to Ben about the "magic box" refers back to the episode where Ben had explained to Locke how he got Locke's father to the island.
• As pointed out in a previous blog entry, Edgar Halliwax is also Marvin Candle and Mark Wickmund, all presenters in the Dharma Initiative orientation films.
• The Casimir effect to which Halliwax refers is an actual term in physics. In simple terms, the Casimir effect can be understood by the idea that the presence of conducting metals and dielectrics alter the vacuum expectation value of the energy of the second quantized electromagnetic field. Yeah, right. Don't even get me started on negatively charged exotic matter.
  
• I think when "Lost" finally ends, a detective show featuring Sawyer and Frank Lapidus has potential.
• I really believe the writers missed a great opportunity for Hurley to say something comedic with the whole issue of the helicopter having too much weight on board. "I knew I shouldn't have eaten all those crackers."
• I have to believe Sawyer asked Kate to check on his daughter, Clementine, right before he jumped. The same request that would later lead Jack not to trust her.
• Sayid's mention of Bentham's supposed suicide confirms what could be gleaned from the newspaper obituary that Jack had in last season's finale. Close inspection of a still frame showed that it read Jeremy Bentham of New York hanged himself in his downtown Los Angeles loft.
• Does Sayid really not intend to take Hurley back to the island but instead to someplace safe? If he's still working for Ben, I would think not.
• So Hurley was playing chess with Mr. Eko? He's been visited by Charlie. I guess anything is possible.
• The whispers could be heard prior to the freighter's destruction.
• When Christian Shephard told Michael "you can go now", my initial thought was that he was going to transport him to safety. However, everyone I spoke with today felt he was telling Michael he was no longer needed and it was time for him to die. An interview with the actor at www.tvguide.com pretty much confirms this. He's done. Gone. Off the show. Much to the actor's surprise, in fact. Unless this is the producers' way of preventing another leak like when it was found out that Michael was returning this season. We'll see. I might just be right after all.
• The actress who plays Sun did a tremendous job of portraying the anguish and helplessness of losing Jin. Hard to believe this same character was not so long ago ready to flee to America to escape him. The island does have a miraculous effect on people.
• As for Jin, I guess it's still possible that he survived the explosion.
• I'm still not sure if I know who Sun holds responsible for Jin's apparent death. She blames her father and one other. I believed it could be Jack for leaving him behind, then I thought for sure it was Charles Widmore since it was his boat, but then I thought maybe Ben when Sun seemingly made overtures to Widmore to team up.
• So Charles Widmore and Sun's father, Mr. Paik, are old golfing buddies. Coincidence?
• My new monthly skeleton theory is that the Adam and Eve skeletons found in the cave in Season 1 are Sawyer and Juliet.
• It is obvious Ben was handing over the mantle of island caretaker to Locke, although begrudgingly so. I can't help but wonder if Ben was the Others' second choice from the start and it should have been Locke all along. If only he hadn't chosen the knife when Richard Alpert came to see him in his foster home.
  
• The ice cavern had hieroglyphics on the pillar where the lantern was similar to what was inside the secret room in Ben's closet.
• The show's producers always give a code name to the season finale. This year it was "Frozen Donkey Wheel". Who would have guessed that's exactly what it would have been?
• Ben's departure from the island sent him almost one year into the future as we saw in the earlier episode when he landed in the Tunisian desert with Halliwax's parka on, his torn sleeve and bleeding arm, and a puff of cold air breath as he landed.
• The purple sky and high-pitched sound were identical to Season 2's finale when Desmond was prevented from entering the numbers in the hatch. My co-worker Scott has a theory that the number entering was linked to the frozen donkey wheel and maintained the balance of the island's machinery.
• So what happened to Faraday and his raft of survivors when the island vanished? Were they carried along to wherever or whenever it went? Will we see him finally come ashore alone, gnawing on a leg bone? The others were all extras after all.
  
• Apparently, the island was looking out for baby Aaron when the helicopter crashed. Either that or his turnip head acts as a flotation device.
• The late night caller on Kate's phone when played backwards says "The island needs you . . . You have to go back before it's too late." Spooky, but if this was just a nightmare, then not so much. Same goes for creepy Claire and her dire warning not to take Aaron back.
• It was so wonderful to see Desmond and Penny reunited at last. It's not every girl that has her own tracking station. Probably got it for her birthday.
  
• I loved Jack using Desmond's signature line "I'll see you in another life, brother".
• Okay, this bothered me. During the Oceanic Six press conference, we saw an enlarged
• photo of the survivors bringing their raft ashore at the tiny fishing village with the locals helping them. Last night, we saw this event actually happen. Who took the picture?
• The song playing in Jack's truck as he approached the funeral home was "Gouge Away" by The Pixies. Unlike other musicians featured on the show, they have not died in a plane crash. Yet.
• Did Ben look younger and healthier to anyone else? Or was it just the fact that no one has been beating him up lately?
  
• We got the answer of who's in the coffin: Locke a.k.a. Jeremy Bentham. But now new questions arise: Why did Locke leave the island? According to what he told Jack, bad things happened after Jack left. Was it the survivors' unwillingness to return that led to his suicide? But I thought the island prevented suicides as it did with both Michael and Jack? Was it really suicide as Sayid questioned? If not, then who killed him?
  
• As soon as I saw Locke in the coffin, I immediately was reminded of Jack's dad. Does this mean if they get him back to the island, Locke will be up and about again? Alive and well?
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• Kate said Jack called her for 2 days straight to convince her to go back to the island.
• Kate also said she spend the last 3 years trying to forgot the horrible things that happened on that last day.
• Desmond had 6 months of explosive ordnance disposal training in the army.
• Faraday told Charlotte and Miles that he was leaving in 10 minutes.
• The Orchid was Station 6 of 6 Dharma Initiative locations.
  
• The time traveling bunny had a 15 on it.
• The time was 8:15 when Sayid killed the man in the car.
• Sayid told Hurley that Jeremy Bentham had died 2 days ago.
• Lapidus estimated there was 4 to 5 minutes of fuel remaining in the helicopter.
• Michael said there was 5 minutes worth of liquid nitrogen left in the tank.
• Ben said Richard and the Others would be waiting for Locke 2 miles east of the Orchid.
  

And so, my fellow Lost and Founders, another season has come to a close. I wish I had my own frozen donkey wheel so I could move ahead 8 months for the premiere of the second-to-the-last season and see what these "few ideas" Ben has for getting them all back to the island and if "all of them" includes Walt Chamberlain and Desmond and Kenny Rogers, I mean Frank. Until then, Namaste.

Coming Soon . . .

. . . my last official blog entry for 2008! I am now reviewing my sources and re-watching the show and finalizing my thoughts on the finale, so be patient.

The Final(e) Countdown Has Begun

Just over two hours until the 3-hour extravaganza that is the "Lost" Season 4 finale! I'm counting the 8 p.m. rerun since it includes extra footage and hopefully will provide a perfect lead-in to the last two episodes for the year. I hear there will be deaths. And I'm expecting a final scene that's worthy of taking its place along side the mysterious opened hatch of Season 1, Penelope and the Portuguese-speaking radiomen of Season 2, and the series changing flash forward of Season 3. Check back tomorrow night as I blog my little heart out for the last official recap of 2008.

"There's No Place Like Home" Part 1 (Season 4, Episode 12)

I believe if you re-watch last night's show (which gets its title from the famous line in "The Wizard of Oz") in two weeks when it airs before the two-hour finale, you will see the foundation that was being laid down in this episode. Although not overwhelming in revelations or introducing a myriad of new questions, the stage is being set for the final confrontation between the freighter folk and the survivors, with the island's original Others thrown into the mix for good measure.

Best Line

• "Jesus Christ is not a weapon." Hurley's mom as her son brandished a golden statue of Jesus.
  

Did You Notice?

• Oceanic rep Karen Decker was played by Michelle Forbes, who sci-fi fans may know as Cain from "Battlestar Galactic" or Ensign Ro from "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
  
• Along with the reoccurring them of car accidents and a soundtrack with songs from dead singers, "Lost"has perfected the dialogue-free reunion scene with an appropriately moving instrumental score. Last night's reunion of the Oceanic Six with their respective families on the airport tarmac was one of the best, especially Sayid being embraced by Hurley's parents and Kate noticeably without anyone.
  
• Jack's mother was once again played by Veronica Hamel, who may be best known for her role on "Hill Street Blues". (For you youngins, this was the police show of its time, long before Law & Order even was around, let alone had its first spin-off.)
  
• Faraday's notebook pages featuring the Orchid logo also contained the phrases "TimeLike Factor" and "SpaceLike Factor".
• Faraday obviously knows something about the Second Protocol and of what the Orchid Station is capable.
• Sawyer refers to Ben's village as "New Otherton" which is the name given to it by the show's writers.
• Although the Indonesia island of Sumba is a real place, the supposed crash site of Membata is not. However, the word "membata-bata" in Indonesian means "ambivalent", kind of like the Oceanic Six's feelings about their supposed experiences after the crash.
  
• Who is responsible for the elaborate story the Oceanic Six are obviously telling under duress? Charles Widmore?
• Why does the cover story include two survivors of the crash who then didn't make it?
  
• What a bittersweet reunion of Sayid and Nadia, seeing them reunited at last but knowing she will be killed.
• Ben states that moving the island is "dangerous and unpredictable" as well as "a measure of last resort." If he's not going to move it in time, then I don't know this show as well as I think I do.
• I believe Ben was signaling Richard Alpert and the Others with the mirror.
• Didn't Charlotte actually seem sorry to see Faraday go off on the raft?
  
• I loved Sun in Alexis-Carrington-from-Dynasty mode as she informed her father that she had bought the controlling stock in his company.
• If Sun's dad is one of the two people responsible for Jin's death (presuming he is dead), then who is the other? Her? Widmore?
  
• Hurley had a takeout bag from Mr. Cluck's Chicken Snack, his former place of employment.
• Was the whispering heard as Hurley entered his parents' house really just those of the party guests or remnants of the island?
• The disc jockey at Hurley's birthday party had a Geronimo Jackson album by his turntable.
  
• The car Hurley's dad gives him is the one he drove in the police chase in this season's first episode.
• The car's key chain is a rabbit's foot not unlike the one the Coast Guard pilot is holding in the beginning of this episode.
• I loved the look Sun and Jin gave Michael upon first seeing him on the freighter.
  
• I wonder when Claire's mother came out of the coma she was in? If you remember in Claire's flashback when it was revealed that Christian was her father, her mother had been involved in a car accident and was hospitalized.
• I feel that the expression on Jack's face when he realized Claire was his half sister may have been one of the best acting moments on this series.
• Terrific irony that Claire's mother is unknowingly looking at her own grandson when she compliments Kate on Aaron.
• So does the hold full of C-4 explosive and the mysterious broadcast signal have anything to do with the device strapped to Keamy's arm?
• I loved Locke's reaction when Ben handed him his Sharper Image retractable cattle-prod thingy.
  
• Is there a legitimate reason that the actual Orchid Station is underground?
  
• I am still anxious to see how the group that are the Oceanic Six manages to be the ones who make it off the island since at this show's end, they were all scattered about.
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• Over the satellite phone, we hear Lapidus say the chopper is 5 klicks from the site.
• Oceanic rep Karen Decker said that on day 108, the 6 survivors made to the island of Sumba.
  
• Aaron is said to be 5 weeks old at the press conference.
  
• The reporter wants confirmation from Kate that she was 6 months pregnant when she got on Flight 815.
  
• Ben points out to Hurley that the Dharma soda crackers are 15 years old.
• Mr. Paik is told by his associate that 5 different banks were used, presumably in Sun's takeover of the company.
  
• On Hurley's car, the speedometer read 481516 and the trip meter displayed 2342.
  
• The closest Hendricks will approach the island is 5 miles off the coast.
• Jack said he wrote his father's eulogy on a cocktail napkin 10 months ago.
• Claire's mother said Flight 815 was 6 hours in the air when it crashed.
  

Previews - No new show next week but then on May 29, this episode will rerun at 8 p.m. EST with the final two episodes airing at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. It all comes down to this!

"Cabin Fever" (Season 4, Episode 11)

John Locke is one of the most intriguing people on "Lost". From the first episode when he asked Walt "Do you want to know a secret?" (I can't wait to hear what that is!), this man of faith has always been my favorite character. No surprise than that last night's show which featured his flashbacks - way back! - was one of the most intriguing episodes.

Best Line

• "He wants us to move the island." Locke explaining to Ben and Hurley what has to be done. I kept waiting for the episode to reveal the weekly best line and, although there were some good ones (Locke's summation of the Dharma Initiative as the makers of ranch dressing to Hurley's dream-induced exclamation of "Mallomars!"), it wasn't until the final seconds that I got my line. "Lost" has always had great last lines right before that musical BUM! but this one was a doozy!
  

Did You Notice?

• The song Emily was listening to in her bedroom was "Everyday" by Buddy Holly. This song was released in 1957. Along with Patsy Cline and Glenn Miller, Holly is yet another musician whose songs have been used on the show and who died in a plane crash.
• Are we to believe that Emily's older boyfriend is con man Anthony Cooper (a.k.a. real Sawyer)?
• Emily being hit by a car can be added to the reoccurring theme of car accidents (Michael being hit, Locke almost being run over in a parking lot, Kate getting in a car accident while fleeing the hospital). However, the car that hit Emily was not the Mystery Car of Death involved in the other accidents. Perhaps its predecessor?
  
• Is it a coincidence that both Locke's mother and Ben's mother share the same first name? Also, Ben and Locke are the only two characters who have had flashbacks to immediately before they were born and then showing different stages of their childhood.
• Keamy not being able to kill Michael echoes Michael's own attempt to kill himself and the island preventing it. We saw this same situation earlier this season when Jack pulled the trigger on Locke and nothing happened.
• Another reoccurring theme was the close-up shot of Locke's eyeball.
• This is the fourth dream/vision that Locke has had on the island. His first involved Boone and finding the crashed small aircraft. Then, he dreamt he was Mr. Eko and found the Pearl Station. His third dream was in the sweat lodge when he saw all the survivors in an airport setting.
• Interesting that Jacob's cabin started off as a getaway for Horace and the missus.
• The repeating nature of Locke's dream is reminiscent of a time loop.
  
• Not surprising that Horace Goodspeed wishes Locke "Godspeed."
• Is it significant that Emily's mother wanted to smoke in the nursery? Did this have some long term effect on baby Locke and the smoke monster of the island?
• Island native Richard Alpert has been watching over Locke since his birth. Hmm.
• So Locke considers Hurley "special" since he could see Jacob's cabin.
  
• I like that when Locke says they're making a pit stop, the stop actually involves a pit!
• Young Locke was playing backgammon as we saw him do in Season One with Walt.
• Young Locke is told he is "special" as was Walt.
• Young Locke's drawing could definitely be construed as a child's version of the smoke monster.
• The objects Alpert shows young Locke included a baseball glove; the Book of Laws (which I felt had a biblical look to it); a vile of what appeared to be sand (from the island?); a compass, a comic book (Mystery Tales with the cover story "The Hidden Land" and an accompanying picture of a city in the clouds - Cloud City? A Star Wars reference?); and a knife. Alpert seems pleased when Locke chooses the vile of sand (he is one with the island?) and the compass (he has a sense of direction?) but not when Locke picks up the knife (he could be violent?).
  
• I believe Ben is referring to Richard Alpert when he tells Hurley it was the Others Leader's decision to kill the Dharma people.
• The mercenary who dies from wounds sustained by the smoke monster's attack is named Mayhew. The actor who played Chewbacca is Peter Mayhew. Another Star Wars reference?
• Is the sickness affecting the freighter crew the same condition that Rousseau's crew succumbed to?
• Charles Widmore would seem to be associated with the Dharma Initiative as his secondary protocol document bears the logo of the as-yet-unseen Orchid Station.
• Could the "Temple" be the one place Ben can go to escape the island being torched?
• I'm guessing Sayid is only able to get one zodiac boat-load of people (Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sun, and Aaron) off the island and to the freighter before the rest are stranded.
  
• On the inside of the door of teenage Locke's locker was a poster of the band Geronimo Jackson, first seen as an album in the Swan Station by Charlie and Hurley, then later on a t-shirt worn by undercover policeman Eddie at the commune in Locke's third season flashback.
• The summer science camp is sponsored by Mittelos, the same company that recruited Juliet. Mittelos is also an anagram of "lost time". If Locke had gone, would he then have been a man of science like Jack?
  
• Teenage Locke's statement "Don't tell me what I can't do!" is also what the wheelchair bound Locke said to the Australian walkabout travel agent in Season One.
• Lapidius found Michael's belief that Widmore re-created the crash of Oceanic 815 very amusing and bordering on conspiracy theory. What does he know that we don't?
  
• I'm wondering if the device strapped to Keamy's arm is some sort of time stabilization device so no matter where - or when - the island goes, he'll be with it. Almost like an electronic constant.
• Ben reveals that he was also once considered "special" and the "chosen one". It is obvious in this episode that Ben is reluctantly passing the mantel of authority over to Locke.
  
• Paralyzed Locke was at the Delerue Center for Rehabilitation. Georges Delerue was a renowned French film composer. He died of a heart attack and not in a plane crash.
  
• The second I heard the orderly's voice I knew it was Abaddon. What was the miracle that changed him? When he is telling Locke about his walkabout, there seems to be a guttural effect (not unlike demonic possession) to his voice when he says "Who I was." Then right before the elevator doors closed, I swear his eyes did something freaky. I re-watched the scene frame-by-frame on my DVR until I got too creeped out by his face. He just reminded me of the devil or an alien so much I couldn't watch it again.
• Now that the freighter doctor has had his throat cut and thrown overboard, does this mean the island does not exist 30 minutes in the past as Faraday's test proved, but maybe 23 hours and 30 minutes in the future?
• I wondered if it was symbolic that the satchel Lapidus threw out of the chopper landed on and collapsed what appeared to be Claire's shelter with Aaron's empty crib.
  
• Jack's dad did not have on his burial suit and trademark white sneakers that we've seen him in up until now. He appeared to have similar clothes to the island natives and a pair of work boots.
• Claire seemed very un-Claire-like to me. Could she be dead. My co-worker Geoff wondered if she wasn't killed when her house collapsed on her. Is it possible the island can only control dead bodies, ones with no will of there own, and is using her and Jack's dad to communicate with the survivors?
• In the humorous scene of Hurley and Ben waiting for Locke, I swore I heard ghostly whispering, including a "Yessss" when Hurley gave Ben a part of his (Apollo?) candy bar.
  
• As soon as Locke said they needed to move the island, my first thought was that they're going to move it in time, not geographically.
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• Emily said she was almost 6 months pregnant in the opening flashback.
• The freighter captain pointed out that there are 2 keys to the safe.
  
• The captain told Sayid and Desmond that there was a pantry big enough for 2 men and to meet him in 10 minutes behind the container.
• Desmond said he has spend 3 years on the island.
  

Previews - Next week's "There's No Place Like Home" features the homecoming of what the media apparently dub the Oceanic Six. This show will also mark the return of Jack's mother, Hurley's dad, and Sun's father as I imagine they are reunited with their children. This is considered the first hour of the three-hour finale. Also, my co-worker Ben pointed out to me the news item that the final two 16-episode seasons in 2009 and 2010 have been expanded to 17 shows each, on account of this year's season being shortened by the writers strike. You can never have too much "Lost"!

"Something Nice Back Home" (Season 4, Episode 10)

On Thanksgiving Day of 1982, I woke up with an appendicitis. Missing out on Mom's turkey dinner seemed pretty bad, but compared to what Jack went through in last night's show, maybe not so much. My operation was pretty uneventful, other than the out-of-body experience, but that's a story for another day. On to the show. Last week's show was all about action and intrigue. Tonight's was all about emotions and characters.

Best Line

• "Yeah, I getcha." Miles' response to Sawyer threatening him with a boot to his face unless he says "I getcha."
  

Did You Notice?

• The show opens as it often has with a close-up of an eye.
• Is Rose right that Jack's sudden medical emergency coincides with him trying to leave the island? His pain did seem to peak instantly after he vowed to get everyone off the island.
  
• Is it significant that Jack had a shaved chest in the future? In Season 2, when Jack came out of the Swan station's shower, he had a hairy chest. Also, Juliet had to shave him in preparation for the appendectomy. Hair today, gone tomorrow? And where was his appendectomy scar? Mine is still visible 23 years later and my operation wasn't performed in a hut on an island.
• Besides the writers love for "Star Wars", was the toy Millennium Falcon included because Han Solo claimed it made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, which is not a measurement of time but of distance? Are they implying that what we presume is time-travel is in fact travel instead over a great distance?
  
• Based on the score of the Red Sox World Series game shown in the newspaper, it is apparently late summer 2007 when these flash forwards take place. We know it's after Kate's trial and presumably before the events of last season's finale when a distraught Jack desperately wanted to get back to the island. This time frame would make Aaron almost three years old.
  
• Aaron's mobile of the planets may have been shown to remind us that there is more to the universe than just Earth.
• Jack is reading from "Alice in Wonderland", specifically Chapter 2 where Alice has found herself in a strange new world.
• I believe Claire's comment to Sawyer that she was seeing things refers to a scene cut from last week's episode when she saw Charlie.
• Why were Rousseau and Karl buried? So no one would find the bodies?
• Why is Sawyer suddenly so protective of Claire and baby Aaron?
  
• Jack's associate at the hospital wants him to look at an x-ray of an L4 vertebrae, which is also the same place on Ben's spine where his tumor was located.
• Dr. Stillman at Hurley's hospital bears a striking similarity to his other doctor, Dr. Brooks, who was seen in the episode "Dave", right down to the glasses and sweater.
  
• Interesting that Hurley believes that the Oceanic Six are all dead and in heaven. Is it possible that the surprise in this season's finale is that they die while escaping the island? Although the producers early on dismissed the theory of the islanders being in Purgatory, could it be possible that they were telling the truth at the time and that now Jack, Kate, Hurley, Aaron, and Sun (no longer islanders) don't survive? I purposely leave Sayid out of this theory because his interaction with Ben makes me think he, if not the others, is alive and well in the future.
• Charlie's message to Jack, "You're not supposed to raise him", mirrors the warning the psychic gave a pregnant Claire that her as-yet-unborn child should not be raised by another.
• Apparently, the smoke monster only chased off Keamy and the other freighter mercenaries last week.
• Looks like Jin won't hesitate to fall back on his enforcer ways to ensure Sun and his baby leave the island.
  
• In case you missed it, Juliet reminds Jack that Bernard is a dentist, making him a logical choice to assist in a medical procedure.
• Bernard's comment to Jack that he could be dreaming about something nice back home reflects (at least initially) the future Jack shares with Kate. Does this call into play the question of whether Jack's future is real or a figment of his imagination?
• Although the sign above the front desk indicated that Jack was back working at St. Sebastian's Hospital, the setting had much more of an upscale private practice appearance as opposed to the more traditional city hospital look it has had in past episodes.
  
• Was Jack's dad (white shoes and all) a manifestation of the smoke monster, explaining why his appearance occurred moments after the smoke detector went off?
  
• I think Kate's promise to Sawyer was that she would check on his illegitimate daughter, Clementine.
• So Sawyer chose to stay on the island. He had previously stated he had nothing to go back to. Was everyone given a choice to go or stay?
• I got the impression that when Jack pointed out to Kate that she was not even related to Aaron that there was the unspoken comment that Jack was, as if he had found out about his and Claire's family connection at some point.
• I loved that Kate seemed to have picked up Sawyer's habit of using nicknames when she called Aaron "Sweet Pea".
• Where has Claire gone with her dad (or what appears to be her dad)? Is he bringing her to Jacob?
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• Jack comments that his incision will be 2 inches lower than where Juliet is shaving him.
• Jack's appointment with his patient, Miss Berenberg, is at 5 a.m.
• Jack's associate has an x-ray of an L4 she wants him to examine.
  
• Kate mentions on the phone that Jack is not never home before 8.
• Jack points out that the nanny only works until 4 and he came home at 6.
  

Previews - Next week's "Cabin Fever" gives us a look back to John Locke's childhood as well as yet another appearance by Jack's dad, Christian Shephard; the never aging Richard Alpert; the
mysterious Matthew Abaddon; and Horace Goodspeed. If you didn't recognize him in the previews, he was the long-haired man with the ax that tells Locke he's been dead for 12 years. Horace is also the same man who brought young Ben and his father to the island and who was later killed by Ben when the village was gassed. Some people (including my co-workers Marilyn and Brian) wonder if he may be Jacob. He's got the hair for it. Plus, with a title like "Cabin Fever", you know the mystery man may show up. Also, TV Guide reports that "in a flashback scene that perhaps represents the narrative device's greatest leap in time so far on the series, we'll bear witness to a historic event that has significant repercussions on 'present-day' events on the island." Wow. This is building up to what could be one of the best episodes of the season.

"Lost" in Space?

From a recent TV Guide interview by late night host and huge "Lost" fan Jimmy Kimmel with the show's producers, Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof:

Kimmel: Is everyone on the island from planet Earth?
Cuse: [Long pause] Yes. That may be one of the best Lost questions we've ever been asked.
Lindelof: When you get asked questions like that, you have to be very careful how you answer.

A hint? A clue? So everyone on the island is from Earth, but does that necessarily mean the island is on Earth? A parallel Earth?

Today's the Day!

In less than four hours, "Lost" returns with the first of the final set of episodes for this season. While you're waiting for it to start or if you are reading this on Friday and I haven't yet posted my weekly thoughts, check out these theories from USA Today's website. Once you read one, grade it, and submit it and you will see the producers' own grades and comments. Very interesting reading. Thanks to Ben (no, not that one) for bringing this to my attention.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2008-04-23-lost_N.htm

Two More Days!

Just a little over 48 hours until the return of "Lost". Remember, it's now at 10 p.m. EST. Get ready for a body washing up on the beach, a blaze of bullets, and the mysterious Code 14-J.

"Lost" to Last a Little Longer

With 11 days until "Lost" returns, there has been some surprising news. Originally, this season was supposed to be 16 episodes, but the Writers Strike changed that to only 13. Now, however, the producers have announced there will be an extra hour added to this season, resulting in what is essentially a three-hour finale! Before you clear your calendar, here's how the shows are going to air. The first hour of that finale will air on May 15 at 10 p.m., and then we have to wait two weeks until May 29 for the last two hours. This means no "Lost" on May 22. According to tvguide.com, the producers convinced ABC that the final two hours had to air together. And with the finales of Grey's and Ugly Betty already slated for May 22 at 8 and 9 p.m. respectively, ABC really had no other choice than to schedule "Lost"'s two-hour exit for May 29. If you really want a true three-hour finale, wait until the 29th when the first hour will be replayed at 8 p.m. before the new two hours at 9 p.m. Can there ever be too much "Lost"?

"Meet Kevin Johnson" (Season 4, Episode 8)

We've had episodes with flashbacks. We've had episodes with flash forwards. We've even had flashbacks and flash forwards in one episode. But last night's "Meet Kevin Johnson" gave us a show made up almost entirely of one long flashback with events on the island bookending Michael's story. This episode continues the practice of giving actors airtime even after their characters have died. Libby, Tom, George Minkowski, and Naomi all made appearances.

Best Line

• "We kinda like knew that forever ago." Hurley response to Miles' statement that the freighter folk were here for Ben.
  

Did You Notice?

• Was "heightened cabin fever" again to blame for the freighter crew trying to steal an inflatable raft and the captain's harsh reaction?
  
• Did my fellow Star Wars fans notice a similarity between Michael in his hoodie and the Emperor? Decide for yourself.
  

• The map Ben provided to Alex had a Dharma logo where the temple was located.
• The song playing on Michael's car radio (and again in the freighter's engine room) was "It's Getting Better" by Mama Cass. Desmond was listening to Mama Cass in the hatch when he was first introduced.
• Michael waking up in the hospital featured another of the show's recurring shot of a close-up of an eye.
• Some on-line theorists believe the unconscious man in the hospital bed next to Michael was Alvar Hanso.
• It was appropriate that "Dr. Libby" be carrying blankets since she had come to get one for her and Hurley's picnic when Michael shot her in the hatch.
• The watch Michael pawned belonged to Jin.
• I know the bottle Michael picked up in the alley has to be significant. It's either the brand the monks made when Desmond was one of them or what Charles Widmore had in his office when Desmond came to ask for Penny's hand in marriage.
• Tom tells Michael that "the island won't let you" referring to killing himself. Does this mean the car accident that stopped future Jack from jumping off the bridge was the work of the island? Does this mean future Sayid would have survived the gunshot whether Ben removed the bullet or not? And was there no fear of Sun dying while giving birth?
• The game show playing on Michael's television featured the question "Who was the author of the book Slaughter House Five?" with the contestant correctly answering "Kurt Vonnegut". The host then asks if she can name the book's protagonist before the news bulletin interrupts. Slaughterhouse Five tells the story of Billy Pilgrim who has become "unstuck in time" and features time travel as a plot device. Faraday had used the term "unstuck in time" when explaining his experiments with Eloise the rat to Desmond at Oxford.
  
• Tom was staying in the Penthouse Suite of the Hotel Earle. A real place in New York, it is now called The Washington Square Hotel and was home to Bob Dylan. In the movie "Barton Fink", the fictional Hotel Earle symbolized Hell.
• Now we know why Tom had no interest in Kate in the shower in Season 3. He had told her she wasn't his type. Kate and Arturo don't seem to have much in common.
• Charles Widmore really wanted to find the island! Buying an airliner, digging up over 300 graves in Thailand. What won't this guy do? The really question is what's the reason for his obsession?
• The freighter was docked at the Port of Suva, the largest and busiest port in Fiji.
• The activation code to the explosion device was 71776. As in July 1776? Significant?
• Did you hear the ghostly whispering before Libby appeared in the engine room?
• Karl's comment "I just have a bad feeling about this" was no doubt the writers tip of the hat to the Star Wars films, in all of which a variation of this line appears.
• I think it's a good bet that Karl is dead but what about Rousseau? I don't think we've seen the last of the crazy French lady. And who is the shooter or shooters? The freighter folk? Is this why we saw them practice shooting in Michael's flashbacks? Or is it Ben's people? Or could it be the island's original, never aging inhabitants?
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• Locke tells the neighborhood watch meeting that Miles and 3 of his people came to the island.
• The freighter captain reminds the crew to remember what happened to the last 2 men who took off.
  
• Sawyer questions Locke about his failure to mention Miles' $3 million offer to Ben.
• Michael's mother (no, that wasn't Martin Lawrence in "Big Momma's House 3") wanted to know where he was for the last 2 months.
• The pawn broker offers Michael $3 hundred for the watch.
• Tom mentions that Walt is 10 years old when confronting Michael in the alley.
• On the phone, Tom suggests that Michael wait a day or 2 before opening the "care package".
• We see the demolition countdown clock with 10 seconds remaining, then again when it counts down from 4 to 3 to 2.
• Rousseau allows Alex and Karl to stop for 2 minutes on their journey to the temple.
• Rousseau tells Alex to run on the count of 3.
  

Previews - Any doubt as to who makes up the Oceanic Six was removed as Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Sun, and yes, baby Aaron were shown to be the ones in last night's previews. Good news is it looks like things come to a head between the islanders and the freighter folk on the next episode. The bad news is that show is four weeks away. After the mini-hiatus, "Lost" returns on Thursday, April 24, but in a new time slot at 10:00 p.m. EST.

While you're waiting for the return, check out a fan's amazing website theorizing about how time travel is at the heart of "Lost". It has the show's events in chronological order and a very well thought-out theory of where in time the island exists. I found it incredible. See for yourself at http://www.timelooptheory.com/

"The Other Woman" (Season 4, Episode 6)

First off, a few follow-up notes to last week's "The Constant". From the 8 p.m. enhanced version, the purple light from Faraday's device which bathed over Eloise was meant to parallel the purple sky from the Season 2 finale when the hatch imploded. Also, the Black Rock was captained by Magnus Hanso, a relative of both the journal's owner and the founder of the Dharma Initiative. After re-watching the obvious love between Desmond and Penny, I now believe the "Adam and Eve" skeletons from season 1 will turn out to be them. Somehow they will travel into the island's past to escape her father's manipulations where they will live happily ever after until Jack stumbles upon their bones in the cave.

Tonight's episode's title "The Other Woman" makes you wonder to whom it refers. Juliet in regards to Goodwin and Harper? Harper herself? Juliet in regards to Jack and Kate? Juliet as the woman from the Others? Ben's past love?

Best Lines

• "She's my wife." Goodwin responding to Juliet's assessment that Harper is a mean and spiteful person.
• "This didn't have a number on it, did it?" Ben to Locke when served a cooked rabbit, referring to his Number 8 bunny from last season.
  

Did You Notice?

• My initial reaction to therapist Harper Stanhope was that she is one of the island's long-lived natives like Dr. Richard Alpert. In other words, Harper's bizarre. This feeling was even stronger when she appeared out of the blue right after the ghostly whispers and introduced herself to Jack as an "old" friend of Juliet's. I believe Ben used Harper to get to know more about Juliet.
• Add Tom to the list of characters with daddy issues.
• Coincidence that it started raining as the foursome began searching for Faraday and Charlotte?
  
• Okay, I just tried listening to the ghostly whispering audio from a website that had it as it aired and in reverse. I couldn't hear anything distinct and only managed to scare myself!
  
• The new Dharma electrical station, The Tempest, shares the same name as a play by Shakespeare, which features a group of characters stranded on an island. The logo for the station is a stylized tidal wave, possibly foreshadowing the tsunami?
• Henrietta is mentioned as the latest pregnant woman to be lost.
• Faraday's map features three areas marked "Unknown".
• Who is it that Juliet looks like that has Ben "You're Mine!" Linus so obsessed? I don't believe it's his mother since we saw her last season in his flashback. I think it's a long lost love and the same woman featured in the portrait in Ben's house. Seen last season and again last night when Ben opened the door for Juliet, the woman bears a striking resemblance to her, is seated in a wicker chair, and is holding a small furry animal in her lap (a bunny?).
• As Locked walked Ben down the hallway, there is a collage picture frame of photos of what looks like parents and children.
• Is the video tape of the taped-over Boston Red Sox the same one Ben showed to Jack in the Hydra Station to prove the Others had contact with the outside world? If so, then the incident with Charles Widmore occurred after the crash of Flight 815. Who was the videographer - Ben? Widmore's knowledge of the island no doubt comes from his purchase of the Black Rock's journal in 1996.
• Ben and Juliet discussed the two tail section children, Zack and Emma. Ben comments that were on the list, apparently referring to Jacob's list.
• The Tempest computer monitor that Faraday was looking at had the message "CROSS FEED ASS 16 OVERPRESSURE ALERT". Ass? Overpressure? Well, it did have to do with gas.
• Were the writers thinking of the old saying "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades" by showing Hurley and Sawyer playing the game while Miles, we assume, remains with his explosive mouthful nearby?
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• Ben points out to Juliet that her new living arrangements include 2 bedrooms and 2 baths.
• Juliet believes she will only be on the island for 6 months.
• The Tempest Dharma station brings the count to 8.
• The pregnancy problems occur in the 2nd trimester.
• Juliet tells Goodwin she has an appointment with his wife in 10 minutes.
• The combination to Ben's wall safe is 36-15-28.
• Ben mentions that the Virgin Mary mold story happened 3 months ago and that 5 thousand people came to see it.
• Juliet comments that Goodwin has been undercover with the Tailies for 3 weeks.
• The Tempest computer announces that contamination will occur in 10 seconds.
• The countdown is 5, 4, 3, and 2 before it stops.
  

Previews - Next week's "Ji Yeon" features a number of scenes with Sun and Jin, a note that reads "DON'T TRUST THE CAPTAIN", a woman (Regina?) wrapped in chains thrown off the freighter, and promises the revelation of the last of the Oceanic 6. Now if you doubt that baby Aaron is one of them, then this leaves the door open for two people. Will it be Sun and/or Jin and/or their baby? Will it be Michael? Or could it be an adult Walt? Is this why Ben told Locke he might want to sit down before revealing his man on the boat this week?

How Season 4 Will Play Out

The latest schedule is as follows:

Episode 6: March 6
Episode 7: March 13
Episode 8: March 20
(4-week break)
Episode 9: April 24
Episode 10: May 1
Episode 11: May 8
Episode 12: May 15
Episode 13: May 22 (season finale)

"The Constant" (Season 4, Episode 5)

Two things before we get into last night's time trippy episode. First, this blog has received over 5,000 hits since its inception. Nowhere near the most visited web page in the history of the Internet, but I appreciate everyone's interest in my ramblings and crazy theories. Second, if you are not watching the enhanced version of the previous week's episode (every Thursday at 8:00 p.m. EST) which precedes the new one, I would highly recommend it. I watched "Eggtown" last night, thoroughly enjoying the informational captions. It's like watching the show and reading my blog at the same time. I personally appreciated the confirmation of some of my observations. New things I learned:

• The basement where Ben is being kept by Locke is the same room where Ben had held Locke's father captive. (Sorry for doubting you, Joel!)
• The location where the L.A. courtroom scenes were filmed was a YWCA in Hawaii.
• Shawn Doyle, the actor who played Kate's lawyer, also appeared with the actress who plays Juliet in the 2000 film "Frequency". This was the movie where Jim Caviezel played a man who connects with his dead father (Dennis Quaid) across time via a radio. The name of the character Shawn played in that movie? Jack Shepard! Bizarre.
  

On to last night's new episode. Perception. Displacement. Side effects. Progression is exponential. Time travel makes my head hurt. This is not your father's "Back to the Future". Closer to "Quantum Leap". A number of co-workers I talked to today felt "The Constant" was one of the show's best episodes. After viewing it a second time, it's definitely up there. Getting confirmation that time is definitely a factor in the overall storyline is satisfying. From a production standpoint, the editing of scenes as Desmond jumped between 1996 and 2004 was seamless. And that final moment between Desmond and Penny makes you forget about any other love triangles or quadrangles on the show.

Best Line

• "Do I get one?" A concerned Desmond to Faraday as the physicist dons a lead apron for protection from radiation.
  

Did You Notice?

• The helicopter's cheat sheet show the freighter at 40 miles N@305" and 7 K east.
• The cockpit's dial showed a heading of 31 - the same number of minutes off the island is. Minutes are also used in navigation along with degrees and seconds. Could Faraday's payload test from the earlier episode be about the island's navigational location more than time?
• The freighter's name is Kahana, a Hawaiian boy's name meaning priest.
• Those freighter folks (Keamy from Las Vegas, Omar from Florida, and Dr. Ray) are not the friendliest bunch. Maybe Ben was right way back when he said he and the Others were the good guys.
• George Minkowski was the voice on the satellite phone first heard in last season's finale. He was played by Fisher Stevens, who was a regular on TV's "Early Edition", the 1996 series about a man who receives a newspaper from 24 hours in the future.
• Interesting that Dr. Ray examines Desmond's eyes since the close-up of an eye is a common theme on the show.
• Dr. Ray hits the button labeled "Emergency System Activation" which sounds an alarm not unlike the one in the hatch when the countdown clock ticked down too low.
• Why was the freighter crew not allowed to receive Penny's calls? Was her father, Charles Widmore, behind this order?
• Was the person who sabotaged the communication equipment the same one who unlocked the sickbay door? Was this Ben's man on the ship? Was it Michael?
• The Black Rock is of course the same ship that ran aground on the island and contained the dynamite. Did Charles Widmore want the ledger to try and locate the ship or to suppress its discovery? The journal belonged to Tovard Hanso - a relative to Alvar Hanso who created the Dharma Initiative? The back story of the freighter that discovered the "wreck" of Oceanic 815 was that it was searching for the Black Rock. Coincidence? Not on this show.
• Why did Charles Widmore leave the water running with the drain shut in the restroom?
• Penny's neighborhood of Cheyne Walk in Chelsea has been home to the Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
  
• Is it significant to know that this episode took place on December 24, 2004? In the real world, two days later, the deadly tsunami will occur caused by an undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean. Will the show experience the effects of this disaster?
• Did you get the impression that the message in Faraday's journal "If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant" was something he had not seen before?
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• Lapidus says the helicopter is 2 miles from the freighter.
• Desmond has 2 days leave from the army.
• Desmond believes it is 1996 when it is actually 2004, a 8 year difference.
• 2.342 is what Faraday tells Desmond the device should be set at, a combination of two of the numbers, 23 and 42.
• Desmond tells Faraday he believed he was in the future for 5 minutes.
• George says the communication was sabotaged 2 days ago.
• The Black Rock's journal at auction is lot number 2342.
  
• Penny's address is 423 Cheyne Walk.
  
• Penny tells Desmond she's being searching for him for 3 years.
  

Previews - Next week's "The Other Woman" included scenes of Faraday and Charlotte in white bio hazard suits being threatened by Juliet. This episode is expected to feature flashbacks of her, all on the island yet Penny's dad, Charles Widmore, makes a reappearance. That should be interesting.

"Eggtown" (Season 4, Episode 4)

The ending to last night's episode, "Eggtown", was either what you expected or you obviously have never read my blog before this or don't work with me and listen to my daily theories on the show and were thus surprised. Allow me a moment of self-congratulation on suspecting the "him" in future Kate's life in last season's finale was not a boyfriend or husband, but a baby. And Claire's baby Aaron at that! I can't wait to see the circumstances that led to this. Is whatever happened so bad that this is why Jack cannot bear to see him? Or does it have something to do with Jack learning that Aaron is his half-nephew? (Remember, he and Claire have the same dad. They just don't know it - yet.) My co-worker Shannon is late getting on the "Lost" bandwagon so she is furiously watching the first three seasons. Yesterday, she mentioned that she had just watched the Season 1 episode "Raised by Another" where Claire visits the psychic. In it, the man first warns Claire that her unborn baby should not be raised by another (an Other), then insists that she give her baby to a couple in Los Angeles, going so far as to buy her airline ticket. Could this man and woman actually have been a vision of Jack and Kate in the future?

Best Line

• "You just totally Scooby Doo-ed me, didn't you?" Hurley to Kate after she tricks him into revealing where Miles is being kept.
  

Did You Notice?

• If anyone has a theory as to why last night's episode was titled "Eggtown", I would love to hear it. Sure, Locke served Ben eggs and eggs play a part in pregnancy, but Eggtown?
  
• Another trademark "Lost" eye close-up. This time of Locke as he awoke in Ben's hospital bed.
• On the refrigerator door was a can of Dharma Initiative spiced pork (better known as Spam).
  
• The book Locke provided to Ben was science fiction author Philip K. Dick's "VALIS". This is an acronym for Vast Active Living Intelligence System. (Is this what the smoke monster is?) The plot summary from the author's website describes the book: "A coterie of religious seekers forms to explore the revelatory visions of one Horselover Fat; a semi-autobiographical dialogue of the author. The groups hermeneutical research leads to a rock musician's estate where they confront the Messiah: a two-year old named Sophia. She confirms their suspicions that an ancient, mechanical intelligence orbiting the earth has been guiding their discoveries." (Light reading, then.) Locke's suggestion to Ben to re-read it as he might catch something he missed the second time around sounds like the show's writers inside joke to all the obsessed viewers (who, me?).
  
• I liked the almost deja vu aspect of Ben locked up and Locke as his captor going back to the similar situation in Season 2 in the hatch. Even the ability of Ben's words to drive Locke to a show of frustration and anger.
• It appears Sawyer may be living in Juliet's house. In which case, the clothes he offered her would have been Juliet's.
  
• The bearded man in the crowd outside the courthouse sounded like he shouted "We're gonna get you back!" Was he referring to the island? And was it me or did he look like Rupert from "Survivor: Pearl Islands"? Another inside joke? An island survivor like Kate?
• The judge's last name was Galzethron. I could find no significance to this but wanted to note it.
• We learned the answer to the eternal question of which came first - the chicken or the egg? At least in regards to Locke and his culinary skills: Eggs for Ben's breakfast and chicken for dinner. Was this a subtle reference to circularity or paradoxes?
• I'm not certain but this may have been the first time we've seen a clean-shaven Jack. (At least since "Party of Five". No, come to think of it, he had perpetual five o'clock shadow even then.)
• Since Jack swore to tell the truth and proceeded to do everything but that, I'd say he was guilty of perjury. Why did Jack say only eight passengers survived the crash of Flight 815 and Kate was the reason for their survival? How did Kate try to save the other two? The story that has been concocted by Oceanic Airlines (Dharma?) will be an interesting revelation.
• Another sitcom spin-off possibility: "The (Really) Odd Couple" starring Felix Sawyer and Oscar Hurley.
• Sawyer was reading "The Invention of Morel" by Aldofo Bioy Casares. Amazon.com summarizes it as "a masterpiece of plotting, comparable to The Turn of The Screw and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Set on a mysterious island, Bioy's novella is a story of suspense and exploration, as well as a wonderfully unlikely romance, in which every detail is at once crystal clear and deeply mysterious." That last line could easily sum up "Lost"!
• Hurley offers the video tape viewing choice of "Xanadu", the 80's movie starring Olivia Newton John (whose husband in real life went missing) as a Greek muse who takes human form to inspire an artist or "Satan's Doom", which may be the heavy metal band of the same name.
• Add Red Wine in a Box to the list of Dharma Initiative food stuffs.
• Locke playing backgammon with Sawyer harkens back to the pilot episode where he played with Walt (and asked him the question "Do you want to know a secret?" of which we still haven't learned what that secret was).
• Who is the "he" Miles obviously needs to report. Scary Mr. Abaddon?
• The exchange between Miles and Ben regarding the money seemed to me like it was a code, much like Naomi's dying words, "Tell my sister I love her", were a code. Another co-worker of mine, Scott, pointed out that the dollar amounts discussed, 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4, could all be versions or variations of a plan and Ben was confirming it to Miles. Could Ben's comment that it was black mail ("extortion" Miles corrects him) be code for Mr. Abaddon? Black mail/black male? And did the two days being changed to a week have a hidden meaning?
  
• Kate was once again listening to a song by Patsy Cline (who died in a plane crash) as she has in a number of her other episodes. This time it was "I've Got Your Picture" with the lyrics "I've got your picture, she's got you." Appropriate if Kate thinks she's lost Jack to Juliet.
• In case you missed it, the sound we heard when Kate and Sawyer were in the bedroom before he referred to Montezuma was the toilet flushing as Hurley used the nearby bathroom.
• Why was Charlotte testing Faraday with the playing cards? Checking his level of ESP?
  
• Since the chopper has not yet shown up at the freighter, could this confirm my suspicion that the island is more than just 31 minutes in the past?
• I loved the reversal of traditional roles with Sawyer and Kate the morning after. She's done what she needed and is dressing to leave as he begs her to stay.
• Was Kate's mom named Diane Jansen as a tip of the hat to TV actor David Jansen who played "The Fugitive", not unlike her daughter's previous life on the run? (For you young kids, this was the series on which the Harrison Ford movie was based.)
• Why was Kate more than willing to not leave California for 10 years while on probation?
  
• And now we have the fifth member of the Oceanic 6: Aaron. I hear by the seventh episode, we will learn the identity of the remaining one. Will it be Ben using an alias? Could it be Michael?
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• Locke gave Ben the last 2 eggs.
• Locke told Kate dinner was at 6.
• Kate was likely to get a 15 year sentence.
• Jack said there were 8 passengers who survived the crash of Flight 815.
• Miles asked for $3.2 million from Ben and 2 days to deliver it.
• Kate's mother had been told she had 6 months to live for the last 4 years.
• Faraday guesses of the 3 playing cards included the 6 of clubs and a red 10. The card he got wrong was a 3 of spades.
  
• Kate was offered 4 years jail time, then time served with 10 years of probation.
• Her lawyer pointed out that she had saved 5 people.
  

Previews - Next week's "The Constant" reveals the circumstances surrounding the chopper's attempt to return to the freighter. Desmond will be featured in flashbacks, although with him you never know where (or when) he might end up. In the one scene, a short-haired, clean-shaven Desmond demands of a long-haired Faraday: "Am I gonna die?!"

Interview with "Lost" Producers

There is a great interview with the producers of "Lost" on Entertainment Weekly's website.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20179125,00.html

In the discussion, the comment is made that Ben could be a member of the Oceanic 6 if "he doctored some records and adopted the identity of someone on the plane - someone with no friends or family who would know otherwise." No friends or family like the comment Jack made about the man in the coffin at the funeral home? Hmm.

"The Economist" (Season 4, Episode 3)

How can an episode with such a mundane title as "The Economist" have such a jaw-dropping ending? Only on "Lost". Three years and over 70 episodes later and I am still able to be surprised and shocked by twists and turns in the story. Sayid is working for Ben? And he's killing people? Perhaps current members of the Dharma Initiative? In the past, Richard Alpert had Ben gas everyone in Othersville. Could this be the current phase of the native island people's plan? To wipe out the puppet masters who are off the island? And if so, why? Does Dharma do something bad in the future, either intentionally or not, that the island people are trying to prevent?

The Man Behind the Coffin

• With the revelation that Ben makes it off the island (and based on his extensive wardrobe, various passports, luggage, and diverse currencies, he does this a lot!), I now believe it is Ben who is in the coffin in last season's finale. I originally thought it was Michael, partly because of the inner city locale of the funeral home, the fact that he was neither "friend nor family" to Jack, and that no one else showed up. However, the last two could also apply to Ben and the neighborhood might have ended up being the West Coast location of Dr. Ben's chain of veterinary clinics (Berlin and L.A.?).
• Ben's ability to come and go from the island could also be why Jack was pushed to suicide with his death. Ben was Jack's last chance to get back and now that was gone.
• The unrecognized name in the obituary (seen in Jack's hand in last season's finale) could simply be another of Ben's aliases, such as Henry Gale or Dean Moriarty (more on this name below).
  

Best Line

• "Oh, awesome. The ship sent us another Sawyer." Hurley's observation of Miles when he uses the less-than-flattering nickname of Tubby.
  

Did You Notice?

• The opening scene is Sayid praying in the Islamic tradition.
  
• The inscription on Naomi's bracelet reads "N, I'll always be with you. R.C." Is it a lover? Could the "R" stand for Regina, the so-far-unseen woman on the freighter? Or Juliet's sister, Rachel Carlson?
  
• Sayid the "golfer" is at a course in the Seychelles, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. Near the "crash site" of Oceanic Flight 815, I wonder?
• The man Sayid kills on the golf course is named Avellino, which is the name of the patron saint against sudden death, ironically enough. It is also the name of a city in Italy and, on "The Sopranos", the crime family traced their origins to here.
• Sayid the "tourist" is trying to find Potsdamer Platz, once one of the busiest crossings in Europe and currently a tourist attraction in Berlin.
• The circle of volcanic (?) ash would indicate that was where Jacob's cabin once was, but where did it go?
• We clearly see the beginning of Hurley's regret of choosing to follow Locke over Jack.
• According to one website, a deleted scene prior to Sayid, Kate, and Miles entering Othersville showed the trio encountering the sonic fence. Miles the Ghostbuster seems to listen to something that no else hears (ghostly whispering?). Kate believes she can deactivate the fence having seen Juliet do it, but Miles simply walks through it with no repercussions.
• Hurley appears to have been tied up in Juliet's house.
• Jack's question of the Red Sox winning the World Series ties back to Season 3 when Ben held him captive in the Hydra Station and used this sporting news event to make a point.
• Faraday's island beacon clock read 2:45:03 whereas the payload timer read 3:16:22. The island exists 31 minutes in the past. That is if we assume it's the same day. Or the same week. Or the same month. Or even the same year.
• Very symbolic that Ben's decorating choices include many masks.
• The book Sayid notices on the trick bookcase is "The Holy Quron", the holy book of Muslims.
• One of the packs of currency in Ben's hidden room is from the Bank of England.
• The passport Sayid opens lists Ben's name as Dean Moriarty, the same name as a character from Jack Kerouac's novel, "On the Road". Moriarty is also Sherlock Holmes' nemesis.
• Kate watching under the bed as Sawyer enters the bedroom is reminiscent of his point of view when he hid under the bed as his father killed himself.
• Based on his desire to stay on the island, I can bet Sawyer will not willingly become one of the Oceanic 6.
• The Hotel Adlon where Elsa first agrees to meet with her boss is an actual hotel in Berlin, located across from the Brandenburg Gate.
• Is it me or is Sayid not meant to have a long love affair? He rescues Nadia from imminent execution only to have her disappear out of his life. He professes his love to Shannon only minutes before she is shot dead by Ana Lucia. And he has to kill his latest love after she shoots him.
• So whose else is on the list of Sayid's targets besides the Economist? Alvar Hanson? Or are they one and the same?
• Another symbolic moment when Sayid shatters Elsa's mirror (looking glass), essentially destroying his perceived image of her.
• Elsa seemed to be wearing a silver bracelet similar to Naomi's. A trademark of all Dharma operatives?
• Lapidus and Faraday didn't look like they were being completely upfront about whether or not they were familiar with Penelope Widmore.
• What did Charlotte mean when she said "I've got work to do"?
• I imagine the "same, exact bearing" that Faraday insisted the chopper take was probably the same one used previously by the sub and the boat on which Michael and Walt left the island.
• Why does Sayid need to kill Ben's targets to protect his friends?
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• The chopper can carry 3 passengers in addition to Lapidus.
  
• Mr. Avellino suggests Sayid use a 5 iron on the golf course.
• Sayid is to meet Elsa at 8 for dinner.
• Sayid, Kate, and Miles plan on leaving for Othersville in 10 minutes.
• Regina counts down the final approach of the payload to the beacon at 15, 10, and 5 kilometers.
  

Previews - Next week's "Eggstown" focuses on Kate, apparently the next member of the Oceanic 6 as indicated by the mob of journalists swarming around her - no doubt because of her criminal record. It also looks like she and Sawyer rekindle their love in Othersville.

What About the Rest of the Season? - Now that the writers are back to work, it has been announced that an additional five episodes will air this season. Episode 7 will air on March 13 and then there will be a month break. The eighth episode (originally planned as a mini-finale) will herald the show's return on April 17 in its usual time slot of 9 p.m. EST and then the remaining five new episodes will air over the following weeks but an hour later at 10 p.m.

The Future of This Season

Thanks to Greg for this from CNN:

Damon Lindelof is eager for some answers. An executive producer of ABC's mystery serial "Lost," he should learn this week what his show's future holds as it closes out its fourth season.

"Lost" has been back on the air just two weeks. But the strike meant a planned 16-episode shooting schedule was halted after just eight episodes were shot. Fans braced themselves for no more this season.

"But we very much want to come back and do as many episodes as possible," said Lindelof, who then listed a few issues that first need to be settled.

"How many episodes can best serve our story? And what are the production realities?" He noted that the shooting facility in Hawaii, 2,500 miles from his Los Angeles office, had been shuttered since Thanksgiving. The crew has dispersed, the huge cast has scattered.

The first new post-strike episode of "Lost" could possibly be ready for broadcast the week after episode eight appears, he said. There likely would be three or four more after that.

Could there be even more?

"I'd be surprised if the network wanted to air episodes deep into the summer," he said. But if all the pieces fell into place, "Lost" fans would be blessed: "I don't see why we couldn't deliver all eight remaining episodes."

That kind of zeal should warm viewers' hearts. Lindelof and the rest of TV's creative community seem delighted to be back.

"Confirmed Dead" (Season 4, Episode 2)

This episode should have been titled "The Fantastic Four" because of its introduction of the four new characters and the fact that it was so fantastic! This was what I was expecting last week. A show that gave us so much new information that only resulted in a new set of questions. Who are these new people? Why is there a plane that looks like Oceanic 815 at the bottom of the Indian Ocean? And what the heck is the skeleton of a Dharma Hydra Station polar bear doing in a desert in Africa? That eerie opening sequence of the drones searching the ocean floor set the mood. This was also the first time the show departed from some established patterns. Instead of focusing on one character's flashbacks (or flash-forwards for that matter), we had four. Five, if you count Naomi's with the increasingly creepy Matthew Abaddon. And that was the first time a dead character has had a flashback. (Nikki and Paulo were merely unconscious when we saw their's.) This show also featured on-screen location names in each of the flashback's establishing shots (Essex, Massachusetts; Inglewood, California; Medenine, Tunisia; and Eleuthera, Bahamas). In the past, a landmark or spoken line revealed the locale. It was obviously important that we realized these four people came from all over the world.

The Fantastic Four - Now this is how you introduce new characters successfully. (Nikki and Paulo from last season being the unsuccessful way.)

• Daniel Faraday - What a great, frenetic character. Why was he so visibly upset over the discovery of the apparent crash of Flight 815? Was it significant we didn't see the face of his wife? In the world of science, Michael Faraday was a physicist who contributed to the field of electromagnetism - something the island has exhibited - and lends his name to the Faraday Cage, which is an enclosure that blocks out electrical fields.
  
• Miles Straume - Ghostbuster with a Dustbuster. Sarcastic and perfect foil to Daniel. Why is someone who can commune with the dead needed for this mission?
• Charlotte Staples Lewis - Award-winning anthropologist. Did she buy her way into the closed dig site because she knew what she would find there? Is it a coincidence her name is C.S. Lewis, the same as the author of "The Chronicles of Narnia"? Is Ben's box that brings people to the island really a magical wardrobe? Ben claimed to be Henry Gale; could this be an alias for her? Will it turn out she is actually Ben's childhood friend from the Dharma village he grew up in? Is she actually Ben's "man on the boat"?
• Frank Lapidus - He was supposed to be the pilot on doomed Flight 815? Can't wait to see why that didn't work out. I'm thinking some drinking may have been involved. Lapidus is also the name of a kind of granite.
  

Best Lines

• "It was Walt. Only . . . taller." Locke explaining his encounter with Michael's son, who obviously experienced a growth spurt since his last appearance on the show.
• "Karl. Now if you're gonna sleep with my daughter, I insist you call me Ben." Ben chiding Alex's boyfriend after he called him Mr. Linus.
  

Did You Notice?

• The opening sequence of the underwater discovery of the supposedly sunk Flight 815 plane by the ship Christiane I carries over from the on-line interactive experience from the www.flyoceanicair.com website that started earlier this year. The ship had actually been looking for the wreckage of sunken trading ships, specifically the Black Rock.
  
• As the chopper is spinning out of control, Charlotte can be heard asking for her "vest", referring to a bulletproof one. Miles ends up giving her his. Good thing no one shot at him!
  
• Locke seems to be one again with the rain, enjoying its cleansing properties and being able to know when it will stop.
• The look on Hurley's face when he realized he shouldn't know about the cabin was priceless.
• Sawyer referred to Locke as Colonel Kurtz, which was Marlon Brandon's allegedly insane character from "Apocalypse Now".
• Why does the chopper team feel there may be a need for gas masks? Do they know of Ben's past gas antics?
• So if Locke had not donated his kidney to his no-good con artist father back in Season 1, then Ben's bullet would have killed him? Coincidence?
• I loved gun-toting Sayid and Juliet's surprise appearance.
• The photo of Oceanic Air pilot Seth Norris was the same man we saw in the very first episode who got killed by the smoke monster except with a moustache.
• Could the clay-colored cow that Lapidus saw have belonged to Eye Patch? He did have cows outside his abode before Locke blew it up. Or did the Island just feel that Lapidus needed a boost of energy so it sent him a Red Bull?
• Abaddon was pretty adamant that "there were no survivors". I'm guessing he won't be too happy when the Oceanic 6 show up.
• Locke asks the question we've all had since the pilot: "What is the monster?" Too bad Ben didn't know. Or does he?
• Could Ben's "man on the boat" be the same someone who left the island and who we know is returning to the show after an absence and likes to yell "Walt!" a lot?
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• The remote operating drones were 5,000 meters beneath the surface.
• The Christiane I had been scouring the surrounding waters for 2 months.
• There were 2 remote operating vehicles.
• There were 4 people on the chopper.
• Miles wanted $200 to "clean" the grandson's room.
• A football poster in the grandson's room has the number 15 in it.
  
• The phone number for families of the Oceanic 815 passengers was made up of several of The Numbers: 1-888-548-0034. Try calling the phone number. It's real!
• The chopper's tail had N842M on it.
  

Previews - Next week's "The Economist" promises to reveal another member of the Oceanic 6. I'm thinking it will be Sayid as he is featured in a number of the upcoming scenes.

Ho! Ho! Ho?

Thanks to Rene for finding this on the web and bringing it to my attention:

Hurley said he saw Charlie in the convenience store by the Ho Hos. When Jack and Hurley are playing Horse, Jack misses his two shots, getting to "H" and "O". H is the 8th letter of the alphabet and O is the 15th (as in Flight 815 or two of The Numbers). I must be out of practice to have missed this!

Two More Days Too Long to Wait?

Anxious to see this Thursday's episode, "Confirmed Dead"? Check out three short video clips from this week's show at E!'s website: http://www.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/index.jsp?sid=nav-gossip

"The Beginning of the End" (Season 4, Episode 1)

I believe it was Voltaire who said "Sometimes the appetite is more satisfying than the meal." Or was it Dick Van Patten? Whatever, I think I may have been too keyed up for last night's premiere. Don't get me wrong. I liked it. I just wasn't blown away by it. Maybe having watched the replay of the two-hour finale the night before with all its explosions and explosive revelations and quirky commentary (and no, I didn't write the captions as some have asked), this sixty minutes (42 minus the commercials) had a lot to live up to. Also, this episode was obviously laying the groundwork for what's to come in this abbreviated season.

Best Lines

• "Better call the boat. Tell them she's getting a really big bundle of firewood." Ben suggesting to Jack how to adjust his excuse for the missing Naomi.
  

Did You Notice?

• This series knows how to do an opening scene. That pile of mangoes (?) against a blue sky took the viewer right to the island before erupting in a pulpy mess as a car chase exploded across our screen. I thought maybe we were seeing the filming of a scene from Niki's stripper/private investigator series "Expose". Razzle dazzle!
• Hurley's red Camero was the same one featured in the episode with Hurley and his father (played by Cheech Marin).
• The Mystery Car of Death is back! Hurley's car chase ended abruptly when he smashed into the same car that hit Michael, almost backed over Locke, smashed into Kate as she escaped the hospital, and was last seen driving past the flower shop where Anthony Cooper was in the midst of his last scam. Old Mystie gets around.
• There were various styles of mirrors for sale in the parking lost where Hurley's car crashed. Alice in Wonderland reference: looking glasses? Symbolic of mirror universes? None appeared broken so no bad luck. Hmm.
• Who are the Oceanic 6? Six people who made it off the island? We know Jack and Kate did from the finale. We can add Hurley. Who are the remaining three? Could one be the "him" that Kate needed to get back to in the final scene of the finale? And instead of a boyfriend or husband (sorry, Sawyer), could he be a baby? As in baby Aaron? If so, what happened to Claire and how did Kate end up with Aaron?
• Why did Hurley claim he never knew Ana Lucia to Detective Mike?
• In Hurley's vision of Charlie in the interrogation room mirror, written on Charlie's palm is not the phrase "Not Penny's Boat" but "They Need You" as he later tells Hurley on the grounds of the mental hospital.
• I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing Rousseau elbow slam Ben in the face.
• The chalkboard in the mental hospital's rec room featured drawings of a sailboat, a palm tree on an island, and a shark. Had Hurley drawn these? We later see him sketching an Eskimo and an igloo, but no polar bear to be seen.
• Creepy Oceanic Airlines "attorney" Matthew Abaddon's last name is also the name of the chief of the demons in demonology. This should be no surprise if you noticed his hasty exit which looked suspiciously like the smoke monster darkening the door as it fled. And does his question "Are they still alive?" imply that the other survivors are still on the island?
• Did you hear the ghostly whispering as Hurley approached Jacob's cabin? Nothing specific in the close captioning. I'll keep surfing the net to see if some techo wiz transcribes it.
  
• Let's talk about the cabin in the jungle that Hurley came upon. I think it's safe to presume it's the same one that Ben took Locke to when Jacob made his first appearance. The painting of the large dog was in both. There was the wooden table with a lantern and a seemingly empty chair. When Jacob (if that is in fact who Hurley glimpsed) was visible, we saw a long-haired man in a dark suit and - did you notice? - white tennis shoes. The only other person we've seen in this same mismatched wardrobe combination was Jack's father when he first appeared to him on the beach way back in Season One. Go back and check it out. When I first saw Christian Shephard in that episode, I remember thinking why would someone be buried in his best suit but with tennis shoes? I wondered if it was an oversight in the production (who's going to notice what's he wearing on his feet?) or if it was intentional. I predict that before this series is over, we will see Jack's dad at the Australian morgue where his body ended up and someone swiping his expensive shoes and leaving him with these. Also, John Terry who plays Christian was listing in the opening credits as a guest star so I have no doubt it was him. So does this mean Jacob is really Jack's dad? Or is Locke (whose eye I believe surprised Hurley) just hanging out in the jungle with a dead guy? Further evidence is the web episode "So It Begins", which can be found at www.abc.com in the Lost: Missing Pieces section. In this two-minute prequel to the very first episode of the series, Vincent the dog is sniffing his way through the jungle and comes upon the sneaker-clad Christian Shephard. Jack's dad tells Vincent to go find his son and after the dog trots off, Christian states "he has a lot of work ahead of him". The scene cuts to the opening of the pilot episode: a close-up of Jack's eye as he awakens after the plane crash and Vincent coming up to him.
• We assume Charlie is real at first since another mental hospital patient sees him, but Hurley has been known to have imaginary friends (Dave). And how is Charlie both "dead and also here"? Parallel universes?
• Apparently, Jack was not kidding when he said if they found Locke, he would kill him. Good thing for Locke that the gun wasn't loaded.
  
• Team Locke consists of Hurley, Claire, Aaron, Rousseau, Ben, Alex and Karl, and Sawyer among others. Team Jack has Kate, Rose and Bernard, Sayid, Juliet, Sun and Jin, and Desmond.
• Locke seemed very surprised by the sudden downpour. In past episodes, he has relished the rain and, once with Boone, even predicted it. This sudden storm seemed to catch him by surprise. Was the Island upset (crying, if you will) by his choice to break up the survivors?
• Why does Hurley never miss a basket when shooting hoops? And why can't Jack make one?
  
• Obviously, these flash forwards take place before Jack and Kate's in the finale. Jack seems to have his act together and the thought of going back to the island is not even a remote possibility to him.
• If you watched "Eli Stone", the show which followed "Lost", then you may have seen the commercial for Oceanic Airlines. The ad was electronically hijacked by a former employee's transmission stating he found Oceanic Flight 815 and we see the flash of a split screen picture from what appeared to be an automated camera of the crashed airliner apparently in an underwater trench just as Naomi had previously stated last season. (Off topic: If you like "Pushing Daisies", then I highly recommend "Eli Stone". These two shows should air back-to-back because they both have a fanciful, life-affirming theme to them even as they deal with death. Any show where a scene of a child's building blocks spelling out George Michael can give you chills should not be missed.)
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• Hurley's chase was covered by Action 8 News.
• Hurley was on the number 10 freeway.
• Detective Mike said it was 5 minutes before Hurley let 10 cruisers chase him down.
• Jack told Kate that 6 hours from now they would be sitting on the boat.
• Hurley was playing Connect 4.
  

Previews - Next week, it looks like we'll see another of the boat people and hopefully learn of their agenda. And will Naomi's sister be on the freighter? Only time will tell. Until then . . .