The Directors Chair

Episode 204 – “Everybody Hates Hugo”
In flashbacks we see what happened to Hurley straight after he found out he won the lottery. He quits his job at Mr. Clucks Chicken which in turn gets his friend Johnny to quit. They go to the record store, listen to Drive Shaft and Hurley asks out the girl behind the counter. When asked Hurley says he just has to know before…After a fun day they end up a petrol station, Hurley asks Johnny to promise no matter what, nothing will change between them. At the petrol station a bunch of reporters are questioning a clerk, Johnny jumps out to find out what’s going on when he learns the winning lotto ticket came from this station and then the clerk recognises Hurley. Johnny is left staring as the press snaps shots of Hurley.

In the hatch everyone has been given jobs and Hurley is now in charge of the food, a job he doesn’t want. In a dream he sees Jin who speaks perfect English and says “everything is going to change”. Hurley thinks that by being in charge of the food everyone is going to be angry at him when he has to ration it. He decides to blow it up but is talked out of it, he then tells Jack he is going to share it among everyone and he agrees.

On the other side of the island Ana Lucia’s group agree that Michael, Jin and Sawyer are no threat and were on the plane with them. They take them to another hatch they’ve found and we learn there were twenty-three survivors but now there are only a few left. Bernard is one of them and he is happy to learn his wife, Rose, is alive on the other side of the island.

Episode 103- Orientation
In flashbacks we see Locke post-kidney op. He is at a group therapy meeting and laughs when one of the others complains about her mother stealing money from her. He doesn’t think they’re real problems compared to his. He has a rant and afterwards the leader, Helen, talks to him and they hit it off. They go to dinner and their relationship blossoms. One night Helen wakes to see John dressing to leave, he says its not her he just can’t sleep in a strange bed and he goes off to Anthony Coopers. He sits outside in the car, drinking coffee.

On one of these trips Anthony comes out and asks John to stop this now, Locke asks why he did it and Anthony explains he needed a hip, John needed a father figure, he’s not the first person he’s conned. Helen gives John the key to her apartment after six months but tells him he can’t go to Anthony’s anymore, he has to let go. He promises he will but he can’t help himself. Helen follows him one night and throws his car keys into Anthony’s compound. Helen says she wants to help John through this and he has to take a leap of faith to get over Anthony.

On the island Desmond still has Locke at gunpoint and is in a standoff with Jack. Kate escapes and knocks Desmond from behind. His gun goes off and hits the computer, Des panics and says they’re all going to die. As he hurries to fix the computer he tells Jack how he came to be in the hatch, how he was on a solo race around the world, he crashed on the island and was immediately taken to the hatch and shown the ropes. His partner died and he’s been waiting ever since. He tells Locke and Jack to watch the film, they see a Dharma Initiative Orientation film for station 3, The Swan. It gives a history of the Dharma group and that a button must be pressed in the hatch after an incident involving electro magnets.

I found this over at /film.com and I think it’s incredible!

WormyTV spent a year and a half creating this fan made movie trailer for a live-action Thundercats movie using clips from various movies. Starring Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman and Vin Diesel. The San Francisco-based graphic artist added all the effects frame by frame in Photoshop. The footage was edited in Adobe Premiere. Pretty incredible and also really funny.

Source: /film.com

So I’ve been transferring Lost to my iPod and watching the episodes during my lunch break at work. But I’ve encountered a problem with season two where the audio is out of sync with the video. I’ve tried a number of things to put this right and none of them have worked. It is incredibly frustrating.

I’m going to Sweden for a week after christmas, there is no way I’m going to fit the rest of season two in as well as three and four before season five airs. I could probably watch them assuming I sort the audio issue out, but wouldn’t be able to report on them, seeing as I’ll be in Sweden and sans a computer no doubt. I may write notes by hand and do a large recap at the end. That or just continue to watch as Season Five starts?

I’m sorry about this, hopefully it won’t spoil the enjoyment of what looks to be an exciting season ahead of us.

Whilst trawling the news sites this morning I came across the news story that “Hallelujah” is the Christmas number one, but two other versions are also in the top forty. Alexandra Burke’s cover has taken the top spot with Jeff Buckley’s cover in at number two and the Leonard Cohen version at 36.

Brief history, Alexandra won the X-Factor and Simon Cowell decided that the first single released would be a cover, clever move. Although he didn’t anticipate a hate group rising up against manufactured music and with the new rules on downloads influencing the charts thousands of people drove to download the Jeff Buckley version of the song in an attempt to get that to number one instead of the terrible Burke version.

HMV’s Gennaro Castaldo said:

“It’s ironic that it’s taken the X Factor to get a lot more of us to appreciate the music of Leonard Cohen and the talent of Jeff Buckley.”

That’s rubbish, it’s because the X-Factor has tortured such a classic song that so many people are in love with, they wanted to come out in their numbers and show their appreciation for it and not the teenage trash that is the Burke cover. We already knew and appreciated Cohen and Buckley which is why people bought that rather than the Burke version. The only people did buy Burke are the tweens who are so in love with staying in on a Saturday night and watching a no-talent contest.

I’m just sad that Buckley didn’t make the top spot, but with no advertising or multi-million pound exposure behind it that Cowell can muster it did a bloody good job. Lets hope this depresses Burke enough to call it a day.

Source: BBC

Wow. Check this out! It took three years to make, over 55,000 lego pieces and $3000! That’s dedication, just don’t drop it!

See more pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23575410@N05/

Episode 202 – “Adrift”
After a long, long recap of what’s happened previously we see the aftermath of the raft being blown up. Jin is missing and Sawyer sees Michael has lost all his energy screaming after Walt. Sawyer drags Michael as he begins to sink and resuscitates him. Michael continues to shout after Walt but Sawyer says to conserve his energy, Michael can’t just let Walt go.

In flashbacks we see the lawsuit between Michael and Susan over who gets paternal rights to Walt. Michael puts up a fight to try and stop Susan taking away his son but as the lawyers point out, he didn’t try and stop her before with Amsterdam and Michael has never been there for Walt, why should he be now? In a final goodbye to a young Walt Michael hands him a stuffed polar bear – irony?

On the island we get a recap of Kate being taken at the hatch and Locke going in after her. We see what happens to Locke in the hatch and how he tries to explain everything to Desmond. Kate is tied up and locked in a pantry full of food including candy. She manages to climb through the air ducts and finds herself overlooking the incidents in the hatch as Jack clicks that he knows Desmond. Locke also experiences his first taste of typing the numbers into the computer.

Michael and Sawyer argue on the remains of the raft over whose fault it is that Walt has gone. Sawyer pulls the bullet out of his own shoulder with his bare hands and they get attacked by a shark, a shark that seems to have a Dharma logo on its tail. As Sawyer swims for a bigger bit of the raft the shark appears behind him, Michael fires the gun and the shark goes away. They then rest on the bigger raft and when they wake up they see the island.

They go ashore, out of breath when they hear someone shouting from the jungle, it’s Jin! He runs out of the thicket with his arms tied behind his back yelling. Sawyer unties him as Jin warns them there is someone chasing him. The Others. Out from the jungle appear a group of people with weapons.

Episode 201 – “Man of Science, Man of Faith”
The opening scene of the new season shows a man woken by an alarm buzzing. He gets up and goes to an old computer, types something, hits “Execute” and the alarm stops. He puts on a record, Mama Cass Elliot’s Make Your Own Kind of Music and sets about his daily routine when an explosion halts everything. He gets dressed and looks down his telescope to see two people staring down a shaft, Jack and Locke.

Jack takes Locke, Hurley and Kate back to the caves where he tells everyone that they can’t get into the hatch but everything is going to be OK. Locke grabs some cable and heads back to the hatch, shortly followed by Kate. Jack then decides he can’t let them do it alone so follows them too.

In flashbacks we see a woman admitted to the ER, she has been in a car accident and has some of the car sticking out of her chest. Jack operates then the other casualty is admitted, Jack has to make a call on which patient to save, he chooses the woman. Later we learn it is Sarah, Jack’s future wife and this is the operation that he fixed her on. He tells her that her back is shattered and there is a good chance she’ll never be able to walk again. He performs surgery but just before Sarah goes under he promises her he’ll fix her.

After the operation Jack is running a tour de stade when he trips. Another runner helps him out and they share stories of why they’re running. Jack because he can’t get over telling a lie to his patient and the other is training for a race around the world. They exchange names, this guy is called Desmond, he says to Jack that he’ll “see him in another life, brother” and continues running.

Jack goes back to Sarah who awakens from her operation. He apologises to her and says she’ll be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of her life. She doesn’t believe him as she can move her toes. Jack administers some tests and Sarah can feel her legs. It’s a miracle.

Back on the island Shannon has lost Vincent, she and Sayid go into the jungle to find him. They get split up and Shannon falls, when she gets back to her feet she hears whispers and then sees Walt, drenched in water. He raises his finger to his lips to tell her to shh but when Sayid appears Walt has gone.

At the hatch, Locke lowers Kate down into the hatch, she drops her torch and the cable slips. She then sees shadows below and screams for Locke to stop but the light comes on and suddenly Locke is finding a force pulling against him. The light goes off and the cable has gone slack, Kate doesn’t answer. Locke lowers himself into the hatch and when Jack arrives they are both nowhere to be seen. Jack climbs down the hatch and cautiously makes his way down the corridors, there is some painting on the wall that has the numbers 108 on it and a very strong magnet. The light goes on again and Jack hides, he finds himself in the computer room, as he is about to press some buttons Locke tells him not to do it. Locke is being held at gunpoint. They both try to tell Jack to lower his weapon but he refuses. The other man steps behind Locke and he and Jack look at each other, it’s Desmond!

Episode 123 – “Exodus Part 1”
Danielle turns up on the beach with a warning for the survivors, the others are coming. She explains to everyone what happened to her and that she was with her baby for one week before a tall funnel of black smoke rose into the air and they came and took Alex away from her. Now the others are coming again.

Jack proposes that they all hide in the hatch but to get in they’re going to need to blow it open. Danielle agrees to take some of them to the Black Rock where she has some dynamite stored. Arzt, Hurley, Locke, Kate, Jack and Danielle make their way there when Arzt decides he’s had enough. He turns and leaves but is soon running back to the group when he is chased by the smoke monster. Danielle explains that it is a security system for the island.

The raft is nearly built, it needs a few more tweaks and needs to get into the ocean but Jack rallies the survivors together and they all help out to set the raft on its maiden voyage. Charlie is organising messages to go in a bottle on the raft to loved ones. Walt gives Vincent to Shannon to look after and as the boat sets sail he runs after Walt in what is the most tear jerking scene ever. Jack and Sawyer even share a moment when Sawyer decides to tell Jack that he met his Dad in a bar and he was sorry.

In flashbacks we see our survivors at the airport again, nothing really pushes the story along or has any real significance. Jack meets with Ana-Lucia in the bar and after getting along well she is called away on a phone call but promises that they’ll have that drink on the plane.

Episode 124 – “Exodus Part 2”
Again no real flashbacks to speak of, a few more little additions or reminders, such as Charlie used to be a junkie. Jin goes to the airport bathroom to be confronted by a man working for Mr. Paik. He tells Jin that they know he’s planning on running away and if he does, they’ll find him and take Sun away from him.

The raft is making waves until the rudder falls off. Sawyer jumps into the ocean to rescue it and when he gets back on board Michael finds the gun that Jack gave him. Danielle has returned to the camp and she asks to hold Claries baby, when Claire sees the scratches on Danielle’s arm her memory starts to return and she asks why she gave them to her. Claire is then attacked at the baby taken. She pleads with Charlie to get her baby, bring little Aaron back to her.

Sayid and Charlie run off into the jungle and find the beach craft plane, Sayid tells Charlie about it and smashes one of the statues in front of him, he sees the heroin and takes a long hard look at it. Jack, Kate and Locke find the dynamite at the black rock and Artz shows them how dangerous it is by getting blown up. Kate wants to carry some sticks to the hatch but Jack won’t let her, Locke suggest drawing straws and it is Jack whose left without. They make their way carefully to the hatch, wondering what it hides. Locke believes inside there is hope. Hurley hopes there’s Twinkies.

Episode 125 – “Exodus Part 3”
Once again the flashbacks don’t play any real part in the episode, we see the survivors get on board the plane, Hurley plagued by the numbers that appear everywhere, even on a netball teams jerseys lined up at the airport. Locke, Hurley, Kate and Jack are making their way back with the dynamite, wandering through the dark territory a bird flies overhead, it’s a strange looking bird. The group are then attacked by the smoke monster.

Once again Locke doesn’t run, he is intrigued by this “security system” but when it explodes out of the ground next to him he has real fear in his eyes. Jack goes back to rescue him as Locke is pulled through the jungle by the smoke monster and down into a hole in the ground. Locke demands Jack let him go but he refuses, instead Kate throws some dynamite into the ground and the smoke monster vanishes.

Locke and Jack have a confrontation about why they’re on this island. Jack doesn’t believe in fate or destiny and Locke says its because Jack is a man of science whilst Locke is a man of faith. He believes the island is testing him and Boone was a sacrifice, that everything that has happened has led up to this event. They get to the hatch and lay the dynamite when Hurley spots the numbers written on the side of the hatch. He starts yelling, begging them not to blow it but they do.

On the raft they’ve fixed the rudder and Michael and Sawyer disagree on whether to turn on the radar or not. They do and a blip on the horizon shows. Again they argue about what it could be and if they should fire the flare. They do, but perhaps they shouldn’t. The boat that arrives for them is carrying some strange people who ask for the boy. Michael refuses to hand over his son and so the others board the raft and take him. Sawyer goes to fire a shot but gets shot himself, Jin dives into the sea after him and Michael is restrained whilst they take Walt and drive off, not before throwing a grenade and blowing up the raft.

Sayid and Charlie find the source of the black smoke and Danielle and Aaron. Danielle is upset as the others aren’t there, Charlie thinks she’s making it all up. She says she heard the voices say they wanted the boy and she thought she could trade Aaron for Alex. Charlie takes Aaron and they head back to camp. At the hatch they inspect the damage and are left to look down an long and dark shaft into the hatch.

Season One Questions
- What is the smoke monster?
- How did the Black Rock end up so far inland?
- Who are the Others?
- What was the sickness?
- What is the significance of the numbers?
- How is Walt special?
- Why did the Others take Walt?
- What is in the hatch?

Another Lost trailer!! This is too much. Is it January yet? I’ve not finished the bloody first season!! Eek!

In this, you can hear someone speak backwards – it’s Locke! He says “When are we?” – WHEN are we? ARGH!