Six years ago, Oceanic flight 815 crash landed on a mysterious tropical island.  This event was the start of a fantastic journey as her passengers not only had to learn how to survive, but they had to unravel the mysteries that the island possessed.  That journey came to an end last Sunday, as millions of die hard fans (now known as Losties) gathered around their television sets to watch the final two and half our episode. 

I was one of those Losties, a somewhat reluctant viewer who got wrapped up in the mystery of this epic television experience.  Not much has been said here about the show or its final season, but I have to believe that there are more like me here and I wanted to provide a forum for fans and non fans alike to discuss the show.  That being said I know that there are a few of us who have never watched a single episode and I also know that Hilden admitted to me that he was way behind on this final season of the show.  So I will be using the Spoiler Tag in places and I encourage those who want to post on the subject to do the same.   Type the word “spoiler” in brackets, then the text you want to hide, and follow it with “/spoiler” also in brackets. 

LOST was the brainchild of Damon Lindelof, J. J. Abrams and Jeffrey Lieber and since it’s pilot in September of 2004, each episode had an average of 16 million viewers.  The two part pilot was one of the most expensive in television history, costing an average of 10-14 million (most one hour tv dramas cost around 4 million to produce).  The show received critical success and even won several emmys. 

The show had a unique way of telling its story.  In the beginning, each episode had a flashback of one of the central characters.  Here viewers would learn more about the people stuck on the island and this would create a deeper meaning and expansive mystery.  Later the writers switched this tactic and produced flash-forwards as they told the story of six people who managed to leave the island.  Finally this last season we saw the use of a flash-sideways story of a parallel time in place where none of the events ever took place.  It was this continual change of pace and the cliff hanger endings that kept viewers coming back and wanting more. 

LOST was a show that never dumbed things down for their audience.  In fact the writers did just the opposite. Many mysteries about the island, who lived there, and what was going on were revealed throughout the show. Viewers were encouraged to come up with their own answers and discuss the mystery of the island.  Many times these theories were proven wrong, and many other times viewers were left with more questions than answers. 

The show also contained several Easter eggs for its viewers to discover.  Let’s start with the names of many of the characters as they were taken from famous philosophers and scientists:  John Locke (after the philosopher) and his alias Jeremy Bentham (after the philosopher), Danielle Rousseau (after philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau), Desmond Hume (after philosopher David Hume), Juliet Burke (after philosopher Edmund Burke), Mikhail Bakunin (after the anarchist philosopher), Daniel Faraday (after physicist Michael Faraday), Eloise Hawking (after physicist Stephen Hawking), George Minkowski (after mathematician Hermann Minkowski), Richard Alpert (the birth name of spiritual teacher Ram Dass) and Charlotte Staples Lewis (after author C. S. Lewis).  Several mentions and throwbacks to famous works of literature were also used throughout the show, most prevalent was the Benjamin Linus referring to himself as Henry Gayle a nod to the Wizard from “The Wizard of Oz.” 
(more…)

Parody done correctly can be an uplifting and artistic view of something that reminds us how great it was.  Parody done wrong, well I can’t think of anything more awful.  Luckily for us, Seth McFarlane not only knows how to do parody correctly, but he’s a huge Star Wars Fan.  And his latest DVD release Something, Something, Something, Dark Side, is a loving and hilarious tribute to arguably the best Star Wars film in the series, The Empire Strikes Back.  All the Family Guy characters reprise their roles from the Blue Harvest parody from a few years ago:  Peter as Han Solo, Lois as Princess Leia, Chris as Luke Skywalker, and Stewie as Darth Vader.  All play the role to a tee adding their own Family Guy twist to them.  And lucky for us, there are a few more surprises waiting inside the DVD.   

As you may have deduced, this film was and is two Family Guy episodes stitched together.  Originally these episodes were supposed to air as a finale to season 7, but got pushed back to season 8.  My guess is the folks at Fox wanted to make a few bucks before the Holidays and released a DVD version before airing it for the masses.  Knowing that you’ll eventually be able to watch this on TV, why would you want to spend $15 on a DVD?  Well there are a few reasons, actually. 

First, the DVD is uncut, and if you haven’t watched Family Guy in its uncensored form, you are missing out.  Listening to Stewie (as Darth Vader) drop the F bomb a few times or hearing Chris (as Luke Skywalker)  yell, “Shit!” before he crashes his X-Wing is priceless.  That and there are more than a few jokes and social references that I am sure will be edited out for TV. 

Second, this movie is funny as shit and perfect for getting together with your buds and laughing your ass off before the rest of the plebes get to.  Imagine you and your buds are over playing New Super Mario Brothers Wii and after an hour of those shenanigans, someone suggests watching a movie.  You could be the hero and watch this film, only take up an hour and be right back gaming.  It’s sweet! 

Finally, Seth McFarlane wonderfully recreates the greatness that is Empire Strikes Back.  Each background scene is almost a shot for shot copy of the original work.  There are even cut scenes that are so true to the original that you forget that you are watching Family Guy.  Watching this film makes you want to go back to your collection and drag out Empire Strikes Back.  It’s a double whammy of awesomeness!

So if you are looking for gift ideas for the nerd in your family, or you are a Star Wars or Family Guy fan yourself, go out and grab this fine DVD.  And may the force be with you!

Like most of us, I spend a lot of time on the couch enjoying all forms of digital entertainment. Occasionally I am intrigued by something new that the network weasels they to pawn off on us as “good television.” Normally, I keep what I find to myself, but some recent channel surfing has enlightened me (and I use that term loosely) to a few shows that deserve some discussion.

Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura – TruTV

Those of us who call Minnesota home are more than familiar with the former Governor of our fine state. I will humbly admit that I enjoyed his antics when he was Jesse “The Body” Ventura and his war with Hulk Hogan is worthy of an epic poem. But when Jesse hit the airwaves on a local radio station, we all soon began to realize that Mr. Ventura had taken too many blows to the head. To Jesse, everything was a conspiracy and he would often just start talking about aliens in the White House or some other fantastical thing. Of course, he became the Governor of this fine state which was very funny…well, at least in the beginning it was.

Somehow this title of Governor gives some sense of truth and credibility to the holder and thus TruTV gave Jesse a shot to investigate – or let’s be honest…pretend to investigate – the many urban myths and conspiracy theories that exist today. Of course TruTV is the perfect spot to air such a show, just look at their stellar line up: “The Smoking Gun Presents,” “Operation Repo,” “Inside American Jail” and “Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock Hotel.” Fine entertainment if you ask me.

His first show dealt with HAARP, the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, an array of antennae in the Alaskan wilderness that shoots bursts of electricity into the ionosphere. The array is said by some to have the capacity to change the weather, cause earthquakes and control the human mind. My wife recorded it out of morbid curiosity and it was what I had expected it to be…a train wreck. Mr. Ventura’s crack team of investigators get interviews with people that nobody else can, or that nobody else cares about, I forget. And Jesse himself stands outside the HAARP facility demanding they let him in, and when they of course deny him he spouts off saying, “I get angry when I don’t get what I want.” Right…

Of course I could have lived with Jesse and his cute little show; that is until in episode #2 when he went after the 911 conspiracy. I have to digress for a moment and explain to everyone that I was actually on a jet to New York that morning and several people I was to meet with that day died in the tower collapse, so I am closer to the event than most. I watched with my mouth agape as Jesse tried to convince his viewers that the government used some super-flammable paint in these buildings in order to bring them down on purpose. I’m an old guy, I’ve seen a lot, but I have never felt more insulted with what I saw on TV that night. Not only was it preposterous, but it taints the memory of so many who lost their lives that day, including many rescue workers. It was beyond bad taste. Shame on you TruTV…

Cookalong Live with Gordon Ramsay – Fox

The next piece of garbage I need to discuss actually comes from Fox…imagine that! Now I’m a huge Gordon Ramsey fan. I started watching his show on BBCA a few years ago and was excited when they announced him for “Hell’s Kitchen.” I like Gordon for a few reasons. First, he has high standards; there is a right way to do things and if you’re not doing it right you’re impedance to his own success. We could all learn a lot about excellence from Gordon. Second, he calls a spade a spade. If the food sucks, he’s not afraid to tell people “dude this tastes like ass…try again.” Finally, Gordon does celebrate success. This is important, because if all he ever did was criticize people he’s just be a prick.  But when someone gets it right, he’ll tell them “great job,” or “I’m proud of you.” Again, managers of America, pay attention!
(more…)

My brother sent over this AWESOME news today! The classic 1967 show, The Prisoner, is now available to watch for FREE on AMC’s website! That’s right, the ENTIRE series is available to watch, streaming, on the site. It’s bad ass and you all need to watch this show NOW! I’ve had this set on DVD for years, thanks to John. There was a year where all we did was sit around and watch this awesome show and throw quotes around.

For those poor souls not in the know, The Prisoner is a classic British 1960′s television show that was created by the star of the show, Patrick McGoohan and George Markstein. The series depicts a recently resigned secret agent who is forced to live on an island, called “The Village”. While there, the people in charge are trying to break him down and reveal the reason for his resignation. Most of the episodes revolve around McGoohan’s character, “Number 6″, as he tries to thwart the plans of the administrator of the island, “Number 2″.

The character of Number 6 refuses to tow the line and his stubbornness and independence threaten the entire island’s sense of order, causing the mysterious caretakers of the Village to start taking drastic measures. The whole show has this counter-culture feel to it and it’s a series that just screams “1960!!”. While it’s billed as a secret agent show, the spy stuff is just an excuse for some surreal story about a man fighting “the establishment” who are out to break his mind. It’s interesting, unique and in a class all it’s own. It’s one of those shows that’s a little hard to describe and you simply need to be experience it for yourselves.

If anything, you should watch it just to see the overly dramatic performance that McGoohan puts on every episode. The guy makes Shatner seem tame.

The show only ran for 17 episodes, all of which can be found here.

Do yourselves a favor and check this series out. You simply need to experience this one at least once.

Here’s a clip of the intro:

Thanks, Justin and enjoy!