LOST Podcast: The Transmission

Oh my god. There are so many things wrong with tonight’s episode. But I loved it. I absolutely loved it. “Exposé” will, I predict, ultimately become a conversational litmus test for “LOST” fans: either you loved it, or you hated it, and either way, you’d be right.

Was it filler? Sure. It certainly broke the “island mystery” momentum. Was it cheesy and campy and full of shout-outs and knowing winks? Absolutely, about as subtle as a Mack truck. Did it feel more like a punchline to a joke with a three-month wind up than the usual “you’ll like them when you get to know them” song and dance? Maybe.

But as with many great TV shows (from “The X-Files” to the shortlived “Firefly”), sometimes the rare episodes that break the mold and get a little weird are the ones you remember the most. The creators, the writers, the cast… they all clearly had fun with “Exposé.” And that mutual enjoyment really came through. (more…)

Well, if that doesn’t hook you for the rest of the season, just go watch American Idol. It’s not often that the consistently overblown ABC promotions team and the fan press hit the mark, but “The Man from Tallahassee” is indeed a “game changer.” It says something that “why Locke was paralyzed” was most certainly not the big reveal in any “LOST” episode. The gotchas were reminiscent of “Walkabout.” The clues were reminiscent of “Orientation.” And, says Jen, “Just go ahead and give Michael Emerson all the Emmys right now.” (more…)

I enjoyed the episode quite a bit. Jen was less impressed. To be sure, the big Claire reveal is something that’s been suspected since Christian Shepherd and Ana Lucia went to Australia in “Two for the Road.” I thought it was handled as well as it could have been (without making Claire seem like a dunce), but Jen thought it was too painfully contrived. Add in the climb high over the fence (look, Kate in another tree!) that was obviously not that high, and emasculated Sawyer, and you’ve got a frustrated fan. Me? I accentuated the positive. At least the Claire-Jack link was out of the way halfway through the episode, and the pre-thud shocker was pretty well done (he’s running… for a touchdown!). And even though it was a Claire episode, all eyes are on Locke. (more…)

“Why don’t you start with the DHARMA Initiative?” Why yes, why don’t you! Fans screaming for clues to the underlying mythology of the show, especially after last week’s feel-good character fest, get a heaping spoonful of information in “Enter 77.” We get an actual conversation with real questions and answers, and then follow Sayid into his epiphany that things are topsy-turvy. What did we know, or thought we knew, about the DHARMA Initiative, and the Others… or the Hostiles. (more…)