Mario Perez/ABC

I gotta tell ya, I looooved LOSTS’s season finale. I saw Cesar’s tweet just after the airing and I think he may have had some issues with it. Hopefully I can divulge some of the awesomeness to bring him back around.

1. We finally meet Jacob.
Excellent way to introduce this Oz-like character. Hanging on the island in maybe, what, the 1600’s? Maybe Ben can answer this question, but I am sure the type of ship sailing into the island in the first 10 minutes of the episode will give away the year. And who is the other character and what is their relationship? My bet is they’re brothers, maybe even Cane and Able. Now for those of you that listen to the podcast you’ll know I am not a very religious man, but I do find the mythology and stories surrounding christian religions (heck, any religion for that matter) fascinating. So I think I’d love to have some catholic mysticism injected here. Thoughts?

2. Jack finally gets back to form
So he finally has a purpose again…saving everyone. He has something to fix again. And in true “Jack-fashion” he’ll do whatever he needs to do to fix it. Also, I love the 180 degree turnaround in Jack’s concept of faith – the pragmatist is almost entirely gone.

Oh, there’s more…

3. Locke really is dead
OK, weird. I’m very interested to see how Jacob’s “friend” pulled this one off. However I love the idea of the “Loophole” – a loophole for what? Also, who are these other disciples of Jacob? As I write, I just realized that Jacob may indeed be a Jesus-type character. Hmmmmm. I ask again, thoughts?

4. Sawyer’s dilemma
I’m pretty sure the H-bomb went off and the white screen (which was how Supernatural ended its season as well, BTW) wasn’t a camera effect to trick us in to thinking it went off. I think Sawyer really doesn’t want Jack to complete his destiny because he finally likes where he is. He’s come to grips with “Sawyer” and is ready to leave all that behind, his death wish is gone. Although I thought Julia’s issues where a little too convenient and counter to her character (she always seemed stronger than that), it did give Josh Holloway a great opportunity to show some impressive acting chops.

5. Myles’ realization
I think Myles is the only character to actual come to the island and get what he came for (and live to get it). He finally knows why his father left and what actually happened.

6. More info on Richard
Still not enough, but the plot thickens…

OK, so some questions now…

1. Is that a guitar in Hurley’s guitar case? Is it Charlie’s? Why is he always carrying it?
2. Who is Richard, really?
3. Why are these people on the island and who the f’ are they already?

OK, that’s it for now. Penty of time over the next 7 months to mull this over.

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Jason gets Chuck one of the best geek-related gifts this holiday season with the Wanted, Special Edition DVD. The podcast wraps with the promise of the next possible great Holiday movie with “The Spirit.”

The iconogeek top Christmas movies:

• A Christmas Story
• Die Hard
• Lethal Weapon
• The Ref
• Christmas Vacation
• Scrooged
• Gremlins
• Elf
• Batman Returns
• Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas
• Reindeer Games

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Look, I don’t have as much ire for the Microsoft ads starring Jerry Seinfeld and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates than everybody else seems to. I did get a chuckle out of them. If taken a face value (and in a world where Justin Long and John Hodgman don’t exist), they were OK. Not $10 million OK, and not kick off a $300 million campaign OK..just OK.

Trying an image campaign like this is tough. Apple has succeeded in making Windows Vista look like a pathetic mess through its MAC/PC ads. Curiously enough though – Microsoft Office seems to fair pretty well in image from those commercials. This campaign is obviously trying to play on the hipness of the MAC/PC campaign, but it just can’t match it. When it comes to marketing Apple has always been the lead horse – ever since the 1984 ad, they haven’t stopped (They couldn’t, their market share was so small relatively – and still is – that they needed to separate themselves to survive). I am sure Cesar or Jason (my Windoze-using fellow iconogeeks) will chime in here about the virtues of Windoze, but me and Brett (my fellow MAC-using iconogeek) know the truth…if you use a Mac, you’re just, well, “cooler.”

Trying to make Microsoft look hip by admitting it is out-of-touch with real people just makes it seem desperate. Microsoft is an enormous company with tons of bad-will over the past years and to get past that by dropping Seinfeld in the mix just doesn’t make sense. The fact that Microsoft pulled the ads and is now laying some bullshit about an intended “teaser campaign” is ridiculous. They yanked them because they aren’t working. It doesn’t matter if I felt they were kinda clever, the bottom line is that they didn’t work, and they won’t work. Maybe Microsoft should just concentrate on releasing an OS that doesn’t suck, instead of dropping $10 million on a latex salesman.

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So last night was the premiere of Fox’s new JJ Abrams’-produced “Fringe”. I’ll start by saying that Fringe is like a cross between X-Files, Lost, and 24. Allow me to expand on that statement.

Fringe is like X-Files because of it’s basic premise. Crazy things are happening and it’s up to a wiley boy/girl team to get to the bottom of all the craziness. You have your stiff, enigmatic government suit who is in charge, some interesting side characters, but truly the focus here is on Anna Torv’s “Olivia Dunham” and Joshua Jackson’s “Peter Bishop.” Olivia is the FBI Agent who doesn’t believe but really does. Bishop is the skeptic scientist. Oh yeah, and the whole conspiracy theory stuff.

Fringe is not like X-Files because of it’s basic acceptance of these strange things. Where the X-Files showed you the baddies and crazy things, essentially Mulder was the only one that saw this stuff. Even when Scully was getting abducted, she still held fast to disbelief. This show goes for the gusty and puts it all out there – melting people? Check. Bad guy with a motive? Check. Interesting twist? Check. Continued intrigue? check. Everybody sees they crazy stuff? Check. The basic idea here is wrapped around science, no aliens here and I like that. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hanso makes an appearance.

Fringe is like LOST because of JJ Abram’s and his amazing storytelling sensibilities. Abrams certainly comes from the Joss Whedon school of tough female leads and I like that. All of his heroines are believable and multi-faceted (Kate and Sydney anyone?). Fringe shares a common soundtrack with LOST especially on the outros to a break. The crescendo of dissonance is a welcome reminder that this show is really not all in your face…you do need to look deeper (if you dare Muuuhhahawahawhhwhwhaaa).

Fringe is not like LOST because it wrapped up the first story in the Premiere! Seriously, a nice complete, contained story with a lead-in to a larger enjoyable story arc. Good thing too, because I think my brain only has room for one LOST right now, and I’m still recuperating from last season.

Fringe is like 24 because it’s heroine will do anything to save the people she loves. I mean…well you’ll see, if you didn’t catch the Premiere, Fox is airing an encore (check your local listings). Just like when Jack Bauer gets in all sorts of insane situations (torture, etc.) Olivia jumps into dangerous situations no questions asked (or very little for that matter) – It’s Bishop that is the voice of reason.

Fringe is not like 24 because right now it doesn’t suck. Ever since they killed off Dennis Haysbert’s Palmer, I was done.

In the end, I enjoyed Fringe, it provided a welcome escape from a stressful day and gave me enough thrills and homages to keep me entertained. A couple notable items:

1. The titles
   They are beautiful. Amazingly rendered and placed into the scene so as to become a character. I kept looking (upon location change) for how they where going to do them next. Excellent.
2. John Noble
   As the crazy Dr. Walter Bishop, he’s Dr. Emmet Brown, CSM, and Jeffrey Goines all rolled into one.

My only gripe with the Premiere is that by the end of it, the characters where a little too neat and wrapped up. I know they want to get the stories moving, but I would have liked to see a little more strife, it was a little bit predictable.

On a whole, I’m going to give the Premiere of Fringe a 7. I think it was a solid opener with some complicated plot points, but all-in-all, I think they pulled it off. I’ve set a season pass on TiVo and I will continue to watch.

Well, what do you think?

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Seriously, if you haven’t been watching Burn Notice, now’s the time to get on board. In its second season, this USA series is light, fun and action packed. Kind of like a cross between MacGyver, the A-Team, and Magnum PI the show features Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Weston, a covert operative burned by the CIA. Left out in the field, with no resources, his accounts frozen and dumped in Miami (his hometown) Michael has nothing but his wits and a few friends to get his life back on track. Michael is a classic hero-type, trying to solve the puzzle of his burn notice, while helping out Joe Average with his worse-than-average-problems.

The show delivers a lot of heart, great stories and humor with an excellent cast that reads right out of the nostalgia fanbook. First up, Sam Axe played by…wait for it…Bruce Campbell, a boozing, philandering ex-seal. He’s the trustee side-kick and confidant. The girlfriend, played deliciously by Gabrielle Anwar (”Things to do in Denver when your dead”, and the cancelled-too-soon “John Doe”) is tough, sexy, smart, and tough. She’s the on again, off again flame and all-around goto girl.

Sharon Gless shows up as Michael’s chain-smoking, neurotic, psycho-somatic mother. Excellent job, and it’s great to see a veteran actress of Gless’s caliber on the screen again.

The thing I really like about this show is that it is total escapism. It’s a great balance for LOST with all it’s heady intrigue and mystery. Burn Notice allows you to jump in at any time, and enjoy the ride. Much like X-Files, it has a longer running mythology (why was Michael burned, who did it, what do they want him for) with episode long stories that start, fulfill and end satisfyingly. The show has a great visual style with some touches of Guy Ritchie thrown in (but not too much) and all those great whooshing sound effects to keep it fun. Oh and Jeffrey Donovan’s cheeky, dead-pan VO lends great exposition without being corny.

Oh and for those of you STILL not interested, Tricia Helfer has made a cameo as one of the Burners (maybe 2nd in command?). Not sure what side of her bread is buttered, but judging by the hoops she’s had Michael jump through, it can’t be the good side.

All-in-all I’ll give this show a solid 8. Real good TV.

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OK, I’ll post more later after I re-watch the episode, but it was damn cool. I gotta say, I feel satisfied with the episode. I’m not chomping at the bit for next season because I really just want to mull over EVERYTHING for the next couple of months and get prepared. They gave SO much info it’s a bit overwhelming.

****** POSSIBLE SPOILERS ***********

First tidbit: the call that Kate received was backwards. Here’s the reversed audio.

Second Tidbit: Alternate endings to hide who was in the coffin.

Random Thoughts:

• Dharma’s doing space/time experiments – I’m curious to read timelooptheory.com‘ s take on the new space/time info and so should you.
• Michael is dead. Jacob’s emissary (Christian) tells Michael he “can go now.” This does not mean, “get off the boat,” it means he is no longer in service of the island, he is released to do what he came there to do…die.
• F’you, Jin is still alive.
• I must say again. Ben Linus is the man. So over on Dube’s blog she theorizes that Ben moved the island forward in TIME, not space about 3 years. I think I agree with the time thing, but not the 3 years. Does anyone (Cesar) have info on when Ben appeared in the desert? Also, Ben took out a special forces guy. Come on seriously…he’s badass.

OK, more later, too much to think about. Oh yeah, this ep gets a 10. No question. Cliffhangers, answers, questions…all good.

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So the latest episode of LOST, “No place like home, pt1″ was quite excellent. But I’m not here to talk about the show so much as I am about the writers. We see the Oceanic 6 get off the island. I mean really get off the island.

So what?

That’s right, I said it. But not how you think. I say “So What?” because the storytelling on this show is so amazing, that I now don’t care about them getting off the island. I’ve known they get off the island since last season, but that is now NOT the focus. The writers have deftly switched us to care more about them getting BACK to the island.

The island has now become a living breathing character on the show (to be fair, I don’t think it actually breathes – live yes, breath no). I know want to see why the six got off the island and why it’s only them. Where’s Jin? What’s up with Swayer? Is the island OK? etc.

Some highlights:

1. Keemey is sooo gonna regret “capturing” Ben
2. LOVED the return of the numbers on the camaro’s odometer. LOVED it.
3. Jack’s revelation about Aaron and Clair
4. Sun kicks ass – to stand up to her Dad like that, awesome. BTW Jin isn’t dead, it’s still a front. There is a VERY good reason why they can’t tell anyone about the other passenger’s. A reason yet to be revealed.
5. Richard and the Others are back, excellent!
6. More Dharma!

OK, tha’s all for now.

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OK, the latest episode of LOST (”Something nice back home”) had a ton of stuff in it, but I’m going to concentrate on Jack for this post. First of all, what the hell is wrong with this guy? He can’t be happy unless there is something to fix. This has been a running personality trait since the beginning of the show. However, in the flash-forward, he completely sabotages his happy life. Did you notice it happened the second he told Hurley he was happy? And what was his next move? Of course it was to ask Kate to marry him! This character is nothing if not true to type.

Jack is in an unending loop of Tragedy…Fix Tragedy… Be Happy…Sabotage Happiness…Tragedy…well, you get the idea.

Okay, first…Aaron. When he tells Kate “You aren’t even related to him” it was said in a way that the next line could have been “but I am, I’m his Uncle!” I think they know. What do you think?
Second, let’s discuss the Appendix issue. Since I am a firm believer that NOTHING is a coincidence on this show, it is no accident that it was Jack’s appendix that became an issue. The appendix has no apparent function in the human body except to become infected, burst an spew toxins and waste into the human body. Jack’s appendix is a literal allegory to what’s happening with him. He can’t control his surroundings, everything is coming crashing down, and he’s realizing he can’t save everyone – so what happens? His body begins to process the bad and needs to get rid of it, but since he has an inability to ask for help, there’s nowhere for this stuff to go…but to his appendix.

My theory is that while people don’t get sick on the island – the island is trying to purge Jack of his idea of rescue. It is becoming increasingly evident that these people are meant to be on the island. And that the island will do what it needs to do to keep them there.

OK, so let’s talk about the Flash-forward. Jack is shirtless. Why? He’s never been shirtless on the show before, Sawyer handles the beefcake, not Jack. So why? Since, coincidences are not option, my guess is they want us to see that Jack does not have an appendectomy scar. Now he would have healed just fine (Island physics), but would he heal scar-less? I don’t think so. So that being said, is Hurley right, are they dead? I doubt it, but Jack is seeing his dad, and so is Claire…and so is Myles. Yes, Myles…these are not hallucinations, they are manifestations.

The island wants Jack back, and this is the beginning of his decent into madness as we can see by his drinking binge.

Overall I liked the episode, good stuff for the future, good reveals, in the grand scheme of the show, I give it an 8.

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Just watched “The shape of things to come” again and I was just as floored the second time around – albeit some things stuck out a bit more. First, Ben is truly broken up over the death of his daughter – I think this is the first time he has every been truly “real” in the show. I get so used to second guessing his motives. But the real thing I want to open for discussion is the Widmore/Linus angle. At first, I was thinking Widmore may indeed be Alvar Hanso, and I still hold to that a bit (rich, mysterious benefactor) but now…not so sure.

First of all, we need to applaud the direction and writing of this show in the past couple weeks, Ben has slowly turned into a hero. That’s right, I said it, Ben is becoming the hero – slowly but surely. So – question time:

1. Why does Charles refer to the island as “his” (this supports the Hanso concept) – Ben very clearly stole it from him by killing everyone
2. “I know who you are, I know what you are” : Charles Widmore. OK, who, I get – he’s the little boy who came to the island as a child, but “what”? “what you are”? “What” as in profession, or “What” as in something more Meta?
3. Why can’t Ben kill Charles – are they both linked in some way?
4. Now that Ben wishes to kill Penelope, what is Desmond’s take on this? Obviously since he was not on the manifest of 815, then he wouldn’t be part of the Oceanic 6. So he could be off the island in the future.
5. How did Ben just “appear” in Tunisia? I’m thinking it has to do with the “magic box” that brought Locke’s father to the island (I am clinging to the mystical aspect of this and not the possible reality that they just went to the mainland and kidnapped him)
6. What did the desk clerk at the hotel looked scared when she realized who “Dean Moriarty” was? And in no way, shape, or form is “Moriarty” meaningless.
7. I think Jacks’ “stomach bug” is a physical reaction to the fact that everything is unraveling and he is losing control. The thought that he may NOT get these people off the island is literally eating him up inside. Thoughts?
8. The SMOKE MONSTER! Holy crap I love this. Ben called it? Of course he called it! He can control it to some point, but kinda like the Greeks controlled the Kraken in Clash of the Titans. What do you think?

OK, that’s enough, let’s get discussin’

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Chuck and Jay then discuss the new Max Payne movie, NBC’s new fall schedule, the Love Boat, and the release date of Crystal Skull – then promptly run out of time. Next week Indy, we promise, we hope.

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HUGE, huge, huge, huge fan of BSG (to the uninitiated, that’s Battlestar Galactica). For those of you who remember the 80’s SciFi show, this has the same basic premise, but ups the ante 100-fold to create one of the best dramas on television. Top-notch acting, blockbuster SFX, and exceptional writing make this show a must-see. If you have not gotten into BSG, do it now! This is the final season of the show and it starts on April 4th on the SciFi channel (check your local listings). The first 3 seasons are available on DVD so go pick ‘em up and get sucked in.

To help ease the transition, I’ve posted the “What the Frak” recap above. enjoy.

Official BSG page

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Ok, so let’s look at the scorecard:

1. Jericho premieres. (Fans: 1, CBS: 1, Actors: 1)
2. Jericho gets cancelled. (Fans: 0, CBS: 0, Actors: 0)
3. CBS receives a shitload of nuts. (Fans:1, CBS Mailroom: 0, Actors: 1, Elephants: 1)
4. Jericho gets renewed. (Fans: 1, CBS: 1, Actors: 1)
5. Writer’s strike. (Fans: 0, Writers: 1, CBS: 0, Actors: 0 – but maybe 1 if you’re in SAG)
6. Jericho gets cancelled. (Fans: 0, Writers: 0, CBS: 0, Actors: 0)
7. Jericho finds new home?!?!?!? (Fans: 1, Writers:1, CBS: 0, Actors: 1, SciFi or another deserving cable channel: 1)

Yeah, maybe so…check it out at Sci Fi Wire

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ABRAMMMMMMSSSSSSS, ABRAMMMMMMMSSSSSSS. Pull camera back.

Alas, one of my favorite characters on Lost is gonna bite the bullet! Now of course it appears that the next 2 1/2 seasons will take place over about 3 -4 weeks (Since Sun made it off, that means she leaves the island in the next 3 weeks – based on Juliet’s timeline) so we still get a lot of Jin, but why kill him off? Thoughts? And what does this mean to the fate of everyone else? Are they also dead? This is the first time we’ve heard of someone who did NOT get off being actually dead. All other references where to “your friends” and “we have to go back” – nothing about anyone being alive.

OK, so how many of you thought that Jin was in a time loop and maybe lost his memory? Aaahhh hah! I thought so. Well, this appears to be the first episode of Lost that exists in 3 timelines: past, present, AND future. Take a look at the phone Jin was using (old school), he was only married for “2 months”, he was working for Mr. Paik (Sun’s father); and besides, Jin and Sun where going to the US after they got off the Island, not back to Korea. So we had flashbacks, flashforwards and current timeline.

I knew Michael was Ben’s contact as soon as he told Locke to “sit down” – My question is this…where is Walt? As far as I know Michael didn’t have any extended family did he? K, let’s get this discussion started…

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Already on its third episode, Download: The True Story of the Internet is a nostalgic look back at the beginning of the internet, the bubble, the trouble, and the legacy. Discovery Channel (check DSC’s listings) is airing this engaging miniseries, hosted by journalist John Heileman, and I, for one, am hooked. Having lived and worked through the dynamic time portrayed in this docu-journalistic offering I find myself glued to the set. I wanted (heck…want) to be these guys and it’s great to get such a quality pop culture-esque treatment.

“Download: The True Story of the Internet is about a revolution — the technological, cultural, commercial and social revolution that has radically changed our lives.” (read more)

Oh yeah, that pretty much says it all. The first 2 eps are being re-aired throughout the month so go set your TiVos .

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Jericho is back Feb 15th Feb 12th ( thanks to the reader that sent this correction in, Chuck was likely so excited with fanboy anticipation that he was probably shaking and typing with one hand) , set your TiVo’s. Check out the skinny on the official Jericho production blog

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Empty rocking chairs are neither rocking or empty. Discuss.

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If you didn’t stay up to watch Eli Stone and catch the special message message from Oceanic Airlines. Here’s the link: http://www.flyoceanicair.com

Watch the vid and make sure you have pop ups enabled. Enjoy.

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Jason and Chuck lament the passing of Heath Ledger and discuss this years Oscar picks (and why they haven’ t seen any of the movies). Silent Hill Origins makes Chuck hide under his covers and Jason anticipates the return of LOST.

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Yes that is Kate… (more great shots from Bowen Smith in Esquire here)

The only thing I allowed myself to look at was the score(9.1). I’m hoping it’s 9.1 out of 10, not 100. Read the review here.

Don’t read it if you haven’t seen it yet.. I won’t be responsible if it spoils anything for you. Send all complaints to Chuck.

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