A Look Back at "Lost": Sawyer Reading

No drama in television history has been as literary as “Lost,” with heroic conman Sawyer proving that a man can look sexy reading a book.--Chauncey Mabe

Everyone who knows me knows that my favorite TV shows of all time is "Lost." (If you haven't watched this show, and you love a good story with wonderful characters, I highly recommend it!)

It so happens that one of my favorite characters, Sawyer (played by Josh Holloway) loves to read. And what better thing to pass the time on a deserted island than to read?

Apparently, quite a few books survived the crash, and it was especially nice for Sawyer when he found a pair of reading glasses among the wreckage.

Among the books we saw Sawyer reading: Watership Down by Richard Adams, A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle, and Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. (Go here for more of Sawyer's books.)

Semi-Wordless Wednesday: A Tribute to Actors from "Lost"

Matthew Fox--Dr. Jack Shephard

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Everyone who knows me knows that I am an avid devotee of the show, "Lost." I firmly believe it was one of the best television shows of all time, and I still miss it!

So my Semi-Wordless Wednesday today is a tribute to some of the actors who played on "Lost." Some of my favorites are still missing, but here are a few.

How about you? Did you love "Lost" as well? Who are YOUR favorite characters?

Josh Holloway--James "Sawyer" Ford

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Terry O'Quinn--John Locke

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Yunjin Kim--Sun Kwon

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Jorge Garcia--Hugo "Hurley" Reyes

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L. Scott Calwell--Rose Nadler

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Michael Emerson--Ben Linus

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Emilie de Ravin--Claire Littleton

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Evangeline Lilly--Kate Austen

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Dominic Monaghan--Charlie Pace

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Jeremy Davies--Daniel Faraday

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Desmond Hume--Henry Ian Cusick

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Naveen Andrews--Sayid Jarrah

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I'm participating today in Semi Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Flip Flops and Pearls!

Brisco County Jr, where have you been all my life?!?

My son Jonathan has been instrumental in getting my husband and me hooked on several TV series--not the least of which, a little series called "Lost."

Most recently, though, Jonathan gifted my husband with an entire series on DVD. It's The Adventures of Brisco County Jr, and I'm loving it!

(Oh, and guess what? The series' co-producer and writer just happens to be Carlton Cuse, one-half of the "Darlton" team [with Damon Lindelof] responsible for "Lost.")

This website sums the series up:

"In the closing days of the 19th Century, the West has become nearly civilized, especially with the capture of the infamous Bly Gang. However, the evil John Bly manages to turn the tables on his captor, the famed marshal Brisco County Sr., and murders the lawman in making his escape. A group of wealthy robber barons hires the marshal's son, Harvard-educated lawyer Brisco Country Jr. (Bruce Campbell), to pursue Bly and his gang and bring them to justice.

Joining the fun is the robber baron's mouthpiece, Socrates Poole (Christian Clemonson), sent along to keep an eye on County. Meanwhile, the notorious bounty hunter Lord Bowler (Julius Carry) vows to beat Brisco to the reward. The three join forces, aided at times by a mysterious orb, a sassy saloon singer (Kelly Rutherford), Comet the wonder horse, and an ever-changing assortment of oddballs, in hunting down the members of Bly's gang.

And hey--that's just the pilot!"

You'll recognize Bruce Campbell, who plays Brisco, from Burn Notice--although, hello. Bruce was quite a looker in his younger years, I must say.

SO many things I love about this show, it's hard to think of them all. The tongue-in-cheek humor ("You hit the sheriff!" "Yeah, but I didn't hit the deputy."), terrific writing and colorful characters are way up there.

I love that John Astin plays a recurring character, as the wacky professor.




I even like the "sassy saloon singer," Dixie Cousins, played by Kelly Rutherford. (I love her speaking voice--it reminds me of the voices of Hollywood-golden-era actresses like Judy Garland and others.)

Julius Carry is awesome as "Brisco's faithful companion" (a phrase that infuriates him!) Lord Bowler, the bounty hunter.

Billy Drago gloriously chews up the scenery as the villain, John Bly. John is so wonderfully over-the-top bad, you can't help but love it.

I never saw one single episode of this show when it originally aired in 1993, lasting only one season. But I'm thoroughly enjoying it now. All the more reason that I'll be sad when I've completed all the episodes on DVD.

A Big Event is Coming Up Tonight

Jason Ritter of NBC's The Event

"The Event has the potential to be a very satisfying viewing experience because it contains three essential qualities that I require in a show for both a time and an emotional commitment: cast, chemistry and compelling creative."--Jo "jopinionated" Garfein

Ever since it ended its six-year run back in May, I've wondered if I will ever like another TV show as much as I liked--make that loved--Lost.

I've pretty much thought I wouldn't. However, tonight I'll give a new show a chance to maybe, just maybe,captivate me the way Lost did.

It's called The Event.

What is the show about? Mmmm, I'm not sure. I just know that my son Jonathan told me a few months ago that he had heard it combined elements of both Lost and 24.

The blogger known as Jopinionated was a Lost fanatic, and I agreed with most of what she blogged about that show. She has been able to preview the first episode of The Event, and here's some of what she had to say in her spoiler-free review:

"Despite what you might have heard otherwise, The Event is not Lost – nor is it trying to be. If anything, this new series has extracted a few of the more successful elements from Lost and integrated them in quickly and smoothly....

The Event ... establishes itself as a must-watch series and my top pick for best new show of the 2010 fall season."

I'm not a big TV watcher, and one of my few favorite shows is gone now. But I do enjoy some television viewing, as I think some decent entertainment is what keeps Cindy from being a dull girl.

So I'm giving The Event a chance. If you watch it, please tell me what you think!

My thoughts on last night's "Lost"

SPOILER ALERT! if you haven't watched it yet

These are just some random thoughts that popped up as I watched the show. Feel free to add comments!

Last night's episode was Locke-centric, and it was what the the show's producers are calling a "flash-sideways"--it showed what Locke's life was like in the alternate reality that apparently would be taking place if the plane had never crashed originally.

Interesting:

--It was nice to see Locke in an apparently great relationship with Helen...planning his wedding and obviously both of them very much in love.

--Apparently in any reality, Locke's boss Randy is a real jerk.

--If you paid attention during earlier seasons, it was no surprise to you that Hurley owned the company where Locke worked.

--It seems in the alternate reality, the Losties are there to help Locke in some way. Jack wants to give him a consult about his spinal paralysis...Hurley helps him get another job...Rose is the manager of the temp agency Hurley sends him to...

--Of course, never having gone to the island, not only is Locke still paralyzed, but Rose still has terminal cancer.

--I loved Sawyer's attitude in this episode. Two of the best lines of the night (not word-perfect): "I don't care if you're dead, alive, or the ghost of Christmas past" and "I guess I'd better get some pants on."

Oh, also Ben's eulogy for John Locke. Classic!

Another great one was Hurley's comment about Locke's boss, Randy. Spot on. :)

More questions raised

Who was the blond boy? Is Jacob good or bad???? Does fake Locke really want all the losties killed? Is fake Locke good or bad???

--What's the connection between the Losties and the numbers assigned to them by Jacob?

--Why didn't alternate-reality Locke take Jack up on the free consult? And why doesn't alternate-reality Locke believe in miracles?

--Last but not least, I was happy to get a reprieve from scenes revolving around the temple. Frankly, the temple and its boss kind of bore me.

Interesting tidbit: It pays to pay attention to EVERYTHING on "Lost," even background music. Apparently, as this blogger tells us, the song Sawyer was listening to while drunk in Otherville said a lot about his own experiences:

"..seriously, they do cover every detail! It’s stuff like this that makes me realize nothing happens by accident in this show! 'I’m the runaway son of a nuclear a-bomb…Baby detonate for me' – what a perfect song to help work through Juliet’s a-bomb detonation death! And it leaves me wondering what this forgotten boy is searching for, searching to destroy?"

Your thoughts? I'd love to hear 'em!

OK, yes. I'm excited to see "Lost"

Despite the fact that the show has posed more questions than it can ever possibly answer, it's still one of my all-time favorites...and I'm really sorry that this is the last season!

For those of you still scratching your heads over the many mysteries, here's a fun video. (Although my son pointed out that one of the questions it mentions was actually answered in the same episode--the question of how Jack got John Locke's suicide note back. Do you remember the answer to that one?)