Lost season four letdowns
This season of Lost was my second favorite season ever, so it was difficult to come up with criticisms. A shortened season meant that there wasn’t room for a weak episode. Nikki, Paulo, and Bai Ling stayed away. A few things are bothering me now that this chapter is finished, though. Some characters got a raw deal, and some twists failed to shock. It wasn’t all time travel and brilliant action scenes.
Jack’s appendicitis - Apart from bringing Jack and Kate closer together, I don’t understand why this storyline was necessary. The flash-forwards ensured that Jack would survive his low-tech surgery, so there wasn’t any tension there. It seemed like the only point of Jack’s illness was to completely kill the Juliet-Jack relationship. Jack and Juliet’s chemistry never worked for me. They shared two forgettable kisses, and then Jack basically blew her off after she saved his life. Still, Juliet deserved a better break-up, from both Jack and the writers.
Farewell, Rousseau - I had big hopes for Danielle Rousseau. She had been a mysterious figure on the island since the first season, and she’s one of the few island characters that hasn’t had (or appeared in) a flashback. I always assumed that the payoff of Rousseau’s character would come later–some bizarre island secret or revealing detail about the Others. Imagine my surprise when Danielle was killed, along with that annoying Karl, in a brief scene at the end of “Meet Kevin Johnson,” an episode that primarily focused on Michael’s storyline. They didn’t even give Rousseau the proper Lost send-off of a flashback followed by death. Less intriguing characters like Ana Lucia and Shannon had better exit episodes, for crying out loud!
Fewer episodes - This isn’t the fault of anyone connected to Lost, but the diminished season had a noticeable impact on the show. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse admitted that they wanted to do an additional freighter folk-centric episode, but had to put those storylines off until next season. I would have liked to learn more about the freighter folks, especially since some of them are stuck on the island with the 815ers. Daniel is the only familiar face on the Zodiac raft (now adrift without the island or the freighter as a destination), and I hardly know anything about him. A little extra time with the freighties would have given me more reasons to care about them. The season’s timeline also changed as a result of the missing episodes, and the finale was overflowing with plotlines. I love that Lindelof and Cuse fought to make the finale an hour longer, but I was mentally and emotionally drained after so many deaths, touching moments, and shocking scenes in one sitting.
What happened to the Others? - The Others took a back seat to the freighter drama in the first part of the season. Nestor Carbonell was away doing the now-canceled Cane, so we didn’t see Richard Alpert until “Cabin Fever.” I expected the Others to have a bigger presence after the first freighter group parachuted onto the island. These people were a major threat to their way of life, after all. They made up for their absence by doing away with the mercenaries, but why couldn’t they have wiped them out sooner? Juliet had a weaker role in the island goings-on as well. “The Other Woman” was supposed to be a Juliet-centric episode, but served to make Ben’s character more complex instead. You had to keep your eye on Juliet last season, because you never knew which side she was on. Now she’s in the same boat as the other 815ers who simply want to be rescued. Will she become even less significant over the next two seasons?
Aaron is one of the Oceanic Six - I lost interest in Aaron a while ago. Nothing against Turniphead, but he was probably the last of the survivors that I wanted to see back on the mainland. He hasn’t turned out to be special in the way that Season One led us to believe. I’m among the fans who took Malkin’s warning seriously. Why weren’t there consequences for Aaron being raised by another? Aaron’s presence in Kate’s flashback also caused some unnecessary confusion about the identities of the Oceanic Six. The tease in “Ji Yeon” was heartbreaking; for a moment I believed that Jin was safe. On the bright side, non-815ers like Desmond, Frank Lapidus, and Ben made it off the island. We might even get a glimpse of Locke (aka Jeremy Bentham) on the mainland in the future.
The “surprise” return of Michael - We all saw this twist coming, right? Ben dropped hints about his spy on the freighter several times, and most fans knew that Harold Perrineau was returning to Lost in some capacity. Lack of surprise aside, Michael’s season four appearances weren’t all that exciting. He told Sayid that he was there to die, and stayed true to his word in the finale. I understand Perrineau’s frustration about being killed off so quickly. Michael’s guilt over murdering Libby and Ana Lucia drove him to attempt suicide several times, and his moment of redemption was far too brief. When Christian Shephard dismissed him, Michael looked more confused than at peace. At least he didn’t yell “Waaaaaalt!” before he died.
Check back soon for my Lost highlights post. For now, feel free to share some of your thoughts on how this season could have been better.
Farewell, Eddy Arnold
Nashville just lost one of its heroes.Eddy Arnold, crooner of old-school country classics like "Make the World Go Away" [see video], "Cattle Call" and "The Last Word in Lonesome Is Me," died this morning, a week shy of his 90th birthday.
The Music CIty icon had been in frail health since he lost his wife and injured his hip two months ago.
A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Arnold was ranked as the No. 1 country singer in terms of chart success, per Top Country Singles 1944-1993. He recorded with guitar legend Chet Atkins and was managed for a spell by a pre-Elvis Col. Tom Parker.
Arnold helped to pioneer the so-called Nashville Sound, blending elements of pop, like strings, into his music.
As he put it: "I sing a little country, I sing a little pop and I sing a little folk, and it all goes together."
Voters May Have Kicked Him Off, but Celebs Have Got Michael Johns’ Back
Michael Johns' boot from American Idol may be the best thing that ever happened to him.
Johns tells reporters he has been contacted by everyone from Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban to his own idol Dolly Partonall of whom have offered their condolences and support.
And now even AI host Ryan Seacrest has apologized to the singer for the misleading delivery of the ousting announcement.
"I think the point was to create that element of surprise, and in no way did I mean toif I didcome across as negative or mean at all," Seacrest said to Johns on his KIIS-FM morning show Monday. "The note from the producers was ‘refer back to last year, get them thinking they may be staying another week, and then of course let them know that they’re gone.'"
Added Seacrest, "I was really bummed when I found out."
Cheer up, Ryan. As Idol history has proven, saying farewell to center stage doesn't mean you stop being the center of attention.
Desperate Housewives to "Reset" Series with Time Jump?
The ladies and gentlemen of Wisteria Lane returned to ABC’s Sunday night lineup this weekend, and the action picked right back up where it left off three months prior. But sources have been buzzing that a serious time leap will soon be in the cards—one that could change the series dramatically—and a certain friendly plumber seems to have confirmed it's happening.
During an interview with Chicago-based radio station WTMX this past week, James Denton responded to the rumors of Nicollette Sheridan possibly exiting DH. He offered a clue into creator Marc Cherry’s larger plans, saying, “Other than the four main women, nobody is really too secure. I don’t know if you’ve [heard] there’s supposedly a big time jump at the end of this season, either forward or backward a number of years. So we’ll lose some castmembers. That’s what we’ve been told, so none of us are feeling too smug. We’re just waiting to see how it shakes out.”
Denton went on to say that he’s heard some of the ideas the writers are kicking around, and they’re all really great. He hopes to be one of the castmembers that survives the leap: “If they go backward [in time], you know, Delfino wasn’t even there yet. If they go forward, by then Susan’s baby will be 6 or 7 years old and all that stuff, so it’s going to be tricky. But I think it’ll enable the writers to do some really creative things and sort of reset the show.”
As for the rumors Nicollette might go, Denton said he wasn't in the loop on that, though the end of the season storyline does frame things up for an Edie Britt farewell. "I don't know," James said. "Maybe Nicollette's renegotiation is coming up and they're leaving the door open just in case it doesn't go as planned!"
What are your thoughts on a possible time leap? Sound off in the comments below.