Tag: Zuleikha Robinson

RECAP: Lost, The End

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Congratulations Lost, last night I was reduced to a blubbering mass of salt water. This morning when I downloaded and rewatched the finale, I was once again drowning in a pool of my own tears. After the Lost end-title card faded away for the last time, I was numb with shock. Part of the temporary paralysis was from severe dehydration, but it was mostly from the knowledge that this was truly The End. After having a bit to stew in my feelings, I have come to grips with the following: Did every mythological question get answered? No. Was it the finale I was expecting? Not in the slightest. But did it bring the series to a satisfying end? Yes, “It worked.”

In the final moments of season one’s fifth episode “White Rabbit”, Jack Shephard speaks these profound words, “If we can’t live together, we’re going to die alone.” When Oceanic 815 crashed, the majority of the survivors were strangers to each other. In between battling smoke monsters and eluding capture from less than friendly island dwellers, friendships were forged and relationships were created. In the end, the losties shared an unbreakable bond that stood the test of time. When each found their untimely end, be it on the Island or off, they did not die alone. They created the “Sideways World” or the in-between, in which the losties were forced to live alone with the intent of finding each other so they could all “die” and move on together.

I’m beginning to buy into Lost ultimately being the story of Jack’s test, Jack’s search for redemption. Of course, the other losties each had their own test and search for redemption, but I think the fact that the show began and ended with Jack means something. There’s also the fact that everyone was waiting for him in the church to move on. Together they all finally passed over.

There were several moments in the finale that had me squee-ing and sobbing like a pathetic little fangirl, the biggest one being when the stupid love triangle was finally resolved. Kate. Chooses. Jack. Did my couple finally win out for once?! I think it did. The reunion of Jack and Kate made me so incredibly happy, I actually got a happy ending for the couple I was rooting for in the end. Pretty much all of the “aha!” moments made me teary-eyed: When Sun looks at Jin and says, “I remember,”; the way Claire said “Charlie” when he recognized her; and pretty much the entire Sawyer / Juliet scene. I hated Sawyer and I hated Juliet. They both tried to infringe on the epicness of Jack / Kate, and at first I wasn’t even thrilled that the third and fourth wheels hooked up. But the recognition scene and Juliet’s untimely death in the season premiere were so well acted that they melted my ice heart for Sawyer and Juliet.

The last ten minutes of the finale were as close to perfection as television can get (minus the Jack / Kate reunion, which was perfection…can you not tell how happy I am about that?!). Christian’s revelation about the fates of Jack and the losties, everyone finally settling themselves in the pews to pass on, Vincent laying down next to Jack, Jack’s face when he realized his friends made it off the Island, and the last shot of Jack’s eye closing were all amazing. No words were necessary, the scenes spoke for themselves…and they were perfect.

Yes, I still have questions…okay about a thousand, and yes it would have been nice to know what the hell was with Walt , who gave Boone his “aha!” moment, and who the skeletons were down in the Heart of the Island. But right now, I am content with having the mystery live on in my mind–or at least until the season six dvd is released on August 24. Lost has always been open to everyone’s interpretation, having it end like that seems fitting.

If I should ever find a frozen donkey wheel in the bowels of my basement, I would rewind these last six years. Thank you Lost for entertaining me, confusing me, and making me yell “WHAT THE …” at the screen too many times to count.

Namaste.

screencap from daydreaming.

Three Reasons Why Television Shows Fail

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As I sit here watching last week’s exceedingly uninteresting new episode of One Tree Hill on Hulu, I can’t help but feel an extreme sense of loss. This program used to be so freaking good. Circa seasons 2-4, One Tree Hill had some of the most powerful and creative story arcs on television. Now what has this program come to? They’re bringing back the cougar and young guy story line, a psycho comes into the picture and pretends to be someone they’re not, and ugly ass Mouth is somehow the only one getting tail in Tree Hill. Remember basketball? The voice-overs with quotes from famous authors? The original 5 characters that we have come to love?

There comes a time in the life of every television program where the writers and executive board hit a road block. Some shows find a way to rise above and continue to produce good television. Others fall by the wayside and they become syndicated history. In my opinion, there are a few main reasons why good shows fail, they are as follows:

1. The characters go off to college: Chances are pretty slim that you and your 5 closest friends all chose the same college to attend. So this puts the writers in a dilemma: how do we keep the chemistry between our actors when they are all at different schools? Eureka! We’ll create a new school that is in their hometown (or close by) and have them all attend there. There is no actual Penbrook University, the college  Cory, Shawn, Topanga, and Angela on Boy Meets World all magically chose to attend. And in sheer coincidence, that’s where Jack and Eric also go to school AND where Mr. Feeny happens to end up. Joey Potter gets accepted at the uber prestigious and uber fake Worthington College on Dawson’s Creek. Jen and Jack go to school at the equally as fake and half as prestigious Boston Bay College. Where do both of these fake institutions happen to be located? Boston (I guess I kind of gave that away), which is conveniently 15 minutes away from their fake hometown of Capeside.  Dawson then loses his way (of course), drops out of USC (idiot) and moves to where? Boston. Shocker.

Most shows that document high school fail when the characters transition to college. All of the family dynamics are lost, presumably because the parents don’t follow them to college. A bunch of new characters are introduced which takes screen time away from the characters we’ve formed a connection with. Most of the time the circumstances that bring all main characters to the same place are stupid and usually involve some sort of loss of faith, death of a family member, or being kicked out of school for ridiculous circumstances.

2. A main character is killed off / leaves: Getting rid of an essential cast member is one boat that should not be rocked. Yes, Marissa was annoying on The O.C. But she was the source of a lot of drama and half of the beloved pair of Ryan and Marissa. Were the writers missing broody and angry Ryan so much they needed to kill off his girlfriend to get him moody again? It’s common knowledge that I loathe the character of Peyton on One Tree Hill, but her and Lucas’ departure from the show have killed it. Ever since Dr. Burke left on Grey’s Anatomy, I can’t imagine Cristina being happy with anyone else. Any story line pairing her with another guy makes me cringe. Grey’s hasn’t been the same for me since Burke left, and then they have the nerve to kill my beloved George?!  FML. I am so not looking forward to tomorrow’s Lost, where I have been told that losties just start dropping like flies.

3. Story lines get recycled: How long can a couple play-out the “will they / won’t they” before the audience explodes? Apparently Friends can do it for 10 years. How many times can someone attempt to kill Dan Scott? How many times does Clark Kent have to save Lana Lang before she realizes he’s got magical powers? Seeing the same thing over and over and over again gets tiresome. The program eventually becomes so predictable that it’s not even worth watching anymore.

Alas, I have a sinking feeling this will be the last season of One Tree Hill. It didn’t even get to redeem itself. I am praying that the CW will give OTH one last chance to make things right aka bring back Leyton, ditch the newbies, and start showing the geniusness I know the writers still have.

RECAPS: TV Wrap-Up

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Ah, the early spring hiatuses have begun. Has anyone else noticed that there is nothing on television anymore?!

One Tree Hill: I found this episode very boring. I know the death of Mama James should have had more an effect of me…but it didn’t. I feel like the whole “my parent has cancer – child wants them to fight but it’s a losing battle – parent dies” story line has been WAY overused. It was still touching and very well acted, but I guess I wanted a more original story line for Mama James. I am praying to every higher power that One Tree Hill gets picked up for an eighth and final season so the writers can wrap up the show properly. The show is going to crap as of late.

Lost: On the flip side, Lost just keeps getting better and better. This final season is turning out to be amazing. I am so glad that we are finally learning the answers to some of the fundamental questions on the show. Jack is a father in the flash-sideways story line…never saw that coming. In the final moments of the episode, Hurley and Jack arrive at the humongous lighthouse on the island (a light house they have conveniently never found during their 108 days on the island). Hurley tells Jack that Jacob has instructed him to turn the wheel to bearing 108 to help direct someone to the island. 108 has a name next to it on the wheel, Wallace. Okay, Damon/Carlton & Co., who the hell is Wallace?! I sincerely hope it’s not a random character being added to the show in the final episodes. It is becoming glaringly obvious that the passengers on flight 815 were indeed called to the island.

Nip / Tuck: Nip / Tuck’s last episode ever will be aired next Wednesday. So sad. I always look forward to tuning in to the tumultuous lives of those at McNamara/Troy. I recently read in an article here about the finale, saying that the “final hour of Nip / Tuck was unlike anything we ever expected.” This disappoints me slightly. The best thing about the show was the shock factor. I’m still looking forward to the series finale nonetheless AND to see what happens with Matt and Ava. Poor kid can’t seem to catch a break.

Valentine’s Day: I finally saw Valentine’s Day last night and it yet again asserted to me how amazing ensemble cast movies can be. Sure, some story lines took slight precedence over the others, Ashton Kutcher’s character for example, but the sharing of screen time was equally dolled out between the large cast. I personally loved the “best friends to something more” story line of Kutcher and Jennifer Garner. They were really believable as best friends. The whole Eric Dane – Bradley Cooper story line came out of left field for me. Truly a shocker there. I am not used to seeing Dane without scrubs and Cooper without Zach Galifianakis. Anyways, lovely movie.