Doctor, Doctor Give Me The News

The good Doc Jensen weighs in on tonight's episode:

PREAMBLE: A GEEKY RAMBLE
Welcome to the Planet Fiction that is Lost. My name is Doc Jensen, archaeologist of impossible possibilities, currently on temporary work release from the Santa Rosa Mental Health — err, I mean, Mental CRACKPOT GENIUS Institute. Please note the placard on the door of my office:

''To be a scientist is to commit to a life of confusion punctuated by rare moments of clarity. When I leave the office at night, the confusion comes with me. Ruminating over these equations, seeking patterns, looking for hidden relationships, trying to make contact with hidden data — it's all uncertainty and possibility engaged in an endless chaotic dance. Every so often the blur resolves, but the respite is short lived; the next puzzle demands focus. This, really, is the joy of being a scientist. Established truths are comforting, but it is the mysteries that make the soul ache and render a life of exploration worth living.'' —Brian Greene, author of The Elegant Universe, from the new issue of Wired, guest-edited by Lost co-creator and Star Trek director J.J. Abrams.

The ''endless chaotic dance'' of (seemingly) infinite possibilities — that's what I love about investigating the mystery matrix of Lost. Or, for those who speak High Geek: Think of this column as a trading ship traversing the channels that exist among countless alternative potentialities that glitter within Lost like a monolithic theoretical snowflake floating in 196,833 dimensional space, whose captain is fond of stopping on the most unlikely and obscure of many possible worlds. [A No Prize if you know the reference: JeffJensenEW@aol.com is where you should send your submissions.] I promise you no answers in this column — just the crazy joy of Sherlocking through this deep and shifty show. Emphasis on crazy. Yeah, I know: It's not like we're trying to find the underlying order of the universe, or locate the sub-atomic super-strings that stitch together the fabric of the cosmos, or plant flags in the secret dimensions coiled in the folds of the observable universe. No, excavating the secret archaeology of Lost isn't like that at all.

It's wayyyyyyyy cooler!

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Photos From The Incident

I know the excitement and sadness of the season finale is growing as we hit the two week mark. On the one hand the finale's are always action packed and answering questions, but we know once that finale "boom" rings we will be Lost-less until January. To get you amped for the episode Buddytv has some promotional pics from The Incident. Enjoy!

"Yes We Can" Be Done Before Lost

(Move over Locke, the Others will elect him leader as soon as they hear about his tax cuts)

The President is slated to speak tonight, which as a Lost fan made me worry. But that worry was quickly put to rest as ABC has Obama speaking from 8 to 9 and Lost from 9 to 10:02. If Obama runs long, it's pretty standard for them to starts shows late, so we should be in the clear. If you TiVo lost however, you may want to add extra time to the end of Lost just in case. Nothing is worse than your TiVo cutting off the last few minutes of your favorite show.

Bonny Hunt Gets Lost

I'm a little late on these but here is Hurley on The Bonny Hunt Show:

And Juliet on The Bonny Hunt Show:

Dr. Shephard Makes His Rounds

Matthew Fox on Regis & Kelly:


Matthew Fox on GMA:

Sawyer's Sass

Since I've done this much on Sawyer today and I find this to be one of the funniest parts of Lost, here is Buddytv's slide show of the 100 Funniest Sawyer Nicknames.

The Man Behind the Home of the Smoke

Here's a link to the blog of the guy, Duncan Crawford, who designed the "we don't have a name for it, I think you call it the monster"'s Temple. Interesting behind the scene stuff.

As If Lost Didn't Have Enough Flashes

From The Seattle PI:

Lost to Flash Viewers with Teases for New Sci-Fi Series

Those who tune in for Lost's 100th episode — and do not zap through the commercial pods — will spy teasers for Flash Forward, an ABC pilot which is envisioned as a possible companion series to the adventures of Jack, Sawyer et al.

Sources tell TVGuide.com that during commercial breaks for the Lost episode airing April 29, micro-promos for Flash Forward will almost literally flash on the screen, offering viewers a clue about how to learn more about the prospective new series.

Flash Forward concerns a supernatural event which causes the global population to "black out" for 2 minutes and 17 seconds. During that "lost" time, all survivors the phenomenon get a mysterious glimpse of the future. Although the project is technically still considered a pilot, this promotional effort would strongly suggest it's a lock to make ABC's 2009-10 schedule.

Flash Forward stars Joseph Fiennes, Sonya "Hey, It's Penny!" Walger, Courtney B. Vance and John Cho, and was written by David S. Goyer (Batman Begins) and Brannon Braga (Threshold).

Lost - That's What Friends Are For

A fun video about Lost from You Tube:

Lost Turns 100

An article from the AP:

LOS ANGELES – "Lost" marks its 100th episode Wednesday, an achievement its producers consider as surreal as the TV drama's mind-bending plots. Executive producer Damon Lindelof, one of the series' creators, recalled meeting with ABC executives four years ago to pitch the idea of plane crash survivors stranded on an island of mystery and danger. They were asked where the "Lost" saga would stand at, say, episode No. 74. "I said, `We're probably not going to get past episode 13. Let's all be honest about that upfront," Lindelof recalled, adding, "If I traveled back in time to tell myself after that meeting that we were going to make it to 100 and still have a season beyond that, I would have laughed in my face." Fans will appreciate the notion of time-skipping, since the current season has reveled in just that. "Lost" has flung major characters across decades, leaving them — and the audience — feverishly attempting to keep events straight and the end game in sight. "It was always part of the master plan that the time-travel elements in the show would become more overt," said executive producer Carlton Cuse. He recalled an early episode in which Sayid (Naveen Andrews) is fiddling with a radio and hears 1940s music. "That was a signpost we were planting early ... that this island was not in the same place and space time as the real world. We knew that in season five we were going to deploy this and the show would become more overtly a genre show, and we were OK with that," Cuse said. "We've always felt we had to make bold choices," he said, and the audience has responded. In Wednesday's episode, titled "The Variable" and airing at 9 p.m. EDT, viewers will get a few more pieces of the puzzle. "We're not promising any big whiz-bang flash pyrotechnics," said Lindelof. But it does serve as what he calls "a companion piece" to another memorable episode, last season's "The Constant," in which Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) endured vicious, turbulence-caused side effects. "This season has really been about the rules of time travel as explained by Daniel Faraday," Lindelof said, referring to the brainiac played by Jeremy Davies. "We've never done a flashback story for Faraday, so he's very mysterious. Some of those mysteries will be answered in this episode." Viewers also check in on Desmond, wounded in the April 8 episode as he defended his beloved Penny (Sonya Walger) from vengeful, gun-toting Ben (Michael Emerson). "We find out whether it's fatal," said Cusick, his tone carefully neutral. The "Lost" cast is trained to avoid disclosures, but he concedes the show's penchant for killing off characters does take a toll. "Every season it's, `Am I here, or not? Do I pack?'" Cusick said. "Ever since Penny and I were reunited, I feel like Desmond's story could easily be done. ... He found what he wanted." But then Cusick suggests there may be more to come. Desmond has yet to confront the guilt of leaving others behind on the island, Cusick said, and perhaps he's among those who must journey back as part of a grand reckoning. Or not. The actor isn't 'fessing up. Neither are Lindelof and Cuse, as the two-hour May 13 season finale draws near. But there will be answers someday, they promise. "Lost" is set to wrap after one more season, a decision the producers made to allow for a carefully plotted finale. According to Lindelof, it will be a "very cool ending, and enormously satisfying."

There's a New Sheriff In Town

This is an article from Reading Eagle:

Back in season one of ABC's Wednesday castaway drama ``Lost,'' James Sawyer, played by Josh Holloway with a stubbly dimple and a wink, was a charming Southern rogue, an avaricious con man with a store of goodies up for barter, a quick wit and an inexplicable fondness for U.K. writer Richard Adams' heroic fantasy ``Watership Down.''

He was also a constant irritant to the show's most apparently noble character, Dr. Jack Shepard (Matthew Fox), the self-appointed leader of present-day plane-crash survivors stranded on a very freaky island. Sawyer both cramped Jack's style and moved in on his girl, castaway Kate (Evangeline Lilly).

To one degree or another, that has been Sawyer's story.

But as ``Lost'' approaches its 100th episode on April 29 -- marked on the sets in Hawaii with a party and an island-shaped confection from Baltimore's Charm City Cakes -- Sawyer's fortunes have changed.

Like Hazel, a small rabbit in Adams' novel who only wanted to survive and wound up a king by his own hand, er, paw, Sawyer in season five has become a leader of men (yeah, it's under the less-than-heroic alias of Jim LaFleur, but even so ...).

And no one is more surprised by that than Holloway.

``I was a bit reluctant when hearing it,'' he says. ``I knew they would figure out a way to make it cool, but I never thought of Sawyer in that kind of a position, or James or whatever his damn name is these days.

``I didn't want him to become this softy who lost his edge and all that sort of thing. That won't be near as fun. But it has been fun. It's the evolution of a character, and I'm really honored that they've actually made him so interesting and complex instead of just a simple redneck.''

Also, during Sawyer's current sojourn way back to the 1970s as part of the enigmatic Dharma Initiative on the mysterious island, he has set aside his feelings for Kate and taken up with a fellow time-travel refugee, physician Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell), another of Jack's ex-squeezes.

As to why Sawyer seems to pick up all of Jack's throwaways, Holloway says, ``Hey, man, I ain't so picky. There's not that many women on the island. Come on, women or boars -- what would you pick?

``He's always been kind of wham-bam, crazy-sex guy, and to explore an actual relationship where it's not that, it's actually a mature, loving relationship, is something that's totally new to him.''

Among those crafting this new direction is producer Elizabeth Sarnoff (``Deadwood,'' ``Crossing Jordan''), who says, ``Sawyer's great because he's come so far. This season, we're getting to do something unexpected with him. He's emerging as a leader.

``He's a good leader, unlike every other leader we've had. He's awesome. The relationship with Juliet is something that we weren't 100 percent sure how the audience was going to take it.''

Of course, what has made all this possible is a season's worth of mind-bending time travel, with castaways like Sawyer and Dharma apostates like Juliet flipping back and forth in time as the island undergoes spatial and temporal displacement that nearly defies the laws of science.

But in the 100th episode, ``The Variable,'' physicist and fellow island time traveler Daniel Faraday, played by Jeremy Davies, might finally spill all that he knows -- and it wouldn't come a moment too soon for the writing team.

``Time travel has given us migraines all year,'' Sarnoff says. ``No one is more delighted to see it end than us. But it's given us an opportunity to tell all these great island stories that we could not have told, that would have had to be handled with exposition or in ways that were not as interesting as actually seeing the Dharma Initiative in action.''

As for what Sawyer's up to in ``The Variable,'' Holloway says, ``I do remember what I was doing. Um, ah, I was frustrated -- I can tell you that much. Things are heating up and unraveling.

``That episode, I'm definitely running around a little frustrated, but it was good. I can't really tell you anything else.''

Sarnoff says, ``It's special for this season in the sense that it is going to encapsulate everything we've been saying all along, having to deal with time travel in general. It's going to be a great launch place for the end of the season.''

That episode, ``The Incident,'' is currently set to air May 13. It sets the stage for season six, which culminates in the planned series finale in May 2010.

``The end of the season is huge,'' Sarnoff says. ``It's the beginning of the end. We do this minicamp every year where we talk about the new season, dig deep. I find myself amazed every day, because I'm on a show that's planning its ending.

``That's a very rare experience.''

See You In Another Courtroom, Brother

I saw this on the celebrity cafe, thought I'd share:

“Lost“ Star Accused of Fondling Former ABC Employee
27-Apr-2009
Written by: Megan Tinsley

Henry Ian Cusick, who’s most notable for his role in the ABC series “Lost,“ was faced with a lawsuit for sexual misconduct with a former female ABC worker.

Henry Ian Cusick got 'lost' in his performance off screen with a former ABC worker, who contends sexual battery and harassment against the married father of three.

The victim claimed Cusick fondled her breast, kissed her lips and caressed the back of her body while making moaning sounds, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles court.

His accuser has not been yet identified, but claims the incident happened on the set of ABC's "Lost", two years ago in October. She was fired 12 days later after having exposing Cusick's behavior.

She was hired in 1997 and has been an employee of the network for a total of ten years.

The Celebrity Cafe

The Incident Press Release

The official press release for the season finale:


SEASON FINALE

JACK WANTS TO SET THINGS RIGHT ON THE ISLAND BUT IS MET WITH STRONG RESISTANCE BY THOSE CLOSE TO HIM, AND LOCKE ASSIGNS BEN A DIFFICULT TASK, ON THE SEASON FINALE OF “LOST”

“The Incident,” Parts 1 & 2 – Jack's decision to put a plan in action in order to set things right on the island is met with some strong resistance by those close to him, and Locke assigns Ben a difficult task, on the season finale of “Lost,” WEDNESDAY, MAY 13 (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

“Lost” stars Naveen Andrews as Sayid, Henry Ian Cusick as Desmond, Jeremy Davies as Daniel Faraday, Michael Emerson as Ben, Matthew Fox as Jack, Jorge Garcia as Hurley, Josh Holloway as Sawyer, Yunjin Kim as Sun, Ken Leung as Miles, Evangeline Lilly as Kate, Elizabeth Mitchell as Juliet and Terry O’Quinn as Locke.

Guest starring are L. Scott Caldwell as Rose, Sam Anderson as Bernard, John Terry as Christian Shephard, Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, Jeff Fahey as Frank Lapidus, Francois Chau as Dr. Pierre Chang, Patrick Fischler as Phil, Eric Lange as Radzinsky, Zuleikha Robinson as Ilana, Brad William Henke as Bram, Jon Gries as Roger Linus, Alice Evans as younger Eloise Hawking, Andrea Gabriel as Noor “Nadia” Abed Jaseem, Kevin Chapman as Mitch, Mark Pellegrino as man #1, Titus Welliver as man #2, Emily Rae Argenti as young Kate, Tanner Maguire as young Tom, George Gerdes as Mr. Springer, Agnes Kwak as Aunt Soo, Amy Stewart as mother, Rylee Fansler as young Juliet, Savannah Lathem as young Rachel, William Makozak as Captain Bird, Daniel James Kunkel as anesthesiologist, Sonya Masinovsky as Russian nurse, Keegan Boos as young Sawyer, Colby French as Uncle Doug, John Pete as prison clerk, Michael Trisler as father, Sally Davis as woman and Adam Bazzi as cab driver.

“The Incident,” Parts 1 & 2 were written by Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse and directed by Jack Bender.

”Lost” is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound and Spanish audio via SAP. A TV parental guideline will be assigned closer to airdate.

This episode of “Lost” will be available on ABC.com the day after airing on the network for users to watch online.

ABC

The Variable Sneak Peaks

Lost Hits the BullzEye

The boys over at BullzEye.com sat down with Team Darlton:

BE: How hard is it to keep secrets under wraps on a show like “Lost,” where everyone is constantly trying to figure stuff out?

CC: Well, I think there’s a small segment of the audience that wants spoilers and wants to know what’s happening. Y’know, there are 425 people on the show, and we shoot the show in Hawaii, and basically every beach in Hawaii is free and open to the public, so it’s possible for people who want to spoil the show to get in there and take long-lens pictures of us shooting the show and find things out. We do try very hard to keep everything under wraps. All of our scripts are watermarked, and we try to keep the show as secretive as possible, but we realize that it’s almost an impossibility. But we really hope that most fans want the experience of “Lost” to be a surprise, and that’s one of the things that’s one of the most…I mean, almost more than anything else, that’s what we’ve tried to do as storytellers: to make the show surprising and unexpected. If you go and get those things spoiled for you, you’re just not going to enjoy watching the show as much.

BE: I was very happy to see Hurley address the time-travel headaches of this season.

DL: You’re not the only one.

BE: But, of course, it’s also been a good excuse to bring back a few more guest stars from previous seasons.

DL: What, the time travel?

BE: Yeah.

DL: True. But the fact of the matter is that the show has always been a little bit of a time-travel show, in that for three seasons it was flashbacks, and then last season it was flash-forwards. So the idea that you were hopping around time in a non-linear storytelling fashion allows you to bring back characters who are dead and, in some cases, buried. But now that the show is not just doing time travel in terms of the way the story is told but time travel is the story itself, it opens up even more doors. So when an actor reads that they’re getting killed off on the show, they’re basically, like, “Okay, but…should I still bother to show up next week?”

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Lost: What You Need To Know

National Day of Silence

I normally do not stray away from Lost related subjects but today, for the first time, I will. Following suit with my good friend Tom Logan, and many other bloggers out there, for a National Day of Silence. The National Day of Silence brings attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. Each year the event has grown, now with hundreds of thousands of students coming together to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBT behavior.

Like I said earlier I don't stray away from Lost and I don't like to use my blog to push any political agenda. There are good blogs out there for that, but this isn't one of them. However I feel very strongly that no one should be subjected to harassment. Just think of how Hurley felt after Sawyer continued to call him names back in seasons 1, 2, 3, and a little in 4.

No one deserves that so this will be the only post today. Thank you.

What You May Have Missed

• The microwave was reading 3:16, the flight number for the Ajira plane that crashed on the Island.
• Mr. Vonner, the dead man Miles found, was living in room number 4.
• Inside the fake rabbit's ear is what looks like an infinite sign, or a sideways 8. A different rabbit with the number 8 on it appeared when Ben coned Sawyer.
• The Sports Illustrated Miles was reading, featured the words "After 23 years," yet another instance of the Numbers. This specific issue was published March 14, 1977, putting these events sometime after that.
• Sawyer asked Miles to erase the video of them from camera number 4.
• While cleaning the classroom, the lesson on the board featured Egyptian history and hieroglyphs. This makes me believe that the Dharma knew of the Islands Egyptian connection.
• The book Dr. Chang was reading to baby Miles had a polar bear on the front.
  

Cause Dharma Taste Good Like A Cigarette Should

Flicker, excuse me Flickr, has put up some vintage Dharma recruitment ads. They're Hysterical and all so authentic. Including this one for Dharma Smokes, that's enough to make anyone wanna smoke. Check them out here.

The Variable Promo

Some Like It Hoth Review

Some Like It Hoth was a Miles centered episode that started when he was a young boy discovering his ability to talk to the dead. After Miles is using his abilities for profit, Naomi approaches him with an audition of sorts. After proving worthy of Widmore, she offers him 1.6 million dollars to go to the Island and hunt down Ben. Before Miles makes him imfamous fraighter trip, he gets kidnapped by masked men. One of these men is a passenger from Arjian flight 316 and asks Miles the 100,000 dollar question, “What lies is the shadow of the statue?” It's starting to appear that the Arjian 316 crew are more than they appear. They are obviously anti-Widmore, but who are they. Others? Dharma? A group we have yet to learn about? I'm not sure, but I do know Miles wanted 3.6 Million not to go to the Island. 3.6 million was also the amount Miles asked Ben for to keep his location a secret. Back in 1977, Miles is allowed in the circle of trust when he's allowed to deliver a body to Dr. Pierre Chang. First he picks it up from the Swan station. We learn that they are building the hatch in Hostle territory and that the electromagnetic properties of the Island are being discovered, because the man who died had his filling shoot though his head like a bullet. Once he takes the body to the Orchaid, we get another revelation, Dr. Pierre Chang is Mile's father. This has been a suspected theory since Because You Left. The rest of the survivors of the 70s are in some trouble though, it seems Miles didn't get around to erasing the tape of Sawyer taking young Ben. This leads to Sawyer having to punch out one of his security drones. It looks as if the jig is about to be up. At the end of the episode, Mr Farraday makes his return to the Island with a group of Dharma scientist. And who knew Hurley wrote Empire Strikes Back.

What's In A Name

When I think of Hoth my mind goes to directly to the frozen planet of the Star Wars Galaxy. This points out, one, what a geek I am and, two, that George Lucus has warped my fragile little mind. But I have to assume this weeks episode does not take place on planet Hoth. (Although I'm not sure I'd be surprised.) So I went on a search to find other meanings of Hoth. To wiki we go:

• First and foremost I'd like to mention that upon searching for Hoth at wiki, I was immediatly redirected to the Hoth plant wiki site for the fictional planet. (I feel a tad less geeky now)
• Höðr, a god in Norse mythology also known as Hoth.
  
• Hermann Hoth, a German general in World War II
• Harrow-on-the-Hill station,(H.O.T.H.) a London Underground and Chiltern Railways station in Harrow, Greater London.
• Houses of the Holy, (H.O.T.H.)an album by English Rock band Led Zeppelin

Ok so I'm thinking it probably doesn't refer to a London Underground Railway or a Zeppelin album. So lets look at the god of Norse mythology:

• According to the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda the goddess Frigg made everything in existence swear never to harm Baldr, except for the mistletoe which she found too young to demand an oath from. The gods amused themselves by trying weapons on Baldr and seeing them fail to do any harm. Loki, upon finding out about Baldr's one weakness, made a missile from mistletoe, and helped Höðr shoot it at Baldr. After this Odin and the giantess Rindr gave birth to Váli who grew to adulthood within a day and slew Höðr.
• The Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus recorded an alternative version of this myth in his Gesta Danorum. In this version the mortal hero Høtherus and the demi-god Balderus compete for the hand of Nanna. Ultimately Høtherus slays Balderus.

And the German General:

• Hermann "Papa" Hoth (12 April 1885 – 25 January 1971) was an officer in the German military from 1903 to 1945, attaining the rank of Generaloberst during World War II. He fought in France, and is most noted for his later exploits as a panzer commander on the Eastern Front. Hoth commanded the 4th Panzer Army during Operation Barbarossa in 1941, and later during the Wehrmacht's 1942 summer offensive. Following the encirclement of the 6th Army in Stalingrad in November 1942, Hoth commanded the panzer army during Operation Wintergewitter. After Stalingrad, Hoth was involved in the Kursk counter offensive in the summer of 1943 and the Battle of Kiev. The Fourth Panzer Army under his command at Kursk was the largest tank formation ever assembled. Hoth was dismissed from command by Adolf Hitler in 1943, only to be reinstated for a short time during the last weeks of the war. After the war, he served six years in prison for war crimes, and became a writer on military history.

I have to say that after searching for a clue into this title, I'm more confused than when I started so let's look at the Some Like it Hot reference:

• Some Like It Hot (1959) is an American comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon.
• Two struggling musicians, Joe and Jerry (Curtis and Lemmon), witness what looks like the Saint Valentine's Day massacre of 1929. When the Chicago gangsters, led by 'Spats' Columbo (Raft) spot them, the duo flee for their lives. They escape and decide to leave town, only to find the sole out-of-town jobs available are in an all-girl band headed to Florida. The two disguise themselves as women, calling themselves Josephine and Geraldine (later Jerry changes his pseudonym to Daphne), join the band and board a train.

Ok so I can start to see where this reference comes into play. It's a film about a giant con that ends with it all coming unraveled at a wedding between two men, one pretending to be a woman. When the bride reveiles himself as a man, the groom replies with, "Well nobody's perfect." Obviously this is a reference to the fact that the survivors jig is up in Dharmaville. But where does the hoth come in?

I'll indulge one geeky Star Wars thought:

• 1977, the year the survivors are in, is the year Star Wars came out. However, Hoth was not a known planet until Empire Strikes Back released in 1980.
  

Given the current nature of the show I will say that I think it has to be reference to the Norse God.

Thoughts, comments, concerns?

If not before we'll figure it out tonight.

Some Like It Hoth Sneak Peak

Dharmaville's Doc

This is from TV Guide:

Will the real Dr. Pierre Chang please stand up? Since Lost's second season, Dr. Chang has repeatedly popped up in Dharma films under the pseudonyms of Dr. Marvin Candle (host of the Swan station film), Dr. Mark Wickmund (the Pearl station) and Dr. Edgar Halliwax (transporting bunnies in the Orchid station). Finally, the mysterious scientist will get a solid run in this season’s remaining episodes. “You’ll learn he’s one of the Dharma leaders—but not the only one,” teases Cambodian native François Chau (Chang). The actor, 49, just wrapped two months of filming in Hawaii and says, “It’s the first time I actually got to meet the other cast members.” More about what’s going on in all the stations will be revealed. “They involve experiments on such things as electromagnetism and polar bears…for the betterment of mankind,” François says. (Doesn’t that make you feel better?) In the May 13 finale, viewers will witness Chang’s role in “the Incident,” the catastrophic event that could happen again if the Swan station button isn’t pushed every 108 minutes. It might also have something to do with another reveal—why Dr. Candle (but not any of his other incarnations) appears with a prosthetic arm. Uh-oh. You know that can’t be good!

Latest From Watch With Kristen

This is from E!Online's Watch with Kristen Blog:

Kelly in Des Moines, Iowa: No more love stuff. I want to know what's going to happen with all the mythology/monster stuff on Lost.

Mrs. Hawking and Daniel Faraday are both coming back for "The Variable" on April 29 (which just so happens to be the series' 100th ep). Also present are Penny and Charles Widmore and Charlie Hume (not to be confused with Charlie Pace). As for the variable itself, it will almost certainly tie back to the equations and notations from the blast-door map we saw in season two, which included such bon mots as "Geological composition likely to cause magnetic disturbances/interference with weather project," "Primary nexus of Cerberus-related activity" and the infamous Valenzetti equation. Come on, who else wants a monster-centric ep? Remember, the only rule about flashbacks is that there are no rules. Before the end of the season, Smokey is totally gonna get himself some backstory!

Lost: What You Need To Know

Some Like It Hoth Promo

What you May Have Missed

• Ben and Ethan hunted down Rousseau, before the Purge. This means that, like Ben, Ethan defected from his DHARMA family before everyone was killed.
• Widmore was banished while the Others were living in the Barracks, this puts his exile some time after the Purge in December 1992.
• Widmore tells Ben he's been looking for the Island for almost 20 years. Given that his banishment in what was probably early 1993 and the Ajira 316 in early 2008, it's only been 15 years since he's been off the Island.
  
• Desmond and Penny's boat is named after the Charles Dickens book Desmond vowed not to read until he was about to die, Our Mutual Friend.
• The container with the guns that was on Ajira 316 had AA823 written on the side, two of the Numbers.
• When Ilana asked Lapidus this question, it made no sense, so we should look at the context clues. She and others opened a container on the plane that had guns. She claimed to work for the family of one of Widmore's associates. The question might relate to the four-toed statue on the Island looming over the Temple. Put the pieces together, and this question was a code for Widmore's secret agents to identify one another.
• The "main" hieroglyphic in the Temple basement was of the Egyptian god Anubis bowing before the Black Smoke Monster. In Egyption mythology, Anubis was brothers with Horus. Horus is believed to be the four toed statue. But what's in his shadow?
• When Smokey judged Ben, one of the scenes with him and Alex showed her telling him that she hates him. This may not have been a familiar scene for the casual fans, because that dialogue was from a deleted scene from "I Do" after Ben hooks Karl up to the God Loves You As He Loves Jacob brainwashing machine.
  

Dead Is Dead Review

Dead is Dead was a Ben centered episode that started off with young Ben recuperating at the Other's 70s camp. Widmore goes in to welcome him, after some persuasion by Ricard. The next time we see Ben he's going to kill Rousseau, but he finds Alex instead. After taking Alex back to camp Widmore orders Ben to kill her, kinda like when Ben ordered Locke to Kill his father. Ben won't do it though and he takes Alex in as his daughter. The next time we see Ben it's after the purge and the others are living in Dharmaville. This is when Charles is being forced to leave the Island, Ben tells him it's because he broke the rules. Before Ben got on flight 316, he paid Desmond and Penny Hume a visit on Our Mutual Friend. He shoots Desmond and plans to shoot Penny, but young Charlie makes Ben think twice. That was all Desmond needed and he left Ben bloodied and in the ocean. In current time on the Island Ben causes a stir amongst the flight 316 people by pitting them against John, then killing Caesar. Ben and John run into Sun and Lapidus at Ben's old house in Dharmaville. They get caught up on when the other survivors are. Ben goes down and pulls the drain that lets smokey out, then he has to follow Locke to the temple since Ben didn't know smokey lived underneath. In the lair of the smoke, we can see a hieroglyphic that appears to depict Anubis, an Egyptian god, coming face to face with a devil looking monster. Probably Smokey in his younger days. When the Smoke pours out of it's vent, it judges Linus. We seen him judge several other people including Mr. Eko. Just as with Eko and Yemmi, after being Judged, Smokey takes on the form of Alex and tells Ben he can live but only if he follows John Locke.

Dead Is Dead Sneak Peaks

Lost: What You Need To Know

Lost: What You Need To Know

Latest From Watch With Kristen

The Latest from Kisten:
WHAT'S TO COME: Brinn in Santa Barbara, Calif.: So, I am in no way asking you to reveal the Lost death to me, but would you possibly be able to confirm that it is not Penny? I am suddenly freaking out that TPTB might kill off one half of my favorite TV couples ever. Hopefully you can help ease my unease. Wait, if you can't confirm that it isn't her then it might be ruined for me. Ahh, what a pickle I'm in! I guess you should just proceed at your own discretion. It's not Penny.
E!Online

Whew, that's a relief.

Whatever Happened, Happened Review

Whatever Happened, Happened was a Kate episode, so let's start with the flashbacks. So apparently when Sawyer whispered in Kate's ear before he jumped from the helicopter in No Place Like Home, he told her to take care of his daughter Clementine. So Kate went to see Cassidy and took settlement money for Clementine. Kate spilled the beans about the lie the oceanic six told. You may remember that Kate and Cassidy knew each other from the Kate centered episode Left Behind. After what happened on slip 23, Kate took Aaron for juice box and she loses him in the grocery store and he was found with a woman who looked a lot like Claire. This prompter her to take Aaron to Claire's mother. Kate then spills the beans again to Aarons grandmother. Kate also tells her, she has to watch over Aaron while she goes back to the Island to find Claire and the other survivors. In 1977, on the island, Jin takes Ben to the infirmary, but Juliet can't save him. She tells Sawyer they need a real doctor. Sawyer goes to the only doc he know, but Jack's having none of it. Kate wants to help Ben, so she gives blood, but that's not enough she has to take him to the Others. And she does this with Sawyers help but he makes sure to tell her, he's doing this for Juliet. Sawyer finds Richard Alpert and he offers to help, but give the warning that once he takes him Ben will be one of them.