The Cellophanes - A Band

Formed within the expansive realms of the Glasgow punk scenes, The Cellophanes set themselves apart from their contemporaries with a strong grasp of vocal melodies, catchy lyrics and addictive rhythms.

Audibly, the band boast a strong catalogue of insta-classic punk songs laced with pop sensibilities. Live, The Cellophanes leave audiences entertained with their blistering playing speed and down-to-earth fan interaction.

With this attitude and these songs, it's a true struggle to leave a Cellophane's gig without whistling at least one of their musical delights.

More:

http://www.myspace.com/thecellophanesuk

http://www.facebook.com/The-Cellophanes

http://www.twitter.com/thecellophanes

Baseball Review - 26th June 2010

Aloha all and welcome to a new segment of Super Duper Stream. Herein is contained a spreadsheet detailing the current leaderboard across the MLB, showing overall winners, losers, Leagues, Divisions and my predictions for the next day's games.

[Access The Spreadsheet here]

A couple of interesting things to note about this table. First, each of the Leagues and Divisions are fairly well balanced. The fifth best National League team (Cincinnati Reds) are just above the fifth best American League team (Chicago White Sox) for instance. Only two Divisions have their 2nd place outwith the top 12 - National League East (Philadelphia Phillies) in 13th and American League West (Los Angeles Angels) in 16th.

[Current Leaders - New York Yankees (63.9%), Tampa Bay Rays (60.8%), San Diego Padres (59.8%), Texas Rangers (58.6%), Atlanta Braves (58.2%).]

Generally as you go down the table, Wins go down and Losses go up, however there are a few blips - Los Angeles Angels have an extra win and loss amongst their peers, while Cincinatti Reds have only an extra loss.

Onto my predictions. A few I may be sticking my neck out on the line for include predicting Oakland will beat the Texan's winning streak, Florida will do the same to San Francisco, both away from home. On a personal note, I think my beloved Mets will continue their losing streak, unfortunately. They just seem spent - no catching, no batting, no winning. Here's hoping I'm wrong!

I'll let you have a look at the table for yourself, and please discuss below if you agree/disagree with my predictions and if you have spotted any cool stats and quirks of your own.

This is a test

Simply a test.

Weekly Image - If Zelda Was Real

Weekly Image - Too Sweet

Weekly Image - Isn't It Ironic, Dontcha Think?

Weekly Image - Panda Bears Seriously Rock

Weekly Image - Feels Good To Be King

Weekly Image - For Fans Of Glee

Weekly Image - Cute (or Scary (or Sad (or All Of The Above)))

Weekly Image - It Is What It Is

Post-Finale

Hey all,

Well post-Lost, life is taking up all my time! But have no fear - not only will Week 14 of the Lost Blogging Collective Q&A be coming your way shortly, but you too can take part in the final Q&A if you so wish - it doesn't matter one bit if you are a blogger or not, just head over to this Facebook Group and follow the instructions. (If you haven't got Facebook, simply send an email to lostSDS@gmail.com and I'll let you know what to do).

Following that, there will be a look back on the Q&A, complete with plenty of stats about who took part and my favourite answers!

If you can't wait that long, there is plenty going on across the LBC to keep you remembering Lost the way it should be remembered! The Four Toed Foot is running an awesome competition, DarkUFO is running the final "Episode Cup" and other polls/awards, so head over there and have your opinion heard. Karen's Lost Notebook is hosting a series of Lost "conversations" (check out yours truly in the inaugural post). 

Not Confused, Just Lost provided a series of posts dealing with the finale with each individual character. Sagacious Penguin has posted an excellent write-up of the finale, and promises more to come! The ODI continues to post some excellent podcasts - well worth listening to! And the ever-funny Never Seen Lost has provided his unique take on the finale.

Unfortunately, it's not all roses. We will have to wait until the end of June to get Long Live Locke's proper write-up. Fishbiscuitland, disillusioned with the direction season 6 went in, has given up on Lost altogether, so don't expect a much-anticipated write-up from her (however, there's always the rest of her blog to re-read!).

In final bittersweet news, Jorge "Hurley" Garcia's pet dog Nunu was tragically struck down by a car and died a few days ago. A few bloggers, including JoPinionated, have suggested donating to the Hawaiian Human Society in her honour, and I think this is a grand idea.

Apologies for ending on such a down note, but as you can see the Lost fandom is still running. There is so much going on, in fact, that I couldn't fit any more in this post - you will just need to check out the rest of the Lost Blogging Collective for yourself. Enjoy, and I will return soon!

Weekly Image - Two Halves, One Whole

Lost - UK Finale Air Date & Time

Just a short update for all my fellow UK fans.

The finale will be shown simultaneously to the American time.

Sky 1, Monday 24th May 2010, 5am to 7:30am.  Set your alarm clocks early, or host an all-night Lost party - take the day off work, do WHATEVER it takes, but watch Lost with the rest of the world!!

A whopping 8 countries will be simultaneously watching Lost on the "23rd" (see what they did with the numbers there?) - the U.S., the U.K., Italy, Spain, Portugal, Israel, Turkey and Canada.  You'd think they planned it this way!

Oh wait, they did. For months now ABC and Darlton have been saying they wished the entire world to view Lost simultaneously, hence the move to such a weird date. However, for some unknown reason, Sky in the U.K. were late to the party. Their loss in viewing figures and advertising revenues for this blatant tardiness are not my concern - I'm just glad the news finally broke that we will be getting the finale at the same time as everyone else!

For those that can't handle the early morning / late night, the show will be repeated twice - Tuesday 25th May 2010 at 9pm and again on Friday 28th May 2010 at 9pm.

And finally, for the sceptics that think I am making this up - here is some source for you all. Enjoy.

(This news brings forward the final Lost Blogging Collective Q&A by a few days, but hopefully we will still get a good turnout for the final few.)

Weekly Image - Weekend Shopping

Lost Blogging Collective Q&A - Week 13

This third-to-last Lost Blogging Collective QnA deals with death - the death of Lost, the death of Lost Blogs and the potential death of the Lost Characters. However, some hope does remain, as we look forward to maybe seeing a few of our old friends in the finale. Without further ado, here are the questions:

1) What are your post-Lost plans? Will you continue writing about Lost, or is that it, over, done, finito?

2a) How do you rate the following character's chances of surviving the finale : Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, Claire, Frank, Ben, Richard, Miles, Desmond, Cindy, Zack, Emma, Charles Widmore, "Smokey".

2b) How do you rate the following character's chances of appearing in the finale : Walt, Penny, young Charlie, Rose, Bernard, Vincent.

Paul @ Room 23
http://lostroom23.blogspot.com/

1) My post Lost plans are that I plan to keep Room 23 going and expanding to other shows. Room 23 will be used to report on things like what projects the different actors and Darlton are working on and Lost related projects like the DVD set, The DK Encyclopedia, and any other Lost stuff that ABC makes without Darlton (You know that they will). Also I plan on merging all of the stuff on my Media & Spoiler pages with the main page after the finale. I started a FlashForward blog before that premiered, but now that, that is canceled I plan on turning it into another show blog. Maybe a few like Fringe, V and GLEE? Still figuring that out. But mostly I plan on focusing on producing designs/new products for my store (http://room23store.blogspot.com/). More Lost and branching out to other things like Fringe, V, GLEE and other shows along with creating my own stories and characters.

2a) & b) You know I could pretend that I don't know what I know and answer those questions, but I know too much. So out of respect for all of you I respectfully decline to answer these two questions.

AJ via Associated Content 
http://www.associatedcontent.com/

1) Well up til recently, I was getting into writing about FlashForward, but since they just cancelled it, I'm going to look into V.

2a) Jack, Desmond, Hurley, Ben, Sawyer, Emma, Widmore, Smokey, Richard, Miles, Zack, Frank, Cindy, Claire, Kate.

2b) Vincent, Penny, Walt, Bernard, young Charlie, Rose.

Karen @ Karen's Lost Notebook
http://karenslostnotebook.blogspot.com/

1) I will continue to write about LOST for as long as there is something to write about.  I plan my own re-watch and I go back to my original notes and add to them (maybe in different color font or print to discern the new additional notes).

2a) For most of them I don’t think it looks good. I think Jack will have a role until one of the last possible moments but may find his destiny leads to something he didn’t expect.

2b) Chances look good for Walt, Penny, Rose, Bernard and Vincent. I don’t know about young Charlie.

Sagacious Penguin @ Stuff And Nonsense
http://sagaciouspenguin.blogspot.com/

1) I'd love to keep writing on LOST once the show is over -- particularly a conclusive analysis of the show's more open-ended mysteries and what they added to the overall narrative.

2a) Chances of surviving the finale:

-- Jack 50% -- Either he's destined to sit on the Island for eternity as the new Jacob, or he's destined to somehow give his life to put an end to this destructive cycle!

-- Kate 30% -- She'll sacrifice herself to reunite Claire and Aaron.

-- Sawyer 30% -- He'll sacrifice himself for the good of the rest.

-- Hurley 80% -- He'll lead those who actually escape the Island.

-- Claire 90% -- She's gotta get back to Aaron, right?

-- Frank 0% or 100% -- IF he somehow survived the Submarine sinking, then he's untouchable and he's flying that Ajira plane off the Island.

-- Ben 40% -- Not sure why he'll die, but as someone guilty of SO much, it sure seems he's gotta!

-- Richard 10% -- If anyone deserves release from loooooong life, it's Richard!

-- Miles 60% -- Poor Miles. He hasn't had anything to do for a long time. And I can't see him having much of anything to don in the finale. If he dies, it'll be for the shock value.

-- Desmond 50% -- Like Jack he'll either sacrifice himself through a lifetime of keeping the Island going, or he'll die for the sake of existence as we know it.

-- Cindy, Zack, Emma 90% -- I can't see them killing those kids, and SOMEONE needs to take care of them.

-- Charles Widmrore 20% -- The guy's the closest thing to an all-rotten character this show has! Even if he's on the side of preventing the end of all existence, we've never been given any reason to be sympathetic for him. He'll be killed by either Smokey or Ben to put an end to his power-hungry quest and it'll feel great!

-- The MIB as Smokey 0% -- He's not escaping, and he's not going to sit quiet for another Millennia, so he's gotta go to end this show. What WOULDN'T surprise me is if someone else's consciousness had to willingly take over for the MIB's dead self... like maybe JOHN FREAKING LOCKE'S!

2b) Chances of appearing in the finale:

-- Walt, Penny, Young Charlie, Rose, Bernard, Vincent 95% -- Sure there's a chance one or more of these will slip through the cracks, but knowing LOST and how much it loves all its characters, I can't imagine all of these guys not making some kind of appearance!

Nikki @ Nik At Nite
http://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/

1) I have to write my season 6 book (link) for the Finding Lost series, so yes, I will definitely continue writing on it! I'm actually looking forward to the long and extensive post-finale discussions on my blog. And I'm also hoping, maybe in two years' time, to write a book that covers the entirety of Lost, not episodically, which is the way I've covered it off in the Finding Lost series, but thematically, looking at the show as one complete text. I think that would be a lot of fun.

2a) Ack!! Oh my... I'm assuming this is island world only, because I believe the people in the sideways world will be fine... and if the island world has to be sacrificed in order to move things to the sideways world, then maybe they'll ALL be obliterated!! But if that DOESN'T happen, then here are my picks in order of most likely to least likely to die on the island:

Frank, Charles Widmore, Cindy, Zack, Emma (oh no! Children!), Smokey, Miles, Sawyer, Claire, Richard, Ben, Kate, Hurley, Desmond, Jack.

2b) Again, from most likely to appear to least likely:

Penny, Vincent, Rose, Bernard, young Charlie, Walt.

What, no Eko? Am I the only person left holding out hope we'll see him again? Wah. I would love to see him again. ;) with the sideways world, I just keep holding out hope that we'll see him over there. Fingers crossed!!

Izikavazo @ Not Confused, Just Lost
http://ncjl.wordpress.com/

1) I still don't know what I will do with my Lost blog after the show ends.  It really all depends on the finale.  If it's as stimulating as the season 4 finale then I could be blogging about Lost for months afterwards.  But there's a chance that I might just sit back and enjoy the finale and feel no need to re-analyze everything.

2a) Jack - 100% dead.

Kate - complete mystery to me. I have no idea what the writers have planned for her, but I'm pretty sure it will be big and in the face of all those Kate haters.

Sawyer - 75% chance of death, (but I'm sure we'll get an off-Island happy ending.)

Hurley - 10% chance of death. Chewie never died... in the movies.

Claire - Hopefully dead, I'd say 60%.

Frank - Haha, I think this guys already dead.

Ben - 80%, I love the guy, but whatmore can he do.  I just hope he gets to trick one more person before he dies.

Richard - 95%, this guy might be cursed with living, but he really just wants to die.

Miles - Hey I forgot about him. 75% chance, but I'll bet if he does die it will be one of those episode opening things before the LOST title card.

Desmond - 1% chance of death.  I can't even pretend that I'm being objective here.

Cindy, Zach, Emma - I don't think it matters anymore, we probably won't see them again.

Widmore - 100% chance of death, he'll probably take someone down with him, someone like Ben, Miles or Sawyer.

Smokey - 100% dead.  It would be too open-ended if Smokey lived.

2b) Walt - Don't get me started.  I don't even want to guess.

Penny & Charlie 2.0 - 99%.  It's that 1% that's killing me.

Rose & Bernard - Well my Adam & Eve theory didn't pan out, so I'm guessing they'll show up.

Vincent - 100%.  I don't think I'm alone in thinking that the show will end with Vincent in the final scene.  He's pretty much our Constant.

Benny @ Finally Lost
http://finallylost.wordpress.com/

1) Assuming the finale is in the same mind-blowing stratosphere that "The Incident" was, I plan on re-watching the entire series to see what I missed the first time around. After that, rumor has it that Dr. Drew is going to setup a LOST rehab facility for those of us who need our weekly fix, so I plan on signing up along with celebrity fans Jimmy Kimmel and Mary Carey.

2a) In the original timeline, I believe only Jack will survive. It seems to me that whoever controls the island tends to purge the people living on the island whenever they discover too many answers. I just hope the LOST writers don't take a page from their own book and try to purge us LOST fans "The Ring Style" once we watch the finale and learn all the answers.

2b) I believe all of the above will appear in the finale except Walt. Walt is probably 6 foot at this point and that growth is probably too difficult to explain even on this show. The show began with Vincent waking up Jack so I think it would be poetic if Jack became Jacob's successor and slipped Vincent a drink of the ageless wine so they can protect the island together. Then we can have a LOST followup series depicting Vincent's attempt to find a loop hole so he can die because he can't stand an eternity of Jack's crying.

Ernie @ Gulf Coast Offense
http://gulfcoastoffense.blogspot.com/

1) I'm not sure how much I'll continue to write about Lost, but I'll certainly still read what others have to say about it. I'm sure, every now and then I'll see something that will spark an idea or that I'll feel I need to pass along to others, but with no new content, I'm sure after a little while we'll all have exhausted analyzing this show ... then again, probably not.

2a) I think 100% Jack will survive. All indications are that he is the candidate. Others, I'm not so sure about. I'd put Hurley's chances as next best for survival. Going through the list, I think Kate and/or Claire will survive and leave the island. Somebody's gotta take care of baby Aaron. I'll put Claire's chances of leaving the island better, as I feel Kate might stay to be with Jack if given the choice. There are two on the list that are most likely to have a heroic death: Sawyer and Desmond. Widmore said that Des would have to make a sacrifice. Will that be himself or his life with Penny and Charlie? Sawyer has been in the Han Solo role for years and Harrison Ford always felt that it would have fit that character better if he died saving his friends. I think this is the end for Sawyer.

Looking at the rest of the list, I think Frank is already a goner and Richard would welcome death. I don't see a nice ending for any of Richard's group actually (Ben and Miles). I doubt we'll see a resolution with Zach, Emma and Cindy, so can we assume they are dead or just living out their days on the island, ala Bernard and Rose? For Widmore, many fans would like to see him die, so I think we will. For Smokey, I don't think he'll die, but we'll get another version of him. Perhaps another character from the list above?

Man, I'm predicting a lot of death in the finale.

2b) I rate Penny the highest (99%), so young Charlie will probably make an appearance too. The rest are slimmer. Rose and Bernard, unless they appear in the sideways world again, I don't see reappearing on the island. The same for Vincent. I think his story is done. I'd love some resolution with Walt, but it would be tough to fit in the story now with the actor being older now, so I'm going to put him at the slim chance of 15%.

Ms Wendy @ It's About Bunnies!
http://mswendy.wordpress.com/

1) My post LOST plans: As of now, I will be still blogging, on occasion, for my LOST blog (It's About Bunnies). I will also be part of a rewatch "collective" being hosted by Bonnie Covel of the LOST blog on about.com. Heath Solo and I will still be podcasting together on The Film List, where I'm sure we will "talk LOST" frequently (it's in our DNA now, I think) and possibly continuing The LOST Revisited Now podcast. We shall see...

2a) and b) Wasn't sure about what "system" to rank them with. So, I'll just go in order of "Least Likely to Most Likely to Survive the Finale/Show Up in Finale":

Who Will Survive ( Least to Most Likely)

1. Frank ( I think that door "did him in" :( )

2. Ben

3. Richard

4. Sawyer

5. Miles

6. Cindy

7. "Smokey"

8. Charles Widmore

9.  Desmond

10. Kate

11. Hurley

12. Claire

13. Jack

14. Emma

15. Zach

Appearing in Finale ( Least to Most Likely)

1. Young Charlie

2. Penny

3. Walt

4. Rose and Bernard

5. Vincent

Miss Scarlett @ Knittnfool
http://missscarlett.wordpress.com/

1) Oh! I don't have any post-Lost plans. :-(

I'm in severe denial. I am about 8 episodes behind in blogging....but it will be hard to keep their reviews "clean". I guess I'll get on with those and then maybe have a wrap up overview?

2a) Jack, Hurley, Miles and Desmond will make it -- I hope!

Kate should make it - someone needs to raise Aaron and Claire, well...unless it's off-Island Claire, it would be better for her not to have access to Aaron.

Frank, Ben, Richard, Cindy, Zack, Emma, Charles and Smokey are all goners. Although I am less sure about Frank since he's sort of by the wayside.

I have a hard time guesstimating because there are more than one version of some of these characters so...I can't decide which side will live and which not. But there you have it.

Island Claire will die.

2b) Walt = no

Penny = yes

Young Charlie = yes

Rose & Bernard = no

Vincent = no -- though I really want to see him!

Chris @ SuperDuperStream
http://superduperstream.blogspot.com/

1) After Lost I plan on turning my attention fully onto the unanswered mysteries and trying to make an educated guess at the answers.  This will be taken care of at the website http://lostquestions23.blogspot.com , which was my original blog. It will be revamped of course.  As for Super Duper Stream, it will continue with some Lost updates, but will return to the original agenda of being a stream of my conciousness - boxing updates, comic book updates, movie news and gossip, music discussion, etc etc. Rest assured, I won't be going away, and hopefully most of the Lost Blogging Collective will stick around and guest-spot on each others blogs, maybe do a monthly Q&A or something like that.

2a) In order of most likely to survive to least likely to survive - Sawyer (100%) - He has already done the heroic sacrifice thing a few times now, he deserves some kind of break. I can see Jack dying in the end and Sawyer having to step up as the new 'Jacob', or else having to lead everyone off Island. Desmond (100%) - As much as I am neutral to him, he is a definite fan-favourite and is clearly the central character of this season. Jack (90%) - Most likely will survive as the next 'Jacob', but there is a slight chance he will need to make a final sacrifice to save everyone and Sawyer will be forced to step up. Claire (80%) - Has been through too much to die at this point, but isn't the most loved character around. Seems to be friends with everyone, including "Smokey", so that stands her in good stead. Ben (80%) - Far too good a character to just be neglected all season and die at the end. Has something big in store, which might result in the ultimate sacrifice to turn him full-fledged hero, but I imagine he will just con his way off-Island as is his usual M.O. Cindy, Zack and Emma (75%) - Nothing much has been seen, heard or done with these characters, so it would be nice to see them get a happy ending. No need to kill them, but also no urgent need to specifically save them. Richard (60%) - Again would serve no reason to kill him, and he is a fan-favourite, but also has nothing left to live for. Would be nice to see him accept his role as adviser/partner with the new 'Jacob', but in a more powerful and rewarding capacity. I want him to have a happy ending, but they need to kill somebody. Kate (60%) - Suffers from the fact that Claire is back on the scene. Her bullet-wound says that she is safe, plus the fact she is one of THE main characters, but again there would be no huge loss if she died. Miles (50%) - Can't get a read on him. His potential was wasted, so whether that earns him a happy ending, or leads to him being thrown to the wayside, who can tell. "Smokey" (50%) - Again, simply can't choose with this guy. He's either the hero or the villian, and will thusly either survive or die. Who knows? I can't decide whatsoever. Frank (20%) - I simply refuse to believe that was his death, it was so understated. I expect him to wash up on shore any second now, but I guess we have to take a lot of things at face value this season. This isn't a Jin situation, there won't be a next season to find out whether he truly died or not. Charles Widmore (20%) - Has no reason to survive. Doesn't know half as much as he thinks he does, isn't loved by anybody, neither fan nor character. Has lived a selfish life no matter what he postulates. And finally, Hurley (10%) - A necessary sacrifice. He is the ultimate fan favourite, someone gut-wrenchingly loved simply HAS to die, and who better fits that bill than Hurley? Plus, he has made peace with his Mum, with his Dad, met Libby again, he has had his fill of happy endings. As much as I don't want to see it, it makes perfect sense that Hurley would die.

2b) In terms of most likely to be seen running down to least likely, we have Vincent (70%) - Hey, it may be wishful thinking, but I know I am not alone in thinking there MUST be something more to Vincent! Rose & Bernard (60%) - It's tradition, but what would be the point? They had their ending. At least Vincent has some sort of mystery surrounding him. Walt (50%) - I actually think he is more along the 75% lines, but simply because I think it would be very anti-climatic, and the writers probably know this, his score is lowered. Finally, Penny & young Charlie (40%) - Again, there is a good chance of them arriving and giving Desmond his happy ending, but then again, the only way I can see them arriving is in some kind of danger - our pulses are already running so high I doubt the writers would do that to us!

Lost - The Tarantino Of TV

Hello all,

I have a series of Lost analysis posts planned, but as I am running out of free time to write them up properly, I thought I would give you dedicated readers a sneak preview of what is in store.

I have maintained that the secret to Lost's success isn't any one individual storyline or character - instead, it is the fact that Lost has managed to harness so much into so small a medium. While Quentin Tarantino movies work because the writer/director/actor is such a dedicated fan of film that he can pick and choose various aspects of the thousands of movies he has viewed and pull them together into one work of art, so too are the Lost creators a fan of stories, myths and ideas.

Take, for instance, the recent reveal that the essence of Lost, of The Island, of the Smoke Monster, of everything is nothing more than a bright, golden light. This vague thing is the centre of so many interconnecting storylines and characters, and sounds awfully familiar to me:

Or how about those Season 3 stars, Nikki and Paulo. Characters introduced years into a show's life that we are expected to believe have been there all along and to now accept as an integral part of the storyline. The water was tested in Season 3 and was met with rabid, mixed response - most of it may have been venomous, but the writer's persevered, giving Nikki and Paulo a decent send off and referencing them in future seasons. The trick was tried again and succeeded more successfully in Seasons 5 and 6 with Jacob and "the man in black". But, perhaps Nikki and Paulo weren't the original litmus test for this storytelling device. Perhaps we have seen something like this before:

I will return to both the worlds of Quentin Tarantino and Joss Whedon in the future, but for now I would like to concentrate on three other works of fiction from which Lost has drawn influence, and try to use these as a framework for possible directions in which the Series finale will go in. These three are Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus", Brian Michael Bendis' "The House Of M" and Paul Jenkins' "Sentry".

The Imaginarium Of Doctor Darlton

To boil it down to it's essence, the movie "The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus" is a story of two competing sides, one dressed primarily in black and attempting to trick people into choosing the dark side of their soul, and one dressed primarily in white who has been tricked himself into convincing people to choose the light side of their soul.

 

A lot of the movie is left to personal interpretation, but what is clear is that there are two worlds accessible by a mirror portal. In one world, life goes on - people drink, argue and attempt to survive. A small group attempt to open up the rest of the world's eyes to another world, a world of storytelling and imagination. In the other world, people are given the choice to start afresh, to choose their own personal chance at redemption or to give in to human greed and sin.

 

There is a lot here to entertain the Lost fan, and there are plenty of parallels to be made with each world. If Lost ends in a similar fashion to "Imaginarium", then we will see some of our survivors killed off by their own greed and weakness, while some will be given a fresh life as reward for their goodness. In the end, Jacob and Smokey will chalk the game up as a loose draw and moot on whether to play another game with people's lives and their mortality.

The House Of Darlton

Marvel comics have a tradition of one large, over-arching storyline every year or so. In 2005 this took the form of "The House Of M". One hugely powerful character, The Scarlet Witch, suffers terrible losses in her life and breaks down mentally, creating an alternative world in which everyone's deepest desire comes true. The dead come back to life, old friends become enemies and old enemies become friends. Two people, for unknown reasons, are aware of the fakeness of this world. Together they help 'awaken' the others.

Many moral debates are thrown up due to this situation - how can we believe which world is real? How can we choose between our wife in the original world and our wife in the new world? If given a choice, which world would you prefer to live in, and is this different from where you should be living? What if someone exists in one world and not the other?

If Lost follows the "House Of M" storyline, then it will most likely end with most people agreeing that, although it was more painful, the 'real' world is the correct one and that they must restore order by defeating the huge unstoppable power, or at least trying to make it see sense. Assuming this power is Smokey, then it will most likely declare in a fit of childish rage that humanity should be wiped out and attempt to do so.

Sentry

(Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Fake Locke)

Finally, we reach perhaps the toughest concept to wrap our heads around. While "Imaginarium" dealt with otherworlds, and "House Of M" dealt with otherworlds in which we are unsure of what is real, "Sentry" is another comic creation that bends, warps, destroys, rebuilds and decimates all concepts of reality and sense in every possible way.

The Sentry is a creation whose origins not even he fully knows or understands. He is a man, Robert Reynolds. He is a hero, The Sentry. And he is a villain, The Void. His memories have been altered and tampered with by, presumably, drugs, his enemies, his friends and himself. His advisers include a psychotically evil schizophrenic, a God of war, a comic book writer who claims to have created him, the split-personality Hulk, his sometimes-dead wife and his own fragile, shattered personality.

Following this haphazard storyline, a basic theme emerges - either the man (Reynolds, Locke) got too powerful too quick and created personas (Sentry, Void, Jacob, MIB) to fight against each other and cancel each other out so that his power could never fully be used for good or evil. While Void and Sentry fight and confuse each other to in turns attempt to destroy the world and to stop the world from being destroyed, so too do Jacob and MIB fight to prove each other wrong and in turns prevent the world's destruction or try to cause the world's destruction.

The other theory is that the three beings are completely one - that everything is a construct of an incredibly destroyed mind. This could lead to an ending similar to a fan-favourite - that of the Lost world being the construct of a game-loving mentally diseased patient somewhere in Santa Rosa.

My own thoughts on the extremely confusing matter is that Jacob, fearful of his powers, has created MIB, the whole 'game' of The Island and a certain wildcard character, John Locke, to both contain himself and act as a backdoor to escape from insanity. Whether one side of his moral coin will win, or whether he will continue to eternally outwit hisself and cancel his several personalities out forevermore, remains to be seen.

Lost Blogging Collective Q&A - Week 12

Aloha all, very sorry for the tardiness - real life, yadda yadda. Let's put it behind us and move on with the Q&A which should hopefully make it to the end of the series without any more hiccups (cross your fingers and toes everyone!).

Here are the questions and the answers =) enjoy!

1) Sayid has made some difficult choices in the past. Is there hope for him yet? Did he kill Desmond? Does he deserve a happy ending? Do you even WANT to see him redeemed?

2) Jack has to make some difficult choices ahead. He seems pretty certain that thwarting Smokey is the right thing to do, and that this will be accomplished by him staying on the Island. Will he remain on the Island if it means that no-one else can leave? Will he remain on the Island if it means that David ceases to exist on any dimension, assuming he learns of his existence?

Sagacious Penguin @ Stuff And Nonsense 

http://sagaciouspenguin.blogspot.com/

1) There is hope for Sayid. He will probably never be the same man he was, but what's left of him will be able to acknowledge this and (I'm guessing) sacrifice himself for what the man he used to be thought was right. Anyone willing to redeem themselves, deserves a happy ending, but at this point, going out on the side of "good" is all I think Sayid will be able to attain.

2) I think Jack now intends to stay on-Island until he knows exactly why he was brought there - no matter what the consequences are for himself or the others. Regarding David -- I was recently going back and forth in my head over whether the show's endgame will be the end of the Altered Universe to save the Original Timeline or whether it will be the death of the Original Timeline with the characters having their memories OT memories in the Altered Universe. In interviews, Darlton have described what they want the tend to feel like: and I believe the tones bittersweet, beautiful, and/or moving were indicated in those interviews. This tone seems entirely appropriate to me, so the thought that everyone might go on happily ever after in the AU at the end no matter how much tragedy takes place in the OT doesn't really sit well with me. It would be far more bittersweet, profound, and moving if the characters willingly sacrifice their (happier) AU existences to accept the reality of what goes down in the OT - rain or shine - things as they were meant to be. If this is the case, everyone's going to have a tough choice on their hands, but Jack more than anyone. But at this point, I think he's ready to make the ultimate sacrifice. Bye-bye, David...

Paul @ Room 23
http://lostroom23.blogspot.com/

1) I believe that there is hope still for Sayid, I really doubt that Sayid shot Desmond, but if he by chance did, it could be that that well holds the energy that has caused all of the healings on the island and that Desmond would be healed right after being shot, which would also help to shock Sayid out of his MIB control. But ether way this show is about redemption and one way or another Sayid will receive some sort of redemption. I could see/speculate him making some grand sacrifice to save the remaining candidates thus buying his redemption and helping him to be with Nadia in the afterlife.

2) I would assume that since Lost is about a battle of good vs evil Jack will need to do a number of things in order to stop MIB. I would assume that he will become aware of the Alt world and will have to some how ether choose between the two or to combine them. While a difficult decision I have faith that he will ultimately make the correct decision. I would guess that whatever the outcome there will be a chance in the end for some to leave and some to stay though.

Karen @ Sam's I Am 

http://4mombymom.blogspot.com/

1) In regards to Sayid, I think there is still hope for him.  I do not think he killed Desmond and because he somehow managed to fight the "evil within" to do that, I think he might be okay.  Or he might be killed off sometime before the end.  I think that I would like to either see Sayid redeemed and happy or see him killed in a heroic way.

2) When Jack makes up his mind about a decision, he has always been hell-bent on seeing that decision through.  (i.e., "We have to go back Kate!!!")  Jack thinks he is not supposed to leave the island, but if it means everyone else cannot leave either (if that is, in fact, what THEY want to do) I think he would struggle with that.  If on-island Jack discovers David, however, I think that would be enough to change his mind especially after the last episode, where it seemed like he and David were finally connecting.  That is something he seriously lacked with his own father, so I think he would do anything to have that with his own son.

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Lost Blogging Collective Q&A - Week 11

Aloha one and all! The Lost Blogging Collective returns to you this week with more exciting questions and answers. As Lost enters the final length of the final race of this grand marathon, I am more thankful now than ever that this great group of exciting writers and fans have bonded together in a theory and opinion sharing project. We all have great fun every week writing this for you all, and I hope you have as much fun reading it.

In the years to come, I hope this provides a wonderful snapshot of our final Lost year, but for now, here are this week's Questions and Answers.

1) What did you think of Hurley's episode in general, and specifically the return of Libby? Has it been worth all the hints and teases over the years - of Libby returning, of Desmond being a 'super' man, of Hurley being a leader - was this episode, in essence, worth the wait?

2) We've seen Desmond. We've seen Daniel. We've seen Charlie, Boone, Locke, Mikhail, Keamy, Charlotte, Michael! We've seen pretty much everybody this season, but one man is missing - Walt! Do you think we will see Walt before the end, and how would YOU write him back into the show?

AJ via Associated Content

http://www.associatedcontent.com/

1) I loved the episode personally. Libby and Desmond's stories are very intriguing. I only wish Libby would've experienced something more traumatic or emotional-laced than "I saw your commercial" that reminded her of Hurley.

2) I believe Walt will indeed return. I feel like he's going to return, knowing more of his "powers". The only awkward thing is going to be him coming back as a 10 or 13 year old, with the actor being 17 now. As a footnote, we haven't seen Eko either and I really would like him to return!!

Sagacious Penguin @ Stuff And Nonsense

http://sagaciouspenguin.blogspot.com/

1) The Altered Universe story and everything with Desmond worked very well, I thought. We still don't know why Libby was in Santa Rosa with Hurley in the original timeline, but whatever the reason, having the hospital be what facilitated their reunion in the Altered Universe was a nice pay-off. I'd love a bit more info on Original Timeline Libby, (including why she lied about Hurley stepping on her foot), but if this is all we get, then I'd say the character was well-justified on the whole as a link in the show's chain. Desmond's role as a 'super' man continues to build and will be something to keep an eye on for sure as the series ends. I'm fine with Hurley's growth as a leader, but we the audience need to know where he's getting his ideas. I go into detail on my blog about what didn't work for me in this episode (Illana's casual dismissal and Hurley's sudden, unmotivated, out-of-nowhere decision to go see "Locke"), but this is largely a case of what was building the last few episodes (since 6.07 [Dr. Linus]) not paying-off clearly -- what's been building for the course of the entire series is still paying off nicely.

2) I would certainly hope we'll see Walt in some capacity in the finale. He's shown up somewhere every season so far! I'm of the opinion that Walt is a character who got his "powers" from an electromagnetically-imbued location elsewhere than the Island (Like Isaac of Uhluru [Rose's Faith-Healer] or perhaps Richard Malkin [Claire's Psychic]). But the Island being the mother of all electromagnetic energy sites, Walt's powers interact with the Island in curious ways. This would be why the Others were interested in studying him, but decided they got more than they could handle and ultimately traded him for Ben's safe return. It's also probably connected to Shannon's Walt sightings. But considering what Taller Ghost Walt told Locke he ought to do in 3.22 (Through the Looking Glass), that appearance of Walt was probably some sort of MIB-induced vision. So if I were to bring Walt back in Season 6, I would want to reference both the MIB's use of his image as well as the general consequences of bringing someone with Walt's abilities to the Island. I've also always loved the idea that (in some way) Walt never left the Island, whether it's been stamped with his psychic presence, or whether he can somehow physically project himself there in an inverse of the way that certain Others (Richard/Ethan/Mr.Friendly) seem to be able to leave the Island without truly leaving it.

Jeff @ Moving Fiction
http://movingfiction.wordpress.com/

1) I think this episode is on the short list of episodes this season that answered enough questions to be considered a finale quality episode. The Flash Sideways has become great with the last two episodes, and I think Libby's story feels less like a loose end now, which is never a bad thing with this show.

2) I have a close friend who believes that Walt will end up being the Smoke Monster in some form by the end of the show. Similar to how there must be a replacement for Jacob, my friend believes Walt will be the Island's monster in captivity by the end. I personally think we won't see Walt at all, or not for more than a couple scenes to explain his character off.

Paul @ Room 23

http://lostroom23.blogspot.com/

1) Yes it definitely was worth the wait. The story and the way that they brought Libby back was so awesome and so satisfying. I kind of wish that when she mentioned that she had checked herself into the mental institute that they would have given her one or two lines explaining why, but that was a very minor thing. It was just so awesome! I love the Flash Sideways.

2) I have no idea really how they could work him in unless they do it as a big surprise at the end of the second to last episode or in the final episode, with the direction that the season is going since we haven’t seen any set up for it yet. If I were doing things I would probably do that reveal and then involve him in the big final battle with some ability that combines with Desmond's that could defeat MIB.

Anna @ The Four Toed Foot

http://www.thefourtoedfoot.com/

1) Dude. I must say the reunion with Libby was even BETTER than I expected.  In fact, when they kissed on the beach and Hurley’s Island memories came flooding back to him, I totally started crying uncontrollably.  My fiancé looked at me like I was the biggest Dork on Earth, but it was so sweet and so unexpected.  I didn’t realize how much I had missed her, and how much I have come to really love Hugo over the years.  The episode title was kind of personal in that regard.

Hurley also deserves his place as the new Leader.  He has the most genuine sense of “goodness” of all our LOSTies.  Besides the occasional white-lie, I cannot think of anything Hurley has done to intentionally harm anyone.  He has always been the one to try and keep others’ spirits up, keep them safe, keep them LOVED.  He has surpassed his earlier child-like innocence and has taken on more and more responsibility, so his new role is fitting in my opinion.  I just really only want the best for the Biggest Hearted Dude on LOST.

In regards to Desmond, I have always seen him as the main “wild card” and always figured it would either be Desmond or Locke who would ultimately save the Island.  This is probably why they remain my two favorite characters of all time as well.  Now with the latter, uh, indisposed (for the time being – yes I’m still holding the torch, baby!), I am guessing it really will be Desmond, the most unwilling hero, who will Save Us All.

(BTW Funny you used the term “Super”man… I had picked The Flaming Lips for my latest recap band of choice.)

2) One of my favorite moments in the show’s history was the surprising return of Walt as Locke’s motivation when he was shot by Ben and left for dead in the ol’ Purge Pit.  I think the return of Taller Ghost Walt is in order!  He doesn’t need to be on the Island.  We know he has the ability to appear in places where he shouldn’t be.  I want one final Walt-Vision.  Perhaps if only to tease The Lockeness Monster, or perhaps to once again serve as motivator and help coax the Real John Locke into full consciousness and give MIB the boot from that body once and for all! 

Izikavazo @ Not Confused, Just Lost
http://ncjl.wordpress.com/

1) I think the Libby thing was worth the wait.  After the build up of the Hurley Libby relationship in Season 2 and the extremely shocking end of that relationship it was very gratifying seeing those two get a happy moment.

As for the Desmond's new awareness, it's great to watch.  But when I tried to guess what his future was going to hold I never really connected him to any of the other characters.  I've always just put Desmond off in a corner away from all the normals.  So it's fun watching, but I won't pretend that I ever expected him to be the link between all these characters and the guide to their enlightenment.

Now Hurley's leadership.  That's something I always hoped to see, but I thought I was being delusional.  Now look, he's doing Jack's job.

2) This is a torturous question.  I always wanted Walt to come back, I don't think I'm alone there.  But at this point I'm about to give up hope.  I was so sure that the Oceanic 6 storyline was the means to get Walt back on the show.  These characters were off the Island, they were coming back, they had a time jump, they needed as many Island people on the plane as possible to make it work.  I was so sure that all of this was the writers way of getting Walt back on the show.  But I was wrong.  Now we've had another group find their way to the Island, on Widmore's submarine, but still no Walt in sight.

As for the other timeline, it's 2004 over there, so unless there's a time jump I don't think we'll see him there.
The only other way I can imagine Walt coming back is if everyone dies in the finale and the Island is uninhabited, and then Walt get's there all alone and becomes the next Jacob.  That would be fun (and quite insane).


Scott @ The Stuff Of Legend
http://www.im-thinking19.blogspot.com/

1) I LOVED "Everybody Loves Hugo". I thought it was a great mix of humor, romance, plot, and stuff getting blown up. The return of Libby was extremely satisfying, and I think that Garcia and Watros have a very sweet chemistry that is unique to them.

To say whether it was "worth the wait"... I don't think that the stories of Hurley and Desmond are completed yet, so it is difficult to say. I do like that Hurley is finally gaining some confidence in himself, and we are seeing that manifest in both timelines.

As far as Desmond goes, I'm still not convinced that he is totally "aware" of everything that is going on in both timelines. For instance, I don't think he hit Locke with his car because Fake-Locke threw him down a well. I think that in the Sideways timeline, he is aware that something is "off", and he's trying to convince the others of the same thing so that they can help him do.... whatever it is they are going to do in order to try and reconcile the two.

On the Island, he seems very Zen... I think this is because, as crazy and screwed up as things seem, that timeline is the RIGHT one, and it is progressing the way it has to. Island Desmond is aware enough to know that no matter what happens in this timeline, it could be worse... he could be stuck in the other "wrong" one.

2) Man, I sure HOPE we see Walt again... otherwise, there was an awful lot of time spent telling us how freaking "SPECIAL" he is for no reason.

I know that Malcolm David Kelly's growth spurt caused the writers some issues, but I think at this point they could write him back in without much issue... it's been three years, after all, and as the father of two teenagers I can tell you that a massive growth spurt in three years is certainly within the realm of possibility.

If I were to write him back into the show, I would probably have him somehow "drawn" to Desmond and the group that he is putting together somehow. Maybe he shows up at wherever they end up gathering together, saying that he doesn't know why, but something has been driving him to find something or someone, but he doesn't know what. He even flew to Sydney, Australia and back, just because "something" told him to... he was supposed to fly back a few days ago, but he got sidetracked and missed his flight.

The flight he missed? OCEANIC FLIGHT 815.


Ms Wendy @ It's About Bunnies!
http://mswendy.wordpress.com/

1) They had me at the Hurley Tribute video... loved this episode. For me, worth the wait. At first, I wasn't too happy with Ilana blowing up. But LOST has shown us that the stakes have been high since Season One. That "life is a series of choices". And, regardless of what you think is your "destiny" , those choices (like slamming a bag of leaky dynamite on the ground) can sometimes have dire consequences.  Unless you're Richard... ;)

2) In Season One, when Locke grabbed Walt's arm, he told him "Don't open that thing, Mr. Locke.... just don't open it". He knew what was going on with The Hatch. Did that include who was inside of it, i.e. Desmond? So, just like in Season 3, Walt helping Locke get out of the Dharma Death Pit, Walt could be standing over the well. The question is... would he be there to help Des or not? 


Karen @ Karen's Lost Notebook
http://karenslostnotebook.blogspot.com/

1) I loved this Hugo episode.  It was filled with important info.  Seeing Libby, Dr. Brooks and Mama Reyes was great.  One thing I noticed with his episode is that there weren’t any “mirror” moments in it for Hugo.   I wonder if that is because he’s “the guy who isn’t even in the game”.  It all was worth the wait.

2)  I have not counted out Waaaaalt at all.  I believe we will see where he still fits in.


Nikki @ Nik At Nite http://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/
1) I think it was a fantastic episode, but it didn't feel to me like the big question-answering episode we've been waiting for... it did establish Desmond as the man who was going to bring everyone together. It didn't answer the question of why Libby was in the mental hospital with Hurley, unless the suggestion is that in the original timeline, she was perhaps seeing the sideways world and was unable to cope with it then. And maybe she really DIDN'T remember Hurley. But I still find it more than coincidental that she was in the hospital with Hurley AND she was the one who gave the boat to Desmond AND she was the one at the airport asking Eko if he was OK and was still getting on the plane. So many things pointed to her possibly being in cahoots with the island, and I'm not sure that will ever be answered.

That aside, I loved the story between Hugo and Libby in the SW, and the scene of them finally getting their picnic -- blankets and all -- brought tears to my eyes. Beautifully done by the writers, and even more beautifully done by the actors. I adored this episode.

2) That's a really tough one, mostly because Walt is simply too old right now. And I'd never want them to re-cast that character. They can't have him in the SW, because he's supposed to be 11, but they can have him over in this timeline and even though the actor must be pushing 19 at this point, he could probably pull off 15, which is a year older than Walt is in the original timeline. (And maybe they're just hoping we don't do the math!) I'm not sure we will see Walt again, and because of that I haven't thought of how I'd work him into the show. Many, many people see the Walt/Michael storyline as being unfinished, but I don't feel that way. Walt was introduced as the kid who was special, and the Others saw that and took him, and he became the catalyst for the events that ended season 2 and essentially spurred the rest of the series. He brought the Others out of the woodwork; he forced Michael on his expedition; he was put in Room 23 and Ben had tests run on him; he proved too dangerous for them to continue with him and they needed to get rid of him, but they knew Michael didn't know that, so they bribed Michael to go and get the 4 people to come to the other side of the island and free Henry Gale, thus spawning everything else that happened. Walt's specialness was important just for that reason, and we got a satisfying conclusion from it (there has been no solid explanation for him appearing to Shannon or Locke, so it might be nice to get that). Then we continued to follow Michael's quest for redemption, and as of last week we discovered that he's trapped in a purgatory for the things he did, which seems like the way to end his character. He's sorry for what he did, and we know that, and we also know Walt is happily in NY with his grandmother and safe from the Bentham episode, so that storyline is done for me. But I do see why other people would want to bring it back.

Now, if they brought back EKO, on the other hand... THAT would be exciting for me. :)


Ernie @ Gulf Coast Offense
http://gulfcoastoffense.blogspot.com/

1) I enjoyed the episode and am happy that we're finally getting somewhere in the sideways world. The return of Libby was cool, but not as cool as it would have been to have gotten her original backstory. I like Hurley as a leader, as he's always been used as the voice of the audience and comic relief. Maybe with him as leader, we're on the fast track to learning that Lost is all about. Desmond has always been a great character, but I wouldn't call him superman, he's just the uniquely special guy who will piece this entire puzzle together. I think this episode was worth the wait, but really when you think about it, the first half of this season is sort of a waste. We could have done without the temple all together and the earlier flash sideways stories didn't really get us anywhere.

2) I would love to see Walt back before the end of the show because I feel like there's so much more to his story than what we've learned. In the grand scheme of things and the current situation on the show though, I don't think Walt will come into play. I'm not even sure how they could write him back unless he appears in the sideways world, which wouldn't be as satisfying.


Chris @ Super Duper Stream
http://superduperstream.blogspot.com/

1) I have been adamant for 4 years now that the way the writers handle Libby's (lack of) story would define the entire show. While I absolutely LOVED this episode, on reflection I think I may be right. This final season has been a lot of fun and contained some of the best scenes and episodes of the series, but the whole thing seems like a bandage being applied to a leaking wound. The writers obviously never anticipated the sheer volume of stories and theories and fan response, and they are so far doing an excellent job of providing us with all that we think we want to see - they did it in Season 5 with the time travelling covering all of Dharma and Danielle's storylines, and they are doing it this Season by showing us how things could have been. But the real answer is, we still haven't got Libby's story. But, for an ALTERNATIVE to what we think we want, this episode did just fine, and although I would rather have not had to wait so long, it was worth it in the end. Now please don't ignore Hurley for the remaining episodes!

2) As with the above, Walt is another neglected character. While I would love to see Eko (and all the other characters including Tom, Shannon, Goodwin etc) none of them have been neglected where Walt (and Libby) have. The Jeremy Bentham episode seemed like (to use the bleeding wound analogy) a little plaster applied to Walt's story, or perhaps a metaphor for real life events - perhaps the actor has moved away from Lost and doesn't wish to return? Whatever the reasons, again I would have liked to see Walt's proper storyline and not the ALTERNATIVE that he is living with his Grandmother and is seemingly normal. That might be nice, but nice isn't Lost.

But to get back to the question, yes, I believe we will see Walt before the end. How I personally would write him in to the episodes is dramatic - I would give us, the viewers, a pinch of respect and just show Walt as a taller version of his original self in the Alternative timeline. We all know he has grown in real life, so we should just deal with it - we've managed to overlook changing hairstyles (especially Sawyer's) over the years.
So Walt and Michael turn up at the hospital for whatever reason (perhaps Michael is still with Walt's mother and she is pregnant again and is in for a scan). Walt runs into David, who goes to his school, they get chatting and so Michael meets Jack, who at this point has been 'woken up' and, his hero complex kicking in, does something horrible to put Michael and Walt's lives at risk - but saves them in the end, waking them up in the process. Walt's powers live on in the Alternative world, which combined with Desmond and newly-heroic Jack, gives them the power to right whatever wrong needs fixed. (And I can't believe I just wrote a story that involves Jack being the hero! I guess he has grown on me this year!)