The Brave by Nicholas Evans (audiobook)

The Brave is a captivating, multi-layered story that I greatly enjoyed. I looked forward to doing the dishes every day just so I could hear the next part of the story. That is one of the joys of audiobooks, I often feel like I am a housewife of the past listening to my “stories” on the radio!

The Brave starts out with a bang. Young Tom Bedford is visiting his mother for the last time. It is the day of her execution in the gas chamber for an untold crime. Young Tom asks his mother to tell the “truth,” but she refuses and they make their final farewells.

The story then flashes to present day. Tom Bedford is now a middle aged professor living in Montana. He has an estranged wife and son, and isn’t as successful as he would like to be. Tom’s son Daniel is fighting in Iraq and is soon embroiled in a military scandal. Daniel comes home to be put on a trial for his life for a crime that he says he didn’t commit. With his son facing possible death by execution for a crime, Tom flashes back to the past and the life that led up to his mother’s execution.

I loved this novel. The last time I read a Nicholas Evans’ novels was The Horse Whisperer in the 1990’s. I definitely need to look up the novels he has written between these two books as he is one heck of a storyteller. I figured out how the book would end early on, but the journey was how Evans got the story to that point, and it was riveting.

I liked that Tom Bedford was a young English boy, but that he had a great love for all things Western. I don’t want to give away too much of the story, but I loved the books insight into westerns, 1950’s Hollywood, and the Iraq War. It was also thought provoking how Tom realized that there were decisions in life that may seem small at the time, but can have terrible consequences. He had to learn not to suffer thinking about these decisions and to move on with life.

The Brave audiobook was read by Michael Emerson. I am a huge fan of Lost and loved Emerson’s portrayal of Benjamin Linus on the show. I must admit that when I first started listening to this book, I felt like it was slightly menacing hearing “Ben” narrate the story. As I continued to listen, I thought of it more as the alternate world kindly teacher Ben narrating the story. And I may have started to picture Tom Bedford looking like Michael Emerson. I am ready to watch a movie version of this novel with Michael Emerson in the lead role! That being said, I thought Emerson did a good job as the reader of the novel, but as a fan of Lost, it did play into my perceptions of the novel until the story caught me so much that I didn’t care anymore.

Overall, this was a great book and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great story.

Book Source: Review Copy from Hachette Book Group. Thank-you!

What’s in a Name? Welcome to Penelope Rose . . .

I had my baby this past Friday, Penelope Rose Gerold. Penelope is Ben and my third child, and our first daughter.

Unlike our sons, Ben and I had a hard time agreeing on a name for a daughter. I discovered that Ben is very picky about girl names. When we went through the social security’s list of the top 1000 girl names, Ben only liked maybe two names on the list. We had named the boys after family members, but Ben vetoed almost every family member name. So where did we get the name Penelope Rose?

A few years ago, I was listening to an audiobook in the kitchen and Ben wandered in. The main character’s best friend was named Penelope, but she was often called Pen or Penny. Ben heard the name Penelope and said, “I like that name.” I instantly took note as it is not often that he likes a girl name.

I’ve liked the name Penelope since I was in middle school and obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology. I loved Penelope in the Odyssey. Although her husband, Odysseus, is gone for twenty years fighting the Trojan War and having quite the adventure trying to return home, Penelope remains a faithful wife. She is a strong and smart female character. After Odysseus fails to return home after the war, Penelope is beset with 108 suitors. Penelope tells her suitors that she cannot remarry until she finishes weaving a burial shroud for her father-in-law, Laertes, and undoes her work every night to delay the time when she will have to pick a suitor. Eventually Odysseus returns and they are happily reunited.

I also admit to loving the name Penelope in more modern entertainment too. Ben and I loved Lost, and I loved the romance between Desmond and Penelope Widmore. In fact, I always wondered if her name was chosen by the series writers as a nod to the faithful Penelope of the Odyssey as Penelope Widmore remains true to Desmond throughout the years and continues her search for him until they are happily reunited. Penelope might have to endure

“Not Penny’s Boat” from us in future years and wonder what the heck we are talking about.

We chose the middle name Rose after Ben’s great-grandmother. We had two names selected as finalists, and we let our son Kile chose the final name. He selected Penelope Rose and is very proud of himself for getting to name his baby sister. He says we cannot call her Penny as her name is Penelope. We’ll see how long that lasts!

The boys are excited to have a new baby sister and Penelope is a very mild baby so far. Three kids four and under is a lot of work; therefore things may be a little slow on this blog for the next few months. Please have patience and know that I am still reading and watching, but it may take a bit longer to post my reviews!

Lost – “The Substitute”

After the lackluster Kate episode, Lost was once again great this week with the Locke centric episode – “The Substitute.” Locke is on of my favorite characters and this episode gave me much to think about.

I’ve seen the term “FLocke” for fake Locke all over the web. I’m just going to call Smokey, Smokey or MIB. I dislike the term FLocke.

On the Island, Locke is dead, but “Smokey” is appearing in human form as Locke. I loved the Smokey cam at the beginning of the episode when Smokey wandered around the island looking at things. Smokey assumes his human form and hooks up with a very drunken Sawyer. This scene was very funny. Smokey and Sawyer go on a strange island adventure where they cross a young boy that Smokey gives chase too. Sawyer can also see the boy, which surprises Smokey. Who is this boy? When I first watched it, I thought he was perhaps a vision of a young Jacob taunting Smokey, but I am definitely open to other opinions. Who did you think this boy was?

A very scared Richard Alpert runs into Sawyer at this point and tells him not to trust Smokey. Interesting. Sawyer contemplates putting a bullet through the back of Smokey’s head, but decides not too. Smokey leads him through perilous adventure to a cave in the side of a cliff. Once there Smokey encounters a scale with a black and white stone on it. He pitches the white stone into the scene and calls it a “private joke.” What is that all about . . . the balance of good and evil? He shows Sawyer that Jacob had kept a list of people to be the chosen one to take over the island. The list included: Jack=23, Hurley=8, Sayid=16, Jin or Sun or Both=42, Locke=4, and Sawyer=15. Strangely Kate does not have a number. The mysterious numbers are now partly explained as we know they are assigned to our heroes, but Smokey tells Sawyer that Jacob “just had a thing for numbers” which seems unlikely. Only time will reveal the real explanation.

Smokey asks Sawyer to join him in trying to escape from the island, to which Sawyer exclaims, “Hell yes!” I am confused on what Sawyer is trying to do at this point in being in league with Smokey, who he obviously doesn’t trust. Ben (my husband) and I both agree that we think Sawyer is in for the long con. Although he is angry at Jack for the death of Juliet, I think the leader/hero in him is trying to get all of the information he can out of Smokey so he can rescue his friends and get them off of the island. What do you think?

My other favorite on island experience was Locke’s funeral on Boone Hill. Ben talks about how great Locke was and that he was sorry that he murdered him. Frank then says, “Weirdest damn funeral I've ever been to." I laughed out loud. Speaking of Boone Hill . . . I’ve often thought Jacob was a Christ-like figure. Ben sent me a theory today that perhaps Jacob will rise again in three days like Christ. My question is, will the rest of the residents of Boone Hill also arise at some point as part of a “second coming” of the Christ-like figure of Jacob. Something to think about . . .

Off island in the parallel world, John Locke has a much happier life than we saw previously. Helen and Locke are engaged to be married and Papa Locke is invited. I think it’s safe to say that Locke’s paralysis was not caused by Papa. Parallel Locke has a greater sense of humor and over the course of the episode he comes to terms with his disability. He is more the man of science than the man of faith.

I also liked how this episode really showed how everyone’s lives are interlaced in this parallel world. Hurley finds out Locke was fired and hooks him up to a temp agency that he also owns. At the temp agency Locke runs into Rose who helps him understand him and live with his limitations. Next with the wedding planning underway, I expect Locke to run into Boone and Shannon.

My last thoughts . . . what is good and what is evil? We have been led to believe that Jacob is good and Smokey is evil. How do we know one is all good and the other bad? Without Jacob’s meddling in the Losties lives, would they have led better lives by themselves as Locke obviously has? What do you think? I’m very interested to learn more about Jacob and MIB.

Also – WALT! Is anyone else annoyed that they cast a kid who probably is looking more like a man at this point. I know he is too old for the part, but at the beginning of the show, Walt had great importance. I think they either recast him and just say that is what had to happen or somehow make do with the fact he is older (things are different in the parallel world). I would like Walt and his powers to be explained!

Lost – “What Kate Does”

I was disappointed by last night’s episode of Lost, “What Kate Does.” After a spectacular season opener, I thought yesterday’s episode was rather lackluster. My feelings may spring from the fact that I stopped caring about Kate or anything she does many years ago. I don’t really like her character.

That aside, there were some giant plot holes in yesterday’s episode. My favorite was that Kate hijacks that taxi with Claire inside. She drops Claire off, goes to a mechanic to get her handcuffs off, and then feels guilty about stealing Claire’s luggage when she sees the baby stuff inside (so she didn’t notice she was gigantically pregnant before this point?). She goes back and pick’s Claire up, which was my first annoyance. So Claire just stood there on the side of the street after getting hijacked? She didn’t go for help or move at all? My second annoyance, when Claire then gets into the taxi with Kate. I’m sure if I got hijacked; I would then enter a taxi with said crazy lady hijacker and become her new BFF. This all seemed highly implausible to me. The 2004 universe continued on in this way with Kate going with Claire to the adoption couple’s house and also to the hospital, all in the stolen taxi. On one hand, I like how Kate and Claire’s paths seemed to be fated to be drawn together as they were in the other parallel timeline. I also liked the appearance of Dr. Ethan Goodspeed helping Claire out. This also seemed to be fate. I did not like the very forced Kate and Claire plot. Kate seemed like she was a very in effective runner. Now what Kate does is chase instead of run in both LA and the island.

Back in the parallel world of 2007, the story focused on Kate and Jin tracking a runaway Sawyer and the “Others” torturing Sayid. I liked Sawyer’s painful confession of how he was going to propose to Juliet and blaming himself for Juliet’s death. I didn’t like Kate chasing him. When she cried after his confession, was it because she was sad that Sawyer had never felt that way for her or because of Sawyer’s pain? I was left feeling confused on the emotions of that scene.

The most interesting part of the episode for me was discovering from Temple Master Dogan that Sayid now was possessed by the darkness and would slowly turn. Interesting. And even more so when he told Jack that his sister also had it. Flash to crazy Claire at the end looking like a dead ringer for the crazy French woman. It’s nice to see what happened to Claire and I’m very interested to find out what this dark disease is during future episodes. I was sad to see that Sayid is not the reincarnated Jacob, but that the dark water must have been tainted with the MIB and “darkness” somehow.

I was sad that we did not get to see evil Locke on this episode. I can’t wait until next week!

What were your thoughts on this episode?

Lost – Season Six Opener (LA X)

Wow! LA X was a fantastic episode of Lost and has me very excited about the last season. I’m not going to recap it here . . . but I am going to talk about my favorite bits. If you haven’t watched it yet, please do not read ahead!

I love the two timelines after the blast, so much so that I am not sure which one I would love to be “reality.” Are both concurrent realties or parallel universes? I can’t wait to keep watching and find out.

I love that the people who are on the island are continuing the timeline in 2007 that we have watched these past almost six years. I was excited when they found Juliet only to be devastated when she died in Sawyer’s arms. My only hope that her last words and talk of a coffee with Sawyer means that her and Sawyer do get a coffee together in the other timeline. I also like how Hurley has silently taken charge of the situation in his own Hurley way. Several of his comments made me laugh out loud . . . especially when he told Jacob something like “Dude, that sucks” when Jacob admitted that he had died an hour before. I liked how we finally got to see the temple and what happened to Cindy and the kids, but I’m confused by the strangely dressed other others.

I was excited to finally learn that the Man-in-Black (evil Locke) is also Smokey the monster. My favorite line of the night (or maybe of the series!) was MIB saying to Ben,
"I'm sorry you had to see me like that." Their whole exchange was great. I like how Ben finally realizes that he was used the entire time. I’m intrigued to finally find out more about the mysterious Richard Alpert. What did MIB mean by his comment about it being nice to see Richard not in chains? It made me think that Richard may have come to the island as a slave on the Black Rock.

Overall, I like the island 2007 storyline as it continues with the characters as we know them. They have had their mistakes, but have redeemed themselves in different ways and have grown in personalities.

On the other hand, the alternative 2004 flight to LAX without the crash is also an interesting scenario. It was interesting to watch it and note the differences. Why was Desmond on the flight, but Shannon was missing. Many other characters (Michael, Walt, Anna-Lucia, Mr. Eko, Libby, etc.) were not shown on the flight. Where are they? Jack was no longer so self assured on this flight and needed Rose’s assurance that all would be well. Does Jack retain some sort of memory of what had happened before?

It was great to see favorite characters resurrected such as Locke, Boone, and Charlie. It wasn’t good to see some of them (such as Charlie) without having made their growth from drug addict to hero. I’m very interested to see how this time line works out. Will the characters’ paths cross and connect even without the island? Will they be able to redeem themselves? And most importantly, how will these two timelines resolve and become one?

What are your thoughts on LA X? And more importantly, did the picture above make you laugh as I did? Is it just me or is Kate's hand positioned a little bit funny . . .

This and That . . . Romantic Heroes . . . Lost . . .

Entertainment Weekly's Shelf Life blog recently posted "Who's the most romantic character in literature." I know we talked about romantic heroes this past spring on this blog (and the sexiest literary hero was Mr. Darcy), but I thought it was a good time to bring it up again with this article. According to a British poll in the Daily Telegraph, these are the top ten romantic characters in literature:

1. Edward Rochester of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre

2. Richard Sharpe of Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe series.

3. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

4. Heathcliff of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights

5. Rhett Butler of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind

6. Mark Darcy, of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’ Diary

7. Captain Corelli of Louis de Berniere’s Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

8. Henry DeTamble of Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife

9. Gabriel Oak of Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd

10. Rupert Campbell Black of Jilly Cooper’s The Rutshire Chronicles

Tina Jordan (the Shelf Life author) than adds insult to injury by stating, "And who in their right mind could truly love the unutterable snob Fitzwilliam Darcy?" WHAT!! I couldn't believe this! What do you think?

My thoughts, while I love Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester, Mr. Darcy beats him any day of the week for top romantic hero . . . and so does Captain Wentworth, who did not even make the list. Truthfully the top spot for myself would be a tie between Jamie Fraser of the Outlander series (not even mentioned) and Mr. Darcy. What do you all think? Please comment below. I'm going to add a new poll to my sidebar about this. What other heroes of literature do you find romantic?

Also, I am not sure who Richard Sharpe and Rupert Campbell Black are. Am I missing something? Are they very romantic heroes and are the books they are in a good read?

Word on the street (or at least Entertainment Weekly) is that Juliet did indeed die in the season finale of Lost. I for one hope this is not the case as I grew to love Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) over the last season and I really loved her love story with Sawyer. Since she will be back in some way in a few episodes in the final season, I can only hope that she will still somehow live to have her happy ending. I really wanted her to see her sister again and to have that happy ending with Sawyer.

Who else is excited about V? Ben and I can't wait, although our local station is not playing it until 1:30 AM!! Good thing we have a DVR!

Lastly, thank-you very much to Monica Fairview, author of The Other Mr. Darcy. She hosted a month long discussion and competition on her site about Pride and Prejudice. I really enjoyed talking about P&P every day and was one of the five lucky winners of The Other Mr. Darcy. I can't wait to read this book!

Lost Finale

It's hard to believe it has been a week already since the excellent Lost Season 5 finale. Ben and I have spent much of this past week discussing how it ended, the season as a whole, and theories on what will happen in the next final (sniff) season.

I think that Season 5 was a great season. After things got off track in Season 3, the past two seasons have really picked it back up again and have made me realize why I love Lost. I am a big fan of time travel so I really liked this season. While others are turned off by the "weirdness" of the show, I embrace it and want more.

Ben and I recorded the finale on the DVR and started it an hour late after the kids went to bed. Dispite our best intentions (we'll only watch it until the next commerical), we watched the entire thing only to be devestated when a storm made our Dish go out leaving us without the last two minutes. NOOOO!!! Luckily I found the end on youtube the next day and we were able to see what happened.

What an ending!!! JULIET!!! I must admit, I was not a Juliet fan in previous seasons. I thought she was rather cold. But this season watching her and Sawyer's wonderful romance, I forgot all about how I ever wanted Kate and Sawyer to end up together. Juliet completed Sawyer and allowed him to become the man he was always meant to be. I loved their relationship and was devestated when Juliet fell down the hole. The only positive was that Juliet finally understood Sawyer's love for her . . . too late!!!

What do you think will happen after the bomb explosion? Ben and I have been comtemplating this a lot. I just read Doc Jenson's excellent theories on ew.com. I love his theory that the bomb explosion did reset the timeline and that the castaways that he touched will retain memories of the past three years. Juliet was not touched and therefore will not remember Sawyer, but he will remember her. Tragic! This is much better than any theory that Ben and I came up with. The only hole is - what happened to Miles? I would hate for him to forget that he finally met his Dad and had a bit of bonding before "The Incident."

I was excited that we were finally able to meet Jacob on this episode and his advisary, who shall remain nameless. Their epic battle seemed biblical. While Jacob seems like the good guy, I am still wary. And why did his advisary go to such lengths to find a loophole to kill Jacob. I am intrigued. I can't wait to learn more about Jacob and his advisary next season. I also hope that we will see the landing of the Black Rock and learn if Richard Alpert was on that ship. Speaking of Richard it was amazing to learn what a tool he and Ben have been in Jacob and his advisaries plans. Very interesting.

The only weakness I saw with the finale was characters motivations. It seemed as though the writers wanted characters to be in certain places at certain times, but wasn't always sure how to get them there. Juliet's excuse for changing her mind to help Jack reset the timeline . . . that Sawyer LOOKED at Kate. Come on. After living with Sawyer for three years, one would think that Juliet would be a little more self assured than that and would fight for her man. Also Jack's motivation to have a second chance with Kate and therefore he is going to nuke the island was also very weak. I agreed with Sawyer that Kate is on the other side of the d(*^ bushes - just go and talk to her!

Doc Jenson has asked fans for the top three mysteries they would like solved next season. This is a hard question as there are A LOT of myteries that I want solved. Here are my three:

1. Smokey

2. Jacob and his advisory

3. Those darn numbers

What are your top three and what are your thoughts on the finale? I could go on, but I have work to do. I will respond to posts though!

Musings on Lost

I was very unhappy to learn last night that Lost was a repeat. I thought that was why Lost started after the New Year so we could have non-stop Lost without any repeats. Oh well.

I really enjoyed last week's episode - Lafleur. I loved the focus on Sawyer and am using that excuse to put a shirtless picture of him on my blog! Our time traveling islanders have finally settled into one time period thanks to John Locke. That time period is 1974 with the Dharma initiative. This episode flashed back and forth between 1974 when they first hooked up with Dharma and 1977. . . three years later.

Sawyer really seems to have found his groove with Dharma. He has a responsible job as the head of security and has found love with Juliet. I was always a big fan of Sawyer/Kate, but the Sawyer/Juliet pairing is inspired. They both bring out the best in each other and it seemed that Sawyer had finally forgotten Kate . . . until he spots her on the beach at the end. NOOO! I am sucked back into caring about the love triangle/quadrangle again!

A few questions I had after this episode . . .

1. Where are Bernard and Rose? I ask this to Ben each week . . .I really want to know! Are they with the "others."

2. Where is young Ben? He should have been with the Dharma group. I hope he is shown soon.

3. Are Locke & Crew in 1977 or present day? And are all of the "Oceanic 6" besides Aaron in 1977. (Where is Aaron?)

4. How are the heroes going to get out of 1977 and what about the purge?

My questions could go on forever, but that's what I have for now. What did you think about last week's episode? Post away!

Quick Thoughts About Lost and Battlestar

I have been enjoying watching my two favorite shows, but have not had much time to blog about them. Here are my quick thoughts after watching this week's episodes.

Lost - Wow. It was great getting to see what happened to John after he left the Island. I guess we know now that Ben really is a bad guy!! I'm still wondering why Ben was all bloody and late for the plane. I am afraid that the promise Ben had made to an old friend is that he went after Penny. I hope Desmond beat the crap out of him and that my favorite couple and child are okay. And I really hope that the show shows me what happened soon! Next week it looks like we get to see everyone reunited on the island. Is anyone else getting tired of the Kate-Jack-Sawyer triangle? I just want Kate to be offed so I don't have to watch it anymore! :-)

Battlestar - It looks like my prediction (that I didn't blog about, but did comment on ew.com about) of Starbuck's Dad being the mysterious Daniel or lost #7 cylon is probably true. Starbuck being the first hybrid would solve some myseries, but certainly not all. Poor Chief was screwed over again by Boomer. The Chief is one of my favorite characters, but he certainly never has an easy path. Only three episodes left . .. I don't want my favorite show to end!!

Lost

I haven't blogged about the new season of lost yet. There is so much going on - I just don't know where to start. Let me say that I think this new season is spectacular. The first couple episodes have been reviting. Each season, Lost has started off with a bang and has been able to take the story in an entirely new direction.

This season we are flashing all over time. I am a big fan of time travel, so I am very excited to learn that the island exists in some sort of temporal hole in time. While our "Oceanic 6" friends try to get together and find a way back to the island, those on the island are flashing threw time. Penny and Desmond have their "happily ever after" on a boat with their child, but will it remain that way? The show seems to be answering some questions, but opening up many more. It all seems to be moving toward a conclusion though and it keeps me intrigued. I think Season 5 is starting off to be one of the best seasons of the show. This show has been consistently good (except for the first half of season 3) and I am excited to see how this season will play out. What are your thoughts on Season 5 so far?

Lost is Back!

I have been loving Lost the past couple of weeks!! I thought the premiere was outstanding and the follow up second episode last week was also fantastic. It is so nice to have an excellent show back on the air. I feel like I have been living in a good TV vacuum since last spring!!

I am especially intrigued with the introduction of the "rescuers" that have landed on the island with an intact heliocopter. Why do they want Ben and what exactly did their flashbacks mean (Ben and I discount that they are "flashforwards" as we have read on some boards)? Is there time travel involved with the island? That would make a lot of things make sense and would be intriguing. Who rigged the fake flight 815 in the ocean with dead bodies? I think Penelope's dad is in on it somehow. I wonder if the rescuers have something to do with the original Dharma intiative and are back to get Ben in revenge for the "purge."

My burning question is - who are the other three that make it off the island alive. I'm sure we'll be finding out with the flash forwards. I loved Hurley's flash forward. It answered questions, yet lead to so many more. Excellent.

What are your thoughts on Lost - love it, hate it? I still think this is the best show on network TV (although I reserve best show on cable TV or actually all of TV to Battlestar).

Lets Talk About Lost . . .

I haven't been that inspired by any TV shows this fall and find myself longing for my favorite quality shows, Lost and Battlestar Gallactica. I just watched this Lost preview on abc.com and find myself extremely excited for January 31st to roll around. Now I just hope that the writers' strike comes to an end soon so that the last eight episodes of the season get written and filmed!

Who do you think is going to come to the island to "rescue" the survivors? I'm still trying to come up with a good theory of my own!

Michael will be back on Lost!

There is an article on Entertainment Weekly (click here) that states that Michael will be back on Lost this next season. Will Walt also be back? The young boy is getting pretty old to be playing in their time frame. Why will Michael be back? He was last seen sailing away with Walt. Will he come back to be a hero and try to rescue his friends? Will he come back having been deluded by the "Others?" Will he come back as he can't physcially get away from the island a la Desmond? I'm intrigued. Only 4 or 5 more months left until Lost is back . . . I can't wait!

Laura's TV Picks for the Past 2006-07 Season

Now that the 2006-07 television season is starting to fade into the past, I thought it was time to review what shows I liked to watch over the year. I've already done this once, so here is hoping that this time I can get blogger to save it and actually post it! As I started to make a list of them, I realized I watch a lot of TV shows. Back in college I only seemed to watch Star Trek Voyager and Stargate SG-1 and that was only because Dad taped them for me and sent up the tapes (all of this talk of tapes makes me feel old in the land of DVRs and TiVOs). After college I still didn't watch too much TV, but then we got our DVR. The DVR is great for a person like me (and Ben) that doesn't want to be made to watch a show at exactly 8 PM or mess with annoying video cassettes. As you can see by my list below, I know enjoy MANY shows:-)

My favorite shows for 2006-07:

1. Battlestar Galactica. I've waxed on about my love for this show on this blog before. It has fantastic acting and the most intriguing storylines on TV. Sadly, the next season does not start until January 2008 and will be ITS LAST SEASON. WHY!? I can see how it will be a good time to end it plotwise, but there are not too many shows of this quality on TV, and I will be very sad to see it go! For more news about the end of Battlestar, see the following yahoo article and interview with Edward James Olmos.

2. Lost. I was starting to lose my love for Lost during the fall "mini-season." Luckily lost got back on track this spring and ended up a winner of a finale (I'm still crying for Charlie - you didn't have to die "brutha!"). I love the mysteries and the character development in lost. I can't wait to see what happens over the next three years!

3. Desperate Housewives. Season 2 started to lose me, but Desperate Housewives got back in the groove for Season 3. The only flaw was that the Orson mystery was solved before the end of the season so there was a "finale" seemingly 3/4 of the way through the season. With Marcia Cross going on maternity leave, I can see why they had to do it. I love the campy, soap opera storylines crossed with mystery. Season 2 lost Ben, but I'm still devoted!

4. Dr. Who. Ben and I love Dr. Who. I have never seen the older versions of the doctor, but I love the new version. I wasn't sure after they replaced the doctor from "season 1" of the new version, but I like the new doctor. I really liked Rose and am sad that she'll be gone (although I seem to see her all around Masterpiece Theatre these days). We'll see how her replacement is when the new season starts on sci-fi on July 6th.

5. Survivor. Yes, I love Survivor. I remember being dubious of the show when it first started in 2000, but my little sister Katie made me watch season 1 with her and I was hooked. All these years later I still find myself loving every moment of it. I thought this year's seasons were exceptionally good. I loved Yule from the fall season and Earl this season. I love how they are mixing things up more lately and making it more exciting and different. I was once ashamed of my one reality show addiction, but have discovered that many people share my love for Survivor. I'm glad I'm not alone!

6. The Office. I love the office. It's quirky characters are hilarious and Jim and Pam's romance is sweet - I just want them to get together! After working in an "office" I can identify with many of the people/problems on this show. Ben and I started watching this during it's second season after we noticed we always laughed at the first few minutes that recorded after "My Name is Earl" on the DVR. We've since caught up and have enjoyed every show. It's a fun show.

7. My Name is Earl. Ben and I both enjoy this show. It tells the story of Earl, a former crook that won the lotto and got hit by a car losing his winning ticket. While in the hospital, he watches Carson Daley and learns about Karma. He makes a list of all of the bad things he has done and goes on his way to correct his past wrongs. He is helped by his not so bright, but sweet brother Randy, his brash ex-wife Joy, and her husband "Crab-Man." This show makes me and Ben both laugh - especially Ben. It has a sort of old-fashioned sweetness to it and it's fun to see more "normal" (as in not rich!) people being portrayed on TV even though it's not always in the most flattering light.

8. 30 Rock. 30 Rock is one of the two shows that started last fall depicting the back stage happenings on a Saturday Night Life late night variety show. This show is a half an hour comedic take on the business. It focuses on Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) the head writer of the show and her dealings with the other writers, cast, and her boss played by Alec Baldwin. Baldwin is a gem on this show and a lot more funny then I ever would have thought. It's fun seeing all of the crazy that goes on around Lemon. I wasn't sure about this show at first, but it quickly found it's groove. If you only watched the first episode or two, I highly recommend revisiting the series!

9. Robin Hood. I LOVE the new Robin Hood series that was on BBC America this spring. Although the series is more old fashioned in it's set-up (bad guys always caught by the end, ends with a touching moment, then a joke), I enjoy watching a show that harkens back to a simpler time. I like how Lady Marian kicks butt in this new take on the Robin Hood Legend. I also love Sir Guy. Although he is the "bad guy," he sure makes bad look sexy with his tortured love for Lady Marian. He wants to be good for her sake and is torn by his love. It's great!

10. Stargate. I can't believe Stargate has been on for 10 years and it's the end of the series! Ben and I still have to watch the five final shows to see how it ends. I loved the show when it started, but actually missed a couple of seasons in the middle after Daniel Jackson "ascended" and was gone. I was a bit bitter, and also got tired of Ben constantly watching it!! I've been back watching it for the last few years and still enjoy it!

11. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Yes, I also watch the "other" NBC show about a late night sketch show based on Saturday Night Live. I really like this show. I'm really enjoying the new episodes this summer. I can't believe this show was cancelled, it has some of the wittiest dialogue on TV and really presses some red button issues. It's series finale is this Thursday night. I'll be sad to see it go!

12. Ugly Betty. For some silly reason, all networks seem to plan the good shows during the same times on the same night every week. I can only DVR two at at time and I'm sorry Ugly Betty, but Survivor and Office/Earl win. I watched Ugly Betty during the hiatus' of my other shows and found I enjoyed it. I like how it is a comedy with drama. I like how Betty is a good person just trying to make it. I'm not sure about some of the crazy plot twists, but I'm willing to see how this show goes in the future. If only they would show more reruns in the summer so I can catch up!

13. Heroes. Ben and I are behind on our TV viewing of Heroes. We've only watched through last November - but we like what we've seen. We just need to find time to catch up this summer!

Those were my favorite shows. As you can see, I'm not really into hospital/doctor/lawyer/cops shows. I think they are all way overdone and am always looking for something more original like a good show about a young engineer trying to make it in the world . . . :-) What shows have I left out? Am I missing something that I should be taping on my DVR?

Lost Season Finale

Per your request, my review of the Lost Season Finale. Sorry I hadn't reviewed it yet - it was part of my best of 2006-07 TV list that I typed up and was NOT automatically saved (even though it says it is!) by blogger. It was lost and I haven't started over yet. I think I'll do a more brief list sometime in the near future.

Anyhoo - I loved the Lost Season Finale. The spring episodes made me forgive the Lost producers for the terrible fall episodes.

In the finale, the survivors are trying to find a way off of the island using Naoimi's satellite phone. Before they can use it, they must shut off Danielle's distress signal loop as well as the "looking glass" station that is blocking all off-island transmittals.

Charlie and Desmond took over The Looking Glass station and things were looking good. Charlie was able to turn off the blocking device and even made contact with Penelope who told him she DID NOT send Naoimi (who did!??), which he luckily was able to communicate with Desmond. Old one-eye evil man came back to life once again and flooded Charlie's compartment. He shut the door to save Desmond and embrace his "destiny" with the hope that with his death Claire and baby Aaron will be saved. NOOO! I loved Charlie and was so sad that he died. I still have hope he will come back to life as others have done. But I accept and admire Charlie's sacrifice, I thought it was a noble end for the character to change from a drugged out rock star to a caring and compassonate person!

Much happened on the beach too with Sahid, Bernard, and Jin left behind to blow up the Others that were coming to take the woman folk. The plan almost went good until one round of explosives didn't go. We later think our heroes are assasinated per Ben's direction, but luckily there were not. They are ultimately saved by Hurley and the happy VW bus. I LOVED that scene and was glad Hurley finally got to save the day!

Meanwhile Jack as Moses has lead the survivors up the mountain to turn off Danielle's signal. He meets up with Ben who BEGS him not to send his signal. He says the people on the boat are the bad guys and warns Jack not to do it. Locke appears and is alive (the island magically healed him again?!) and also tells Jack not to do it. Jack calls anyway and it appears that help is on the way from Naomi's boat.

We find out at the end that the flashbacks throughout the episode were "flash forwards" and not flashbacks. We learn from them that Jack and Kate have both made it off the island. Jack is leading a not so happy life as a drugged out drunk guy who flys around hoping to crash and get back to the island. He goes to a mysterious funeral of a man we aren't told the identity of. He was so popular though that Jack is the only person who went. Jack refers to his Dad as alive, was it because he was drugged up? Kate leaves Jack at the end as she has to return to "him."

The finale left me with many questions I can't wait to see the answers to in the next three years. I would elaborate here, but Kile just woke up from his nap crying. I just wish Lost started sooner than next spring. In spring 2008 I will be one happy person watching Lost and Battlestar with Ben!

Lost - "Flashes Before Your Eyes"

Lost really seems to be back on track! I enjoyed the last episode and was happy to see that they are going back to the characters that I love. The flashback (if you could call it that!) was about Desmond this week. It seems that when the hatch exploded, Desmond not only saw his life flash before his eyes, but he at least thinks he went back in time and was living in the happy days with Penny. In order to save the world though, a scary old lady told him he needed to live it the way he had originally, so he gives up Penny and chooses to go the same path. Back on the island, Desmond can now see the future. Surprisingly we find out he is not trying to save Claire . . . but Charlie from eminent death. NOT CHARLIE!!! I love Charlie. I hope Desmond keeps on saving him because I would really hate for Charlie to go.

I keep reading about Lost having lost it's ratings . . . the show is still one of the best shows on TV - I hope this doesn't lead to its premature cancellation. Hopefully they can either pick it back up this season or fix it next season (a la Desperate Housewives). I hate when producers screw with time changes, strange season break-ups, and a slow season fall start-up and then everyone cries when the ratings are down. Sigh . . . don't mess with something when it works!! And having 12 million viewers is not bad!!!

http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=88330ce1-5714-40ad-b454-a6f48e1e6eea&entry=index

Lost - Entertainment Weekly

Lost is the cover story this week in Entertainment Weekly if you'd like to pick up an issue and find out more details about the show. I know I was just excited when I pulled it out of my mailbox!

http://www.ew.com/ew

Lost - DVD or "Live"?

Thoughts on Lost . . . do you think you get more out of it being able to watch new episodes back to back on DVD versus watching it on TV when there are giant breaks or periods of repeats (at least in the first two seasons)?

Lost - "Not in Portland"

Lost is my second favorite show (since you all know I LOVE Battlestar and it's my absolute favorite show) and I have a love/hate relationship with it. Season 1 was excellent, starting with the fantastic pilot. Season 2 I started to get kind of angry with the show. What was the point of the tailies since all of them ended up dying except for Bernard whom we never see? I felt like I got emotionally invested for no reason. Plus the back stories were not quite as interesting as season 1, especially Jack's.

The start of Season 3 seemed to be putting a nail in the coffin for my second favorite show. The first six episodes were slow and did not seem to be advancing the plot. They also focused on Jack, Sawyer, and Kate as they were being held prisoner by "The Others". Since I think Jack and Kate are two of the least interesting characters on the show, it really did not do much for me. Where was John Locke, Charlie, Sayhid, Hurley, Claire, etc.? I LOVE them and they never seem to do many back stories on them or even show them at all. Jack's back stories were very boring and did not seem to be integral to the plot as the season 1 back stories were. Plus they killed Mr. Ecko who was one of my favorite characters for apparently no reason. Luckily at the end of the six episode arc, they actually had an exciting finale where Jack is operating on Ben (the leader of the evil others) and has made a cut in Ben's kidney that will kill him in one hour unless "The Others" release Kate and Sawyer.

After a long hiatus, Lost was back last night with an episode entitled "Not in Portland." It was a great episode and it gives me hope that the show is back on track. The back story was on Juliet (one of the Others) and actually helped to advance the plot and answer some questions, more in the tradition of some of the great Season 1 back stories.

If you haven't watched it yet, do not read the following!

In this episode, there was much action and we learned a lot. Sawyer and Kate escaped with the help of Juliet, who was coerced into helping them by a concious Ben. In Juliet's back story we learn that she is a gifted fertility doctor who was easily cowed by her ex-husband. She is woed by who we think is the Hanso Foundation to move to Portland. She says she can't go unless her ex is hit by a bus . . . and then he surprisingly is later in the episode. Ethan and the other Hanso person come to get Juliet when she is in the morgue with her dead husband. They also tell her that it's not in Portland. . . which was a funny line. Juliet is also able to get her sick sister pregnant using stolen goods from a lab and asks if she can bring her sister with her. They say no.

Ben is able to get Juliet to help, but we can't hear what they are saying. At the end of the episode, Juliet tells Jack that Ben promised to let her go home . . . so we discover she is a captive too! Alex also helps Sawyer and Kate with their escape and we discover that she calls Ben "Dad." I'm assuming she just thinks Ben is her Dad as I thought she was the crazy French woman's daughter. Sawyer and Kate help Alex free her boyfriend in return for use of her boat. Her boyfriend is being held in some sort of mind altering room, my husband Ben said reminded him of A Clockwork Orange.

So what did we learn in this episode:

1. The Hanso Corporation recruited Juliet because she is a gifted fertility doctor and may have had something to do with Juliet's ex-husband's death.

2. Juliet is being held against her will on the "Others" Island.

3. Alex calls Ben Dad.

4. The Others have Mind altering techniques to brain wash people.

5. Mr. Friendly's name is Tom.

Did I miss anything? If so let me know. Also let me know if you think I'm wrong and Lost is not back on track!