Lost Cast on Jimmy Kimmel Live

Alan Dale (Widmore), Nestor Carbonell (Richard), Jeremy Davies (Faraday), Naveen Andrews (Sayid), Harold Perinneau (Michael), Emilie de Ravin (Claire), Terry O'Quinn (Locke), Daniel Dae Kim (Jin), and Matthew Fox (Jack) answer audience questions on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Thoughts on the Lost finale? Check out: Lost -- "The End" -- I Laughed, I Cried, I WTF?

Tonight on Jimmy Kimmel Live, we got a last chance to see some of our favorite Lost castaways (above pictured). While it was mostly good-natured chatting and cracking jokes, and some awkward moments, Jimmy did manage to have a Q&A with Matthew Fox at the start of the show about the Lost mythology.

It was an interesting theory Jimmy presented, about the idea of having to pass a test of character before concluding your life--and that Jack passed that test. Jimmy also conjectured that the Lost story was really about Jack's test, and that the others were merely players in that storyline--though they were experiencing tests of their own. I guess you could say that they all experienced tests of character, but perhaps the people who lived at the end still had their real tests yet to come.

The ads for the Jimmy Kimmel Live, Lost finale episode promised 3 alternate endings that Cuse and Lindeloff had planned. I was momentarily excited at the prospect of seeing what possibly better solutions they had tried out, but then I realized it was Jimmy Kimmel Live and these would most likely be joke set-ups.

The three clips had the actual Lost actors performing different finales--which turned out to mirror other famous season and series finale episodes. After each flub, the writers maintained that they hadn't seen the originals so they didn't realize they were the same. The first was a Survivor episode where Sayid was dismayed to learn that he'd been voted off the Island. Naveen Andrews was hilarious as he had his exit confessional where he complained bitterly about being killed, blown up, etc., only to be "kicked off the @#$%! Island".

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The second Lost sketch involved Richard, Hurley (Jorge Garcia), Claire, & Jack in what was apparently a mirror of the Sopranos finale. Like Cuse and Lindeloff, I haven't seen it, so I can't tell you if it was funny or not. The third and final "alternate Lost ending" was the finest, with Bob Newhart waking up in bed with Kate, ala the series end of Newhart. Bob was peeved that Bob and Carlton hadn't seen his beloved series finale either.

For another startling reunion, Sawyer appeared on the big screen TV, live from Canada, where he was shooting Snakes on a Plane 2: Electric Boogaloo. This was funny enough in and of itself, but Josh Holloway actually did some fly break-dancing moves with the original Breakin' movie duo Adolfo 'Shabba-Doo' Quinones and Michael 'Boogaloo Shrimp' Chambers. Ten points for an awesomely outrageous 80s reference and ten more points for execution.

Jimmy also had random people staring out from the jungle foliage surrounding the set of sand and airline debris--the funniest was a boy who may have been, and certainly looked like, the young Jacob.

My only complaint about the show is at least partically the fault of the Lost writing itself--there was only one woman, Emilie de Ravin, on the show. I felt moderately better when Evangeline Lilly at least showed up in the Bob Newhart sketch. What about Yunjim Kim (Sun)? Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet)? Maggie Grace (Shannon)? L. Scott Caldwell (Rose)? Tania Raymonde (Rousseau)? I hope they were all busy and that it wasn't just male-centric planning by former Man Show host Jimmy Kimmel. Despite the appealing cast diversity on Lost, however, you have to admit it's been largely a male-dominated story arc, relegating all of the women's roles to romance and motherhood.

One of the things I liked best about the Lost cast reunion on Jimmy Kimmel live was that there seemed to be a lot of genuine affection between the cast members. With six years of living and filming on Hawaii, it's nice to know that some friendships were formed, and Michael Emerson, Terry O'Quinn, and Matthew Fox had plenty of nice things to say about each other. I also liked that Naveen Andrews pretty much kissed everyone on the cheek, including a very affectionate kiss for Michael Emerson when the actor said he was happy there didn't seem to be any gleeful satisfaction from his fellow actors when Ben got any of his 100 beatings.

After the Jimmy Kimmel Live special, they had a Q&A session with some of the cast, which you hopefully you can still see on the Jimmy Kimmel Live website.

Lost -- "The End" -- I laughed, I cried, I WTF?

Juliet is still awesome on Lost.

(SPOILER ALERT) I knew after six years of build-up that we were never going to feel satisfied with the end of Lost, but I didn't think I'd feel as let down as this. Well, actually, since Richard turned out to be not magical at all, and the mystery of the Island turned out to be a shiny light in a cave, I'd started to get an inkling.

During the ridiculously long two hour intro to the finale (which was 30 minutes of interviews and flashbacks to the series, and 90 minutes of freakin' commercials), writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse gave us their true vision of Lost. That vision was that Lost was about the characters, and their personal journeys. That's the most you can get out of these final episodes--just one last visit with all of the characters we loved so much.

The one thing I have to give to season 6 of Lost was it made me love Jack again. His character had so many ups and downs and personality shifts and constant anger that it had been painful to see our hero fall apart. To see him rise again in everyone's estimation, to earn Sawyer's respect and rekindle Kate's love--that was wonderful.

Once again Matthew Fox (Jack) and Terry O'Quinn (Locke) played opposite each other so well. I loved when Jack told the Man in Black that he had disrespected Locke by taking his form, and I also love that in the end, Jack became a man of faith.

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Not unexpectedly, arguably the best part of "The End" finale was at the hands of Ben Linus, that deliciously complex and tortured soul we've come to know, despise, pity, and love over six seasons. While the reunions of all the couples on Lost was very moving, the moment Hurley asked Ben to be his number 2 got me more choked up than anything. The look on Ben's face--the final reward of being asked to take care of the Island, by someone who truly needed him--it was what Ben had been searching for all along.

I thought the plane was going to explode mid-air when the few Losties that were left tried to escape, but thankfully that didn't happen. Unfortunately we didn't get to see any of the happiness of that life. We only got to see all of our favorite people do the equivalent of LOTR's Undying Lands and sail off into the light. Hence, the WTF? part of my post. The end result of all the mysteries? The Losties had a miserable existence, suffered and got killed off on a supernatural island that had some sort of worldly significance, hung around in a happyland purgatory till most of them arrived, and then they took the next step.

So, basically, after loving all of these characters and living with them through all the heartache and love and humor and pain, the final note we get is: hey, they all died happily ever after.

Personally, I thought those doors were going to open and they were all going to walk out onto the Island. Maybe Jacob would be waiting to welcome them, and there'd be all the people from the hundreds/thousands of years that candidates had been brought to the Island and killed. At least that would have perhaps had some symmetry to it.

These are my initial thoughts. Now it's time to watch Jimmy Kimmel and see what the actors have to say. Maybe they have more profound ideas than I do at the moment. What did you think of the finale?

ETA: I also wanted to say that I loved the Juliet and Sawyer reunion. The scene when Juliet dies has to be one of the most heartbreaking moments Lost put us through--right up there with Charlie's death. To see them get to be together again, and to hear Juliet ask Sawyer for coffee--as she did before she died, when she glimpsed the Other Side--was hearbreaking all over again.

The creators of Lost have said they didn't want to give us all the answers, so that Lost fans would continue to debate the series and it would live on (and we'd all buy more Lost-related stuff, I imagine). What they actually did is they didn't really answer anything, so fans can beat every last metaphor, image, and line to death with a thousand more theories ad infinitum. Depending on your personality, I suppose you will find this either exciting and brilliant, or lame and irritating. Or perhaps a combination of the two. After all, Lost was all about ambiguity.




PHOTO: Elizabeth Mitchell as Juliet, Lost screencap, c2010 ABC Studios.

Renewed and Cancelled Series: Law & Order, Heroes, Chuck & More

Lots of news buzzing around about renewed and cancelled shows, so here's the scoop:

TVOvermind reports that Heroes is finally over after four seasons. Sadly, consensus is largely that Heroes was over after season one. What a waste of beautiful Peter Petrelli and his hot brother Nathan...that's all I'm sayin'... The good news is that TVSeriesFinale has scoop that there will be a wrap-up to the series rather than an abrupt cut-off. Here's hoping! (ETA: Yahoo!TV says the expense of the show means no ending after all, which really sucks for a series like this.)

Law & Order ties with Gunsmoke for longest running drama at 20 seasons...and has been cancelled, acccording to EW.com. I'm sad because I love Linus Roache and wanted him to have a lengthy stint on TV, but the show really has run its course, and they never quite figured out what to do with Sam Waterston once they made him DA.

Crazy thing is, Law & Order: SVU has been renewed and there'll be a new spin-off, Law & Order: Los Angeles. Fingers crossed that Roache at least gets a few guest appearances on that one. And Law & Order: CI is still running on USA, albeit after one of the lamest send-offs for Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe ever. Gah.

Supernatural will be renewed for season 6, but without creator Eric Kripke, TV.com reports. I haven't caught up with the end of this season yet, but even if this story arc is now complete, I sure wouldn't mind seeing more of this ridiculously entertaining show.

I lost track of FlashForward early on due to timeslot issues, and it's a good thing I never invested the time because it's been cancelled. I was so shocked by how good indie star Joseph Fiennes was at being tough and macho (and still sexy), I'm really hoping he can land in another series.

Though its ratings weren't stellar, TV.com also says V is renewed for next season. It's not a bad show, but the whole pull of the original was we didn't know who the V were. Now that we already know, this remake feels a little anti-climactic to me. It's got a good cast, however, so we'll see where season 2 takes us.

Never fear, Chuck fans, your favorite geek spy is renewed for another season. The Hollywood Reporter guesses it should get a 13 episode order. I'm just hoping Brandon Routh pulls a Moriarty and returns from the dead. After all, Bryce did that at least once before he got his own show.

Early buzz was that FOX was going to cancel one or both of the series Human Target and Lie to Me, but according to TVbytheNumbers, FOX renewed both for 13 episodes apiece. I was personally shocked to find out it will be Lie to Me's third season rather than second...which tells you how often I've seen it.

After tons of TV ads and mad crazy online campaigning, ABC got disenchanted with the low ratings for new drama/mystery/weirdness Happy Town and have pulled it from the schedule. They'll air the remaining few episodes in summer. Translation: Cancelled. In case you were curious about this fly-by-night show, here's my review of the Happy Town pilot episode.




PHOTO: Peter and Noah, Heroes screencap, c2009 NBC.

In Plain Sight -- "Love's Faber Lost"

Steven Weber returns as FBI agent Mike Faber.

I'm still lamenting the loss of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, but at least In Plain Sight has given us another awesome and quick-witted character for Steven Weber to play. Tonight on "Love's Faber Lost", FBI agent Mike Faber (Weber) returns to Albuquerque WITSEC with an important witness--and some ramped up flirtations for Mary.

I wrote at the beginning of the season about the changes at In Plain Sight, and I have to say that thus far I am pleased. Mary still has her rough edges and intimacy issues, but the show is fun again. We're getting intriguing witness stories, and great banter from Mary, Marshall, and Stan--and Faber.

Tonight's In Plain Sight episode, "Love's Faber Lost", centered on Natalie Vickers (Alexandra Lydon), a woman committing real estate scams that involved breaking into foreclosed properties and "selling" them to unsuspecting buyers looking for a deal. Natalie committed these risky acts in order to help her long time boyfriend get out of debt to the Russian mob. When caught in a sting operation, Natalie goes into WITSEC, denies all knowledge of her boyfriend, and keeps running scams with him--for love.

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Faber personally requests Mary for the job because Natalie is hugely important to breaking up the Big Picture of mortgage fraud--she can name names of mobsters as well as the bankers who helped them. Mary is suspicious when Natalie seems too easily convinced of adopting a new identity and life. Mary and Faber butt heads when she finds Natalie violating her WITSEC agreement and Faber does his best to cover it up to keep her in the program.

I loved Raphael, but it's clear how much better a guy like Mike Faber is for Mary. Their back-and-forth throughout the show made for one of the best and funniest In Plain Sight episodes in history.

Mary: ...check fraud, grand theft, forgery--just couldn't squeeze in murder or prostitution?

Mike: Maybe she was going alphabetically?

Later Mary says that she protects her witnesses no matter what, but hey, if Natalie leaves the program she doesn't care if she gets "run over by a dump truck". Mike replies that she should put that on a plaque above the door.

When he stops by Mary's house to say goodbye and drop off a present of wine, Mike asks if the thought of seeing him again is "good, terrifying, destined to end in court?" He gets smiles out of Mary when no one else can, and it was fun to see her dodge and parry his advances.

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I wasn't sure how I felt about introducing a new love interest for Mary so soon after her 3 year relationship with Raph, but they seem to be playing it the right way. Mary's not jumping into anything, and the angst/sexual tension/awkwardness is entertaining to watch and stays true to Mary's character. Here's hoping we see more of Faber in the future, though hopefully not at the expense of Marshall. I understand why they sent him off on a WITSEC errand for this episode, but I enjoy his and Mary's rapport too much to forsake it for Faber--awesome as Faber is.

It was an interesting twist, too, as Mary's cynicism ferreted out how much Natalie's boyfriend was manipulating her. It was painful to watch as Natalie realized that the only man she'd ever loved was willing to turn on her in a heartbeat to get himself a deal. Luckily she had Mary on her side, getting her the deal and the boyfriend a jail term and probably a death sentence from the Russian mob. As Mary tells Faber earlier in the episode, however, Mary's constant cynicism is great for her job and a curse for her personal life. Will she ever be able to reconcile the two?

Watch In Plain Sight on USA, Wednesday nights at 10/9c.

5 Best 80s Pop Music Videos

Does anyone else miss the days of fun, campy, ridiculous, and occasionally genius music videos? You know, back in the time when MTV actually played music? It's been a long time since the 80s, but some of these gems still hold up. It's also fun to remember your first reaction to ground-breaking music videos that changed the whole genre and put its permanent stamp on popular culture.

It's also nice to remember the time when "ground-breaking" did not equal "naked". I'm looking at you Lady Gaga, since it's so clear you wouldn't exist without women like Annie Lennox.

We don't have the MTV we used to, but at least we have YouTube, where some of these mini-music-films now reside. I've written up a list of the 5 best 80s music videos over at AC, complete with links to those awesome vids. So you can relive the glory days, or take a peek at the early days of the music video genre you now only catch on YouTube, AOL, or On Demand. Or you know, if you're up at 2am and watch VH1.




PHOTO: Pat Benatar & friends, "Love Is a Battlefield" screencap, c1983 Chrysalis Records.