Fazzinchi

Lost Is Found On Sky

Debuting on Murdoch’s $ky network, season three of Lost has begun on SkyOne with a Sunday night double-header of “A Tale Of Two Cities” and “The Glass Ballerina“. Picking up exactly where we left off, this is a mini-run of 6 episodes that will air before a winter break (and clashing with Torchwood… grrrr!). Following the move from CH4/E4 I was surprised and not a little irritated to find that we were still being “entertained” by the 118 men before and after every segment, but even that, (more…)

The Lostaways Begin Their Trek

Season two started with, relatively speaking, a whimper.  It was a show seemingly lost for ideas (excuse the pun), but events ramped up as the days progressed to finally conclude with this Lost double header, Live Together, Die Alone.  I was really surprised to see Desmond play such an influential role having not been seen on the island since the early episodes of the season and we got some flashbacks that told us how he became lost in the first place.  However, it was the more established storylines that moved on the most.  For example, we might have found out why the plane crashed in the first place and I really started to get a feeling that JJ Abrams and his pals really do have a five-year plan after all.  Even though The Others are becomming a little more familiar, they remain as mysterious as ever and their deal with Michael was beautifully realised with all the double-crossing keeping me and The Other Viewer guessing throughout.  Surely though, Michael and Walt’s story cannot be over.  Best of all, I love the way that, just when you think you have a handle on what’s occuring, the writer’s decide to reveal a four-toed statue of a massive foot on the coastline.

Being based in the UK of course, we’ve just seen the end of series two at the same time as our US cousins begin to prepare for season three.  Unlike last season though, Channel 4 gave us no next season preview or promise of a short wait for our next installment, so I’m guessing that it will be spring of 2007 before we see what those guys in the ice station were up to and how Desmond’s ex- may fit into the bigger picture.  The good news is that I can now safely surf the net for Lost information safe in the knowledge that I cannot be significantly spoilt, but as soon as the US broadcast hits the airwaves (and Torrents) I shall withdraw into my little cocoon with the season one and two DVDs as comfort.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don’t think I can remember having ever been as shocked by a TV show as I was earlier tonight.  The Other Viewer and I recorded the latest episode of Lost, “Two For The Road” from E4 on Tuesday night and we finally settled down with a glass of wine to watch it this evening.   It all started typically enough (if anything is ever “typical” on this show), with a flashback to Ana-Lucia and the consequences of her murder of Jason, the guy who had earlier shot her.  On the island, life was getting more complicated… Michael’s return, Ana-Lucia and Sawyer’s liaison, Henry’s hunger strike, and Hurley and Libby’s blossoming romance.   However, the episode’s final two minutes will live with me for a long time, right up there with the appearance of Locutus of Borg and Sheridan’s jump into Z’Ha’Dum.  My heart (genuinely and with no word of a lie) seemed to skip a beat, not once, not twice, but three times as I sat agape at the denoument.  A fantastic show just got better and the final three episodes of series two have a lot to live up to.

Would you trust this man?

The Other Viewer and I have finally got up to speed with the E4 broadcasts of Season Two of Lost. Episode 13, “The Long Con” was another strong episode, helped in no small part, and as ever, by Josh Holloway playing the role of island bad guy, Sawyer. Long cons, of course, are somehing that many UK viewers are more than familiar with, thanks to the BBC’s “Hustle” and so the plot of this episode was one that you expected to have plenty of twists and turns througout. It doesn’t disappoint because we see two cons in action… one on the island and one in flashback, as Sawyer seemingly reacts to the events around him while in reality, of course, it is he who has been manipulating them. The other point of note here is the development of Charlie, someone whose life was on a downward spiral even before the plane crash and is not getting much better now he’s stranded on the island. His heroin addiction is sympathically handled but the final scenes of “The Long Con” show a glimpse of how low Charlie is truly descending, and it might be this attention to characterisation (as opposed to its make-it-up-as-you-go-along plot) that keeps Lost at the top of the TV tree.

“Whose gonna drive you home, tonight?”

All the US imports seem to reach their respective climaxes at this time year, a few months after their original broadcasts over the pond. Following the aforementioned Prison Break, we also reached the end of the second series of Desperate Housewives. All the usual shenanigans of the residents of Wisteria Lane were ramped up to an even higher degree of far-fetched nonsense than we saw in the first series, but even so, the whole ensemble remained pleasantly watchable. Affairs, murders, fake murders, lies, deceit, illegitimate children and jealousy all litter this small town street in a way that Eastenders could barey imagine. Best of all was the cameo from Kyle MacLachlan as (wait for it) a psychopathic dentist (!) who seems destined to bring more trauma into the life of Bree van der Kamp. Her persona epitomises the show completely in the way the glossy, picture perfect veneer of the show hides a seedy and dark underbelly, and it is this most of all that continues to draw in viewers. How long can it last, is what most of us want to know.

Arnie Vinick explains the situation

As the final season of The West Wing hurtles towards its conclusion over on More4, I can’t help but worry that there is going to be nothing waiting in the wings (so to speak) to replace it. Political drama within the UK has been quite limited, to the degree that it is almost a niche subject for television makers over the years (with notable exceptions like “House Of Cards”). Instead the Brits tend to view political intrigue as a subject of much hilarity as seen in “Yes, Minister” and “New Statesman”. Therefore, when I became aware of The West Wing some 5 or 6 years ago, I approached with caution, but any fears were soon put to rest as the sheer brilliance of Aaron Sorkin’s creation became apparent. Episodes continue to inform and entertain all the way through season seven…. the presidential race hots up as a nuclear power plant in California melts down in one of the best examples, Duck and Cover. It says something about the state of the world when the standing President and both candidates to supercede him in a fictional storyline, would all seemingly run the actual President to a close finish. So, The West Wing will take all its Emmys and Golden Globes and be relegated to the sidelines of “They-don’t-make-’em-like-that-anymore” discussions at the pub. Soon to be gone, long to be remembered.