Back To The Island

Happy LOST Day!

2010-08-24T12:18:00.001-04:00

Today's an auspicious occasion. LOST, the complete muthafunkin' series, is being released. Commence your happy-dances.

I'm well aware that some folks were underwhelmed by the final season, and as I've said previously I can't blame them. There's a lot to love there, but there's also an increasing sense of frustrated/frustrating ambiguity that most people (myself included) weren't expecting at all.

We entered Season 6, aided and abetted by ABC's nefarious marketing department, convinced we were going to get ANSWERS, ANSWERS, ANSWERS! Instead, we got .....answers?

If you're like me, who found much of my enjoyment from the show in puzzling around its various mysteries, references, allusions and pop culture debris, then the final season served as a summation of all that had made LOST both energizing and aggravating. The answer to the puzzle was more puzzle, to put it too-simply.

And I loved it, warts and all.

Work on Back to the Island: The Book continues apace, and now that the complete collection has been released I'll be incorporating what we learn from that set into the text. But primarily what I'll be doing (at first) is simply enjoying a dip back into this show's singularly-intoxicating world. I know that many of you will be doing the same thing, and I'm looking forward to talking about it.

Have you picked up the set yet? Have you watched its special features? I'll be providing a space for us to talk about them in the near future. Consider this post an initial exclamation point of excitement. In the meantime, I encourage you to use the link in the sidebar to pop over to Verbosity, where I'm now posting regularly.

Back to the Island: The Mailing List

2010-06-14T15:19:00.001-04:00

So it turns out that gmail is, like, the worst when it comes to Mass Mailing.

Since I'm not savvy with the technology, I had no idea that this was the case.

I'm looking into some simple, free/cheap services to help me get the first email out to those of you on the Back to the Island mailing list, and should have things worked out by weeks' end.

Best,

MMorse

Lost & Found: And The Winner Is....

2010-06-14T15:18:00.002-04:00

The first show to be renewed on Lost & Found has been chosen!

Click here to discover its identity.

Lost & Found Is Here

2010-06-11T10:03:00.000-04:00

The Lost & Found introductory column has been posted as Lost-withdrawal methodone. Please vote!

Lost: Odds and Ends

2010-06-07T09:48:00.004-04:00

Morning, all.

The first "Back to the Island: The Book" email will be going out soon. If you haven't signed up for the mailing list, you can do so by shooting me an email at WhatIsWater@gmail.com. By expressing interest in the book you'll recieve updates, exclusives, contest stuff, and probably some baking recipes.

For those of you who haven't already seen them, head on over to io9 and watch the original audition tapes of folks like Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway and Matthew Fox.

Or, if you're feeling a little more script-oriented, check out the scripts for the Pilot episode, Two For The Road, and Fire and Water (for some reason, Lost's writers enjoyed peppering their scripts with copious F-bombs).

Got any fun Lost links to share? Post them in the comments!

And if you haven't had the chance to pop over and check out Verbosity!, my new non-Lost site, might I suggest that you give it a try? Today we're offering up a fresh-baked game of Pass The Sentence.

Have a great week, all.

Verbosity! Is Here

2010-06-04T10:07:00.004-04:00

Hola, everybody!

After almost a full year of pouring my Lost-related thoughts into this here blog, I'm making the transition to wider, wilder pastures. Today marks the debut of Verbosity! - my new, all-inclusive site.

Before you shut down the computer for the weekend and head out into the shimmering summer sun, might I suggest that you bookmark it? I'd be pleased as punch if some of you decided to make the move over there with me. Head on over and check it out, if you're so inclined. You'll get some sense of what to expect, and you'll have the opportunity to submit your own sites and blogs to me for inclusion in the sidebar.

Finding such an intelligent, (com)passionate, entertaining audience for my musings has been, without a doubt, the most rewarding part of my Back to the Island gig. If your interest in my ramblings ends with Lost allow me to say thank you, sincerely, for your time and your comments. This site will remain up and running, occasionally updated, and open to all of you. As I work on Back to the Island: The Book, I'll post updates and thoughts here, and I'll notify folks of that stuff on Verbosity! so it doesn't get lost.

Enough with the excess verbiage. This isn't goodbye. This is hello.

Best,

MMorse

The End (S6, eps. 17 & 18)

2010-06-02T15:28:00.000-04:00

The column for The End has let go for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

It's been an honor and a privilege, everyone. I hope it's enjoyed.

Verbosity Is Coming

2010-06-02T13:15:00.004-04:00

Those of you interested in following me to my new digs - a blog site meant to host all manner of writings unrelated to Lost - should consider dropping by here on Friday.

Back to the Island will remain exactly as it is, and will continue to be updated with new/interesting information about the show and with info on the progress of my book.

The End: An Update

2010-05-28T11:28:00.002-04:00

Hola, all.

The good news: I'm really enjoying this column. I think you will too.

The bad news: It won't be up until Tuesday morning, after the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Why? Well, it mostly comes down to me deciding that I don't want to post it in two parts. At this point, what was Part I is in pretty good shape, but the structure of the whole thing sort of demands that it post as one (enormous and over-long) piece, and Part II is still an ill-formed, shambling mess (moreso than usual). It also comes down to my wanting more time with it. There's a lot I want to say, and I'd like to say it well.

I don't see this as being a huge deal in terms of "missing the window of discussion" on the finale, since folks are still hotly debating it all over the 'net. That's not going to change over the next 2-3 days, and I feel comfortable taking the time to construct the entirety of it for your (and my) pleasure. I do, however, realize that some of you really look forward to my ramblings and so I apologize for the delay.

I hope that's understood, and as always I appreciate your patience with me.

Thanks,

MMorse

Your Back to the Island Teaser Quotation for The End

2010-05-27T09:48:00.002-04:00

“Real rebels, as far as I can see, risk disapproval. The old postmodern insurgents risked the gasp and squeal: shock, disgust, outrage, censorship, accusations of socialism, anarchism, nihilism. Today’s risks are different. The new rebels might be artists willing to risk the yawn, the rolled eyes, the cool smile, the nudged ribs, the parody of gifted ironists, the “Oh how banal.” To risk accusations of sentimentality, melodrama. Of overcredulity. Of softness.” – David Foster Wallace, E Unibus Plurum

Lost: Season 6, eps. 17 & 18 (and then some) Discussion

2010-05-24T01:23:00.003-04:00

Update:

I've started work on the column for The End. While I'm trying to include as much in the way of "summarization of concepts" as possible from the run of this column and the show, it's going to be a highly-truncated version by dint of the fact that I could easily write a treatise on this stuff large enough to tear a hole in the fabric of space/time/Chud. If you're interested in delving even deeper into the "meaning" of The End, and into the kinds of themes, allusions, references and overarcing subtextual stuff that makes this show so much fun for some of us, you should consider shooting me an email (WhatIsWater@gmail.com) and signing up for my Back to the Island mailing list.

You'll get information on the progress of Back to the Island: The Book, as well as sneak peeks (including sections of the text as it evolves and stuff like the now-in-progress cover design which, thanks to the volunteer efforts of one of the column's readers, promises to be awesome) and the opportunity to influence the book's content through your votes, among other things. There is no obligation to buy, as the infomercial said to the overeager consumer. If you've enjoyed these columns and you'd like to show your support for them/me, please consider signing up.

Instareaction:

Communion. Community. Communication. Connection.

Lost ended as it began - with a disparate group of wounded individuals finding their meaning in one another. As Christian Shephard flung wide the doors and in poured the Light, I felt filled with the same Oceanic sensation that united them beyond death. I've never been much of a television person overall, so maybe this feeling is typical to finales. I wouldn't know. What I do know is that this episode/these episodes was/were everything I wanted it/them to be.

To see Hurley assume the Island role and ask Ben to help guide him moved my soul. To watch the Castaways connect and draw closer to rising, to converging, gladdened my heart. To witness Jack and Anti-Locke in mortal combat as the Island shook around them thrilled the blood. To hear the awe in Richard's voice when he regained his mortality made me smile in it's quiet, obvious wisdom.

I could do this all night - name moment after moment and attach superlatives - but I sort of want to bask in the afterglow of this. I want to let the image of the stained glass with it's panoply if religious symbols float in my brain for a bit. I want to recall Ben's sad/happy, sorry/grateful talk with John outside the church, and John's beneficent forgiveness. I want to savor the fact that it's Kate who finally lands the killing blow against Anti-Locke, a mother protecting the cause of life against death (with a killer one liner no less). I want to savor Jin and Sun and Charlie and Claire and Kate and Jack and Sawyer and Juliet (!) as they awaken.

I'm doing it again. I want to know if this moved you as it moved me. I want to know what your thoughts and feelings, comments and criticisms are, directly following The End. Let me know in the comments, and let me know if you're free Thursday night, for another Lost get-together. Thanks for reading, and Namaste.

Original Post:

Discuss here. I've been stuck on an airplane for 8 hours, so I haven't had time to write up a proper intro for this post. Really though, what can I say that hasn't been so wonderfully well-expressed by all of you over the past week. I hope it's enjoyed by all of us, and I hope you'll grace me with your thoughts, comments and reactions after The End ends.

Best,

MMorse

Reminder: Liveblogging The End

2010-05-23T15:16:00.000-04:00

Join me tonight at 9pm EST on Chud.com, where I'll be liveblogging the finale during commercial breaks. Expect the requisite overstock of terrible jokes, some occasional insight, and my in-the-moment reactions, all delivered in short bursts of Twitter-esque prose. BYOB.

Enjoy the finale, and come back here after the fact to discuss it!

Times Talks Teaser, courtesy of Back to the Island reader Gravyboat

2010-05-22T20:03:00.000-04:00

Afternoon, folks!

Due to circumstances beyond my control I had to miss the Times Talks interview with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse that took place Thursday evening. Happily, Back to the Island reader "Gravyboat" attended. Here's his report. Hope it's enjoyed! GB, thanks for taking the time to write this out for your fellow fans:

By now, Lost show runners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are possibly the most-interviewed storytellers in at least a decade. For the past six years, they’ve steadily released podcasts, recorded DVD commentaries and cut interviews with media outlets, educational institutions and hobbyist communities around the world. In addition, they’ve been the cornerstone of a press blitz leading into the show’s final episode that rivals the publicity pushes behind most major tent-pole films.

As a result, most Lost enthusiasts already know what to expect from a “Darlton” interview: Collegial and self-deprecating banter, an obligatory reminder that they care more about character than about mystery, coy evasion of questions no reasonable person could expect them to answer, a comment about having known the very end from the very beginning, and gentle jabs at the over-enthusiastic nature of their own fan base.

Their nearly two-hour interview with The New York Times’ Lorne Manly on Thursday night didn’t do anything to undercut the affable, geeky and slightly self-important brand they’ve built for themselves, but it did introduce some new areas of discussion for them and offered viewers deeper, more honest answers to some familiar questions. It also probably helped many fans in their respective grieving processes, serving as an appropriately sweet and exciting send-off to something that has been much more than just another adventure show to so many of us.

Conducted at the Times Center in New York City and simulcast to select movie theaters across the U.S. and Canada, the interview bounced between the behind-the-scenes process that goes into making the show to their takes on the story’s literary resonance to—of course—fan questions about the plot minutiae of seasons past.

As is to be expected after putting the finishing touches on the final episode—they finished scoring the finale Monday, a process that Lindelof’s loud weeping apparently made difficult—a significant portion of the interview was retrospective.

Lindelof never expected the show to become popular, and fully expected it to be canceled after ten episodes. (He also expected to be “revealed as a fraud,” and “for people to come to [his] house with torches.”) Cuse’s influence is what he said helped the writers and producers keep going in the early days.

“He infused us with a sense of optimism,” Lindelof said. Cuse encouraged the crew to take the show one episode at a time and not project two or three seasons ahead.

“The day the pilot aired, the ratings came out, Damon came into my office holding the ratings sheet, practically in tears,” Cuse laughed. “And he asked, ‘Does this mean we have to keep doing this?’”

Manly was plainly a fan, and had a keen interest in the shepherding process they went through as they ushered the show from freshman success to the glorious mess that it’s become today.

They looked at the climactic scene from season two’s “Orientation”—the iconic argument between Jack and Real John Locke about whether the button really does anything, and about the fact that Locke can’t handle the pressure of believing alone—as a case study in how they handled the show’s science fiction elements in a way that has a broader thematic relevance.

“In most science-fiction genre shows,” Cuse said, “the approach to the scene might be that the characters are sitting around talking about how this button is connected to whatever detonation device. ‘How do we dissemble it? How do we take it apart? How do we stop the timer? Who built it?’ Those kinds of mechanical questions that are very plot-oriented—this scene distinguishes the way we approach story-telling differently than other shows that are in this genre. Instead of having characters talk about that, we take this theme of faith and use that as the nexus of what would actually drive the discussion between these two characters.”

They managed to keep the more fantastic elements of the show relatable and interesting by, as Cuse put it, trying to change "what" questions into "who" questions: We may have spent half a season wondering what's in the hatch, but when we finally found out, we cared about it because we were now (presumably) more curious about who was in the hatch. When the Smoke Monster started to play a more significant role in the plot this season, whether it could go past the circle of ash and which dead faces it could assume didn't matter to the story nearly as much as who the Monster was and what he wanted.

Over the six years of the show, they never had any major battles over where to go with the story, a fact they credited to the intensely collaborative nature of the way they worked out each season’s arc and each episode’s story. Enthusiastic fans are already familiar with the process: At the “very beginning of the show” they came up with “what the very end of the show should be, and that actually has stayed the same since then.” Between seasons one and two, free from the pressure of day-to-day writing and production, they fleshed out the show’s mythological outline. Between each season, they hold a “mini-camp” where they plan the details of the coming season’s arc with the other writers. Finally, episode-by-episode, they work with the full team of writers to break each story and assign script duties.

“We’re not J.K. Rowling,” Cuse said. “We’re not completely in control of our own universe. We collaborate with 425 people on Lost.”

Lindelof said that the two questions people ask most frequently are whether they are “making it all up as they go along” and what impact the fans have on the development of the show.

“People want the answer to the first question to be, ‘We are not making it up as we go along. We have a binder, and everything we’re going to do is in there,’” he said. “And they want the answer to the second question to be, ‘The fans have enormous impact on the show!’ But both things can’t coexist … We have to live between the space.”

They cited a few examples of subtle ways in which the fans actually have impacted story-telling decisions over the years, including the season two story-line centering around Hurley hoarding foodstuffs from the Dharma Initiative’s storehouse.

“We thought it was kind of odd,” Cuse mused, “because everybody’s really well-groomed and nobody’s saying, ‘Why does Kate’s hair look so nice?’ Nobody looks like Tom Hanks in Castaway on our show, but for some reason the fact that Hurley wasn’t losing weight seemed to be bothering people.”

The long-standing common wisdom amongst Lost fans has been that the introduction of the characters Nikki and Paulo in season three was another example of the producers responding to fan questions—this time a recurring question of who the rest of the 50-odd survivors of Oceanic 815’s tail and fuselage sections were.

Lindelof, though, says that that’s only partly true:

“We introduced Nikki and Paulo at a time where we didn’t have an end date yet, and had to start packing our refrigerator full of food—even food we didn’t want to eat … We needed to start stacking the deck.”

In an attempt to give themselves story-telling fodder for—well, they didn’t know how long they’d need it—they were going to once again introduce new characters at the start of the season, much the way they opened season two by introducing the audience to Desmond and to the tail-section survivors. They knew that they would be introducing Juliet, Ben and several minor Others, but added Nikki and Paulo to the roster as a capitulation to fan pressure.

Now that the end is in such close sight, the question they’ve been getting asked most often recently is, “Am I going to be really disappointed by the finale?”

The writers said that by following the show for six years, one of the things fans should be prepared for is the fact that they may find the finale disappointing.

“One of the reasons we believe people watch the show is because you’re like ‘This could end catastrophically,’” Lindelof said. “There’s a part of all of us that, when we go to see the high-wire act at the circus, we’re like, ‘I kinda wanna see him fall. It would be terrible—but it would be interesting.’”

“There’s been a spiritual quality to the final season of the show,” said Cuse, referring to the hard nod back toward the mythic that irked some fans this season. “And we felt like that is something we wanted to be very much a part of the concluding episode of the show.”

So, they didn't come right out and say whether they think people will be disappointed or not, but throughout the evening they did tease the audience with information about the finale. Some teases were minor (there is apparently going to be a Star Wars reference in the first seven minutes), others were larger (the interview mentioned at least three people the audience will be surprised to see Sunday) and some were just abstract (Desmond’s second-season advice to Jack to “lift it up” may or may not be of thematic relevance).

The tidbits--including a complete scene from Sunday's episode--were just enough to stoke the audience's excitement for the finale without satiating any of our curiosity. That's a difficult tightrope to walk, but Lindelof and Cuse are good at it. They've had a lot of practice.

What They Died For (S6, ep. 16)

2010-05-21T13:32:00.004-04:00

The Back to the Island column for What They Died For has been given vague, magical, Island-protecting powers for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

Your Back to the Island Teaser Quotation

2010-05-20T09:49:00.006-04:00

Good morning, everyone. I'm going to be away for the day taking care of some personal stuff (and because of this I'm afraid I'm going to have to miss the Times Talks simulcast tonight - my sincere thanks to Gravyboat for the invite, and my sincere apologies for having to bow out) but before I vamoose I wanted to give you a teaser quote for tomorrow's installment of Back to the Island. I loved "What They Died For," even moreso the second time through. I think that'll come through in the final column, which will post tomorrow as usual. Have a great day, take care of one another, and thanks once again for reading.

"Most of us have learned to be dispassionate about evil, to look it in the face and find, as often as not, our own grinning reflections with which we do not argue, but good is another matter. Few have stared at that long enough to accept that its face too is grotesque, that in us the good is something under construction. The modes of evil usually receive worthy expression. The modes of good have to be satisfied with a cliché or a smoothing down that will soften their real look.” – Flannery O’Connor, Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose

Lost: Season 6, ep. 16 Discussion

2010-05-19T11:19:00.000-04:00

Instareaction (updated further below):

Spoilers ahoy.

We all knew it was coming, that Jack would take this step. In the end, the decision and what followed felt spare and quiet - a foregone conclusion rendered poetic in it's unavoidability. This is a point that the whole show has been building toward - a point wherein, depending on your point of view, Jack's need to fix things either transcends it's often-petty, daddy-issue-driven origins or succumbs completely to them.

What They Died For was a return to the edge-of-my-seat Lost I was hoping for. It gave us Answers, it gave us deeply character-rooted emotion, it gave us (at times on the nose) dialogue that confirmed Jacob's essential standing as the god of the Island, thematically speaking. It also confirmed some of my and your speculation from last week - that Jacob wanted to give these people a choice, because he never had one (and I like that he seems to believe this, yet has no problem with them having been brought to the Island), that only someone "like" Jacob can find the heart of the Island, that the Man in Black wants to return to the Light.

All of that and I haven't even gotten to Ben, who finally faces Widmore in what might have been great, but is instead really good, or the fact of this curiously-scrubbed Rousseau, or of Desmond's beating of Ben and the accompanying flashes, and of Ben's seeming turn back to the dark side which looks much like a suicide run. And what about Off-Island Locke's change of heart, and the prospect of Jack operating on him during the final episode? I haven't touched on Desmond, and how he's now Sheperding these Castaways toward some specific task, or how his dismissal of Ana Lucia ("She's not ready yet.") indicates that there's something here to the ideas of reincarnation and second chances that have been Second Snaking their way through these columns. And what about Richard? Is that it? Somehow I doubt it.

What I liked most about this episode of Lost was how it knocked away the most pressing pieces of character mythology and left us with 2 1/2 hours of television left to go. We know exactly what these people are fighting for now, and we know exactly what Anti-Locke really wants (we've suspected this part for a while). What the heck happens now? Presumably, Off-Island Jack is going to need to make a fateful choice after he and Locke remember their Island narratives. Desmond will descend into the Island's Underworld, perhaps acting exactly as Anti-Locke is hoping he will. Enough of this. Point is, I liked it. Can't wait to watch it again.

Terrific stuff. Finding it hard to concentrate. Perfect time to start writing, then. What did you think?

Edited to add:

I woke up this morning even more charged up about this episode. Everything about it - the surprisingly large amounts of jet-black humor, the suspense, the Answers given, the steps taken - feels correct, feels purposeful and moving and definitive and yet still-mysterious in so many ways. I love that there's every possibility that Jack can die now, since we've finally seen him take up the mantle. I love the possibility that Jack might decide to make his fellow Castaways protectors as well, turning the job of Jacob into a communal position. Most of all, I love the sense of open-ended possibility that this episode left us with. We're more sure than ever of what, generally, will be happening in the finale and yet we're also less sure then ever of how it will all play out. Glorious, I say.

....But that freaky, Willow-ish old lady who narrated the end-episode teaser? What in the heck was that about, ABC? Really? You go with what sounds like the voice of a 1,000 year-old dwarf grandmother who lives under a magical toadstool?

Original Post:

I have it on good authority that tonight's episode is very, very good.

Will that be enough to wash the sour taste of Across the Sea out of some folks' mouths? To be honest, I don't find that question very interesting. Having written way too much about last week's divisive episode I've found myself in a nice, comfy place about it and I cannot wait to jump back into the main storyline with the surviving (sadface) Castaways.

Yet, I can also easily wait. I sort of want to wait forever. I'm at the point now that I always arrive at when I read something I love - if the book is good, really really good, then I almost always stop with around 100 pages to go and take some time off. I don't like it when good things end, even if that ending is also a good thing.

I'll be back in here after the episode airs with a very brief InstaReaction. My week is time-crunched up the wazoo on Thursday and Friday, so in order to get the column to you by week's end I'll need to jump right into it.

Enjoy the show!

Life Is Getting Stranger, And Requires More Virtual Real Estate

2010-05-18T15:20:00.005-04:00

So apparently I'll be interviewing Tim Roth in the near-future.

I have no real business doing so, any more than I did in interviewing Hiroyuki Sanada. And yet, here I am - very pleased and more than a little confused.

Due to the non-Lostian nature of this kind of stuff, I'm going to be setting up a new site for all non-Lost related writings. From the tone of the communication I recieved, it seems likely that this will not be the last interview I do. I need a place to put them, along with the other, non-book ideas I'm looking forward to tackling in the wake of Lost's finale.

So, if you've enjoyed the me-writing part of this blog even close to as much as you've enjoyed the what-I'm-writing-about part, I'd like to invite you to join me over there too once I get things set up and do a little tidying. It'd be great to hold on to some of your intelligence and civility once the weekly Back to the Island column closes it's figurative doors.

Incidentally, if you've got any questions for Mr. Roth (my first: how did you manage to keep yourself from murdering yourself on the set of Rob Roy every day? Didn't looking into a mirror make you want to travel back in time and strangle yourself as a baby?*) please shoot me an email or leave me a comment and let me know. I'd appreciate some intelligent options from you all.

As always, thanks for reading.

*Believe it or not, this is a compliment.

Your Favorite Dialogue

2010-05-18T10:33:00.004-04:00

With Lost winding down I'm feeling inspired to solicit your favorite lines and exchanges from the show - the goofy, the stirring, the profound or the bizarre.

I'll start us out with a few of my own favorites:

Locke: "If it’s not real, then what are you doing here, Jack? Why did you come back? Why do you find it so hard to believe?"
Jack: "Why do you find it so easy?"
Locke: "It’s never been easy!"

Ben: “You guys got any milk?”

Carmen Reyes: "Jesus Christ is not a weapon."

Tom: "Well look at that! You got yourself a fish biscuit! How’d you do that?"
Sawyer: "I figured out your complicated gizmos, that’s how."
Tom: "It only took the bears 2 hours."

Nikki: “Razzle Dazzle!”

Locke: "The man from Tallahassee? What is that? Some kind of code?"
Ben: "No, John, unfortunately we don’t have a code for “There’s a man in my closet with a gun to my daughter’s head.” Although we obviously should."

Hurley: "Let's look death in the face and say: 'Whatever, man'!"

Jack: "John Locke told me I needed to stay."

Post yours in the comments section. As many as you'd like.

Back to the Future Island

2010-05-18T09:16:00.006-04:00

It's the last Lost Tuesday. Cause for celebration and for some good old fashioned premature grieving. Ease the pain of losing a television show by buying some stuff! Tee Fury continues its tradition of Lost-shirt Tuesdays today with this little number:

Cute. I picked up an Ab Aeterno T last week, so my back-monkey has been sated. But for those of you who haven't found that perfect piece of Island-themed attire, this might fit the bill.

Discussion column goes up in a few hours. Enjoy the day!

Morning, All!

2010-05-17T11:43:00.004-04:00

Are you ready for the last Tuesday episode of Lost?

I am. I'll be spending it with friends, 'geeking out' together through this story's penultimate chapter. If the buzz is to be believed we're going to be a very happy fanbase this week. Several folks have been nice enough to email me their impressions of the episode without spoiling a single detail (thank you, sincerely, for not doing that Internet-jackass thing where you intentionally toss major spoilers into an email/PM - you guys kick ass) and based on those reactions, and on the level-headed, thoughtful nature of the column's readers, I think we've all got good reason to be very, very excited.

In two weeks, this site will become the hub for my book, also tentatively titled "Back to the Island." I'll be posting info here about what I'm doing with it and what you can expect from it, but if you want to get glimpses at the book itself, or recieve the sneak peeks I intend to send out as I work on it then you'll need to sign up for my mailing list. Doing so does not bind you in any way. If you haven't dropped me a line yet (another round of sincere thanks to those of you who have, and for the ridiculously kind words) you can do so at this address: WhatIsWater@gmail.com

Have a great day.

Across the Sea (S6, ep. 15)

2010-05-14T16:07:00.000-04:00

The Back to the Island column for Across the Sea has been Smokified for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

Reminder: Have A Beer With MMorse

2010-05-12T23:04:00.002-04:00

Update:

That was a lot of fun.

My thanks to The Colonel, Gravyboat, Peyton, Dan and Sabrica for making the trip downtown. We had vastly divergent views on last night's episode, ranging from love to, well, not-love and yet, despite this, there were a total of zero fistfights. Take that, MiB.

Hopefully you folks enjoyed yourselves as well.

Original Post:

When: Tonight! At 7 PM!

Where: Professor Thom's, located on 2nd Avenue between 13th and 14th streets

I'll be in a purple Vikings baseball cap, and I'll have a drink in hand. Come on by, say hello, and let's discuss some Lost. Bring a friend if you'd like. Remember to treat your fellow fans with the same respect you'd like to be treated with.

Lost: Season 6, Episode 15 Discussion

2010-05-12T08:59:00.001-04:00

InstaReaction:

Apologies for the lateness of this "Instareaction." After the show ended I was sort of stunned, in ways both good and bad. I had no idea how to begin writing about this episode. On the one hand, there was a lot to like - Titus Weliver proved to be another of Lost's smart casting decisions. His performance was worth the price of admission. I genuinely loved the sense of uncertainty that surrounded Alison Janneymom's character, and I think that continuing the theme of Island protectors who don't seem to truly understand what they're protecting, or why, is a fascinating one. Many of the individual scenes were captivating, and yet, at the same time, if I'm being honest, I'm sort of cool on it as a whole. Part of this is due to my own overinflated expectations. I was expecting a LOT of Across the Sea, and that's not the show's fault.

Most of the problems I have with the episode involve unanswered questions. Is the Smoke Monster actually Jacob's (still unnamed! What's up with that?) brother? Is what was released by The Man With No Name's body the embodiment of "pure evil"? If so, why can't Smokey hurt Jacob? Is Smokey "bonded" with the MiB? It has to be that the MiB's trip down the "rabbit hole" results in his being replaced/fused with something dark/evil by passing into the light. Otherwise, to be honest, I don't have much of a problem with the MiB leaving the Island. I mean, his mother was murdered, he was lied to, and when he tried to escape he got beaned in the back of the head with solid rock.

And what's with that claim anyway? Why can't they hurt each other? I assume "hurt" actually means "kill," since we see Jacob knock the snot out of his lil bro twice. Unnamed Alison Janneymom gave Jacob wine from the same bottle that Jacob used to give Richard wine. Does that mean the wine is responsible for immortality, and not Jacob's touch? I could go on, but then what would I write about for Friday? Unanswered questions are a problem I can deal with, and it makes the prospect of writing this week's column both exciting and very, very daunting.

I can't lie - some of my problems came from what seemed to be real problems in the story - how does "mom" manage to slaughter an entire village and burn it to the ground? Does she command Smokey? How did she cave the well in? Smokey? Did we really need to see heavy-handed flashbacks to Season 1 in order to figure out who Adam and Eve were? Why hasn't anyone else on the Island stumbled over the Big Glowing Hole In The Ground? For that matter, why couldn't the MiB find it again? Wait 'til dark, then walk around looking for the spot where eerie golden light is spilling from the ground. And was Alison Janney's essential Alison Janneyness distracting for anyone else? For as much as I loved seeing glimpses of the early civilization on the Island, I can't help feeling as though there were missed opportunities here, and that some aspects of the show (the look of it, the costuming, and the ham-handedness of some of the exposition) simply don't rise to the same level of realism and subtlety that Ab Aeterno did.

For all of that complaining and kvetching though, I didn't hate the episode. I'm just having an honestly-mixed reaction and, lucky you, you get to experience my reservations through the power of the internet. One of my much-appreciated Twitter peeps made the observation that this episode should have been the Season opener. I sort of agree in that I think I'd feel kinder to it if it had come, say, directly after The Substitute. In fact, in the future I think that's where I'll choose to re-slot this installment. It fits in perfectly there.

To sum up: I liked much about the episode's themes, it's ambition and it's seemingly-purposefully-veiled mythology. I had trouble with what felt like stilted acting in places, some clunky exposition, and the sense of ongoing confusion that resulted by episode's end. I'm looking forward to talking about this one tonight with some of you down at Professor Thom's (2nd Ave btwn 13th and 14th streets @ 7 pm), and to (drunkenly) rewatching it afterward, because I think there's a lot to chew on here and because I'm frankly hoping that it'll work better for me on the second go-round. This is without a doubt the single most divisive episode of Lost. I'm still on-board for the rest of the ride. Unlike some of my more hyperbolic colleagues, I didn't hate the episode and I don't think Lost has jumped the shark/sh*t the bed/pulled an "Episode 1"/whathaveyou - but for the first time this season since Recon I'm surprisingly underwhelmed.

Let's see what happens when I watch it again. Your thoughts?

Original Post:

"Somewhere, beyond the sea
Somewhere waitin’ for me...
My lover stands on golden sands
And watches the ships that go sailin’.
Somewhere, beyond the sea
She's there watchin’ for me...
If I could fly like birds on high
Then straight to her arms I’d go sailin’.
It's far beyond the stars
It's near beyond the moon
I know beyond a doubt
My heart will lead me there soon."

- Beyond The Sea, Charles Trenet/Jack Lawrence

Tonight brings to us "Across the Sea," the third-to-last episode of Lost. It's strange to type that.

The title of tonight's installment recalls the title of "Beyond the Sea," the timeless standard that's been interpreted by the likes of Bobby Darin and Frank Sinatra, and which was featured (in French!) back in Season 1 of the show.

What can we expect? Well, for one, we can expect not to see much (if anything) of the show's regular cast. We can expect some of our questions about the Island, its history and its mysteries, to be highlighted. We can expect a very special, very surprising guest-star. And we can expect Titus Welliver and Mark Pelligrino to deliver on the acting front.

If you're clueless about the subject matter of this installment I'm not going to spoil things for you any more than that. All I'll say is that this is the episode I've been waiting all season for, . I'll be back here after the episode airs on the East Coast to give my InstaReaction, and I'll have, I think, plenty to say about it at that point. If you're in the NYC area tomorrow night (Wednesday, May 12th), come by Professor Thom's at 7 pm. I'll be there with my purple baseball cap on, sipping a beer and looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this one.

Yet Another Note On Plagiarism And The Internet

2010-05-11T13:44:00.000-04:00

UPDATE:

It's been pointed out by two nice people from red and white kop that the comments posted below about plagiarism were essentially sarcasm/jokes. That's good to hear.

I won't lie - I'm sort of humorless when it comes to the topic of plagiarism. The word itself gets my hackles up, and I wasn't even aware I had hackles. About three months ago I ran into someone online who'd begun posting great, big chunks of my work without attribution, and who was claiming to be me on another message board. I'd never experienced anything like that, and like Patton Oswalt (whose shoes I am not fit to shine) I found myself weirdly bothered by it in a way I hadn't expected. I suspect that experience colored my reaction today.

So, as stated in the comments, I'd like to offer you good folks at red and white some (virtual) milk and cookies. I clearly missed the humor and went straight to the sadface. Timbo and Rusty, my apologies. Let's get back to talking Lost, and cracking terrible jokes.

See you all here tomorrow, where I'll have your exclusive excerpts of the Back to the Island column for Across the Sea before the column posts on Chud. I'm moving this post down further on the page to make room for what actually matters here.

Original Post:

Hola, all.

I'm working on tomorrow's mammoth Back to the Island column, and I'm looking forward to your reactions. Having had a fantastic discussion about it last night with you all at Professor Thom's, I'm supercharged at the moment, and I hope that'll come through in the final product.

That said, I'd like to take another moment here to discuss plagiarism.

A kind soul with the moniker of "Red in Holland" over at a forum called "red and white kop" apparently linked to my Instareaction for Across the Sea, and in clicking over there I was very gratified to find that folks there are actively reading my work. That's a heck of a compliment.

What's less complimentary are the weird accusations of plagiarism. I'm speaking specifically of the following:

"It looks as if old Morsey baby - without acknowledgement has pinched from a few of my recent posts on his forum to pull tongues within his latest piece at the show's detractors by saying that whatever criticism you level at the show one thing you cannot dispute is that it will remain for a very long time the most ambitious series TV anyone within that medium has ever attempted."

"He did the same with my points about Sayid's arc this season being pointless and aggravating whilst the nature of the infection remains unaddressed. Not impressed with his plagiarising like!"

I'm not shy about posting those remarks here because I find them baseless, bewildering, and frankly insulting. I've made a point of vocally criticizing the act of plagiarism, and I try - much harder than you probably realize - to single out folks here and elsewhere who've inspired my thoughts on each column. I have no interest in taking credit for other people's ideas. I find it hard to believe, on some level, that either poster is entirely serious. I've "plagiarized" the idea that the show is ambitious? I've "plagiarized" someone's disappointment over Sayid and Infection? You may as well say that I've plagiarized by saying "this episode was good" (because someone else said that too!).

That's ridiculous.

I thoroughly enjoy reading everyone's comments here, and I'm thrilled that you've chosen to make Back to the Island a site that you choose to visit. I respect each one of you, and when one of my readers comes up with something I want to feature in the column I credit them for that. My track record backs that up.

I'm not sure how to 'prove' this conclusively without excluding myself entirely from the comments, or by taking away the comments completely. I don't want to do either of those things because interacting with you all is a big part of what makes this fun for me. So instead, I just want to air this out in the open. It's with sincere respect to both of the above posters/apparent readers that I say the following: If you think you're being stolen from (and you are not), then do not post here. You won't have to worry about me "plagiarizing" you, and I won't have to worry about you libeling me.

My sincere thanks to Red in Holland for reading, and to all the folks at red and white kop who do so as well. Go Liverpool!

Stylish, Ab Aeterno

2010-05-11T09:09:00.004-04:00

Tee Fury is a site devoted to showcasing one cheap, limited-edition T-shirt each and every day. Sometimes these are game-related, sometimes they are film-related. Typically, Tuesday is their "Lost day."

I haven't been inspired to pick up any of their creations during this season, but today's offering, designed by M. Brady Clark, snared me. Maybe it'll snare you too. The design is posted directly above, and I'm a fan. If you're interested in purchasing it you can visit the Tee Fury site by clicking this link. At $9 (plus $2 in shipping and handling) it's a good deal. Remember: It's a one day thing. This time tomorrow, it'll be Lost to you.

Lost With Cuse, Lindelof and the New York Times

2010-05-10T15:06:00.006-04:00

Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Back to the Island reader "Gravyboat," I'll be attending the live simulcast of Times Talks Live: Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, moderated by New York Times entertainment editor Lorne Manly (who, I can only assume, has a cousin named Max Power).

I'll be reporting on the event, after the fact, right here on Back to the Island. The Times is accepting questions from us regular folks before the event, so if you've got something you'd like to ask Cuse or Lindelof, submit it here: timestalks@nytimes.com.

After the show both men are switching to "radio silence," and won't be speaking to the press for a while; this is your chance to try and have your question(s) answered before they vanish.

Include your name and your location (City and State) with your submitted queries.

My thanks to Gravyboat for totally making my day.

Reminder: Have A Beer With MMorse

2010-05-10T11:21:00.004-04:00

Morning, You All Everybody.

Just a quick reminder for everyone that I'll be at Professor Thom's (2nd Ave btwn 13th and 14th st.) on Wednesday night, starting at 7 pm. Come on by and introduce yourself. Feel free to bring a friend.

The Candidate (S6, ep. 14)

2010-05-07T15:49:00.000-04:00

The Back to the Island column for The Candidate has been boobytrapped for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

Have A Beer With MMorse

2010-05-07T15:12:00.000-04:00

Hey, folks.

Next week brings the arrival of "Across The Sea," potentially the most brain-shattering episode of Lost yet. While I'm sure that we'll get a ton of great conversation started right here on Back to the Island, I'd like to invite those of you in the NYC area to join me on the night of Wednesday, May 12th, to relax, kick back, order a beer, and chat about our shared obsession.

Where: Professor Thom's, on 2nd Avenue between 13th and 14th street

When: Wednesday, May 12th, starting at 7pm.

I'll be the guy in the purple Minnesota Vikings baseball cap. Come on by, grab a cold one, and let's talk about what's sure to be a fascinating installment of the show. Shoot me an email if you're interested, so I know how many people to expect.

Best,

MMorse

Dharmuppets

2010-05-06T14:18:00.001-04:00

A Brief, Self-Promotional Aside

2010-05-05T11:50:00.004-04:00

Some of my readers have been kind enough to ask me what I'll be doing with my time once Lost comes to a close. Check out this week's Back to the Island column on Chud.com for the first hints about my post-Lost plans. If you've been enjoying my ramblings I think you'll be pleased. If you haven't been enjoying them, I can promise you renewed pain and displeasure.

Lost: Season 6, Ep. 14 Discussion

2010-05-04T23:08:00.000-04:00

InstaReaction:

Congratulations, Lost. You have emotionally devastated me. Not one, not two, not three, but four characters take a ride with the Reaper by the end of this thing, and while some folks are bound to cry 'overkill' (literally) this felt pitch perfect in it's clockwork-precise tragedy. Our friends in the UK haven't gotten the episode yet, so I'll warn those folks now - names are discussed directly below. Turn away, or be spoiled.

...So.

Goodbye, Sayid Jarrah, Frank Lapidus, and Sun and Jin Kwon. Watching as the figurative tumblers in Anti-Locke's gambit clicked into place (a gambit that I feel compelled, immodestly, to point out that I've been predicting throughout the season, though the specifics were better than anything I'd imagined) was awful and yet gruesomely satisfying at the same time.

I'm still trying to process everything here, and it isn't easy. I've remained emotionally invested in Lost's characters, and watching them topple like dominoes was a legitimately emotional experience for me. With Sayid dead the question of infection seems abandoned, which is going to irritate me in the future, but his selfless death and last-minute words to Jack went a long way toward making his arc enormously, tragically satisfying for me. I knew Frank was a dead man as soon as it was announced that the plane was so longer an option, since his sole purpose this season has been to serve as possible pilot. And what is there to say about Sun and Jin? Well, I'll tell you what my wife said: " yeah, that's tragic, but they just left their kid to be an orphan." My wife is smart. That's pretty selfish. But i bought their decision, selfish or not, and the way that the whole sinking sub scene recalled the flooding of The Looking Glass, Sun and Jin's drifting hands calling to mind Charlie's drifting body, gave me chills.

Some of you have let me know about Devin Faraci's new column on Chud, which apparently bemoans the circularity of the show's storytelling, among other things. Tonight, Sawyer's dialogue affirmed for us explicitly that this circularity is very much intentional on the part of Lost's writers. The Castaways have been traveling in karmic circles for six seasons. Tonight, those circles were renewed and shattered at once.

There's so much here - Widmore's seeming efforts to protect the Castaways, Anti-Locke's true plan, Jack's revisitation of his dynamite conversion and the failure of James Ford to trust, Kate's increasingly-serious wounding, the bleeding of John Locke's consciousness, Anthony Cooper's fate and the reversal of off-Island Jack and Locke's positions of Men of Science and Faith, Bernard's creepy-yet-warm knowingness, so similar to Charlie and Desmond.

At this point all of my Island questions are decidedly secondary to my concern for the fates of these characters. And that is, to me, the true feat of tonight's episode.

We're hours away from The Candidate, tonight's new episode of Lost. Loved having a week off, so to speak, but it's great to be back in the saddle again. So, let's recap where we left off: Sawyer and the castaways are on Hydra Island, and they've just been taken prisoner/positioned for execution by Widmore's team of surly Insurance Salesmen. Jack took a literal leap of faith and returned to the Island, where we promptly did his best "man near-exploded by a rocket" impression and was rescuedby none other than Anti-Locke. Sayid's still hanging around with the Man In Black, but it looks as though he's not following orders quite as zombirifically as he has been. Does this mean that Desmond's now roaming the Island? Still stuck in the Well? Have Richard, Ben and Miles made it back to Dharmaville yet? Will Ben end up damning himself? Will Jack figure out what he's meant to do? Will the timelines converge? Will it all be revealed as a Second Snake? The result of the MiB's escape? Will Widmore do some third party Castaway slaughtering? Will Frank Lapidus develop a purpose, besides being the resident quipster when Sawyer's not around?

With just five hours left (!) can Lost stick it's landing? And will tonight be interesting/emotional/exciting enough to distract me from the fact that next week brings what's arguably the most anticipated episode of the season, other than the finale itself?

Leave your thoughts, hopes, comments, criticisms and predictions right here. I'll be in after the show airs at 9 pm EST to give my InstaReaction. Enjoy the episode!

Every 108 Minutes - By Colin Denney

2010-05-03T14:10:00.007-04:00

Hola, everyone!

It's the start of a new week, the continuation of Lost's final season, and time for this author to get off his @$$ and start writing again.

...but before I get back on my trusty WordHorse (let's call him "Thesaurus"), I'd like to take a moment to appreciate the creativity and skill of our fellow fans. Colin Denney is a reader of Back to the Island, and apparently a skilled designer. Check out his poster-work, entitled "Every 108 Minutes..."

I like the minimalism of the piece, and I like the way that the design evokes the 70's-style aesthetic of the Dharma Initiative. Nice work, Colin! Thanks for sharing, and for reading. If you've done Lost-inspired work that you'd like to share with the rest of the reading audience, drop me a line at WhatIsWater@gmail.com.

A Brief Apology

2010-04-30T16:11:00.006-04:00

It's been pointed out to me that my promised column for this week hasn't appeared. I'm here to say "sorry about that."

I've done, I think, a fairly good job of balancing the day job with the writing but sometimes the former has to take priority over the latter - especially in these superfun economic times. I wish that weren't the case, but then, I wish I could write about this stuff for a living, and if wishes were horses....

Anywho, the point is that there won't be any Lost-related ramblings until next week despite my promises to the contrary. I'm tired, and I can assure you that whatever I'd have produced would've reflected that. I'd rather not subject myself or you good folks to the virulent toxicity of half-baked Morse prose. The topic I'd planned to discuss will be featured in my forthcoming book.

Tune in over the weekend and early next week - I'm going to be showcasing some of our readers' artistic endeavors and offering some thoughts up on the show's final stretch. As always, I look forward to your comments, thoughts, and baking recipes. I very much appreciate your patience and your loyalty to this lil' blog o' mine.

Best,

MMorse

Apropos of Nothing

2010-04-30T10:53:00.001-04:00

Morning, all!

I don't want this page laying dormant all week, so how about the first official picture of Chris Hemsworth as Thor?

Grip your mighty Mjolnir in excitement and click here.

A Convergence of Good Fortune

2010-04-29T08:51:00.002-04:00

Good morning, everyone.

Please join me in taking a moment today to say congratulations to Back to the Island reader Sam Balcomb, whose promotional video, "Convergence," just won ABC's contest. If you missed out on Sam's work you can find a link to his video at the end of the column for The Last Recruit.

Lost in NYC II

2010-04-28T12:26:00.002-04:00

Hola, all. Hope you're enjoying your week off from all things Lost. It's been a nice opportunity for me to recharge the ol' mental batteries before we charge into the Final Four.

I've been thinking about organizing a casual get-together for readers and myself, something relaxed and fun before the finale. I'd appreciate a chance to put faces to the names of the folks who post here, and I think it'd be fun to grab a few drinks and talk Lost.

Anyone in the general NYC area interested in doing this? We'll pick a spot in Manhattan and a time that's good for everyone. Post a yay or nay in the comments section or shoot me an email at WhatIsWater@gmail.com.

Lost In NYC

2010-04-27T12:29:00.002-04:00

Just off 14th Street, Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Last Recruit (S6, ep. 13)

2010-04-23T16:02:00.000-04:00

The Back to the Island column for The Last Recruit has tossed itself off a boat for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

Your Back to the Island Teaser Quotation

2010-04-22T16:33:00.003-04:00

The column for "The Last Recruit" will publish tomorrow on Chud.com. In the meantime, here's your teaser quotation:

"Nature is like the chain of the Ferris Wheel, endless and infinite, and these little carriages are the bodies or forms in which fresh batches of souls are riding, going up higher and higher until they become perfect and come out of the wheel. But the wheel goes on. And so long as the bodies are in the wheel, it can be absolutely and mathematically foretold where they will go, but not so of the souls. Thus it is possible to read the past and the future of nature with precision. We see, then, that there is recurrence of the same material phenomena at certain periods, and that the same combinations have been taking place through eternity."

See you all mañana...

Passing the Conch: The Back to the Island Guest Column

2010-04-22T09:36:00.006-04:00

Aloha, folks.

I'm currently hard at work, piecing together another of my shambling creations. It'll post tomorrow on Chud.com, and I hope it's enjoyed. In the meanwhile, let's pass the Conch and cede the stage to Musicologist, Music Journalist, and Musician Josh Cutchin.

Josh shot me an email this week pointing out some interesting musical trivia about this week's episode. Seeing as he's the Musicologist, and I'm the dude with a blog, I thought I'd offer him a chance to share his thoughts with all of you. He came back to me with a really interesting piece. So put your virtual hands together for Mr. Josh Cutchin, who's musical stylings can be sampled by clicking this here link.

******

The Last Recruit was a very special episode of ABC’s LOST. Not because of any ground-shaking, earth-shattering revelations, but rather because it was the first episode of the six-year series that dared to approach its musical content with the same fervor and depth it usually reserves for themes, mythology, and imagery.

Please don’t misunderstand me: LOST has used music in very successful ways before. The continuity of themes is admirable – Beyond the Sea and Catch a Fallen Star have popped in and out of the series in significant ways that are meaningful to the plot and its themes. However, the original score, by Michael Giacchino, has done little to inspire. In most cases, the score of LOST does what every film score should do on its most basic level: it complements the music and stays out of the way. In The Last Recruit, however, Giacchino’s score aspired to do something more, to impart meaning.

Approximately twenty-five minutes into the broadcast (eighteen, for you online viewers), I was struck by what sounded like a paraphrase of Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2 third movement. Compare the Chopin to this excerpt from The Last Recruit (MMorse - I've attempted to add Josh's mp3 file to this post without success. Fortunately, Josh has helpfully provided you with the approximate time of the score snippet in question. I'll see about figuring out how to get the actual file on here). The similarities are striking.

Both compositions are built on top of a repeated minor third quarter-note ostinato; the Piano Sonata third movement (commonly know as Chopin’s Marche funèbre: Lento, or “Funeral March”) is in Bb minor, while Giacchino’s composition is only a half-step higher, in B minor. Moreover, the melodies of both compositions are built around minor thirds, while the sequence of long and short notes is strikingly similar. If the time was taken to transcribe Giacchino’s composition, more similarities would undoubtedly surface.

So why imitate Chopin’s “Funeral March”? Well, some of the reasons are obvious to fans of the series. At this particular point in the story, the ominous “Man-in-Black" is leading his ragtag group of followers through the jungle on a literal march – when coupled with the longstanding deathly connotations of Chopin’s composition, the connection is obvious. The Man-in-Black is leading them to something less-than-desirable.

M. Ziem, a fellow artist and longtime associate of Chopin, wrote this about the Funeral March’s composition:

"Some time later Chopin came into my studio, just as George Sand depicts him -- the imagination haunted by the legends of the land of frogs, besieged by nameless shapes. After frightful nightmares all night, in which he had struggled against specters who threatened to carry him off to hell, he came to rest in my studio. His nightmares reminded me of the skeleton scene and I told him of it. His eyes never left my piano, and he asked: “Have you a skeleton?” I had none; but I promised to have one that night, and so invited Polignac to dinner and asked him to bring his skeleton. What had previously been a mere farce became, owing to Chopin's inspiration, something grand, terrible and painful. Pale, with staring eyes, and draped in a winding sheet, Chopin held the skeleton close to him, and suddenly the silence of the studio was broken by the broad, slow, deep, gloomy notes. The “Dead March” was composed there and then from beginning to end."

“Nameless shapes,” albeit coincidental, certainly conjures up images of the Man-in-Black’s alternate guise, that of the Smoke Monster. Confronting one’s mortality also seems to be a theme prevalent on LOST. Most striking and important, however, are the less-obvious connections between Chopin’s composition and LOST.

Giacchino’s theme appears once more following the Sawyer’s explanation of his plot to double-cross the Man-in-Black – the former has decided to ditch the latter in a bid to escape the island. On the surface, Sawyer and a handful of his comrades are allied with the Man-in-Black. In reality, they are planning to rebel against him and leave. University of Pennsylvania and renowned Chopin scholar Jeffrey Kallberg claims that the “Funeral March” is as much about the November Uprising as it is about death.

Chopin, a Polish nationalist, had deep sympathies for his countrymen in their effort to seek independence from the Russian Empire. Needless to say, the effort went poorly, with over 7,000 Polish soldiers dying in the battle. Upon learning of the failed attempt, the grief-stricken Chopin composed his Piano Sonata No. 2. Chopin’s first biographer was so struck by the result that he heard “the pain and grief of an entire nation” within the third movement.*

At this point in LOST, there are various factions working towards numerous ends. In the case of Sawyer, he is trying to assert his independence from the Man-in-Black; however, the similarities between Michael Giacchino’s score and Chopin’s “Funeral March,” with all of its baggage, simply do not bode well for our protagonists.

*The Marche funèbre was played at the funerals of Chopin, President John F. Kennedy, and Joseph Stalin.

Lost: Season 6, Episode 13 Discussion

2010-04-20T23:50:00.003-04:00

Instareaction:

Everyone feel that engine kick?

Tonight's episode pushed things forward for the characters on a number of levels (off-Island folks converging! On-Island folks fleeing!), seemed to answer a few questions (the MiB was Christian! Maybe! Sayid was brought back by the MiB! Probably!), highlighted some other questions, and delivered a lot of flat-out exciting stuff (Zoe: "show them what we're capable of.").

There's a ton of fun things to talk other in this one. Did Sayid shoot Desmond (my money's on 'no')? Is Sayid capable of 'redemption'? How about Sun's trauma-induced recognition of Locke? Widmore's sudden change of heart w/r/t Sawyer and the others? Jack's decision ("This feels wrong.")? Desmond's off-Island Jacobosity? The Jack and Anti-Locke sit-down (with a surprising lack of Jackface)? Claire's comment that Anti-Locke had spoken to Jack, making Shepard 'his'?

I loved it. It was an episode fully driven by attention to it's characters and observing how they've changed, how they remain the same (how great was that Sawyer/Kate scene off-Island?). It pushed us closer to The End firmly but slowly, as if daring us to peek over the edge before shoving us over it.

What did you think? Was Anti-Locke telling the truth about being Christian? That's been my longstanding theory, but Terry O'Quinn pregnant pause gave me room enough to doubt. If he can't leave the Island, how did Christian appear off-Island? On the other hand, Claire asks Jack if he's been told that the MiB was Christian, and we saw her hanging out with her dead dad in "Jacob's" cabin back in Season 4.

The MiB seems to have brought Sayid back from the dead (and Sayid calls himself a zombie in this episode, mirroring his previous denial ("I am not a zombie.")). How'd he do it? Richard says that he's never seen the dead brought back to life on the Island. Does that mean this is the first time the MiB has done this? Just that Richard was never aware of this? And what does it "mean"?

Original Post:

"There's no earthly way of knowing
Which direction we are going
There's no knowing where we're rowing
Or which way the river's flowing
Is it raining, is it snowing?
Is a hurricane a'blowing?
Not a speck of light is showing
So the danger must be growing
Are the fires of hell a'glowing?
Is the grisly reaper mowing?
Yes, the danger must be growing
For the rowers keep on rowing
And they're certainly not showing
Any signs that they are slowing!"

Those are the lyrics to "The Wondrous Boat Ride," the memorably insane and completely creepy song from the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. If you've seen the Gene Wilder original, you know exactly what scene it is: the one with the Boat, obviously, and also the one in which someone chops the head off of a chicken on the wall of a darkened tunnel.

It's messed up. And I can't wait to scar my as-yet-nonexistent children with it.

That song provided the musical basis for last week's teaser, creating an aura of menace and madness (and more than a little of-a-certain-age nostalgia) that promises events both Great and Terrible. Will we get our answer to the question of "infection"? Will Sayid speak the words "I have no choice"? Will we come to understand the Man in Black's true name/identity? Will the meeting between Jack and Locke be as brain-meltingly awesome as I'd like it to be?

Only one thing is more-or-less for certain:

There Will Be Jackface.

Leave you comments, criticisms, hopes, fears, and whathaveyous here in the comments section. I'll be in after the episode airs in the US on the East Coast to give my Instareaction. Enjoy it while it lasts, people. This is truly The Beginning of the End.

The Zombie Debate Continues...

2010-04-19T12:07:00.005-04:00

Regular visitors on Back to the Island have probably seen my correspondence with an intelligent German reader who questioned my comparison of Sayid to the concept of "philosophical zombies" (or "p-zombies"). While that gentleman and I agreed to disagree on the applicability of the term to Sayid's character, we both agreed that calling him a "zombie" was pretty apt.

Now it looks like Naveen Andrews, the actor who so capably portrays Sayid, might also agree. The new issue of TV Guide features cast photos of the main Lost actors, alongside their responses to TV Guide's question: If you could place your Lost character on another show, what show would it be? Here is Andrews' answer:

"HBO's vampire series, True Blood, where a character as dysfunctional - and potentially undead - as Sayid would actually fit."

Iiiiinteresting.

Read the entirety of the article (which isn't much - what's up with the trend of running GIGANTIC PHOTOS alongside smatterings of text in magazines? Are we collectively that illiterate these days? /End Old Man Rant) right here, at the Hollywood Reporter.

Everybody Loves Hugo (S6, Ep. 12)

2010-04-19T10:22:00.000-04:00

The Back to the Island column for Everybody Loves Hugo has taken it's life-long love of Chicken and used it to create a benevolent Empire for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

An Interview with Hiroyuki Sanada

2010-04-15T09:31:00.003-04:00

Good morning, everyone. My interview with Hiroyuki Sanada (Dogen on Lost) has been posted on Chud.com for your reading pleasure. If you enjoy it, please Digg it, or whatever it is that the kids are doing these days.

Hope it's enjoyed!

Lost: Season 6, Episode 12 Discussion

2010-04-13T22:18:00.001-04:00

The Instareaction:

So were you left grinning ear-to-ear, nervous and amped up; almost absurdly energized by tonight's episode? Or was that just me? Further confirmation of the Love Snake theory, a warm and touching reappearance from Libby, a splintering of purposes, Death By Water Bottle, Jack's willingness to trust, Desmond's lack of fear, The appearance of another of the Island's Lost Boys (was that the MiB as a child?), the knowledge that some of the dead are trapped on the Island (echoes of my well of souls theory) and that the Whispers are the voices of those Purgatorial souls, the way that Desmond acts as a kind of Jacob in the Off-Island world, and the way the episode ends.....

Is this show really going to stick the landing?

After tonight I'm more confident than ever that the answer is 'yes.'

Original Post:

Jimmy Wales (founder of Wikipedia) would like to petition JJ Abrams for more Lost, according to a bunch of different online sources.

I'd sign that petition - and I never sign petitions for television/film/entertainment. See, counting tonight's episode there are just four (FOUR!) episodes of Lost left until the finale. How did this happen so quickly? And do they make a form of Methadone that's strong enough to deal with the withdrawal symptoms I'm going to be dealing with?

Some of you already know that once Lost ends I'll be turning my attentions toward The Book (which you can contact me about at WhatIsWater@gmail.com) and toward new material, so it isn't as though I'll be leaving this show behind completely or quit writing altogether. That said, I've been writing on/about Lost for almost a full year now and the transition away from that and onto other things is going to feel very, very weird.

But that's a subject for a month-and-change from now. Tonight it's all about the new episode. Leave your thoughts and comments here - I'll be in after it airs on the East Coast to give my Insta-reaction.

Best,

MMorse

Apropos of Nothing

2010-04-13T17:07:00.003-04:00

Joss Whedon is in final negotiations to direct The Avengers.

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

We now return you to your regularly-scheduled Lost-centric programming.

Island Reviews: Waking Sleeping Beauty

2010-04-12T12:19:00.005-04:00

"Waking Sleeping Beauty" (WSB for the rest of this review) is one hell of a home movie. Want to see what a young Tim Burton looked/acted like while crammed into one of Disney's old animator offices, or want to catch tantalizing glimpses of folks like John Lasseter and Glen Keane?

Of course you do. People like Burton, Lasseter and Keane are titans in the animation industry, and the idea of seeing archival footage that features them working at Disney during the studio's infamous fallow period (late seventies through the end of the eighties) made me salivate like one of Pavlov's puppies. Even more promising: Don Hahn (veteran animator, Oscar winner, and home-video-enthusiast) has worked at Disney from the age of twenty, and he was present and filming on all of Disney's "second golden age" features, from Little Mermaid through the Lion King.

It's a shame then, that for this viewer WSB ends up feeling both unfocused and wrongly-focused at the same time. The film spends most of it's running time split between (1) the efforts of Disney Animation to produce relevant (read: "fiscally successful and ripe for ancillary product creation/exploitation") films again following a string of critical and financial disasters and (2) the now-infamous relationship between Jeffrey Katzenberg and Michael Eisner.

But by splitting the focus (and arguably spending FAR too much time on the Katzenberg/Eisner details - there's nothing that's said that couldn't have been succinctly expressed with a few minutes of voiceover or one judiciously-chosen interview) the film abandons its initial promise. WSB doesn't truly tell you HOW Disney Animation shifted from making clunkers to making new classics. Instead, the film just tells you that it happened.

That sin is compounded by what Hahn DOES choose to share with us. Why are we spending time on Katzenberg and Eisner when there's footage of Howard Ashman (lyricist for Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and most of Aladdin) playing "Under the Sea" for the first time for a group of delighted animators and looking adorably self-conscious in the process? Why do we spend too much time listening to Roy Disney's behind-the-scenes grievances when there's footage of Robin Williams riffing as the Genie in clips that never made it into the finished film?

This pattern repeats itself over and again. Either we're shown the "what" without the "why" or the "how" (Controversial animation figure Don Bluth managed to steal half of Disney's animators away from the studio. We learn that this happened, but not why or how) or we're shown yet-more footage of Eisner playing Cheerful CEO for the cameras or Katzenberg on a couch.

That's not to say that "Waking Sleeping Beauty" isn't worth seeing. If you're a fan of animation in general (as I very much am), or of Disney, or of the specific films from this period, WSB is very much worth a rental, if only to watch as Howard Ashman gives a very specific set of intructions to the voice of Ariel and cements a classic moment in Disney history. But if you're hoping for something deeper, something that focuses on the true creative heart of Disney's animated films - the animators - then you're likely going to be a little disappointed. We see their faces (in truly endearing home-video shots), and we hear a bunch of them say hello, but we never get a sense of who these people are/were, what they did, why they did it, or what the process was.

What we get instead are the reminiscings of one animator and a scattered array of really great moments captured on film. While Don Hahn is warm, engaging and blissfully armed with vintage archival footage, that warmth is overshadowed by two titanic egos who've already had their stories told and told in detail. Katzenberg and Eisner's feud marrs "Waking Sleeping Beauty" just as it seems to have marred Disney's breathtaking Mermaid-to-Lion-King track record.

The Verdict: Rent it.

The Back to the Island E-Mail Bag: P-Zombies, "Infection," and Very Intelligent Germans

2010-04-12T09:28:00.003-04:00

After the Back to the Island column for The Package was published on Chud.com I received a comment admonishing me for drawing a potential comparison between Sayid’s “infection” and the idea of philosophical zombies (just click on the link to go to the column in question and refresh your memory). I invited the commenter to explain to me and the audience just why it was that the comparison didn’t fit. And while that commenter never responded to my invitation, I did get a lovely e-mail from a German gentleman (let’s call him “Our Mutual Friend,” since I haven’t received his permission to use his name) that attempted to do the same thing.

We had a brief but interesting exchange, and I thought that you folks might want to read it. It’s dense on his end with some pretty heady philosophical language, but I think it’s worth your time if you’re interested in delving a little deeper into Lost’s Pool of Potential Philosophical Touchstones. You can read the exchange by clicking here.

My thanks to Our Mutual Friend for sharing his copious knowledge, and for engaging in an intelligent and respectful dialogue. The majority of people who've contacted me since I started this blog have been a pleasure to communicate with, and I'm pleasantly shocked to have found so many sincere and kind people inhabiting the virtual world.

Happily Ever After (S6, Ep. 11

2010-04-10T09:28:00.001-04:00

The Back to the Island column for "Happily Ever After" has experienced enlightenment for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

Lost: Season 6, Episode 11 Discussion

2010-04-08T11:00:00.000-04:00

UPDATE (04.08.10)!!

The Back to the Island column for "Happily Ever After" will be published tomorrow, not today, on Chud.com. Part of this is due to my having far too much fun yesterday, but most of it is due to the fact that there is a LOT going on in this episode, and I want to give the hour it's due.

Thanks for understanding, and for your patience - I can promise that the wait will be worth it!

Insta-Reaction:

Whoa.

Buh-bye, Second Snake theory? It sure seems that way, judging from the events of tonight's episode. The off-Island and on-Island universes bled together in Happily Ever After. What to make of everything? I'll be sussing it out over the next day or so, but here are some initial thoughts:

Eloise Hawking/Widmore as Mastermind of space and time? It's certainly hinted at here, as Hawking/Widmore reveals that she knows far more about Desmond's situation than he does.

And in that vein, what was up with Minkowski? Didn't he seem a little too eager to fulfill Desmond's every wish?

Desmond as Dr. Manhattan Island...Did anyone else think of Alan Moore's Watchmen as Desmond was caught in the EM field? And how bizarre was his sudden "enlightenment" at episode's end? What to make of him wandering off into the jungle with his old buddy, Sayid? Is he working off of some kind of "enlightened" state, aware that he's "supposed" to go that way? Is he aligning himself with the MiB? And what does he want with the Oceanic list? Is he looking to reunite the castaways and the potentially split timeline?

Back in Season 4 I talked about the idea of the castaways' conciousnesses becoming aware of their "past lives," and that's to some extent what we saw tonight. Consciousness was again an enormous theme in Happily Ever After, Along with the notion of Love as a powerful connector, drawing consciousnesses across whole worlds. If unabashed romanticism isn't your bag, then the Constant talk of love tonight probably made you groan. Im not allergic to the particular brand of sincerity (or schmaltz, depending on your POV), and so I found myself touched by the sentiment, rather than put off over it. I suspect results may vary. There's a ton of fun stuff to chew over in general this week - I'm looking forward to writing this.

Original Post:

Judging from the (often misleading) promo that runs after each new episode, this week's installment of Lost promises to make us all weepy. Will someone die tonight? It sure seems that way. Leave your thoughts on the episode here. I'll be popping in after it ends to give my Insta-reaction.

Thanks for reading and commenting!

The Package (S6, ep. 10)

2010-04-01T18:58:00.000-04:00

The Back to the Island column for "The Package" has been gratuitously exposed for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

The "V" Clock

2010-03-31T10:34:00.005-04:00

So it seems as though people are pretty ticked off about the omnipresent "V clock" that ran in the corner of the screen for the entirety of last night's episode. I sympathize, since I can't stand any of the "cute"/translucent corner advertisements that are run during what seems like every show I watch now.

But I'm not hear to bitch and moan about it. I'm just curious as to who thought that this specific stunt was a good business idea? In effect, what that clock was saying was "Don't worry - you won't have to wait much longer to watch 'V.'" Only, no one was worried. Those of us watching Lost were tuned in to ABC for the express purpose of watching Lost - not to sit around agonizing over the wait for banal lizard people. "V" isn't the Superbowl, and Lost isn't the pregame. It certainly isn't as if the commercials we got at every break weren't ample reminder that Morena Baccarin's eerie haircut would be among us again soon.

So, the clock serves absolutely no "positive" purpose whatsoever. It is, all annoyance aside, just really terrible advertising. It doesn't cater to anyone. It doesn't fulfill a need or effectively evoke a need. It just serves to irritate people. That strikes me as being a bad marketing decision. So who thought this was a good idea? And what was the reasoning?

What do you think? Do in-show corner-of-the-screen ads bother you? Did last night's experiment in giving everyone what no one wanted send you into a frenzy of pissy Tweets? Or, like me, were you just left wondering how this was justified as smart or effective advertising?

Lost: Season 6, Episode 10 Discussion

2010-03-30T23:23:00.001-04:00

Insta-Reaction: That was a very solid episode with no real answers, but some very tantalizing suggestions. Widmore is a Jacobian? Possibly. Desmond as weapon? Maybe. Sayid as a Hollow Man, in the manner I theorized about earlier in the season? Seems likely. Anti-Locke is going to use Ajira flight to leave the Island? Seems that way, but who is going to pilot it? After all, Anti-Locke doesn't seem to care about Frank at all, and he knows that Frank's the pilot.

Near as I can tell, nothing in this episode disproves the Second Snake theory, and I enjoyed the turns that the off-Island story took tonight. I'm betting that there are going to be two points of controversy among fans after tonight - Sun's sudden and bizarre Ephesia (sp?) and the lack of Answers. This isn't bothering me at all at the moment, actually, since I'm increasingly sure that we're going to get direct answers to only the "major" questions, leaving the audience to connect the dots on many of the minor questions. What did you think?

Original Post:

As of today there are eight episodes and nine hours of Lost left to go.

Sad-face.

That said, I'm really looking forward to seeing the story advance for the on and off-Island castaways, and I'm hoping that revelations about Smokey, the MiB and the "infections" are forthcoming.

Following the episode I'll be here with an Insta-reaction (which will be slightly delayed, since I'm heading to a friend's place to watch it, and there will be beers). Looking forward to your comments, thoughts, criticisms, etc.!

E-mail: P-Zombies and "Infection"

2010-03-30T09:22:00.001-04:00

This post refers to a discussion between myself and "Our Mutual Friend," regarding the connection I proposed between the idea of philosophical zombies (p-zombies) and Sayid's "infected" condition. To get context for this post, please visit this link.

The E-mail exchange between Our Mutual Friend and MMorse:

From: Our Mutual Friend
To: MMorse

Hi,

I'm enjoying your Lost recaps a lot - a little more than I'd care to admit to friends - so congratulations on having at least one German reader. However, unfortunately you're on a bit of a wrong track when it comes to philosophical zombies and how they relate to Sayid's "condition". A genuine p-zombie is ex hypothesi absolutely (!) indistinguishable from a non-zombie. You could perform as many experiments and interrogations as you'd want without ever being able to determine whether he has qualia or not. (Kirk's thought experiment about slow zombification is known to be either inconsistent or incoherent, so that won't help!) What a p-zombie is decidedly NOT is emotionless, cold, without a conscience et cetera.

The whole argument revolves around the notion of epiphenomenalism or the idea that conscious experience (= the redness of red or QUALIA in general) is causally ineffective. If consciousness doesn't supervene on the physical, i.e. if zombies are logically possible, then science is screwed. Sayid isn't just losing qualia - he acknowledges the change, it has physical consequences! He's losing his moral compass, his conscience. Also, if it turns out that Locke-ness is in fact just a mad philosopher who robs his minions of phenomenal content, there's gonna be a shitstorm of epic proportions in the non-metaphysical parts of the fanbase...

From: MMorse
To: Our Mutual Friend

Thanks so much for your email, and for the informative download of Zombie info. Clearly your knowledge of, and level of comfort with, these concepts puts mine to shame!

That said, and speaking on a symbolic/metaphorical level, I'm not certain that the distinction you're making here precludes Sayid from being a metaphorical zombie. My understanding of the concept includes the idea that the person in question (Dan, in the example I'd posted in the column) would acknowledge the changes that were occuring inside of him, would express dismay (as Sayid does in the episode) and would recognize the accompanying loss of sensation (see the example again as it relates to both the physical experience of pain and the emotional experience of anger).

The test that Dogen administers to Sayid specifically seems designed to measure his experience of pain in some way, and seems to me (again, strictly symbolically) to reference the numerous tests that a doctor might perform on a potential p-zombie (as in the example). As you say, according to people much smarter than I, such a test would not (or maybe it's more accurate to say 'could not'?) indicate any change in him. And indeed, from what we see of the test there is no change in Sayid. But, given that this is a fiction, and that it deals openly with scifi concepts, despite the apparent lack of 'evidence from the test, Dogen seems to understand that something has changed, that 'darkness' is growing within Sayid.

Metaphorically, can't this darkness be seen as the kind of senses-deadening zombification that the Stanford encyclopedia and the author of the paper linked to also refer to? Aren't there more similarities between the symptoms of Sayid's condition and the notion of the p-zombie as described by the authors referenced in the column then there are differences (again in the metaphorical sense - as you say, if it turns out that AntiLocke is literally some kind of rogue philosopher/human alchemist, it'll probably tick some folks off)?

I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I thank you for reaching out and sharing your knowledge. Recieving intelligent comments like yours is one of the best things about writing for Chud.

From: Our Mutual Friend
To: MMorse

I appreciate your response! Your basic point seems clear: the zombification of Sayid is quite apparent. But I suggest that he's turning into a much more terrifying entity than the (relatively harmless) p-zombie. Here is why.

First, let's take something as fundamental as experiencing pain. One has to differentiate between two aspects of this process. On the one side there's a mainly functional component: Whenever a bunch of C-fibers in your hand is stimulated accordingly, your afferent nerves will transmit a small electrical current towards your brainstem which will be relayed to parts of your brain (e.g. the amygdala and so on). This is where your higher-level cognitive apparatus kicks into action. You quickly move your hand, you say "ouch", you learn to avoid, say, hot surfaces (if that's what burned you). Maybe you decide to consult a doctor or put your finger in cold water. All of this functional processing is impressive but can/could be achieved by a sufficiently advanced robot or computer. Now, on the other side, there's a further aspect - the phenomenological one. The functional process of experiencing and reacting to pain is, as you know from experience, accompanied by the raw sensation that is pain; so-called pain qualia. That's just what it FEELS LIKE to be in pain. Your robot can function just like you without actually FEELING pain as you do. Qualia are perfectly natural as we experience them on a daily base but utterly mysterious once we think about them. Why are they necessary? Why does being a human being feel like anything? Why are we not just robots?

Anyway, once we separate the two levels of experience (functional and phenomenal), it becomes a little more evident why Sayid is no zombie in the qualia-related sense of the word. A p-zombie is an atom-for-atom physical copy of a "real" person that is functionally isomorphic to a regular Joe without experiencing any qualia. Those guys don't really exist (I think) and they may even be physically impossible, but you can imagine them. Now let's have a look at this zombie-dude. He seems normal. That is, if you decide to punch this person in the face - let's call him Kenny - he will take the blow, say "ouch", his neurons will fire just like ours, he will react, learn, punch you back, develop a grudge against you et cetera. To cut a long story short, there's EX HYPOTHESI nothing that would tell us from the third-person perspective that he's in fact a fucking zombie! Otherwise he wouldn't be a proper p-zombie. It's just what we are stipulating to prove our point. A p-zombie isn't a real thing - he's a logical possibility.

So you're quite right: Lost is a scifi show dealing with (often pseudo-)philosophical concepts. But I'm not sure your metaphor is apt. Sayid undergoes a decidedly more radical change than Kenny. He loses functional stuff as well. After all, this tormented Iraqi tells us that he doesn't feel anything; he doesn't give a shit about Claire offering Kate the old knife treatment; he does Anti-Locke's presumably evil bidding. That's not the Sayid of previous seasons, it's a functionally non-equivalent person, ergo (again ex hypothesi) quite the opposite of Chalmers' zombie buddies because we can easily tell that something has changed.

Second, about the thought experiment you mention: What Kirk is going for in the case of Dan is that some people (with Dennett being the most prominent proponent) flat out refuse to believe that p-zombies are a consistent suggestion, i.e. that they are at all possible. Such philosophers claim that imagining Kenny (or any other p-zombie) is like imagining a square circle, or 4 being a prime number, or a fat thin person - but without being as obviously self-contradictory. Now, this is where Dan the zombie comes into play. If his story is coherent and gradual change into a proper p-zombie is possible, then zombie-fans win. If not, then we (the zombie-opponents) need to give a coherent argument regarding the point where the gradual zombification goes wrong. At least that's the idea. What Kirk forgets is that his p-zombie is more like a Sayid-zombie: He's not functionally equivalent to a regular person as he notices that he's turning into a qualia-less bastard. But that's all details and shit.

What's important here is this: Kirk's thought experiment does NOT describe an actual zombification. A proper zombie is indistinguishable from a normal person. He doesn't behave differently, he has (functional) emotions that guide him, he processes pain and love and stuff just as we do. But there's no phenomenal experience behind it. So Sayid may be a p-zombie - but in any case he's much more than that. He's becoming a REAL ZOMBIE (which, dramaturgically, is way more compelling).

I ABSOLUTELY love the fact that you brought up p-zombies! Modern philosophy (of mind) is highly fascinating stuff. However, in this context using such a technical concept for the sake of a metaphor seems a bit shaky. If there's anything unclear or if you think I'm on the wrong track, please let me know.

****

Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time to write back just yet. But I thought that it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on this back-and-forth. Our Mutual Friend is clearly far more well-versed in this topic than I am, and he makes a number of good points. I’m left admiring his knowledge but still of the opinion that Sayid’s condition metaphorically resembles the hypothetical p-zombie state as it’s described in the column for The Package. What do you think? And why? Your comments are always read, and always appreciated.

Best,

MMorse

Ab Aeterno (S6, Ep. 9)

2010-03-29T15:34:00.000-04:00

The Back to the Island Column for "Ab Aeterno" has been eaten by a boar for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

If you enjoy what you've read and you wish to share it with others, I encourage you to do so - but please give credit where credit is due. Conversely, if you hate what you've read, feel free to give derision where derision is due. I'm "equal-opportunity" that way.

The Proof Is In The Pudding

2010-03-29T13:01:00.004-04:00

A gentleman who goes by the name "David" in a very nice-looking forum called "Losties Unite" has decided that it'd be fun/ego-inflating to take credit for my writing: http://my.spill.com/group/lostiesunite

I'm not the sort of person to anger easily, but this genuinely angers me. If you're going to blatantly steal my words, do yourself a favor and don't copy them wholesale from the site that you found them on, and don't then claim to actually BE that person. It makes it pretty easy to prove that you're full of it. I'm posting this so that the rest of the Losties Unite crew can see that "David" prefers copying and pasting the original work of other people over attempting to compose his own.

My best to the rest of that site's fans, who seem like good people.

Apologia

2010-03-26T11:55:00.000-04:00

Update:

I started with a splitting headache, and ended up with a disappearing document. Which, as you might imagine, does not help with the aforementioned headache. Somehow, every word I've written on Ab Aeterno has up and vanished. This has never happened to me before, so I suppose I'm overdue. But it's immensely frustrating. You'll be able to read the column on Monday morning, and there ought to be an explanatory post up on Chud sometime today letting folks there know what the deal is.

Again, thanks for your patience. I'm off to apply a baseball bat to my hard drive.

Original Post:

Due to a combination of work-pileup and a SKULL-CRACKING headache, this week's Back To The Island column will be available to read tomorrow morning on Chud.com. It was either deliver a column I considered substandard, or take some extra time. I chose the latter. Thanks for your patience.

-MMorse

Push The Button.

2010-03-24T14:54:00.004-04:00

Which button? The "Send" button.

Starting today, I'm soliciting contact information from you regarding my forthcoming book (on Lost's themes, allusions, references, etc). It contains both information from my columns as well as brand new info and all-new text from yours truly. I've been working on the manuscript for a few weeks now, and I'm liking what I've got so far quite a bit. If you're a fan of Lost I think you'll want this on your bookshelves.

If you'd like to show some support for this site, for the columns on Chud, or for my writing in general, please shoot me an email at WhatIsWater@gmail.com, let me know that you're interested in potentially purchasing the final product, and provide me with a working email address. YOU WILL NOT BE BOUND BY THIS IN ANY WAY. Doing this will not "force" you to buy a book somewhere down the line. It will simply give me a means to connect with those of you who wish to potentially purchase it, once pricing and size (this book is not small, people) have been determined.

I hope that you'll drop me a line. Thanks for reading!

Best,

M.

Too Much Information 13: Revisiting The Question Jar

2010-03-24T09:38:00.003-04:00

We're now officially halfway through the final season of Lost.

Back in November of 2009 I listed out the questions that I thought Lost "must" answer, along with a bunch of questions that I didn't mind the show's writers answering or not answering as they saw fit.

So, how's the season stacking up against that wish list so far? Let's take a look:

1) What is the importance/purpose of the Island?

From the original column: "I don't know that I need a detailed explanation of what the Island actually is/what it contains, so long as we're told more-or-less why the Island is so darned important to characters like Jacob, Ben and Widmore. Not important in the personal sense (the Island is Ben's home, so of course it's important to him), but in the larger, mythology-inclusive sense of the word."

Ab Aeterno gave us the potential answer to this question last night: The Island is a kind of metaphorical (or possibly even literal) "cork," keeping "evil" bottled up and unable to escape. Is this the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me Island-God? We don't know for sure. But with eight episodes left until the finale, I suspect that it's more truth than not. WHY the Island does this, the consequences of not doing this - these questions are far from answered. But the Island's importance/purpose? Apparently answered.

2) What is Jacob's goal?

From the original column: "Why was Jacob popping up at certain points in the lives of certain castaways? What is the practical meaning behind his half-veiled conversation with the Man In Black? What is Jacob working to accomplish, if anything? And why?"

Part of this question has been answered. We know that Jacob was popping up in the castaways' lives because they're Candidates. What we don't know is what Jacob hoped/hopes to accomplish on the Island, but it seems practically certain that we'll know soon.

3/4) Who/what is the Man in Black? What's the deal with the Island's apparitions and visions?

From the original column: "If I'm right in my rampant speculation, questions 3 and 4 are connected - the Island's strange 'ghosts' and the Man In Black are one and the same."

I was right - at least as regards 98% of the Island's spectral population. We still don't know if Christian was also an MiB "avatar," but signs point strongly to "yes." Complicating things are the off-Island apparitions and Hurley's ability to see "friendly ghosts," like the spirit of Isabella. So, most of this question has been answered: The MiB and a majority of the Island's apparitions are one and the same. I believe that my "Well of Souls" theory may help to explain the rest of the question.

5) What is the Temple?

From the original column: "The show has built the Temple up to be a place that's central to the mythology of the Island. We've seen that the Smoke Monster lives in its ancient spaces, that Ben was somehow made well inside of it, that the Others retreated to it for safety when the Island was raided by Widmore's men. What is the Temple? What does it 'do'? Why is it important? Why is it hidden?"

We got our answers - the Temple contains a spring which heals and, thanks to the existence of Dogen, is a safe haven from the Man in Black. We still don't understand just HOW Dogen's life made the Temple a safe haven, nor why the spring was muddied, nor why it was a safe place from Widmore's men (who had rocket launchers).

6) What happened to Rousseau's crew?

From the original column: "This isn't a major mystery, in and of itself, but it's one that seems to be linked to the Smoke Monster, the Temple, the Others, and potentially Room 23. Rousseau's companions changed after following Montand down the Smokey Hole - they became sinister, deadly. Were they brainwashed? Possessed? Infected? ....Enlightened?"

We've gotten answers on this as well. Rousseau's crew apparently was infected - by the same "sickness" that seems to have claimed Sayid and Claire. Symptoms include sudden violence, duplicity, and an aversion to soap.

7) What are the motivations of Widmore and Hawking?

From the original column: "Season 5 muddied the already muddy waters of motivation for both Eloise Hawking and Charles Widmore, as well as their relationship. If Hawking is working 'for the good of us all,' why has she kept in contact with Widmore who, according to Ben, is not a good man? If Widmore is actually on the side of 'good,' then what's with his involvement in getting Locke to return to the Island? And why is he employing Abbadon? Why is Widmore trying to recapture the Island? Why is Hawking so concerned with returning the castaways to its shores? And why does she appear in a photo with Desmond's monk friend?"

This remains unanswered. With Widmore's arrival on Hydra Island, however, we should expect some clarification soon. As for Hawking's role/motivations? Perhaps they'll be linked to Widmore's.

8) Why did the Others take Walt?

From the original column: "We don't need the actor who played Walt to return in order to discover why he was important for a little while there. Why did the Others grab him? How and why did they know he was 'special'? Why did they subsequently let him go?"

This has yet to be answered. I believe I came up with a plausible answer to this question in my Rewatch Column for "Lost: Missing Pieces" (scroll down to the commentary on "Room 23").

9) Who are Illyana and the 'shadow of the statue' people?

From the original column: "They're clearly working with Jacob to some extent. Are they Others? Are they anti-Others? How do they know the answer to Illyana's riddle? And what does that riddle actually mean?"

We know who Ilana and her people are now - they're glorified bodyguards.

10) What's up with the fertility issues on the Island? And why is it a (mostly) cancer-free zone?

From the original column: "In the column for "One of Us," I pointed out that both the absence of cancer and the pregnancy difficulties involve a mysterious force preventing the growth of new life within the human body. What's the reason for this?"

If you believe the word on the virtual street, the question of Island fertility will not be directly answered in the final season. Which feels, to me, like an enormous cop-out. If it's the case that they don't plan to address it directly, I hope they've left it implicitly answered in some way. My thoughts on the similarities between pregnancy and cancer might provide a possible explanation.

11) What are the core tenets/beliefs of the Others?

From the original column: "What does the word 'good' really mean to the Others? Why do they seem to require the murder of a father figure in order to claim leadership? Why is their society structured as it is? Why are they required to learn Latin? Why do they give their dead viking-styled funerals? What is their self-percieved purpose on the Island? Their actual purpose?"

We've gotten answers to some of these things, but in subtle, quiet ways. It's been all-but-confirmed for us that the Others are Jacob's "worshippers" or "priests," and that Richard acts as the gatekeeper between the Island's God-figure and his "faithful" people. As for their beliefs, we've gotten very little.

12) What are The Whispers?

From the original column: "They seem to be connected to the sudden appearance of Others, they involve key members of the cast, and they seem to comment directly on the action when they're heard. What are they?"

Still unanswered. But I'd expect them to get around to this one as we near the show's end.

Expect another TMI column soon, as promised.

Lost: Season 6, Episode 9 Discussion

2010-03-23T23:00:00.000-04:00

Insta-Reaction: Now that's more like it. When Lost's writers compared their story to The Stand, they weren't mucking around. The mythology of Lost leaps like Van Morrison, directly Into The Mystic with this episode and while I loved it, I have a feeling that this episode is going to fiercely divide viewers - either you're on-board with a struggle between "evil" and "good" or you're not. Those of you wanting a purely scientific resolution to this show are probably feeling a little disappointed right now (and now that I've taken a look at Chud's message board at can see that this is definately the case there). But with respect, Lost has made the "two sides: one dark, one light" theme explicit from the beginning. moaning about that now seems a little belated. In addition, while the conflict between these two men has taken on mythic/religious overtones, we know explicitly that both these figures are/were men.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Ricardo Alpert, loving husband, accidental murderer, deathrow convict, shipboard slave, Island arrival, Jacob-rep, and man of teetering faith. The way in which Lost has chosen to dramatize the struggle between "sin" and "salvation" in this season is extraordinary, and offers us a surprisingly complex look at human morality and the pull of opposing forces on the conscience and (if you believe in it) the soul.

As of tonight's installment I've made my peace with the whole answers thing. Lost seems committed to doling out their answers the same way that they always have - in small bites. Those bites are seeded into episodes that focus on the journeys of these characters, and in episodes like this one, those journeys are a portion of the answers themselves. There's a lot of interesting stuff going on in Ab Aeterno, and coupled with an enormously admirable performance by Nestor Carbonell, that makes it the best episode of the season as far as I'm concerned.

Your thoughts?

Original Post:

"I was set up 'from everlasting' (in Latin, 'Ab Aeterno'), from the beginning, or ever the earth was." -Proverbs 8:23

Ab Aeterno is the title of tonight's episode, and it has the potential to be an hour of revelations. Leave your thoughts on the episode here - I'll be by after it airs to give you my Insta-Reaction. One observation: the Bible quote above refers to God being set in Heaven "from everlasting, or "from eternity." This can also be seen to refer to Richard's condition, as he's been set on the Island for what has seemed an eternity, to serve Jacob's purpose. Also interesting: The wording of the King James translation ("set up from everlasting," as opposed to "furnished," or "appointed," as other translations have interpreted) reinforces the notion of being "set up," as in conned - a subject that Lost has been fascinated with "from everlasting." Many more thoughts to come in this week's Back to the Island column, out Thursday on Chud.com.

-MMorse

Edited to add: Apparently the episode runs six minutes long, so set your Tivos and DVRs accordingly.

Lost: Interesting Ephemera

2010-03-19T16:22:00.010-04:00

If you're like me, you enjoy learning about the process of creating stories, whether those stories are told in books, on television screens, on stage, on movie screens, or elsewhere.

For instance: Did you know that Jack was originally supposed to have died in the first episode of Lost? Did you know that Michael Keaton was considered to play Jack? Did you know that Hurley auditioned for the part of Sawyer and the show's creators enjoyed him so much that they wrote a new role for him?

Reader Edward tells us that "in the middle of Season 3 there was a tremendous division in the writer's room as to the direction of the show. One half wanted the show to be more SciFi, and the other group wanted to focus more on relationships and keeping the show more mainstream. This conflict is what got the producers to set an end date, in order for both camps to focus their plot lines and desires toward an ending."

An Anonymous reader tells us that "the actress that plays [Sun] originally auditioned for the part of Kate. She was another one of those actors who auditioned, didn't get the role but impressed the casting so much that a role was written for her."

That's the kind of stuff that I enjoy learning, and I suspect that some of you do too. Do you have any interesting tidbits or trivia about the show? Anything you've learned from podcasts, articles, commentaries, or interviews that you think is fun/funny/fascinating/infuriating? No one has the time to trawl through all of the material that's out there, and there's a good chance that you know something fun/interesting. Share it here, and help to enrich your fellow fans.

Too Much Information Is Coming

2010-03-19T09:26:00.003-04:00

Tune in early next week for the newest edition of Too Much Information, where I'll be talking about Season 6, Science and Faith, and Mirrors. Past columns can be found right here on the main page, in the sidebar directly to your right.

Recon (S6, Ep. 8)

2010-03-18T15:22:00.000-04:00

The Back To The Island column for "Recon" has been discovered in a sock drawer for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

Please feel free to Digg it if you dig it!

Lost: Season 6, Ep. 8 Discussion

2010-03-16T22:45:00.000-04:00

Post-Show Insta-Reaction:

On a scale of one to ten, Recon is a solid 5. Maybe 6, if credit's assigned for what's implied over the course of the episode.

Lost is sometimes criticized for being a show about "people who walk places." The castaways squabble on the beach, walk to the caves, resume squabbling, walk to, oh, say, the Black Rock whilst squabbling. This complaint never made sense to me until tonight, where there were a number of wordless marches through the jungle, or snippets of conversations that seemed almost purposefully circuitous.

I appreciate a good tease as much as the next guy, but you've either got to give me some red meat on the bone - some answers, please - or distract me with something shiny and cool. I don't feel like Recon managed either of those things very successfully. This may he one of those "better on DVD episodes," but I suspect it's more like the Sawyer-goes-to-prison episode. Beefcake for the ladies, another con within in con, MORE new characters....Anyone have a theory on why Sawyer was so sure Widmore wanted to kill Anti-Locke? I can't help thinking that Widmore has something different in mind. Perhaps he wants the MiB's job?

Not a bad episode, but nowhere near what I expect from the show this season. That's not meant to sound snotty or entitled. It's just an honest assessment of my expectations. So far, the season's been meeting/exceeding them. This one kinda let me down.

Original Post:

Tonight's episode of Lost promises to drop us back into the midst of the Man in Black's ominous Island insurrection. Will we learn his plans? Will Kate be "infected"? Will the Island's secrets be revealed? Will we see Sawyer? One thing is certain.

There Will Be Jackface.

Lots and lots of Jackface. Maybe not this episode, but surely the next. Celebrate the Jackface while it lasts, people. Celebrate it like the last unicorn.

Celebrate mad-eyed, poison-pill-popping, Jackfaced unicorns with us here every week! Sign up to follow this lil' blog by clicking HERE.

My Totally-Legal Entreaty To You: My Clever, Resourceful Audience

2010-03-16T12:52:00.005-04:00

So, I'm looking for a few things. A few things that, apparently, I can't purchase/rent through my usual channels. There's a reason for my quest - and it involves both this blog's primary subject and what will be, I think, one feature of my post-Lost site. I need your help. Can any of you suggest a means to procure the following:

1) Fantasy Island, the reboot/remake starring Malcolm McDowell.
2) The Lost Islands - apparently an Australian television series from the 1970s.
3) The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfieffer - a short-lived American sitcom about Abraham Lincoln's black valet.

Anyone know where I might be able to get my hands on these? Shoot me an email and let me know.

With thanks,

M.

Where's Sawyer?

2010-03-15T11:16:00.005-04:00

It's been a while since we've seen Sawyer on the show. He popped up last during The Substitute where he appeared to be Anti-Locke's first recruit. So, what's he been up to since then?

Leave your thoughts on what our favorite con artist has been doing in the comments section. The person with the best theory and/or the theory that's closest to the truth will win a to-be-determined prize. Extra points will be awarded for originality and accuracy.

Get yer thinkin' helmets on!

Dr. Linus (S6, Ep. 7)

2010-03-12T08:15:00.000-05:00

The Back to the Island column for "Dr. Linus" has been forgiven for your reading pleasure on Chud.com. Chud's experiencing some technical difficulties this week, so the page order is screwy. Start on page two (linked here), read page three, then circle back to page one. It's a bit of a pain, I know, but it's out of our control at the moment. Thanks for reading.

Best,

M.

Lost: Season 6, Episode 7 Discussion

2010-03-09T23:20:00.001-05:00

Insta-Reaction: Mario Van Peebles should direct EVERY episode of Lost. "Dr. Linus" was a terrific episode, as all Lost's Ben-centric episodes arguably are.

The biggest question I have now, walking away from tonight: Have Jack and the other candidates been made effectively immortal through Jacob's touch? Jack's had appendicits, Sayid was shot and killed, and Sawyer almost died in Season 2. Is it just that they can't die by their own hand? And does this mean that Michael was touched by Jacob at some point as well, given his supernatural inability to die in Season 4?

Favorite moment: the confrontation between Ben and Ilana. "I'll have you" might be one of my favorite lines in the series.

The column for this episode will be up on Thursday afternoon. In the meantime, let me know what you thought!

Follow That Bird

2010-03-09T16:19:00.003-05:00

So, as some of you are already aware, I've got a Twitter account. Starting tonight I'll be 'tweeting' (ugggggh) my thoughts about the episode as it airs. This is sure to be scintillating*. If you're not already following me, you can chain yourself to a virtual stranger by clicking the link in the sidebar. You'll recieve occasional Back To The Island-related updates, and some random ephemera from time to time.

So, join my tiny Twitter army! If Glenn Beck can manage over 200,000 followers (!) then I think I can manage 50. Do it for Lost! Do it for America!

*For the purposes of this post, the author chooses to define "scintillating" as "potentially amusing, but most likely a waste of your time."

Mario Van Peebles Is Lost

2010-03-09T11:16:00.007-05:00

Maybe I got a little distracted just now because its "Lost day." Maybe, because I was feeling excited, I jumped online and decided to see who the writer(s)/director of tonight's episode would be. When I jumped to AICN for that information, I got this (no spoilers, I promise):

"Written by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz and directed by Mario Van Peebles."

Mario Van Whaaaaaaaaaaaaa-?

Surely not THE Mario Van Peebles - one-time possible hot-new-commodity in Hollywood? Director and star of the inimitable "Posse," co-starring Stephen "I punch people in the face for Jesus" Baldwin?

That's the sort of funny/weird/interesting-and-useless information that I enjoy, and I needed to confirm this nugget of bizarre Trivia Gold. Who better to confirm this than one of the actors? And according to Jorge Garcia's "Dispatches from the Island" blog, back in November of 2009 he had the opportunity to work with Van Peebles.

Mario Van Peebles, aka Kane from "Highlander III," is apparently directing tonight's episode of Lost. Which just plain tickles me. You shouldn't worry - Van Peebles has shown himself to be a capable, assured director. But if you're around my age, this news ought to bring a goofy, bewildered smile to your face.

Edited to add: IMDB lists the director of this episode as Bobby Roth. This somehow depresses me. I want some Van Peebles!

Edited to add II: According to this interview, Van Peebles HAS directed an episode of Season 6. Will that episode air tonight? Roth or Van Peebles? One thing is certain: Van Peebles is coming, Kate! He's coming, and you can't stop him!

Deftones: Lost, Now Found

2010-03-08T16:22:00.004-05:00

This is only very, very tangentially-related to Lost.

I've been a fan of Deftones, a hard-rockin' band from Sacramento, CA, for a long time. Their blend of the aggressive and the atmospheric, of new wave and hardcore, of intelligence and impenetrability, makes them one of the more arresting rock groups around. Deftones' bass player has been in a coma for over a year, and they've subsequently delayed and then cancelled the release of an entire album of material out of respect for their comrade in figurative-arms. This May, they're returning with a (temporary) new bassist, and another album's worth of songs.

That album is titled "Diamond Eyes," and according to the album's track listing, Deftones are fans of Lost. Take a gander at Track 11:

01. Diamond Eyes
02. Royal
03. CMND/CTRL
04. You’ve Seen the Butcher
05. Beauty School
06. Prince
07. Rocket Skates
08. Sextape
09. Risk
10. 976-EVIL
11. This Place Is Death

If you've never heard Deftones before, and you're not naturally, totally averse to the genre of Metal and/or the sound of a man alternately screaming and singing, might I recommend picking up the album "White Pony" and giving it a spin? You'll enjoy it.

(And if you're interested in performing a small but significant act of kindness, you can contribute something to the "One Love For Chi" fund, which has been set up to help pay for the ongoing medical expenses associated with maintaining the Deftones' bassist in a "minimally conscious state.")

-M.

Lost: The Detox (Week 4)

2010-03-07T11:40:00.002-05:00

Each weekend I'm briefly covering some of the non-Lost related media I consume. Eventually, this feature will evolve into a separate site, which I hope you'll consider bookmarking. This week - the good, the bad and the ugly.

1) Fringe - I've begun watching JJ Abrams' latest television program on the recomendation of a friend, and while it's not nearly the show that Lost is, much of what I love about Lost is present here: the continually-unfurling "mythology," the sense of unfocused, all-inclusive dread, the makeshift family created by the show's main characters. Nothing creeps me out like "body horror," a specific subset of horror devoted to the ways in which our bodies can betray us. Take that, add a healthy dollop of X-Files-esque governmental and corporate paranoia, and you've got the basic world of the show. I'm 2/3's of the way through season 1 on DVD and I'm convinced its the optimal way to absorb it. While the basic procedural aspect of the show is somewhat repetitive (something awful happens to someone in the pre-credits sequence, usually killing a number of bystanders in the process, the Fringe team is brought in, they solve the case, some hints about The Pattern are revealed), that repetition isn't as annoying when you're able to pass straight through a subpar episode to a fantastic one. John Noble's performance as a troubled, formerly-incarcerated genius is reason enough to recommend the show. I never thought I'd see the day where Pacey from Dawson's Creek would act (and act well) in a show I enjoyed, but that day has arrived.

2) Mister B. Gone - I used to be quite a Clive Barker fan. At one point I even had the priviledge of meeting the man, and found him as kind and as welcoming as his early novels are cold and frightening. But Barker hasn't written a novel worth reading in some time, and while I still hold out hope for his legendarily-delayed Scarlet Gospels, Mister B. Gone further suggests that Barker's best days are long behind him. I didn't bother finishing this book, which is rare.

3) Another friend recommended ABC's remake of "V," so I gave the show two episodes worth of time to interest me. Not only did it fail in this simple task, it pulled off the difficult feat of making me feel hate for it. This is a perfect example of how to fuck up a story. First, assume your entire audience is filled with gibbering Gibbons without higher brain functions. Then hit that audience over the head repeatedly with your plot, as if bludgeoning them for having the gall to want to be treated as humans, not Gibbons. Then add a zesty mix of hammy overacting, awful effects, and a haircut that makes the stunning Morena Baccarin look like a ten year old boy with a rare bone disease. I loathed "V," and have subsequently exorcised it's malevolent spectre from my Tivo utilizing a bottle of holy water, a copy of the King James Bible, and a hammer. I cast thee out, "V." Ne'er darken my doorstep again.

Sundown (S6, ep. 6)

2010-03-04T15:00:00.000-05:00

The Back to the Island column for "Sundown" has been drowned in a dirty pool for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

Lost: Season 6, Episode 6 Discussion

2010-03-02T09:39:00.007-05:00

Insta-reaction: Holy. S***.

Lost's final season turned an enormous corner tonight, upending the established rhythm of the season with a kind of focused ferocity. From Sayid and Dogen's extended throwdown to the Monster's destruction of the Temple to the alternatively tragic and yet utterly badass story of Sayid's off and on-Island existence to the looks on both Ben and Sayid's faces when they meet by the spring.... Sundown is probably my favorite episode of the season thus far. That was stellar television.

What did you think?

Lost: The Detox (week 3)

2010-02-28T22:41:00.005-05:00

Believe it or not, I actually manage to devote headspace to things OTHER than Lost on a weekly basis. Each weekend, join me for "Lost: The Detox," where I'll talk about some of the other media I've enjoyed or been annoyed by. This week: My first mixed review.

Joe Hill's "Horns" - a brief review.

Joe Hill is a gifted writer. Capable of deftly etching interesting characters, constructing a compelling plot, and turning a nicely evocative phrase, Hill is an exciting talent in the world of fiction. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started his new novel, "Horns," but I quickly fell into the mystery of Ignatius Perrish and the devilish horns that appear on his forehead, seemingly conjured in the middle of the night.

Halfway through this ambitious book, however, the initial thrill of Hill's plotting and prose gave way to something approaching disappointment. The deeper I got, the more the world of Horns seemed to shrink. From a truly intriguing premise, something relatively pedestrian emerged.

None of which is to say that Hill's written a bad novel. It's simply a novel that doesn't know what it wants to be. Hill succeeds in preparing you for a gourmet meal, but ulimately fumbles in the final presentation.

It seems to me that a novel which attempts in part to explore the nature of evil, the role of satan in the world, and the hidden (awful) depths of the human heart ought to feel a lot less safe than Horns ultimately does. The book opens with the idea that it's main character has done something 'terrible' he can't remember, and that this terrible "something" led to his horns. But that something, when finally revealed, isn't much of a something after all. And that same sensation of things being less interesting, less complex, and ultimately too unexplained permeates enough of the novel that i don't think I'd recommend it.

While I appreciated Hill's characterizations overall, the friendship between Perrish and Lee never reads as believable, and ultimately, some of Hill's larger concepts (I'm looking at you, 'Treehouse of the mind') feel like the sort of hyper-important-yet-unsatisfactorily explained deux ex machina devices that Hill's father, Stephen King, so often falls prey to.

The novel that Horns ends up being fairly comparable to, in a number or ways, is "Lisey's Story," by King. There's the same sort of admirably and movingly rendered portrait of loss, the same intriguing but totally unexplained sense of magic (re "Lisey's Story": What the heck was up with the brother who sort of maybe turns into a werewolf or demon or maybe doesn't, but is all feral and touches himself and they keep him in the basement or something - which you don't typically do unless the kid is actually a monster but King never tells us which is sort of cool but also ultimately kind of frustrating and ends up making things feel incomplete and not purposefully vague and which is maybe what both writers were attempting with this stuff, but it doesn't really satisfy), and the same sense that in the end, things turned out smaller and less interesting than they'd seemed when the book was opened.

Kind of like this review, really.

Lighthouse (S6, ep. 5)

2010-02-26T13:44:00.003-05:00

The Back To The Island column for Lighthouse has been smashed by a distraught Jack for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

Welcome

2010-02-24T18:03:00.003-05:00

A quick hello to those of you stopping by to check out the Second Snake theory. If it's your first time here on Back To The Island I'd like to encourage you to bookmark the site and tell a friend. I'm covering season 6 on an episode-by-episode basis for Chud.com, and the column for this week's installment, 'Lighthouse,' will be linked here tomorrow afternoon.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Hiroyuki Sanada, who plays Dogen on Lost, and that interview will be up on Chud in the near future. You'll find a link to it, and to each week's column, on this site. You'll also find the Rewatch project that I did prior to this season, and a collection of 'Too Much Information' columns that go into (arguably stultifying) detail about various aspects of the show. I invite you to poke around, comment freely, and continue to honor me with your presence.

-M.

Lost: Season 6, Episode 5 Discussion

2010-02-23T06:29:00.002-05:00

Morning, folks! In anticipation of tonight's episode (supposedly a 'game-changer') here's a space for your predictions, thoughts, criticisms and hopes. The Back to the Island column should be up by Thursday, but the next 48 hours are going to be something of a personal hell for me, so it's possible that you may not see it until Friday. Hope your weekend was a great one!

Lost: The Detox (Week 2)

2010-02-20T12:26:00.015-05:00

Believe it or not, I actually manage to watch/read/think about things other than Lost each week. Each weekend I'll be posting a listing of non-Lost media that tickles me and/or ticks me off. Nothing but good vibrations this week:

1. The Venture Brothers - Fans of Lost's knottily plotted narrative and the comedy stylings of folks like Mike Judge (Office Space, King of the Hill) and/or Ben Edlund (The Tick, Firefly, Angel) should give The Venture Brothers a shot. What begins as a goofy, potty-mouthed parody of shows like Johnny Quest quickly evolves into an intimate epic about the death of our jet-age dreams and the complexity of family. But hilarious. The show isn't for everyone - especially those people who don't enjoy a good off-color joke - but I'd recommend it to anyone with an off-beat sense of humor and an appreciation for intelligent storytelling.

2. Fela - My wife and I had the opportunity to catch the show 'Fela' on Broadway recently, and we were both blown away. Fela is the (basic) story of musician Fela Kuti, Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and political activist, told through dramatization and through Fela's songs, none of which I was familar with before the performance. If you're in NYC and you've got the opportunity to attend 'Fela,' I'd advise you to see it. Antibalas, the Afrobeat orchestra who've worked with TV On The Radio and DJ Logic, serves as the production's house band, and they set the place on fire.

3. Locke & Key - Ever read a comic book? Even if you haven't, as a fan of Lost you should consider picking up Locke & Key, published by IDW. L&K is written by Joe Hill, son of Stephen King, and his writing contains the same gift for creating characters that his father possesses. Hill is very much his own man, however, and L&K is a terrific showcase for his authorial voice. Why will Lost fans want to read this title? Besides the emphasis on character, the book is also a compellingly-plotted mystery about the Locke family's ancestral home, Keyhouse, the special doors and keys that lay within it, a potentially world-changing/ending secret hidden deep in the caves that lie beneath the house, and a generational struggle between the forces of light and dark that's told largely through hints, allusions, and suggestion. Highly recommended.

4. The Conference of the Birds - Ever read an epic poem revolving around the Sufi belief system? Me too! The Conference of the Birds is an allegorical fable about the source of, and the primacy of, divinity. It's written entirely in short, clever rhyme, and it's got a twist ending worthy of Lost. It's also arguably relevant to Lost's larger themes, though that's solely my opinion. If you're looking to do a little mind-expansion with your pre-sleep reading, give The Conference of the Birds a try. At the least, you'll enjoy the richness of the language. I'll be talking more about this poem in the next Back To The Island column.

Enjoy the weekend!

Your Questions For Hiroyuki Sanada

2010-02-18T17:03:00.004-05:00

It looks as though I may be interviewing Hiroyuki Sanada (Dogen the Temple Master on Lost) for Chud.com in the near future. I have no real business doing this, but I'm very happy to pretend to be a journalist for a few minutes, and to speak with a respected actor on a show that I similarly respect.

Despite said-happiness, I'm also a slacker, which means that I'm looking to you, my appreciated reading audience, to provide suggestions on what questions you'd like me to ask. I'm not a total slacker - I'll be asking my own, and I've got one or two I'm looking forward to posing - but you folks are intelligent, and you're likely to have some good ideas.

So, whaddyawant asked? I won't be trying to sneak any spoilers out of him, and he can't talk about what hasn't already aired, so please keep that in mind. My sincere thanks first and foremost to Devin Faraci of Chud, who asked if I'd like to conduct the interview. And thanks in advance to you, for any help you can provide.

Best,

M

The Substitute (S6, ep. 4)

2010-02-18T14:03:00.004-05:00

The Back to the Island Column for "The Substitute" has been scrawled on the wall of a cave for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

If you dig it, feel free to Digg it!

Five Things About The Substitute

2010-02-17T00:39:00.006-05:00

There'll be a (likely lengthy) column for The Substitute up on Chud.com this Thursday afternoon. In the meanwhile, I thought I'd list five things about the episode that stick out immediately to me, and provide a space in the comments to talk about the episode.

Instant reaction: My favorite of the season so far.

Five things about The Substitute:

1. Helen suggests that Locke invite his father to the wedding.

Say it with me now: 'Whaaa?' Does Locke have the relationship he wanted with his father off-Island? Is Helen simply unaware of Locke's history with his father?

2. Numbers and Names - Anti-Locke takes Sawyer to a proto-Dharma station located in a cliff face, where the names of certain castaways are scrawled on the walls and ceiling, alongside the infamous Numbers. Again: 'Whaaa?' Where did Jacob get these names? Why isn't Kate's name up there with a number?

3/4. Bloodyboy Jacob(?) and Smokey-sight - a young boy who seems go be Jacob (but could also be an older Aaron - and remember that the two might be one and the same) appears to Anti-Locke in the jungle and tells Locke that 'killing him' is against the rules. So it seems that even Smokey himself can see 'the dead' on the Island. Does this imply that Smokey (who claims he's a man) was once a candidate too? And what was up with the MiB seeming to 'mirror' the character of Locke, yelling 'don't tell me what I can't do'?

5. The 'Evil Dead cam' used to show Smokey's POV was pure awesome.

Let me know what you thought in the comments!

Lost: The Detox

2010-02-13T09:32:00.004-05:00

Hola, all.

Believe it or not, I actually manage to watch/think about a few things other than Lost each week. Each weekend, I'll be posting briefly about/commenting on non-Lost related media that I'm currently digging/trying out/mad at. It's my hope that you'll feel motivated to share your own finds, favorites and follies. If you're here strictly for your Lost fix, skip right over these. You'll barely notice them.

This week:

1. The Lost Room - Every once in a (great, great) while, the SciFi channel produces something worth watching. The Lost Room is one of those miraculously not-terrible productions. In fact, it's kind of great. Originally meant to serve as the opening 'chapters' in a planned, ongoing show, The Lost Room ended up as a three-part miniseries. It's self-contained, and basically stands on it's own as-is, but the untapped potential of the world this show created will make you wish that someone had had more faith in The Lost Room's prospects.

There's real intelligence to the writing and world-creation, and like Lost, the show's creators were clearly trying to communicate some pretty heady ideas within the context of their kooky genre story. There's a good chance that I'll be rewatching The Lost Room once Season 6 of Lost comes to a close. If I do, I think I'll invite those of you who are interested to rewatch it along with me. It's that good.

2. Supernatural - I've been enjoying Eric Kripke's blue collar monster soap opera since it began, and while I wouldn't label it great television I would call it pulpy, very entertaining tv. If you're a fan of Neil Gaiman (from whom the show cribs liberally this season), Clive Barker, Buffy or Angel, then chances are you're already watching this show. But on the off-chance that you aren't, allow me to play Captain Obvious and recommend it. While I've been sorta underwhelmed by this season so far, the past two installments have been excellent.

3. Whip It - My wife rented Drew Barrymore's directorial debut this week, and I was genuinely surprised to find myself enjoying it. It's good to see Daniel Stern working. Whip It is the opposite of 'consequential,' but Whip It's mixture of grrl power, indy shoe-gazing, and genuine warmth made for a nicely sweet experience - one that I'd favorably compare to Adventureland. Between this film and the entirely-underrated 'Roll Bounce,' competitive rollerskating has now produced two surprisingly-watchable films. Color me bewildered, but pleased.

4. The Brothers Bloom: original motion picture soundtrack - I like to listen to music whileI write, and this week's selections included Nathan Johnson's ridiculously good score for this film. I'm not a big film score buff, but this album stands on it's own.

Enjoy the weekend!

What Kate Does (S6, ep 3)

2010-02-12T11:04:00.000-05:00

The Back to the Island Column for "What Kate Does" has been smacked with a big bag of rocks for your reading pleasure on Chud.com. Please feel free to Digg it if you dig it!

TMI 12: The Second Snake in the Mailbox

2010-02-09T10:05:00.005-05:00

Author's Note: Thanks for stopping by to check out the Second Snake Theory! I encourage you to bookmark the main site and join us each week for episode discussion, analysis, and general shenanigans. -MMorse

*****

When Season 3 of Lost came to its justifiably-lauded conclusion, after I’d processed what had just happened, I turned to my then-girlfriend and asked: “How the heck did we not see that coming??”

Among its strengths, Lost is masterful when it comes to the art of slight-of-hand misdirection. While you and I are staring in one direction (“Why is Jack all emo and Grizzly-Adams-y? When did this happen in the flashbacks?”), the show’s writers are quietly, busily working in another direction, setting up twists that seem obvious after the fact. It’s the mark of a great magician, and it’s precisely what the writers pulled off during that finale. The Season 3 reveal that Jack and Kate had somehow left the Island represented the writers’ biggest and most brazen bit of slight-of-hand to date. It was such a shocking bit of business that the show's writers gave it a nickname: "the rattlesnake in the mailbox."

Arguably, it shouldn't have worked as well as it did. Giving Jack a previously-unseen beard and showing him slumped in a room with a giant map plastered to the wall ought to have given most of us a giant clue that something was up here - but most of us were too busy watching the magician rolling up his sleeves to notice his assistant loading doves into his jacket. To torture the metaphor a little further: if it'd been a (rattle)snake it would have bit us.

The question that I found myself pondering this weekend, after a long day and a cold beer, was whether there’s a new snake and a new mailbox, so to speak.

Despite Lost’s wonderfully weird ‘mythology,’ it’s tendency to mix polar bears and inhospitable environments, it’s love of ‘ghosts’ and Whispers and apparent-gods, the show’s writers have always claimed that “character comes first.” For the most part, I agree. The show has fairly consistently emphasized the characters and their relationships over and above the Island’s mysteries. The off-Island “flashes” featured in the Season 6 premiere do just that. While there are a bunch of “coincidental” path-crossings, there’s close to zero mythology in the off-Island segments (the main exceptions being the shots of the underwater Island, and the disappearance of Christian’s coffin - which may be mythology-related, and may not be). All the Island’s weirdness is so far largely confined to the “on-Island” flashes. And I’d like to suggest, with absolutely no evidence at all to back me up, that this is both intentional and a potential clue.

Lost’s Season 6 premiere featured two separate storylines – one in which the Jughead group was pushed ‘forward’ into the ‘present day’ on-Island, and one in which it appears that the crash never happened, that Oceanic 815 and its passengers landed safely at Los Angeles International Airport. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have both stated that the question of how these two storylines match up is a “slow burn” question that will be answered as the season progresses.

Are the castaways "split" into alternate versions of themselves, the way an atom is split to create a nuclear explosion? That’s certainly very possible, and the “quantum worlds” theory fits in well with much of what we’ve seen hinted at and explored on Lost in terms of scientific theories.

Are the castaways simultaneously experiencing "dual time-lines"? Have they created a separate "stream" in the river of time? That’s also a good, solid possibility, given everything we learned about the show’s conception of time in Season 5.

Those are the two most popular solutions to this particular question, as far as I’m able to tell. It’s likely that one of them will be proven correct over the course of the season. But there’s a third option here, and it’s one that I personally haven’t seen discussed. This is the figurative “second snake,” and if I'm right, Season 6 is the mailbox.

My nutty theory:

What if these off-Island segments are not an alternate universe, not an alternate timeline, not an alternate anything? What if, instead, these off-Island segments are actually the “second half” of Season 6, playing concurrently alongside the "first half" for the audience? What if all that we saw “off-Island” in the premiere comes about, not because of the Jughead detonation (which, as we’ve seen, has moved the castaways forward to the present on-Island), but as a result of everything we’re seeing play out now on the Island? What if Jack and Company need to see their Island destiny through before they can "go back" to the beginning and try again?

In other words: Maybe Season 6 itself a kind of giant version of the Season 3 finale. Maybe the off-Island segments in the premiere are the effective equivalent of Jack’s “flashbacks” from that finale, taking place "after" the events on-Island that we're also watching.

Why this isn't (totally) the ravings of an insane person:

At its heart, Lost has always been a show about human connection, about the value of community, of seeing things from another’s (an Others’) point of view, of the importance of reaching out to sustain each other in life.

What better way to emphasize this character-driven philosophy while still holding the audience’s interest with Smoke Monsters and kooky Temples and ash-barriers and whatnot, than to simultaneously show both the final act (on-Island) and the denouement (off-Island) at the same time? And what better way to emphasize the primacy of the human spirit and individual choice over warring pseudo-gods and mythical Islands than to give these characters the opportunity to truly heal each other, away from ooky-spooky Hatches and jungle-dwelling Others – back in the real world where that kind of healing and connection is so genuinely important?

Structurally, doing this ‘mirrors’ their past Season 3 finale and, more than that, it mirrors the season itself, with each “half” of the season mirroring the other half. In this way the show itself becomes a kind of metaphorical “spiral,” like the Orchid Station symbol, in which the Seasons reflect each other from opposing, increasingly-close sides.

While the journey of the characters is the focus of this show, this is the final season and, realistically, once you’ve told people about the nature of the Island, the identity of the Monster, and answered many of their burning questions, are people going to want to sit around and watch a few episodes worth of off-Island interactions which end up emphasizing the show’s themes? Would those stories really “matter” as much to the audience once the thrill-ride portion of the season was finished?

I suspect that the answer, realistically, is no. And that’s pretty reasonable, really. Think of Stephen King’s “The Stand” – a novel that Lost’s writers have cited as inspiration. I can only speak for myself but, as enjoyable as those final wrap-up chapters were, they felt like an inevitable let-down after the showdown in Vegas. Structuring the final season so that the audience watches both the “exciting conclusion to the mystery” at the same time that they’re watching character-based resolutions to individual story arcs solves this problem, and it adds potential “value” to the season. If I’m right (and again, that’s a HUGE if – this whole theory might end up disproved by tonight’s episode), then structuring the season this way encourages people to immediately go back and rewatch it once it’s concluded, so that they can experience the “ending”again.

What do you think? Should I be locked up? And are you as amped for tonight's episode as I am?

LA X (S6, ep. 1)

2010-02-03T16:36:00.004-05:00

The Column for "LA X" has been revived in a mysterious spring for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

I liked it. I liked it a lot. People have already pointed out a number of things I missed, and they're worth relisting. Here are a few of them:

1) Sun is called 'Ms. Paik' when she's off-Island. Are they not married in this "universe"?
2) Apparently, Sayid's passport was Iranian, which is consistent with the "mirroring" theme.
3) The character of Bram is staked through the heart in this episode, which is a pretty sly allusion if it's purposeful.
4) This is speculation, but I like it (from commenter "antilucid"): "My theory on the spring is that it can reverse time in a way that heals the person. Sort of rewind them to a time when they were not hurt....When Sayid wakes up and asks what happened, I am willing to bet his last memory is going to be from during their trip in 1974."

That's pretty brilliant. Nice theorizing, "antilucid." Feel free to post other things I might have missed in the comments!

Lost: The Rewatch Recap

2010-02-02T15:13:00.006-05:00

There's a full listing of all the Chud-hosted Rewatch Columns now available on their site. It should make navigation a lot easier for you folks. You can access it here.

The Incident, Parts I & II (S5, eps. 15 & 16)

2010-02-02T14:10:00.005-05:00

The Rewatch Column for "The Incident, Parts I & II" has been murdered in a giant foot for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

Season Six, Episode One Discussion

2010-02-02T11:08:00.003-05:00

Hola, all.

Lost begins it's final season tonight, and if you're like me you're having a little trouble staying focused. I thought I'd toss a post up to give people the chance to comment on the premiere both before and after it airs. Feel free to use it to talk about what you'd like to see, what questions you're dying to have answered first, and your reactions after the fact.

I'll have my own comments and reactions up on Chud.com tomorrow afternoon and I'll probably check in later tonight after the show airs with a brief reaction.

The final rewatch column for "The Incident" should be up on Chud.com in a few hours.

Follow The Leader (S5, ep. 14)

2010-02-02T10:25:00.002-05:00

The Rewatch Column for "Follow the Leader" has been taken to the tunnels for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

Some Like It Hoth & The Variable (S5, eps. 13 & 14)

2010-01-30T10:42:00.001-05:00

The Rewatch Columns for "Some Like It Hoth" and "The Variable" have been goaded toward tragic ends for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

Whatever Happened Happened & Dead Is Dead (S5, eps. 11 & 12)

2010-01-29T11:55:00.004-05:00

The Rewatch Columns for "Whatever Happened Happened & Dead Is Dead" have been judged for your reading pleasure on Chud.com

Namaste & He's Our You (S5, eps. 9 & 10)

2010-01-28T11:02:00.000-05:00

The Rewatch Columns for "Namaste" and "He's Our You" have been assigned to the shed for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham & LaFleur (S5, eps. 7 & 8)

2010-01-26T13:22:00.000-05:00

The Rewatch Columns for "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" and "LaFleur" have been deputized for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

This Place Is Death & 316 (S5, eps. 5 & 6)

2010-01-20T17:45:00.004-05:00

The Rewatch Columns for "This Place Is Death" and "316" have been fitted with significant shoes for your reading pleasure on Chud.com

Jughead & The Little Prince (S5, eps. 3 & 4)

2010-01-20T17:08:00.000-05:00

The Rewatch Columns for "Jughead" and "The Little Prince" have been kicked from their army tents for your reading pleasure.

The Lie (S5, ep. 2)

2010-01-14T09:30:00.000-05:00

The Rewatch Column for "The Lie" has been tranquilized for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

Because You Left (S5, ep. 1)

2010-01-11T13:01:00.004-05:00

The Rewatch Column for "Because You Left" has been given a nosebleed for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.

Lost: Missing Pieces (S4 DVD)

2010-01-11T10:54:00.004-05:00

The special, bonus Rewatch Column for "Lost: Missing Pieces" is available to read here, exclusively on Back To The Island. Click this link to soak your brain in it.