Lost Rewatch Schedule

I hope y'all are dropping by the Lost rewatch we're having over here on the Lost Rewatch blog. It's been a blast so far, and I'm LOVING going back to season 1 and finding hints of what was to come, or storylines that weren't working and were dropped.

If you'd like to join us but don't know where to jump in, here is this week's schedule:

Going live Wednesday night at 8:
Hearts and Minds
Special

Thursday night at 8:
Homecoming
Outlaws

See you there!

Lost at Comic-Con!

Thank you to everyone who has been inundating my email inbox with videos and transcripts and news from the San Diego Comic-Con on the Lost panel. I've been off my email for most of the weekend, on pins and needles wondering what happened.

Well, wonder no more. Thanks to Hunter, who pointed me to the following complete videos of the presentation. Unfortunately, the person cut out all of the videos that Damon and Carlton cut to, so I'll try to run those first so you'll understand what they're referring to (thanks to fb for those ones!).

First, off the top, at some point Darlton will mention "a word from their sponsors." This is the video they're referring to (and is it just me, or is Hurley actually doing a better Australian accent than the voiceover guy?!):



Later, they'll talk about Kate and Damon will say, "Huh... I always thought she killed her stepfather." Um... so did I. Until I saw this:



Is this a suggestion that... they'll go back and change history somehow?? Eek.

And then finally, here is the memorial for the characters they played near the end. Warning: that final minute might make you cry. :(



And now, without further ado, here is the full Comic-Con panel, with 5 surprise guests!! Enjoy!









UPDATE: For Vicki, here's a clip of Josh Holloway's entrance, which is AWESOME. :)

Win Finding Lost Season 1&2!

This is for all those twittering twits out there who tweet on Twitter all day. (You know, 2 years ago that sentence would have made NO SENSE.) My publisher, ECW Press, is offering a free, signed AND personalized copy of my first Finding Lost book today to anyone who can come up with the craziest idea of how Lost will end... in 140 characters or less. Visit their Twitter feed here to enter your idea. Contest ends at 3pm today, so hurry!!

Lost University!

Time to get that diploma you've always wanted! That's right, folks; come September 22, you can officially enroll in Lost University!

This appears to be the latest Lost ARG to hold us over until the new season (with the Lost panel this weekend at Comic-Con, it'll no doubt be brought up there and they'll probably be handing out information on Lost U at a booth, like they had the Dharma sign-ups last year).

Some of the courses include:
PHI 101: I'm Lost, Therefore I Am
PHY 101: Introductory Physics of Time Travel
PHY 301 Seminar: New Physics with Jeremy Davies (snicker)
PSY 201: Self Discovery through Family Relationships (ha!)

You can read all about it at the ABC site, here. Thanks to everyone who sent me the link this morning! Meanwhile, I'm off to apply for a teaching position...

Lost to Auction Off Props!

Yep, it's come down to this (thanks to Jarrett for the link!). Do you want Eko's stick? Kate's toy plane? Then start saving your money now, because it's about to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. You can read the full story here, and go to the auction site here.

All I have to say is... dibs on Desmond's blue shirt!!!! Oh, and Jack's prop beard. Then I'll invite y'all over and we will burn it in my backyard. :)

Getting Ready for Season 6: Warfare

Recently my stepmom, who had been an avid viewer of Lost along with my dad, stopped watching because she thought the show was becoming too violent. I said, "Well... yeah, there's a bit of that, but it's not that bad." Here's hoping she doesn't see the following video, brought to us by theblackbox. Welcome to five seasons of guns, knives, grenades, pummeling, broken noses, and stuff getting blowed up real good.

Lost Gets Emmy Nods!

While it certainly hasn't gotten the attention of 30 Rock, with its 22 nominations (22!!), Lost has been nominated for Best Drama, and Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for Michael Emerson. PLEASE give that award to Emerson. The "What about ME?!" scene in the finale, where he faces off against Jacob, is worth the award right there, but there's just a subtlety to his acting, an evil laced with comic undertones, that deserves it. I adore him... and this is finally a year where he's not up against anyone else on Lost. Lost ended up with 5 nominations in total (scroll to the bottom to see the rest).

Here are the nominations in the most-touted categories:

Outstanding Comedy Series
Family Guy
30 Rock
Weeds
How I Met Your Mother
The Office
Flight of the Conchords
Entourage

**My pick: 30 Rock. While I LOVE The Office, 30 Rock was just consistently funny this year, with lines that rivalled any other series on television. I found myself quoting it week after week, and I think Tina Fey is some kind of genius. I don't watch How I Met Your Mother (I know, I know... I'm getting to it, promise); I thought season 2 of Flight of the Conchords was even funnier than season 1; I stopped watching Weeds in season 3 when it just got too serious; Entourage was consistently fun to watch week after week, but never stood out as the best thing on television; and while I'm thrilled that the Family Guy is in there, it's not consistently funny.

Outstanding Drama Series
Mad Men
Breaking Bad
Lost
Damages
Dexter
Big Love
House

**I think y'all know my pick for this one. Season 5 of Lost was stunning. Stunning stunning stunning, in its writing, acting, and directing. It deserves the award. I loved season 2 of Mad Men, and it's probably the frontrunner in this one; I'm partway through Breaking Bad (LOVE it); Damages was AMAZING; Big Love had a really excellent season; Dexter's third season was its best yet; and, okay, I'm not a House fan. So honestly, despite me ragging on the Emmys year after year, I think they've put together an excellent crop of shows here.

Lead Actor in a Drama
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Hugh Laurie, House
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Simon Baker, The Mentalist

**What can I say: Gabriel Byrne. This guy has to carry In Treatment through 48 episodes, has to play the ups and downs, has to face off against every other character... there isn't a scene that he isn't in. That is a feat in itself -- and not only does he put in the time, he's brilliant. Unbelievably brilliant. I love Michael C. Hall (and admittedly, if he won it I'd be leaping off my couch in happiness) and Jon Hamm, but this one belongs to Byrne.

Lead Actress in a Drama
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Glenn Close, Damages
Sally Field, Brothers and Sisters
Mariska Hargitay, Law and Order: SVU
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace

**My pick: Glenn Close. My love for her is boundless. And confession time: the only other show I watch here is Mad Men. Moss is amazing in it, but she's no Patty Hewes.

Lead Actor in a Comedy
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Jemaine Clement, Flight of the Conchords

**Torn!! I'm always torn between Baldwin and Carell. They're both genius, both convey that insanity mixed with seriousness. I honestly can't pick one. It would be like choosing a favourite child.

Lead Actress in a Comedy
Toni Collette, United States of Tara
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Sarah Silverman, The Sarah Silverman Program
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?

**Tina Fey. And not just because she's the writer/actress on it (she can get her writing kudos in those categories) but because she's funny, and plays the perfect straight person in the midst of a bunch of psychos, and STILL manages to pull off some of the best lines in each episode.

Best Reality Competition
The Amazing Race
American Idol
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef

**Damn you for not nominating So You Think You Can Dance!!!! Are you crazy?? Consistently the best reality show on television. But a close second is Project Runway, so I'm going for that.

Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Late Show With David Letterman
Real Time With Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live

**While SNL had some truly outstanding moments this past season, they were mostly thanks to Andy Samberg or Justin Timberlake, so I'm going with Jon Stewart on this one.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
William Shatner, Boston Legal
Christian Clemenson, Boston Legal
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
William Hurt, Damages
Michael Emerson, Lost
John Slattery, Mad Men

**Oh you know what I'm going to say (see above). William Hurt put in a crazy good turn on Damages, and John Slattery is brilliant on Mad Men as Roger, but Michael Emerson stole the show this year.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Rose Byrne, Damages
Sandra Oh, Grey’s Anatomy
Chandra Wilson, Grey’s Anatomy
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment
Hope Davis, In Treatment
Cherry Jones, 24

**Don't watch Grey's or 24, and Rose Byrne was great on Damages, but was often overshadowed by people who were better than her in each scene. So I'm with Dianne Wiest. That woman can fall apart like nobody else on television. When she and Gabriel Byrne are on screen together in In Treatment, there are moments when I feel like I can't breathe. Extraordinary.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Kevin Dillon, Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Rainn Wilson, The Office
Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock
Jack McBrayer, 30 Rock
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men

**Oh Dwight. I could never vote against you. Rainn Wilson FTW!!

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live
Kristin Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
Vanessa William, Ugly Betty
Elizabeth Perkins, Weeds

**It's like they are MOCKING ME with nominating Pushing Daisies. Stupid $@^!ing awards shows. My vote is for Kristin. May she find another lead part in a drama to prove to everyone that her show should NOT HAVE BEEN CANCELLED.

And here are the other nominations for Lost. Does ANYONE else deserve that writing award? I didn't think so. Come on, Darlton!

Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing
Lost • The Incident • ABC • Grass Skirt Productions and ABC Studios
Stephen Semel, Editor
Mark Goldman, Editor
Chris Nelson, Editor

Outstanding Sound Mixing
Lost • The Incident • ABC • Grass Skirt Productions and ABC Studios
Robert Anderson, Production Sound Mixer
Ken King, Production Sound Mixer
Scott Weber, Re-Recording Mixer
Frank Morrone, Re-Recording Mixer

Outstanding Writing for a Drama
Lost • The Incident • ABC • Grass Skirt Productions and ABC Studios
Carlton Cuse, Writer
Damon Lindelof, Writer
**This actually has a good chance of winning, since it's up against FOUR Mad Men episodes and nothing else. The MM episodes will probably split the votes against each other (unless everyone votes for the finale) and Lost could shoot right up through the middle. :)

Thank you.

Hello my lovelies: This is the last day to send in an endorsement pour moi for the upcoming season 5 Lost book, and I just wanted to say a very humble thank you to everyone who sent them in. They were definitely the thing I needed to get this book finished, and they've been hugely encouraging and wonderful. So thank you, guys. You totally rock.

Now head on over to our Lost rewatch, which continues tonight at 8!

Wanna Be Your Superhero...

New TV shows are always fun to anticipate: will this be my new favourite place to spend Sunday nights? Or will I hate it in the first 5 minutes and lambast it to all of my friends? Will I discover new writing talent? A new topic to write about? New actors? Or will I wonder how these people ever graduated from school, much less start their own TV shows?

And then there are the shows that we already love that are entering a new season. HBO and Showtime have had a bunch of new shows cropping up -- Nurse Jackie and Hung are the two prominent ones right now -- and because I was finishing my book I barely had time to open the packages much less pop in the DVDs (reviews on at least one coming soon). But when Entourage came to the house, I had to drop everything and watch it.

Entourage is one of those shows you either hate or love. The first time I saw it, I hated it. Immensely. Why would I want to spend my time with a bunch of boys who never left adolescence, who are politically incorrect horndogs who don't care about the famous guy in their midst so much as what they can get out of him? If I cared that much, I'd go and read a biography on Elvis and his Memphis Mafia.

But then I watched the series premiere a second time, and moved to the second episode. And by the third, I wondered where Ari Gold had been all my life.

YES this show is sexist and politically incorrect -- the verbal abuse Ari's "Gaysian" assistant Lloyd takes episode after episode alone is worth a mountain of sexual harassment suits -- but it's the fact that these lines EXPOSE the idiocy of their speakers, and doesn't buoy them up, that redeems them. In the first episode of season 6, when Lloyd threatens to quit if he doesn't get a raise and says he'll go work with his father, Ari counters, "In a dry cleaners?" His father actually owns a business, but that Ari would immediately assume that shows his narrow-mindedness -- and Lloyd's massive eyeroll and quick comeback makes the line hilarious and completely worth it.

The women are typically smarter than the men, despite being completely sexualized in every episode. But this season we move to a new topic: For five seasons we've watched these guys hanging off Vince as he completely carries them financially, giving them a place to live, cars, food. All he asks is that they stay by his side and be there when he needs to talk to them. Turtle is his driver; E is his manager; Drama, his stupid older brother, is the cook.

But what happens when you carry people for so long that you allow them to figure out a way to carve out their own financial -- and emotional -- independence? Turtle is dating Jamie Lynn-Sigler from the Sopranos. Drama has a role in a major NBC show. E not only manages Vince, but other stars. And Vince's star has been fading as of late, even though he's just appeared in a much-touted Scorsese film and has found himself back on top.

But suddenly these guys have other things to do at night. They have other places to be, and in one case, are moving out completely. As Vince wishes them all well in his laid-back, "Sure, no problem" way, the camera pans back to see him playing pool with himself, and you wonder, what does major Hollywood star do when the emotional net he's built for himself has a huge gaping hole in the middle of it? He can't just go out and find new friends or girlfriends -- he's a huge celebrity, and everyone will take advantage of him. And yet he can't expect his buddies to be hangers-on for the rest of his life. There's a telling scene where one of the guys goes out with a girl, and mentions she has a really cute friend, and Vince, who was settling in for a night with his TV, jumps up and says he'll come along. And then appears to be almost begging the girl to pay attention to him.

Season 6 has the same wit and craziness that it always did, but it's going to ask a new question: Who has become the focus, and who is now the entourage?

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, not to ME so much as this blog, Nik at Nite! Yes, folks, I started this page on July 12, 2006, a couple of months before my first Finding Lost book came out, had probably three readers, and stumbled through a few sporadic, bad posts before finally figuring out what this blogging thing was all about. And now I have this group of lovely people coming to visit, to chat, to ask questions, and discuss everything Lost and Whedony, and I'm so grateful for all of you. Thank you for continuing to come. And since I know I'll never get this cake in real life, I shall give it to myself virtually. Dibs on the stake!!

T Minus 2 Minutes...

Hey all: the Lost Rewatch begins today! I have the first two posts (on "Pilot, Part 1" and "Pilot, Part 2") set to go live in just a couple of minutes. I've kept the posts short (well... short for ME) so you guys will be able to have lots of stuff to say. I'm so psyched for this! I've missed our Lost discussions far too much.

Head on over to the rewatch, and let the games begin!

Goodbye, MJ

Wah.

You know, one of the last things I'd ever want to do on this blog is make Batcabbage cry, so I suggest he avert his eyes for this next announcement. Are you looking away, Batcabbage? I see that one eye open. Close it... close it? Good.

Brian K. Vaughan has left the Lost writing team. WAAAAAH... In an interview that joshua sent over to me this morning, Damon said he's gone off "to greener pastures." To which I respond, What pastures could be greener than Lost?

Which means, as I told joshua, that now I have to rewrite the end of my Y: The Last Man chapter (drat) where I said that if BKV is at the writer's table for the finale, the show is in very good hands.

Sigh. So, uh, Darlton... I hear you're looking for a writer. Wanna take a chance on a newbie? I promise perfect continuity!! :)

Random Stuff for a Monday

My big news of the day... I finished my book! Yes, it was handed in to my editor today -- and I prayed she wouldn't faint onto the floor when I told her it's 40,000 words more than the last 2 books, and the finale alone was 10,000 words... eek... (she didn't, because she's all kinds of awesomeness). So, you shall be getting a fatter book for season 5... for the same price! It's Nikki's House of Deals today.

Which means all those plans I had for a season 6 book that would be about 50 pages longer than the previous two? Probably going to be even bigger than that. Succinctness, succinctness... my KINGDOM for succinctness! Y'all know the last thing I am is BRIEF. And apparently I have just way too much to say about season five. (Well, that and the Ulysses chapter is 9,500 words. Sigh.)

Speaking of which, I soldiered through and finished Ulysses last week, and REALLY enjoyed it by the end! I think the final 350 pages really make up for the 650 that precede them. But don't worry: I won't be at the next Lost convention in a smoking jacket swirling my brandy and declaring Ulysses the greatest novel of the twentieth century. (I only do things like that in my head.)

And other news, in case you've forgotten (and talk about PERFECT TIMING... I deserve a gold star for this one) today marks the official start of OUR Lost rewatch! I hope you're all breaking out those DVDs and going back to season 1. I've posted on the rewatch blog all the details of how we're going to go about it this week. My plan is to do two eps on Thursday, two on Friday, and keep up that schedule for as long as I can. (I know many of us are a little worried that we'll fall behind at some point... and I'm sure I will, too... but I'll try hard not to let that happen.)

So... remember a month or so ago when we were all saying, hey, wouldn't it be cool to totally get together and all watch the finale live together?? And then after the shine of that one wore off (and I realized I just would never be able to find an outfit THIS AWESOME to wear to it) and then some of us realized hey, maybe we should watch it on our own and then get together afterward, or have a second-to-last episode get-together (oh, we're a great bunch for making a decision, aren't we??)

Well, I might have the answer to our problems. I say... let's get together in Hawaii in January 2011. Because... there's going to be a Lost conference there!! Remember that Slayage conference I RAVED about a year ago on this blog? The same people who organized that one are putting together a similar conference where academics from around the world can convene in one spot and talk about the magnificence of Lost. And as I reported from Slayage last year, you don't have to be a scholar to appreciate these papers. The conference is still in the early planning stages, but I will be there if it happens. You can read about the early planning here. I'll keep y'all posted on any news that happens.

And speaking of Buffy, thank you to my friend Jeremy for sending me the following hilarious slash comic from Monsieur Whedon himself. Oh no, this isn't fan fiction... this is from WHEDON. Ever dreamed of Angel and Spike making out? Behold... your dreams have come true.

Lost Season 5 DVD Special Edition!

Thanks to fb for sending me the following link. ABC will be releasing a special limited edition "Dharma Initiation" version of the Season 5 DVDs. Behold:



The DVDs come in sleeves that look like floppy disks (remember THOSE?!) and there's a VHS tape of an orientation video. Archaic indeed! And now... I feel old. But anyway... it's snazzy, but I think I'll probably be buying the regular edition of the DVDs.

You can read about all the special features of the edition here.

Lost: We Want Answers

So I'm finishing up the season 5 right now (or... I should be... I'm actually typing this blog entry right now) and I was thinking at the end of the book I should have a list of the questions I'd like answered in season 6. I have a rather lengthy list already, but I thought I'd throw it out to you and ask, What questions do you need answered in season 6? How old Richard Alpert really is? Where Jacob came from? If Geronimo Jackson are thinking of a reunion tour?

There's no way the writers will answer everything, so I'm interested in what things you think they SHOULD be answering for us. Thoughts?

"Every single night, the same arrangement..."

Ha! You've got that song in your head now, don't you? ;)

This one's for the Buffy fans. Toronto is hosting its annual Fringe Festival right now, featuring the best of avant garde theatre around the city all week long. And one of the troupes, "The Silver Stage," has carved out their own little unique niche in the festival: shadowcasts. You've probably seen them (or at least heard of them) before. Shadowcasts were made famous with the Rocky Horror Picture Show, where a group of actors would set up a giant movie screen at the back of the stage that played the movie while they simultaneously acted it out on the stage in front. Audiences love the interactive notion of it, and typically play right along, like they're also on that stage.

Well, Buffy fans... The Silver Stage is presenting, at the Fringe Festival, the shadowcast of BtVS's "Once More With Feeling"! That's right: for three nights over the festival, you can watch Buffy and her friends belt out their innermost thoughts ("I think this line's mostly filler") while they act it out on the stage in front, and you in the audience get to play along.

You can find more information about the Toronto Fringe Festival at their site, here, and you can go to Silver Stage's site to find out more about them here (besides Buffy, they're doing Blue Velvet -- what?! -- and, wait for it... Jurassic Park).

The "Once More With Feeling" shows will be held at the Bloor Cinema at 9:30 p.m. tonight (July 2), Sunday July 5, and Friday July 10. I've already got my tickets to the show on the 10th (because with any luck my book will be done by then!), and hope to see you there! Tickets are $10, and you can buy them in advance here (scroll down to The Silver Stage and choose either the July 2, 5, or 10 options).