Lostaholics Anonymous: Happy Moments

Hello everyone and welcome to Week 2 of Lostaholics Anonymous. There seemed to be an overwhelming group of people out there who excitedly raised their hands and still want to talk about Lost, to which I say, "Yay!" followed by "Whew," since if you weren't still interested my upcoming season 6 Lost book would probably die a quick and painful death (available in fine bookstores near you in about another month!)

Last week I suggested that we'd ease into our routine with a discussion about our favourite moments. But once I started making a list of my own, I realized that they represented a cross-section -- happy, sad, moments that just made me love the show even more -- and so I thought maybe to keep things simpler we'd talk about the happy moments.

Lost could become a very serious show at times, often bogged down in the mystery, in impending death, suspense, and large philosophical issues, so the comic moments were always met with much relief, because it kept the show from becoming WAY too serious. I think my problem with a lot of other shows out there is their lack of a sense of humour -- FlashForward took itself far too seriously; The Event ain't funny at all; V was all overblown and big... whereas Hawaii Five-O knows how to laugh, and No Ordinary Family, which debuted last night, was as funny as it was fun to watch. You could argue that Buffy was a comedy as much as it was a drama (and as many of you know, I've been involved in that very argument in a very public setting) and I think the best shows are a perfect mix of the two.

So without further ado, let's talk about some of our favourite funny or happy moments.

Hurley sharing an Apollo bar with Ben. One of the reasons I loved this moment so much is that it wasn't outwardly funny -- a non-fan wouldn't have seen the humour in that scene at all. But here was the show's favourite funny guy sitting down with the island's arch-villain, and handing him a piece of chocolate. Ben looks at him strangely, stares at it for a second, and then takes it without a word, chewing on the candy and its caramel fitting as if this was the most natural thing in the world. This amazing scene was the precursor to Ben and Hurley eventually becoming the guardians of the island together.



Hurley trying to maintain his ruse of NOT being a time traveler as he’s grilled by Pierre Chang. Now this scene WAS played for laughs, and big ones. What makes it even funnier for fans is the fact that earlier, Hurley had asked Sawyer who the President was in 1977 and Sawyer laughed and didn’t answer, reassuring Hurley he’d never be asked something like that. When Chang asks him that very question, Hurley’s face is like Ralph Kramden’s on The Honeymooners when he was on Name That Tune, and “Swanee River” starts playing (come on, someone out there must remember that ep… if not, it was parodied when Brain went on Jeopardy on Pinky and the Brain…) Hurley makes a valiant effort to try to keep on top of Chang’s questioning, but quickly falls apart. Brilliant moment.



Sawyer teaching Jin how to compliment his wife in English. “Tricia Tanaka Is Dead” is one of the funniest episodes of the series; at the time it seemed like some one-off throwaway episode, but watch it again and see just how many zingers are in this one. Sawyer’s just shown up again after being on the other side of the island (well, actually, on Hydra Island) for ages, and he discovers the beer and will drink it, no matter how old it is. As he clinks his can to dead Roger Workman, he begins to teach Jin the only English he’ll need to know. Both he and Jin are hilarious in this scene.

The Shambala scene: In that same episode might be one of the single happiest moments in the series, when Hurley defies fate and the VW van roars to life as he and Charlie are hurtling down a hill. The happy, fun-loving music, paired with Sawyer, Charlie, Jin, and Hurley riding around in the van laughing, made all of us forget they were trapped on a mysterious island. It was a moment of pure joy.

Of course, there were several laugh-out-loud lines, and I’m sure many of you will be able to quote those for our delight.

And now I’ll just mention two of my absolute favourite scenes in the entire series, which I love because they straddle the dramatic/comedic sides of the show.

Hurley’s cannonball: This moment is glorious in its happiness, devastating in its sadness. On the one hand, Hurley jumps in the water assuming his curse is gone and he and his friends are about to be rescued. He’ll go home, see his Ma, and introduce her to his new friend Charlie. It’s probably the single happiest moment in the series. But the moment he surfaces – about 3 seconds after he was happiest – he realizes Charlie is dead, they’re not being rescued, and he’s probably still cursed. It’s a gorgeous combination of all of the show’s best elements.

Hurley (I see an onrunning theme here) and his Ma, when he tells her what really happened on the island in “The Lie.” I’ve talked about this scene before, but it’s still one of my favourites. First, he looks like he’s going to cry. Then he manages to sum up the first four seasons of Lost in about a minute and a half, while the loopy Hurley music plays and his Ma looks confused. But at the end, he suddenly breaks down again, telling her they left people behind and he needs to go get them. His ma leans forward, touches his hand, and tells him she believes him. It’s such a lovely moment in the series, where she tells him what he needs to hear, and Jorge Garcia displays a tremendous range of emotions.

So those are some of my favourite moments. Of course, now that I think about it, maybe this one trumps them all:



So, let’s discuss our fave moments in Lost. What made you happy at the time? What makes you smile or laugh now that might have seemed different at the time? Did you think the comic moments were a good blend with the dramatic ones?

Next week: The moments that made us cry.