The Lord of the Films

Today is the first day of the Toronto International Film Festival, an event that always makes me nostalgic for days gone by. Back before I had children, my best friend and I would take the week off and see 30 films at the TIFF, and every night we'd drag ourselves home after seeing as many as five films in one day, and we'd sit down and type up these HUGE emails -- that were essentially blog posts before people had blogs -- and email them out to all our friends. We talked about things we'd overheard people say in line, we'd bitch about the routines and the lineups and the stupid people who'd done stupid things to us during the day, and eventually we'd get around to reviewing the films. Friends would email us back the next day to tell us how much fun they were having reading through it, and how they enjoyed the overheard bits more than the reviews themselves, so we started eavesdropping more and focusing on those parts. By the end of the week, we'd have a 25,000-word document containing all our emails from the week (yes, that number is correct) and we'd print it up to save. Ah... memories.

The TIFF marks the beginning of the fall movie season for me, and what better time to post about another guidebook I think y'all should be buying for yourselves and for other people at Christmas. The book is Lord of the Films: The Unofficial Guide to Tolkien's Middle-earth on the Big Screen, and it's written by J.W. Braun. If you've been involved in the Lost rewatch at all, you'll know him as JW, a frequent poster there. Again, full disclosure: I was the editor on this book. I didn't acquire it for the press (I was on maternity leave when it came in) but the moment I sat down and read through the raw manuscript for the first time, I was in love with it instantly.

Lord of the Films is a guide to all of the movie adaptations of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Trilogy, with the main focus, of course, being on the Peter Jackson films. There are sidebars and background stories on the animated versions (and what worked and what didn't in those) but for the most part, this book is a behind-the-scenes and fan-filled look at the Peter Jackson adaptations and how the Tolkien fans responded.

Braun breaks down each film into its major parts (mainly how the film is broken down on the DVD scene menus), and then for each of those parts he includes four different subsections: what some fans said out loud in theatres during the films (these range from the bizarre to the laugh-out-loud hilarious, like when one fan, shortly after the first film begins, shouts out, "Hey, you missed page 33!"); little details and important symbolism you may not have noticed in the films; nitpicks and bloopers; and behind-the-scenes stories of what was happening during filming and production. It's a brilliant book, and fans will love it. Complete with Q&As of some of the crew members who were in NZ for the three years it took to complete the trilogy, sidebars of some of the fandom-generated activities or merchandising or other fun bits, awesome photos of the landscapes, actors, and other fun LOTR-related Kodak moments, and early information about Jackson's much-anticipated Hobbit films, this book is the perfect compendium for fans.

This is one of those cases where the back-cover bumpf is actually true -- after reading this book, you'll go back and watch the trilogy again with a fresh pair of eyes, as if it's the first time you're watching it. The book is available now, and you can buy it here. Get your copy and then come back here and tell us what you thought. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Terry Gilliam Meets Lost

I remember watching this a few years ago, but it just needs to be seen again.

"Arthur Fonzarelli's Got an Army of Clones..."

Big thanks to Katey for this one! (I'm postdating this one to go live at 09/09/09, 0900. Creepy!) There's another literal video out there, and while it's not done by the same folks who did "Take On Me" and "Head Over Heels," it's possible this is even funnier. For anyone who hasn't seen the earlier ones (follow those links NOW if you haven't!) various people are taking a literal look at the crazytown videos from the 80s that seemed really cool at the time, but when you try to narrate what's happening on screen, you realize that everyone involved in the shoot must have been high. The latest victim? Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart," which I think was actually the first real music video I'd ever seen. At the time I was probably 9 and thought it was wicked cool. Now watch as someone narrates it literally. HILARIOUS!

Getting Ready for Season 6: The Others

This one gave me goosebumps. These videos are CRAZY good!!! This one is by campetin.

Save the Monarchs, Save the World

Here's my feel-good story of the week (we need these a lot more these days, I think). Every once in a while I need to share something that isn’t television-oriented, and may be considered a little more personal than a lot of the stuff I write about on here. But this is something I wanted to talk about because of how much it inspired me. My inspiration? My daughter, Sydney, who turned five years old a week ago.

I’ve mentioned on here before that Syd is obsessed with Monarch caterpillars and butterflies. A little over a year ago, a wonderful caregiver of hers taught her about raising the caterpillars into butterflies, and we spent the summer finding these creatures on milkweed leaves, feeding them and keeping them safe throughout the next few weeks, watching over the chrysalises as they formed into butterflies, and releasing them a day or two after they opened. Some of them had crazy names, and one of them died (it didn’t come out of the chrysalis properly, and I ended up on the phone to a butterfly conservatory talking to a scientist and attempting surgery with a pin and a pair of tweezers on this poor little thing, whose antennae had mysteriously become attached to the inside of the chrysalis and it couldn’t get out). I was told by a lepidopterist that in the wild, caterpillars have a 10% chance of surviving into butterflies. Captured and raised properly, they have an 80% chance. So we knew we were doing a good thing.

When the last butterfly was released in October, we began reading books about them. We learned that there are two main cycles in summer: in June, Monarch butterflies appear and lay their eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves. These eggs hatch and become caterpillars, and by July they’re butterflies. They then mate and lay their eggs on milkweed again, creating the second summer cycle of butterflies. Then they die. These June caterpillars have a life cycle of about 6 weeks – their children, on the other hand, will live up to NINE MONTHS. No one knows why this is, but this second, hardier group, will hatch in late summer and will migrate all the way to Mexico, where they cover trees in the most beautiful way as they wait out the winter and then make the long journey back to North America to lay their eggs the following May/June, and the cycle begins again. It’s truly amazing.

In late fall last year, my daughter and I watched a documentary about Monarchs (there’s the TV connection!), and it said they’re becoming endangered. Now, if you live in North America I’m sure you’ve seen them fluttering everywhere in the past few weeks, and may find that hard to believe. But to migrate to Mexico, they follow certain airstreams, and in recent years large skyscrapers have been built that hinder their travel; roadways have gone up where Monarchs are hit by cars; landscapes have utterly changed, and the Monarchs aren’t making it to Mexico, which means they can’t make it back, and their numbers are becoming fewer and fewer. Those who ARE getting to Mexico are finding it difficult to find their way to the safe trees that maintain their body temperatures, because the very forests housing the Monarchs are being cut down (this picture shows you how they completely cover a tree and make it look like it’s made out of Monarchs). My daughter was devastated to hear this (as was I) and she said we had to do something, because she wanted to keep raising them every summer for the rest of her life.

Back in March, I was driving her to gymnastics and we heard a story on the radio of a 12-year-old girl who’d eschewed presents at her party and instead asked for donations to a charity. Syd immediately piped up that she wanted to do that for her birthday. I encouraged it, even though I thought she might change her mind when the day came (anyone out there with a five-year-old will know what I mean). Closer to her birthday she told me she still wanted to do it, and that when we sent out the invitations we had to let parents know that she wanted donations to save the monarchs and not presents. I explained to her that that meant when they all left, she wouldn’t have any gifts, and was she OK with that? She thought about it for a second and said yes, adding that she knows her grandparents and aunts and uncles would get her things still. (haha!)

So now I had to find a charitable organization devoted to the conservation of Monarchs. I found one in Mexico, and a few in the southern U.S., but they didn’t seem very big and were a little shady, so I wasn’t sure what to do. I suggested to Sydney that maybe there wasn’t a place that just did that, and maybe she’d have to get presents after all! In response, her bottom lip started to quiver and she said, eyes welling with tears, “But if I can’t help save the butterflies, then what will happen if I want to collect Monarchs with MY daughter and they don’t exist anymore?”

Seriously. She said that.

I now knew she was serious, and I was going to do whatever it took to make this happen for her. I kept hunting and found that the World Wildlife Fund has a section of their research devoted to conserving the Monarch butterfly by preserving the forests in Mexico and working with the local government to keep deforestation at a minimum, and far away from where the Monarchs nest. I called up their Toronto office and talked to a woman who was at first surprised at her age, “How old is she?!” she said, and then said we could collect the money, and if I wanted to bring my daughter down to the office she’d arrange for their community fundraising coordinator to present her with something for her efforts.

At the party, the first child arrived with money and a card, and my daughter thanked her, handed the money to me and said, “This is our first money for the butterflies!” and then grabbed the girl’s hand to take her outside. She was like that for the entire party and then at the end of the party I gave her a small gift along with the ones I’d gotten for her guests, and she was thrilled with it. She was so happy when I counted up the donations for her, and I was incredibly proud of her. We had a separate party for family members, and we collected more money there.

In the end, she had raised $220 for the Monarchs!

Last week we headed down to the WWF-Canada head offices, and I said to her as we were walking up to the building that she might not realize that this is a very rare and special thing for a five-year-old to do, and I was so proud that she would rather do this than have toys. She just said matter-of-factly, “But I still got LOTS of toys for my birthday, Mommy.” She really didn’t see this as anything out of the ordinary. We went up the elevator to the offices, and a woman came out of the office to see us. She presented Sydney with a certificate saying that she had symbolically adopted a Monarch, and then gave her a little silk stuffed Monarch. My daughter was over the moon, and when she got the certificate ran toward me saying, “Look, Mommy, it has my NAME on it!!” and she was beaming from ear to ear.

I’d love to say, “Am I not an awesome parent for raising such a socially aware and giving child?” but I can’t. My kids are spoiled rotten by grandparents, aunts, uncles, and me. They have tons of toys. I have 12 bookshelves in our house covered in books. I have two huge cabinets of DVDs (mostly TV box sets). We’re not a family who doesn’t acquire things, who lives sparsely. I give money to charity, but I’ve never given up gifts to do so.

What I have taught her is to sympathize with other creatures. She handles her butterflies so delicately, never touching their wings, and cries like it’s the end of the world if anything happens to one (and often when she has to let them go). And that immense sensitivity that she possesses has now extended to this. Here's a photo of her showing her two-year-old brother how to hold a butterfly properly:

I am so, so proud of her. I’ve been inspired to follow her lead and do the same in years to come, and here’s hoping her story will inspire some other people. And that you’ve learned a little bit about the Monarch butterflies, who are as dear to my heart as they are to my daughter’s.

It’s pretty amazing when you realize you suddenly have a five-year-old, and she’s even more extraordinary now than she was the day you first met her. :)



If you would like to symbolically adopt a Monarch from the WWF, you can go here if you're in Canada, and here in the U.S.

Coming Soon: Finding Lost S5!

Hey all! So... the season 5 book has officially gone to the printer, and I saw the full cover the other day (front/spine/back) and it was gorgeous. Just when I thought the s4 was my fave cover ever, this one tops it. The designer put this creepy dark cloud all over the back cover, and I loved it.

Some of you will remember last year that I offered autographed copies of the S4 book if you ordered them directly from me. I had an overwhelming response that was great, and I'd like to extend that same offer. The problem this time around is the S5 is a full two-and-a-half signatures longer (eep). So where the S4 book had been 224 pages, this one is 304 ("Wait, at the same cover price?? Oh, Nikki, you spoil us!"). That also means, however, that it's going to weigh more, and until I have the books in my hand I won't know just how much more. I don't think shipping will be much more expensive this time around, but I'll have to figure out exactly how much more and then I can let everyone know.

So what we can do this time around is, if you're interested in a signed advance copy (I'll have them in my hands about 3 weeks before Amazon will), email me and give me your full address, and then I can keep a list of them so I can figure out shipping costs when I have the book in my hands. This is NOT a commitment from you to buy anything -- if the shipping is more than expected, I certainly wouldn't expect you to pay it. This is just so I have a list, and then I can email you back, let you know the shipping and send you the options on how to pay, and we can get things moving. :)

So send me an email with your address if you're interested. It's $14.95 if you live in the U.S., and $16.95 in Canada (no tax). I'll figure out shipping on top of it. Also, I still have copies of all of the other Finding Lost books, so if you're interested in more than one (a COMPLETE Finding Lost library, anyone??) let me know that, too. :) The first book is $17.95 U.S., $19.95 Cdn (it covers seasons 1 & 2) and the rest of them are the same price as the S5 book.

And in other news, my publicist told me the other day that he wants to do a launch for this book. I was surprised, and said I thought maybe a launch for the final book to sort of celebrate the series, but he thinks the S5 book would be a great one to launch because the show's still on the air, people are buzzing with excitement over the upcoming final season, the Lost rewatch is in full swing, etc. etc. The launch would be held somehwere in Toronto probably in mid-to-late October. So I'm just putting the word out there because I'm hoping some of my dear Nik at Nite readers would be able to make it, and I could meet you for the first time! And then I'll do a long academic lecture on Time Travel in the Land of the Jacobites, followed by a close analysis of Desmond's shirt-unbuttoning. (Wait... stop running away!) OK. Maybe I'll skip the time travel portion of that lecture...

When I know more details, I'll post them, but here's hoping I can finally meet some of you. We could make it a Nik at Nite meet-up!

FNL Returns: SO Excited!!

Lost Characters as Superheroes

You have to check this out. Not only did this blogger manage to come up with superhero identities for every character on Lost, but he even found a photo of the character or actor that looked EXACTLY like the pose of the superhero. It's pretty amazing. And he didn't choose them based on the pose -- their qualities match the superhero he's talking about. Take Ben, for instance:

Guided by an incredibly warped and twisted view of the world, he actually believes his actions are justified. Constantly putting his arch nemesis "Jackman" into impossible moral quandaries, he seems to be in control of even the most out-of-control situations. Also a regular visitor of my nightmares.

Ha! Go check out the entire post here. My favourite: His nomination for Eloise Hawking's alter-ego. Heehee!!

Lost Rewatch Update

The rewatch is still going strong. If you're just joining us, or want to jump in near the beginning of season 2, come on over. We're already starting to see little hints of what's to come in seasons 5 and even 6:

2.05 "...And Found"
Sun freaks when she loses her wedding ring, and Jack awkwardly tries to convince her that it doesn't really signify that anything bad will happen:
Jack: "Don't worry, Sun, I lost MY wedding ring once, and it signified nothing. I got a fake ring, my wife stopped trusting me, I became a paranoid freak, and she left me."
Sun: "Please stop trying to cheer me up, Jack."

2.06 "Abandoned"
Shannon falls apart in the jungle and tells Sayid that she believes he's just going to leave her like everyone else did. He decides to eschew what his gut is telling him to say -- "Probably... but I can assure you that I will make it worth your while, while it lasts. Now, stop this foolishness and go back to my Love Tent that I have built for us." -- and tells her that he'll always be there. For the next 20 seconds of her life. (Thanks to Joan for that quote... I just had to use it!)

2.07 "The Other 48 Days"
People are kidnapped, people die, Ana Lucia goes nuts, paranoia rules the day, we see Jacob's list... and I realize THAT'S where I left my glass eye! Seriously, I have the WORST time keeping track of that thing...

2.08 "Collision"
Jack, whose memory is a freakin' steel trap, proves that not only can he remember some sweaty Scottish guy he met five years ago running through a stadium, but a woman he met in an airport bar and chatted up for three seconds before catching a plane. It's probably because nothing monumental has happened to him since then.

Just Because...

True Blood: WOW.

I'm still a week behind on True Blood, so I'm taking a chance posting on this (and please don't spoil me for this week's episode in your comments!) but I just had to say something after watching that incredible rooftop scene in the August 16 episode, "I Will Rise Up." It was so beautifully done, and paid homage to similar scenes that had come before it.

Long before Joss Whedon humanized vampires, or Cylons made us question whether robots were unfeeling machines or creatures with souls, there were replicants. Whenever anyone asks me if I have a favourite scene in a movie, I probably say this one. At the end of Blade Runner, after Deckard has been chasing the replicants through the entire movie, he corners Roy Batty on a rooftop, and as the replicant "dies," he delivers one of the most incredible and moving speeches I've ever seen in a film, and Deckard immediately begins to question what he'd been doing:



It's one of those scenes that stays with you. In a similar scene (minus the death, thank god), in the season 7 Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, "Beneath You," Buffy tracks a crazy Spike to a church, and through his rambling she realizes that he's managed to get his soul back, in a sense. As she watches him in horror, he becomes more coherent, and tired of everything he's been through, he walks to the altar of the church, drapes himself on the cross, and says, "Can we rest now? Buffy, can we rest?" as smoke begins to rise from his body. I remember meeting James Marsters shortly after this scene had aired, and I told him I thought the scene was Shakespearean. His face lit up and he said, "Really? Because that's what I was going for!" Well, it worked. It's one of the most haunting scenes of any television show I've ever watched.

And now I've seen another. In season 1, True Blood was a campy delight that I enjoyed watching, despite all the naysayers saying it wasn't living up to the cred of other HBO shows. This season has been far, far better, not least because of Eric. Oh, Eric... I'm sorry, Spike, but as much as I love you, my allegiance has suddenly moved to another blonde vampire putting on an accent that isn't really his. Alexander Skarsgard. Oh, where you have you been all my life? Let's just look at him for a second, shall we?:



Mmm. OK, where was I? Oh yes, the August 16 episode. In it we discover -- shockingly -- that when Godric had been captured by the Brotherhood of the Sun, he'd done it on purpose. After 2000 years, he was tired. He was tired of the fighting, the hiding, the distrust, the bloodshed. He'd once been a bloodthirsty vampire, but he no longer even drinks blood, allowing himself to waste away. He was hoping the Fellowship would put a hasty end to his suffering, but his protege, Eric, came to his "rescue" just in time. Now that the PR woman who's touting Vampire Rights on CNN every night asks Godric to step down as sheriff, he gives up his post happily, and asks a distraught Eric to join him on the roof right before sunrise.

Alexander Skarsgard and Alan Hyde, who plays Godric, are both Scandinavian. I don't know if the language they used on the roof was something that they could both speak more easily, but what I did notice was when they switched to it, their already stellar acting reached new heights. Eric falls before his maker, begging him to stay, with blood running down his face (vampires in this world cry blood). He offers to burn with him, but Godric refuses, and asks him to find a safe haven. Sookie, who earlier in the episode had been tricked into drinking Eric's blood, and is now connected to him, is particularly tender and kind to Eric, despite the disgust she feels toward him, assuring him that she'll stay with Godric until the end. And she does.

Godric has clearly been set up as a Christ figure (he even refers to Christ in one episode), one who will die to save the vampire race. If he sacrifices himself, imagine the spin the PR woman could put on it. But that's not his ultimate end game. He's simply... done. Like Roy Batty, in his final moments he's completely humanized, and marvels at it. He stares at Sookie, and says he can't believe that at the very end, he's standing next to a human, who is crying real tears for him. He assures her he's not scared at all, but is in fact filled with joy. And yet, he belies this confidence in one brief moment when he looks at Sookie and asks her how God will punish him. She tells him God doesn't punish, he forgives.



He steps forward, seeing the sun rise for the first time in two millenia, and opens his arms to greet it. He'd already told Sookie that it would be quick, because he's so old. She stands back, sobbing and frightened for him, as a look of peace falls over his face and he is obliterated in a magnificent blue light, leaving nothing behind but the white tunic he'd removed just before stepping forward. This from the man who, centuries before, stood above Eric, about to turn him into a vampire, and answered, "I am" when Eric asked him if he was death. Now Godric knows there are things much worse than death.

In an episode that had its share of laugh-out-loud moments -- Steve and his wife bickering on national television while he sports the giant red bruise from the paintball on his forehead; Sam showing up naked at Andy's hotel room -- this moment was divine. I haven't seen anything like it on television this year, and it brought me to tears in a way that only Buffy used to do.

And now my husband's away for a week interviewing a musician for a feature story and I have to wait until he's back at the end of the week to watch the next episode. It's already killing me, but in the meantime, I will continue to be haunted by that scene of Godric giving himself over to fate and disappearing from a world that has only given him pain.

Spotted!

Hello all you Upper East Siders... and Lower West Siders... and people in the Beach areas... and Mountain people (Mountain people? GREAT. Now I'll have "One Tin Soldier" in my head FOREVER.) It's time for me to tell you about another awesome book.

And... once again, in the nature of full disclosure, I have to say that it's written by one of my favourite people in the universe. But again, that doesn't mean it's not AWESOME. Because it is.

Gossip Girl is one of the most addictive shows on television. Some people call it a "guilty pleasure," but it's not. It's just a pleasure, period. I LOVE it, and I don't care who knows it. I don't feel like my TV cred goes downhill if I say that. My husband does, but that's because he's never bothered to watch it (this from a guy who never missed an ep of the original 90210... go figure). It boasts wickedly funny writing, crisp dialogue, great acting, and such a rollercoaster of emotions it puts most soap operas to shame. Sure, sometimes it's over the top (Serena KILLED someone? Really? No, not really) but that's all part of the fun.

Crissy Calhoun is a friend of mine who shares that unabashed love of Gossip Girl... so much so that when she emailed me last summer to say, "So... do you think there might actually be room for a Gossip Girl book?" I knew there would be no better person to write it. Gossip Girl is that show that critics love, but no one really thinks of it as deep or intellectual. After you've read Crissy's new book, Spotted: Your One and Only Unofficial Guide to Gossip Girl, you'll think twice about that.

Written in the same fun, brassy, sassy style of the show, Spotted is not only an episode guide that follows the development of each character (particularly Jenny in season 1 and Blair in season 2), but it looks at the series of YA novels, the genesis of the show from book series to TV show, and has a lot of funny sidebars that kept me giggling while I was working on it. Calhoun has done her research, showing us that there's a LOT more to Gossip Girl than just being a show about teen angst. (Remember all those people who thought Buffy was a kid's show? Yeah... right.)

With amazing photos (the two colour sections will knock your socks off), fun and witty writing, and exhibiting a true love of the show, Spotted is a book for every Gossip Girl fan. While I already have an early copy (friendsies!), copies will be available in stores very shortly.

I also want to mention that if you're in the Toronto area, or plan to be on September 14 (the night of the show's S3 premiere), ECW Press will be hosting a book launch for the title, and I will be there. Not only can you buy a copy of the book and get it signed by the author, BUT the premiere will be screened at the event, so you can ooh, ahh, laugh, and groan out loud with fellow GGers. The event will be held on Monday, September 14, 2009, at the Queen and Beaver House at 36 Elm Street. The event starts at 8, and beginning at 9pm you can watch the season 3 premiere!!

I hope to see some of you there! And if you can't make it, follow the link above and get a copy. You won't regret it. In the meantime, check out Ms. Calhoun's amazing blog, where she'll be posting about the show all season, the same way I do Lost.

Now THIS is a Magazine Cover I'd Kill For

Sometimes I think that the TV Addict and I were separated at birth. Angry with YET ANOTHER Twilight cover on this week's Entertainment Weekly (dude, I am SO with you on that one...) he decided to fashion a cover that he'd like to see. How many takers out there? Let's hope EW is listening.

New Dexter S4 Promo Poster

Best promo poster for a new season ever? YES. (Click on poster to enlarge it.)

Getting Ready for Season 6: The Experiment

Back when theblackbox first sent me his preparation videos, I asked him if he'd do a montage of Desmond. He just sent me this video, and while it's not exactly the montage I was looking for (shirtless, romantic, hair flowing in the ocean breezes), it's actually way more appropriate for the Lost rewatch that we're doing right now. If you haven't been checking it out, we're just starting season 2, and you should come on over and read the discussion (even if you're not rewatching, just reading the comments will jog your memory). In the meantime, here, in chronological order, is what Desmond was put through in the Swan station. Thank you, blackbox! (Man, you're a busy guy this week!!)

Getting Ready for Season 6: Happy Moments

This is from a different poster, the one who did "Origins" (the video about the survivors as children) and this one is just as beautiful as that one. Especially because he uses a song from one of my all-time favourite CDs, which always brings a smile to my face when I hear it. This is glorious... and might actually bring a tear to your eye, even though it's meant to be happy. Because happiness is so fleeting on the island...

Big Lost News

I've been meaning to post this FOREVER but with holidays and the rewatch, I just didn't have time. So... it's probably more correct to say OLD Lost News... but whatever. ;)

If you had the time to check out the Comic-Con videos I posted a couple of weeks ago, you'd have seen at one point a guy named Paul presented Darlton with a velvet painting, and he urged everyone to check out his site, Damon, Carlton, and a Polar Bear. He gave out the URL, Damon and Carlton tried to rush him off the mike at this point and they repeated it, got it wrong, so he said it again, and it just seemed like a comedian having fun at the podium and Darlton getting a kick out of it.

I went to the site, and the guy was pretty funny, all excited about giving them his painting, etc. But then I went back again, and he was upset, saying someone from inside the production office had told him they'd seen the velvet painting in the trash. When he didn't believe the person, they sent him a picture of it on their cameraphone. So he decided to invade the ABC offices and find out what happened.

And that's when it began to dawn on fans that this guy wasn't just a random fan having fun, that he was actually hired by ABC to star in the new ARG as a random fan having fun. In the following video, he goes to the offices to try to track down Damon and Carlton, and decides that if he can't, he'll go through their trash to find his painting. And what he finds is something else indeed.

If you consider episode titles to be spoilers, then I'd warn you about watching the last 30 seconds of it, because he reveals the episode title to the premiere of season 6. If you DO want to know, scroll down below the video after you've watched it for my take on the title. This is obviously pure speculation, but we've got five more friggin' months. What ELSE are we supposed to do?! :) (Oh, and as for the video, check out the shirt he's wearing -- yay!! and also, EVIL -- and my favourite moments are at 2:20 and 3:05... listen carefully to the latter.)






So there you have it... the episode title for the premiere is "LA X." It's obviously a play on the name of the LA airport, the one where they're all supposed to end up should Jack's whole bomb thing work out. He wonders if it could mean X marks the spot, like that's where they really will end up. We've seen previous videos of America's Most Wanted, where Kate's on the run for having killed someone else; we've seen Hurley's Chicken Shack commercial, where he's returned from Australia and is OK, and lookalikes of Michael and Walt are eating at the restaurant (weird, since they were only heading to LA to board a connecting flight to NY, but I'm being nitpicky). We've been given these hints that maybe Jack was right and they'll end up at LAX and will have never been to the island.

I just don't think it's that simple. Because added to that was Jorge Garcia coming up to the mike at Comic-Con and saying that if they were to pull something like that, it would be a massive cheat and fans would be let down.

So here's my thinking (and while I've NEVER been right on a speculation, I'm warning you that you never know when I might be, so if this turns out to be true, don't blame me for spoiling it).

I think the X is to signify an X THROUGH the word, as if to say, "They ended up in LA and everything was fine." I think the first episode might be a cheat like that, where we start off thinking they'll all have landed. We'll see them go about their daily lives, and we'll see things that might have happened had they actually landed. But somewhere near the end of the episode, something will happen, where they'll all whirl together and it'll turn out this wasn't the case at all, and boom, they'll be back on the island, in 2007, with Jacob and Locke and everyone. I just don't see them having a do-over like that. I'd actually be REALLY interested to see an alternate universe where Kate didn't kill her father, where Hurley's gotten over his curse, where we maybe see the other characters (there are rumours that Charlie, Boone, and several others will be appearing in season 6) only in this alternate scenario, but it won't turn out to be the main one.

The thing is, if it DOES turn out to be a do-over, I have complete faith in Darlton that they'll do it right. I don't think they'll let me down. They haven't done so yet (even when everyone else was complaining about the cages at the beginning of season 3, I was still enjoying myself). So that's my early speculation, with its usual 95% chance of being wrong, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they're actually going to do!

If you want to see more at the new ARG site, go here.

Getting Ready for Season 6: Life & Death

Prepare yourself before watching this one. It's glorious and devastating. Wow... I can't believe how much death has been on this show. I welled up a couple of times, but I won't say where. I'll let you watch it for yourself. Enjoy! (This is care of theblackbox once again!)

I Wanna Do Bad Things To You...

I've been meaning to post on this all freakin' season, but now I finally have the chance.... I hope some of you are watching season 2 of True Blood. For those of you who aren't, you are missing out on some of the best vampire television I've ever seen. This coming from someone who thinks Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the greatest TV show of all time.

Perhaps you watched season 1 and thought, "Meh. Not as good as the books." or "It's OK, but the sex is a little over the top." I'll admit, I haven't actually read the Sookie Stackhouse novels, so I can't compare. For those who haven't seen the show at all, it's about a girl named Sookie who lives in the Louisiana bayou in a time where vampires have "come out of the coffin" and are walking amongst people, thanks to a new synthetic blood called "Tru Blood" that can be bought in the stores for a steep price. So now vamps can walk into the local Mac's milk and pick up a case of the stuff.

But that doesn't mean people have to like it.

Obviously a metaphor for homosexuality, the vampirism on the show is treated in a new and vibrant way. Sometimes the comparisons are a little obvious, but by season 2, it ramps up into a whole new hemisphere of hate.

But let's rewind to season 1. Sookie can't find love, simply because she's a telepath. She can read the thoughts of anyone she's with, which drives her -- and the one who loves her -- completely bonkers. But then she meets Bill, a vampire who was turned during the Civil War, and for the first time, she can't read his thoughts. He, on the other hand, can't glamour her into saying or doing what he wants. Both see the challenge in the other, and fall in love. (And how much do I love, in a world of Angels and Lestats, a vampire named "Bill"? It made me giggle every time someone said it in season 1.) In season 1 there was an overarching mystery, where people connected to vampires were being killed one by one, and it wasn't clear who was doing it, but the vampire haters assumed it was a vamp, and the vampire lovers assumed it was someone who was vampiraphobic.

The mystery was solved by the end of the season, and now we're on to season 2, where an evangelist church is waging a war against the vampires by setting up an army of vampire killers. That plot alone is a lot of fun, but there's one other reason to be watching season 2: Eric. Oh, Eric. Not since Spike has a blond vampire shown up on the scene to take the viewer's breath away. But he's not funny like Spike. He's dark and brooding like Angel... and he's got a thing for Sookie. He ropes Sookie and Bill into his personal quest to find his sire, Godric (and through a freakin' FANTASTIC flashback that outshone the one where Angel was turned, we see how Eric was turned from a viking -- yep, he's that old -- into the vamp he is today, by Godric, the most intriguing character on television this year). And OH MY GOD that journey is one where every week, as the hour is coming to a close, I've got one eye on the clock and the other on the show, praying they won't end it any time soon. And each week I'm practically standing as the giant cliffhanger comes... and it fades to black, with me punching my fists at the heavens and screaming, "NOOOO!" (And, sadly, I'm not actually exaggerating. My husband is starting to enjoy my frustration more than the episodes themselves...)

I LOVE this season. So go grab season 1 if you haven't seen it yet, and get through it. It's not nearly as good as season 2, but it's still a lot of fun. And then get ready for Eric, Sookie, Bill, and the awesome journey of season 2. And hey, I haven't even MENTIONED the craziness that is Michelle Forbes this season, and what happens with her, Tara, and Sam. (I swear Forbes is on every genre show there is.) And that's not the only link to Lost... Ben Linus's mom (i.e. Michael Emerson's wife) plays Arlene, the kooky and hilarious waitress that works with Sookie at the local bar. Check it out -- you won't be disappointed.

Kings of Madison Avenue

It is my pleasure to devote today's blog post to one of my favourite books I've read in the past year. And, for the purpose of full disclosure, I'll admit up front that I was the acquiring and developing editor on this book. But that doesn't mean I can't sing its praises to the highest. (After all, the royalties go to the author, not me.)

Kings of Madison Avenue is the unofficial companion guide to Mad Men. If you're a fan of the show, you will love this book. With chapters on the civil rights movement, the second wave of feminism, advertising campaigns of the early 1960s, key figures of the era, and many more, author Jesse McLean has gone beyond the episodes to give the reader the context of the 1960s. He also includes chapters on books and movies that are referenced in the episodes, such as The Apartment or Meditations in an Emergency.

I still remember getting this book proposal... Jesse wrote it up like he was pitching me an ad campaign, and the cover letter was complete with a ring where he'd set his whisky glass and the corner was burnt off, where he'd accidentally dropped his cigarette ash. It made me laugh out loud, and he's been making me laugh ever since. The writing in this book is sharp and witty, and I loved working on it. Throughout my career as an editor, there are different types of authors I've worked with -- ones who I assume I'll never work with again, either because they were very difficult throughout the process or for some reason they just decided they didn't like me (thankfully this situation is rare), writers who have a lot of talent in the one subject area they've written about, and who I enjoy working with but I'm not sure I see another book in them, and those who I love working with from the get-go and can't wait to work with again. Jesse happily falls into that third category. From the moment he walked into the office and we started up an hour-long conversation about television, I knew we'd get along just fine.

This book should be in stores very soon, if it isn't already, and you can order it on Amazon here. Or, if you live in the Toronto area, please come on out to the launch this Wednesday, August 12, at McNally Robinson, located at the Shops at Don Mills, at the corner of Lawrence and Don Mills Road. The launch is at 7pm, and Jesse will be on hand to sign books, and will be interviewed on stage by Globe and Mail TV columnist John Doyle. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it (and I'm shattered about this) because I'm on vacation. I told our publicists that there was one week in the entire summer that I couldn't make it... and then the bookstore insisted on booking it in that week. Wah. The reason? Mad Men starts up again next Sunday. (WHEEEE!!!)

Please check out this book. You will NOT be disappointed. And check out the author's entertaining blog, Kings of Madison Avenue, here.

Lost Rewatch: Week 6

Hello everyone! Just a heads up that in our rewatch next week, we'll be covering the following episodes, hopefully to go live on Wednesday and Thursday nights (I'm away on vacation, so this will take some juggling on my part).

1.21 The Greater Good
1.22 Born to Run
1.23 Exodus, Part 1
1.24/5 Exodus, Part 2

And if you haven't checked out the posts on this week's episodes, come on over!

1.17 ...In Translation
We realize Jin isn't the bad guy after all, just someone who loved his wife so much he allowed himself to turn into a monster for her. Now with the discovery of his wife's secret, he moves to the other side of the island to "boat."

1.18 Numbers
Hurley's first flashback reveals he's a multimillionaire. Meanwhile, on the island, he and Charlie do their best impression of Shrek and Donkey having to cross the rickety bridge to Princess Fiona's castle.

1.19 Deus Ex Machina
Theresa falls up and down the stairs, Boone is seriously hurt in a crash, and John Locke gives Boone a hint on how to spell "trebuchet."

1.20 Do No Harm
Jack actually becomes a bit of a superhero in this episode, doing his valiant best to save Boone, but when he remembers the time he couldn't write his own vows, he realizes he doesn't have the strength to go on. Meanwhile Claire not only finds the strength to push out a baby, but the island miraculously heals her of her baby weight INSTANTLY.

RIP: John Hughes

1950-2009

One more piece of my childhood is gone... :(

I'm Sold

Ladies and gentlemen, voila: advertising that works! I will take what is in the picture!! (They can keep that bottle of cologne and the rock, though...)

Lost Rewatch: Week 5

Hey all: Just a quick note that over on the Lost Rewatch blog, we'll be watching eps 17-20 this week. The schedule is as follows:

Wednesday, 8pm:
1.17 ... In Translation
1.18 Numbers

Thursday, 8pm:
1.19 Deus Ex Machina
1.20 Do No Harm

Also, check out last week's episodes if you haven't already:
1.13 Hearts and Minds
Boone and Shannon get it on while battling a smoke monster (not necessarily at the same time).

1.14 Special
For a recap of just how EVIL Michael's ex-wife really is, look no further than this one. And it's worth it for cute baby Walt.

1.15 Homecoming
Charlie demos a photocopier in a way I would give anything to see in my own office.

1.16 Outlaws
Sawyer and a wild boar have a showdown. Locke happens upon Kate and Sawyer's camp and does his best Debbie Downer impression.

The Prisoner Remake: Sneak Preview

Still trying to catch up on all the Comic-Con stuff, and this is the latest tidbit I've found. This is a 9-minute preview of the upcoming 6-episode miniseries remake of Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner. I remember hearing about the remake, starring Jim Cavaziel, and my first thought was, "Jim Cavaziel?! Christ..." (hehe...) But then I watched the preview, and my faith is restored. They're taking the basic premise of The Prisoner -- Number 6 is trapped in The Village against his will, and doesn't know how he got there, and constantly tries to escape -- and have handed it to a completely different show about a man who barely remembers his life before this, surrounded by people who have been similarly brainwashed. Check it out... it may be a little spoilery (9 minutes for a 6-hour series is a bit much... I watched the first 6 minutes and it was enough for me) but I'm actually really excited for this show now. It's got Jesus, Galdalf, AND Rover. (Yay, Rover!!!)

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).