Pioneer on the Internet – Sean Gursky

It’s over.

It’s over and I feel empty. No other finale happening this week interest me. I feel sad and content all at the same time. I have been counting down to the series finale since 2007 and I never anticipated I would be so crushed on the days following the end.

I have not read any reviews or other opinions of the finale so I could remain unbiased, and for those who have not seen the finale, turn back now because I will openly discuss the series. Long story short: I am a fan of the finale. It satisfied me on my original viewing, it still entertained me on the repeat viewing and there is enough open for interpretation that fans will be given the chance to decide on their own. The finale will change how I view season six but it didn’t rewrite the history before it. Whatever happened, happened.

I was moved by the final act and thought it was great that everyone could get together and have a reunion. The sideways afterlife was a Vanilla Sky “Life Extension” life where you could do what you wanted, be who you wanted to be. Hurley saw himself as lucky, Jack had a family, and even though he was divorced they were still friends, Kate was born to run and Sayid wasn’t with Nadia but could be around her and watch over her. Baggage from their life carried over into their post life but how they dealt with it was how they always wanted to deal with it.

How the afterlife world was created and how they decided to meet at The Lamp Post Church are a mystery to me but they are ones that don’t change the fact that it happened. Daniel Faraday did not go with Desmond and the passengers because the Church gathering was for the survivors of 815, and his time to move on would come later. As to would Ben’s time, always an outcast, he would go when he was ready.

The island story in the finale was everything I could have hoped for. Not all mysteries were answered, and for a show about characters and the issues that affect them directly, I can accept this. The primary concern for the Oceanic crew was how to survive, to defeat the Locke Monster and leave.

Questions about food supply drops, how Tom, Ben, Richard were able to leave the island easily, who was shooting at the Losties in the other outrigger while they were time skipping were not important and didn’t need to be addressed. If a mystery was answered (Who were Adam and Eve?) then it was because it affected the group and was something they wondered too.

I believe Christian Shephard that everything that happened to Jack was real. That the people in the Church were real. Everything from September 22, 2004 until 2007 happened. The footage of the Oceanic wreckage at the end of the credits didn’t mean they all died. It was a gentle reminder to show how far we’ve come, and the ancient battle between Jacob and Man in Black was the backdrop that brought these strangers together. They were taught that if they don’t live together they would die alone, and we saw that even in death they go together.

The predictions I made before the finale were terribly inaccurate, but there were two that were partially correct if you draw outside the lines.

• Rose and Bernard will not be involved in any island conflict but they will be collateral damage from the battle, and Vincent will wait for them at the cabin like Seymour did in the Futurama episode Jurassic Bark.
• Lapidus and Richard are having a big BBQ on The Hydra enjoying the rest of the Dharma beer.

I figured Richard was still alive because a character like his wouldn’t die off screen. However, I did not expect to see Lapidus survive and when they landed on The Hydra I gave myself partial credit for the fact that the BBQ could happen. Rose and Bernard didn’t want to be involved in the conflict, they broke their rule by helping Desmond, and thankfully they were not collateral damage.

Although Vincent laying beside Jack as he died was one of the saddest things I have seen, if the Church reunion didn’t break me emotionally then this did.

Lost was a great series that had mystery and intrigue and characters were complex that they would be loved and hated over the course of the show. Part of the appeal was waiting a week for the next episode to air, to let time for the previous episode to sink in, to read theories and understand what the new questions are.

Lost is an easy show to binge on but it needs to be savored. The fantastic season cliffhangers are only topped by the brain melting premieres, the wonderful soundtrack gives life to the island and seeing the show start to finish is definitely rewarding.

I’ll miss you Lost. You confused and frustrated me, but gave me something to look forward to every week for years and I’ll see you in another life.

Update: I won’t seek out reviews or recaps of the show to understand the show, but I came across this one and I feel it says everything perfectly. Everything I believe about the finale, the Sideways and how it all goes together is written here and I feel it gives me a little closure.

That’s it. That was the final episode of Lost to air during the weekday. The end is near and the stage is set for the finale on Sunday. On top of all of that I have no idea what is happening.

I don’t know how to deal with this. Every year the Lost finale was an event for me, but to be on the verge of the final finale, the end all-be all of finales is tough. Whatever I felt for Battlestar Galactica ending will be dwarfed by this. I have been watching Lost since 2005 and soon all of that time invested will be behind me.

It is for the best that the finale is on a weekend and the following day is Victoria Day, so I have a chance to recover and prepare myself for public interactions on Tuesday. I have come to expect a mind bending twist in the final moments of a season finale followed by months of agony and suffering, but I got through the nine month hiatus because I knew it was coming back. After Sunday that’s it.

I am almost positive that whatever I know or understand about Lost will be turned upside down in the finale but I am going to throw some ideas out there, just to document how off track I was. None of this has been influenced by spoilers, everything is speculation and usually the craziest theories are the ones that tend to be partially correct.

• Jack will be unable to defeat Locke Monster, as he now has the same brotherly powers that Jacob had, so Kate, Hurley and Sawyer will do it. As Locke dies the monster transfers to Sawyer, thus pitting Jack and Sawyer against each other.
• No one will leave the island, even if the Locke Monster is defeated there will be no way for the survivors to leave and the team will help Jack protect the Light from other people that find the island. The show closes with Jack, alone for decades after watching his friends die of old age, working on a loom as a plane splits in two over the island.
• After one more betrayal to the 815′ers Ben will die at the hand of Jack.
• Rose and Bernard will not be involved in any island conflict but they will be collateral damage from the battle, and Vincent will wait for them at the cabin like Seymour did in the Futurama episode Jurassic Bark.
• The cut on LA X Jack’s neck is from an upcoming event in the Prime timeline, after which the Prime line ceases to exist and everyone switches over to the LA X timeline.
• LA X Claire will have Aaron at everyone around her will connect to the baby and remember everything.
• LA X timeline is what happened if there was no Jacob or Man in Black battle.
• LA X 815′ers will be given the choice to live in a world without love or to go to a time where they experienced that love and had a life purpose but at the cost of death.
• Dr. Linus will never have that dinner with Danielle Rousseau.
• In LA X the concert all 815′ers are going to will start with Faraday playing All Along The Watchtower/Final Four Theme on piano and that will magically transfer them back to Prime timeline.
• Lapidus and Richard are having a big BBQ on The Hydra enjoying the rest of the Dharma beer.

In closing, here is a fantastic fan made trailer for the final episode, The End.

There’s no Lost tonight. In four weeks I’ll be saying that every day, but in that situation I have no new Lost to look forward to again. After a healthy run of three months a week off was scheduled to prepare for the May 23 finale.

I haven’t written about Lost much this season, or about a lot of things in general, but that doesn’t mean I find this season any less amazing. I had faith in the LA X timeline, I thought The Temple storyline was good, and as the series accelerates closer to the end I have no idea what is going on or how it will end. I find it amusing that the characters I care about most (Desmond, Ben, Richard, Jacob, Man in Black) were not even around in season and some weren’t even mentioned until season three.

In light of Lost not being on it’s time to take a walk down memory lane with some scripts from previous episodes. This site has a few scripts from season one and two. I don’t normally read scripts, I imagined they were pretty tame, but if they include the amount of cussing, unsaid suggestion and written like something Quentin Tarantino would do then I should read some more.

One of my favorite Lost episodes was Season 2 – Episode 20 Two for the Road because of the shocking end and here is how some key moments were scripted:

SAWYER
(to Jack)
What? You brought her along for the sympathy vote? Well she ain’t in my head, Doc, so go screw.

Ow. ON KATE, uncomfortable that Sawyer has crossed into this territory. Jack deals with it another way — pulls out HIS fucking gun, sticks it in Sawyer’s face –

JACK
Take us to the guns. Right now.

Now Sawyer has a moment of realization. He doesn’t have his fucking gun! He forgot about it. He involuntarily reaches anyway for the back of his waistband, like you’d check for your missing wallet. Nothing! Double fuck.

SAWYER
That bitch. She stole my damn gun.
(off Jack’s look)
Ana Lucia.

JACK
How’d she do that?

Sawyer’s not about to tell Jack that –

SAWYER
Sonofabitch!

JACK
What does she need a gun for?

Locke knows why: to get fucking revenge. He realizes he might have seriously fucked up.

LOCKE
Jack. I need to tell you something.

BACK ON MICHAEL — And his expression changes — as if he’s in great EMOTIONAL PAIN that he can’t restrain anymore. A single TEAR slips down his cheek. And then, very, very softly, he says –

MICHAEL
I’m sorry.

ANA LUCIA
(confused)
For what?

Michael abruptly STANDS. Points the gun at Ana Lucia.

BLAM.

He shoots her. POINT BLANK.

And Ana’s eyes barely register surprise as she slides off the couch. SLUMPS into a seated position.

She looks up at Michael, still pointing the gun at her as she opens her mouth — but it’s not drawn out. No. Because a moment later, her body just… goes SLACK.

Her eyes stay open, but the lights are out.

Ana Lucia Cortez is dead.

VOICE (O.S.)
(confused)
Michael — ?

BLAM! BLAM!

And Michael is fucking SHOOTING before he even sees what he’s shooting at — INSTINCT now as he WHIPS AROUND towards the sound of that voice and REVEAL –

LIBBY.

SHOCKED. HOLDING THE BLANKETS SHE WAS GETTING FOR HER PICNIC WITH HURLEY. A BLACKENED HOLE now permeates in the center of those blankets as Libby’s knees fucking BUCKLE –

She hits the ground like a back of rocks. Over. DONE.

Oh sweet fucking CHRIST.

TIME STOPS. ON MICHAEL. FREAKING OUT. SWEATING. BLINKING. HIS GUN HAND FUCKING TREMBLING. FROZEN.

And then he BREAKS it. Pulls his eyes away from the dead women as he TURNS — INTENSE — walks over to the ARMORY –

GIACCHINO MUSIC starts to POUND now as his SHAKING HAND spins the COMBINATION DIAL — eighteen to the right — one to the left — thirty-one to the right. HE PULLS DOWN THE HANDLE –

THE DOOR SLIDES OPEN. DARK IN HERE, Michael, the gun at his side, BACKLIT by the living area behind him as we REVEAL…

Henry. Sitting in the corner. Untied.

And considering he just heard three gunshots and a STRANGE MAN is now standing in the doorway of his “cell,” the look on Henry’s face is not one of FEAR…

It is one of ACCEPTANCE.

He stands up. Faces Michael.

And Michael looks at him. ANOTHER tear slides down his face as he raises the gun…

And turns it on HIMSELF — PUSHING IT AGAINST HIS COLLARBONE.

Will next season start with them landing at LAX successfully or has all of this happened before and will continue to happen?

I wrote that on May 14, 2009 and for the last 265 days I have continued to think about it, understand how it all connects and patiently wait for the last eight and a half months.

I have continued my MSN profile tribute, which has been running since before the start of season five and will continue with it through the remainder of season six. May seems like such a long time ago, and here I am, hours away from the wait being over. It feels like it has gone by fast, and other times it has dragged on.

Tonight will be the last Lost premiere. The last chance for a new curve ball to be thrown. The last time the season can open on a new eye and a new piece of the puzzle to be introduced. Tonight is the last time I order Hawaiian pizza for the premiere. Tonight, it is finally tonight. I am almost in disbelief that this moment has finally come.

It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress. (Jacob from The Incident)

Life goes on and sometimes the blog gets left behind.

The Christmas break for TV shows has started to kick in. Some shows (FlashForward, V) may not return until after the Olympics, others will begin again in January, but this quiet is the calm before the storm. It will give me a chance to re-watch season five of Lost and prepare for the final season in February.

Details about the sixth season are very accessible. Casting spoilers can appear in an interview for TV Guide or in a not-Lost related article. With just over fifty days to go it is easy to cave and read the smallest detail, but I want to go into February with as much unknown as possible.

To pass the time a little easier and get excited for the upcoming season I have spent a lot of time watching fan made Lost trailers. In Preparation for Season 6 is some of the best fan work I have seen on any trailer. Keeping in ABC fashion (where no new footage is shown in previews) these videos do a great job of building up certain elements of the show.

Blue Skies Over Bad Lands
Sadly the giant black hole that appeared over Norway turned out to be nothing more than the Russians testing a missile out at water. The photos from this entertained the alien geek in all of us and fueled the what if conversation a little bit more.

Tube Steak Challenge
A long overdue update wouldn’t be without an increase to the Tube Steak Challenge. Thanks to my nieces second birthday I was able to add three more to the drive to fifty-two.

I think there is a pretty evident parallel here. When I worked nights I was getting less sleep and more active on seagurs. I am now back on a regular sleep schedule and my posting frequency drops!

A team of parka clad researchers are heading to the North Pole to investigate this relation further.

I have not been up to much in the last week. The long weekend saw a staff party, some long sleeps and I caught up on a few movies.

The first movie was Redacted, and it caught my attention by seeing a trailer a few weeks back. The movie showed great promise and looked like it would be right up my ally. Unfortunately I found it slow, focused on an event in the oversea war I had not heard of and failed to deliver an story pacing.

I tried to redeem my lackluster movie weekend with a movie Dad lent me called Rescue Dawn. Because this movie was from Dad’s personal collection I expected it to not be an intelligent movie with an intricate plot but be simple and have a few explosions.

Unfortunately there were no explosions and the movie was dull. Because it starred Christian Bale my expectations were set higher but was sorely disappointed. The story could have been good but it failed to maintain the tension and urgency of escaping from the Vietnamese POW camp.

I have to make up for these two shows with Lions for Lambs or perhaps go for a reliable choice that will not let me down.

Season three of Lost was released on DVD this week and there has been a little bit of promotional items released online. The biggest is a new orientation film. Some wild things happen and the DHARMA rabbit hole goes a little deeper.

The season four trailer is also edited in a fast and exciting style that we have all come to know, love and hate from ABC. Fifty-five days until the season starts and this is fueling my excitement.

YouTube IconSeason 4 Trailer (0:35) | The Orchid Orientation Preview (2:02)

Unfortunately we may not receive the eight episodes we expected, but two less. DarkUFO had an update on this situation, read below:

There is a natural break in the story at the end of episode 6. But there are 8 episodes in the can, and those last two start a new arc and don’t really stand alone. So…….some PTB at ABC don’t want to show those last two. At all — until fall or NEXT Feb. when/if there are more episodes to go with them. But other powers in the Disney pack are strongly pushing for all 8 episodes this Feb, because they are so desperate for original content to be aired. But right now, there is nothing to follow # 8, not planned, not written, nuttin’. link

Everything you know is wrong!

Not a whole lot to report. I’ve been working and am almost heading home. Friday at 9PM by West Edmonton Mall is scary, there’s a lot of traffic. It’s almost like my mini-rush hour. The weather has created a few accidents but fortunately the mighty Jetta and I are always going in the opposite direction.

Did you know that in MySQL a TINYINT has a size limit of 127? Yeah, it certainly is a tiny integer compared to its integer brother which has a limit of’well, I’m not sure, it’s large. Anyhoo that created some headaches about twenty minutes ago but we’re all good.

My craving for more Lost has come to its climax as I was going to stop off at Future Shop tomorrow and pick up season one so I could resume watching it where I left off. But, Gord has come through and will supply me my fix as we were able to get our schedules in line. On my way home to Millet this evening I’m stopping by his place to get all remaining episodes, including what has been aired of season two. I won’t have another marathon on my days off, but I plan on going through six or so on Tuesday, and maybe more Wednesday evening. By the sounds of it I think I’m gearing up for another marathon.