LOST Stands Up To Cancer

A classic LOST commerical for the Stand Up To Cancer fundraiser.  I wonder why Sayid doesn't have any lines?  Maybe he's still a zombie.

In Memory Of Nunu

With the end of LOST also came the end of the life of Jorge Garcia's dog Nunu. That was back in May.

Today, there is a tribute for Nunu in the latest newsletter for the Hawaiian Humane Society (pictured, right).

Garcia says there will be a bronze plaque at the Valley of the Temples with her name on it.  Someday I'll go there to bid her farewell.

Thank you for all of the people who donated to the Hawaiian Humane Society in Nunu's name.  I should have been one of those.  I'm going to sponsor my sister-in-law for the PetWalk 2010 that will benefit HHS.

Here are the people who gave to the Hawaiian Humane Society in Nunu's name:

Flash Through Time...

Meet Yasmin Dar

She is not only the Beat The Traffic reporter on KITV 4 News This Morning but she's also a LOST alumnus and Yasmin Dar shares her experiences on being on our favorite television show in my latest On Location video.

LOST Season 6 Premiere Wrapup

It was a wild evening at the Season 6 Premiere of LOST at Sunset At The Beach in Waikiki! On the red carpet, I was sandwiched between Kristin from E! and AOL.com. The videographer from Entertainment Tonight also said I looked familiar. I guess he must have been here for the Season 3 premiere and remembered me from 4 years ago!

Here's a complete roundup of what happened that night:

10 p.m. KITV News Story About LOST Season 6 Premiere
5 p.m. KITV News Story About LOST Season 6 Premiere

Raw interview videos:
Matthew Fox
Josh Holloway
Evangeline Lilly
Jorge Garcia
Terry O'Quinn
Michael Emerson

Red Carpet Slideshow

Also, if you become a fan of KITV on Facebook you can find more pictures of the Season 6 premiere.

LOST: Season 5 On Blu-Ray, Best Buy Exclusive: UNCUT!

Here's a Qik video of the Best Buy Exclusive LOST: Season 5 Blu-Ray:

LOST On Location In Downtown

I was driving through downtown on a whim this morning and I found LOST production trucks parked on Bethel Street. This is the same area where Michael tried to commit suicide and also used for some Thailand scenes with Jack.

Here are my pictures of the trucks parked and I got a shot of a crewman pushing some equipment with a film camera on top:

I don't really have time to follow this kind of stuff. But, my friend and LOST podcaster Ryan Ozawa does! Here's his blog from today's stuff, but I warn you it contains SPOILERS and he also shot part of an action scene!

LOST ARG Swag!

Someone at Lostpedia convinced me to be a part of the current LOST ARG going on right now at DamonCarltonandaPolarBear.com.

Clues lead you to a real place then you get a URL to buy one-of-a-kind LOST posters. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to buy one because they sell out in the first couple of minutes. This time, the URL was hidden at Abe Lee Realty here in Honolulu and I got to go there today to get some LOST goodies.

I didn't have time to shoot everything in the folder because I was doing a piece on the LOST ARG for our local ABC affiliate. So, I went home where I could go through it at a nice place. Plus, I brought out some of LOST swag for a show-and-tell.

Here are some pictures:

LOST Season 6 On Location!

Now, I'm not the type of LOST fan to go out and stalk the LOST cast and crew and try to get spoilers. Perhaps it was because I was actually allowed to be on the LOST set before and eat their catering, drink their water and eat their snacks. I have tremendous respect for the cast and crew and I'll leave them be while I wait for the episodes. Those who do chase the shooting locations, they do it well and I don't want to overshadow them.

With that said, a couple of photos landed in my lap, courtesy of an anonymous friend.
Last week, the LOST crew were shooting in Waikele on Alelo Street near the 9th hole by the golf course. Obviously, he couldn't get that close but was able to snap these pictures.

They were actually shooting INSIDE my friend's house! His neighbor's things were actually moved out of the house! His neighbor's garage was used as the craft area for painting and making props. The crew also painted the walls of the house to their liking and then painted it back when they were done! The movers were then called on to move everything back in the house. They shot for two days for about 11 hours a day.

Whenever I get these little nuggets of info, I'll post them here!

Congratulations, Michael Emerson!

I want to extend a hearty mahalo to the Emmys for finally giving Michael Emerson, the hero of this blog, his long overdue Emmy for his role as Benjamin Linus in "Lost."

I think it's a little ironic, though, that he won the award for the season that I thought was his weakest as a character. Ben seemed to be along for the ride in Season 5 instead of being the "man behind the curtain."

I thought his strongest performances were in Season 2 and a good chunk of Season 3. The last several episodes in Season 4 were also good Ben episodes.

Anyway, I love that Emerson brought a little bit of the aloha spirit to the Emmy award show. He ended his speech with "mahalo nui loa" which means "thank you very much." In my book, he is kama'aina and I hope he takes the aloha spirit around the world wherever he goes.

LOST: Season 1 & 2 on Blu-Ray

Bought it at Best Buy. Each season started out at $54.99. If you buy two seasons, you get $20 off. I had a $10 Reward Zone certificate. And there is also a mail-in rebate for $20 if you bought the DVDs previously. So, that will be a grand total of $63.75 (tax included) which comes out to about $31.87 for each season. Not bad, huh? :)

LOST: LEGO Edition

I wish I was this talented to make a LEGO version of this scene. Fitting for this website, I must say. :)

If Me & Evangeline Lilly Had A Baby Girl...

She's actually kind of cute, don't you think? :)

I decided to name her Clementine.

What do you think about my little new baby Clementine?

MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

LOST: On Location - Episode 7

LOST, Season 5: The Incident - Review

Wow.  I was prepared to be let down by this season finale.  The previous episode "Follow The Leader" felt so underwhelming that I wasn't excited about this finale at all.  I'm glad I was wrong.

So many answers, yet so many questions.  That's what's great about "Lost."  And I'm not sure that ANY two hours in the previous seasons gave us as many answers as "The Incident" did.

Here's a rundown of big things that happened:

• Jacob is a real person that, evidently, can be killed.  Jacob, however, does have supernatural powers that he uses to lure to the Island.  Jacob also has an unnamed nemesis who, since at least the days of the Black Rock, has wanted to kill him.
  
• Jack causes the "incident."  I saw that coming.  I did not guess, however, that Juliet was going to become a casualty.  I'm not sure she really is dead.  I highly doubt the hydrogen bomb detonation killed ALL of the Losties, though.  EDIT:  Jack does NOT cause the "incident" since the magnetism was happening before the bomb had a chance to go off.
  
• The "shadow" people seem to be actually be on the side of the Others and it looks like "Alive Locke" and Ben will be the opposing faction working for Jacob's nemesis.  It's too bad that Locke really is dead.  Wouldn't it be funny if Richard actually brought the real Locke back to life?
  
• Rose and Bernard are alive!  That was great.
  
• Phil had a great death scene.  Best since the Frogurt death scene.
  
• Goodbye Dr. Chang's arm.
  

Here's my theories, and they're not very original because a lot of people are guessing these. 

The detonation of the hydrogen bomb takes our Losties 30 years into the future to be reunited with Sun, Locke,  and Ben.  I am hoping Juliet and Sayid survive, even though their injuries from 1977 show that they really should be dead.  It appears that "whatever happened, happened" and the "incident" happens anyway.

Now, we can concentrate on the war that's coming.  The war between Jacob's people and the guy who wanted him killed in the opening scene of "The Incident."  I don't know, though, how Charles Widmore figures into this.  I suppose he'd be on the side of Jacob. And somehow Desmond has to come back into this story.  I'm not sure how at this point, though.

Here's my final ranking of the episodes this season:

1. The Incident, Parts 1 & 2
   
2. Jughead
   
3. LaFleur
   
4. The Variable
   
5. Some Like It Hoth
   
6. 316
   
7. Follow The Leader
   
8. Dead Is Dead
   
9. Whatever Happened, Happened
   
10. He's Our You
    
11. Namaste
    
12. The Life and Death Of Jeremy Bentham
    
13. Because You Left
    
14. The Little Prince
    
15. This Place Is Death
    
16. The Lie
    

The next thing to look out for is Season 5 of "Lost" on DVD and Blu-Ray on December 8th.  I'm sure there will be more to talk about before then.  All in all, a great season!  One of my favorites!

Addendum:  I know a lot of fans have been upset by the ridiculous chain of events regarding Sawyer, Juliet, Kate, and Jack.  I was scratching my head every time Juliet made a complete 180-degree turn from her previous conviction.  And she had a lame flashback to show that she really doesn't believe that relationships work.  I'm sure we didn't have to deal with the para-love-o-gram (as coined by Ryan Ozawa and "The Transmission" podcast) to get to the final scene at the future Swan site.  However, after watching the episode for a second time I didn't let all of this hurt my enjoyment of the episode.  For me, the Jacob reveals were a perfect counter to all of that nonsense.  I did enjoy Sawyer and Jack beating the crap out of each other.  Even though they both wanted to do that since Season 1, they really do have a healthy respect for each other.  So, while I agree with most fans about the downsides of the episode it didn't ruin the finale for me.

LOST, Season 5: The Variable - Review

I have to admit, "The Variable" was one of my most anticipated episodes of the season.  Mostly because the title made it seem it was going to be the converse of "The Constant."  While it did not rise to that level of greatness, it was a solid episode that basically set up the season finale.

Here's another admission:  Daniel Faraday is one of my favorite characters on "Lost."  So, it was heartbreaking to see him go in a "Twilight Zone"-like ending.  And I'm not sure we're totally done with him just yet.  We might see more of him in either a flashback or a time-travelling situation.

I really should have seen the death of Daniel Faraday coming.  When the writers tie up each loose end in a character's backstory, that character historically becomes expendable.  But, I REALLY thought that Dan was needed alive in Season 6, but I was wrong.

Some great reveals in this episode:

• Widmore admits to Dan that he planted the fake Oceanic 815 at the bottom of the Sundra Trench.  Most fans thought so.  But, it's always nice to get literal confirmation.
  
• Daniel is not only the son of Eloise Hawking, but also the son of Charles Widmore.  That makes Dan and Penny half-siblings! *gasp* Again, this was speculated by the fans and finally confirmed.  But we still do not know who is Penny's mother.  It's probably NOT Eloise.  But, I've been wrong before.
  
• Desmond is recovering from Ben's gunshot wound and appears to be okay.  Some fans thought Henry Ian Cusick might be written off of the show because of pending sexual harrassment charges stemming from a lawsuit.  I'm really glad Desmond will be around for now.  The Island is not done with him yet.
  

I think the one thing that didn't make sense in this episode was how Daniel went in the Hostiles' camp with guns (or gun) ablazing.  He doesn't strike me as a guy who would normally do that.  But, as some have pointed out in the past, sometimes characters on "Lost" act out of character if it means furthering the story.  I suppose it was hard to wrap up the episode with Daniel dying if Daniel didn't appear to be a threat to the Hostiles.

Even with that minor criticism, I think it's one of the best episodes of the season although I didn't want to say goodbye to Faraday just yet.

1. Jughead
   
2. LaFleur
   
3. The Variable
   
4. Some Like It Hoth
   
5. 316
   
6. Dead Is Dead
   
7. Whatever Happened, Happened
   
8. He's Our You
   
9. Namaste
   
10. The Life and Death Of Jeremy Bentham
    
11. Because You Left
    
12. The Little Prince
    
13. This Place Is Death
    
14. The Lie
    

Those who saw "Lost" in the U.S. were treated to an altered version of the opening title which preceeded an exclusive clip from the upcoming J.J. Abrams movie "Star Trek."  Here's a quick clip of the altered "Lost" title:

LOST, Season 5: Dead Is Dead - Review

Episodes about Benjamin Linus are always intriguing.  Let me get that out of the way.  I thought this was a very good episode.  With that said, I thought it was kind of all over the place trying to answer every little question about Ben from the past.  I think with "Lost," the questions the show brings up are much more interesting than the actual answers.  Although the fans crave for answers, I don't think the producers are obligated to connect all of the dots.  Sometimes our own imaginations are better than what we could ever see on the screen.

So, what did we get in this episode?  A LOT:

• We see a horseback-riding Charles Widmore in 1977 speaking with a Temple-healed Ben.  I can see why he'd want to occasionally leave the Island for some "shore leave."  He's like the Fabio of the Island.
  
• We see a very young Ethan and Ben shows him the perfect baby-stealing technique.  We also find out that Widmore originally wanted Alex dead, but Ben refused.
  
• We see how Charles Widmore is banished from the Island.
  
• We find out why Ben was badly beaten (although the fans already knew what was going on when Ben made a phone call from the docks; we just didn't know Penny's and Desmond's fates).
  
• We see Ben constantly belitted by Locke and judged by the Smoke Monster.
  
• We find out that Ilana has apparently taken things into her own hands (either by plan or perhaps she was "infected" by the Smoke Monster) after the untimely death of Cesar.
  

While some fans felt that the sum of these great parts made for a great episode, I felt like the writers tried to "clean up their own mess" by providing an episode chock full of answers.  I did like the Smoke Monster scene at the end, though.  Great to see actress Tania Raymonde again as Alex. Although I was a bit disappointed that summoning Smokey included removing the plug from his bathtub.

So, here's my ranking of episodes so far this season:

1. Jughead
   
2. LaFleur
   
3. 316
   
4. Dead Is Dead
   
5. Whatever Happened, Happened
   
6. He's Our You
   
7. Namaste
   
8. The Life and Death Of Jeremy Bentham
   
9. Because You Left
   
10. The Little Prince
    
11. This Place Is Death
    
12. The Lie
    

I'm really happy to see Brad William Henke as Bram in "Lost."  I believe he had his first dialogue on the show this past week.  He was so awesome in the movie "Choke."  Although with the way they got rid of Cesar's character so fast, I'm not sure how much longer Bram will last.

LOST, Season 5: LaFleur - Review

I have to admit - I knew Sawyer was LaFleur.  Thankfully, that only spoiled the opening scene.  I thought it was hilarious that Dharma underlings are totally scared of Sawyer.

I know Sawyer fans are disheartened that James "Bad Boy" Ford is not as bad as he used to be.  In fact, we learn i

n this episode that he's pretty much the leader of the survivors during Dharma times.  But, I think we see a lot of character development of Sawyer after three years of being in the Dharma Initiative.

The one thing that kept me believing that Sawyer and Juliet could make a great couple is that Juliet is super-intelligent and Sawyer is, well... not.  Even in the scene when Sawyer is thanking Juliet for backing him up on the beach plan, Sawyer is litera

lly asking her for suggestions when she's telling him to think of a better plan.  Somewhere in the next three years, Sawyer's intelligence at least rises to the level of Juliet - and it actually feels REFRESHING.  Miles has now taken the role of being the smart-ass one-liner man.

I'm also glad that they kept the Sawyer-Juliet romance a secret until near the end of the episode.

Although I'm a fan of all the Island mystery, I really like this pa

rticular romance.  It didn't seem forced or rushed.

So, here's my Season 5 rankings:

1. Jughead

2. LaFleur

3. 316

4. The Life and Death Of Jeremy Bentham

5. Because You Left

6. The Little Prince

7. This Place Is Death

8. The Lie

I'm not going to claim to be a great predictor, but here's a signature picture I use at Lostpedia that sort of joked about a future relationship with Sawyer and Juliet:

On a personal note:

This past Monday, my father passed away.  I have been watching reruns of "Lost" because the whole story hinges on Jack's father dying.  Thankfully, my father was nothing like Christian Shephard.  But, a lot of "Lost" has to do with a lot of parental issues.  And I am glad that my father had none of those issues.  He knew that "Lost" was the one television program I watched every week.  Actually, the one thing he does have in common with Christian Shephard is that they are both in a better place.

More LOST Goodness From Jimmy Kimmel

LOST: On Location - Episode 6

LOST: On Location - Episode 5