The 'Lost' episodes
A show-by-show guide to 'Lost'
Forget about Desperate Housewives: In our opinion, Lost is the new show to watch.
For those of you who have been trapped on an island somewhere, Lost is about, well, people trapped on an island somewhere. It's a high-concept series that follows the adventures of a band of plane-crash survivors, with intricate flashbacks into their troubled pasts. And there's definitely something weird afoot on the island, where an unseen monster makes its presence felt from time to time.
The show manages to juggle its huge cast -- 14 or so regulars, with lots of guest stars -- while deepening the mystery with each episode. Theories abound: Where are they, really? How could they have survived the crash? Why are dead people and polar bears suddenly appearing on the island? And why isn't the fat guy losing any weight?
Now, with the show in repeats until Feb. 9, we figure it's the perfect time to play catchup. Consider this a sort of Coles Notes to Lost. We give a rundown of every episode and tell you which theory we're leaning toward in each.
THEORIES
1. They're all dead and in Purgatory
2. They're part of a scientific experiment
3. They're hallucinating everything it's a dream
4. They're on a Forbidden Planet-like island, where their thoughts are physically manifested
5. They're being pitted in the ultimate battle of Good vs. Evil
SHOW-BY-SHOW GUIDE
1. PILOT (Part 1)
A plane flying from Australia crash lands, leaving 48 survivors trapped on a mysterious tropical island where bestial noises erupt from the jungle. Doctor Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and former rock star Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) find the plane's cockpit, where some unseen monster rips the pilot out and chews him up good.
FLASHBACK
The harrowing crash is recalled through Jack's eyes.
COMMENTS
When a man gets sucked into the plane's engine, causing it to explode, you know you're not watching the usual 8 p.m. network fare.
RATING: A
THEORY: 1
2. PILOT (Part 2)
When a small band of survivors go searching for the source of a signal picked up on their transceiver, they're attacked ... by a polar bear?! Also, our heroes find a gun, handcuffs and Vincent, the dog of young Walt (Malcolm David Kelley).
FLASHBACK
The crash through Charlie's eyes: He's revealed to be a drug addict, as he rushes into the plane's bathroom to get a fix.
COMMENTS
Former model Lilly shows off her lithe body with a gratuitous scene where she strips down to her bra and panties ... The creepy message on the transceiver -- in French, saying "They're all dead" -- has been repeating for 16 years ... Young Walt reads a comic book featuring a polar bear. Coincidence?
RATING: A
THEORY: 5
3. TABULA RASA
Jack and Hurley (Jorge Garcia), the tubby comic relief, discover that Kate is a Canadian criminal who was captured by a U.S. marshal (Fredric Lane) badly injured in the crash. In order to relieve his suffering -- a hunk of shrapnel lodged in your chest will do that to ya -- Jack shoots the marshal.
FLASHBACK
Kate's seedy past, where she's apparently in hiding in Australia and captured by the marshal.
COMMENTS
Kate as a canny international criminal? It's hard to suspend our disbelief -- Lilly's prettiness, and average acting ability, work against her on this one. Still, this is her first acting role, and she has shown lots of potential.
RATING: B-
THEORY: 1
4. WALKABOUT
The taciturn, mysterious Locke (Terry O'Quinn), Kate and single dad Michael (Harold Perrineau) go hunting for wild boar -- and instead run into the unseen monstrosity in the jungle. But Locke lives to tell about it and returns unscathed -- apparently deeply moved by the experience.
FLASHBACK
Locke's past as a shirt-and-tie-wearing drone at a box company. The episode's big twist reveals he's a paraplegic in a wheelchair, lending the climactic scenes of him rising to his feet a powerful emotional wallop.
COMMENTS
By far the series' best hour, featuring a superb performance by O'Quinn, who makes Locke more sympathetic than previous episodes let on ... His full name is John Locke, the same as the great 17th-century anti-authoritarian philosopher.
RATING: A+
THEORY: 4
5. WHITE RABBIT
Jack, suffering from insomnia, apparently sees his dead father walking around the island and goes in search of his coffin. He does find it -- but it's empty. He also discovers a valley that contains fresh water and more plane wreckage.
FLASHBACK
Jack again -- he travels to Australia to find his alcoholic dad, who has drunk himself to death. Mysterious Korean Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) appears briefly at the airport queue as Jack tries to get his father's coffin on board the plane.
COMMENTS
A big letdown from the previous episode, this one highlights Jack's blandness, a problem shared by the female lead, Kate ... The number of survivors is culled to 46 when a throwaway character drowns.
RATING: C-
THEORY: 4
6. HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN
Michael is badly beaten by Jin, who thinks he's stolen a watch that has sentimental value to him. Afterward, Jin's wife Sun (Yunjin Kim) reveals to Michael that she can actually speak English. The camp splits up, with some heading for Jack's valley -- where two 40-year-old corpses are found in a cave -- and others staying on the beach.
FLASHBACK
Sun's turbulent history with her husband, who goes under her father's shady employ in order to win her hand in marriage. Sun has a chance to leave the emotionally distant Jin at the airport in Australia, but stays because she still loves him.
COMMENTS
You have to wonder how Sun's ability to speak English will play out -- maybe she'll be used as a spy of some sort if the rumoured split of the camp comes to pass.
RATING: A
THEORY: 5
7. THE MOTH
Locke offers to help Charlie beat his drug addiction -- and when the cave collapses, trapping Jack, Charlie goes to the rescue. His new sense of self-worth allows him to finally kick the habit.
FLASHBACK
Charlie's raucous past as a member of the rock band Driveshaft, his poor relationship with his brother and their drug addiction are highlighted.
COMMENTS
Actually features the painfully un-ironic line, "You used to be about the music!" ... Locke's motives for helping Charlie are a mystery -- Locke once again straddles the line of creepy manipulator and hard-love spiritual guru ... Somebody knocks out Sayid (Naveen Andrews) when he tries to find the source of the French transmission.
RATING: C+
THEORY: 5
8. CONFIDENCE MAN
After bitchy babe Shannon (Maggie Grace) suffers an asthma attack, Jack and Sayid (Naveen Andrews) suspect Sawyer (Josh Holloway) might be hoarding her medication. Sayid tortures Sawyer to get him to talk. As it turns out, he doesn't have the meds, but Shannon is saved by Sun's homeopathic remedy.
FLASHBACK
Sawyer turns out to be a con artist trying to bilk a couple out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. He has a sudden change of heart when he sees their cute little son.
COMMENTS
And here we thought Sawyer was a one-note bad boy. The letter he's seen reading from time to time is revealed to be one he penned as a child to a con artist who destroyed his family ... How did the torture scene, involving splinters and fingernails, get past the censors? Not that we're complaining.
RATING: B+
THEORY: 5
9. SOLITARY
Feeling pangs of remorse for torturing Sawyer, Sayid exiles himself from the group and explores the island. He is captured by Danielle (Mira Furlan), the looney French woman who has been sending the signals. Sayid manages to escape, stealing maps and charts.
FLASHBACK
Sayid's history as an Iraqi Republican guard is explored, as he helps a female prisoner with whom he's fallen in love apparently escape execution.
COMMENTS
How much of what Danielle is saying is true and how much is just insane gibberish? She's been alone for years, her son Alex has disappeared and she says she murdered the other members of her team because they became "sick" ... Ethan (William Mapother, who is a cousin of Tom Cruise) makes his first appearance, hunting boar with Locke.
RATING: B
THEORY: 2
10. RAISED BY ANOTHER
Pregnant Claire (Emilie de Ravin) begins having nightmares of someone trying to kill her. When Hurley starts a census using the passenger manifest, the survivors realize Ethan, who claims he's from Ontario, couldn't have been on the plane. The very weird Ethan shows up at the end, menacing Claire and Charlie.
FLASHBACK
Claire's sorry past is revealed, where she's left by her deadbeat boyfriend and is told by a creepy psychic that it is imperative her unborn baby not fall into the wrong hands and that she raise the child.
COMMENTS
One of Claire's dreams features Locke with one white and one black eye -- harkening to his conversation with Walt in the Pilot about backgammon and how there are two sides, one good and one evil.
RATING: A-
THEORY: 5
11. ALL THE BEST COWBOYS HAVE DADDY ISSUES
The survivors mount a search for the missing Claire and Charlie. Jack and Kate manage to track down Ethan, who beats Jack to a bloody pulp. They find Charlie hanging from a tree, but while Jack is able to revive him, Claire remains missing. Meanwhile, Locke and Boone (Ian Somerhalder) discover a metallic hatch hidden deep in the jungle.
FLASHBACK
We see more of Jack's arrogant, alcoholic father -- and how the son tattles on Dad when he causes the death of a patient.
COMMENTS
By now, the show's "Did they actually do that?" spell is so potent you're convinced that Charlie has been killed off ... Jack's backstory this time around is a vast improvement over the White Rabbit episode.
RATING: B+
THEORY: 5
12. WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE
Kate and Sawyer fight over a locked metal briefcase that belongs to her. Jack and Kate dig up the marshal's rotted corpse to get the key -- and inside the case are money, guns and a small toy airplane. Meanwhile, Sayid enlists the French-speaking Shannon's help to decipher his stolen maps and charts.
FLASHBACK
More Kate backstory -- now she's involved in a bank heist, where she manipulates her accomplices into helping her steal that toy airplane from the bank's vaults.
COMMENTS
Lilly's babe factor works against her being the potentially cold-blooded femme fatale the show wants her to be. Still, this enriches her mystery, as she reveals the toy belonged to the man she loved -- and killed ... The serene, matronly Rose (L. Scott Caldwell) -- not seen since Walkabout -- makes a return, as she consoles Charlie over the loss of Claire.
RATING: B-
THEORY: 1
13. HEARTS AND MINDS
When Boone wants to confess to his stepsister Shannon that he and Locke have found the hatch, Locke ties him up and leaves him in in an effort to teach him to "let go." Boone only frees himself when he fears the unseen monster has attacked and killed Shannon -- but it turns out this was only a hallucination.
FLASHBACK
The sickest yet, as Boone is revealed to have had the hots for his screwed-up sis for years -- and when he tries to collect her in Australia, they succumb to their desire in a hotel room. Ewwwww!
COMMENTS
The source of Boone's hallucination is the salve Locke rubbed on his head wound ... Boone's flashback also features Sawyer getting arrested at a police station ... Sayid's compass goes wonky, showing that North isn't really North on the island.
RATING: A-
THEORY: 3
14. SPECIAL
Michael becomes even more resentful of the bond Locke forms with his young son Walt. But when Walt's life is threatened by another polar bear, he and Locke team up to save him. Later, as Locke and Boone return to the jungle, they encounter a shaken Claire, apparently escaped from her captor.
FLASHBACK
We learn Michael is a struggling artist/contractor, who's shut out of his son's life by the boy's manipulative lawyer mom.
COMMENTS
The comic book makes another appearance, with that same shot of the polar bear ... It's clear Walt has powers of some kind that he can use to make things he desires appear.
RATING: B
THEORY: 4
Eastwood Becomes Oscar Favorite After DGA Win
Clint Eastwood has become the odds-on favorite to claim the Best Director Oscar next month after beating rival Martin Scorsese again at the Directors Guild Awards (DGA) on Saturday. Eastwood claimed the Best Picture prize over Scorsese, Taylor Hackford, Marc Forster and Alexander Payne for his acclaimed boxing movie Million Dollar Baby. Only six DGA winners in the past 57 years have failed to go on to win Oscar gold. Other directors who were recognized by the Guild jury at this year's awards ceremony were Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni, whose gripping Story Of The Weeping Camel earned them the Documentary prize; Walter Hill, who claimed the honor of Best Dramatic Series for TV western series Deadwood; and Tim Van Patten, who was honored in the Best Comedy Series category for Sex And The City. Meanwhile, longtime Oscars producer Gil Cates, a former DGA president, became only the third recipient of the DGA Presidents Award at the Beverly Hilton hotel gala.
'Happy Days' Gang Reunites for Special
You know the main reason for TV reunion specials. It's to let viewers get a look at the show's stars today and then react one of two ways: Either "Gosh, they look old," or "Gosh, they look REALLY old." Take a look at "The `Happy Days' 30th Anniversary Reunion," which ABC is airing 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST Thursday.
It brings back original cast members Scott Baio, Tom Bosley, Erin Moran, Don Most, Marion Ross, Anson Williams and Henry Winkler. Also Ron Howard, of course, who scarcely more than a year ago appeared on an "Andy Griffith Show" reunion special. Also: Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams, who have done at least two reunion specials honoring their "Happy Days" spinoff, "Laverne & Shirley."
"Happy Days" began its run on Jan. 15, 1974 (which, by traditional, non-ABC math computes to 31, not 30, years ago). Set in Milwaukee in a problem-free version of the 1950s, this sitcom centered on high schooler Richie Cunningham (Howard, though he left the show in 1980), his family and friends, particularly charismatic dropout Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli (Winkler).
Long before "Happy Days" left ABC's lineup in 1984, viewers could recite the show in their sleep, which was maybe part of its charm. Same with the "Happy Days" reunion special, with its reunion show essentials: cast recollection, clips, blooper reel and overall schmaltz.
'Hide and Seek' No. 1 at Box Office
LOS ANGELES - Robert De Niro's fright flick "Hide and Seek" had a strong debut in its opening weekend, taking in $22 million to become the top movie and fending off a rush of Academy Awards contenders.
The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, Ice Cube's road-trip comedy "Are We There Yet?", slipped to second place with $17 million, lifting its 10-day total to $39.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Director Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" led Oscar hopefuls with $11.8 million, coming in at No. 3 during its first weekend of wide release and raising its total domestic gross to $21.1 million.
Cashing in on its seven Oscar nominations last week, the boxing drama expanded to 2,010 theaters, up about 1,800 the previous weekend.
"Million Dollar Baby" is in a neck-and-neck race for best picture and director at the Oscars with Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator," which was No. 6 for the weekend with $7.5 million, pushing its total to $68.2 million.
"The Aviator," a film biography of Howard Hughes that leads the Oscar field with 11 nominations, was in 2,503 cinemas, an increase of 242.
Eastwood won top honors over Scorsese Saturday from the Directors Guild of America. Eastwood also earned the Golden Globe directing prize, while "The Aviator" won for best dramatic film at the Globes.
In its 15th week of release, best-picture nominee "Sideways" broke into the top 10, coming in seventh with $6.3 million as it expanded to 1,694 theaters, up about 1,000. The road-trip comedy has taken in $40 million playing in relatively narrow release.
The weekend's only other new wide release, Tara Reid and Christian Slater's scary movie "Alone in the Dark," bombed with just $2.5 million, finishing well out of the top 10. Viciously trashed by critics, the movie stars Reid as an anthropologist and Slater as a paranormal investigator battling mutant monsters.
"Hide and Seek" also received harsh reviews, but like many other fright films, it drew the faithful horror crowd, which is rarely dissuaded by critics if a movie looks like it has some decent scares.
Horror films often nosedive in their second weekend, but De Niro's presence could give "Hide and Seek" more staying power, said Bruce Snyder, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox, which released the movie.
De Niro plays a father in the film coping with the potentially murderous "imaginary friend" of his daughter, played by Dakota Fanning.
"Because of the cache of De Niro, which makes it quite a bit above the normal things-that-go-bump-in-the-night movie, I think we'll fare well," Snyder said.
Among other key Oscar nominees:
- The J.M. Barrie tale, "Finding Neverland," which earned seven nominations including best picture, grossed $2.7 million to raise its total to $35.9 million. The film widened to 1,258 theaters, up 389.
- "Hotel Rwanda," with a best-actor nomination for Don Cheadle and supporting-actress nomination for Sophie Okonedo, took in $1.8 million in 417 theaters, 98 more locations than the previous weekend. The genocide drama lifted its total to $8.1 million.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Hide and Seek," $22 million.
2. "Are We There Yet?", $17 million.
3. "Million Dollar Baby," $11.8 million.
4. "Coach Carter," $8 million.
5. "Meet the Fockers," $7.6 million.
6. "The Aviator," $7.5 million.
7. "Sideways," $6.3 million.
8. "In Good Company," $6.2 million.
9. "Racing Stripes," $6 million.
10. "Assault on Precinct 13," $4.2 million.
'The Incredibles' Sweeps Annie Awards
GLENDALE, Calif. - It was an incredible night for "The Incredibles." The Pixar Animation Studios film about a family of superheros who save the day swept the 32nd annual Annie Awards on Sunday, winning top honors for best animated feature, best directing and best voice acting for Brad Bird, the film's director who voiced the diminutive seamstress Edna Mode.
The Annie Awards are presented by the International Animated Film Society to honor outstanding animation in television and film. Winners, including last year's "Finding Nemo," have typically gone on to win the Academy Award for best animated feature. The film was distributed by The Walt Disney Co.
In the voice acting category, Bird beat Antonio Banderas, who provided the voice for Puss in Boots in the DreamWorks Animation film "Shrek 2." He also edged out Samuel L. Jackson, who was nominated for his voicing of the cool superhero Frozone in "The Incredibles."
The film also took awards for writing, production design and music for the throbbing score composed by Michael Giacchino.
Two of the Annie nominees for best theatrical feature — "The Incredibles" and "Shrek 2" — are nominated for an Oscar for best animated film at the Feb. 27 Academy Awards.
Among the other winners on Sunday were Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob SquarePants" for best animated television production, and actress Brittany Murphy for giving voice to the character "Luane" in the Fox TV show "King of the Hill."
The awards were presented at the Alex Theater. Among the presenters were comic book legend Stan Lee and Debra Jo Rupp, co-star of the Fox sitcom "That 70's Show." The awards were hosted by Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants.
Carson's Hometown Turns Out for Memorial
NORFOLK, Neb. - Johnny Carson didn't want a public memorial in Los Angeles, but people from the Nebraska town where the comedian was raised gathered Sunday at the high school auditorium that bears his name for a last chance to say goodbye.
Far from a somber tribute, the event was mostly high-spirited and included a monologue, a jazz ensemble playing the "Tonight Show" theme and stage props such as a desk and guest chairs where those who had known Carson talked about him.
Carson, host of "The Tonight Show" for 30 years, died last Sunday of emphysema at his Malibu, Calif., home. He was 79.
At Carson's request, there was no public memorial in Los Angeles. The king of late-night television was a fiercely private man who made few public appearances following his retirement from television in 1992.
But residents in Norfolk said they wanted a chance to say goodbye. Many had known the late-night comic from high school. The memorial drew more than 1,000 people to the high school theater named after Carson.
Lois Voecks said Carson sat behind her in homeroom and performed magic for students during Friday convocations.
"We used to see him later in the hallway, and we would look back at him and say, 'That's the same guy? He seems just like us,'" she said.
Jeff Burkink, who was principal of Norfolk High School in the 1980s when Carson gave $600,000 to the school to build a new performing arts center, said Carson never forgot his roots.
Burkink said he met Carson in 1976 when the comic came back to town to give the high school's commencement address.
"He was nervous," Burkink said. "He said he didn't want to be a flop in his hometown. But the minute he stood up there, he was humorous and relaxed. He was right at home with a microphone."
Former Norfolk Mayor Jim Miller recalled being with Carson as a crowd of townspeople cheered during a 1976 parade in Carson's honor.
"He turned to his wife and said, 'Honey, I really think they like me.' And he meant it. It was heartfelt," Miller said.
Born in Iowa, Carson was raised in Norfolk from the age of 8 until he left after high school to join the Navy and serve in World War II.
It was in Norfolk that Carson first showed a flair for show business, performing magic as the "Great Carsoni" in Elk's and Moose lodges starting when he was 14.
Fame did not diminish Carson's fondness for his hometown. His known donations to causes in the town amounted to more than $5 million, including $2.27 million for a regional cancer radiation center.
The entertainer also gave $100,000 to the Elkhorn Valley Museum in Norfolk and later donated 11 boxes of his personal items — including awards and his Presidential Medal of Freedom — to the museum for a permanent display.