Well, it's becoming clear that when the talk shows and columns and tweets fall silent, what makes its way over here are my ravings about TV shows. Hey, nature of the beast as we get started. Look for more diversity this week, especially as I fill in for Rush Monday.
May 2010
05/24/2010
The "Lost" Finale
I’m sure the writers believe they gave us the ultimate tying up of the loose ends in the finale of one of television’s most remarkable series. But like dozens of episodes along the path that brought us to this point, their answers simply create more questions.
But after a juncture a couple of years ago when I decided to “let go,” as the finale’s theme described, I have thoroughly enjoyed one of the most satisfying yet frustrating, eloquent yet senseless, inspiring yet maddening shows ever.
I know people who bailed when things just got too ridiculous, and I understand. But for those of us who found a way to keep caring, the two-and-a-half-hour finale was an emotional payoff for the ages.
So The Big Question is answered: They were all dead. The island was indeed some kind of purgatory, a staging ground before the permanent afterlife. But whether I’m just slow or part of millions of people with the same worthy questions, here we go:
Which was the “real” reality? If it was the plane crash, and that crash killed everybody, then there was no enormous shared experience that Jack’s father said was the most important part of his life, the part he spent with all of the other characters.
If the reality was the one where the plane landed safely, then these folks hardly know each other, except for the happenstance meetings that were the subject of this past season. In that case, why are they all dead?
There’s probably an answer to that, and the highest compliment I can pay to this show is that it was so good I don’t care.
All I know is that the plot lines, the relationships, the conflicts and resolutions I invested in for six seasons all came together in a church where everyone enjoyed the reunions we all wanted to see and then went off to-- well, they didn’t really say. But it’s hard to imagine a more religious-looking final few moments.
Another testament to the skill of the writing, and the acting-- through all the gut-wrenching moments of loss this year, particularly the underwater deaths of Jin and Sun, any viewer knew that every character had a living counterpart in that alternate universe where things went differently.
(Quick aside: I ran into Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Jin, in Denver at Barack Obama’s stadium acceptance speech in 2008. He let me annoy him or a good five minutes of Lost talk, which made him so likeable to me that I am prepared to forgive him for being so horribly wrong politically.)
So now it’s done. And that is good. They could not string us along for more torturous twists, and thank God no one is talking about a movie as they are for “24,” which limps to the small-screen finish line Monday night.
What we are left with is not TV’s best show or it’s highest-rated, but surely one of its most memorable. The iconic memories of “Lost” are carried on the strength of its scripts, the beauty of its photography and most of all by the strength of its indelible characters, triumphs of both writing and acting.
Matthew Fox’s Jack grew from shallow action hero to a deep, thoughtful and sympathetic figure. Paired with Evangeline Lilly’s Kate, they made for a fine focal couple at the show’s end.
But it is the surrounding cast that wound up putting in some of the finest work of TV’s past decade, many because they had to portray characters who were bouncing between heroes and villains, because of the plot’s head-snapping twists or because they were different people in the alternate universes.
The most lasting example is Michael Emerson’s Ben, who seemed to go through ten transformations a season since his arrival in 2006. But the most sublime is Terry O’Quinn’s Locke. Has any character leapt from heroic to evil (and back) so fast and with such skill?
Sprinkled throughout the deep and impenetrable story lines of the “Lost” years are other performances that will not fade: Dominic Monaghan’s Charlie, Henry Ian Cusick’s Desmond, Elizabeth Mitchell’s Juliet.
But two actors deserve special mention before we “let go” of Lost as a phenomenon: Jorge Garcia’s Hurley is one, and the other is a cast member who grew from pretty boy to sufficiently interesting to a joy to watch: Josh Holloway’s Sawyer, who was very nearly comic relief in the early going. But then his story (and the trademark flashbacks surrounding it) grew meatier, and in this last season, his story of love and loss became one of the most visceral of this show or any show.
So J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber and Damon Lindelof have given us a rich but perplexing gift as writers of a story that is not just uncommon but unique-- and in a world where so much of TV and the rest of pop culture is so mind-numbingly predictable, I am grateful.
Sure, I mocked the promos for years-- the ones for intermittent episodes that promised to “answer all of your questions.” Even in the end, our questions aren’t answered. But we’ve been treated to a superbly shot, superbly acted, superbly written journey that proved well worth the exhaustion of staying on the ride.
05/19/2010
I promise, this is not going to become Idol World. But here's my take on the show that yielded our Top 2:
TOP 3 VOTE-OFF: May 19, 2010
What can I say? Nailed it. But this did not require a deep well of insight. Casey had been close to elimination before, and had retreated into subpar performances.
So had Crystal, but I feel as though Casey and Lee were splitting some votes. I’d say Crystal was the top vote-getter tonight, but 70 percent of Casey’s votes will go to Lee next week, and that’s why he will win.
Okay, to the show: What in God’s name is Travis Garland? The only thing worse than a castoff from a boy band is a castoff from a boy band no one ever heard of. (Something called NLT in this case.) Torture.
So, the week before the finale, we get this talentless kid and Justin Bieber? At least the Bieber boy has some decent songs.
The packages covering the three homecomings was great, as always. We experienced Casey’s return to Texas, where driving day-long rain literally dampened attendance. I wish they had shown some of his actual performance at the Keys Lounge in Ft. Worth. One attendee said “If he had just cut loose on the Idol stage like he did here, he could win the whole thing.”
Maybe so, we’ll never know. But Casey will be fine, maybe even better off, unencumbered by what can be an apparently suffocating contract the winners start off with.
Crystal headed back to northern Ohio, where the sun shone on her singing, her handshakes with fans and the reunion with her family, including her little boy. I can’t imagine how these folks stay away from their kids long enough to reach real success on this show. Worth it long-term, I suppose.
Where Crystal seemed awkward amid the adulation, Lee soaked it up like a seasoned pro, but without a speck of nonchalance. He loved the Chicago crowds and they loved him. No reason to change my gut feeling that he wins next week.
One thing did occur to me in retrospect. Casey and Crystal had simple sets and little embellishment to their judge-picked songs, while Lee had a choir step out behind him for “Hallelujah?” Is this the Simon touch, since he is obviously rooting for the guy?
I’m stoked for next week-- a lackluster season has finally sprouted a final worth watching. Maybe if Lee stumbles and Crystal hits a home run ever song next week, she can win. But I doubt it. And she’ll be okay, too. Finishing second can be just fine. Ask Clay Aiken and Adam Lambert.
TOP 3 VOTE-OFF: May 19, 2010
What can I say? Nailed it. But this did not require a deep well of insight. Casey had been close to elimination before, and had retreated into subpar performances.
So had Crystal, but I feel as though Casey and Lee were splitting some votes. I’d say Crystal was the top vote-getter tonight, but 70 percent of Casey’s votes will go to Lee next week, and that’s why he will win.
Okay, to the show: What in God’s name is Travis Garland? The only thing worse than a castoff from a boy band is a castoff from a boy band no one ever heard of. (Something called NLT in this case.) Torture.
So, the week before the finale, we get this talentless kid and Justin Bieber? At least the Bieber boy has some decent songs.
The packages covering the three homecomings was great, as always. We experienced Casey’s return to Texas, where driving day-long rain literally dampened attendance. I wish they had shown some of his actual performance at the Keys Lounge in Ft. Worth. One attendee said “If he had just cut loose on the Idol stage like he did here, he could win the whole thing.”
Maybe so, we’ll never know. But Casey will be fine, maybe even better off, unencumbered by what can be an apparently suffocating contract the winners start off with.
Crystal headed back to northern Ohio, where the sun shone on her singing, her handshakes with fans and the reunion with her family, including her little boy. I can’t imagine how these folks stay away from their kids long enough to reach real success on this show. Worth it long-term, I suppose.
Where Crystal seemed awkward amid the adulation, Lee soaked it up like a seasoned pro, but without a speck of nonchalance. He loved the Chicago crowds and they loved him. No reason to change my gut feeling that he wins next week.
One thing did occur to me in retrospect. Casey and Crystal had simple sets and little embellishment to their judge-picked songs, while Lee had a choir step out behind him for “Hallelujah?” Is this the Simon touch, since he is obviously rooting for the guy?
I’m stoked for next week-- a lackluster season has finally sprouted a final worth watching. Maybe if Lee stumbles and Crystal hits a home run ever song next week, she can win. But I doubt it. And she’ll be okay, too. Finishing second can be just fine. Ask Clay Aiken and Adam Lambert.
Okay, how to best use this thing? Hey, here's something: I've been doing a little running Facebook commentary on American Idol. Since I have decided to keep my Facebook world to people I actually know, how would I get these gems into the hands of the masses when heaven knows it's not serious enough to put on the WBAP blog? Well, here we go-- wrote this last night after the Top 3 performance show. You will note that I nailed what actually happened in the results show, which balances my blown call in Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District.
===========
Lee is going to win this thing.
I was ready to say that even before the Final 3 performances-- he just seemed to have all the mojo going-- good songs done well and an adoring public.
But as the Final 3 rolled out their two songs each, he also happened to be best.
How can that be? He is the third best singer of the Final 3.
But he has what gave Kris Allen the win last year: he makes females both 15 and 35 go “Awwwwwww...”
The overwhelmingly female voters find Casey hot, but that wheelhouse of 18-34 doesn’t vote as much. And Crystal? Well, she’s one of the most talented contestants ever, but she is, shall we say, unconventional in both appearance and demeanor.
So Lee wins. And who goes tonight? Well, let’s cover last night:
Contestants were given one song to pick themselves and one chosen by the judges. So Genius Casey thinks: hey, I’ll roll out A SONG NO ONE KNOWS BY AN ARTIST NO ONE HAS HEARD OF.
So Eric Hutchinson’s “Okay, It’s Alright With Me” comes and goes without a memorable moment. What a waste.
Then I hear Crystal has chosen Melissa Etheridge’s “Come To My Window,” which seems a perfect fit. But here’s the problem-- after two months of making everything look effortless, MamaSox has seemed to struggle lately. Not to the point of ineptitude, but to a point of toil that leaves her short of the heights she reached in March and April.
The first thing I thought about Lee’s choice of Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” was that Casey should have done it. But he didn't. Lee did, and it was very, very good. So halfway through, Lee has actually done better than Crystal or Casey. Now to the tunes chosen for them.
Randy and Kara hand Casey “Daughters,” by John Mayer. Kara’s logic is that Casey needs to come off as sensitive and vulnerable. I suppose he did, but what he really come off as was boring. Bless his heart- screwed by his own bad judgment and then by half the judging panel.
Ellen got a pick all to herself, and gave Crystal the best McCartney record ever, “Maybe I’m Amazed,” from his 1970 solo debut. But again, it was less than great, and provided something Crystal needs like a hole in the head-- moments of weirdness.
I don’t need to hear a woman singing “Maybe I’m a man, maybe I’m a lonely man who’s in the middle of something...” I resisted the knee-jerk reaction that this was some kind of gender-bending activism on Ellen’s part. I have always liked her, and I think she’s been a great judge. But once again, it was less than great.
So could Lee match his self-chosen song triumph with what Simon chose for him? The choice was Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” that mind-numbing sugary turd that everyone loves and I hate. That makes it all the more noteworthy that I absolutely loved Lee’s performance of it. His triumph was complete. He was the best of the night and will surely make the Top 2.
And win it. Who beats him? Crystal? Sure, she’s a better singer, but her issues now have issues. Casey? Maybe, with a home run performance next week, but he’s already been in the Bottom 3, and I don’t think he’s going to make it to next week.
Shed no tears. He will have a career anyway, a la Daughtry, and you watch-- once he’s free of the Idol bubble, he will become interesting again.
So, leaving tonight: CASEY.
===========
Lee is going to win this thing.
I was ready to say that even before the Final 3 performances-- he just seemed to have all the mojo going-- good songs done well and an adoring public.
But as the Final 3 rolled out their two songs each, he also happened to be best.
How can that be? He is the third best singer of the Final 3.
But he has what gave Kris Allen the win last year: he makes females both 15 and 35 go “Awwwwwww...”
The overwhelmingly female voters find Casey hot, but that wheelhouse of 18-34 doesn’t vote as much. And Crystal? Well, she’s one of the most talented contestants ever, but she is, shall we say, unconventional in both appearance and demeanor.
So Lee wins. And who goes tonight? Well, let’s cover last night:
Contestants were given one song to pick themselves and one chosen by the judges. So Genius Casey thinks: hey, I’ll roll out A SONG NO ONE KNOWS BY AN ARTIST NO ONE HAS HEARD OF.
So Eric Hutchinson’s “Okay, It’s Alright With Me” comes and goes without a memorable moment. What a waste.
Then I hear Crystal has chosen Melissa Etheridge’s “Come To My Window,” which seems a perfect fit. But here’s the problem-- after two months of making everything look effortless, MamaSox has seemed to struggle lately. Not to the point of ineptitude, but to a point of toil that leaves her short of the heights she reached in March and April.
The first thing I thought about Lee’s choice of Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” was that Casey should have done it. But he didn't. Lee did, and it was very, very good. So halfway through, Lee has actually done better than Crystal or Casey. Now to the tunes chosen for them.
Randy and Kara hand Casey “Daughters,” by John Mayer. Kara’s logic is that Casey needs to come off as sensitive and vulnerable. I suppose he did, but what he really come off as was boring. Bless his heart- screwed by his own bad judgment and then by half the judging panel.
Ellen got a pick all to herself, and gave Crystal the best McCartney record ever, “Maybe I’m Amazed,” from his 1970 solo debut. But again, it was less than great, and provided something Crystal needs like a hole in the head-- moments of weirdness.
I don’t need to hear a woman singing “Maybe I’m a man, maybe I’m a lonely man who’s in the middle of something...” I resisted the knee-jerk reaction that this was some kind of gender-bending activism on Ellen’s part. I have always liked her, and I think she’s been a great judge. But once again, it was less than great.
So could Lee match his self-chosen song triumph with what Simon chose for him? The choice was Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” that mind-numbing sugary turd that everyone loves and I hate. That makes it all the more noteworthy that I absolutely loved Lee’s performance of it. His triumph was complete. He was the best of the night and will surely make the Top 2.
And win it. Who beats him? Crystal? Sure, she’s a better singer, but her issues now have issues. Casey? Maybe, with a home run performance next week, but he’s already been in the Bottom 3, and I don’t think he’s going to make it to next week.
Shed no tears. He will have a career anyway, a la Daughtry, and you watch-- once he’s free of the Idol bubble, he will become interesting again.
So, leaving tonight: CASEY.