Congrats Cards

Hey -- it was the Mets's series to lose, and they did, as it was the Yankee's ALDS series to lose. Now I'm going to have to put up with Deadspin's hourly blogs about the Cardinals for another week. Oh well. Verlander! Suppan! It's the 2006 World Series on FOX! I could care less about who wins.

Picture Perfect

With photos and stills trickling out of the new Transformers movie production, one thing is irking me -- the movie robots look nothing like the cartoon robots. I understand that the story might be open to interpretation and Michael Bay/Steven Spielberg could want a more updated look for the Autobots and Decepticons, but robots aren't meant to have visible muscles or look like simple twisted metal. Visible goatees are cool, but non-angular, sinewy forms are not very robot-like indeed. I came across this image today and it pretty much sums it up (click to enlarge):


Click here for more renditions of our favorite characters.

Want to See My Work Desktop Wallpaper?

Click here.

Lucky for me, the work environment is pretty laid back.

'Kidnapped' To Soon Vanish

And so it begins.

One of the fall season's more highly touted programs is about to have production halted -- which is the industry-PC term for cancellation. That's too bad because it was an actually halfway decent program. I was even planning to add it to my glorious new DVR when it gets set up next week.

I haven't seen it since I checked out the pilot through Netflix back in August, but it had potential. Jeremy Sisto was a good fit for his role as the not-by-the-book abductee finder, and Timothy Hutton brought plenty of nervous energy to make you suspect he that he's behind the kidnapping of his son. Delroy Lindo also brought some gravitas to the series.

I've been missing a lot since I stopped using TiVo at the beginning of September. Here's hoping that Studio Sixty (probably, but deservedly) and Jericho survive so I can catch up and keep watching.

Found: The Quality of Season Two

It was under my couch.

No, no... it was actually in ABC's ridiculous airing schedule. Trying to find an original episode of Lost being broadcast last season between September and May practically required a Mayan calendar -- and it really hurt the quality and overall effectiveness of the season. Having just blazed through about 20 episodes in the last week, I find that season two of Lost stands up incredibly well to the high standard that season one set forward.

During its original broadcast schedule, the show itself seemed lost -- meandering between characters' backstories and not making a strong connection between their pasts and their episodic situations on the island. A tighter schedule would have connected events better thematically over the course of the season.

Here's a quick rundown of their season two broadcast schedule:
Starting on 9/21:
5 weeks of shows
2 weeks off
4 weeks of shows
5 weeks off (!!!!!)
3 weeks of shows
1 week off
2 weeks of shows
2 weeks off
1 show
2 weeks off
4 weeks of shows
2 weeks off
4 weeks of shows

Three shows in eight weeks totally killed the momentum.

Begin Spoiler Alert

The arrival of Henry Gale changed the tone of the show for the better. Breaking up that arc over the course of the second part of the season totally ruined it for the viewers.

Season two had a few other things going against it -- season one might be one of the best seasons of any show broadcast on network television, and the Anna Lucia character had almost no redeeming qualities. I'm still shocked by Michael's betrayal, but after re-watching the exploits of the Tail Section, I don't miss her as much.

The second season also did much to debunk the whole "island magic" thing, pointing towards Dr. Moreau-science as the reason for most goings-ons. I think viewers dug the enchantment/mystical theme and just got a little cranky when they realized it might be smoke and mirrors.

One thing everyone needs to remember -- there is a long-term plan (according to the producers). Thinking that you have everything figured out after only a quarter of the story is presumptuous.

End Spoiler Alert

Season three does promise to be more cohesive -- a six episode mini-arc to start, a break until 2007 and then 18 episodes straight until May.

Where does Lost stand amongst television's giants? I still think it's broadcast television's best show, Academy for Television Arts and Sciences be damned!

If you haven't gotten into it, I implore you -- get the first and second seasons and decide for yourself whether it's worth your time. Don't let a disenchanted viewer or a hyper fanboy like myself convince you one way or another. Beyond the island, the magic, and the science it's simply a story of human relationships. We as humans are connected by the way we simply deal with things - whether they're joyous moments like a World Series win or tragic ones like a terrorist attack, or a plane crash. Lost just changes the scenery for us.

Not to Get Lazy or Anything...

I have no intention of this blog turning into a linkdump, but here's another doozy:

http://firejoemorgan.blogspot.com/

The Wednesday, Sept. 27 entry is an absolutely blistering chat line-by-chat line commentary/deconstruction/assassination of Joe Morgan's chat on ESPN.com. These chat commentaries are a standard feature of firejoemorgan.blogspot.com.

Bittersweet Vindication

Has it really been 12 days since the last post? Time flies. I'm still unpacking, eating dinner with future-in-laws and getting full-time jobs.

The Simmons hate-a-thon is in its opening throes:

Read this first (optional, but helpful for context).

Read this.

Read this after.

Essentially, Bill Simmons lives in an insular world in which is "cutting edge"-ness is actually tempered by his employers. He provides a few interesting ideas every three months, but ultimately his schtick is just that: contrived, expected and used way-too-much. I'll admit I give him the hometown critical discount because I do enjoy when he talks about the Celtics' glory days, but I can definitely see how non-Boston-based bloggers can feel their bile rising.