Wednesday 14 April 2010

American Idol 2010 - Top 9 (again) - Elvis

1. Crystal Bowersox - Saved.
Not my kind of song, but can't deny her vocals were perfect and she performed it well.
Randy: Had energy, dope. Loved it.
Ellen: Fantastic.
Kara: Another solid performance.
Simon: Original, sounded great. Avoided the karaoke trap.

2. Andrew Garcia - Hound Dog.
Interesting Santana vibe. His voice only just managed it though. Surely his time is up.
Randy: Not-good karaoke.
Ellen: Liked the swagger, he pulled it off.
Kara: He didn't own it, she didn't feel more.
Simon: Lazy and predictable. No star power. Didn't get it.

3. Tim Urban - Can't Help Falling In Love.
Nicely vulnerable acoustic performance, but way too big for his voice. Ended well though. Chickened out of the falsetto though.
Randy: Liked it.
Ellen: Really enjoyed it.
Kara: Favourite Tim performance. Authentic and current.
Simon: From zero to hero. Taking advice well.

4. Lee Dewyze - A Little Less Conversation.
Oops forgot the words at the start there! Not terrible, got a bit shouty again.
Randy: Another great perormance.
Ellen: Sounded like a brand new song.
Kara: He went for it vocally. Wished it was more playful.
Simon: On the money. Full stop.

5. Aaron Kelly - Blue Suede Shoes.
Interesting bluesy, rough sound. Quite good.
Randy: Liked the second half.
Ellen: Really good job but didn't get all the way there.
Kara: Out of his comfort zone and she liked that, it made him younger.
Simon: High school concert. Very karaoke.

6. Siobhan Magnus - Suspicious Minds.
Started a bit karaoke and smiley but the bluesy second half worked very well.
Randy: Some risks, kind of liked it. The second half was better, glad to hear the big vocals.
Ellen: Agreed.
Kara: Confusing, the two distinct voices.
Simon: First part terrible, found it erratic and screechy. She's lost who she is.

7. Michael Lynche - In The Ghetto.
A great voice, but just like last week is more concerned with over-singing than storytelling. Barely recognisable. Not for me.
Randy: A little sleepy, but hot vocals.
Ellen: Glad we saved you.
Kara: Loved it.
Simon: Much better than last week.

8. Katie Stevens - Baby What Do You Want Me To Do?
Back to mediocre. Big voice, but bigger song.
Randy: Liked the sass. Big voice.
Ellen: Lots of horns! Great voice.
Kara: You showed us.
Simon: Loud and annoying.

9. Casey James - Lawdy Miss Clawdy.
Suited him, but passed me by.
Randy: Solid.
Ellen: Not exciting, but really good.
Kara: Didn't do it for her.
Simon: Wasted opportunity but vocal was good.

My top three: Crystal, Aaron and Siobhan.
My bottom three: Andrew, Michael and Lee.

Results show:
First out: Andrew. About time really.
Second out: Katie. Ditto.




Saturday 10 April 2010

American Idol 2010 - Top 9 - Lennon/McCartney

1. Aaron Kelly - The Long & Winding Road.
Shaky. Massively out of his depth now. He performed it sincerely but his voice isn't up to the challenge.
Randy: Sleepy.
Ellen: Felt long and winding.
Kara: He's getting samey. Needs tempo.
Simon: Old-fashioned.

2. Katie Stevens - Let It Be.
Quite good actually, but it was a bit exposing.
Randy: Her best so far.
Ellen: Amazing.
Kara: Never sounded better, liked the confident attitude.
Simon: She's got it right this week. Less robotic.

3. Andrew Garcia - Can't Buy Me Love.
Horrid jazzy arrangement. Hated it. His voice is so mediocre. And I don't get this performing behind the judges thing at all.
Randy: Solid, but corny.
Ellen: A lot of fun, loved it.
Kara: Liked the breakdown, but wanted to like the whole thing more.
Simon: Old-fashioned. The band overpowered him. They all got it wrong.

4. Michael Lynche - Eleanor Rigby.
Completely OTT with the trills and ad libs. Good voice, but didn't enjoy it at all. He clearly was more interested in showing off his voice than telling the story.
Randy: A bit too much, but it worked well when it worked.
Ellen: A risk, but she loved it. Incredible.
Kara: Fire. Which is good. Made it relevant and commercial today.
Simon: Didn't love it as much, sounded like something from a musical.

5. Crystal Bowersox - Come Together.
Another natural performance. Her voice did sound a little strained.
Randy: Distracted by the didgeridoo, but enjoyed it.
Ellen: Could hear that on her album.
Kara: One of her favourite perormances-slinky, sexy, playful.
Simon: Terrific, contemporary. Could hear it on the radio.

6. Tim Urban - All My Loving.
Very strong vocals this week. The guitar helped his performance too. Possibly his best ever.
Randy: A good Tim performance. Loving the Beatles 'do.
Ellen: His second-best performance after Hallelujah.
Kara: He's listening to criticisms. He can smile.
Simon: He did really well tonight. No gimmicks, not oversung and it sounded current. He takes criticism like a man.

7. Casey James - Jealous Guy.
Another exposing choice. His worst in a while. Didn't like the way he changed the vocal melody at all. Much like Michael's performance, but more vulnerable.
Randy: Liked the sensitive side, and his individuality, and thought it was heartfelt.
Ellen: His best to date, soulful.
Kara: Showed vulnerability and depth.
Simon: The best performance of the night so far. Liked the emotion.

8. Siobhan Magnus - Across The Universe.
Simple and beautiful. Captivating. She's back! My best of the night.
Randy: A little sleepy, but loved the tender side and vocal control.
Ellen: Special and beautiful.
Kara: Restrained and polite, but vocal control was perfect. Not sure she'd hear it on the radio.
Simon: Likes her unpredictability. Big improvement on last week.

9. Lee Dewyse - Hey Jude.
Bloody awful from note one, and didn't improve. At least he's consistent. I'm starting to miss Jedward.
Randy: Another hot one. He needs to believe.
Ellen: More confident.
Kara: Can hear him on the radio. Hot.
Simon: The bagpipe player was a mistake.

My top three: Siobhan, Crystal and Tim.
My bottom three: Aaron, Andrew and f***ing Lee again. It's Taylor Hicks all over again. Hated Michael's performance this week too.

Results show:
These lip-synched group songs are excruciating. They manage to cheapen everything about everyone involved. Please, stop it. For real.
Jason Derülo very disappointing. Good moonwalk though.
David Archuleta could sing Imagine beautifully. Shame he sings the Imagine lyrics to a shit melody instead. At least it wasn't as excruciating as when he did it competitively.
Bottom three: Michael, Aaron and Andrew. Good call.
Safe: Aaron. Thought it'd be Big Mike.
Out: Nobody! Judges saved Michael. Good call.


Thursday 8 April 2010

American Idol 2010 - Top 10 - R&B/Soul

1. Siobhan Magnus - Through The Fire.
Some really nice bits, but went sharp a lot on the chorus.
Randy: Not her best.
Ellen: Lost her way and panicked.
Kara: Agreed.
Simon: Manslaughter.

2. Casey James - Hold On, I'm Coming.
Decent. No complaints, but nothing overly positive either.
Randy: Hot night, in his element. Nice job.
Ellen: Consistent, but generic.
Kara: Needs to show more of a range.
Simon: His strongest week so far. Authentic, impressed.

3. Michael Lynche - Ready For Love.
Nice, simple, acoustic performance. Liked it a lot. But why was he behind the judges?
Randy: He's in the zone. Not exciting, but good to pull it back.
Ellen: Beautiful.
Kara: Incredible, tasteful, lovely.
Simon: Terrific, believable. He can now take him seriously as an artist.

4. Didi Benami - What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted?
Her voice is too croony for this song. It made it sound original though, and she performed it well.
Randy: Flatlined and never moved. Didn't get it.
Ellen: Dramatic, but not her best performance.
Kara: She's lost her way. Confusing.
Simon: OTT, old-fashioned.

5. Tim Urban - Sweet Love.
A song far too big for his voice, but he just about got away with it. His best vocals for weeks. A bit deer-in-headlights at times.
Randy: In tune, but no vibe. Fell flat.
Ellen: Looked like he was sneaking into a bedroom. Why that song?
Kara: Made himself un-commercial.
Simon: Inappropriate song but who cares?He'll smile and will get through.

6. Andrew Garcia - Forever.
The Straight Up thing all over again, dancefloor anthem turned acoustic. And it actually worked. His voice isn't the best, but this is why he's here.
Randy: He's back! Best in a long time.
Ellen: Finally smiling again!
Kara: One giant leap in the right direction. Back in the game.
Simon: Miles better than previous weeks. Needs some personality though.

7. Katie Stevens - Chain of Fools.
A bit pitchy and boring, but surprisingly good for her. Showed a LeAnn Rimes-sized to a voice I'd never heard before.
Randy: Series of moments, nice vocals.
Ellen: Great voice, but not current.
Kara: This is where she belongs, good vocals.
Simon: Pretty good, but cold and robotic. A bit Star Search.

8. Lee Dewyze - Treat Her Like A Lady.
Shouty etc. Not excruciating this week, but still lost on me. He's going to win isn't he? Goddamn it.
Randy: Unbelievable.
Ellen: Unbelievable.
Kara: Amazing.
Simon: This is the night his life changed forever.

9. Crystal Bowersox - Midnight Train to Georgia.
On piano instead of guitar this week. Looked uncomfortable as she stepped out, but the vocals were near perfect.
Randy: Another great performance.
Ellen: Another side, she's competing.
Kara: Glad she took that risk.
Simon: Sensational, incredible... Don't be persuaded away from what makes you comfortable.

10. Aaron Kelly - Ain't No Sunshine.
Very wobbly, poor vocals. One of his worst, but a few nice moments buried in there. Overall pretty bad though.
Randy: Just alright.
Ellen: Good job.
Kara: Liked it, should've gone higher.
Simon: Not as good as last week, but he's safe. It was okay.

My top: Crystal & Michael. Casey and Andrew good too. Good night.

My bottom 3: Lee, Katie and Aaron.

Results Show:
Bottom 3: Katie, Didi & Tim.
Safe: Katie (NOOOOOO!!!!!!)
Out: Didi. A shame, she was better than the judges ever credited her for.

Friday 2 April 2010

Lost - Season 3 - Disc 4

13. The Man From Tallahassee
Flashbacks:
Locke has his disability benefit suspended because he's claiming for depression and has stopped going to therapy. He walks out. He's alone in a bedsit when a young man, Peter Talbot, visits John, claiming his mother is a victim of an Adam Seward's cons. He knows about the kidney thing, but John claims it was anonymous and can't help him. John confronts Adam (Anthony) and tells him call off the wedding. He says he will. Detectives Mason and Reed ask him if he knows Peter Talbot, he denies it but discovers his name and address were found on Peter's dead body. John confronts Anthony, who denies killing Peter- then pushes John out of an eight-storey window. At the hospital, the detectives tell him his father has fled to Mexico. John tries out his wheelchair for the first time and cries.

Kate, Sayid and Locke watch Juliet join Jack and Tom, telling him it's tomorrow. She then goes into the building and brings out Ben in a wheelchair. Rousseau leaves, Kate wants to go in gung ho, insisting he must be drugged. John says it's Jack- he's doing it for a good reason, they just need to know what it is. They send Kate in, who catches Jack playing piano. He warns her to get out, pointing at a CCTV camera, but men burst in with guns. They have Sayid too. She insists it's just the two of them after Jack appears to side against her.
John visits Ben, saying he's not after Jack but the sub. Alex interrupts and John hides them both in a wardrobe while Tom updates Ben about Kate and Sayid. Ben tells him to seperate them and leave Jack and Juliet to him. Ben sends Richard to get him the man from Tallahassee. John asks Alex to get him Sayid's backpack. Ben accuses Locke of wanting to blow up the sub using Mikhail's C4, and that he knows John was in a wheelchair- and how he got there. He asks John how long it took, and John realises Ben wonders why it hasn't happened to him. Ben asks if that's why he's blowing up the sub- because if he leaves, he'll be back in the chair. Ben asks him not to blow up the sub because he was one of the few born on the island and needs to give his people the illusion that they can leave. He tells John to imagine the island has a very large box that materialises anything he wants. John tells him to imagine a new sub. Ben asks him why he's so angry. Locke tells him it's because the others are hypocrites who don't know how special the island is. Ben points out he's been there his whole life- John points out who's in the wheelchair and who isn't.
Jack tells Kate he told her not to come for him, she didn't think he meant it. She asks what happened, he tells her her made a deal, they're letting him go home in the morning. She asks why he trusts them, he says because she told him to by asking him to save Sawyer's life. Juliet tells them he has to go, and he promises Kate he'll come back for her.
When she gets the pack, Sayid says Alex'a name, adding she looks like her mother. Alex says she's dead- Sayid says that's what they told her. She returns and John asks her to take him to the sub. Ben tells him Jack's about to leave on the sub, and since the anomaly it can't return anyway. John leaves anyway. Alex warns him he's being manipulated, and that Ben's making him think his ideas are John's own. Rousseau sees Alex through the bushes as they get to the sub.
Jack makes Ben promise to let his friends go. He agrees to do so once Jack has left the island. Juliet thanks Ben for keeping his promise. When they get to the sub, they see John ambushed by guards. He apologises to Jack as the submarine blows up. Richard later uncuffs John as he accuses Ben of setting the whole thing up. Ben confirms he couldn't be seen to go back on his word. He shows John what came out of the magic box- Anthony Cooper.

14. Exposé
Flashbacks: Nikki is an actress on tv show Exposé, who's dating her elderly director, Howard L Zuckerman. Paulo is his cook. They poison him and escape with something from inside a motroyshka. They run into Shannon and Boone at the airport then we see them in the wreckage on the beach. Nikki asks Paulo where the bag is. Ethan offers to help them find clothes, they claim to be looking for Paulo's Nicotine gum. Ethan suggest looking inland, as the plane broke apart. Arzt shows Nikki a Medusa spider he caught as she asks for his help. He draw a map based on trajectories. They find Yemi's plane and the pearl hatch, but keep moving. On hearing of the underwater discovery of guns, Nikki tells Paulo to dive in the same pool to look for the $8m bag. He finds it, but tells her he didn't. John catches him burying the matroyshka, suggesting he find a safer inland spot. He puts it in the Pearl's cistern then hides when he hears Ben and Juliet approach. He watches them plot to get Jack for the operation and takes a walkie talkie. When John takes a team to the Pearl, Paulo gets the matroyshka and breaks it open, concealing its hidden velvet bag in his crotch. He convinces Nikki that not finding the bag was for the best. She discovers his nicotine gum, and when Sawyer refuses to give her a gun she takes Paulo into the woods to confront him. She throws a Medusa spider at him, paralysing him for 8 hours and gets the diamonds. She is then bitten herself, so runs to bury the diamonds and heads for the beach where she collapses in front of Hurley and Sawyer.

Nikki runs through the jungle to bury something before coming out to the beach to Sawyer and Hurley. She says something then dies. Hurley thinks she said Paulo lies. They find him dead too. Jin wonders if it was the monster. They put their bodies together ready for burial and go through their things. They discover the Exposé script and a walkie talkie. Sawyer concludes that they must have been working with the others, so given their past kidnappings, they decide to do a perimeter sweep, using one of their guns. Desmond tells Hurley he saw Sawyer and Nikki arguing that morning, when Sawyer has insisted he doesn't know who they are. Charlie confesses to Sun that it was he who kidnapped her. She walks away. Sawyer admits Nikki asked him for a gun, but he hadn't mentioned it because she'd buried something. Sun asks what, Sawyer tosses her the velvet bag, which is full of diamonds. Sun confronts him about the kidnap, he confesses it was his idea. She gives him the diamonds back, with a slap. Sawyer pours them onto Nikki's body in their grave. Her eyes open as the dirt hits her face. Nobody notices and they are buried.

15. Left Behind
Flashbacks: "Lucy" (Kate) helps Cassisy in her jewellery con. They go for a drink. Kate tells her about her stepfather and Cassie agrees to help her see her mother. After being questioned from turning up at Diane's dressed as Kate, Cassie asks why it's so important. She tells her she wants to know why she was abandoned by one who was supposed to love her. When Kate does meet up with her mother, her opinion hasn't changed- Kate killed her man, and Diane doesn't want to see her again. Kate and Cassidy say their thank yous and goodbyes, as Cassidy reveals she's pregnant by her con man, but knows he'd never forgive her if she shopped him. Kate reveals her true name as she leaves.

Kate tries to attack Juliet but Juliet overpowers her. John visits her to say goodbye, saying he's leaving but Jack isn't. Kate asks what's happened to him. He apologises and leaves. She sees the others put on gas masks as a canister is thrown into her room. She awakes in the jungle handcuffed to an unconscious Juliet. Juliet wakes up and is as confused as Kate. They fight over the subject of Jack when the monster appears. They hide in that tree, where the monster flashes them before leaving. Juliet asks what it is, Kate thought she'd know. Juliet tells Kate about the cameras and that Jack wasn't protecting her- she broke his heart and she's now ruined his chance to get off the island. Kate says Juliet knows nothing about him, so Juliet reels off facts. Smokey returns so they cross the sonic fence. Juliet turns it on and Smokey can't pass. Juliet insists they don't know what it is. Kate is more angry that Juliet had the handcuff key. She says she didn't want to get left behind again. Kate finds Jack and aplogises for helping when he didn't need it, and tells him everyone's gone. He asks "even Juliet?" Kate tells him they left her too. Sayid announces the camp is empty if people and weapons. He doesn't want Juliet to join them- Jack insists, saying they left her too.
Hurley warns Sawyer there are plans to banish him so he needs to make nice with the camp. He tries to gut a fish on his own but can't so turns to Hurley for help making amends, starting with apologising for name-calling. He then befriends Claire & Aaron, giving them a blanket, and goes hunting with Desmond. Charlie says he doesn't know of a vote and Hurley confesses it was a trick- everyone is looking to him as the new leader, like it or not. Sun still requires convincing.

16. One Of Us
A very good Juliet episode.

I'm putting a stop to this as it's doubling the time it's taking to rewatch. There are much better summaries out there.



Thursday 25 March 2010

American Idol 2010 - Top 11 - Billboard #1s

1. Lee Dewyze - The Letter.
Horrible arrangement, dodgy vocals. Yuck. My idea of hell.
Randy: He knocked it out of the box.
Ellen: Fantastic.
Kara: Raised the bar for himself.
Simon: Corny, not contemporary.

2. Paige Miles - Against All Odds.
Quite shaky, nothing amazing, but plenty bad.
Randy: Terrible.
Ellen: Looks good.
Kara: She's stopped competing. Worst vocal of the season.
Simon: All over the place. That song has killed her.

3. Tim Urban - Crazy Little Thing Called Love.
Surprisingly poor performance. No musicality there. Struggled vocally, best best so far... Bad night tonight!
Randy: Bad karaoke.
Ellen: Didn't get it. High School Musical audition.
Kara: Acted like he'd made it but he hasn't.
Simon: Pointless and silly. Not taking part.

4. Aaron Kelly - I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing.
A great job with laryngitis and tonsilitis. Nicely sung, performance was comfortable.
Randy: Liked it, loved it.
Ellen: Amazing, she can see his career.
Kara: Best song choice, good attempt.
Simon: Brave, but old-fashioned choice for his age.

5. Crystal Bowersox - Me & Bobby McGee.
A great, confident performance with superb vocals. A few screechy bits in the middle though.
Randy: That's what it's about.
Ellen: Perfect. Need to see her personality and responding to the audience.
Kara: Wants to see her let go, lose the guitar for a week.
Simon: Wouldn't change a thing. No gimmicks but a carpet. (Really.)

6. Michael Lynche - When A Man Loves A Woman.
Big performance. Very casual and natural, great voice.
Randy: Not his best vocal, but loved it.
Ellen: Safe choice, but loved it.
Kara: Technically good but boring and loungey. Overindulgent. She still loves him.
Simon: Almost too much. Tons of charisma, good voice. Like you wanted a scoop of ice cream but got 11! Lol!

7. Andrew Garcia - I Heard It Through The Grapevine.
Competent but... whatever. Yawn. How do you make that song boring???
Randy: Wasn't good. Not him.
Ellen: Bad song choice, not fantastic.
Kara: Confused, didn't feel like him.
Simon: They've over-rated him. Sucked the soul out of the song.

8. Katie Stevens - Big Girls Don't Cry.
Seriously showed her limited range. Poor and nasal.
Randy: Sharp and pitchy but picked a younger song.
Ellen: Sounded great, evolving.
Kara: This is your vibe, but there were pitch issues.
Simon: Very different from before, good performance.

9. Casey James - The Power Of Love.
Loving the Carrie Underwood hair. Very cleverly dodged the lower notes. Sounded very good on the verses, but a bit weak on the chorus.
Randy: Not a fan of the song but sounded good.
Ellen: Best of the night.
Kara: He's in the zone. Made it current.
Simon: No effort, no originality.

10. Didi Benami - You're No Good.
Patchy. There's a really good voice in there and it came out at times. Lacking some stage presence though.
Randy: Never quite caught the pitch.
Ellen: Bad song choice.
Kara: Felt dramatic, not like her.
Simon: Ironic lyrics. Like the bad part of a musical.

11. Siobhan Magnus - Superstition.
Great vocals as always. Wish she'd put a bit more swagger in the performance.
Randy: Inspiring conviction.
Ellen: So good... More please!
Kara: More comfortable on stage than anywhere else in life.
Simon: Some will have hated that, the screeching at the end is becoming her thing.

My top: Crystal & Siobhan. Again. Casey and Michael okay. Bad night.

My bottom 3: Paige, Katie and Andrew. Still not a fan of Lee either.

Results Show:
Bottom 3: Paige, Tim and Katie
Safe: Katie.
Out: Paige. Can't say she'll be missed.

Lost - Season 3 - Disc 3

9. Stranger In A Strange Land.
Flashbacks: Achara (Bai Ling) helps Jack make a kite on a Thai (Phuket) beach. During lunch he witnesses her receive a stuffed white envelope. She shrugs, "I have a gift." They shag. He says he knows nothing about her. He follows her to work; a tattoo parlour where she sees who people are and mark them. He asks her to mark him, she's not allowed to mark outsiders. He asks who he is. A leader; lonely, frightened, angry. He asks her to mark it, she warns there will be consequences. He says there always are. On the beach, he is beaten and told to leave the country.

Kate suggests they go back for Jack. Karl says God loves them as he loves Jacob. They set up camp ashore the main island, and ask Karl about the others. They live on this island (with backyards), work on the other (on projects) and give the children a life better than theirs. When they awake, Karl has gone- but they find him crying nearby. Sawyer talks to him man to man, saying dying for Alex would be worth it, and lets him go. He tells Kate not to feel guilty for shagging him- he knows she only did it because she thought he was a dead man.
Tom moves Jack to the cages, and accuses Jack of hypocrisy for thinking of the others as bad people. He sees Juliet being led away in handcuffs- then in his old room without them. Tom says she's in trouble. She appears and asks him to help Ben, whose stiches are infected. He says no. Isabel (whom Tom previously referred to as the sherriff) reads Jack's Chinese tattoos aloud (in Chinese). He insists he knows what ite means. She asks him to come with her for questioning. Tom is there, as is a handcuffed Juliet. Isabel asks Jack if Juliet asked him to kill Ben. He says no, he was turning them against each other. She asks why he's lying for her. He asks to return to his cage. He awakes in his cage to an audience, including Cindy. They recognise each other and Jack says he thought she was taken. She says it's not that simple. They ask how Ana Lucia is and he sends them away. Alex smashes the CCTV and asks Jack why he saved Ben after all he'd done. He says because he said he would. He asks her about Juliet, and finds out what she did. He goes to Ben, who reveals Ethan was their top surgeon. He tells Ben to commute her sentence. Isabel reads his note, saying death is off the table, the rules don't apply, but she is to be marked. When she brings him food, he asks to see it. It's a star-like burn on her lower back. He medicates it with an aloe leaf. She asks why he helped her, he says they've been promised the same thing (home) and should work together. Ben warns him she's one of them. Isabel tells Jack his tattoos read "he walks amongst us but is not one of us". He says that's what they say but not what they mean. They leave on a boat.

10. Tricia Tanaka Is Dead.
Flashbacks: While working on a car, Young Hurley is told by his father (Cheech Marin) he has to make his own luck before heading to Vegas. He gives Hurley a chocolate bar. Mother watches from the window. After winning the lottery, Hurley is on the news for the grand reopening of the Mr Cluck's Chicken Shack he bought. Tricia Tanaka asks him about his run of luck- Hurley mentions the bad luck and she calls cut, going inside. Hurley isn't so sure she should by Randy- now his employee- says it's okay. Then a meteor destroys the place. He tells his mother it's the curse and he needs to return to Australia where the numbers came from. She slaps him, saying there's no curse. To prove it, she shows him that his father has returned- after 17 years. Hugo says he wants it all gone- starting with his father- but his mother reveals he's kept the car they worked on. To break the curse, his father takes him to a psychic, but she tells him death surrounds him, more is coming, but the curse can be broken. He gives her $10,000 and she admits his father put her up to it. He says he was trying to help. He asks who? He confesses he's here for the money, but doesn't want Hugo to go as it won't solve anything, you make your own luck. He suggests giving all the money away so they can make a fresh start.

Hurley visits Libby's grave, keeping her up to date, adding he misses her. He visits Charlie, who tells him about Desmond's predictions. Hurley blames himself as Vincent arrives with a skeletal arm carrying a lucky rabbit's foot keyring and key. He leads Hurley to an upturned VW camper van. Inside are the remains of a man wearing a Dharma jump suit reading "Roger, Work Man". Sun tells Jin she will only speak to him in English so he'll learn, when Hurley arrives, but nobody else seems interested. Jin accidentally volunteers. They remove Roger's body.
Kate and Sawyer arrive back at the beach. There us much rejoicing. She had asked him to apologise so they could start afresh, but he refuses. He says he has nothing to be sorry about. I'm inclined to agree.
Charlie asks Desmond when it'll happen. He replies that it doesn't work like that. Sawyer discovers his stash is missing. He joins Hurley and Jin, they embrace. Hurley asks who's back, but says Jack will be fine when he's told he stayed, as things are getting better. It's a sign. Sawyer helps, for the beer in the back. They flip up the car and find blueprints for a road inside. They try the engine, but no luck. Jin and Sawyer give up. Hugo wants to go on, saying they need hope. Sawyer tells him he's on the wrong island. He prays for help as Sawyer throws him a can of beer, whilst teaching Jin English. It rolls down a hill and Hugo gets Charlie. He slaps him to snap out of it. He has an idea that will kill them or help them. They need to make their own luck. They push the van to the edge of the hill, Hugo and Charlie get in, Sawyer and Jin push them down. Just as they're about to crash into rocks, the engine starts.
Kate tells Sayid about Jack sacrificing himself for them, and Michael and Walt leaving. Locke asks if this means they can leave? Kate replies she doesn't know, and is going for help to get Jack back. Locke asks "from who?" as she walks away. Using bearing John got from the way the light hit Eko's stick at the burial, they follow her to Rousseau. Kate tells her they need her help. And that the others have her daughter.

11. Enter 77.
Flashbacks: "Najeev" (Sayid) meets Sami at a restaurant, where Sayid is a chef. He offers him a better-paid chef job as a fellow Iraqi outsider. He meets Sami's wife Amira, noticing burns on her arms. She says she's sure it's him and he is overpowered. Sayid had tortured Amira while he was with the Republican Guard. He confesses his name and job, but insists he's never seen her before. He is told he will confess or leave in a body bag. He is beaten, but still denies it. When he is alone with her, he confesses that her face has haunted him and he's sorry. She tells him she will say she made a mistake and have him released.

Jin finds a ping pong table. Sawyer wants his stash back. They play for it. If he loses, no nicknames for a week. Hugo is chosen as opponent. Hugo wins but gives him some of his porn back. He tells Sawyer Kate will be okay.
Sayid follows a cow to the man with the eye patch. He's at what looks like a small farmhouse with a satellite dish. Rousseau says she's never been here before, but has stayed alive this long by avoiding such confrontations. She'll meet them by the stream if they survive. Sayid decides to approach unarmed and alone. He is shot in the arm. Kate and John overpower him. He says he is Mikhail Bakunin, the last living Dharma Initiative member. He has had experience treating war wounds in Afghanistan. He is from Kiev, and answered an ad to save the world. It's the Flame station, to communicate with the outside world. John starts playing computer chess. Mikhail warns him he can't win as it cheats. John says computers don't know how to. Mikhail tells Kate and Sayid that The DI are dead after initiating a war against the Hostiles, known as the "purge". He didn't participate and formed a truce with them, as the dish hasn't worked in years. He doesn't know who they were, but they were here a very long time before The DI. His cat is called Nadia, after an athlete. As he makes iced tea, Sayid tells Kate he suspects he is neither Dharma nor alone. He continues telling them about their network and a submarine Dharma used to use, but assumes the hostiles use or have destroyed. Sayid mentions the hostiles captured their sailboat, but at least they got to kill one of them. Mikhail asks why they are playing this game, and attacks but is overpowered and tied up. They work out that the dish was still working until the purple sky broke it, and discover a doorway under the rug. While Sawyer and Kate investigate below, discovering the place is wired with C4, John returns to his chess game. He wins. Martin Candle appears on the screen, saying "manual override achieved." For pallet drop, enter 24. For station uplink, enter 32. For mainland communication, enter 38. He enters 38 but communications are down. For sonar access, enter 56. Also down. If there's been an incursion by the hostiles, enter 77. As he is about to enter it, Mikhail holds a knife to his throat. Below, Miss Klugh appears and Kate recognises her. They take her upstairs, where Mikhail is holding John at gunpoint. She speaks Russian and Mikhail shoots her. John stops him shooting himself, and returns to enter 77, as Sayid calls for Danielle and leads them away. Kate gets supplies. Sayid shows a map of wiring leading to a barracks. Mikhail says he will kill Sayid the moment his guard is down. Kate and John arrive at them, and the station explodes. John tells Sayid what he did, Sayid is furious, saying they'd lost their only chance of communication with the outside world.

12. Par Avion.
Flashbacks: Claire (in Goth outfit) wakes from a car crash, where her mother lies dead on the floor. A policeman (Barnes) interviews her at the hospital. She mentions her father died when she was 2. She insists it wasn't her fault. When she visits her mother's bedside, her aunt Lindsey has a go at her. The doctor tells them she may not wake up, but medical expenses have been taken care of- confidentially. Her mother Carole has a new American doctor- Christian, who is confronted by Lindsey when she arrives. She asks him to leave and they argue. She asks him if he's the one paying the bills, and why. He reveals he's Claire's father. She reluctantly goes for a coffee with him. He tells her he visited her as a baby, but Lindsey eventually kept him away because he had another family. He wants to end Carole's suffering. Claire says she never wants to see him again, and doesn't even want to know his name. When pregnant, she visits her comatose mother and tells her she's pregnant and giving it away, as she doesn't know how she managed to raise her alone. She aplogises for being a bad daughter and all the things she said in the car.

Charlie makes Claire breakfast and a picnic. Desmond suggests he goes hunting instead. Hint hint. Claire sees a flock of seagulls and has an idea to get them off the island. The birds are electronically tagged, so they should capture them and tie messages to them. Charlie is distracted by Desmond's news, and lacks enthusiasm for her idea. She notices his glances at Desmond. Sun and Jin help her build a net trap. Claire says her mother "was" a librarian. As they start to succeed Desmond fires a gun. He says it was at a boar, but she suggests he doesn't want her to catch the birds. She confronts Charlie about it, he says he doesn't want to encourage false hope. She follows Desmond as he rescues a seagull and confronts him, he tells her everything. She sees Charlie and lets him know she knows. He says "you don't believe all that, do you?" Claire writes a message and they attach it to the seagull. Claire tells him they'll all be okay together as the bird joins the flock.
Sayid and John argue over directions to the barracks. Kate asks Rousseau why she hasn't asked about Alex. She says because she doesn't want to know the answers. Alex won't remember her or know how much she cares. John seems interested when Mikhail says he was brought to the island by submarine, but is no longer an possible to come back since the electromagnetic pulse destroyed the beacon. She asks why he'd want to, he says she's not capable of understanding because she's not on the list. The man who brought all of his people here is a magnificent man. And it's not Ben. Those not on the list are flawed- angry, weak, frightened. Sayid says Mikhail doesn't know them, then Mikhail reels of facts about their pasts. Rousseau interrupts when she notices a series of wireless pilons. Sayid warns them not to go near, saying it's an alarm system or trap. Mikhail says it was, but hasn't worked in years. John throws him past them, he says thank you as a loud vibration causes him to foam at the mouth and bleed from the ears before collapsing. Kate suggests they go over it. Sayid discovers C4 in Locke's bag, asking if he really came for Jack. They cut down a tree and use it to climb over the fence. They find the compound and see Jack happily playing football with Tom.



Monday 22 March 2010

Lost - Season 3 - Disc 2

5. The Cost of Living
Flashbacks: A young Eko is forced to confession after stealing to feed Yemi. After his shot brother is put on the plane, Eko goes to his church. Amina brings her son Daniel to see Yemi- Eko says he's gone to a refugee camp, and that he's taking his place. She asks if he's going to take his place in London at the end of the week too. Eko replies that he will. Emeki and his gun-toting crew arrive, demanding their 80% vaccine protection payment. When Eko refuses, Emeki shoots a woman. Eko then tries to sell the vaccines to someone else, and when Emeki's gang arrive, he slaughters them. The town see him exit, covered in blood. When he leaves for London, Daniel asks Eko if he's a bad man, as his mother says he is. Eko replies that only God knows. Amina tells Eko that he owes Yemi a church as theirs is no longer sacred, as it is being boarded up.

Ben visits Jack, who asks him about his tumour. Ben denies it and, wearing dress robes, they go to Colleen's funeral on the beach. She is cremated on a raft. Ben asks Juliet why she showed Jack his X-rays. She said she didn't tell him whose they were. Juliet brings Jack food but Ben arrives and gets her to leave. He tells Jack that they had a plan to get him to trust them, as Juliet resembles Sarah. He says he wants Jack to want to save him, calling his arrival proof of God. Juliet begs Jack to do the surgery, but while she's talking shows him a silent video of herself holding up cards reading the message that Ben must die in surgery so that it looks like an accident.
Eko dreams that Yemi tells him it's time to confess and be judged. His tent catches fire, Hurley, Charlie and Sayid rescue him, but he disappears as Locke arrives. Desmond tells John and Sayid that the computer could be used to communicate with other stations, Sayid asks John if he wants to find the other stations. He says yes. When Charlie mentions Eko mentioned his brother, Locke realises where he's gone. Eko is attacked by mutilated men who turn into Daniel, who tells Eko to confess before vanishing. Eko is alone. At the beach, John asks announces that they're heading for the Pearl station, asking anyone if they want to come. Nikki says she'll come, Paolo reluctantly goes too. Hurley points out that's nit what Jack would've done. Desmond asks if they're going to rescue their friends or Eko. He says two birds one stone, repeating Eko's line about coincidence and fate. As the black smoke monster approaches Eko, it disappears- John etc arrive. Eko is angry at John when he mentions Yemi's name. John asks him what he's afraid of, mentioning that he'd seen the smoke monster, which had shown him a beautiful white light. Eko says that's not what he saw. They get inside the plane. Eko is distressed to find Yemi gone, saying he'll wait while they enter the Pearl. John gives him his brother's cross. Inside The Pearl, Nikki watches the video, pointing out that there are six stations. Sayid patches in some of the other TVs. One of them shows a man with an eye patch switch the feed back off. Yemi appears to Eko, who chases him. Yemi asks him if he's ready. He says he is and asks for no forgiveness, as he has not sinned. He has only done what was needed to survive, and is proud of saving his brother's life. Yemi says "you speak to me as if you are my brother". Eko asks him who he is as he follows him when walks away. The smoke monster appears and throws Eko from tree to tree to ground. The people in the Pearl hear and run to him. He whispers to Locke as he dies. Sayid asks, John says "we're next".

6. I Do.
Flashbacks: "Monica" (Kate), is engaged to a cop called Kevin (Nathan Fillion). On the wedding day, Suzanne, Kevin's mother, gives Monica a necklace her mother had given her on her wedding day. They marry. One day, she rings Edward Mars, the marshal, and asks to be left alone. He agrees, as long as she can settle, but they both know she can't. Kevin gives her honeymoon tickets for a flight to Costa Rica. When she has a pregnancy scare, she drugs him, confesses her name's not Monica, and that she's a fugitive. She does a bunk, leaving Suzanne's necklace.

Jack tells Ben he has a week before his tumour becomes inoperable, but won't do the surgery.
Sawyer throws rocks at the food dispenser. Kate asks for a biscuit. Pickett tells her to go to work, saying Sawyer's got the day off. She refuses so they make Sawyer go too. Alex appears with a slingshot, demanding to know what they've done with her boyfriend. As Kate overhears a mention of the doctor getting out, Alex warns her they'll kill her boyfriend, as they did hers. Juliet asks Kate to put on a hood and come with her, or they'll kill Sawyer. She takes her to Jack and gives them some privacy. She tells him about the cages and work. He asks if they've hurt her, she begs him to do what they want or Sawyer will die. He tells her to leave. Ben is watching. When returned to their cages, Juliet observes that Kate really cares for Sawyer. Danny Pickett tells Sawyer if he has something to tell Kate, it had better be tonight. She tells him about Jack, Ben, and the surgery but Sawyer insists his life doesn't need saving. She climbs out of her cage and breaks his lock. He says there's nowhere to go, telling her they're on another island, and that he wanted her to have hope. They kiss. Then shag. He tells her he loves her.
Jack and Sayid head for the beach to get shovels so that they can bury Eko. Sayid asks John what killed Eko, John says he thinks something that decided that Eko was meant to die, but doesn't know what the reason is. Locke gets his prayer staff to bury with his body. At the burial, he reads the inscription "Lift up your eyes and look north".
Jack hears a female voice on the intercom telling him to try the door. He escapes, finding an armoury and Ben's monitors, including a post-coital Skate. Ben appears- Jack agrees to do the surgery tomorrow on condition he's let off the island. Ben agrees. As Juliet assists Jack in theatre, Pickett mentions that Jack wasn't even on Jacob's list and gets Sawyer. Kate tries to stop them. Jack cuts Ben's kidney sac, announcing he has one hour to stitch it back up, or Ben will die. He stops Danny from shooting Sawyer just in time, telling Kate to run an call him when she's safe.

7. Not In Portland.
Flashbacks: Juliet Burke's sister Rachel is dying of cancer in Miami. Juliet has an appointment with Dr. Alpert from Mittelos BioScience at 2.00. Whilst stealing medicine, her ex-husband Edmund Burke walks in with a dolly bird, Sherry, who is the new research assistant. He calls to see her, saying he knows what she's up to and wants in. Dr. Alpert shows her a presentation of their facility near Portland, and the scan of a 26-year-old woman's prematurely aged womb. He knows of her research and wants her to find out why. She says she's not a leader and her husband wouldn't let her anyway, joking he'd have to be hit by a bus. Rachel tells Juliet that she's pregnant, thanks to Juliet's research. When she tells Ed, he steps out in front of a bus, Final Destination- stylee. She cries as she signs papers at the morgue. Ethan offers her a tissue and Alpert appears, introducing Ethan as a colleague. If she accepts the job, she'll be back in 6 months, in time for her sister's baby's birth. "They're very thorough in their recruitment process."

Juliet orders ex-bearded man Tom to go after Kate and Sawyer, calling Jack's bluff. He asks her to stitch Ben up, but Jack says she can't, she's not a surgeon. She agrees. Jack then tells Tom about Juliet's request to kill Ben. Tom asks her to leave, and asks Jack if it's true. Ben wakes up, asking for Juliet. He says he's been listening and wants to be alone with her. Tom and Jack watch them through soundproof glass. Tom tells him they have history. She comes out and tells Jack to finish the surgery while she helps his friends escape. In surgery, Jack asks Tom why they didn't take Ben off-island for this, he begins "ever since the sky turned purple..." when Jack, accidentally this time, cuts Ben's artery.
Alex helps Kate and Sawyer hide in a covered pit as Pickett catches up. She'll help them escape on a boat if they help rescue her boyfriend. Sawyer asks if she means Karl. She refers to Ben as her father when she takes them to Hydra entrance, guarded by Aldo. They pretend to be prisoners ("the Wookiee Prisoner Gag") then overpower him as he radios for help. He's in room 23, Clockwork Orange- style loud music, words and images. Pickett arrives at the Hydra but doesn't believe Juliet when she says Ben wants them to go. As they load a dazed Karl onto a raft on the shore, Danny appears- but is shot by Juliet. She lets them go, but Alex must stay. Juliet gives Kate a walkie talkie to radio Jack. To prove she's okay, she tells him the story he told her when she sewed him up in the pilot. He tells her not to come back for him and switches it off, saying Ben's okay as Kate, Sawyer and Karl sail off.
Jack asks Juliet what Ben said to convince her. She's been there for over three years. Ben told her she could finally go home.

8. Flashes Before Your Eyes.
Flashbacks: Desmond Hume turns the fail-safe key and awakes in his flat with Penny. As he's about to go for an interview with her father, he hears a familiar beep- but it's the microwave. He hears the number 815 and sees a painting in Whismore's office labelled Namaste, featuring a polar bear, and a model of his boat. Charles offers Desmond an administrative job, but he's come for his daughter's hand in marriage. Charles offers himself some McCutcheon's whiskey, saying Desmond will never be great enough to deserve it, let alone his daughter. As he leaves, Desmond sees Charlie busking, asking him how he knows him. He gets flashes of the island then remembers it rains... as it rains. He visits his best friend, physicist Donovan, at a museum, asking him about time travel, asking if his story is possible. After a prediction in a pub goes wrong, Donovan sends him home to propose. He tells Penny he didn't get the job as wasn't qualified, and ask why she loves him. She replies he's a good man, and that's hard to come by. When he buys an engagement ring, the woman in the shop says he's got it wrong when he says he'll take it, recounting the details of his life from now until... now, saying if he doesn't do it all again, everyone will die. When they witness a man's accidental death, she tells him that the universe has a way of course correcting, that if she'd warned him, he'd die a different way tomorrow. Again, like Final Destination. She says Desmond's path is to get to the island and not marry Penny. When they have their photo taken by the Thames, he sees is and realises he can't go through with it. She calls him a coward. He throws the ring in the Thames. As he drowns his sorrows in a pub, his prediction comes true- except that he gets knocked out, and wakes up naked in the jungle. He sees the destroyed hatch, finds his photo and asks to be taken back again to do it right.

Desmond goes to see Hurley and Charlie, who are ransacking Sawyer's stash. They go to John and Sayid, who tell them the island killed Eko. Hurley notices Desmond is distracted then he runs off to the beach, dives in the water and saves Claire from drowning. Charlie asks him how he knew. He doesn't answer. Hurley tells Charlie that Desmond sees the future. They decide to get him drunk on McCutcheon's whiskey, but he still dodges the question, attacking Charlie when he calls him a coward. He tells Charlie he can't change it, no matter what he does. He says after he turned the key, his life flashed before his eyes. But the flashes didn't stop. He wasn't saving Claire, he was saving Charlie. He drowned saving Claire, he was struck by lightning... No matter what Desmond does, he can't stop it forever... Charlie's going to die.

Saturday 20 March 2010

Lost - Season 3 - Disc 1

1. A Tale Of Two Cities.
Flashbacks:
We see Juliet running a book club in a regular suburban-style house, when flight 815 splits overhead. Ben ("Henry") appears, ordering Ethan and Goodwin to infiltrate the survivors. We see they are in a tiny village inland on the island.
Jack and Sarah are divorcing, but she won't tell him for whom she is leaving him. After following her and going through her phone bill Jack incorrectly accuses his father, Christian starts drinking again. Sarah tells him it doesn't matter who her man is, it only matters who Jack isn't.

Sawyer awakes in a cage, opposite a caged boy, Karl, who escapes and lets Sawyer out- only for both to be recaptured quickly. Sawyer is returned to his cage but Karl isn't. After many failed attempts, Sawyer works out a contraption that gives him a biscuit, grain and water. He is told that the bears figured it out in just two hours.
Kate awakes to find the bearded man (sans beard) ordering her to shower and put on a specific dress, adding she's not his type. He takes her to the beach, where Ben has a breakfast ready for her. He wanted her to remember something nice, as the next few weeks will be unpleasant. She is led to Karl's cage. Sawyer throws her the biscuit, which she starts to eat.
Jack awakes inside Dharma's Hydra station, where he hears his father's voice through a broken intercom. Juliet tries to feed him but he escapes and opens a hatch. The station starts flooding with water, so they both lock the door (Ben appears briefly but saves himself) and Juliet knocks Jack out, returning him to his room. She tells him that this was an aquarium for sharks and dolphins, and that they are underwater. reads him a file all about his life- job, father's autopsy, ex-wife... He reluctantly agrees to be fed.

2. The Glass Ballerina.
Flashbacks: A young Sun smashes a small, glass ballerina. She tells her father the maid did it, knowing she'd be fired. We then see her in bed with Jae Lee, who gives her a (literal) pearl necklace, saying he wants her to go to America with him, when Sun's father enters the room. Jin is ordered to get rid of Jae. He tries to quit, but is told he must honour the family. Sun suggests to Jin that they start a new life away, but he says that they can't escape her father. Jin tells Jae to leave the country, but he jumps out of the window onto Jin's car. Jin notices he's holding a pearl necklace. At his funeral, Sun's father tells her it's not his place to tell Jin about her affair.

Ben is told by Colleen that Sayid has found the decoy village, but somehow has a sailboat, meaning the others could be found. He asks her to form a team, adding that he wants that boat. Danny lets Kate and Sawyer out and kisses Colleen goodbye as he leads them away. They are asked to excavate rocks. A hidden Alex secretly whispers to Kate, asking if she's seen Karl. She says she hasn't. Alex tells Kate she's wearing her dress, but can keep it. Sawyer creates a distraction by kissing Kate, overpowering a guard, but gives up when Juliet holds a gun to Kate. They are returned to their cages. He tells her he was checking the strengths and weaknesses if their team. Kate discovers Sawyer's name is James. We see Ben watching them via monitors, hearing their conversation. He visits Jack and shows him video footage of the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series, telling him they have contact with the outside world, and will let him go home if he does what they say.
Jin and Sayid argue over whether or not to leave, as it's been over a day since they lit the signal fire and Jack's not coming. Sun sides with Sayid, who wants to wait. She apologises to Jin, saying she came to be with him. They find a dock, but Sun realises Sayid's plan is to lure the Others. Jin eventually cottons on, revealing he understands English better than they think, and knows Sun has betrayed him. He takes a gun and sends Sun back to the boat. At night, the Others take the boat. Sun runs into Colleen, who tells her that they are not the enemy- but will be if Sun shoots her. Sun is startled by a noise from above, shoots her, and escapes. Jin swims after the boat, but sees Sun in the water and they return to the island. Sayid apologises, saying he'll listen to Jin next time.

3. Further Instructions.
Flashbacks: Locke picks up a hitchhiker called Eddie, who's fleeing his drunken father. The police stop them- he has guns in the back, but also the paperwork for them. He brings Eddie to a camp, where he shows him a sweat lodge, saying it tells you whether you're a farme or a hunter. They join a large group for dinner, calling them his new family. Six weeks later he asks about a mysterious greenhouse, saying he knows what they're up to and wants in, thinking they're planning to blow something up. Locke laughs, saying he'll mention it to Mike & Jan. He finds them packing- Eddie is a cop, the greenhouse is a cannabis farm. Locke says he'll fix it. He takes Eddie into the woods alone, and asks him at gunpoint if he was chosen by the police. Eddie tells him yes, because he had no criminal record and was "amenable for coercion". He walks away, telling John he's not a murder, he's a good man, a farmer. John corrects him, saying he's a hunter, but doesn't fire as Eddie leaves.

Locke awakes in the jungle. He sees a naked Desmond run past. When Eko's stick lands on his head, he heads for the beach, grabs tarpaulin and goes to the church. Charlie follows. Locke, who can't speak, indicates that he needs to speak to the island. He makes a sweat lodge and asks Charlie to stand guard while he goes inside, eating the stuff he'd put on Boone's head. Boone appears, telling him he needs to clean up his own mess before he can help anyone else, adding "they've got him. You don't have much time". He can now speak and tells Charlie he's going to save Eko's life. They find his cross and Locke follows a polar bear's trail. He sends Charlie back to Claire, saying bad things happen to people around him. He refuses. They go to the hatch, and find an imploded hole. When chased by a polar bear, Locke throws a knife through the bushes. It hits Hurley's water flask. He fills them in on the Others. Locke sends him to the beach. He goes. Charlie and Locke discover a cave. Locke goes in alone with a flaming torch and a knife. He finds Eko amongst Dharma-wearing human remains. He fights off a polar bear and drags Eko out to Charlie. As they carry him back to the beach, Locke says he's doing what Boone told him to do- clean up his own mess. Charlie goes for water, John apologises to Eko. Eko tells John he will find, protect and save his friends, because he is a hunter. Charlie returns, but Eko isn't awake.
Hurley discovers Desmond, lending him a tie-dyed t-shirt. He tells Hurley about the fail-safe, Hurley observes Desmond didn't implode. Desmond mentions a speech Locke gave, but Hurley corrects him. Desmond says he's a bit confused.
They all arrive at the beach, and John gives the speech Desmond mentioned to Hurley, saying they'll find their friends and bring them home. Hurley, watching Desmond, tells Charlie he just had déjà vu.

4. Every Man For Himself.
Flashbacks: Sawyer tells new prison inmate Munson that the warden is after his embezzled $10m. Cassie visits him, telling him he has a baby daughter, Clementine, and wants him to write her a letter. He says he has no daughter and leaves. When Munson's wife Lila hires a P.I., Munson asks Sawyer to help him move the money. Sawyer tells the warden where the money is. He is freed, and asks for his reward to go to a new bank account for Clementine Phillips, but she can't find out where the money came from.

Desmond offers to fix Claire's roof, but Charlie says he'll do it. He then gives Paolo golfing advice whilst borrowing a club. He builds a lightning rod near Claire's bed and it's struck.
Jack calls Ben Juliet's boss- she denies it, then Ben bursts in ordering her out, saying the sub has returned.
Jack and Sawyer are about to be taken to work when a stretchered Colleen arrives, badly injured. Sawyer smiles at Kate, saying "we happened", calling it their ticket out. He plans their escape, but when Kate asks about Jack, he says they don't even know if he's alive, it's every man for himself. Ben visits Sawyer and knocks him out before he can execute his escape. He awakes strapped to a bed, where he's given an injection. Jack hears his screams on the broken intercom. He's told he's been fitted with a pacemaker that will explode if his heart rate reaches 140. A white rabbit labelled "8" is used to demonstrate, and he's given a heart monitor watch. Sawyer is warned not to tell Kate, or she'll get one too. He's returned to his cage.
Juliet gets Jack to operate on Colleen, but she dies. Jack is handcuffed to her cart, Ben says he wants him to be with her a little longer. Juliet arrives, telling Jack she's a fertility doctor. He tells her he's a spinal surgeon and saw the spinal x-rays on his way in. He asks who he's there to save, given Colleen was "dead before she was put on the table."
Danny gets Sawyer and beats him until Kate says she loves him. She escapes through the cage roof and tries to free Sawyer but he tells her to run, so she gets back in her cage. He says, "it's every man for himself", she says, "live togeher, die alone." Ben wakes Sawyer and takes him for a walk up a mountain, where he shows him Bunny 8 alive and well, telling him he doesn't have a pacemaker. He then shows Sawyer another island, saying it's the one Sawyer crashed on. They're on a smaller one nearby, so there's nowhere for him to escape to. The only way to gain a con man's respect is to con him.

Friday 19 March 2010

American Idol 2010 - Top 12 - The Rolling Stones

I'm not that au fait with The Stones, so this should be interesting for me...

1. Michael Lynche - Miss You.
Generic song, typical Idol performance. Very good, but not outstanding. Great voice.
Randy, Ellen & Kara: Great start to the show/big stage live shows.
Simon: Corny performance. Ryan all up in his grill.

2. Didi Benami - Playing With Fire.
Very good. Nice, smoky vocals. Never heard the song before but even I could tell she forgot the third verse.
Randy: On fire, one of her best performances.
Ellen: Proud that she got back on track after her mistake.
Kara: Liked the intensity, a step in the right direction.
Simon: Liked it. Solid, but she can do better.

3. Casey James - It's All Over Now.
Very competently done. Nothing amazing, but nothing terrible.
Randy: Loved it. He's back!
Ellen: Fantastic.
Kara: Rock star. Added soul to his country. Best performance.
Simon: Audition performance, should be incredible, but still very good.

4. Lacey Brown - Ruby Tuesday.
Oops. Shaky vocals. First weak performance tonight.
Randy: Interesting, but not jumping up and down.
Ellen: A bit sleepy.
Kara: 50/50. Issues with hitting notes, but liked the drama.
Simon: Like an actress, but overthought. Let go... Nothing wrong with the vocals (errrr....)

5. Andrew Garcia - Gimme Shelter.
Another competent performance, a few attempts at big notes but still quite bland.
Randy: Pitchy everywhere.
Ellen: His best performance yet.
Kara: Like his tone, but lacked lyrical connection.
Simon: Suspects he was better in rehearsal. Hopes he stays.

6. Katie Stevens - Wild Horses.
Is she still here? Some nice big notes in the second half though.
Randy: Very strong performance.
Ellen: Started pitchy then sounded great.
Kara: Good vocal choices, improvement.
Simon: Clever choice, didn't like second half (errr....) as she lost the emotion.

7. Tim Urban - Under My Thumb.
Interesting reggae vibe, but again very MOR.
Randy: Didn't get it.
Ellen: Very cocktail bar. No wow.
Kara: Applause for doing something different.
Simon: Nice try, but didn't work. Crazy decision.

8. Siobhan Magnus - Paint It Black.
One of the strongest vocals of the night. Lots of tricks. Only just realised how much she looks like Anna Paquin!
Randy: Bringing the drama! Hot!
Ellen: Loved it, she rose above.
Kara: Very Adam Lambert. Best arrangement.
Simon: Standout performance of the night. Some will hate it, and he loves that.

9. Lee Dewyze - Beast Of Burden.
Nice to hear him singing for once, shouting kept to a minimum. Actually not bad. Rough ending though.
Randy: Dope, one of his best.
Ellen: Great, but expected more from him on Stones week.
Kara: Growing the fastest. Tremendous.
Simon: Likes him as a story, but his personality isn't shining. He played it too safe.

10. Paige Miles - Honkytonk Woman.
Showed the limits of her range, sounded very weak in places, but some nice moments. Oh, apparently she's got laryngitis.
Randy: Did alright, she pulled it off.
Ellen: Great presence. Sounded amazing.
Kara: Worked the stage, great moments.
Simon: Generic, old fashioned, but moments of her big voice.

11. Aaron Kelly - Angie.
Like the makeover. Very good stage presence, great choice of song. Not flawless, but liked it. A lot.
Randy: Liked it, hot.
Ellen: The other stand out tonight.
Kara: Very powerful.
Simon: 100% the right song. He sang it within his limits, believable.

12. Crystal Bowersox - You Can't Always Get What You Want.
Excellent, sincere and natural performance.
Randy: Not her best, but love her.
Ellen: Effortless; born to be on stage. Her personality came through.
Kara: So comfortable it's easy to watch.
Simon: She was the favourite, but bettered by Siobhan tonight for the first time.

My top: Didi, Siobhan, Aaron and Crystal.

My bottom 3: Lacey, Andrew & Paige. Katie and Lee get a one-week reprieve.

Results Show:
The judges' save is back- one use only, must be unanimous and only before the Top 5. Cool. Hope they don't waste it like last year.

Bottom 3: Paige, Tim and Lacey.
Can't really disagree too much. Tim wasn't great but I am a bit biased for some reason... And he's safe! Phew.

Lacey's out. Good call.


Tuesday 16 March 2010

Lost - Season 2 - Deleted Scenes

Flashbacks:
Abandoned- At her father's wake, Shannon's stepmother says she loved her husband, and it's the one thing they'll always have in common. She then asks Shannon, "when are you leaving?"
Abandoned- Shannon starts an au pair job in France. The father seems a but leery towards her.
Lockdown- At his father's funeral, the priest asks John details of his father's life that he can't answer.

Sun asks Shannon what she saw (Walt). She says she can't have because they're on the raft. They're the lucky ones.
Charlie asks Jack why he let Kate go. He replies she it's her choice. Charlie suggests she wanted Jack to stop her.
Claire asks Sun if she wants to hold Aaron. She does, Claire comments she's good with kids, enquiring if her and Jin... "No."
Charlie tries to wake Locke, but he's fast asleep. He complains to Claire that he doesn't know what's going on in the hatch. She points out where Hurley is, so he heads over to him.
An unseen woman from the tail section (Libby) gives Sawyer some water while he's in Ana Lucia's pit, after enquiring if he's really from the tail section.
Ana Lucia feeds the tailies and losties at the tailies' hatch.
The tailies open a washed-up crate, hoping to find food. It's full of tourist boomerangs.
Libby introduces herself to a bound Sayid, saying Ana's afraid he'll kill her if released. He doesn't comment si she tries apologising for Ana's behaviour, especially killing Shannon, saying it was an accident, and Ana's a good person. He says if Ana's such a good person, why is Libby afraid to untie him?
Locke gives Eko a saw, asking why he wants it. Eko enquires if it matters, Locke says no and gives it to him.
Libby introduces herself to Claire, who offers her water. She compliments Aaron and comments that Claire is wearing her shirt, adding it suits her and she can keep it.
Sun looks after a fevered Sawyer. Jin says he's too stubborn to die, and comments how good it is to be understood again.
Michael sees Locke in the hatch for his shift, asking if he thinks the different stations are connected. John says he thinks they probably pre-date the internet, asking why he asks. Michael says there's a lot of equipment just to enter numbers. John points out the computer is only to be used for that, and offers to stay until Gurley arrives, but leaves when Michael declines.
Claire takes Aaron to Sayid on the beach, asking him whether Charlie knew there were drugs in the statue, as he's been looking after Aaron.
Jack finds Kate looking for scissors in the hatch. He asks her to tell Sawyer his dressing needs changing.
Ana tells Eko that Jack wants to go after "them". Eko questions whether attack is wise, now they are safe. Ana asks what happens to the man who killed two of them. He points out he's sitting there, talking to her.
Hurley asks about Libby about herself while doing laundry. When she asks about him, he's amazed she believes him. He asks her to join him for a walk sometime. She says she'd love to.
Sayid warns Jack about letting "Henry" go, as he knows their weaknesses. Jack says he knows nothing. Sayid points out that he knows Jack and Locke don't agree, and that's a weakness.
Sun compliments the smell of Rose's cooking as an excuse to talk about their husbands and children. Rose reveals she had a daughter that passed. She said some things in life you just can't do anything about it. Sun asks her about false hope, Rose reassures her, but looks uncertain over her shoulder as they hug.
Libby and Hurley discuss what they muss while exercising. Libby mentions music, so Hurley suggests the record player in the hatch. Libby says the prisoner is a mood killer, and asks to be excused.

Monday 15 March 2010

Lost - Season 2 - Episodes 21-24

Disc 6

Episode 21. ?
Flashbacks: Eko, now working as a priest in Sydney, receives his forged passport in preparation to leave for LA, when he is distracted by the Monsignor to a miracle. A girl, Charlotte, has come back to life a day after drowning. He tells the Monsignor he doesn't believe her. He is told that is why he was chosen. Eko hears the audio of the autopsy, during which the girl is heard to have woken up. He visits the house where Richard (Claire's psychic) tells him it wasn't a miracle, his daughter had hypothermia, and the doctor was negligent. He knows miracles don't exist because he's a fraud psychic who invents them. Charlotte surprises Eko at the airport, telling him that Yemi told her- while she was dead- that Eko was a good priest, that he would visit her, and that he had faith in Eko, even if Eko didn't himself. One day he'll believe her.

Michael emerges from the hatch, shot, telling Jack etc that "Henry" did it. John, Kate and Sawyer find the bodies of Ana and Libby, as Jack carries in Michael with Eko's help. Libby splutters awake, but is shaking with shock too much to speak. Jack needs the heroin to help her- it's in Sawyer's gun stash. Kate goes with him- it's under his tent. Hurley asks them if they've seen Libby, so Kate tells him. He visits her and apologises for forgetting the blankets. She says Michael's name and Jack tells her he's fine, but she dies before she can clarify. Sawyer comforts Kate.
Eko dreams about Ana and Yemi, and is told to look for John, with an axe, to take him to the question mark. Eko asks John to join him in trailing "Henry". As they begin the trail, Eko asks him where the question mark is. He refuses, so Eko headbutts him unconscious. When he wakes, Eko tells him Ana asked him to ask John. John gives him the map he drew from memory. When John mocks his dream, Eko asks him if he's never followed a dream? That night John has a dream about Eko and Yemi climbing the tree where the plane was. When he tells Eko, he immediately sets off. From atop the cliff he sees a circle where Locke is standing, it has been salted so nothing can grow. Underneath the plane they find a hexagon door. Eko uses the axe to open it. It's another hatch with a ladder to an underground bunker. They discover a wall of monitors, including surveillance of the Swan hatch, where they see Jack. Eko finds a video cassette from 1980 marked "Orientation". 5 of 6, it is for Station 5 - The Pearl. This time, Martin Candle is called Dr. Mark Wickmund. He explains that their three-week job is to monitor the Swan hatch in minute detail, who are unaware they are being observed. Observations of their psychological experiment must be recorded in notebooks and sent through a pneumatic tube to the HQ. After each eight-hour shift they must proceed to the Pala Ferry, where they will be returned to barracks for their next mission. Eko asks Locke if he wants to watch it again. Visibly upset, he says he's "seen enough". An excited Eko gathers the unsent notes and tells John his work is more important than ever, that John was not doing it because he was told to by a film, but because he felt he was meant to. An angry Locke says he wasn't meant to do anything, calling his life pathetic, useless and meaningless, asking Eko who is he to disagree? Eko tells him about Yemi, and that if John doesn't push the button, he will.
Michael hears the computer beep. It's the flashing cursor he used to communicate with Walt.

Episode 22. Three Minutes.
Flashbacks:
13 days ago: Michael asks Locke for a gun, checking his watch. John gives one to him, but Michael knocks him out and runs to the computer. He is told to go north where there are huge rocks with a hole in near the beach. He types that he is coming now. He soon runs into them (including the bearded man), and they overpower him. They show him a captured Kate and they surround Jack, Sawyer and John, replaying the earlier scene where the "line" was drawn. Alex explains to Michael they're just scaring them to deliver a message, asking if Claire had the baby, if they are okay, and if it was a boy or a girl. She declines bringing Kate out so Pickett does it. She apologises before knocking him out.
11 days ago: Michael is led to the ruins mentioned on the computer, where the others have a camp near a large hatch, guarded by two men with guns. They take some of his blood a Miss Klugh asks him about Walt. One question of note was whether Walt was ever in a place he wasn't supposed to be. She comments that he doesn't know much about the person he wants back.
3 days ago: Michael asks Klugh when they're going to kill him. She tells him they want him to get one of their people back. If he agrees, he and Walt can go free. He demands to speak to Walt, Pickett brings him in. They have three minutes. Walt says he's okay but has been taking tests. Klugh tells him not to talk about that. They talk about Vincent, then Walt says they're not who they say they are, they're pretending. Threatened with "the room again", they're told to stop. Walt breaks free and hugs Michael, begging him not to go and leave him. Michael promises to get him out. Klugh gives Michael a list of four friends he must bring. All and only these people, if he is to see Walt again. He adds that when he does go free, he wants the boat.

Michael burns a note on pink paper that reads as a list of names, including Jack, Kate, Hurley (Hugo Reyes) and Sawyer (James Ford). Jack calls him back in to talk. They try to organise a larger group to attack the others, but Michael says a large group would draw attention and that it must be only the five of them he mentioned. Hurley wants them to bury the bodies first. Eko returns to the hatch to find Michael scrubbing the blood off the floor. Eko says that they did not find "Henry". Michael asks if he believes in Hell. Eko tells him a story of a boy who confessed to killing a dog. The boy was worried if his deed would send him to Hell, and if the dog would be there waiting.
Charlie visits Claire and Aaron, giving them a vaccine and applicator gun that he found. They then see Michael is back. Sun and Jin welcome him, then notice the bodies. Michael tells them who they are, saying that they were murdered.
Sayid catches wind and insists on coming, saying it's not up to Michael. When Michael finds out, he yells that they shouldn't have done that. He asks Sayid himself not to come. Sayid agrees, and wishes him luck.
Eko enters the code in the hatch and Charlie appears, asking what happened to him. He says that he has a new mission now, and is moving to the hatch.
As Charlie tries to continue building the church on his own, Vincent appears with a Mary statue. Charlie follows him to Sawyer's tent where he finds the remaining stash. He throws them, one by one, into the ocean. As he leaves, he sees Locke has been watching him.
Jack confronts Eko about returning without "Henry", informing him about the funeral at sunset. He says he will mourn them in his own way. Sawyer confesses to Jack that he slept with Ana, saying he's the closest thing he's got to a friend.
As they're digging the graves, Michael pressurises Hurley into coming, but he says he won't be.
As everyone congregate for the funeral, Locke cuts off his splint and walks away. Jack tells Sayid about his father's death. Sayid tells him he suspects Michael has been compromised, that he freed "Henry" and is leading them into a trap. When Jack is skeptical, Sayid points out he was right about "Henry". They decide to pretend to go along with Michael, and work out the rest over the next day. Jack and Hurley speak at the funeral. Hurley tells Michael he'll go with him. Sun spots a sailboat not far offshore.

Episode 23. Live Together, Die Alone (Part 1)
Flashbacks: Desmond is dishonourably discharged from the army. One of his returned possessions is a photo of him and Penny, and another of note is Charles Dickens's Our Mutual Friend. He says he wants it to be the last thing he reads before he dies. The other soldier quips that he'd need to know when he's going to die. As he leaves, Charles Whidmore asks him if he wants a ride, showing him every letter he'd written to Penny and offers him a cash sum to disappear from her life forever. Desmond asks why he would agree to that. He's told that he is a coward. At a coffee shop, Libby helps Desmond out when he only has sterling cash. He tells her he needs $42,000 to buy a boat so he can enter a solo sailing race around the world in eight months' time. He just wants to take it from Charles Whidmore, telling Libby about Penny. She tells him her late husband David had a boat called Elizabeth that he can have. He accepts, saying he'll win it for love. Just before he meets Jack at the stadium, Penny turns up, asking why he never wrote her when he was in prison, and asking if he read his book. He asks when she's getting married. She asks what he's running from, he tells her of the goal he's running to. We next see Desmond on the boat, caught in a storm, washing up on the island. Kelvin Inman rescues him, dressed in a protective suit, and asks him if he's "him", followed by the snowman question (what did one snowman say to the other). He enters the code, saying he's just saving the world. He watches the orientation film, asking questions. Kelvin tells him his partner Radzinsky made the edits, he wears the suit so he doesn't get infected and must take injections every nine days. He hopes Desmond hadn't left it too late.

Jack, Sayid and Sawyer swim out to the boat. Jack draws a gun. They hear opera below deck and are shot at. They kick open the door and find a drunken Desmond. He tells Jack it wasn't intentional, that they're stuck in a snow globe with no escape. He asks if they're still pushing the button. Jack confirms they are. Sayid later tells Jack that he can use Desmond's boat to get ahead of Michael undetected and work out a strike plan. He will signal them with black smoke when he is ready to attack.
John joins Eko in the hatch, telling him he's decided they've become slaves to the computer and that they must not press the button this time. Eko locks him out, telling him he's free now.
As they're each given guns, Kate asks whether the others are merely pretending to be hillbillies, given the fake beard they found at the medical hatch. Michael insists they're not pretending, and they head out. On the way, a green bird that cries "Hurley" attacks them. Michael gies to shoot it, but his gun is empty. Jack says he must have forgotten to load it, but Michael looks suspicious. Kate spots they're being followed and opens fire, killing one man. As another runs away Jack gets Michael to tell everyone the truth about "Henry", Ana, Libby and the others. Jack tells them they can't turn back, but he wouldn't have endangered them without a plan.
Sayid asks Desmond for his boat, telling him he wants to get to the opposite side quickly. Desmond asks if he's going to see "the hostiles", then adds ignorance is bliss when Sayid starts asking questions. He tells him the boat's all his. Sayid says he needs a sailor, Desmond tells him to find one. He asks Jin (via Sun) and she wants to go too. Sayid is reluctant, but agrees. They pass the remains of a statue on the coast- the bottom half of a leg with four toes. Eventually, the see the rock with the hole.
Desmond sees Claire using his injections and asks about Aaron. He suggests the father did what was best for the baby, knowing he'd be a bad father. She says he did what was best for him.
Charlie catches John crying, and informs him of Desmonds arrival. John catches up with a blotto Desmond, asking him for the punchline (smells like carrots). They share a drink and John tells him about the film at the Pearl. He tells him to sober up so they can find out what happens when the button isn't pushed.
Eko gets distracted by some flickering lights to discover a fuse has been removed. Suddenly, the countdown starts and the lockdown begins again. Eko doesn't get to John and Desmond in time as they lock themselves in. Desmond had initiated the sequence from a wire box. They agree to sit and wait, while Eko begs him not to do this. John says he's never been so sure about anything.
Eko escapes from the original hatch and asks Charlie to help him get back in, saying everyone on the island will die.

Episode 24. Live Together, Die Alone (Part 2)
Flashbacks: Desmond initiates a lockdown through the power box and watches Kelvin finish Radzinsky's invisible map. He finally finds out Radzinsky shot himself. Desmond asks if he can go outside next time they need to, as it's been two years. He refuses. Desmond wakes to the beeping sound, and pushed the button with seconds to spare. He finds Kelvin underneath, at the fail-safe. He says that the incident was a leak of electromagnetism, and the button releases the charge in harmless doses before it builds too big. The fail-safe would release it all at once. He's considered it, but can't do it. When Desmond notices a rip in Kelvin's suit, he secretly follows him outside. Kelvin removes his mask and heads for the coast. Kelvin catches him and reveals he's been fixing Desmond's boat. They fight, Kelvin is accidentally killed. Desmond dashes back to the hatch too late, the heiroglyphics have appeared and metal things start flying around, with a voice and the screen repeating "system failure". He enters the code and the situation calms. He opens the book to find a letter from Penny, saying she'll wait for him. He cries, saying it's all gone, throwing objects around- when he hears a banging and a man's voice. He turns on a light and sees a man -Locke- through the hatch above.

Charlie leads Eko to the dynamite, and he places it by the blast door. Charlie shouts a warning in to John, but Desmond calmy tells him the door will hold. Charlie asks Eko what if John's right? Eko throws Charlie's belt at the wall, where it sticks, magnetised. He runs as the dynamite goes off, but the explosion follows him. Desmond wonders if they blew themselves up, questioning whether John is testing his faith. He says he did, and believed. But it got a kid killed (Boone) and he pleaded for a sign when Desmond turned his light on. He believed it was a sign when it was probably just Desmond just going to the bathroom. He reiterates the Pearl story, and Desmond wonders if he's interpreted backwards; were the Pearl stationers the subjects of the psychological experiment? John shows him the printouts Eko took from the Pearl. Desmond finds the date of the system failure was the date of the plane crash- he says he thinks he crashed their plane.
Sayid checks out the others' camp, but it's empty, even their hatch.
Jack etc find the Pearl station's notebooks in a heap in the middle of nowhere. Kate opens one and reads it. Then they see the pillar of black smoke- supposedly Sayid's signal, but they're nowhere near the coast. Jack asks Michael where he's taking them, but as he protests, they hear whispers around them. Sawyer is shot with a dart, Jack tells them to run. Kate is shot and Jack fires into the bushes, but they get captured by the others. They are taken to a jetty. Kate tells the bearded man they know his beard is fake. His name is Tom, he takes it off, calling Klugh, "Bea". A motorboat arrives, "Henry" gets out. He says to Michael, "let's get down to business".
With 30 seconds to go, Desmond says he's going to push the button, Locke smashes the monitor. Desmond says "you've killed us all", opens the blast doors and runs off to get his Dickens book. Charlie asks for help with an unconscious Eko, he says he's trying. He opens the book, Kelvin's fail-safe key is in the back. He tells John that he saved his life so that he could save John's. He disappears down to the fail-safe and tells John to get as far away as he can. Eko wakes as the system failure starts, but he pushes Charlie out to safety and runs in for John, as metallic debris flies all around. Even the countdown clock crushes as Locke tells Eko "I was wrong". Desmond thinks of Penny as he turns the key. Everything goes white.
On the jetty they hear a loud mechanical groan that makes them cover their ears and the earth shakes. The sky turns purple and white for everyone on the island, even those on the boat, then soon subsides to nothing. The hatch door marked "quarantine" falls from the sky, landing on the beach near Claire, Aaron and Bernard. The clear-up begins in the camp as Charlie arrives, but nobody knows where Locke and Eko are.
"Henry" tells Michael he wasn't happy with the deal made, but he was true to his word, so they'll be true to theirs. They got more than they bargained for with Walt, anyway. He tells him to follows bearing and they'll get rescue. He won't be able to get back, and wouldn't want to get out what he did to get his son back. After a reassurance that his friends won't be hurt, he asks who they are. "We're the good guys, Michael". He is told Walt is in the boat, so gets in and they are reunited. He tells him they're going home.
Hurley is sent back to camp, with a warning for them to never come here. His friends (Jack, Kate & Sawyer) are going with them. Jack nods for him to go. They watch Michael and Walt leave. Jack and Kate look at each other as their heads are covered with sacks.
Claire asks Charlie what happened, but he plays the sympathy card. They kiss.
A couple of Portuguese-speaking scientists are at one of the Poles. They receive an alert of an electromagnetic event. They call Penny Whidmore, saying they think they've found it.

Lost - Season 2 - Episodes 17-20

Disc 5
17. Lockdown
Flashbacks: Helen tells Locke that Anthony has died. At the funeral, they are the only attendees, bar security guards, two mysterious dodgy-looking men and a silver Mercedes, which drives away. Locke tells the closed coffin he forgives him. Whilst doing odd jobs, Locke sees the car. He approaches, it's Anthony. He has a stolen $700,000 in a bank vault and wants John to get it for him, saying he can keep $200,000. He's leaving tomorrow, money or not- if he doesn't see John, he'll understand. After visiting the bank, he goes home to Helen- the dodgy men are there. They ask if he's seen his father since he died. He denies it, they ask to look in the bag he's carrying. The money's not in there. They leave. Helen asks if he was lying, he denies it, saying he was scared. John gives Anthony the money and gets his share. Helen turns up, furious at them both. John proposes but she leaves, saying he needed his father's love more than hers.

Ana, Sayid and Charlie find a grave and a hot air balloon at the location Henry gave.
Jack orders Locke to put Henry back in the armoury. Henry asks Locke why he lets Jack order him around. Later, Locke hears a female voice, static and feedback over the hatch PA system. It is a countdown, and at zero a load of shutters lock Locke in. He lets Henry out, giving him his word that he'll protect him. They prise a door open but as Locke slides under it traps his legs. Locke tells Henry about the computer and the code. Henry falls as he tries to get through a grate, and the beeping starts. When he awakes, he gets through as the beep changes. John calls out for Henry, but he doesn't reply. The beeping stops, the lights go out, John sees a hand-drawn octogon map on the wall, illuminated by the UV light. Suddenly, the lights come back on and the shutters rise. Locke crawls to the computer to find the clock has reset. Henry appears behind him, saying he entered the code, the clock reset, and as he climbed back into the vent the lights went out, came back on and the shutters rose- he didn't do it.
Aaron is better. Hurley complains to Jack about being kept out of the loop. Libby needs medication for a sea urchin sting, but Sawyer requires ten loads of laundry for it. Jack joins Sawyer, Kate and Hurley in a game of poker. When Jack wins, they double-or-nothing for the medical supplies. Jack wins again. Sawyer asks him why he didn't ask for the guns. He says when he wants them, he'll get them. Jack bumps into Kate in the forest and as she congratulates him, they see a flashing light. They follow it to a parachuted food drop. Sayid, Ana and Charlie appear. As Henry attends to Locke's leg, Jack etc arrive at the hatch, hold Henry against the wall and Sayid reveals that what Henry had told them wad true. Except that the body in the grave was not of a woman, but of a man, whose ID reveals is called Henry Gale.

18. Dave
Flashbacks: Hurley is with his psychiatrist Brooks (the watery politician from X-Men) two months into his stay. They discuss that his mother put him there because of "the accident", and his friend Dave who is encouraging Hurley not to change. Hurley sees him at a basketball game, and again when playing Connect 4 with Leonard. Brooks takes a photo of Hurley and Dave together. Dave then encourages Hurley not to swallow his pills. In a session with Brooks, Hurley blames his weight for "their" death, walking onto something that collapsed, killing 23 people. When Hurley tells Brooks that Dave thinks he's a quack, Brooks shows him the photo he took... Dave doesn't exist. Later, Dave wakes Hurley up and slaps him. They are about to escape, when Hurley changes his mind and locks Dave out. We see Libby was also a patient in the same hospital as Hurley.

Jack attends to Locke's fractured leg. Kate gets him crutches. Locke tells Jack that "Henry" came back, but Jack points out that it was only because he thought his story would check out.
"Henry" tells Sayid that Henry was dead already when his search party arrived. Sayid shows him a note written to his wife, post-crash, on a dollar bill, asking if he interrogated him for his wife's name. He replies that they don't realise what "he" will do if he finds out. Ana asks if he means the bearded man, "Henry" says he's nobody. Sayid asks him how many of them there are, and shoots when he refuses to answer, but Ana knocks the gun away in time. Locke goes to see him. He tells John that God can't see the island and that he didn't enter the code. He describes the heiroglyphics and loud, clunking magnetic noise, then the code just reset and nothing happened. John says he's lying, but he says he's done lying.
Charlie helps Eko build something, but he won't say what it is.
Hurley and Libby exercise on the beach. He tells her he is overweight because he is sick. He shows her his secret food stash, she encourages him to destroy it. They then discover the food drop. Hurley sees a man (Sex & The City's Harry) and follows him until he trips. He looks up and sees a slipper in front of him, saying "uh-oh". Libby says she's proud of him for resisting temptation. He later stuffs his face with crackers, but the man- Dave- shows up again, throwing a coconut at him to prove he's real. Hurley chases him again but just ends up running into Charlie and Eko. He goes to Sawyer for medication, but ends up beating him up when he jokes about it. Libby asks if she can help but he says he's going back to the caves where nobody lives anymore. On the way he sees Dave again, saying he's not real. Dave asks for his slipper and tells him none of this is real- he's still in the hospital. He encourages Hurley to jump off a cliff, jumping first. Libby stops him, saying she is real, and they kiss.

19. S.O.S.
Flashbacks: Rose and Bernard meet when he helps her drive out of some snow. When he proposes at Niagra Falls, she reveals she is dying of cancer. He asks for an answer, she says yes. He takes her to Isaac of Uluru, a faith healer, in Australia. She says she didn't ask for this and has made her peace. He says he hasn't, it's not him. He has to try. Isaac tells her there are certain points on the Earth with geothermal or magnetic energy than can be harnessed and given to others. Unfortunately, this isn't her spot. She tells him she'll tell Bernard he fixed her anyway. At the airport, Locke helps her from his wheelchair.

Locke tries to draw the map he saw, but can't remember it clearly enough. Locke asks "Henry" through the locked door if he entered the numbers or not. He doesn't answer, but smirks to himself.
Rose & Bernard are stacking shelves with the food drop items, when he observes everyone's given up on being rescued. He gets a small team together to create an SOS sign, but Rose calls it false hope. Eko refuses help as he and Charlie are building a church, saying people get saved in different ways. People start dropping out, and he blames Rose for her lack of support, saying she wouldn't be there if he wasn't such a trier. She walks away. Jin is the final one to walk away from helping Bernard. John tells Rose he's done with the hatch. Rose tells him he'll be up and about in no time, saying they both know he'll heal much quicker than the required four weeks. Rose finally tells Bernard the truth- but that the island had healed her. She lied because she didn't want him spending their time together with him trying to do things to rescue her. He agrees that they should never leave the island, in case it comes back.
Jack changes "Henry"'s dressing, suggesting they swap him for Walt. He says that they'll never give up Walt. Jack asks Kate to join him, saying the others didn't want her, and Sayid said no. They find a doll, but it's a trap and they get caught in a net, assuming it's Rousseau's. Jack shoots the rope (after Kate fails). She tells him about the medical hatch. They reach the "line" they shouldn't cross but Kate says they're not there. They wait. She apologises for kissing him. He says he's not sorry. Michael stumbles out and collapses.

20. Two For The Road
Flashbacks: Ana Lucia is shown Jason's body, her mother knows she killed him. Ana quits, and gets an airport security job. At the bar, she meets Christian. They bond over issues of working with family. He invites her to Sydney as a bodyguard. They call each other Tom and Sarah. After four days of drinking and doing nothing, he wakes her in the middle of the night to take him to the suburbs where he demands to see his daughter, but fails. Ana asks him about it and he says he's trying to reconnect with his daughter since his son cut him off. She suggests they leave Sydney, he says he can't and leaves her for the bar at which he meets Sawyer. Seeing an upset Jack in the airport queue, Ana rings her mother, saying she is sorry and wants to come home.

"Henry" tries to strangle Ana when she calls him a killer, saying she killed two innocent people. John saves her in time. Libby warns her not to do something stupid. She tries and fails to get a gun from Sawyer by asking, so sleeps with him.
John asks "Henry" why he didn't kill him while he was trapped under the door. He says John's one of the good ones. He says their great, but unforgiving, leader will want him dead now anyway as he failed in his mission to bring John to them.
Hurley asks Sayid about the radio to seduce Libby, he suggests a picnic at the beach where he took Shannon. Libby catches Hurley stashing again, but he tells her it was for their picnic. She agrees to go, but he gets lost and they end up back at their own beach. She gets blankets and sends him to get wine from Rose & Bernard. Jin gives him a thumbs-up.
Michael wakes up, saying he found them. They live in canvas tents with raggy clothes and no shoes. He counted 22 people, but saw no Cindy or children. They have an armed hatch but only two guns, mostly old people and female. They need to go there and take them.
Jack tells John that he and Sayid were right about "Henry". John asks to be included on decisions. They all go with Michael, Ana volunteering to stay behind with "Henry". Jack asks Sawyer for the guns at gunpoint, Sawyer realises Ana took his gun when they slept together. John suspects why and tells Jack about her earlier incident.
Ana throws "Henry" a knife to free himself. He tells her Goodwin thought she could change, but he was wrong, at the cost of his own life. She says that he would have killed her. "Henry" questions that.
She tells Michael about "Henry", and that she couldn't kill him, though she wanted to. He offers to do it and shoots her instead. Libby, who walked in after picking up blankets, is also shot. Michael opens the door to "Henry", points the gun at himself, and shoots.

Thursday 11 March 2010

American Idol 2010 - live show 6 - The boys

1. Lee Dewyze - Fireflies.
Appalling, as always. Who knew such a great song could sound so bad?
Randy: Pitch problems, but he made it its own.
Ellen: See above.
Kara: He looked confident, made it a better song. (WTF?)
Simon: Nothing to rave about, but he's better than that.

2. Alex Lambert - Trouble.
A good performance. Soundalike, but mature.
Randy: Liked it, but he should've slowed it down.
Ellen: He's a mushy banana- ripening quickly. Better and better each week.
Kara: He is the only thing standing in his way. More vulnerability and confidence.
Simon: He needs to relax, he has a really good, distinctive voice.

3. Tim Urban - Hallelujah.
Very competent performance, easily his best so far.
Randy: Pretty good job in big shoes.
Ellen: Fantastic. Deserved a hug.
Kara: He's now in it. She felt it.
Simon: Terrific. Not the best version, but easily his best.

4. Andrew Garcia - Genie In A Bottle.
Very much like his version of Straight Up. Not bad, but did sound a bit choked.
Randy: Pitchy, it sounded like it had no range.
Ellen: That's what he needed to do, but the end was the best part.
Kara: He's been chasing the moment, but wasn't great. He peaked to early.
Simon: Felt it was desperate and over-thought, but good voice. He's going backwards.

5. Casey James - You'll Think Of Me.
Great choice for his voice. Nice.
Randy: It was a safe choice. Alright.
Ellen: Great, he looked and felt comfortable.
Kara: Better than last week. Honest, but missing a spark.
Simon: Sincere, and sounded great- but nothing memorable.

6. Aaron Kelly - I'm Already There.
A very shaky, weak performance. Way too big for his voice, which is a surprise.
Randy: Very good, but there's work to do.
Ellen: He's sounded better, not terrific. But great mature stage presence.
Kara: Lyrically irrelevant to him. Interrupted by Simon.
Simon: Not a great vocal, but he got the emotion of a nice song.

7. Todrick Hall - Somebody to Love.
A great voice, but he will insist in massacring song after song. His most respectful version yet- and most dull. But dull is better than irritating.
Randy: He's back! That's why he's here, one of the best male vocals so far.
Ellen: Good job, liked the gospel makeover.
Kara: Great singing, but almost comedic in its over drama.
Simon: He's more of a theatre singer than recording artist. Good in parts, a good song choice may have saved him.

8. Michael Lynche - This Woman's Work.
Very professional performance, very well sung. A bit on the indulgent side for me.
Randy: Very impressed. Hot!
Ellen: Beautiful. He's the one to beat.
Kara: Cried. Amazing.
Simon: So needed, the show was getting boring. Best performance so far.

My top two: Alex and Tim. Casey and Michael safe too.

My bottom two: Lee and Aaron. Andrew and Todrick are welcome to leave too.

Results show:
Todrick out first. Shame he wasn't in control of his talent.

Alex out next!!! WTF??? Twitter was ablaze with his name last night... Now I know why. He looked seriously gutted. Don't think he was the only one. America is seriously misjudging the boys this year...


Wednesday 10 March 2010

American Idol 2010 - Live show 5 - The Girls

1. Katie Stevens - Breakaway.
Bland beyond belief, and I love that song. Not good, showed her weaknesses.
Randy: Karaoke, didn't work.
Ellen: Good young song, but she's not feeling the words or showing personality.
Kara: She doesn't know who she is yet. Needs experience.
Simon: Likes that she's taken the advice but she sucked out the energy. 10/10 for effort.

2. Siobhan Magnus - House of the Rising Sun.
Great song choice. Note perfect. Excellent.
Randy: Loved the risks she takes; hot!
Ellen: Moving, captivating, spectacular.
Kara: Loved the acapella intro.
Simon: Weird. Underimpressed. (Prick.)

3. Lacey Brown - The Story.
Very good performance, don't know the song. Excellent.
Randy: Best performance in a long while.
Ellen: Sounded like it was written for her.
Kara: Effortless. Great choice.
Simon: Like listening to the radio, but in danger of being forgotten.

4. Katelyn Epperly - I Feel The Earth Move.
Seriously lacking stage presence, but decent voice. Very bland, but not awful.
Randy: Liked her hair. Sleepy, boring.
Ellen: It's not enough, people won't vote.
Kara: Going through the motions. What happened?
Simon: Request night in a restaurant. Others look like they're trying harder.

5. Didi Benami - Rhiannon.
Another great, intimate performance. Nice distinctive tone to her voice too.
Randy: Much better than last week, but no wow moment.
Ellen: Yes indeedy, Didi. Like that she got back up after last week's tear-down.
Kara: Best performance of the season so far.
Simon: Agreed with Kara and Ellen. Head and shoulders above the rest. The whole performance was a wow moment.

6. Paige Miles - Smile.
Shaky and a bit pitchy. Would have sounded great in any other week, but sounds weak after these performances tonight.
Randy: Didn't work, far too big.
Ellen: Felt sad and heavy, not uplifting.
Kara: All wrong.
Simon: Horrible choice, awful arrangement. A peanut performance.

7. Crystal Bowersox - Give Me One More Reason.
Cool, funky, sincere, very well sung.
Randy: Loved it. Hot.
Ellen: Best of the night.
Kara: She knows who she is, can see the records she'd make.
Simon: Definitely here, improved, confident. The one to beat.

8. Lilly Scott - I Fall To Pieces.
Eek. Shaky, out of her range. Seriously below-par on a great night.
Randy: Loved it.
Ellen: Loved it.
Kara: Made it current.
Simon: Cute and quirky, but risky. No wow.

Best of the night: Siobhan, Lacey, Didi and Crystal all excellent tonight.
My bottom two: Katie and Lilly. Paige and Katelyn also in danger. Surely...?

Results:
Katelyn out first. Another bland performance as she says goodbye.

Lilly out last. Everyone looked shocked, I don't know why. Did they not watch the show back?