Season three of Lost continued to expand upon the mythology of the show, but suffered from a barrage of issues. But, it was not without its positives, though they were few and far between.

LOST – Views from a Veteran – Season Three: Episodes 1-13

“You are not on the list because you are flawed. Because you are angry. And weak. And frightened ” – Mikhail in “Par Avion”

Desmond and Eloise Hawking from Lost episode 308: “Flashes Before Your Eyes” – Source

We have finally reached season three of Lost, which if you have been reading these posts or following me on Twitter (follow me at: @davidmanly), you know that it has not been easy. I love Lost, but season three had so many problems that even watching the episodes again, I still remember the disappointment.

First off, the first six episodes were aired in the normal timeslot, which was then followed by a 13 week break until the episodes resumed. In my opinion, it was a stupid move that had many people forget about the show and lose interest.

As well, the shows themselves obtained a significant dip in quality, as the flashback method of storytelling was getting old. This is shown most clearly in some of the worst episodes, such as “Par Avion,” which focused on Claire learning that she and Jack were siblings and trying to use a seagull to carry a message, and my vote for the worst of the series, “Stranger in a Strange Land.” That episode, which had the flashback focusing on how Jack got his tattoo, was pointless (and most fans tend to agree with me on this) and signaled that the producers had really run out of ideas. The creators and producers have even acknowledged and admitted this.

The producers also introduced us to Nikki and Paulo, two characters that we had not been introduced to or cared for, but were instantly supposed to accept them as regular cast members. That is not how you introduce new characters, and the fans reacted. In fact, the fan outcry was so strong that the creators solved that problem in the episode “Expose” but burying them alive.

But, those bad episodes in the first half of the season did serve a purpose (as well as a few in the second half), as it allowed Lost to have a season six end-date planned. This allowed the producers, creators and writers to craft a satisfying end arc for the show.

Therefore, even though season three is not the best work of the show, it only went up from there as the seasons progressed. In fact, there are a few hints of the brilliance to come, as in the midst of the bad episodes came one of my favourites – the Desmond episode entitled, “Flashes Before Your Eyes.”

The episode, which had Desmond travel back in time to 1996 and attempted to change the path of the future, was the show’s first attempt to demonstrate that it could pull of a science fiction story with heart. Not only did they achieve that, but they also introduced Eloise Hawking (a character we’d get to know in the later seasons) and cemented Desmond and Penny as the best couple on the show. In creating that episode, Lost set the stage for the great finale of this season, as well as the best episode of the series – “The Constant” from season 4.

As you can probably tell, season 3 of Lost has many problems, but once we watch the last few episodes of the season – wow. A true return to form, but you’ll have to wait for the next post for me to go into further detail about that!

But now, the various “Lost-isms” for the first half of season three!

There have now been a total of 19 fights, with Jack & Ethan, Sawyer & Sayid and Sawyer & Pickett tied with the top spot of two fights each.

“Sonofabitch” has been said by Sawyer 15 times, Ben has been beat up twice, and Desmond has amazingly said “brother” 28 times!

As always, I end with the top “Sawyer-isms: For the first time, we have a tie for first place! Both “Doc” and “Freckles” are tied with each being said a total of 26 times. Much farther back and tied for second are “Boss” and “Hoss” with five references each. And lastly, “Chief,” “Sweetheart” and “Chewie” are tied for third with four.

“The universe, unfortunately, has a way of course correcting. That man was supposed to die, that was his path. Just as it’s your path to go to the island. You don’t do it because you want to. You do it because you’re supposed to!” – Eloise Hawking in “Flashes Before Your Eyes.”

I know, I know, I know.

So much for posting these “Views from a Veteran” posts twice a week. That plan didn’t nearly come together as well as it should have. We should be knee-deep into season 3 already, but that fell by the wayside because of work, some semblance of a social life and so many movies. The newest Transformers was 30-40 minutes of awesome at the end, when the Dinobots sprung into action, with 2 hours of “eh.” Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was damn good, Jersey Boys had its moments and The Neighbours was much funnier than I anticipated.

I’m also in the midst of developing a few interesting projects, as well as another month of continuing to write “The Black,” but until then, here is the latest entry in my Blast from the Past saga.

Here we go!

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LOST – Views from a Veteran – Season One: Episodes 13-24

“Everyone gets a new life on this island”– Locke in “… In Translation”

That was quite a season, wasn’t it?

Even after all these years, it is surprising just how much I still enjoy watching this show despite knowing where all the characters go on their respective journeys. While I know who lives and who dies in the show, as well as the revelations before they are revealed, and the mysteries that are still left to be discussed – it is still fun to watch.

So, let’s talk about the “tail-end” of season one … get it?

If you’ve seen season two, believe me, you’ll laugh or at least groan at that.

In the last part of this season, there were a lot more references to the ongoing mysteries on the island. For example, in the episode “Hearts and Minds,” which many consider to be one of the worst (and disturbing) episodes of the show, one key mystery was brought up in passing – Electromagnetism. In the episode, Sayid discovers that his compass does not point directly North, which is the first mention of the phenomenon that plays a major role in season two, as well as in Farraday’s time-line altering explosion at the end of season five.

Also in that episode, Boone has a ‘vision’ and sees Shannon dead from an attack by the monster. I could be wrong, but I believe her body was lying near or by the same creek that both MiB and Jack wash up in after being exposed to the central light of the island at the end of the show. This was probably not intentional, but actually helps in cementing that place as a nexus of life, death and rebirth.

The following episode, “Special,” was our first glimpse of how unique Walt truly is. The answer of what his powers were and how he can do them still has yet to be fully explained in any big way, but I hope the epilogue provided on the complete series set that comes out at the end of the summer, it will be. (**UPDATE: Not really. Watch it now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH0P-CA7ntE)

My best guess for Walt’s powers are that they are all psychic in nature, and that he possesses the ability to astral project and perhaps see glimpses into the future. However, that will probably still remain one of the biggest unanswered mysteries in the show.

Another element that popped up this season was the mysterious hatch that rapidly became the focus for Locke and Boone, as well as a major plot point for the next season and beyond. It also began the introduction of one of my favourite characters – Desmond, even though he wasn’t introduced until the season two premiere.

In “Exodus Part 1,” we learned more about Rousseau’s team and what exactly happened to them. She mentioned that a member of her team, Montand, lost his arm – and in fact, in season five, we see that happen during a struggle with the smoke monster. She also said that it occurred when the sickness started, which was most likely her explanation for MiB possessing the bodies of the deceased. Cool, eh?

Also, Rousseau gave us the first reference to the smoke monster being the “security system” for the island. While at first glance it does not seem to make sense with the revelation that it was the MiB who was the smoke monster, it could be viewed that he was doing what was best for the island at the time, all the while furthering his own endgame of getting off the island.

Some questions that were still left hanging in the second half of season one (other than those already previously mentioned) were:  Was the dream Locke had with the biplane created by the MiB? Why? Who sent Kate the letter telling her about her mother’s cancer? What was with the bird that said Hurley’s name? Why did Locke appear frightened of the monster, and then tell Jack that it was ok?

Lastly, no season one analysis could be complete without a reference to good ol’ Tom (aka Mr. Friendly), who kidnapped Walt off of the raft for purposes that are still unknown. And, the season ended just like it began, with Michael yelling “WAAALLLLTT!!!!!!”

Finally, the season one round-up of all the various “Lost-isms” I have been counting.

There have now been a total of seven fights!

Jack & Ethan and Sawyer & Sayid have the top spot with two fights each, followed by a tie for second with one a piece for Sawyer & Jack, Michael & Boone and Charlie & Sayid.

And Sawyer has now said “Sonofabitch” a total of SEVEN times in all of season one.

Finally, the one everyone wants to know – what are the top Sawyer-isms for season one?

We have a new winner! “Doc” wins with 11 mentions, followed by “Freckles” with eight. “Chief” comes in third with four, and tied for fourth with three mentions each are “Sweet cheeks,” “Hero,” and “Mohammed.”

And then, tied for fifth with only one use by Sawyer are: “Sweetheart,” “Lardo,” “Abdul,” “Aljazeera,” “Metro,” “Porkpie,” “Sticks,” “Mr. Miyagi,” “Omar,” “Captain Falafel,” “Jacko,” “Saint Jack,” “Sport,” “Amigo,” “Boss,” “Chico,” “Ali,” “Dr. Quinn,” “Stay-Puff,” “Tattoo,” “Dr. Do-Right,” “Croc Hunter,” “Missy Claire,” “Hoss,” “Jungle Boy,” “Sassafras,” “Bruce,” “Betty,” “Short-round,” “Mammacita,” “Kato,” “Chucky,” “Baby Huey,” “Sulu,” “Mickey,” “Pudding,” “Kazoo,” “Han,” and lastly, “Chewie.”

See you soon for the first half of season two!

“Don’t choose, Jack. Don’t decide. You don’t want to be a hero, you don’t want to try and save everyone. Because when you fail, you just don’t have what it takes.” – Christian Sheppard” – Christian Sheppard in “White Rabbit”