TV: May 2009 Archives

Brian K Vaughan is the talented writer of comics such as Y The Last Man and Runaways (see one of my old reviews here).  He's also a writer on ABC's Lost.  After reading Y, I listened to several BKV podcast interviews on Pop Candy and Fanboy Radio.  I made a Lost connection on the latter interview, where BKV mentioned the Runaways arc titled "Dead Means Dead", which took place in Runaways Vol 2 #19-21.

The Runaways arc title was a reference to Joe Quesada's infamous declaration that "dead is dead" in the Marvel Universe.  Gwen Stacy won't come back to life, Karen Page will stay dead, Bucky won't return...oh wait, that did happen!

In Runaways, this title was teasing the readers, as a major and beloved character had died in the preceding arc.  Would BKV bring her back to life?  We kind of hoped he would.

Lost's twelfth episode of the fifth season was titled "Dead is Dead".  Co-written by Brian K. Vaughan and Elizabeth Sarnoff!  This is the first full episode with the mysteriously resurrected John Locke.  How did he come back to life?  Honestly, I didn't pay much attention to the episode's title or think it was a mystery.  I just assumed the Island brought Locke back.  But it turned out the title was a big tip-off to a greater mystery.

If that wasn't enough, when Sun asks Ben what's going on, Ben replies:

"I've seen this Island do miraculous things. I've seen it heal the sick, but never once has it done anything like this. Dead is dead. You don't come back from that, not even here. So the fact that John Locke is walking around this Island... scares the living hell out of me."

Only in the last few episodes did it occur to me that everything wasn't right with John Locke.  Another big clue was the scene where Ben summons the smoke monster from that weird little tide pool next to his cabin.  Smokey never arrives, but Locke does emerge from the jungle.  At the end of the episode, Locke is conveniently separated from Ben when the latter meets Smokey for judgment.  When Smokey disappears, Locke shows up a few seconds later.

It's cool little connection between Lost and Runaways.  There's a lot of chatter on Lost podcasts about whether Locke will stay dead in season six.  I really like the character, but I hope the "Dead is Dead" rule is golden.  Nuff said.

Brian K Vaughan is the talented writer of comics such as Y The Last Man and Runaways (see one of my old reviews here).  He's also a writer on ABC's Lost.  After reading Y, I listened to several BKV podcast interviews on Pop Candy and Fanboy Radio.  I made a Lost connection on the latter interview, where BKV mentioned the Runaways arc titled "Dead Means Dead", which took place in Runaways Vol 2 #19-21.

The Runaways arc title was a reference to Joe Quesada's infamous declaration that "dead is dead" in the Marvel Universe.  Gwen Stacy won't come back to life, Karen Page will stay dead, Bucky won't return...oh wait, that did happen!

In Runaways, this title was teasing the readers, as a major and beloved character had died in the preceding arc.  Would BKV bring her back to life?  We kind of hoped he would.

Lost's twelfth episode of the fifth season was titled "Dead is Dead".  Co-written by Brian K. Vaughan and Elizabeth Sarnoff!  This is the first full episode with the mysteriously resurrected John Locke.  How did he come back to life?  Honestly, I didn't pay much attention to the episode's title or think it was a mystery.  I just assumed the Island brought Locke back.  But it turned out the title was a big tip-off to a greater mystery.

If that wasn't enough, when Sun asks Ben what's going on, Ben replies:

"I've seen this Island do miraculous things. I've seen it heal the sick, but never once has it done anything like this. Dead is dead. You don't come back from that, not even here. So the fact that John Locke is walking around this Island... scares the living hell out of me."

Only in the last few episodes did it occur to me that everything wasn't right with John Locke.  Another big clue was the scene where Ben summons the smoke monster from that weird little tide pool next to his cabin.  Smokey never arrives, but Locke does emerge from the jungle.  At the end of the episode, Locke is conveniently separated from Ben when the latter meets Smokey for judgment.  When Smokey disappears, Locke shows up a few seconds later.

It's cool little connection between Lost and Runaways.  There's a lot of chatter on Lost podcasts about whether Locke will stay dead in season six.  I really like the character, but I hope the "Dead is Dead" rule is golden.  Nuff said.

I heard about the Lost Time Loop theory on the /Film podcast and discovered another fan through this site, one that makes fascinating videos outlining his theories.  I enjoyed this one "The Incident - Secrets and Theories" by Lost Questions and Answers on YouTube.

I'm not sure I buy the part about Richard and the Smoke Monster.  I would think Smokey could have killed Richard during the many times he's been outside the sonic fence.  The speculation about the statue getting destroyed and the women on the island being unable to conceive sounds plausible.  But do we know the statue existed in 1977 when Ethan was born?

LOST speculation...how many hours have I "lost" to this hobby?  2010 seems very far away.  Nuff said.

I heard about the Lost Time Loop theory on the /Film podcast and discovered another fan through this site, one that makes fascinating videos outlining his theories.  I enjoyed this one "The Incident - Secrets and Theories" by Lost Questions and Answers on YouTube.

I'm not sure I buy the part about Richard and the Smoke Monster.  I would think Smokey could have killed Richard during the many times he's been outside the sonic fence.  The speculation about the statue getting destroyed and the women on the island being unable to conceive sounds plausible.  But do we know the statue existed in 1977 when Ethan was born?

LOST speculation...how many hours have I "lost" to this hobby?  2010 seems very far away.  Nuff said.

There are a few entertainment related podcasts that I've become addicted to over the past year.

My favorite show on TV is still ABC's LOST.  Despite the plot holes and lazy characterization (especially in the Season 5 finale with the whole Jack/Kate Sawyer/Juliet sappy quadrangle), I'm still hooked and hopelessly addicted.  After each episode of LOST concludes, I constantly refresh my iTunes podcasts to see when Lost: The Transmission has a new cast.  Ryan and Jen, a cute married couple who live in Hawaii where Lost is filmed, have the best Lost podcast on the Internet.  Each episode features a recap, a lengthy discussion between Ryan and Jen (great to have a woman's perspective) on the latest events, listener thoughts in "You All Everybody" and a look to the future episodes in the "Forward Cabin".  Ryan often gives great tidbits by reporting on various locations used by the Lost crew.  Of course, you have to supplement this by listening to Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse on the Official Lost Podcast.  This is more of a comedy show with the funny banter between the two writer-producers, though they will occasionally tell us what is going on.

If you're a sucker for behind the scenes information on films, then you'll have to subscribe to Creative Screenwriting Magazine's podcast.  Jeff Goldsmith, one of the senior editors, interviews the writers behind the latest movies.  He just released a great interview with Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the writers of the new Star Trek movie.  It's a fascinating discussion about the origins of the project and the various choices that were made along the way.  What I love about Goldsmith is that he asks the questions I would ask if I were sitting down with these people.  The back catalog of this podcast series is well worth checking out, over the past year Goldsmith has interviewed Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon), David Hayter (Watchmen), Drew Goddard (Cloverfield), Diablo Cody (Juno) and many more.  In addition to interviewing screenwriters, Goldsmith will also talk to producers or directors if they tag along.  He interviewed Tim Story along with Don Payne for Rise of the Fantastic Four.  If you're curious about anything related to film, or want ideas about how to break into the business, this podcast is superb.

Ever since the TV Guide podcast folded, I've had a vacuum for a weekly podcast about TV and movies.  The /Filmcast has filled that void.  It's the official podcast of /Film, hosted by three young bucks (Dave Chen, Devindra Hardawar and Adam Quigley) who have an appreciation for both movies and quality TV shows.  Each week they review a recent movie release, preceded by film/TV news and a rundown of what each person has been watching (either TV or DVDs).  Sometimes the boys will be joined by a special guest star.  Kevin Smith joined them for Dark Knight and Watchmen.  Character actor Stephen Tobolowsky (from Momento, Groundhog Day, etc) joined them to review both the Mummy and Towelhead.  The Tobolowsky episodes are hilarious, loaded with anecdotes about his life and movies, and he really dissects the failed story construction behind many movies.  There's usually two /Filmcasts per week, with the second one titled "After Dark", a free for all discussion of all things entertainment.  Sometimes there will be special podcasts on one topic.  They did an exhaustive review and examination of HBO's The Wire and also took on FX's The Shield.  The only negative I have against these dudes is that they seem to think Green Lantern is "the bottom of the barrel" (Dave Chen's words) for a comic book film adaptation.  Sacrilege!

Speaking of comic books, my favorite podcast is still Word Balloon.  Host John Siuntres asks the questions any fan would want to know.  He's recently interviewed Kevin O'Neill on the latest League of Extraordinary Gentleman novel, and that gives you a behind the scenes look at working with Alan Moore and the restrictions placed on them by DC/Wildstorm.  Siuntres has also recently interviewed Dan Slott, Jason Aaron, and Ethan Van Sciver.  Nuff said.

There are a few entertainment related podcasts that I've become addicted to over the past year.

My favorite show on TV is still ABC's LOST.  Despite the plot holes and lazy characterization (especially in the Season 5 finale with the whole Jack/Kate Sawyer/Juliet sappy quadrangle), I'm still hooked and hopelessly addicted.  After each episode of LOST concludes, I constantly refresh my iTunes podcasts to see when Lost: The Transmission has a new cast.  Ryan and Jen, a cute married couple who live in Hawaii where Lost is filmed, have the best Lost podcast on the Internet.  Each episode features a recap, a lengthy discussion between Ryan and Jen (great to have a woman's perspective) on the latest events, listener thoughts in "You All Everybody" and a look to the future episodes in the "Forward Cabin".  Ryan often gives great tidbits by reporting on various locations used by the Lost crew.  Of course, you have to supplement this by listening to Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse on the Official Lost Podcast.  This is more of a comedy show with the funny banter between the two writer-producers, though they will occasionally tell us what is going on.

If you're a sucker for behind the scenes information on films, then you'll have to subscribe to Creative Screenwriting Magazine's podcast.  Jeff Goldsmith, one of the senior editors, interviews the writers behind the latest movies.  He just released a great interview with Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the writers of the new Star Trek movie.  It's a fascinating discussion about the origins of the project and the various choices that were made along the way.  What I love about Goldsmith is that he asks the questions I would ask if I were sitting down with these people.  The back catalog of this podcast series is well worth checking out, over the past year Goldsmith has interviewed Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon), David Hayter (Watchmen), Drew Goddard (Cloverfield), Diablo Cody (Juno) and many more.  In addition to interviewing screenwriters, Goldsmith will also talk to producers or directors if they tag along.  He interviewed Tim Story along with Don Payne for Rise of the Fantastic Four.  If you're curious about anything related to film, or want ideas about how to break into the business, this podcast is superb.

Ever since the TV Guide podcast folded, I've had a vacuum for a weekly podcast about TV and movies.  The /Filmcast has filled that void.  It's the official podcast of /Film, hosted by three young bucks (Dave Chen, Devindra Hardawar and Adam Quigley) who have an appreciation for both movies and quality TV shows.  Each week they review a recent movie release, preceded by film/TV news and a rundown of what each person has been watching (either TV or DVDs).  Sometimes the boys will be joined by a special guest star.  Kevin Smith joined them for Dark Knight and Watchmen.  Character actor Stephen Tobolowsky (from Momento, Groundhog Day, etc) joined them to review both the Mummy and Towelhead.  The Tobolowsky episodes are hilarious, loaded with anecdotes about his life and movies, and he really dissects the failed story construction behind many movies.  There's usually two /Filmcasts per week, with the second one titled "After Dark", a free for all discussion of all things entertainment.  Sometimes there will be special podcasts on one topic.  They did an exhaustive review and examination of HBO's The Wire and also took on FX's The Shield.  The only negative I have against these dudes is that they seem to think Green Lantern is "the bottom of the barrel" (Dave Chen's words) for a comic book film adaptation.  Sacrilege!

Speaking of comic books, my favorite podcast is still Word Balloon.  Host John Siuntres asks the questions any fan would want to know.  He's recently interviewed Kevin O'Neill on the latest League of Extraordinary Gentleman novel, and that gives you a behind the scenes look at working with Alan Moore and the restrictions placed on them by DC/Wildstorm.  Siuntres has also recently interviewed Dan Slott, Jason Aaron, and Ethan Van Sciver.  Nuff said.