"Lost" on life support

OK it's official: "Lost" is starting to bug the crap out of me. While last week's time-travel episode was unique and intriguing, as part of the larger story all it did was frustrate me. Add to that last night's dreadful episode featuring a clairvoyant (and nearly naked) Thai tattoo-artist, and I'm seriously starting to wonder if the folks behind "Lost" have lost it themselves. ABC's promos kept touting last night's episode as answering "three of Lost's biggest questions"; all I was able to find out was that Jack's tattoos mean absolutely nothing of interest. No insight into why the Others are creepy child-kidnappers. No interesting revelations about the Dharma Initiative. NOTHING from our favorite characters back on the beach.

The whole time I just kept asking myself, why aren't Kate and Sawyer grilling this kid about his origins and everything happening on the other island? Why doesn't Jack ask something meaningful of his captors, instead of blindly just going along with everything they do and acting mad about it? WHY DON'T PEOPLE JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER INSTEAD OF GIVING EACH OTHER PAINFULLY "MEANINGFUL" GLANCES OVER AND OVER AND OVER!?!?!

Judging by the show's dwindling ratings (the last episode didn't even hit the top 20 shows for the week and received its lowest numbers ever for a new episode), it's clear that I'm not the only viewer that is losing interest. So there it is: "Lost" is on my endangered list. I'm still watching, but I'm finding little joy in it as I once did. And it makes me enormously upset to see that my once-favorite show is now flying off the hook.

What would save "Lost"? One suggestion I have would be to bring back J.J. Abrams, who co-created the show but has gone on to direct "M:I:iii" (and tonight's episode of "The Office"). Or simply decide that they'll tell the story that has yet to be told and get it over with. Don't get me wrong--when "Lost" is good it's SO much fun, but it has become tedium as of late. So my simple request to producers (who I'm sure frequent my blog) is to just make the show good again. Is that so much to ask?

Napoleon vs. Ricky Bobby

One of my faithful readers (Clay) requested that I give a little blog-love to the upcoming Will Ferrell/Jon Heder ice-skating comedy, "Blades of Glory." To be honest, when I first saw the trailer, I wasn't overly excited about the movie: Will Ferrell and Jon Heder have some pretty uneven track records (Ferrell in "Bewitched," Heder in anything but "Napoleon Dynamite"). That said, when they get it right, they knock it out of the park (Ferrell in "Talladega Nights" or "Elf" and Heder in, well, "Napoleon Dynamite"). Plus, it's getting some online buzz that has at least a few people excited. So here's hoping that the movie is silly perfection. Check it out here.

More "Indy" news

Here are a few interesting tidbits of speculation (meaning unconfirmed) about the upcoming "Indiana Jones" sequel. From RottenTomatoes.com,

• Three of the leading ladies from the series (Karen Allen, Kate Capshaw, and perhaps even Alison Doody) will be returning for cameo roles.
• John Rhys-Davies is likely to be back in the sidekick role.
• Sean Connery seems to be returning to play Indy's dad.
• The flick will take place in the 1950s.
• The movie will make a huge truckload of money.

One bit of information was confirmed this week, however: Paramount announced that the movie will be released on May 22, 2008. (PLEASE don't let this movie suck!)

Am I getting "Lost"?

Well thanks to the holidays and some other TV distractions, I hardly felt those three months of abstinence from "Lost." Last night I reviewed several of the most recent episodes in preparation for tomorrow's episode; as I was trying to fall asleep, I mentioned to Wendy that the most recent episodes of "Lost" represented both the best and the worst of the frustratingly addictive show:

The Best

• Sawyer's pace-maker
• Ben Linus/Henry Gale vs. the white bunny rabbits
• There are two islands?!?!
• Desmond the Clairvoyant

The Worst

• Colleen's hubby taking out her death on Sawyer (who had nothing to do with her death)
• Colleen's hubby insisting that Kate confess her love for Sawyer
  
• Sawyer and Kate getting it on against the bars of a bear cage (I mean really, right there in the open, in a cage!)
• Ignoring the show's original stars/stories
• Occasionally redundant/irrelevant flashbacks (a.k.a timekillers)

Having said all this, I don't want anyone to think that I've bailed on my formerly favorite TV show (recently dethroned by "24"): when it is good, "Lost" is REALLY good. I mean seriously, just thinking about how great Season 1 was makes me think that I owe it to producers to let them crank out a few stinkers (including the most recent, DREADFUL episode with the aforementioned cage-love). So I am cautiously optimistic that a few more months of planning will help the show be what it once was; I would gladly put it back in a two-way tie for my favorite show if it could prove its worthiness to me...

Harry Potter 7 coming on July 21!!!

Well the news is finally official: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will be released in bookstores around the world on July 21, 2007.

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660191984,00.html

While I initially resisted the HP book-phenomenon, I think I was finally convinced to get into them in 2000. My enjoyment of them has only increased with each excellent movie adaptation, to the point that Wendy and I have actually chosen to join with the crowds at midnight for the past two book releases. Now I've never dressed up like a wizard, nor would I consider myself as well-versed in all things "Potter" as some, but I get a little chill when I think about holding the last Harry Potter book in my hands. I'm not sure I want it to end...