Twisted

Ultra Nate

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What was your favorite TV season finale this year? 
Submitted by Kristine.

The Season Finales of LOST and The Office were Par Excellence.

I discussed both at length in the comments at Too Much Free Time.

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With the first of my Summer series premiering this week -- So You Think You Can Dance -- and being in this weird in-between time on television where the departing Heroes and LOST may find my Tivo Top Ten looking incredibly odd (The Sopranos may be battling Celebrity Fit Club for the #1 slot), I'm curious: What are you going to be watching this Summer?

(I'm also curious about how I will justify to myself the use of so many grammar gimmicks in that opening sentence but since I'm getting all parenthetical right now, obviously, I'm going with it.)

So, of course, The Closer returns soon and, despite my frustrations with last season, I'll be back on board with The 4400 but when The Sopranos, The Shield and Entourage start wrapping up in June, what else is there?

And, sure, this is a great opportunity to turn off the telly and focus on learning how to DJ or what neighborhood I might choose in San Francisco or get to the bulk of the work in writing my family history (and I will be doing those things) but, come on, I'm a proud TV Junkie.

I sleep with the Squawk Box on so pony up and give me your Summer Must-See-TV.

Thanks.

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I usually wait two or three days before posting about TV shows to give the slow-movers time to catch up but since I seem to need to write today and I was supposed to be on a plane tonight instead of waiting for Grey's Anatomy to get sucked into the Tivo, I'm not waiting.

This week, Lost attempts to explain Desmond's premonitions without actually explaining it. I don't believe Desmond turned the key and went back in time. I believe he was concussed and had a seriously deep dream. The clues: we get the countdown beep from the microwave, the numbers are repeated, phrases are repeated, the song playing on the jukebox is the same song that was playing when we first met Desmond in the hatch, the jeweler's name is Ms. Hawking as in Stephen Hawking as in the author of "A Brief History of Time" (a book that was also featured in last week's episode), he's aware that things aren't quite right, the sequence is treated like our standard show flashbacks but it is the first flashback when elements of the Island are presented in "the real world".

And, it still doesn't explain why he woke wearing no clothes and well above ground of the exploded hatch or how and when he sees these flashes of the future.

Lost is currently exploring the concept of Time on the Island. The Lost Time anagram for Mittelos Science last week is an example as is the knowledge that Juliet and Desmond have been on the Island for approximately the same time, and so on and so forth. They just haven't gone at it head on. I still get the feeling that the show is too busy winking at the audience obsessives to actually move the plot along.

Also, does everyone have to have Daddy issues? Shannon and Boone had Mommy issues but they are both dead so what does that say? Fathers may piss you off but mothers kill you? Ugh.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Desmond episodes and anytime Charlie gets his ass kicked is a plus in my book but, sigh, give me something juicy or appropriately mysterious. Nothing in these first two episodes has been overly compelling.

At least those two new kids whose names I can't remember didn't show up to the drinking party.

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After three months off the air, the much ballyhooed return of "Lost" logged a lousy 14.5 million viewers, the smallest audience ever for an original episode.

It's a shame, really, because it was one of the better episodes this season and addressed a lot of the general issues I have with the show of late. So, let's do the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good: more "Deadwood" stunt casting (Juliet's sister). "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" stunt casting (The guard that fell for the Wookie trick). Characters asking the right questions. Characters making smart decisions. Alex (we need more Alex). Sawyer kicking Danny's ass. Kate being as determined as Juliet was. Tom trying for small talk with Jack. Juliet's little skip in her step (or cock in her walk, if you will) as she bounded out of the surgery room in the final scene. And, the Parralax View-esque re-programming chamber Karl was in.

The Bad: While I chuckled at "underdog" and "Cheech," Sawyer's shtick is getting old and feels forced. Juliet being Dr. Burke while Jack is Dr. Shepard. There are only so many times you can wink at the audience. Mittelos (Lost time) science. That's a little too on the nose for me. Learning more about The Others de-mystifies the Island a bit and breaks a lot of the mythology of the show and I'm not sure I like that.

The Ugly: Dues ex machina. Say Bus. See Bus. Get hit by Bus. Blech. Whatevs. Okay, Final Destination and every freakin' show with any semblance of an effects budget. Let's officially retire that as a non-shlocky on-screen death. And, most ugly, I didn't leave this episode with new questions or any truly intriguing revelations. I'm not clamoring to know more like I once was.

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Moving up:

With Lost going on winter hiatus, Heroes moves into the Top 5. And to think I was really bored with the first episode. Also on the move? Veronica Mars is up to #8 and Breaking Bonaduce is #9, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and the Saturday repeats have moved back into the top 10.

Moved on Out:

The Nine. I wanted to love it. I really did. I'm still curious about what happened in the bank but the PTSD drama of the characters after the hostage situation is just really, really boring.

Nip/Tuck. Two weeks with no interest in watching your episodes and you gotta go.

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