Category Archives: Uncategorized

A Little Time Travel Experiment

I know this post is going to seem silly and pointless, but I swear it is not. 

A person can learn a lot more from a simple illustration that from a pleonastic explanation. To this end, I propose an experiment.

A time travel experiment.

I want the readers of this post to submit questions in the comment section. Tomorrow at noon I will choose a question at random and travel back in time to right now, 1:23 pm April 1, 2009, when I am writing this post and answer the question.

Ah, here I am now.

And the answer is:

(drum roll)

“Francis Ford Coppola”

A break after Lafleur episode

I’ve heard about it this week end but i wanted to wait ABC press release to confirm it, they’ll repeat epi 5×08 lafleur on 11th march but no new episode this day, seem there is a break of one week before to get a new episode of lost epi 5×09 called “namaste”

We’ll have lafleur repeat and a new episode of the show called “life on mars” on 11th march

source : http://www.abcmedianet.com

DocArzt & Friends’ Live Episode Discussion and Trivia!

Hey everyone, the chat has been updated this week to include Lost Trivia!  Show us how much lost knowledge you have and get your name into the top ten!  The trivia will end as we approach airtime to allow for the live episode discussion.  As usual, there are no spoilers allowed in the main chat channel, but you can always ask the spoiler knowledgeable to join you in our spoiler room and spill all the details.  Here is the link:

DocArzt & Friend’s LIVE LOST CHAT

Food for Thought: Locke as “The Chosen One”

One of the best things about Season 5 so far, in my opinion, is seeing Locke take charge and accept responsibility for saving the island. Everything has lead to John Locke’s arc being that of “The Chosen One” that can bring balance to the force… or has it? As the leader of the others (post-2005 in island-time) he can now do that. Now, let’s look at a timeline of things as to how he became the leader of The Others…

  • 1954: Richard (playing-the-not so subtle Panchen Lama role) tells the newly-introduced Locke that their leader selection begins at a very young age.
  • 1956: John Locke is born. Richard smiles ever-so-creepily that John Locke wasn’t lying.
  • 1961: Young John is visited by Richard and seems to fail his Dalai Lama test. But Richard doesn’t give up.
  • 1973: Ricahrd sends John Locke’s school a pamphlet for him to attend the “Learn to Become an Other” academy. John refuses, choosing to be prom king/hunter, not the geek/farmer. The question is, what does Richard want? Does he want a scholar/farmer or does he want the prom king/hunter? Or a combination?
  • Early 1970s: Richard found Ben special due to him seeing his dead mother. At a young age, he begins the leadership selection.
  • 1991: Ben assumes the role as the leader with Richard at his side.
  • 2004, Season 1: Locke crashes and his back becomes unbroken.
  • Season 2: The island tested his devotion via Swans and Buttons. He failed and lost faith.
  • Season 3 Locke had a self-imposed quest to keep everyone from leaving (or was it not self-imposed? more on that later).
  • Season 4 John Locke is on the spot to protect the island (it’s arguable if he failed or not. I think Jack is the one that failed by doing his best to get Widmore’s men to kill everyone). In the finale, Ben passed the torch and he became the leader of The Others. We can assume that this meant that Ben also was giving over Locke all the answers to his questions, no longer protecting him from what the monster is or who is Jacob. He left Locke with the ability to find out everything he ever wanted about The Island. Ben felt that Locke had gone through enough and was ready.
  • Season 5 Locke became the sole person that can save The Island by bringing Jack & Co. back.
  •  

    What’s most interesting is that Locke doesn’t really know what The Island is. None of his questions have been answered and at this point it doesn’t matter. He knows what it can do and that it’s special. That’s enough.

    So it seams that Locke regaining his ability to walk convinces Richard that he is special and the one to replace Ben. Before that, he failed a test Richard gave him directly and denied going to a camp Richard designed for him to go. Is being paralyzed pre-coming to The Island and able to walk afterwards enough to prove to Richard that he is The One that can stop Agent Smith? Wait, yes it is. That sounds like enough proof from me.

    Now, onto my theories that fill in the blanks:

    One of the biggest things that has bothered me about Season 3 is not understanding Locke’s exact intention to blow up every means of leaving The Island. He came out of The Swan’s implosion and became intent on destroying every method for Jack to possibly leave. Now that we know John Locke and his rag-tag team of time travelers are jumping around the space-time continuum, what if Locke betrays his own understanding and tries telling his past self that Jack & Co. must not leave. This could be indirectly done with a message or means other than face-to-face contact.

    Back to my opening paragraph, everything has led John Locke to becoming the protector of The Island. But… what if he isn’t? What if John Locke is just a means to an end? Why is it so important that Jack return to The Island if Locke is the leader under Jacob? This, to me, is the most pertinent question we should be asking. Why does the supposed leader have to sacrifice himself to get the O6 back? Wouldn’t that imply that John Locke is key to saving the island but isn’t the one that can do it by himself?

    P.S. Does anyone else want to hear The Island Pledge of Allegiance John might eventually take?

    “One Island, under Jacob, invisible, with DHARMA and Hostiels for all.”

    Lost’s Ratings & Revenue

    As many of you are aware, Lost’s ratings haven’t been as great as they used to be, despite Lost’s return to glory in the eyes of many T.V. critics. Currently, I work in the entertainment industry and hope to shed some light on the realities of the Nielsen Ratings. Hopefully, as an enormous and vocal fanbase, we can help ensure that Lost’s grand plan never becomes compromised by lower-than-necessary ratings.

     

    The Bad News

    Season 4 started out strong with 16 million viewers but bottomed out with 11.4. From premiere to finale, season 4 lost 1/3 of it’s audience.

    Worse yet, season 5’s premiere got the same 11.4, giving the premiere episode the same ratings as the worst episode of season 4. Premieres are supposed to generate more viewers, they are usually the highest episode of the season. If the premiere of the season isn’t as high as hoped, it doesn’t bode well in terms of the rest of the year. With all the amazing press the two hour premiere got, Lost still had the lowest rating season 4 had.

    I’ll be honest, I am concerned. Articles like this are showing up everywhere. A repeat of Criminal Minds on CBS beat Lost in the 9pm timeslot, except for the 18-49 agegroup. The fact that Lost’s time slot has moved twice since Season 2 isn’t the greatest sign of confidence by ABC that they can sell Lost to the masses. Everyone believes the ABC press releases when they say they promise to not cut Lost’s large on-location budget but money is money and promises go out the window when studios are pressured. If season 5’s ratings plummet like season 4 did, well, I don’t want to think about what things ABC might do.

    How the Nielsen Ratings Work

    From entertainment.howstuffworks.com:

    Nielsen uses a technique called statistical sampling to rate the shows — the same technique that pollsters use to predict the outcome of elections. Nielsen creates a “sample audience” and then counts how many in that audience view each program. Nielsen then extrapolates from the sample and estimates the number of viewers in the entire population watching the show. That’s a simple way of explaining what is a complicated, extensive process. Nielsen relies mainly on information collected from TV set meters that it installs, and then combines this information with huge databases of the programs that appear on each TV station and cable channel.

    That all sounds well and good but the system is archaic in the 21st century. I worked as an news package editor for a Orange County news station. Eventually, he morning news show was canceled because of low ratings. What that meant was that advertisers couldn’t be convinced that anyone was watching our show. Why is the system flawed? There are a total of six Nielsen meters in all of Orange County. Those set-top boxes represent thousands of residents. There was no way to measure exactly how many people watched our show because (theoretically) less than 1/6th of Orange County watched. The fact is that we could have had thousands of viewers but had absolutely no evidence. With no evidence came no ad revenue, thus we all got laid off.

     

    Downloads

    As many of you know, Lost is the most legally and illegally downloaded show when it is on-air. An easy action to take is asking the illegal downloaders to actually watch Lost live, hoping that some of those people you’re pleading to happen to have a Nielsen meter on their television. However, I doubt people with a Nielsen meter would be so careless towards the system, choosing to download a show they care about instead of watching it live. So, asking people who download Lost illegally to watch it live is, in my opinion, not very helpful. The only aspect they harm is Lost’s DVD sales, as someone who has the episodes on their hard drive would probably not spring $50+ per season of Lost.

     

    DVR

    Lost’s ratings do improve when the DVR numbers come in. However, they don’t count towards commercials because people skip over them. Those numbers only matter towards in-show advertisements such as product placement, which aren’t very adept to Lost’s habit of being on an island. Nokia phones and McDonald’s cups aren’t very logical things for Jack to hold while being emo over Kate. Even worse for product placement, I’m sure the writers piss the execs off by insisting that all products used also tie into the mythology of lost. Sun pulling out a Widmore Labs pregnancy test is the perfect example. I have a friend who worked on Lipstick Jungle, a show riddled with very efficient product placement that blends well with the show’s tune. Their DVR numbers matter a lot due to people subconsciously watching those advertisements.

     

    iTunes & ABC.com

    The studios are also aware of the flaws in the Nielsen ratings and their vulnerability to illegal downloads. It has pushed them into experimenting and implementing new streams of revenue. iTunes ($1.99/$2.99 HD per episode) brings revenue directly to ABC Studios. Streaming Lost online at ABC.com brings new forms of revenue. The problem with ad revenue from online streaming is the lack of research done into advertisements’ effectiveness online, lowering the amount a given ad agency will pay per view. People’s state of mind and habits watching T.V. online completely differs from how people watch T.V. from their couch, in which decades of research has gone into studying. When you’re watching on your computer, you can alt-tab (or command-tab for you Mac users) to another application, diverting your attention to something besides the advertisement. That is why ABC.com requires you to click a button to continue. It forces you to view the advertisement in some form and interact with it instead of the episode continuing directly after the advertisement automatically.

    After the news show was canceled, I was hired to edit a Web TV news show for the Orange County Register (which was canceled last month-I dunno, maybe it’s me?). Ad revenue was extremely hard to determine. Between the number of people who watched the opening, closed the window 15 seconds before the end, or viewers that watched all the way through, the advertisers were extremely hard to convince just how many people watched for how long. So, on ABC.com, you can’t skip ads and they require some interaction.

     

    Conclusion

    What I’m getting at is how to help make sure Lost’s greater plan isn’t threatened by low ratings from a flawed system. The ideal situation is to improve Lost’s immediate ratings via the Nielsen system. When a previous fan reads a news story about Lost’s season 5 premiere having low ratings, how motivated are they going to be to start watching again? Press is everything and if people start hearing that Lost’s ratings are back, they might come back too.

    Until then, support online downloads on iTunes. Watch Lost on ABC.com and make sure to press the “Continue” button immediately when it appears, showing them that you were attentive to the ad instead of changing applications or tabs.

    I hope this sheds some light on how things work. In the end, the Nielsen Ratings system is still the king of the hill until advertisers are more convinced that online revenue is an untapped recourse. So if you ever meet someone with a Nielsen box, introduce them to Lost. Or break into their house and turn it on for them.

    Lilly knows how to get best out of little actor

    bildeSome of the best onscreen chemistry on “Lost” involves one of its youngest actors and its leading lady.

    William Blanchette, a 31/2-year-old boy cast as Aaron, spends a lot of time opposite Evangeline Lilly, the dark-haired actress who plays Kate. Whenever the Kahala boy sees “Evie,” it’s all hugs and kisses.

    Lilly knows how to direct William better than anyone, said the boy’s mother, Natasha Blanchette. Her son used to work for pickles, but now he works for Lilly’s “airplane” rides.

    “When the director yells ‘cut,’ the crew are quick to take a couple of steps back as Evie sweeps William off his feet and proceeds to twirl and whirl around the set with him held over her head,” Blanchette said. “She is unpredictable and Wil- liam thinks that is hilarious. She is just so sweet.”

    William has played baby Aaron for several seasons, growing from infant to toddler on both “Lost” and in real life. That’s him in one of the online “sneak preview” trailers for this season, wide-eyed as FBI agents come to the front door of the home where he and Lilly’s character, Kate, are living.

    Even though Lilly does not have children, she has an easy way with William, said Blan- chette, who also has two older girls.

    “You can’t fake it with kids,” Blanchette said. “She is just instantly in tune with whatever he is up to. I will go through a scene with him at home, but when we get there, she is the one who evokes the performance from him.

    “The director will look at Evie and say, ‘Can you get him to do this?’ and she gets on her hands and knees and says, ‘Come on, William.’ ”

    source : http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com

    Win a Trip to the Lost Island in Hawaii!

    Lost Hawaii Competition

    Only for Uk people !

    ATTENTION LOST FANS!  We want to send you to the Lost island in Hawaii to do some reporting for us.  Interested?  Of course you are.  Read on!

    Are you the ultimate Lost fan? Then Sky1 has a prize for you: An amazing trip for 2 to Hawaii, where Lost is filmed.  We’ll fly you and a guest on 8th February to the Halekulani resort in Honolulu, Hawaii, armed with a video camera.  From there, you’ll soak up the sun at this amazing resort, and take in a guided Lost tour from some local experts. All the while you’ll keep a video diary for us of what life is really like on the island that  plays such a massive role in the Lost mythology.  After you return, your video will be played at sky.com/lost!

    NOTE:  The winner must be available to fly out on 8th February – returning 12th February.

    We need a REAL Lost fan, so to win, you’ll need to prove your Lost credentials and answer the following 3 questions correctly.  Send your answers, along with your name, address, and telephone number, to: sky1competitions@sky.com.

    1 Runner-Up Winner will receive an amazing Lost prize pack:

    * LOST DVD Box Set: Series 1 through 4

    * 2 Dharma Mugs

    * 2 Water Bottles

    * Lost Tent

    * Lost Beach Mat

    The competition closes at 9am on Monday 26 January 2009, the morning after the premiere of Lost Series 5.  The winner will be drawn at 10am and notified by email immediately.

    Good luck!  Time is very tight so enter RIGHT NOW!

    source and details here : http://sky1.sky.com

    Vote for your favorite LOST moment on ABC.com

    On ABC.com there is a LOST Showdown going on.

    Everything happens for a reason. In the LOST: Showdown, some of the most memorable happenings from the series will vie for your vote in a weekly competition to determine the ultimate moment from the past four seasons.

    The favorite moment will be announced on Wednesday, February 11th.

    Round 1 started on January 7th
    Round 2 starts on January 21st
    Round 3 starts on January 28th
    Round 4 starts on February 4th

    Click here to check it out and vote for your favorite LOST moment!

    Lost producers and actors in Paris 25th April 2009

    lost-web3

    OMG !!!!!!!!!!!!!! that’s xmas now it’s clear lol

    Damon Lindelof, JJ Abrams and fews actors will go in Paris the 25th April at the “Grand Rex” for the Jules Vernes festival to show us in exclusivity the FIRST EPISODES OF LOST SEASON5 !!!!!
    AMAZING NEWS !!!!!!!!
    source
    http://www.julesvernefestival.com

    PS : if you go, we could try to meet eachother :D please let’s me know guys ^^

    contact me on my chat or my blog here :) :

    http://lylyford.blogspot.com

    I forget to add, they want it seem 2-3 main characters so there is good chance to see josh or/and terry too, that’s our feeling ’cause for smalville they got alison and erica and michael :) and for heroes sylar ^^ contact me to have news and i’ll tell you

    have a good xmas :)

    kiss from france the country i love today lol

    Lyly