Lost 05/16/07 "Greatest Hits"

[DonTadow]

When I go to grad school next year (if I get accepted -- my undergrad grades 15 years ago were uninspired), I'm taking our old TiVo for precisely the time-saving virtues mentioned. I can save up the shows I want to see, watch JUST them when I have time to watch TV, and blast through the commercials.

Initially, most TiVo users binge when they find they can suddenly watch all these shows that you didn't know were on at 3 a.m. or whatever, but IME, I watch a lot less "just because it's on" TV since I always have 5-10 hours of good stuff waiting for me, when I finally have time to watch TV days or weeks after it originally aired. (I caught Lost on Thursday and still haven't seen the season finale of Everybody Hates Chris, for instance.)

I think it requires at least super-basic cable to work, though, so that's $10-$15 (for the government-mandated broadcast and must-carry stations) in addition to the TiVo subscription each month, though. So for someone on a budget it, there is a significant buy-in amount to get started on it, even if you inherit a used unit from someone who upgraded. (My wife and I upgraded to a dual tuner one this TV season.)

Tivo got me back addicted to soap operas.

There I said it.

Five years clean off of the stuff, and now I can't miss my General Hospital anymore.

 

[Mistwell]

While I very much like the show now, I am really disappointed at how often the writers seem to abandon plans because actors leave the show, or because they haven't planned things enough.

I mean, argh, I was actually having trouble sleeping last night because thoughts kept running through my head about how the show could have been better. Whatever happened to the ominous "We're going to have a Locke problem" from the end of season 1? And what about that army Ana-Lucia was supposed to build? How about the mystery of Libby being in Hurley's mental institution? Oh, and they go through a big broughaha to save Eko, only to have him die in the next episode?!

And seriously, what the f*** was up with killing off Nikki and Paulo?! Apparently the fans didn't like them being introduced? (huh?) Can we please effin' stop killing off characters for no good reason?

They killed off Boone well, I felt. When Shannon died it moved the story forward, and it made you realize that, oh, characters can die before the end of the season. Sure, that's fine, but please don't kill off characters when their backstories are left hanging.

Apparently they were planning to kill Ana-Lucia, which I'm fine with. It was a surprise, and her story had been well wrapped up. I mean, hell, I think Ana-Lucia's death is the only one of the show I do like.

But they killed Libby because they thought the fans wouldn't care enough about Ana-Lucia's death, and they wanted more impact. They killed Eko because the actor's parents died and he wanted to do other things. They killed Nikki and Paulo because ratings were bad and fans online are apparently morons.

I mean, dang it, the best part of this show is finding out about the mysteries of the characters, and seeing their story arcs. It's bloody frustrating.

It sounds to me like you would enjoy the show more if you stopped reading about behind-the-scenes things and just watched the show. Don't read blogs, boards, and media coverage. Don't listen to the podcasts. Just enjoy the show itself, like generations of television watchers were able to do with their favorite shows without all that extra stuff.

 

[Taelorn76]

Anyway! Lost!

If Charlie could make it down to the moon pool, he can definitely make it back up. Swimming up is a lot easier than swimming down. Natural buoyancy will propel us upwards, unless we're weighed down (ie, Charlie and the weight belt). There has to be another reason for them being down there aside from being stranded.

That said, I don't doubt they've been there since the sub exploded. Getting someone back down there would be a chore. Furthermore, I don't think the transmission was being jammed until after they found out about the phone.

So, either Juliet is a liar (very likely) or misinformed by Ben (maybe). After all, if they started jamming the signal, per Juliet, then the station couldn't really have been flooded, could it have?

But if the signal has been jammed for years it would explain why Danniele's signal was never heard

 

[Cthulhudrew]

But if the signal has been jammed for years it would explain why Danniele's signal was never heard

In fact, as I recall, that's exactly what they said during the episode- that the Looking Glass was responsible for jamming the signal that Danielle had been sending from the radio tower.

 

[Asmo]

In the flashback where Charlie is playing guitar och singing, when the rain starts to fall - there´s a woman to the left with an umbrella - was that Naomi, the parachute-girl?

Asmo

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

...was that Naomi, the parachute-girl?

Funny, I thought it was TruthSeeker, looking for Cylons.

 

[Banshee16]

TiVo is less complicated to set up than even a standard VCR. Plug it in, plug in a phone cable, and it takes care of the rest.

Now, if you don't want to pay the subscription fee, that's another story. I don't know anyone who'd go back to life without TiVo once they've gotten it, though.

There are ways around it though, aren't there? We don't have TiVO in Canada (that I'm aware of...Starchoice and Rogers don't offer it), but my understanding is that there's a purchase price for the equipment, plus a subscription fee...

I saw a DVD player/recorder at Best Buy that had a built in hard drive, and it apparently let you set a timer to record programs at different times etc., which you could then watch off the hard drive, or record to DVD. Isn't that basically what TiVO does?

Banshee

 

[Banshee16]

Anyone else notice that this was the first time that we didn't see Desmond's flashback? He lied to Charlie about what he saw. I'm not sure the truth of it, but he knew he had to get Charlie down there for some reason.

Here's an idea. Desmond has a flashback in which he sees Charlie die, trying to keep the Others from taking Claire. If he tells Charlie, he knows that Charlie will likely go and get himself killed trying to save her....whereas, if he makes up a story to get Charlie away from her, it saves Charlie's life, and might leave an opening for Claire to be saved in another manner.

It would explain why he offered to switch places with Charlie, once they were in the boat. Once they were out there, he knew it didn't matter if Charlie went down, because in the end, he was away from Claire when he needed to be.

Banshee

 

[Banshee16]

Like I said, money is tight. Twenty a month doesn't really seem like a lot - until you've got to choose whether or not that twenty dollars is better spent on food or luxury. I don't mean to sound dramatically emo, though even I can see I am being so, a bit. However, that stereotype about grad students scrounging for food and getting all the free stuff they can is completely true. It's unfortunate, but most post-undergrad work, be it med school or law school or PhD, doesn't pay much at all. Maybe if we got paid more, there'd be more incentive to continue education past undergrad.

Very true. My sister is doing her Masters in Human Kinetics, and even in Canada, where there is tonnes of support for students, and tuition is lower, she doesn't get any help.....it's all paid for by waiting tables etc......and now some money she earns from her supervisor.

I had an opportunity to be a research assistant for my supervisor when I received my undergrad, but it would have been like $8/hr., which isn't much, given I would have had to have moved to Toronto. So, I went into business instead.

I've got a lot of respect for people who can stick with it all the way through...it sure isn't easy.

Banshee

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

We don't have TiVO in Canada (that I'm aware of...Starchoice and Rogers don't offer it)

I'm told it's in Canada now. You typically get TiVo at Best Buy or a comparable store.

I saw a DVD player/recorder at Best Buy that had a built in hard drive, and it apparently let you set a timer to record programs at different times etc., which you could then watch off the hard drive, or record to DVD. Isn't that basically what TiVO does?

That's exactly what TiVo does. The subscription is just for schedule info and software upgrades.