"LOST" RETROSPECT: (4.01) "The Beginning of the End"

"LOST" RETROSPECT: (4.01) "The Beginning of the End"

Looking back on six seasons of "LOST", it occurred to me that my opinion of the series' season premieres have been decidedly mixed. I have enjoyed at least two of them. I have found two of them mildly entertaining. And the last two have struck me as somewhat unmemorable.

The Season Four season premiere, (4.01) "The Beginning of the End", served as a follow-up to the superb Season Three finale, (3.22-3.23) "Through the Looking Glass". In that episode, the Oceanic 815 castaways had managed to contact a freighter called the Kahana that recently appeared offshore the island. Its first passenger, one Naomi Dorrit, was killed by castaway John Locke in an effort to prevent her from making that contact. His actions proved to be in vain, thanks to the determination of castaways' leader Jack Shephard and the efforts of Charlie Pace, who died after switching off a device that blocked the island's communication transmissions inside an old underwater station. The finale also featured the Others' failure to kidnap some of the female castaways for fertility tests. Their failure ended in death by the hands of Sayid Jarrah, Jin Kwon, Bernard Nadler, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes and James "Sawyer" Ford.

More importantly, "Through the Looking Glass" established the use of flash forwards to allow viewers glimpses into the lives of those castaways who would end up leaving the island by the end of Season Four. Jack's future off-island life - one of substance abuse, a suicide attempt and despair - was featured in that episode. It also established that fellow castaway Kate Austen also made it off the island. "The Beginning of the End" featured scenes of Hurley's post-island life.

When he experienced a vision of the now dead Charlie at a Los Angeles convenience store, Hurley flipped out and found himself being pursued by the Los Angeles Police in a car chase. The police detective who interrogated him following his arrest proved to be Mike Walton, the former partner of the late castaway Ana-Lucia Cortez. Upset over the idea of another connection to the island, Hurley pretended he never knew Ana-Lucia. He also immediately accepted Detective Walton's suggestion that he be placed inside a mental home. There, Hurley receives another visit from Charlie's ghost, who reminds him that he has to return to the island. Hurley later receives a visit from Jack, informing the latter about Charlie's ghost. He also apologizes to Jack for abandoning his leadership in favor of Locke . . . and points out the latter had been right about the threat from the freighter.

Hurley's words to Jack in the flash forward not only set the tone of how "The Beginning of the End" and the rest of Season Four unfolded. Before any of the castaways met with other passengers from the Kahana, they dealt with the news of Charlie's death, his discovery of Naomi's lies about the freighter and their rescue; and more importantly, the on-going conflict between Jack and Locke. All three crises resulted in a break-up of the Oceanic 815 survivors. Those determined to believe that the freighter's crew and other passengers will rescue them, stayed with Jack on the beach. And those who took Charlie's last message to heart, joined Locke on a trek to the Others' abandoned compound . . . including the Others' leader, Ben Linus.

"The Beginning of the End" ranks as one of my favorite "LOST" premieres. Thanks to Jack Bender's direction and a first-rate script written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse; the episode did a great job in setting the tone for the rest of Season Four and the second half of the series. It also marked the first of many times that the castaways would be divided - a situation that last will last until late Season Six. The title struck me as very relevant and an apt description of the beginning of the series' second half.

The ugliness conveyed by some of the characters in "Through the Looking Glass" continued in this episode. The groups from the beach and near the tower reunited near the Oceanic 815 cockpit section. And another ugly conflict flared up. The moment Jack clapped eyes on Locke, he lost his temper and attacked. Even worse, he tried to murder the older man, but his revolver lacked the bullets to complete the job. I suspect that Jack and some of the castaways believed he was justified in his attempt to kill Locke. After all, the latter had murdered Naomi Dorrit with a machete in the back. I suspect that Jack was simply angry at Locke for nearly preventing any kind of rescue from those aboard the Kahana. Hell, Jack had been angry at Locke for a long time and for many things. Naomi's death proved to be the last straw. I suspect that Jack's attempt to murder Locke had been sprung from his own selfishness and desire for revenge . . . the very same emotions that led Sawyer to murder Tom Friendly in cold blood in "Through the Looking Glass".

Most of the castaways may have shared Jack's feelings. Before Naomi died, Kate informed her that Locke was crazy and that all of the castaways hated him. Her comments about Locke struck me as slightly infantile, if I must be honest. It occurred to me that Kate may have harbored a strong dislike or hatred toward Locke longer than anyone - including Jack. And Sayid continued to question Locke about the latter's destruction of the Others' submarine in (3.13) "The Man From Tallahassee". Even Rose Nadler, who wanted to remain on the island to maintain her health, expressed disgust at Locke's murder of Naomi . . . after witnessing Jack's own murder attempt. I found Rose's judgment of Locke rather ugly and even worse, hypocritical.

Unfortunately for Jack, Hurley turned out to be the one who pulled the rug from underneath him. Recalling Charlie's sacrifice and dire warning, he loudly declared his decision to follow Locke. Claire, Ben, Sawyer (much to Kate's distress), Danielle Rousseau, her daughter Alex, a young Other named Karl and several other Oceanic 815 castaways did the same. I found this scene brimming with first-rate performances and great drama that still impresses me after nearly four years. The episode ended with another dramatic moment - Jack and Kate's meeting with Daniel Farraday, the first of four new main characters introduced to the series.

I believe that Jorge Garcia is a first-rate actor who has always managed to handle both comedy and drama with great ease. This seemed especially apparent in scenes that featured Desmond Hume's revelation about Charlie's death and Hurley's decision to join Locke to Otherville. Mind you, I have never been a major fan of the Hurley Reyes character. I found his man-child persona a little difficult to stomach at times. But I cannot deny that I found Garcia's performance to be outstanding. I can also say the same about Matthew Fox and Terry O'Quinn, who both continued their superb work in a tense-filled scene between Jack and Locke. The episode also featured brief, yet memorable moments from Michael Emerson, L. Scott Caldwell, Emilie de Ravin and Lance Reddick, who made his introduction as the wonderfully creepy Matthew Abbadon. I was also impressed by Michael Cudlitz, who gave a poignant performance as Ana-Lucia's former partner. And Marsha Thomason, who has never impressed me in the past, certainly did as the dying Naomi Dorrit.

The quality of the season premieres for "LOST" has always been a mixed bag for me. I could say the same about the series, overall. But I cannot deny that Jack Bender's direction, along with Lindelof and Cuse's script and a great performance by Jorge Garcia; "The Beginning of the End" struck me as one of the better season premieres.

"LOST" (2004-2010): Favorite Character Centric Episodes - Part I

Below is Part I of a list of my favorite episodes featuring "LOST" characters:


"LOST" (2004-2010): FAVORITE CHARACTER CENTRIC EPISODES - Part I



Kate Austen



1. (2.09) "What Kate Did" - While Kate tends to a wounded Sawyer, flashbacks reveal her original crime, the murder of her father.




2. (1.22) "Born to Run" - Kate seeks a spot on Michael's raft, threatening to take Sawyer's place. Meanwhile, flashbacks reveal the circumstances behind the death of her childhood love, Tom.




3. "(5.04) "The Little Prince" - Kate and Jack discovers that Aaron's grandmother, Carole Littleton is in Los Angeles. A flashback reveals the truth behind Kate's decision to claim him as her son; while the remaining island survivors jump to the day when Aaron was born.





Juliet Burke



1. (3.16) "One of Us" - Juliet arrives at the castaways' camp, accompanied by Jack, Kate and Sayid. While the survivors question Jack's motives, a strange illness strikes down Claire. Flashbacks reveal Juliet's first three years on the island.




2. (3.07) "Not in Portland" - Flashbacks reveal the events behind the Others' recruitment of Juliet. Meanwhile, she assists Kate and Sawyer in their escape from one of the Others' camps.





Ana-Lucia Cortez



1. (2.07) "The Other 48 Days" - The first 48 days following the crash of Oceanic 815 are shown from the Tail Section survivors' point of view, along with Ana-Lucia's leadership.




2. (2.08) "Collision" - Shannon's death causes a clash between Ana-Lucia and Sayid, near the Fuselage survivors' camp. Flashbacks reveal a tragic shooting in Ana-Lucia's past and her subsequent desire for revenge.





Michael Dawson



1. (4.08) "Meet Kevin Johnson" - Flashbacks reveal Michael's experiences in New York and the deal he made with the Others to spy upon the crew and passengers of Widmore's freighter.




2. (2.22) "Three Minutes" - Michael convinces Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sawyer to help him lead an attempt to rescue Walt, following Ana-Lucia and Libby's deaths. Flashbacks reveal the time he spent as a captive of the Others.




3. (1.14) "Special" - Michael clashes with Locke over his parenting of Walt. Meanwhile, flashbacks reveal the breakup between Michael and Walt's mother, Susan.





Mr. Eko



1. (2.10) "The 23rd Psalms" - While Charlie leads Mr. Eko to a drug smuggler's plane that contains the latter's brother, flashbacks reveal the path that led to his life as a warlord in Nigeria.




2. (2.21) "?" - While dealing with the deaths of Ana-Lucia and Libby, Mr. Eko accompanies Locke when they find another Dharma station. Flashbacks reveal his experiences in Australia before boarding Oceanic Flight 815.



Part II will feature the next five characters..

"BAND OF BROTHERS" (2001) - Episode Four "Replacements" Commentary

"BAND OF BROTHERS" (2001) - Episode Four “Replacements” Commentary

In the last episode, ”Carentan”, yet-to-be-announced First Sergeant Carwood Lipton announced to Normandy veterans Easy Company that they would be returning to France. Instead, a conversation between Sergeant Bill Guarnere and a group of replacements reveal that Easy Company never did. Eventually Easy Company did return to the Continent when they were deployed to the Netherlands to participate in the doomed Operation Market Garden campaign.

”Replacements” centered on Sergeant Denver "Bull" Randleman and his experiences during Operation Market Garden and with the replacements in his platoon. One of them included Edward “Babe” Heffron, who hailed from the same Philadelphia neighborhood as Guarnere (this was established at the end of Carentan”). The other three include Antonio Garcia, James Miller and Lester “Leo” Hashey. Through both his and their eyes, viewers get to experience Easy Company’s trouble-free jump into Holland, the Dutch citizens’ joyous reaction to their presence in Eindhoven and their disastrous encounter with battle-hardened S.S. troops – one of many encounters that led to the failure of Operation Market Garden. Following Easy Company’s retreat from Eindhoven, a wounded “Bull” Randleman finds himself trapped in the German-occupied town and is forced to find his way back to Easy Company and the American lines.

”Replacements” turned out to be a decent episode, but it was one that did not knock my socks off. It featured a terrifying battle in which Easy Company was forced to retreat in defeat. And it also gave viewers an interesting view in the mindsets of replacement troops like Garcia, Miller and Hashey; who seemed to regard Randleman and the other Toccoa trained men with awe. In scenes that featured Easy Company’s brief liberation of Eindhoven, the episode revealed the cruel fates inflicted by the Dutch citizens upon local women who had collaborated (had sex) with some of the occupying German troops. And viewers got to enjoy more scenes featuring some of the men engaging in small talk that revealed more of their personalities. The episode also had interesting scenes that featured Lewis Nixon’s brief brush with death (a bullet in his helmet) and Winters’ reaction, Easy Company’s brief reunion with Herbert Sobel, who had become a supply officer; and David Webster, Don Hoobler and Robert Van Klinken’s humorous encounter with a Dutch farmer and his son. However, ”Replacements” belonged to one particular character, namely Denver “Bull” Randleman. Screenwriters Graham Yost and Bruce C. McKenna did a solid job in both his characterization and the Holland experiences of the Arkansas-born sergeant. One of the episode's more harrowing scenes featured a violent encounter between a wounded Randleman and a German soldier inside a barn, while the owner - a Dutch farmer - and his daughter look on.

But Randleman's experiences during Operation Market Garden would have never been that effective without Michael Cudlitz's subtle performance as the quiet and imposing Randleman. With very little dialogue, Cudlitz conveyed the veteran's battle experiences and emotions through body language, facial expressions and the use of his eyes. He made it easy for me to see why the troopers of First Platoon and even the company's officers held with such high regard. Cutdliz was ably supported by the likes of Dexter Fletcher's sardonic portrayal of First Platoon's other NCO, John Martin; Frank John Hughes' amusing performance as the verbose Bill Guarnere; and Peter McCabe, who turned out to be one of the few British actors who perfectly captured the accent and speech patterns of an American combatant in his portrayal of the aggressive Donald Hoobler. Also, it was nice to see David Schwimmer again as Easy Company's much reviled former commander, Herbert Sobel in a more subtle performance. Portraying the inexperienced replacement troops were James McAvoy (James Miller), Douglas Spain (Antonio C. Garcia) and Mark Huberman (Lester “Leo” Hashey). And each actor did a solid job in portraying their characters’ inexperience, awe of the veteran Toccoa men and their determination to prove themselves in combat.

However, ”Replacements” had its problems. One, the opening scene at the English pub featured Walter Gordon revealing Carwood Lipton as the company’s new first sergeant. And this moment really seemed out of place, considering that Lipton was already acting like the new first sergeant at the end of ”Carentan”. Aside from the battle scene, I must admit that this was not an exciting episode. Like ”Day of Days”, it featured a major historical event – in this case, Operation Market Garden – that had exciting moments, but lacked an epic quality that would have suited such a topic. Allowing the episode a longer running time would have been a step in the right direction. And if I must be honest, I got the feeling that not much really happened in this episode, in compare to ”Day of Days”.

But, ”Replacements” turned out to be a decent episode. Although it lacked an epic quality for a story about Easy Company’s experiences during Operation Market Garden, it did feature an exciting battle that resulted in defeat for them. And Michael Cutdliz gave a subtle and first-class performance as the episode’s central character, “Bull” Randleman.

"BAND OF BROTHERS" (2001) - Episode One "Currahee" Commentary

"BAND OF BROTHERS" (2001) - EPISODE ONE “CURRAHEE” COMMENTARY

After spending the last six months or so watching and re-watching my taped copies of the recent HBO miniseries, ”THE PACIFIC”, my family and I decided to re-watch the first television collaboration between Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. Of course I am speaking of the 2001 Golden Globe and Emmy winning miniseries, ”BAND OF BROTHERS”.

Based upon Stephen Ambrose historical book , ”BAND OF BROTHERS” centered around the experiences of “Easy” Company, one company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, assigned to the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. The miniseries was divided into ten episodes and starred Damian Lewis and Ron Livingston. The first episode, titled ”Curahee”, told the story of Easy Company’s two years of training at Toccoa, Georgia; North Carolina; and later in England under the command of Herbert Sobel.

”Currahee” basically served as an introduction of the main characters featured throughout the miniseries. However, not all of the characters made an impact in this episode. Albert Blythe, David Webster and several others were occasionally seen, but not heard. But one did have characters like William “Wild Bill” Guarnere, Carwood Lipton, George Luz, John Martin, Joe Liebgott, and Harry Welsh certainly made their impacts. More importantly, the two lead characters were featured – namely Richard Winters and Lewis Nixon. But I might as well be frank. This episode truly belonged to the man who had served as Easy Company’s first commander, Herbert Sobel.

The acting in ”Currahee” struck me as pretty solid. At least 70% of the cast featured British or Irish actors portraying American servicemen. Some of the actors did pretty good jobs in maintaining an American accent – including Damian Lewis. However, there were times when it seemed that the basic American accents that most of the British cast seemed capable of using were either Southern, a flat trans-Atlantic accent or an accent from one of the five boroughs of New York City. I found it disconcerting to find some British actors using the latter, despite their characters coming from another part of the country. For example, actor Ross McCall did a great New York accent. Unfortunately, his character Joe Liebgott was born in Michigan, and moved to San Francisco sometime before the war. Even some of the American actors used the wrong accent for their characters. I enjoyed James Madio’s performance as Frank Perconte. However, Madio, who hailed from New York City (the Bronx), used his natural accent to portray Illinois native, Perconte.

I have to be honest. I never found the basic training sequences featured in some war movies to be interesting. In fact, the only war movies that featured interesting training sequences were about the Vietnam War - ”THE BOYS OF COMPANY ‘C’” (1978) and ”FULL METAL JACKET” (1987). As I had stated earlier, the episode ”Currahee” truly belonged to the Herbert Sobel character and David Schwimmer’s memorable and complex performance. Despite Ambrose’s portrayal of Sobel as a tyrannical company commander that was deeply disliked by his men, many veterans of Easy Company cannot deny that he made the company. His tough training methods helped the men endure the horrors of war that faced them in future battles. If it were not for his character and Schwimmer’s performance, I would barely consider ”Currahee” as an interesting episode.

Once Sobel was removed from the scene, the last 15 to 20 minutes of ”Currahee” featured Easy Company’s preparation for their jump into Normandy, France and their participation of the famous June 5-6 invasion. Those last minutes also set future storylines in the next episode and in future ones – including Easy Company’s experiences in France, Guarnere’s anger over his brother’s death, and Lynn “Buck” Compton’s relationship with the men in his platoon. It was not a bad episode. In fact, it was pretty interesting, thanks to David Schwimmer’s portrayal of Easy Company’s first commander, Herbert Sobel. But if it were not for the presence of Sobel’s character, I would almost find this episode rather dull.