TV Week in Review

LOST: just as, in season two, the writers played with one of the fan theories (LOST is all in someone's head, Hurley's), now they are playing with another, the purgatory theory. Characters are now considering whether they are in some kind of weird afterlife together. I am sure it is just some kind of crazy red herring -- it does not really explain anything after all: why would Hell or Purgatory have a smoke monster for example, or a hatch (as Brad put it to me)? But one of the things that suggests this theory so strongly is the screenplay idea of character arcs -- characters must change and learn; but when they do, often their arc is over, and so they die. On LOST characters often but not always die when they learn a lesson -- Eko confronts his past, Ana Lucia learns not to kill -- and so it feels like they are leaving purgatory having cleansed their sins or whatever. It is all a fun lovable mess, and I cannot wait to see next week's episode, which looks like a big one. Without spoiling anything it looks like major season finale material; I am very surprised, and intrigued, that they are going to give us this big deal episode, and then two more, before the season is out.

By the way, we talked Bible references in the series, but there are some big Wizard of Oz ones as well: Henry Gale is the name of Dorothy's uncle, the show's Henry Gale flew in on a hot air balloon (a major image in the film), and next week's episode is called "The Man Behind the Curtain."

In other news Studio 60 will be back: the final six episodes start airing May 24. No one expects it will be renewed. Am I really going to watch this? Didn't I pay my dues with this show? Like an idiot, I probably will watch, and like a curmudgeon I will get on here and complain about it.