TDTVS

Red Shirt

Although originating in Star Trek, the term “redshirt” has been used in commentary on other action adventure stories, particularly serialized television. As a plot device, redshirts are most commonly used on shows which focus on characters who are prominent members of a larger group. In terms of plot function, redshirts serve to highlight the danger of a situation without forcing writers to sacrifice lead characters.

February is National Heart Month and this coming Friday is Wear Red Day 2009 to support the fight against heart disease in women.

For whatever convoluted reason our company nurse decided to pass around a memo last week to try and get everyone to wear red today, Monday, February 2nd and in spite of what happened to Frogurt while wearing a red shirt in last week’s episode of TDTVS…

…I took my life into my hands and wore a red sweater to work today. Obviously because I am home sitting on the couch in a yellow shirt, nothing bad happened to me on today’s “away mission.”

Started down, went up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 106

Achoo!

Last Friday after a couple days off battling the flu, I was not fully back to normal, so I had to take a box of Kleenex in to work to keep handy at my desk. I was given one off the shelf here at home and it was covered in flowers and such, not very manly, so when I got into work I measured the box and drew up a template in AutoCAD. My first cover attempt consisted of dropping the template over one of our part drawings. While initially satisfied with the first cover, it didn’t take long before I had an idea for a better one, behold cover #2. Looks like Jack is running to the box because he has to sneeze.

Started up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 102

I Need A Cool Code Name

During one of the episodes of TDTVS on Wednesday night, Sayid is taking Hurley to a safe house (which turns out to be just the opposite) and they are having a conversation. I don’t remember exactly what was said, but it went a little like this:

Sayid: I’m not taking any risks after Bentham died.
Hurley: You mean Locke.
Sayid: ..Yes, I mean Locke.
Hurley: I need a cool code name.

I think this would be a cool little applet to put on the ABC Lost site, sort of like the Sawyer’s Nickname Generator. The writers and producers are fond of creating characters who names have a hidden meaning relating to philosophers, scholars and writers. John Locke is actually the name of a 17th-century philosopher, so when they made up a pseudonym for him to come back to the world from the island, they gave him the name of a 19th-century philosopher, Jeremy Bentham.

So in that spirit, since I did so well in algebra in high school and am into computer stuff, my Cool Code Name™ is George Boole.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 101

It’s Here

Season 5 of TDTVS starts tonight. I was so excited that I couldn’t go to work today, I had to stay home under sedation. Well, aspirin and antihistamines. I’ve got the flu or something, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, you know the drill. Hope I can stay awake until 11 to watch both episodes…

Started up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 100

New Year’s Eve Marathon

The Shape Of Things To Come

Something Nice Back Home

Cabin Fever

There’s No Place Like Home (Part 1)

There’s No Place Like Home (Part 2)

What the heck, just finished watching the last 5 episodes of Season 4, gonna have to twiddle our thumbs for the next three weeks until Season 5 starts. I just love the photo from Cabin Fever, looks like TDTVS and TDTVS2 had a crossover episode…

For your marathon pleasure I have once again created a Best of the Year page which includes my favorite post for each month. Some months the pickings were slim and others were chock full of picks, but I stuck with one per — Best of 2008.

Started down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 89

Two More

Ji Yeon

Meet Kevin Johnson

Watched two more episodes tonight, numbers 76 & 77 of 82. In the first Ji Yeon the producers got tricky on us. We see Sun giving birth to her baby off island (the show’s title is the new born daughter’s name) and we see Jin, her husband rushing around off island frantically buying a giant stuffed panda and trying to get to the hospital. We are so used to flashforwards in Season 4 that we assume these are taking place together, but in the end we find out that Sun is a member of the Oceanic 6 and is a flashforward to post rescue while Jin is really in flashback and he didn’t get rescued, Hurley, Sun and Ji Yeon visit his grave.

In the second show we find out that Kevin Johnson is in reality Michael who left the island with his son Walt at the end of Season 2. He was my least favorite character and I would have really liked to see him shoot himself, but even though he tries, it won’t happen, he can’t die yet. The “island” won’t let him, whatever that means.

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 89

It’s All Over Now

The Constant

The Other Woman

We watched Episodes 74 & 75 of 82 tonight, so technically we’ve watched this whole week’s worth of shows already and the rate of two a night we will be through with Season 4 by Friday and Season 5 doesn’t start until almost 3 weeks after that.

Episode #74, The Constant, took place on Christmas Eve in Lost time, missed it by 5 days. When we started rewatching them from the beginning, I started on a Monday with the shows spaced so that we would finish up a couple days before the next season started, maybe I should have scheduled them to line up with island time, Season 1 started on September 22, 2004 and Season 4 ends on New Year’s Eve 2004. Maybe next year (as long as when Ben moved the island in time he just jumped exactly in years and didn’t shift days.)

It is almost a good thing because I have really wanted to stop writing the little episode synopsizes, because Season 4 is where the show got far out there (if that was even possible for this show that has been water skiing around a school of sharks looking for a ramp ever since the get go.) The season’s arc was intriguing, we find out that six people got rescued and we find out early on who five of them are (turns out we knew the sixth, but the producers were being cagey) and through out the episodes we see those 5 people scattered amongst several separate locations and circumstances and they are only brought together in the season finale. But several of the goings on leading up to the rescue are like jigsaw puzzle pieces that look like they came from a different puzzle.

We took the tandem out for a couple three miles as a sort of a shakedown cruise for it and us. Things worked well, mechanical and physical, and if the helmet mounted lamp arrives tomorrow as planned we are going to ride the bike to work on New Year’s Eve.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 87