LOST Finale - as if you needed another opinion you disagree with to read

After sending an email to my uncle explaining my thoughts on the show's finale I figured it was a concise enough opinion to repost.  It also helps me in my recovery.

Initially I really liked the ending. Over the last couple days I've come to love it for lots of reasons, not least of which being that it feels ended not merely stopped. It may not have a pretty little bow on it, but it was able to complete things more than any show of its kind (if there are any?) out there.

My wife had complained earlier in the season that they spent so much time trying (futilely) to explain everything on the island (Richard Alpert episode, Jacob and Man In Black episode) that outside of the flash-sideways we weren't at all involved with the characters. I agreed wholeheartedly. Going into the finale I was far more concerned with how they were going to resolve the flash-sideways than why the heck a circle of ash protected you from the smoke monster (but that was also knowing that there was NO WAY everything would get answered).

The finale brought the characters and their relationships into focus in a big, tear-filled lovefest kind of way. Seeing Hugo thank Ben. Seeing Ben apologize to Locke. Jack and Kate, Sun and Jin, Charlie and Claire, Juliette and Sawyer... the very fact that I gave a crap, much less got teary-eyed (ok, ok, maybe bawled my eyes out is a better description), seeing those relationships play out is a huge testament to the show.

If resting on its own merits wasn't enough, compare it to what it could have been. A show, also created by J.J. Abrahms, with a similar sized audience, production value, themes, and hugely successful first season was Heroes. 3 seasons in I couldn't watch it anymore, it devolved to such a degree. They finally canned it this year, having lost 85% of its audience since its first season. Knowing that LOST could have gone that route makes me appreciate its ending even more.

Throw in the music and I think they hit it out of the park. The score of LOST was and has always been phenomenal.

I completely agree, best (dramatic) show ever. It'll be a long time before we see something comperable, especially when Dancing with the Stars and American Idol continue to bring in the $$$ for the networks.

I'll step down off my podium now. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. It has helped me overcome my post-LOST funk for the time being. I'm continuing to avoid jungles, polar bears, and any large black smoke producing kitchen fires while recovering.

-dp

P.S. I'm going to buy the complete series when it comes out (on 8/24), spend another 120 hours watching it a 3rd time around, and change my "Oh, I can't wait until they answer this!" list to a "AHHHH, I can't believe they NEVER answered this!" list-o-rage. I'll probably be singing a different tune then.

Thoughts on Google TV Announcement

Surprise, surprise, Google wants to get into yet another chunk of your daily existence, your television.  (Not that I mind)

Today at Google I/O, Google announced Google TV.  It does lots of cool stuff, particularly if you've got an Android device and there's no shortage of places you can read about its cool features.



I've been using an HTPC with Windows 7 and Windows Media Center for about a year now.  I love it.  Not enough on the DVR?  Switch to Hulu.  Got a documentary you wanna throw on in the background?  Netflix Instant Watch.  Reminded of a HI-LAR-IOUS YouTube where an anchor makes some incredibly uncomfortable sexual innuendo while watching the local news?  YouTube.   Alot of the flexibility that Google TV is promising I already enjoy, but I'm still excited about it.

We're not yet quite sure of what Google TV will allow developers to do, but here's a couple scenarios that only make sense:

• IMDB sidebar during movies.  Face/voice recognition?  Even better.  "What the hell do I recognize that guy from?" is no longer an issue.


• What's that song in the new iPad commercial?  Auto-Shazam provides an iTunes (more likely Amazon MP3) link. Download.  Booyah.


• Rockies playing the Cardinals?  Hmmm... wonder what the stats of their last game was.  BAM!  No need to wait for an announcer.

Google TV has tremendous potential... but then again, so did Google Wave.

Kickstarter

About a week ago I submitted a proposal to Kickstarter.com, an awesome website for creative projects (think donations with benefits). Essentially, I want to, and think I can, send a smartphone into space.

To my great surprise, the proposal was accepted. Currently, I'm doing alot of thinking, ironing out the details, and preparing for tremendous failures. Horray!