In Lost‘s “The Last Recruit,” the Man In Black refers to John Locke as a “sucker” for believing in fate. As he points out, Locke pursued this belief until it got him killed so perhaps MIB has a point. Despite his compelling argument, Jack takes a leap of faith towards the exact same conclusion as his former nemesis. So does this make Jack — the last recruit himself — a sucker too? My short answer is yes, but, what if this isn’t necessarily a bad thing? [Read more →]

Tags: religion & philosophy, television by Marc Oromaner
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I am totally digging my new chicken recipe.  I use Wegmans Parmesan Italian Dressing and Weber’s Garlic and Herb spice.  Cooking is a pretty macho things these days, think about it — look at the guys on TV — Bobby Flay, Emeril, Guy Fieri, and Alton Brown. Well, 3 out of 4 ain’t bad. I would like to think I am a pretty decent cook — and love cooking on the grill.  Since the weather has turned, I have grilled practically every night.  So I got this stuff from Wegmans and added in the spice — then rubbed it all over the chicken and basted it while it was cooking. Wow, was it good.  The local potheads came floating towards my house like zombies when they smelled the amazing aromas coming off of my overworked grill. Most importantly, the girlfriend gave it the seal of approval.  Sadly, the potheads are all still milling around in my backyard waiting for me to make the chicken again.   [Read more →]

Tags: Marty digs, movies, recipes & food, television by Marty O'Connor
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In Lost‘s “Everybody Loves Hugo,” Richard complains that Jacob “never tells us what to do.” Richard’s frustration echoes clearly into our world. For most of us, Jacob, aka God, never seems to tell us what to do. He just sits back and lets us make our own mistakes, leading to countless horrors and suffering. For many, this is a major argument as to why there is no God. Yet, when watching Lost, we see that Jacob does in fact tell the Losties what to do — sometimes directly, sometimes through his lists or clues, and sometimes through messages that he passes on through his emissaries. But certainly this doesn’t happen in our world. Here, there are no ghosts of Michaels past, otherworldly whispers, or visits from dimension-hopping Desmonds to guide us on our journey through life. Or…is there?
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Tags: religion & philosophy, television by Marc Oromaner
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Once upon a time, you believed that you were very special. That you’d grow up to make a difference in the world, be paid handsomely for doing so, find true love, have some equally special children, and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, life hasn’t worked out quite as good as the fairytale. So, were we all lied to? In Lost’s “Happily Ever After” Desmond discovers that there is a reality where all his dreams can come true. So where is this reality and do we need to be as special as Desmond to get there? [Read more →]

Tags: religion & philosophy, television by Marc Oromaner
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Thanks to Netflix being available on Wii now, I have been checking out shows and movies I have passed over or never given the chance. One such show is Weeds. It’s about this attractive widow who sells pot to make ends meet — she would have been the woman of dreams to my roomate in my freshman year of college. I watched one episode the other night, then two, then seven episodes and a bag of Fritos later, I was passed out asleep on the couch. To me, this is the way to get into a show. I can’t stand watching it week by week — I am doing that now with How To Make It In America, and in true HBO fashion, it’s only a half hour long and the first season is something like 6 episodes. My two-year-old will be driving by the time that and Eastbound and Down have a second season. Back to Weeds — I am loving the fact there there are 4 more seasons left for me to watch. Better buy more Fritos! [Read more →]

Tags: Marty digs, television by Marty O'Connor
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In “The Package” Jin is distraught over having his $25,000 confiscated at the airport, Sun is panicked that her lavish bank account was emptied by her father, Widmore is angry that events aren’t going according to plan, and Desmond didn’t seem particularly happy about being drugged, stuffed in a sub, and brought back to the island. But if there’s anything that life and Lost teach us, it’s that our plans aren’t always in our own best interest. They say that man plans and God laughs. The question is, is God laughing with us, or at us? [Read more →]

Tags: religion & philosophy, television by Marc Oromaner
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How To Make It In America (Sunday, HBO, 10PM) — Is it me or is TV reeeeally boring right now? You haven’t heard from me in a while, mostly because I’ve been busy, but also because TV is just very uninspiring right now. American Idol is lame, the CW is worse than ever, and ABC is a complete snooze. The only exciting show on television lately has been Lost (and that’s because we dedicated the last 5 years of our lives to watching it and all it’s done for us is make us feel incompetent and stupid… apparently, the last 7 episodes will make us think we’re smart again), until a show called How To Make It in America came along. [Read more →]

Tags: Lauren Likes TV, television by Lauren LaBumbard
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In “Ab Aeterno,” Richard Alpert loses his faith after discovering that the plan he’s dedicated so much of his life to, may in fact, not exist. From the very same episode, some Lost fans began feeling the same. For six years, Lost viewers with an insatiable hunger for answers have anxiously waited to find out what the mysterious island actually is. At the writer’s strike a couple years ago, Carlton Cuse held up a picket sign that read: “Do You Want To Know What The Island Is??” Thousands of fans have dreamed up imaginative theories, all in an attempt to solve the show’s complex riddle. And now at last we have our answer! According to Jacob himself, the island is…A CORK!!! (crickets) [Read more →]

Tags: religion & philosophy, television by Marc Oromaner
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In “Recon,” James Ford learns a life-changing lesson from a TV show just as we are learning from Lost. The metaphor is clear: there are messages in the media that are meant to help guide us on our journey. All you have to do is let yourself see through to their true meaning in order to uncover the wisdom.

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Tags: religion & philosophy, television by Marc Oromaner
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I was saddened to read that one of my childhood heroes, Fess Parker, passed away. He was 85.

I just read a nice piece by Leonard Maltin on Fess Parker, which reminded me of how much the man in the coonskin hat meant to me as a kid.

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Tags: television by Paul Davis
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I am currently digging Chocolate Cheerios. In the 1980’s, when crack cocaine was tearing apart our nation’s inner cities, Coco Puffs were having a similar effect on the O’Connor household. They became a banned substance after my mom caught my siblings and I doing lines of the stuff you found on the bottom of the cereal bag that we called “Coco Dust.” After rehab — we were confined to boring, healthy cereals like Kix, Rice Krispies, and Chex. But now I’m an adult (kind of) — I have a mortgage, I pay bills, and I do the shopping.  And I can buy Chocalate Cheerios — which are allegedly sort of good for you (at least that’s what I keep telling my girlfriend). They are delicious and I just hope my mom doesn’t catch me relapsing on my Coco Dust addiction. [Read more →]

Tags: education, music, politics & government, recipes & food, television by Marty O'Connor
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I watched the first season of Wiseguy on DVD this past week.

I enjoyed the TV crime drama during its original run from 1987 to 1990. Produced by television veterans Stephen J. Cannell and Frank Lupo, the program was about an undercover FBI agent, Vinnie Terranova, played by actor Ken Wahl.

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Tags: art & entertainment, books & writing, on thrillers and crime, television by Paul Davis
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When Falls contributor Judi Cutrone has just been informed by a reputable source (aka her sister) that because of yesterday’s inflammatory post against Jerry Seinfeld, she has been banned from several establishments and landmarks in Massapequa, NY, which is hometown to both the controversial blogger and Seinfeld, who is arguably the hamlet’s most famous onetime resident (unless you’re a big Police Academy fan).

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Tags: television by Judi Cutrone
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I watched The Marriage Ref on Sunday.

This is not TiVo’s fault (I love you, TiVo, and I know you’re reading this because you can do anything. ANYTHING.) TiVo knows I’d basically lay over train tracks for Ricky Gervais and, so, it thought it perfectly acceptable to tape the latest episode of Jerry Seinfeld’s new show on NBC, The Marriage Ref, where Ricky Gervais joined “panel” guests Larry David and Madonna. Larry David and Ricky Gervais in the same room? I am only human for God’s sake.

And, clearly, that’s exactly the reaction that Jerry Seinfeld was hoping for- that I would dumbly follow my comedy gods anywhere. I spent the next forty minutes wincing and burying my head in my hands.

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Tags: television by Judi Cutrone
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Two of my favorite things in the world are fine food and game shows. There is nothing I enjoy more than curling up on the Victorian settee to watch the latest episodes of “Jeopardy!” and “The Price is Right” while eating foie gras-stuffed quail with asparagus and drinking port wine. The extreme pleasure of consuming great food combined with the excitement of a thrilling game show causes the cares of the world to just drift away.

Given my love of food and of game shows, the appearance of the NBC program, Minute to Win it, should be cause for celebration. After all, it is a game show, and it is hosted by a popular figure from the Food Network.

You might think that one such as I would enjoy the Food Network. You might think that, but do not say it out loud, because if I hear you, I will remove my gauntlet and slap you across the face. [Read more →]

Tags: diatribes, television by Ricky Sprague
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For many of us, our lives don’t work out the way we planned. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a plan. It’s very apropos that Lost‘s “Dr. Linus” episode was named for a teacher since it taught us some very valuable lessons about who we are and what our purpose here may be. In other words, it really was all about you.

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Tags: religion & philosophy, television by Marc Oromaner
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Parenthood (Tuesday, NBC, 10PM) — I got to watch the pilot episode of Parenthood (thanks to the free episode on iTunes, a plastic cup of wine and a train ride to see my mother) and I gotta say, I loved it. There was nothing to not love. It was funny, heartwarming and downright wonderful.

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Tags: art & entertainment, Lauren Likes TV, television by Lauren LaBumbard
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10. “Is Sandra Bullock nominated for All About Steve?”

9. “I’m glad they made it ten Best Picture nominees; before, the show never seemed to drag enough.”

8. “Who’s up for Best Boy?”

7. “I’d like to see those District 9 aliens and those Avatar aliens in a steel cage match.”

6. “I thought Mo’Nique was u’Nique.”

5. “They gotta be fixed; I mean, Paul Blart: Mall Cop deserved something!”

4. “I never realized that the Oscar is just chocolate wrapped in tinfoil.”

3. “I hear that Stanley Tucci is all hands.”

2. “Who cares about Best Picture? My favorite is Best Sound Mixing!”

1. “It’s too bad they don’t have televisions on Pandora.”

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, movies, television by Bob Sullivan
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Whereas “Lighthouse” was all about our enlightenment, “Sundown” explored our dark side — temptation. “I can see her lying back in her satin dress in a room where you do what you don’t confess,” sang Gordon Lightfoot in his 1974 hit “Sundown.” The song is all about succumbing to temptation, hence once again revealing the double entendre that the Lost writers are so fond of using in their episode titles. When the sun goes down, man gets tempted by the dark. Why a “satin” dress? Sounds like Satan, don’t it? [Read more →]

Tags: religion & philosophy, television by Marc Oromaner
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Brothers & Sisters (Sunday, ABC, 10PM) — I consistently neglect one of my favorite shows week after week and it’s simply because I’m 32 years old and like to be in bed by 10 on a school night, especially on Sunday. With Brothers & Sisters airing on Sunday at 10PM, I never watch it live… and considering this column posts on Monday at 2:00, I don’t get to write about it. So this week I’ve decided to honor B&S, stay up late, watch it and discuss. [Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment, Lauren Likes TV, television by Lauren LaBumbard
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