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C-U LOST Fans Unite; Show Returns Next Wednesday

LOST SEASON 5 Primer

(Note: No Spoilers)

Hello, friends. You might know me from my baseball column, 2ON2OUT, that focuses on the comings, goings and shortcomings of the Chicago Cubs. But while the Hot Stove simmers, I’ll rejoin the Smile Politely fold by keeping you up on what has become more than a cult phenomenom — it’s now a bonafide obsession for many people across the globe. LOST.

For the past year or two, my friends, family and I have had a weekly email string discussing the ABC drama, one of the few shows on network television worth spending personal time thinking about. The email string has grown from three to nearly 50, so I figured it was time to move it here.   

LOST fans in Central Illinois, this is the place for you and your thoughts, theories and commentary.

For those of you who don’t watch LOST, go to ABC.com as soon as possible and watch the first three episodes of Season 1 (they are available for free). If, after watching the beginning of Season 1, you find yourself trying to decide if 4 a.m. is an acceptable bedtime for the next few weeks, then please, go on. Once you start, you will likely not be able to stop watching until you’re caught up.

[Note: In this column, many weeks I borrow from other LOST sites, primarily Doc Jensen and EW.com. I’ll try to put as much of myself in these as I can, but EW gets to screen the episodes in advance and I certainly don’t … so … much love to the Doc, we couldn’t dig in quite the same without you.]

Primer

Watch: 

Voice behind the camera sound familiar? Anyone? Read on …

Watch these five episodes to prepare for Season 5

1. ”THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME (PARTS 2 AND 3)”

Season 4 Finale (Episodes 12 & 13). LOST finally features the much anticipated Orchid Station and the Orchid Orientation video. Did everyone note where Ben appears after he “turns the frozen wheel?” Notice what coat he’s wearing when he wakes up on the ground in the middle of the Sahara Desert? If you missed this, then you have to watch …

2. “THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME”

Season 4 (Episode 9). Big connections between this episode and the Season 4 finale. And a very important scene between Ben and Charles Widmore.

3 ”FLASHES BEFORE YOUR EYES”

Season 3 (Episode 8). Desmond’s time with Ms. Hawking should be your focus. Doc Jensen says, “On one hand, she tells Desmond that time can’t be altered — that if you try to change the past, Fate will find some way to thwart you. On the other hand, she warns of catastrophic consequences if Desmond doesn’t repeat all of his past actions. But if history can’t be changed, why the apocalyptic angst?”  

4 ”THE CONSTANT”

Season 4 (Episode 5). Another Dessy special. Built on the time bending foundation laid by ”Flashes Before Your Eyes,” “The Constant” gives us our first in-depth look at one of the show’s best new characters, Mr. Daniel Faraday. The concept of a “Constant” is supremely key here, so watch closely as we note that “island time travelers have a tendency to get sick, bleed out of their nose and die; and said sickness can be at least temporarily slowed by fixing one’s mind, heart and life to a single source of meaning — a lover, a passion, an ideal. A constant. (Jensen)”

5 ”CABIN FEVER”

Season 4 (Episode 11). I just watched this last night and I forgot how delicious this episode was. Tells us quite a bit about John Locke, including his dramatic birth and lonely adolescent years.  

Key scenes:

• When never-aging Richard Alpert visits John Locke’s house (as a young boy), gives him some items and asks him to identify which ones “already belong to him.” Note the items that Locke chooses and doesn’t choose.

• Locke’s dream involving Horace Goodspeed.

As you may already know, there are some other very delicious theories floating around about Season 5. Feel free to dig around and post them here, but I want to respect those that don’t want too much info before the premiere.

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