Debut

I thought that those who care should know that I made my Chinese television debut this past Friday. For the Nanjing government's Mid-Autumn Moon Festival..."gala," I guess you could call it...The Nanjing government demanded my presence alongside the Brit who lives in my building--as well as alongside a Congolese student studying at Nanjing University. We sang "Purple Mountain," a song written by a Canadian and in honor of the Nanjing people's stand against the Japanese. The song was in English, and it had a bit of a Memphis feel to it.

Playing for the drummers in our shared dressing room

As my colleagues were instructed to lip synch, I was instructed to pretend to play guitar. All this Ashlee Simpson-ing is so that there are no mistakes. Harmony must be maintained--in regards to musical performance and quality of entertainment. The only entertainers who weren't faking during the evenings proceedings were the scantily clad Chinese dancers (who wore bunny ears and tails but zebra stockings) and the absurdly talented children playing in a traditional Chinese drumline--one kid totally wailed in a solo...would have kicked Nick Cannon's ass.

Anyways, I spent much of the day drinking free kumquat-and-lemon juice (weirdly good) and joking around on guitar with the children who played traditional Chinese drums--whenever, of course, they were allowed a break from their homework.

The show ended with cannons shooting golden glitter over all of us, with us smiling and waving to a packed auditorium and to the cameras telecasting us live to the city, with some handshaking with who I assume to be the significant governmental officials of the city, with our contacts gifting us a couple bottles of wine, and with the television offices rewarding us a three-hour salary for about four minutes of work.

This was easily one of the silliest things I have been a part of since coming to China, but I am in no way surprised. It feels like a rite of passage as a waiguoren (foreigner). Out of the evening, I was approached to help a teaching center as an English teacher and foreign model. Obviously, I am not sure really how this will pan out.

After scouring the Internet, I cannot find video (yet). I will keep searching, but I hope that these pictures will whet thine pallets for more on my rising stardom in China:

2nd pic--check that professional lip bite

And these women were one of my favorite acts--they came on about 15 minutes before us (same routine, though this footage is from some other absurd proceeding).

Sights and Sounds of Tai ji

After two weeks of study (thirty hours per week), I have learned the base eighteen movements of Chen-style tai ji. N.B. I am far from mastering these movements.

I am still amazed at how exhausting the subtle movements of shifting one's hips and rotating ones arms can be. The martial art form does not require any particular level of athleticism, but daily practice definitely guarantees some weight-loss (through sweat) and increased upper leg strength. Each movement requires only a slight knee-bend, but each movement requires firm rooting in the ground. Surprisingly, this rooting derives in comfortably sitting into one's hips and letting the hips begin each movement. At first, pronating and suppinating through hip movements seems counter-intuitive; eventually, one learns how to bend their elbows using their hips. At least, one supposedly learns this. As one of my fellow students pointed-out (in one of the more appropriate but obscure references I have ever heard), learning tai ji makes one feel like their doing the awkward jolts and jitters from Jamie Lee Curtis's strip tease in True Lies (see below for more details).

Waterbending (see below for details)

That's a video of my master （师傅, shifu) singing my favorite Chinese country song; the lyrics are something to the effect of: "Singing a song,/ I am on this side,/ the river is on that side..." It is a particularly popular song in Yangshuo, where there is an overdone light show involving hundreds of actors on boats and featuring the song as part of a love story between a village girl and a fisherman.

That video is of me doing the base eighteen movements with my master. I am sure you will see as many flaws in my form and postures as I do. Here is a clip of Jamie Lee's dance (the clip is only relevant to the point between 3:08 and 3:17, outside of that I cannot "speak" to the remainder of the clip): compare as you see fit. And after that, some vintage waterbending from one of my favorite TV shows ever.

Cut and Pastiche

I am definitely not posting with the frequency that I would prefer. I wonder if my lack of writing contributes to a sense of feeling overwhelmed with thoughts that I want to communicate; I also wonder if the converse is not true in that the vast number of topics I want to discuss and stories I want to relay make it impossible to focus my writing.

"Lost" Thoughts: Part VI (Conclusion-ish)

I carry my sentiment from the end of season five into this blog post about the sixth and final season of "Lost": I am freed from the shackles of a time commitment without definite reward.

Though I am somewhat satisfied with the concluding note of the show (one that has been widely discussed and only moderately criticized) in its humanistic emphasis, I am still furious. I should clarify that I am mostly furious with myself: About a week ago I realized that despite my awareness to the frustrations of people who had been avidly following the show, I, too, had been duped into believing that some profound realization would come to fruition thanks to insightful writing that would incorporate allegorical imagery and complexly woven story arcs. Of course, after an estimated 88 hours of time watching events unfold after the crash of Oceanic 815 I am now aware that the show was just a T.V. show. Damnit. Fooled me.

"Lost" Thoughts: Part V

I once had an English teacher that loved reveling in the beauty of a Socratic argument that ended where it began. In season five of "Lost," we start with the disappearance of the island and a changing of all inner rules (space, time, physics, etc.); we end the season with a mystery of how the inner rules will be resolved reiterated with the bending of the show's external rules--the trademark black background is, instead, white. Before and after this season, more so than during the time surrounding any other season, the viewers are left feeling just as the title indicates: Lost. That summary is an accurate depiction of the show's ridiculousness.

"Lost" Thoughts: Part IV

Despite the fourth season of "Lost" being about ten episodes shorter than any of the first three (season one, season two, and season three), JJ Abrams and co. generated twice as many questions as they usual do in a season. That being said, I am not sure how much space I can afford for an actual review of the season. I will do my best to recap my thoughts on the season, the show, and where it is going before launching into a recap on questions unanswered and a listing of newly generated questions. Again, I list all these questions because creating and monitoring the progress of questions is the premise and basis for success of "Lost."

With much further ado, "Lost" takes us off the island and brings us to a strange non-island-non-off-island existence within season four. The show has begun leaning away from the petty island drama for the sake of pursuing more confusion about physics, chemistry, space, and time--it is too bad Arntz is not around to help explain some of the conundrums.

At the end of season three, we find out that some Oceanic 815 survivors make it off the island and back to civilization--thanks Beardy Jack. In season four, we have flashes forward to this post-island life for the Oceanic 815 and island survivors (coined The Oceanic 6), flashes backwards to explain more about character origins, and what amount to flashes of the "present" life of the characters on the island. Ultimately, this technique leads to a chase that parallels some of the jungle chases on the island: The present on the island is trying to catch-up to the flashes forward (Oceanic 6 time) that continue to develop in a forward-moving manner. There are some excellent "12 Monkeys"-esque moments during the season--particularly in "The Constant." This also helps to harp on the "Alice in Wonderland" motif that resurfaces throughout the show.

This shift in story-telling provides a new layer of intrigue and, thus, enjoyment for the audience. We sort of know where things are headed and we sort of know where things are, but we do not really know at all how the two are connected. Or if they are connected.

Terry O'Quinn is still the stand-out performer, and the show is trimming some of the fat (N.B. A reduction of Claire). The writers seems to be tired of the Jack-Kate-Sawyer triangle and have shifted more towards the evolution of their friendships and romances without struggle between the males. I eagerly await how Abrams and co. will handle the explanation of how big Walt has gotten even though not a significant amount of internal time has passed.

With one more season of Netflix watching left, I will soon be caught-up to current "Lost" time...Whatever time that may be: Three out of Five stars


Here are the questions left over from Season 1:

What's the deal with the moving black smoke?

What did the others want with Walt?

What is so special about the numbers?

What illness took Rousseau's people?

Where is this island?

What's with Locke's occasional paralysis and even more occasional feeling in his legs?

What made him move to the box company?

What's with Jack's dad on the island?

What is Walt's super power?

What's the point of Vincent?

Season two left overs:

Why do people see a dripping wet Walt when he's not actually around?

What is he saying in said incidents?

What is the significance of the hatch names?

Why was the electromagnetic facility built?

Why was it well-stocked with weapons?

What's with Kate's black horse?

Was Sawyer really holding the spirit of Kate's dead dad?

Is this all going to be some sort of religious metaphor?

Why didn't the black smoke take Echo?

What was flashing in the black smoke?

What did the blacklit blast door say?

Why did the Dharma Initiative drop more food?

Why does Hurley start seeing Dave again?

Why didn't Ben run away when the blast doors had fallen?

Why was Desmond in prison?

What's with the big freak bird that seems to only show up once a season?

What's with the statue foot with four toes?

And now the slew of questions from the third season:

What's Carl's back story?

Why does Jack hear his dad on the intercom?

Why was Locke on that orchard?

Why can Desmond see the future?

Who is the guy who looks like Echo's brother but says he is not him?

Why was Jack in Phucket?

What is the meaning of Juliette's mark?

Why was Sayid in Paris?

How does Mikhael keep surviving death?

What happens to the gull carrying Claire's message?

What happened to Locke's spot on the weed farm?

How did Locke's dad get on the island?

How did Abrams and Co. get Billy Dee Williams to guest?

What was the point of Nickie and Paulo? ("Who the hell is Nickie?"--Sawyer)

Will those two stay buried? ("Things have a way of not staying buried"--Locke)

Why didn't the monster take Juliette and Kate?

Why can't the monster cross "the others'" fence?

What is the story with Jacob?

Who is the man from Tallahasee?

Why was Desmond at an abbey?

Why do men have higher sperm counts on the island?

Why do "the others" idolize Locke?

Are the people on the island dead? Are these layers of hell?

Why hasn't Richard aged?

Why is Ben in charge?

What does Jacob need Locke's help with?

That brings us to questions about season four:

Why does Hurley see the water of the ocean in the mirror in the police station?

Who pounds on the glass of said mirror?

Who is Matthew Abbaddon?

Why is he visiting Hurley?

Who are the "they" Abbaddon talks about to Hurley?

Why are only some people allowed to see Jacob's cabin?

Who was in Jacob's cabin when Hurley peeked in?

How does the cabin move?

How does Hurley make it disappear?

How does Charlie visit Hurley in the hospital?

How does Hurley make Charlie disappear?

Who needs Hurley--according to Charlie?

Why does the woman who Miles visits have a photo of young Echo?

What's the tool Miles uses?

How can he talk to ghosts?

Why was there a Dharma Initiative polar bear skeleton in the desert?

Why was the "rescue team" of Charlotte, Miles, Farraday, and Lupides put together?

Is Abbaddon Naomi's boss?

Does he work for Widmore?

Why are Widmore and Ben at war?

Where is Mikhail?

Is Locke's tyranny supposed to be a religious zealotry metaphor?

Why didn't Dan's experiment with the "payload" work?

Why was the payload 31 minutes late?

Why does Ben have so many passports?

What's Oceanic 6 Sayid's list?

Why is there only one bearing from the island that works?

Why does Miles want $3.2 million?

Who does Miles actually work for?

Why can't Dan remember the playing cards?

Why do people with radiation/EMP exposure get disoriented going to and from the island?

What triggers the space/time shifts that Des goes through?

What's in the Black Rock journal? Tell us more about Tovard Hensel.

Why is Widmore so fascinated with the Black Rock?

Was that seriously a Christmas episode?!?

Why was Dan pleasantly surprised about Des being a constant?

Does island Dan know Des from Oxford Dan?

What is Harper's deal? How come she can disappear with the whispers?

Who filmed Widmore beating Ben's accomplice?

Who are Zach and Emma?

Why does Michael tell Des and Sayid not to trust the captain when he can, in fact, be trusted?

Who faked the Oceanic 815 deep-ocean recovery? Ben or Widmore? Why?

Why does Ben end up in the Sahara (after turning the island's wheel)?

Why does Sawyer suddenly care so much about Claire?

Is that lame action sequence at "the others" village necessary? Everyone gets shot but Sawyer?

Why does Ben use "Dean Moriarity" as his alias in Tunisia?

Why does he receive a funny look from the hotel clerk?

Who killed Nadia?

How did the Rousseau-Ben love go down to produce Alex?

Ben and Widmore have rules of war?

What's with the door in Ben's house?

What's with the temple?

What's with the hieroglyphics?

Did Ben trigger the black smoke? How? How do the mercenaries survive?

Why does Dan lie about the morse code?

Why can't Ben kill Widmore?

What is Widmore talking about with regards to Ben's origins?

Will Ben kill Penelope? Will Desmond get in the way?

When and how does Jack come around to Kate and Aaron?

Why does Hurley think that the Oceanic 6 are all dead?

What happened to Claire and Jack's dad?

What's Horace's story? Bloody nose?

Why does child Locke draw the smoke monster? Does it come from man-made fire?

Why does child Locke pick the knife? Does that link with his struggle to find Jacob and answers?

Why does the secondary protocol have the Dharma Initiative logo? Was the D.I. Widmore's?

What's with the references to Geronimo Jackson?

What's with the references to Portland?

Why does Abbaddon visit Locke in the hospital?

Who is Abbaddon with? Jacob? Richard? Ben? Widmore?

Is the island in the future or the past?

Why is Claire in the cabin? Jack's dad?

Who is Decker?

What is Charlotte's "getting back to the island" all about? Has she actually been there? Is she time traveling?

Where is Dr. Hallowax?

Why did the final orientation tape auto-rewind before finishing?

What did Sawyer whisper to Kate?

Was Hurley playing chess with Echo?

Did Jeremy Bentham commit suicide?

Did anyone survive the boat explosion?

What is San doing with Widmore?

Where did the island go? How did it go?

What's Claire doing in Kate's house? How'd she get there?

What happens with Dan's raft?

Why is John Locke going around as Jeremy Bentham?

How did he die?

Farewell to brother Desmond.

Last question: Abrams, why bother with the following clips?

"Lost" Thoughts: Part III

As I finish season three, I hear stories from original "Lost" fans (i.e. those who have watched the show on TV from the show's conception) that many bail in the fourth and fifth seasons because the show "gets too ridiculous." I am not sure where those people were for the first three seasons: The show has always operated on a premise of being illogical and outlandish. Are we not supposed to feel the confusion but excitement of the characters on the island?

At least, that is one of the draws for me. I have spoken to how I cannot believe the success of the show given its resistance to logic in story, writing, and character development. Yet, I find myself compelled to continue following the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. The first season, I followed them out of curiosity over the many mysteries and difficulties they encountered trying to just make-do in a survival scenario with a few curve-balls (NB The monster and the polar bears). The second season, I followed them out of piqued interest about the new revelations that the island was host to some sort of technological or scientific experimenting that seemingly antagonized the survivors in every way possible. And the third season, I followed because I finally have a sense that Abrams and Co. have a direction for the show, the survivors, and the island's story.

The writers continue to introduce new characters and occasionally kill old ones off. Unfortunately, some of my favorite characters did not even last half way through the season--don't worry, no spoilers. Just as in life, the birth of a new character necessitates the death of an old one. This sort of poetic balance is not that simple on the island since, in the third season, we experience a ghost of one of the survivors for the first time. Sure we have seen ghosts (e.g. Jack's dad), but this is the first time that Oceanic ghosts are haunting their own people.

The ebb and flow of characters is just one of the many cycles that "Lost" writing goes through. The story also shows hints of inner formula: The survivors struggle through a challenge, just barely eke out a solution only to find a new location and a new challenge, the survivors realize this new location is the key to solving the new challenge, so they just barely find solution as they find a way into the new location only to discover a new character. Shortly thereafter will be an episode with trite character "development" that does not help the show that needs to use all its force just to tread water with all the weights of its subplots pulling it beneath the waves of confusion and disenchantment.

Still, I watch. I suppose I am drawn to the show despite episodes like the one where Hurley finds the van because of episodes like either of the ones where Abrams and Co. finally trick us with a flash forward instead of a flashback. Even though I had heard it was coming, I was still jolted and amused. Well done, sir!

Mostly, I think I am hanging-in with the show because I want to be able to participate in another niche dialogue.

Here are the questions left over from Season 1:

What's the deal with the moving black smoke?

What did the others want with Walt?

Are the others affiliated with the moving black smoke?

What is so special about the numbers?

What's the story behind the Black Rock?

What illness took Rousseau's people?

Where is this island?

What's with Locke's occasional paralysis and even more occasional feeling in his legs?

What made him move to the box company?

What's with Jack's dad on the island?

What is Walt's super power?

What's the point of Vincent?

As you can see, the questions are starting to get answered. It is a gradual process, but the writers seem genuinely capable of answering all the questions. That is promising and reassuring given how many damn questions there still are. Season two left overs:

Why do people see a dripping wet Walt when he's not actually around?

What is he saying in said incidents?

What is the significance of the hatch names?

Why was the electromagnetic facility built?

Why was it well-stocked with weapons?

How do the others know names of Oceanic survivors?

What's with Kate's black horse?

Was Sawyer really holding the spirit of Kate's dead dad?

Is this all going to be some sort of religious metaphor?

Why didn't the black smoke take Echo?

What was flashing in the black smoke?

What did the blacklit blast door say?

Why did the Dharma Initiative drop more food?

Why does Hurley start seeing Dave again?

Why didn't Ben run away when the blast doors had fallen?

Why was Desmond in prison?

What's with the big freak bird that seems to only show up once a season?

What's with the statue foot with four toes?

What's with that EMP detecting squad in the snowy recesses of elsewhere and acting as liaisons to Desmond's ex?

And now the slew of questions from this season:

What's Carl's back story?

Why does Jack hear his dad on the intercom?

How do "the others" have so much information about everything?

Why was Locke on that orchard?

Why can Desmond see the future?

Who is the guy who looks like Echo's brother but says he is not him?

Really? Bear cage sex?

Why was Jack in Phucket?

What is the meaning of Juliette's mark?

Why was Sayid in Paris?

How does Mikhael keep surviving death?

Will Claire and Jack ever realize they are related?

What is Jack's dad's timeline exactly? (Consider Claire's accident, Analucia's bodyguarding, etc)

What happens to the gull carrying Claire's message?

What happened to Locke's spot on the weed farm?

How did Locke's dad get on the island?

How did Abrams and Co. get Billy Dee Williams to guest?

What was the point of Nickie and Paulo? ("Who the hell is Nickie?"--Sawyer)

Will those two stay buried? ("Things have a way of not staying buried"--Locke)

Why didn't the monster take Juliette and Kate?

Why can't the monster cross "the others'" fence?

What is the story with Jacob?

Who is the man from Tallahasee?

Why was Desmond at an abbey?

Why do men have higher sperm counts on the island?

How could the world have "found" flight 815 without survivors?

Why do "the others" idolize Locke?

Will "the others" subvert Ben?

Are the people on the island dead? Are these layers of hell?

Who is Ben's right-hand/the guy that found him as a kid? Why hasn't he aged?

Why is Ben in charge?

What does Jacob need Locke's help with?

Who's dead in Jack's flash forward?

What is Naomi's story?

How does Penelope relate to the island?

Why did Locke knife Naomi?

Why does beardy Jack map all the oceanic stuff?

Who is Kate with that she's not with beardy Jack?

And those are my questions. Here are some features I appreciated this season:

4) The back story on how San may be the reason for all of her and Jin's woes.

3) Favoring Sawyer as a character with genuine development and crafty ways of keeping him conniving yet useful.

2) A sense of story, connectedness, and links that indicate that "Lost" is going somewhere.

1) My favorite moment of the series happened this season when Hurley blurts: "Let's look death in the face and say, 'Whatever, dude.'" It reminded me of Demetri Martin.

I am looking forward to the next two seasons which are both significantly shorter than the 23 episode seasons thus far--courtesy of the writer's strike.

I'm halfway to being able to actually talk about this show in a relevant manner. Isn't that exciting?!? I'm so excited that I am spending time finding obscure and odd "Lost" clips on YouTube!--like this strange ad campaign that looks like it debuted between seasons one and two:

"Lost" Thoughts: Part II

My "Lost" marathon has brought me to the culmination of season two. While "Lost" fanatics puzzle over the new season (I have heard rumors of the dead wandering the island), I just cannot believe how far we have come by the end of season two. JJ Abrams and Co. have found creative ways to introduce new characters and even more ingenious methods of overlapping the characters' histories.

The writing crew has definitely put more time and thought into developing the inextricable intertwining of the characters. Unfortunately, this crossmojination of story-lines is not always necessary and appears forced throughout most of season two: Why does the Analucia-Jack's-Dad story even matter?

I suppose I should not bother with questions about writing logistics since, as I mentioned in "'Lost' Thoughts: Part I," the series is not necessarily bound by logic in story, in character development, or in dialogue.

On that note, here are a few random gripes with season two:

"Lost" Thoughts: Part I.c

I had a sort of "a-ha!" moment midway through the final episode. I believe some sort of contrived and hackneyed dialogue between Jack and Locke about fate and the island and blah blah blah provoked me to realize: I enjoy "Lost" because it is classically gothic. Substitute the haunted house as a character for a haunted island as a character. The show is a melodrama, a mystery, a horror, and an action; thus, the show is a wonderful pastiche. Gothic. Nicely done Sir Abrams. You pulled a fast one on me.

Speaking of fast ones, those final episodes quickly switched the path of certain questions and plot points. Additional questions that may serve as amendments to the preceding ones:

What's the deal with the black smoke?
What's the deal with the moving black smoke?
What was pulling Locke into that hole?
Did you see a chain, because I saw a chain...?
What do the others want with Walt?
How are the raft folk going to navigate back to the island?
Are the others affiliated with the black smoke?
Are they affiliated with the monster/security system?
Is the black smoke affiliated with the monster/security system?
Is Charley really going to have to struggle with Heroine again??? Really?
Come on. Can't we move forward in the writing?
Am I to believe the romance between Shannon and Sayid?
Was Ernst explosion necessary?
What's down that hatch tube?
Why's that ladder broken?
How are they going to get down?
Are the flight survivors really at risk now that the others aren't actually coming after them?
Where is that speed boat going?
Is Locke a religious freak or just spiritually super connected?
What is the deal with Hurley's numbers?

So, I also think it would be fit to make some predictions.
1) Jack and Kate hook up.
2) Sawyer and Kate hook up.
3) Sayid and Shannon give it a shot, realize they're both only shadows of legitimate characters, and Sawyer and Shannon hook up.
4) Locke becomes invaluable in exploring some new aspect of the island.
5) The flight survivors find supplies curiously well-stocked in the hatch.
6) The flight survivors find showers, AC, and a barber shop in the hatch.
7) The island is a space-time warp.
8) Langoliers show up.*
9) Walt is meant to be one of the others.
10) Vincent will have some sort of significance. Why else would a dog be on the island?

Ten solid predictions. I thought the season ended well, and, fortunately for "Lost" and all associated therein, the "bonus" episodes, courtesy of Netflix's format (Part I.b), propelled the show up a full star notch.

"Lost" Season One: Three.5 out of Five stars.

*I may have revealed a new low in my geekdom.

"Lost" Thoughts: Part I.b

It seems that Netflix Instant's format has created a fortuitous twist in my "Lost" watching endeavors. Two of the final episodes of Season 1 were hiding in a different menu.

This is stupendous for so many reasons that link into what I dig about "Lost." Mostly, this sort of "now you see it, now it's something totally opposite" style of divulging the island's shenanigans is one of the series most valuable assets.

I will have to amend my season-summarizing questions after watching the next episodes.

Bravo Netflix, "Lost," and the island that seems to be conspiring to earn my favor.

Instantly boosted to 3 out of 5 stars.

"Lost" Thoughts: Part I

Courtesy of Netflix Instant, I am now able to catch-up on all the pop-culture programming that I missed over the past few years. Sometimes I have elected to miss the shows or movies because they seemed passing fads to me. My free time has been precious and sparse, and I need to know that I am diving into a worthwhile distraction instead of a vacuum of brain cells or a frustration provacateur.

My recent indulgence has been "Lost." So, with only slightly further adieu, my wrap-up of the first season. N.B. There may be some sort of spoiling involved here, though given the premise of the series, one in which questions are the point instead of solved mysteries or grand reveals, I am not too preoccupied with offending anyone. Here we go:

As I come to the close f the first season of JJ Abrams and co.'s "Lost," I am annoyingly filled with questions which I know will not be answered in any of the next few seasons. I know this because the rate at which the show generates mysteries without constructing a realm for resolution seems to be the strong point upon which all the rest of the series is built. While I am sure certain intricacies and nuances will be fleshed out, I am also sure that the writers and producers will gladly throw more complexities, twists, and mysteries at me.

To summarize the season, I believe all the unanswered questions will suffice. I will try to recount all of them, but you should feel free to lambast me for missing a crucial plot point. Remember that this is just the first season:

What's with the polar bears?
What's with the forest whispers?
What's with the monster/"security system"?
Where the hell did Ethan come from?
Who are the "others"?
What did they want with/do to Claire?
What's with the psychic's reading on Claire and her baby?
What's the story behind the Black Rock?
What illness took Rousseau's people?
Where's the radio tower?
What's with the hatch and the light inside?
What's with Hurley's numbers?
Are they a Pandora's box?
Is this some sort of time-space splicing island?
Is this some sort of afterlife island?
Is this some sort of purgatorial state for more than just the viewer who is stuck between intriguing questions and frustratingly banal character development?
What's with the Nigerian priest-pilot and the heroin?
Where is this island?
What's with Locke's dreams?
What's with his legs/nonparalysis/occassional paralysis?
Is Locke's faith in the island dangerous?
How come Locke is so savvy and capable?
Why was he crippled?
What made him move to the box company?
Why was Hurley in a mental hospital?
What's with Jack's dad on the island?
What happened to Jack's marriage?
What's with Jack's tattoos--they seem so uncharacteristic?
What will happen with the raft?
What is Walt's super power all about? Future telling? Telekinetic?
What's the point of Vincent?
What happened to Kate and her husband?
Did she actually murder someone?
Why is she always running?
Did Sawyer ever find the real Sawyer?
What's with Sawyer's vindictive boar?
Who will Kate go for: Jack or Sawyer?
What is on either end of the cable leading to Rousseau's hideout?
What's the deal with the shoddy compasses?
What is up with the black smoke?

I suppose I should give the creators some credit. They have somehow disregarded reasonability and the audience's need for explanation, yet they have manufactured a hit show that captivates me amongst millions of others. That is the greatest mystery of "Lost": How do they make a show so annyoing and rife with shortcomings and yet grip my cynical attention?

My biggest complaints about the show are mostly related to character and dialogue writing. We go through the show only to find that each character brings a crucial element to the tribe's alchemy, but each character ends up type-casting their role in the daily mini-dramas that unfold on the island.

These mini-dramas seem to be time-filling devices demonstrating the shoddier half of the writing. The mini-dramas are thinly veiled depictions of the show-creators' alchemy: Which characters, when paired together, will produce television gold? The characters never seem to learn from their own mistakes or observe the way in which the others (equally stagnant characters) will respond to to certain scenarios. This results in regular disputes that I feel have reached the limit of permutations with regards to who is involved in the dispute. I have to believe that someone on the island would at some point acknowledge the absurdity that they all keep falling into the same roles in these disagreements.

A quick stray complaint: I can never tell if Sayid is being provocative, humorous, playful, sympathetic, or thoughtful. If he's not angry, he employs puppy-dog eyes, a faint smirk, and a patronizing forehead furrow.

Also, "Lost" is far too obvious about which characters the audience should hate:

-The underdeveloped, poorly explained, irrationally-constant-scrooge that is Michael: He's so isolating, angry, consistently stand-offish, and terrible at fathering Walt.
-The underdeveloped, poorly explained, and crudely acted Shannon: She's so oblivious, selfish, and prone to glazing her eyes while cocking her head and leaving her mouth slightly agape.
-The dismissable Jin is so unneccessary that the writers only provide subtitles to his Korean every now and then.

Why are the writers even bothering with the other, non-named characters of the Oceanic flight? And are they really serious about introducing the science teacher in the season finale? That dude is going to get eaten. We all know it. Also, are we really supposed to believe that Walt, Michael, and Sawyer will not be back to the island. Please. Taking note of the questions above, I realize that the show will not leave Walt's super power unexplained or Sawyer's drama with Kate and Jack left unresolved. And if Walt survives the raft, so must Michael--network television is not dark or twisted enough to burden the island or Walt himself with an orphanhood. Stop giving me obvious answers. These are distractions from the ten new mysteries per episode. Oh, and I am not remotely interested in whether Jin survives the raft. He was dead to me ever since he dipped out of the warm meal San made for him.

All in all, season one has been gratifying in its provocativeness and ability to at least begin integrating me into another niche of pop-culture. It has failed to "wow" me with acting, dialogue, or character development. I am definitely impressed with the style that transcends the show's inner time via flashbacks. I am also impressed with the audacity of the looming questions that the show makes glaringly obvious it doesn't have to answer for the audience's sake. They don't pander to me. I like that.

Two.5 out of five stars.