Two Pieces of Nonsense Yesterday about Bill Clinton and Barack Obama

As primary voting is underway today in Wisconsin and Hawaii, I wanted to comment briefly on two campaign issues which received considerable media coverage yesterday.

1. Bill Clinton's heated lecture to a person at a Hillary Clinton rally waving a big anti-abortion sign has been cited - by Fox News and others - as a return to his self-centered aggressive campaigning, which may be hurting more than helping Hillary.


My take on this: Nonsense - it's good and helpful for a former President to take a strong stand on this issue, whenever possible, whether or not he's campaigning for his wife. More specifically, it was not Clinton's aggressive style, or his insertion of himself into Hillary Clinton's campaign, that caused problems for Hillary a few weeks ago, and received criticism from lots of people, including me. It was the nature of Bill Clinton's attacks on Obama.

And, clearly, a verbal exchange with an anti-abortion protester is not at all the same as an attack on Hillary Clinton's rival. This is an issue upon which most Democrats, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, agree. Bill Clinton deserves our praise not criticism for standing up on this.

2. The Clinton campaign accused Obama of "plagiarism" because Obama used a passage in a speech about the power of words first used, almost word for word, by Obama's friend and campaign ally Deval Patrick (from a speech Patrick made in 2006, in his successful run for Massachusetts governor).


My take on this: Pretty close to nonsense. The slim part that's legitimate is, ideally, Obama should have said in his speech, "as my friend Deval Patrick aptly says..." and then gone ahead with the passage. But calling this "plagiarism" is ridiculous. (The very word comes from the Latin: to kidnap.) You cannot steal something which is voluntarily given to you. Clinton's campaign must know this. They only make themselves look petty by grossly mislabeling this minor misstep.

And I'll be back tonight after the returns are in.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles 6

The sixth episode of The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Fox last night was the best yet, after the pilot...

Derrick Reese - Kyle's brother - becomes a central player, more in the apocalyptic future that he and his brother are trying to prevent, than on the table in our present on which Charley is desperately trying to save him. (Last week, Cameron pronounced Derrick's injuries incapable of repair.)

To the extent that Derrick is conscious on that table, he wants Cameron nowhere near him. They clearly have had some interaction in the future, and near the end of the episode we find what Derrick fears in Cameron: good Terminators sometimes go bad. Cameron says this to Derrick in the future ...

This may be one of the most important revelations in the series so far: is it true that Cameron is not 100% trustworthy? At very least, she seems to be lying at the end of this episode about a little something she is holding in her hand.

We also find out more about what Derrick's mission was: Killing Andy Good. At least, in part. Good tells Derrick in the future that he, Good, was responsible for Skynet. And in the last scenes of Episode 6, we see that it was indeed Derrick who killed poor Andy, after all. Apparently there's not that much difference between Derrick and Cameron - who wanted to kill Andy, too - after all. (And we also know that killing Andy Good doesn't do much good, does it?)

Derrick is part of a team of humans that John Connor has sent back to our present. I was delighted to see Andre Royo - Bubbles on The Wire - as one of the team. Way to go, Bubs! (Hey, The Wire crew is doing pretty well in the new golden age of science fiction in television - Lance Reddick has a role in Lost.)

Future John Connor sends back the team of four to our present - to "correct" everything, Derrick says. The four stand naked, shivering, in our Los Angeles, in awe of the skyscrapers that still stand proud...

Little do they know ... that, when it comes to time travel, errors are never easily corrected...


See also: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 1 and 2 ... 3 ... 4. A Robot Primer ... 5 ... 7 ... 8-9: Terminate with Puzzles, Surprises, and Soul

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...





Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

Back in Second Life Next Sunday - Public Reading of The Plot to Save Socrates

Back by popular demand - I'll be reading from a section of my novel, The Plot to Save Socrates, never before heard in public...

You can hear and see this on your computer, just by connecting to Second Life.

The time of the reading - 3-4pm - is EASTERN TIME, this coming Sunday, Feb 24

If you already have a Second Life account, just send me a note (or leave a comment right here), befriend me on Second Life (if we're not already friends), and I'll reply with a "landmark" which will bring you right to the reading.

If you do not have a Second Life account, you can easily get one, for free, at SecondLife.com - once you get an account, just let me know here or on Second Life.

This reading will not be recorded. If you can't attend, the only way you will be able hear this section is in The Plot to Save Socrates audiobook

And, of course, you can read it in the paperback novel

But here are some Plot to Save Socrates goodies that are FREE:

- read the first chapter online!

- listen to me reading the first chapter!

- Red Moon author David S. Michaels reacts to a reading from the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates that I gave last week on Aaron Busch's new Primetime and Online webcast

- Sierra Waters - heroine of the novel - is twice introduced

- more review blurbs than you can shake a stick at (whatever that means) ... my favorites are "challenging fun" (Entertainment Weekly) and "Sierra Waters in sexy as hell" (Curled Up with a Good Book)

And here's a videoclip from a reading I did in December in Second Life...

The Wire Season 5 Episode 7: King of Diamonds

"Ain't you the King of Diamonds," Bunk sarcastically remarks to McNulty, as McNulty hands out resources to a revitalized Baltimore police - revitalized because McNulty's charade about a serial killer of homeless people has galvanized everyone from the Mayor on down. No "weak shit" this, as Bunk termed this a just a week or two ago.

McNulty started off the show with a great performance as the putative serial killer, putting in a new call to Scott Templeton, his contact at the Baltimore Sun - a conspirator in his own sham on the same serial killer, which McNulty is taking good advantage of. Freamon compliments McNulty on his fine Baltimore accent in the phone call. The comment is especially and meta-well deserved: Dominic West's accent from the east, old side of the Atlantic is so strong that I can sometimes barely understand the actor when he speaks as himself. McNulty's accent in The Wire is just another part of West's tour de force performance.

But McNulty may be getting more than he bargained for. His self-created "red ball" may be drawing so much attention that it could conceivably backfire and land McNulty and Freamon both in hot water, or worse.

Back at the Baltimore Sun, McNulty's priming of the pump with the phone call is having just the effect desired. But Gus is growing increasingly suspicious of Scott. I'd say it's just a matter of time until Gus figures out what's really going on, and/or Scott cracks.

Meanwhile, there's a priceless scene in a bar with Richard Belzer - Munch - in evidence! Gus walks right by him, and I would have loved to see him break character for an instant and say hello as old Meldrick to Munch! But it was almost as much fun to almost see that.

Lots of other good things in this episode, including Omar on the hunt. He kills one of Marlo's muscle, and lets Michael know he did it - all to get Marlo to come on down and fight him...

And State Senator Clay Davis (finely played by Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) won his case! Shee...eet! I know he's corrupt, but I was glad. (Right, I sometimes root for the bad guys...)

========================
Only a few more episodes left ... a superb, finale season!

See also The Wire's Back! Review of Season 5 Episode 1 and Episode 2: The Great, Dangling Conversation ... 3. McNulty and Marlo ... 4. One Down ... 5. Media Chasing Their Own Tales and Tails ... 6. Superman Omar and Tall Stories ... 8. Two Down ... 9. Cold, Killer Sweetheart ... 10. The Wire Bows out Gracefully

In Treatment 3: Triangle

Alex - brilliantly played by Blair Underwood (all of the acting is brilliant in this series) - was something of the outsider in the first two weeks of In Treatment on HBO. Unlike Laura, Sophie, Jake and Amy, he had no intersection with Paul's wife.

In week 3, Alex leapfrogs that intersection for something more profound and potentially disruptive to Paul: Alex is now sleeping with perfectly seductive Laura (Melissa George).

They meet when Alex shows up on the wrong day - Monday - and runs into Laura, who is leaving after a particularly aggravating session (actually, they all are, and that's part of the fun - Laura and Paul's, and ours).

I'm still not quite convinced by Alex's explanation that he lost track of the day, but maybe this is another indication that his well-ordered life is crumbling.

Even more important, this new affair yanks Paul around in multiple ways, like a puppet on half a dozen strings. He'll be jealous of Alex - because Paul clearly feels something for Laura - how can he continue to treat him? He'll be more likely to give in to Laura, the more jealous he becomes. And, of course, he's not likely to admit any of this - except, perhaps, maybe, to Gina.

And unlike Paul's sleeping with Laura, which he can forbid himself from doing, how can he forbid two patients from sleeping with each other? Much as he might dislike it, what can he do about it? Can he speak to Laura about it, and tell her he thinks she is not really attracted that much to Alex, she is just sleeping with him to make Paul jealous? Not an easy conversation at all - and another reason this is a great show.

The other event which caught my attention this week is Sophie's outright admission to Paul that she's sleeping with Sy. I think Paul believes her, and we see him in that last scene on Wednesday's show calling Sophie's mother ... But will he also call the authorities? Is he legally obligated? Do we know the age of legal consent in this state? Or will Paul's need to keep faith with Sophie, and her vulnerable state, take precedence? (Has he already compromised this faith by calling Sophie's mother?)

Difficult, fascinating questions ... complementing the new triangle and its questions ... and making for an irresistible series...


See also In Treatment on HBO ... 2. Scalding ... 4. Love and Death ... 5. Paul's Greatest Strength ... 6. Paul's Boat ... 7. Alex in the Sky with Diamonds ... 8. A Princely Performance ... In Treatment Concludes: For Now

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates... good reading if you're in a doctor's office...






Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

Science Fiction and the New Golden Age of Television: Another Chance to Hear What You Missed in Philadelphia

It started in the mid-late 1990s with HBO's original series, especially "The Sopranos" in 1999. This revolution in television - frank, gritty, real, intellectually sophisticated - soon spread to other cable and old-fashioned network television.

In the past few years, science fiction has taken a leading role. In this special podcast - based on a lecture I gave to the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society on 25 January 2008 - I look at the contributions of five science fiction series to this new golden age of television ... Lost, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Journeyman, Battlestar Galactica, and Heroes... all reviewed here in Infinite Regress.

Hey, if you missed the lecture - and let's face it, most of you did :) - you can get the gist right here in this 20-minute podcast... which you can listen to on your computer...

See also my infamous Only Idiots Don't Watch Television ... first published under the more innocuous title of "TV's New Golden Age" in Newsday in July 2006...


20-minute podcast: Science Fiction in the New Golden Age of TV

Obama Deserves Credit for Being Against the War

I came across this odd point in a blog post - Why I'm for Hillary and not Obama - yesterday: "On the issue of Iraq, again there are only a few variations on the same stance. Let us dispense with the fact that Hillary voted to give authorization for the war."

I don't see why we should dispense with that fact.

Hillary, and everyone in my immediate family including me, was wrong about this. The only opposition I heard back then was from a wise brother-in-law in Boston.

Obama was right.

Why should he not get the credit?

I was concerned that the war was not declared, as required by our Constitution. I think it's dangerous and destructive of our democracy that we have gone to war so many times since World War II without a Declaration of War.

But I would have urged my representatives in New York to vote for a Declaration of War, had it been presented at the time. I live near New York City, I work in New York City, and I'm still affected by September 11. I was all too ready to believe that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

Most people in the country felt the same.

But Barack Obama was able to see through and beyond that. (Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich deserve credit for this, too.)

Clinton and Obama indeed have similar records and positions on most issues. But this difference on authorizing the war in Iraq needs to be highlighted, and should be kept in mind by all voters.

Lost 4.3: Thirty Minutes and Big Ben

Lost just keeps getting better and better this season. Tonight's Episode 3 of Season 4 was the best yet - which is saying a lot, since the first two episodes were superb.

Tonight was Sayid's show - his flashforward. (As I mentioned in last week's review, I have a feeling that we'll be seeing flashforwards for all the old hands this year, and flashbacks for the newbies on the island.) Sayid is a hitman in this future. He's working for ... well, I'll tell you about that at the end of this review. Also of importance is when exactly this flashforward is taking place. Before the Hurley-Jack flashforward in the Season 4 premier? After the Jack-Kate flashforward in the Season 3 finale? In between? The answer is important, because it could tell us who Hurley and Jack are afraid of, but at this point it is not clear.

Back on the island, we learn a bunch of significant things, including -

.why Hurley felt so guilty about siding with Locke (Hurley expressed this in his flashforward two weeks ago)

.why Sawyer went with Locke (this was pretty obvious - there's nothing for Sawyer off the island) (and I also think Sawyer likes the way he feels more human on the island)

.a great scene between Sawyer and Kate (which concludes with Sawyer asking Kate to try staying with him on the island - he wants to try playing house with her)

.there's some kind of temporal 30-minute anomaly in play on the island ...

Let's look at that last one. Faraday, the Charlie-like somewhat-mental physicist, discovers that a payload delivered to the island from the ship, at his command, arrives with a clock that reads 31 minutes into the future (after also not arriving at the time it was supposed to arrive). Assuming the clock in the payload is not just broken or running fast (of course not), this is highly significant - and may connect, in some way, to Desmond's visions. (And, for that matter, to the sense of the future that Faraday seemed to have at the beginning of last week's episode 2...)

Desmond and Sayid soon leave the island with Frank and Naomi's body, which Sayid insists on taking. Why? And why is Sayid so affected by Naomi's death? (My best guess is they knew each other before the Oceanic crash, and we'll discover this in some future episode with a new character flashback that includes Naomi.) And who is the "R. G." on the bracelet Sayid takes off of Naomi's wrist? Someone on the boat off the island named Regina?

This is part of the larger puzzle of Sayid in this edge-of-your-seat-and-mind episode. He does some killing in his flashforward, almost falls in love, all on assignment from his boss ... Ben.

It was already clear, before the end of this episode, and in fact from the photo we saw last week, that Ben was lying when he said he never left the island. He lies about most things (but not about Boston winning the World Series, as Jack confirms with Frank - a man after my own heart, a true Yankee fan). But Ben clearly had a international jet-setting life, and in the flashforward, he's in command of an organization fighting the organization that's trying to kill him, and which may or may not be a threat to Jack, Kate, Hurley, and our island friends off and still on the island.

And this also gives a little more weight to the possibility that Ben is in the coffin in the Season 3 finale. Because, at least at this point, we know that he's off the island - in contrast to the other island candidates such as Locke and Michael...

What a series!

See also...

1. Lost's Back Full Paradoxical Blast 4.1 ... 4.2: Five Flashbacks and Three Rational Explanations ... 4.4. Kate and ... ... 4.5 Desmond 1 and Desmond 2 ... 4.6 The True Nature of Ben ... 4.7 Flash Both Ways ... 4.8 Michael and Alex ... 4.9 Daughters, Rules, and Some Truth about Ben ... 4.10: Almost a Dream Come True ... 4.11 Unlocking Locke


and

2. More Thoughts On Lost 4.1: Those Who Went with Hurley and Those Who Stayed with Jack and Two More Points about Lost 4.1


4-minute podcast of this Lost review

Subscribe to this free weekly 4-minute podcast about Lost on your cell phone: 415 223 4124

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...





Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

The Sarah Connor Chronicles 5

The fifth episode of The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Fox has pretty much everything...

An exquisite moral dilemma about the continuing problem of what Sarah should do about Andy the programmer, whose chess code for the "Turk" could be the basis of Skynet. She previously burned down his house to knock him off track, but he's back at it. Will Sarah follow Cameron's advice to play it safe stop Andy for good?

Of course not - Sarah's not a machine, she's a human, with feelings and morality.

So Andy will live-

But not long, because someone kills him. Exquisite ethical quandaries are often futile ... Derrick Reese - Kyle's brother - also on assignment from the future, is seen running from the body...

Putting Derrick in the story is a good move. It enriches Sarah's connections to Kyle in our movie memories. Turns out, though, that he didn't kill Andy. Someone who wanted not to destroy but take the Turk program killed the programmer...

Meanwhile, evil Terminator Cromartie is on Derrick's case and trail. And this sets up one of the best action sequences in the series so far, with Sarah, John, Derrick, Cameron, Cromartie, and screeching trucks and lethal-to-robot screwdrivers in the mix.

Cameron prevails, but Derrick's badly wounded.

Cameron looks at him on the table and gives him up for dead. But John fetches Charley - who's in EMS, and looks like Kyle - and in a great last scene we have Charley, John, Derrick, Sarah (and Cameron) all in the same room...

Family, action, ethical quandary - the makings of good TV in this new golden age.

And, just for good measure, FBI guy James Ellison - well played by Richard T. Jones - finds Cromartie's hand, severed during the truck and screwdriver battle ...

The beat goes on...

See also: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 1 and 2 ... 3 ... 4. A Robot Primer ... 6 ... 7 ... 8-9: Terminate with Puzzles, Surprises, and Soul

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...





Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

Obama Sweeps Chesapeake Primaries: The New American Majority

Barack Obama swept the Chesapeake primaries tonight - you can call them the Potomac primaries, too, but I like rhyme a little better than alliteration. But any way you call it, Obama won three for three, by impressive margins, and topped it off with a great speech in Madison, Wisconsin, where there will be a primary next week.

Obama spoke of the "new American majority," consisting not only of all manner of Democrats, but Obamacans - Barackafeller Republicans - or, Republicans who have been moved by Obama's message. Bringing in even a small percentage of people who voted Republican in 2004 will be enough to get Obama into the White House. He seems to be starting to do a very good job of that.

In addition to his inspiring delivery, Obama had some great phrases in his speech tonight. My favorite was "cynicism is a sorry kind of wisdom". Obama's speech writer is clearly in a league Ted Sorenson, JFK's superb speech writer.

And the Republicans?

John "Palpatine" McCain won all three primaries, too. In his acceptance speech, he took Obama to task, without mentioning his name. Hope is a "platitude," McCain said.

Enough said...

========================================================
And here is Ted Sorensen himself on JFK and Barack Obama...

The Wire Season 5 Episode 6: Superman Omar and Tall Stories

Omar lives!

-After leaping out of a window a lot of stories high ... Omar survives with just a badly hurt leg ... and then after wincing in pain even becomes fairly mobile again, and metes out some more damage to his enemies.

That's a pretty tall story - leaping from a many-storied window and walking away from it. Marlo looks up at that window, and can't believe it.

I've got to say I'm with Marlo. But maybe there's more to this story yet to be revealed, more to the story of surviving a jump from so many stories than meets the eye... (Not that I mind seeing more of Michael K. Williams' fine performance as Omar.)

I gotta say, too, that I'm liking Marlo more, even though I wasn't thrilled to see what he did to Prop Joe. But it's good to see him stand up to the combine, and entirely consistent that he has no patience with sitting around a table and talking. And if some of those people have figured out what Marlo did to Prop Joe - well ... the stakes are getting more dangerous for Marlo all around. He now has Omar as well as possibly some of Prop Joe's combine people against him. Not to mention McNulty and Freamon...

But, I don't know, I think Marlo will make it (unless Chris turns against him).

Meanwhile, there are limits to how far even McNulty is willing to go to buttress his serial killer creation. He relocates a derelict to further his plan, but he's not happy about it. But Freamon may be starting to put it all together...

The stakes are getting higher on all sides...

See also The Wire's Back! Review of Season 5 Episode 1 and Episode 2: The Great, Dangling Conversation ... 3. McNulty and Marlo ... 4. One Down ... 5. Media Chasing Their Own Tales and Tails ... 7. King of Diamonds ... 8. Two Down ... 9. Cold, Killer Sweetheart ... 10. The Wire Bows out Gracefully

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...





Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

In Treatment 2: Scalding

A scalding second week of In Treatment on HBO, with the talk and the action centering much more on Paul and his wife, powerfully played by Michelle Forbes.

Michelle Forbes has had memorable roles on trend-setting television ranging from Star Trek to last year's Battlestar Galactica, and her performance as Kate is about as down-to-Earth as you can get and just as outstanding.

Kate figures in the Monday Laura episode - Paul doesn't want scintillating Laura to use the bathroom inside his home (the office bathroom needs plumbing) because he doesn't want Kate and Laura to meet. Sophie comes into the office out of the rain on Wednesday, holds her arms up, and asks Paul to help her undress (her arms are in casts). Paul wisely calls on Kate to help.

There's a clear tension between between Paul and Kate in every scene they inhabit. But it all comes to a head when Jake and Amy leave unexpectedly on Thursday (she's having a miscarriage), and Paul and Kate are alone in the office.

Kate tells him she's never felt in first place in his life. He barely reacts. She eventually tells him she's having an affair. He goes ballistic.

Although we saw Paul not being on top of his life last Friday at Gina's, the Thursday confrontation between Kate and Paul clearly moves him from hero to tragic hero, to perhaps even hero-villain in this unfolding story. Well, maybe villain is too strong a word, but Paul certainly seems less sympathetic a character after that scene.

Which is all to the good in this surprising, highly original series. Paul's conversation with Gina this past Friday moved the story along - Gina's one of my favorite characters, she has a real tenderness - and although Alex's story on Tuesday didn't intersect with Kate's, Blair Underwood was the best he's ever been on the screen.

For that matter, all the acting is superb - as is this series.

I'm looking forward to more next week.

See also In Treatment on HBO ... 3. Triangle ... 4. Love and Death ... 5. Paul's Greatest Strength ... 6. Paul's Boat ... 7. Alex in the Sky with Diamonds ... 8. A Princely Performance ... In Treatment Concludes: For Now

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates... good reading if you're in a doctor's office...






Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

Obama Sweeps Three Primaries, Gives Magnificent Speech at Jefferson-Jackson Dinner

Barack Obama may be the best orator of our age - I certainly can't think of anyone better, or even close. His speech tonight at the Jefferson-Jackson Democratic dinner in Virginia was a pleasure to behold and hear on television. The best part was Obama's confrontation of the charge that he's an idealist, with pie-in-the-sky hopes. His answers swept through the best of American history - freeing the slaves, giving women the right to vote, beating fascism in World War II, sacrificing lives for civil rights in the 1960s - and was another masterpiece of inspiration. It's hard to imagine anyone with any sensitivity not being moved.

Hillary Clinton gave an excellent speech, too, making it more clear than she usually does how her election as President would be revolutionary, too, by putting a woman in the White House. This is something she'll need to do more of, if she stands any chance of getting the nomination.

Clinton's speech was, indeed, less political than Obama's - but political is just what Obama needs to do now. He has to convince as many Democrats as possible that he can beat the 19th-century Republicans who are running for the highest office.

Obama certainly won by overwhelming margins tonight in Louisiana, Nebraska, and Washington State (and, just for good measure, in the Virgin Islands, too). The delegate count is still close, and there are some crucially important primaries ahead, but Obama is gaining an edge.

Meanwhile, Huckabee beat McCain in Kansas, is leading handily in Louisiana, and is even a little ahead in Washington State at this moment. The Republican contest may be not be as settled as was thought just a few days ago, and this is good news, too.


15-minute podcast of this commentary

subscribe to this podcast on your cell phone: 415-223-4122

MSNBC Needs to Stop Sniping at Hillary Clinton

I'm a devoted Obama supporter. I voted for him in the super-primary in New York last Tuesday, and am convinced he would make the best next President. But I am also a student - and a professor - of the media, as well as someone who wants to see the Democratic party strong, and it is for those reasons that I think it's time to say enough is enough already about the shoddy way MSNBC is treating Hillary Clinton's campaign for the Presidency.

It's not just David Shuster's astonishingly tasteless and unacceptable remark about the Clinton campaign "pimping out" Cheslea to campaign for her mother. MSNBC has apologized for that remark and suspended Shuster. Cheslea's campaigning for her mother has been nothing but laudable and classy. One wonders if Shuster or anyone would have used that term had a son been campaigning for his mother or father.

But any news operation could be subject to the loose tongue of a reporter or commentator, and the problem at MSNBC regarding Hillary Clinton goes much deeper.

You can hear and see it just about every night on Chris Matthews' Hardball. For some reason, he refers to a lot of things that Hillary Clinton has been doing in this campaign as being done not by Hillary Clinton but by "the Clintons".

What's that? If Matthews wants to claim that Bill Clinton as well as Hillary had something to do with a specific action or strategy of Hillary's, let him say so. But the constant reference to Hillary Clinton as "the Clintons" undermines Hillary Clinton as an individual and is demeaning.

Keith Olbermann is no angel in his attitude towards Hillary Clinton, either. When Olbermann attacks Rush Limbaugh by constantly calling him a "comedian," we all laugh. Olbermann's tick-like verbal attacks and facial expressions are usually welcome when they are directed at Fox News. But they have no place in supposedly even-handed coverage of a Presidential campaign. And although Olbermann is not as out there against Hillary Clinton as is Matthews, his comments about her are all too often studded with sarcasm and derision.

Indeed, of the MSNBC nighttime regulars, only Dan Abrams has been consistently even-handed and non-ad-hominem.

It may well be that, by the time this election is over, MSNBC will have become the liberal equivalent of what Fox News has been for conservatives. That would be good news for CNN, but bad news for the American people, who could certainly benefit from three unbiased cable news networks - or, at least two.


15-minute podcast of this commentary

subscribe to this podcast on your cell phone: 415-223-4122

Lost 4.2 Five Flashbacks and Three Rational Explanations

Lost is firing on all cylinders this new season, with two great episodes in a row.

Tonight we learned a lot of what's up with the rescue team that Naomi called in:

Four people on the team - and, as Naomi puts it her flashback (5) -

Daniel Faraday ... a headcase ... that is, a nut, a somewhat psycho ... maybe with an ability to sense the future, because he senses something about Oceanic 815, when he hears the false report, which he doesn't know is false, about the plane being found with no survivors... (flashback 1)

Miles Straume ... a ghost-hunter ... (flashback 2)

Charlotte Lewis ... an anthropologist, who discovers the bones of a polar bear in the Tunisian desert ... with a Dharma tag ... ah ha! ... (flashback 3, and rational explanation #1: so now we know how the polar got to be on the island ... likely a Dharma experiment in breeding or genetic engineering, to make polar bears that can live in warm climates... )

Frank Lapidus ... a drunk, in Naomi's words, but also a pilot, as Matthew Abaddon (Lance Reddick, again!) says to Naomi, and we already know ... (flashback 4)

So, Lost is back to flashbacks in this episode - but they are shorter, and multiple - and my guess we'll see flashbacks this season only for the new characters ... with flashforwards for the old hands...

Speaking of which, we get rational explanation #2 when Locke reveals that he survived Ben's shot because it passed right through Locke, and missed the kidney that he did not have (presumably Ben deliberately aimed the shot there). But this raises the possibility that perhaps there is a rational explanation for all the recuperations ... Mikhail already gave one for his surviving the electrical jolt - maybe there is also a some rational, not supernatural, explanation for his survival on the Looking Glass last year...

Because, just to top things off, Ben shoots Charlotte point blank ... but she survives, unhurt, because she is wearing a bullet-proof vest (rational explanation #3).

And why would Ben shoot her?

Because he knows that her team came to the island to get him ...

And what is the team's connection to the false report about Oceanic 815 going down into the ocean with everyone on board lost ...

Grist for the mills of future episodes, which I can wait to see.

See also...

1. Lost's Back Full Paradoxical Blast 4.1 ... Lost 4.3: Thirty Minutes and Big Ben ... 4.4 Kate and ... ... 4.5 Desmond 1 and Desmond 2 ... 4.6 The True Nature of Ben ... 4.7 Flash Both Ways ... 4.8 Michael and Alex ... 4.9 Daughters, Rules, and Some Truth about Ben ... 4.10: Almost a Dream Come True ... 4.11 Unlocking Locke


and

2. More Thoughts On Lost 4.1: Those Who Went with Hurley and Those Who Stayed with Jack and Two More Points about Lost 4.1


4-minute podcast of this Lost review

Subscribe to this free weekly 4-minute podcast about Lost on your cell phone: 415 223 4124

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...





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Mitt Romney, Cylon, Withdraws from Race

Mitt Romney has just withdrawn from the Presidential race. In a speech just delivered to the Conservative Political Action Committee in Washington, D.C., Romney said he "must now stand aside".

It was about as Neanderthal and ugly a speech as you ever heard from a Republican, or anyone. Romney ranted about the sanctity of marriage, and the need to uphold our "culture," as if such matters were ever the business of government in a free society.

The lowest part of Romney's speech came when he painted the positions of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as a "surrender to terror".

Typical Republican lies. Obama and Clinton want not to surrender to terror, but fight terror more effectively and intelligently, in a way that does not bog down our military in a war that was based on grossly false information in the first place. Obama saw that from the very beginning, but Clinton and Obama are united in seeing that now, in contrast to Republicans who can do nothing better than beat their chests and drums for more of the flawed same.

I have jokingly put up several posts in the past eight months about Mitt Romney being a Cylon - his flip-flopping on issues, his wooden delivery, etc.

But Romney's withdrawal speech today was no joking matter. It should be a wake up call for every American who wants to live in the 21st not the 19th or some past Cylon century.

See also Is Mitt Romney a Cylon? and Further Evidence that Romney is a Cylon

Obama and Clinton in Precedent Setting Split of Super Tuesday Vote//How About Debate with Dems and Repubs at Same Table?

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton pretty evenly split the SuperTuesday primary vote tonight. Obama won more states. Clinton won more of the bigger states. Obama won the South and Midwest. Clinton won most of the Northeast (with the exception of Connecticut) and California. The all-important delegate count looks to be evenly split.

Hillary Clinton gave a fine and inspiring speech. I found Barack Obama's speech even more inspiring, but that's ok, and takes little away from Hillary.

I voted for Obama in New York today, and would vote for him again. He has the better capacity to generate and lead a new kind of politics in America. But Hillary has something special and important, as well. I hope I have the chance to vote for Obama in the general election, and will do all I can to make that happen, but I would gladly vote for Hillary over the any of the Republicans, and would work hard to elect her President, if it comes to that.

When I cast my vote today, I realized that I had never felt happier, better, voting in a national election. I was too young to vote for JFK. In 1968, I held my nose and voted for Humphrey. It has sometimes been somewhat better since then, but nothing as good as today.

I had a choice between two extraordinary people. The first African-American and the first woman with a real chance to be our next President. It was an extraordinary feeling. My wife, who also admires both candidates, said it felt to her as if the 21st century had truly begun in politics this year - or last year and this year - and she's right.

I hate to even mention the Republican candidates, because they are not of the 21st century. One of them - Huckabee - doesn't believe in evolution. That's not even 20th century. Another - the current frontrunner, John McCain - lashed out at one of his rivals today, Mitt Romney, because Romney dared to criticize Bob Dole, who had endorsed McCain. In McCain's world, Bob Dole is beyond political criticism because he is a war hero. Is that the kind of reasoning we want in a war hero who is now running for President?

So the race is on. Two candidates, indisputably of the 21st century, indisputably of hope and a new kind of America, versus three (or two, depending upon what Mitt Romney does) who worship the old false idols and way of doing things.

Hillary Clinton has called for four debates with Obama in the next month.

I have a suggestion for at least one night of another kind of debate: how about the Democratic and Republican contenders sit down together at one table? All five or four of them.

That would be a debate that would really show America the choices we have in this election.

I'm Voting for Barack Obama in New York Today

The following is pretty much a reprint of a piece I first published here in Infinite Regress on December 23, and yesterday in OpEdNews.
But given the importance of today's election, I wanted to post it, here, again...


I'm voting for Barack Obama in the Democratic primaries in a few minutes. I live in New York.

This wasn't an easy decision. I made it at the end of December.

I would have been happy with with any of the Democrats. Their positions were - and still are - different only in nuances. The question of what the election of a candidate would symbolize and accomplish in a larger political sense thus looms in importance in this election.

Hillary Clinton's election would have the wonderfully beneficial effect of putting a woman in the White House - as President. Barack Obama's election would have the equivalent effect of making an African-American our President.

Which statement to the world, which redress of American wrongs, is more important?

To some extent, comparing the mistreatment of women and blacks in our culture is comparing apples and oranges. But, all in all, I think African-Americans have received the worse treatment. They were brought here as slaves. We fought a Civil War to free them, but they were hanged in the South, anyway, for decades after the war. Their leaders - Martin Luther King and Medgar Evers - were assassinated. Nothing like that has ever happened to women as a socio-cultural-political group.

I therefore think that the election of Barack Obama as President of this nation would make the most powerful possible revolutionizing statement - to the world, to the future, to the past, to ourselves.

Beyond that, I like Obama's style - his quick wit indeed reminds me of JFK. And there are a few of Hillary Clinton's positions and actions that I'm not very happy with. She should not have voted in favor of labeling Iran a terrorist nation, as President Bush requested. She should not have even considered legislation cracking down on violence in video games. This last might seem like a small issue, but when Bill Clinton was President he signed the Communications Decency Act into law - an act so afoul of the First Amendment, that even the Supreme Court struck it down.

Nonetheless, I would happily vote for Hillary Clinton in the general election, and would also be delighted to see her on the ticket as Obama's Vice Presidential candidate.

But I'll be voting for Barack Obama as soon as I finish this post.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles: 4: A Robot Primer

As the bad Terminator model inexorably gathers strength in Episode 4 of The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Sarah speaks of the Golem, and its relevance to her situation...

The Golem of Prague is a story of a 16th century rabbi who creates a human-like being from clay to protect the Jewish people. Various versions of the story have the golem doing its job, but sometimes turning on its creator and the people it was supposed to protect.

The Golem has become the template for every robot, android, or otherwise artificial being that has turned bad or against its creators. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) is the most famous. Rossum's Universal Robots - R.U.R. - appeared in Prague, of all places, in 1921. Karel Capek's play introduced the term "robots". They rebel against the human race and spell our demise.

Isaac Asimov struck a blow for the good robot with his "Three Laws of Robotics" in the 1940s. The First Law says a robot can never by action or inaction allow any harm to befall a human. Suffice to say that humans and robots in Asimov's worlds often manage to surmount this law and do all kinds of damage - which is why Asimov's robot stories are so riveting. (I recommend beginning with Asimov's first robot novel, The Caves of Steel, 1954.)

The Terminators embody all of these traditions. Sarah Connor's problem is that she needs beautiful Cameron, the good Terminator, to stop the bad Terminators from killing John in our present world. But if Sarah does this by preventing the Terminators from arising in the first place, then how will Cameron have been able to come back and help Sarah?

Time travels adds that additional delicious paradoxical element to the robot story.

See also: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 1 and 2 ... 3 ... 5 ... 6 ... 7 ... 8-9: Terminate with Puzzles, Surprises, and Soul

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

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In Treatment on HBO

HBO premiered a brilliant original show last week - original in both structure and content. Anyone who thinks HBO is running out of steam as a pioneer in the cable form should take a look at In Treatment.

The show consists of a 30-minute segment every weekday evening. Psychotherapist Paul, played by the always memorable Gabriel Byrne, sees a different patient Monday through Thursday. And on the 5th day, Friday, he sees his own therapist, Gina (played by Dianne Wiest) and becomes a patient himself.

Don't confuse this with Tell Me You Love Me. The talk on In Treatment is much more intense and intelligent. In fact, it's so good, that all almost you get on In Treatment is talking, and that was more than enough to keep my wife and me hanging on almost every word.

Monday's patient thinks she's falling in love with Paul - erotic transference, as the shrinks call it. Laura's beautiful and smart - she's an anesthesiologist - and the real question is whether Paul is falling in love with her (we find out on Friday that all's not well with his wife). Laura's played by Melissa George - Vaughn's wife on Alias - and she won't be putting anyone to sleep - at least, not in the viewing audience.

Blair Underwood plays Tuesday's patient, Alex - I've been enjoying his performances since LA Law. Here he plays a Navy pilot with a complex story of guilt and power and possible attraction to his running partner, who is a gay man. Alex also has a heart attack, running, and nearly dies. Paul's patients clearly all live life to the hilt.

On Wednesday Paul sees a 16-year girl, Sophie, played by Mia Wasikowska. Mia, like Melissa and Blair, puts in a tour-de-force performance. Sophie, a gymnast, may or may not suicidal.

Josh Charles as Jake and Embeth Davidtz as Amy come to the doctor's office on Thursday, as a married couple in real distress. I suppose this is the least original of the four stories, and the most reminiscent of Tell Me You Love Me, but the acting is powerful and the story still captivating.

Four different stories having no real connection except their excellence as narratives and the excellence with which they are acted - and Paul as the psychotherapist they all see. And on Friday, Paul reverses his role, and Gabriel Byrne puts in just as powerful a performance as patient. There's a nice symmetry here as Paul as patient goes through many of same acts of his patients - wondering why he came to his therapist, threatening to leave, verbally attacking his therapist.

In Treatment looks a highly successful experiment in TV drama, that definitely bears more watching.

PS: Steve Levinson is the Executive Producer. He is, alas, no relation...

See also In Treatment 2: Scalding ...3. Triangle ... 4. Love and Death ... 5. Paul's Greatest Strength ... 6. Paul's Boat ... 7. Alex in the Sky with Diamonds ... 8. A Princely Performance ... In Treatment Concludes: For Now

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The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates... good reading if you're in a doctor's office...






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The Wire Season 5 Episode 5: Media Chasing Their Own Tales and Tails

A real standalone gem on The Wire tonight - which I predict will become a classic, almost Hitchcockian hour-long morality play of media chasing their own tales/tails...

The medium in question, of course, is the Baltimore Sun, under fire both from staff reductions and from McNulty, who is trying to feed it his concocted story about a Baltimore serial killer - as a way getting some police funding to bring down Marlo and crew.

Gus Haynes (great continuing performance by Clark Johnson) is doing his best to keep the Sun running, but the pressure to perform gets rookie reporter Scott Templeton (well played by Tom McCarthy) to do something daring and devious: he pretends to get a call, on a public phone, from the serial killer - the one who doesn't really exist, the one being created out of almost thin air by McNulty. (I say "almost," because there are, at least, some dead bodies.)

McNulty is called in for a meeting at the Sun, and in one of the best scenes in the entire series realizes that here is his chance to really nail down the serial killer as a reality. So he chimes in at perfect times with confirmations that what Templeton is reporting the serial killer told him rings true, and conforms to what the police already know about the serial killer. McNulty's "weak shit" has suddenly become a lot stronger.

Can this be taken as a metaphor for the way our media nowadays conjures stories out of questionable sources and the drive to be successful? Well, Jayson Blair certainly did similar things a few years ago at the New York Times - though, as far as anyone knows, no police like McNulty were involved.

The Wire has certainly presented a powerful indictment here of our media - even Gus, who at first doubted that Templeton had really heard from the serial killer, is pretty much taken in (though he may have some lingering doubts).

And the story moves on, with the serial killer now truly having a life of his own... and Omar walking into a blaze...

See also The Wire's Back! Review of Season 5 Episode 1 and Episode 2: The Great, Dangling Conversation ... 3. McNulty and Marlo ... 4. One Down ... 6. Superman Omar and Tall Stories ... 7. King of Diamonds ... 8. Two Down ... 9. Cold, Killer Sweetheart ... 10. The Wire Bows out Gracefully

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...





Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

3. Two More Points about Lost Season 4.1: Ensemble Flashforwards and Is Naomi Really Dead?

Two additional observations and thoughts that come from the Season 4 premier of Lost:

Ensemble Flashforwards: Coincidences in the flashback were extraordinary, and, as I've argued, may hold the key to what's really going on in Lost. In the flashforwards that we've seen so, more than one Lostie seems intrinsic to the flashforward story: Jack and Kate in the Season 3 finale, and Hurley and Jack in the Season 4 opener. Since there's every reason that people once off the island will stay in some sort of contact, we'll no doubt be seeing much more of these ensemble flashforwards in the weeks ahead.

Naomi May Not Be Dead: She walked a ways with the knife wound, then climbed a tree, and even got the jump on Kate. If she's anything like Mikhail, this may well be not the last we've seen of Naomi. And I have a feeling that we may be seeing more Losties come back from the presumed dead, too (this would certainly fit in to what happened to Locke).

See also ...

1. Lost's Back Full Paradoxical Blast 4.1

and

2. More Thoughts On Lost 4.1: Those Who Went with Hurley and Those Who Stayed with Jack

and

and 4.2: Five Flashbacks and Three Rational Explanations


Lost New Questions from Season 3 Finale: 1. How Far in the Future? ... 2. Who's In the Coffin? ... 3. Who's Waiting for Kate? ... 4. Who Is Naomi's Boss? ... 5. Is Mikhail Immortal? ... 6. What Constitutes Reliable Evidence? ... 7. Are the Flashforwards Desmond's Flashes?

Lost Season 3 Finale ... Flashforwards

Lost: Keys to What's Really Going On

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...





Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

2. More Thoughts on Lost Season 4 Premier: Those Who Went with Hurley and Those Who Stayed with Jack

I think the decisive moment in the episode came when Hurley decided on the island to go with Locke, and explained his reasoning to the group. Hurley was moved by a combination of emotion (not wanting Charlie's death to have been in vain) and clear logic (Charlie had indicated that there was something not right about the rescue effort, and it made no sense to just ignore it). Emotion and logic have always been in combat on the island - often embodied in Locke v. Jack - but this was an extraordinary moment for Hurley, and one which will set up all the remaining episodes of the series.

At this point, let's look at who went with Hurley and who not, and why.

Those who went with Hurley:

I put Locke, Ben, and Rousseau in the same category: all have a deep connection to, and affinity for, the island. They would be the most sensitive to the danger of the rescuers. And, actually, Ben and Locke were not wanting to go along with the rescue from the very beginning - indeed, not wanting to leave the island, period. And Locke was the one who first said he was walking away from the rescue - so we could just as easily call this section "who went with Locke".

Alex and Karl are pretty much in the same category as Rousseau.

But Claire went with Hurley for a different reason: out of love for Charlie, and needing to believe his message. Claire, in other words, went with the emotional part of Hurley's argument.

In contrast, Sawyer agreed with the logic. Charlie had tried to warn them - where was the payoff in ignoring that? We might have expected Sawyer to try to convince Kate to come with him, but there is no disputing that Sawyer's decision to walk was consistent with the cold reasoning of self-preservation.

A reasoning which those who chose not to go with Hurley either rejected or ignored. Let's look at why.

Those who did not go with Hurley:

Rose acted of emotion and some logic - she does not trust Locke. She says she won't go anywhere with "that man". But she does not address the logic of putting aside Charlie's warning.

Jack, of course, is not going with Hurley - Jack is the leader of getting the Losties rescued. He'll kill, if necessary, to do this. He won't let anything get in the way - including evaluating the importance of Charlie's warning. This moment, I think, represents the clear beginning of the deterioration of Jack's capacity to be a leader. He needed to do better than just ignore Charlie's warning. (Jack also wasn't thinking clearly when he agreed to let Ben go with Locke. True, Ben was a flawed source of information, but he was still far and away the best source of information about the island. Since the rescuers hadn't yet arrived, conceivably Ben could have been of some help if something inexplicable happened on the island.)

Kate thinks much like Jack - though, she has a reason not to want to get rescued (her problem with the police). But, like Jack, Kate's wanting to get off the island is beyond logic at this point.

Juliet also hates the island with a passion - everyone does, of course, with the exception of Locke and Ben - but Juliet brings something a little extra to that hatred. She also has a connection to Jack, which (as with Kate) would make her want to not walk away from him and go with Hurley.

Sun and Jin probably have the best, most pressing reason to want to leave the island, and take any risks to do it: Sun wants to live and enjoy her baby and life with Jin. Even if they were inclined to take Charlie's warning seriously, logic might well still lead them to go with the rescuers.

Desmond: he made no statement, one way or the other, but we didn't see him walk with Hurley and Locke. Which is odd: he knows better than anyone the sacrifice that Charlie made. Has Desmond seen some sort of future which tells him he should stay with Jack? Is he thinking that's the still the best way to get off the island and get back to Penny? Or is he just so traumatized by what happened with Charlie, and his inability to change his vision, or perhaps by a new, terrible vision, that Desmond is too paralyzed to act? I'm guessing we'll see more of Desmond on this in the next few weeks.

And then there's Sayid. Logic says he should have gone with Hurley. So why is he staying with Jack - because Sayid thinks he can fight his way off the island even if the rescuers are hostile? Not entirely persuasive.

If you look at the group of people who are staying with Jack, I think they are clearly less committed to that action than the people going with Hurley. Sayid and Desmond seem especially likely to rethink their decision, if time allows.

But my guess is we'll see a lot a shuffling in these two groups in the week or weeks ahead - a very least, enough to get Hurley off the island with Jack and Kate.

See also ...

1. Lost's Back: 4.1: Full Paradoxical Blast

and

3. Two More Thoughts about Lost 4.1: Ensemble Flashforwards and Is Noami Really Dead?


and 4.2: Five Flashbacks and Three Rational Explanations


Lost New Questions from Season 3 Finale: 1. How Far in the Future? ... 2. Who's In the Coffin? ... 3. Who's Waiting for Kate? ... 4. Who Is Naomi's Boss? ... 5. Is Mikhail Immortal? ... 6. What Constitutes Reliable Evidence? ... 7. Are the Flashforwards Desmond's Flashes?

Lost Season 3 Finale ... Flashforwards

Lost: Keys to What's Really Going On


5-minute podcast of this Lost review

Subscribe to this free weekly 4-minute podcast about Lost on your cell phone: 415 223 4124

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

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Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

1. Lost's Back Full Paradoxical Blast: Season 4 Episode 1

The premier of Lost Season 4 earlier tonight picked up on the island right where the stunningly spectacular finale of Season 3 left off - which means this season opener was extraordinary, too. Not only that, but we were treated to another flashforward, taking place a little earlier in time than the flashforward in the Season 3 finale - but forward enough in time to have Jack well off the island (but not doing well), and Hurley off the island, and not doing well at all.

There's an "Oceanic Six" that Hurley talks about. We know that Jack and Kate and now Hurley got off the island. So, the first new tantalizing question that arises this season is: who are the other three?

Hurley is tormented off the island. He gets a visit from Charlie - who admits that he's dead - but tells Hurley "they need you". The "they" presumably are the people back on island...

A powerful scene, which also had a nice play on the classic Samuel Johnson anecdote about how to disprove that the world isn't yours or someone else's dream. Johnson kicks a stone, winces, and says you dispove it thusly.

Hurley wants Charlie to prove that he's not a figment of Hurley's imagination, and Charlie proves this by slapping Hurley. Of course, just as with Samuel Johnson, all this proves is that the dream entails a kick or a slap. In Lost, dreams come packed with punches.

But Hurley's now convinced that he has to go back to the island. He later tells this to Jack, who is saying they cannot. Hurley is to Jack in this episode, as Jack was to Kate in the Season 3 finale.

Meanwhile, the action back on the island is captivating, too. The Losties split along how seriously to take Charlie's warning from the Looking Glass. Locke, Sawyer, Claire, Hurley - as well as Ben and Rousseau (and Alex and Karl) - elect to stay on the island, and keep away from and if necessary fight the people that Jack has called in for the rescue. Jack, Kate, Rose, Bernard are waiting and wanting to get rescued.

And, as we know, something will go terribly wrong.

Whatever that is can be barely if all be seen now. Because it results in Jack and Hurley off the island, even though at the end of this first episode of the new season it looks as if Hurley is staying.

A great beginning of an ending...

PS - Nice unexpected touch with Lance Riddick - who plays Cedric Daniels on The Wire - putting in what I hope will be a continuing appearance on Lost.

See also ...

2. More Thoughts On Lost 4.1: Those Who Went with Hurley and Those Who Stayed with Jack ...

and

3. Two More Thoughts about Lost 4.1: Ensemble Flashforwards and Is Noami Really Dead?


and ... Lost 4.2: Five Flashbacks and Three Rational Explanations ... Lost 4.3: Thirty Minutes and Big Ben ... 4.4 Kate and ... ... 4.5 Desmond 1 and Desmond 2 ... 4.6 The True Nature of Ben ... 4.7 Flash Both Ways ... 4.8 Michael and Alex ... 4.9 Daughters, Rules, and Some Truth about Ben ... 4.10: Almost a Dream Come True ... 4.11 Unlocking Locke



Lost New Questions from Season 3 Finale: 1. How Far in the Future? ... 2. Who's In the Coffin? ... 3. Who's Waiting for Kate? ... 4. Who Is Naomi's Boss? ... 5. Is Mikhail Immortal? ... 6. What Constitutes Reliable Evidence? ... 7. Are the Flashforwards Desmond's Flashes?

Lost Season 3 Finale ... Flashforwards

Lost: Keys to What's Really Going On


4-minute podcast of this Lost review

Subscribe to this free weekly 4-minute podcast about Lost on your cell phone: 415 223 4124

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...





Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!