the panopticon returns

Unless you never really cared, and have been in the Lost boat just to watch insanely hot people with dashing movie-star looks run around yelling at each other, surely you heard a while back of the Panopticon theory. In short:

"The concept of the design is to allow an observer to observe (-opticon) all (pan-) prisoners without the prisoners being able to tell if they are being observed or not, thus conveying a 'sentiment of an invisible omniscience.' In his own words, Bentham described the Panopticon as 'a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind, in a quantity hitherto without example.' "

Source: here

And with this week's season four finale (and the whole Jeremy Bentham –red herring, perhaps?–) shout-outs this theory just gained a little more cred. At least in my mind. Which I feel, has been constantly fucked with, for the past four years by this show.

So here's what I've concluded: The island was a prison and research facility (although what exactly they researched, and why that led to a huge statue of a four-toed foot is beyond me) maintained by this Dharma Initiative. Then one day, the inmates (ie Ben and his droogies -- possibly following Jacob's lead) got the upper hand and took control of the island. The Initiative tried to stop them by releasing some sort of killer gas. When that didn't work, they released the dogs,.. err.. I mean, polar bears and black nano-bot smoke (read Michael Chrichton's Prey, to catch my drift). Ever since then, the island has been in control of Jacob, Ben and the Others.

I think it's clear the Initiative is either owned by or at least ran, by Mr. Whitmore. Who obviously wants his weird experiments to stay a secret. But then Desmond came and tried to take his daughter. Mr. W got pissed and tricked Desmond into shipwrecking on the island. But Penny got wise and started looking for him.

Then, the plane crashed.

And then everyone involved (especially Ben) suddenly and unexpectedly lost the ability to answer any question pertaining to why they are there, who they are, what they do and where they are...

Also, the island? Not so much an island. Picture a giant floating platform with plants on it. Back to the Panopticon theory, right?

What no one has been able to figure yet though, is how exactly all this ties in to Jack's tattoos...

Overall, good, solid episode. Unless you define good by actually understanding what the hell is going on.


ALSO:
I went crazy for a second there, and when the guy says to the new girl "I'm surprised you wanna leave (...) after all that time you spent trying to get back here". I thought maybe she was future-Jack travelling back in time in a morphing suit (like the ones in A Scanner Darkly). But now I think it's pretty clear she's Ben's childhood friend Annie:






Up next: June 15 marks the return of Weeds. Not that I can remember what the hell happened last... except for one of the Olsen twins showing up and never hearing from Zooey Deschanel again.

the panopticon returns

Unless you never really cared, and have been in the Lost boat just to watch insanely hot people with dashing movie-star looks run around yelling at each other, surely you heard a while back of the Panopticon theory. In short:

"The concept of the design is to allow an observer to observe (-opticon) all (pan-) prisoners without the prisoners being able to tell if they are being observed or not, thus conveying a 'sentiment of an invisible omniscience.' In his own words, Bentham described the Panopticon as 'a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind, in a quantity hitherto without example.' "

Source: here

And with this week's season four finale (and the whole Jeremy Bentham –red herring, perhaps?–) shout-outs this theory just gained a little more cred. At least in my mind. Which I feel, has been constantly fucked with, for the past four years by this show.

So here's what I've concluded: The island was a prison and research facility (although what exactly they researched, and why that led to a huge statue of a four-toed foot is beyond me) maintained by this Dharma Initiative. Then one day, the inmates (ie Ben and his droogies -- possibly following Jacob's lead) got the upper hand and took control of the island. The Initiative tried to stop them by releasing some sort of killer gas. When that didn't work, they released the dogs,.. err.. I mean, polar bears and black nano-bot smoke (read Michael Chrichton's Prey, to catch my drift). Ever since then, the island has been in control of Jacob, Ben and the Others.

I think it's clear the Initiative is either owned by or at least ran, by Mr. Whitmore. Who obviously wants his weird experiments to stay a secret. But then Desmond came and tried to take his daughter. Mr. W got pissed and tricked Desmond into shipwrecking on the island. But Penny got wise and started looking for him.

Then, the plane crashed.

And then everyone involved (especially Ben) suddenly and unexpectedly lost the ability to answer any question pertaining to why they are there, who they are, what they do and where they are...

Also, the island? Not so much an island. Picture a giant floating platform with plants on it. Back to the Panopticon theory, right?

What no one has been able to figure yet though, is how exactly all this ties in to Jack's tattoos...

Overall, good, solid episode. Unless you define good by actually understanding what the hell is going on.


ALSO:
I went crazy for a second there, and when the guy says to the new girl "I'm surprised you wanna leave (...) after all that time you spent trying to get back here". I thought maybe she was future-Jack travelling back in time in a morphing suit (like the ones in A Scanner Darkly). But now I think it's pretty clear she's Ben's childhood friend Annie:






Up next: June 15 marks the return of Weeds. Not that I can remember what the hell happened last... except for one of the Olsen twins showing up and never hearing from Zooey Deschanel again.

Finally!

Up next: http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/

Finally!

Up next: http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/

So Starbuck is definitely not a Cylon... or is she?

Image source, here.


The underwire reports this:

Costa Rica-based betting site BetCRIS.com recently placed odds on its site concerning the final Cylon's possible identity. The most likely contender, according to the gambling site? Anastasia Dualla, at 4-5 odds.

Frakking awesome, right?

So? Who is the final cylon? If I were a gambling man I'd bet on president Roslin. Then again, if I was a gambling man, I'd probably not bet on a frakking tv show.

Up next: More useful ways to spend your money.

So Starbuck is definitely not a Cylon... or is she?

Image source, here.


The underwire reports this:

Costa Rica-based betting site BetCRIS.com recently placed odds on its site concerning the final Cylon's possible identity. The most likely contender, according to the gambling site? Anastasia Dualla, at 4-5 odds.

Frakking awesome, right?

So? Who is the final cylon? If I were a gambling man I'd bet on president Roslin. Then again, if I was a gambling man, I'd probably not bet on a frakking tv show.

Up next: More useful ways to spend your money.

Deus ex machina

Up next: Click here to shut your computer down.

Deus ex machina

Up next: Click here to shut your computer down.

Beers in heaven

Disappointing, much???

Ok, so Toby left... yeah... ok... so?

What's up with Pam and Jim?! Does anyone really care about ANYTHING else?

I understand the concept of a cliffhanger, I really do. But I honestly don't think this was a cliffhanger... I think it's lazy writing. How do they end it on such a blah note... So Andy basically cockblocked Jim with a proposal that came straight out of left field to Angela (who btw is almost too pregnant to function)... and then what? Nothing! That's what they leave us with!?!

But don't get me wrong. The season finale of The Office was funny as hell. It's still the best comedy on television right now. But story-wise, this episode sucked. Big time.

The thing with The Office, though, is that even when it's bad it's better than 90% of everything out there.

High points:
Michael: "HR is a breeding ground for monsters. But I failed to consider not all monsters are bad. Like... ET. Is Holly our extraterrestrial? Maybe."

Dwight: "Have you been introduced to Kevin? He's here on our special work program. He's slow, you know? In his brain..." And this whole running joke.

Michael: "What is the group that was from Scranton and made it big? U2?"
Jim: "Yeah."

Phyllis: "Can I get a list of your vendors?"
Angela: "I shredded it."
Phyllis: "Why did you do that?"
Angela: "Oh... I just don't know."
(Ok, so this one doesn't work without Angela's delivery)

Michael: "Holly is the best thing to happen to this company since World War II!"



Up next: Not surprisingly, this video actually exists on YouTube:

Beers in heaven

Disappointing, much???

Ok, so Toby left... yeah... ok... so?

What's up with Pam and Jim?! Does anyone really care about ANYTHING else?

I understand the concept of a cliffhanger, I really do. But I honestly don't think this was a cliffhanger... I think it's lazy writing. How do they end it on such a blah note... So Andy basically cockblocked Jim with a proposal that came straight out of left field to Angela (who btw is almost too pregnant to function)... and then what? Nothing! That's what they leave us with!?!

But don't get me wrong. The season finale of The Office was funny as hell. It's still the best comedy on television right now. But story-wise, this episode sucked. Big time.

The thing with The Office, though, is that even when it's bad it's better than 90% of everything out there.

High points:
Michael: "HR is a breeding ground for monsters. But I failed to consider not all monsters are bad. Like... ET. Is Holly our extraterrestrial? Maybe."

Dwight: "Have you been introduced to Kevin? He's here on our special work program. He's slow, you know? In his brain..." And this whole running joke.

Michael: "What is the group that was from Scranton and made it big? U2?"
Jim: "Yeah."

Phyllis: "Can I get a list of your vendors?"
Angela: "I shredded it."
Phyllis: "Why did you do that?"
Angela: "Oh... I just don't know."
(Ok, so this one doesn't work without Angela's delivery)

Michael: "Holly is the best thing to happen to this company since World War II!"



Up next: Not surprisingly, this video actually exists on YouTube:

Buffy post I

So as you (ALL two of you, dear readers) remember, I decided to watch Empire magazine's second best show in television history: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

So, here's my first review. Not so much a review as stills of cool cameos, mostly from people now famous for other things...

First off, awesome awesome (that is, in case you missed it: awesome squared) Amy Adams as Tara's cousin (s05e06):



Joan of Arcadia's (and soon to be superstar celebrity) Amber Tamblyn as Dawn's vampire-seducing hottie friend (s06e06):


D.L. from Heroes (the guy's name is actually Leonard Roberts) as one of the Initiative's whatever soldiers (most of s04):


(btw, isn't Anya extra awesome?)

Bellick, from Prison Break (Wade Williams) as some sort of warrior with a bad skin condition, chasing evil-doer Glory (s05e20):


Badass Michael Scofield (sorry, Wentworth Miller) looking shockingly exactly the same as he does on Prison Break some 10 years later... although he's not so much a water monster anymore.... (s02e20):


Not sure about this one... I think this is a lady from Desperate Housewives in heavy make-up (s¿?e¿?):



Up next: Classic Willow expression (am I right, or what?)

Buffy post I

So as you (ALL two of you, dear readers) remember, I decided to watch Empire magazine's second best show in television history: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

So, here's my first review. Not so much a review as stills of cool cameos, mostly from people now famous for other things...

First off, awesome awesome (that is, in case you missed it: awesome squared) Amy Adams as Tara's cousin (s05e06):



Joan of Arcadia's (and soon to be superstar celebrity) Amber Tamblyn as Dawn's vampire-seducing hottie friend (s06e06):


D.L. from Heroes (the guy's name is actually Leonard Roberts) as one of the Initiative's whatever soldiers (most of s04):


(btw, isn't Anya extra awesome?)

Bellick, from Prison Break (Wade Williams) as some sort of warrior with a bad skin condition, chasing evil-doer Glory (s05e20):


Badass Michael Scofield (sorry, Wentworth Miller) looking shockingly exactly the same as he does on Prison Break some 10 years later... although he's not so much a water monster anymore.... (s02e20):


Not sure about this one... I think this is a lady from Desperate Housewives in heavy make-up (s¿?e¿?):



Up next: Classic Willow expression (am I right, or what?)

love it

A man in Florida claiming to have a gun robbed a man of the new “Tickle Me Extreme Elmo”.






Fortunately, the robber was subdued by the new “Give Me a Reason, Bert.”

love it

A man in Florida claiming to have a gun robbed a man of the new “Tickle Me Extreme Elmo”.






Fortunately, the robber was subdued by the new “Give Me a Reason, Bert.”

Researching Sofia Coppola, I found out she'd directed this. I had no idea.



Another thing I had no idea about, was that this song is pretty old.


Up next: 1.21 jigawatts of fun.

Researching Sofia Coppola, I found out she'd directed this. I had no idea.



Another thing I had no idea about, was that this song is pretty old.


Up next: 1.21 jigawatts of fun.