Lost: The Oceanic 6 return
Melissa Ruggieri
May 16, 2008 1:54 AM
Two weeks.
Two weeks we have to wait to find out if Jin and Desmond get blown to smithereens on the freighter.
Two weeks to see what “plan” Ben had in mind when approaching The Orchid station in surrender mode, allowing Keamy to cold-cock him across the jaw with a pistol (how very un-Ben like to play victim).
Two weeks to hopefully see more flash-forwards of Future Jack and how he digests the information that Claire is his half-sister…although I think the glimpse we got of Future Future Jack in last year’s finale – he of the paste-on beard and suicidal tendencies – answered that question.
Two weeks to figure out how the Oceanic 6 depart the island as a sextet, since in the last few frames last night, they were scattered across the island and freighter in various forms of distress.
Normally, I would question whether we might actually get some answers in the two-hour finale airing May 29 (though last night’s ep was technically the first of a three-part whammy), but I have to say, I’m pretty satisfied with the level of information that has seeped out these past few weeks – especially in those gripping flash-forwards.
But as usual, the questions raised during “There’s No Place Like Home” were endless.
What is Locke supposed to do once inside The Orchid? Ben sort of left him to figure that out on his own. Or maybe Jacob will finally appear and show Ben the way to ….whatever.
Where was Richard “Hot Guy From Suddenly Susan” Alpert taking Kate and Sayid?
Why was the typically jittery Daniel almost passing out from fear upon consulting his notes about The Orchid?
And who thinks Hurley continued to munch on that tube of 15-year-old saltines even after Ben told him they might be a little stale?
I’ll leave the intricate postulating to the gazillion other bloggers out there who are more inspired to theorize about why Hurley might have picked up a Jesus statue to use as a weapon, whether that scene of the Oceanic 6 departing the Coast Guard plane was an homage to “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and if Ben handing Locke his “death stick” thingy was some sort of torch passing.
I also still can’t figure out the reasoning behind the Oceanic 6 sticking to this story of their group initially containing eight members. Any theories?
I will, though, award the line of the night to the Oceanic flack telling the group upon touchdown that the assembled media had already dubbed them the Oceanic 6. “That’s not the best branding as far as we’re concerned, but…it’s catchy,” she said, flinching on the outside and grinning inward at the publicity this amazing rescue will bring the tarnished airline.
One final thought regarding Oceanic. Obviously, based on Sun’s whip-smart, table-turning maneuver on her father and his company, the settlements disbursed to the survivors were some kind of stupid money, like, Hurley-winning-the-lottery money.
Hey, I expect a food voucher and an upgrade to First Class when my plane is 17 minutes late to the gate, so I’m totally in favor of giving giant rewards and golden tickets to a group of people who had to dodge smoke monsters and eat food wrapped in weird Dharma Initiative packages for more than 100 days.
But, even considering this is TV, do most airlines have that kind of dough to compensate plane crash victims? I’m thinking not. But Oceanic apparently does, and who else has a boatload of bucks?
Ah – Charles Widmore, maybe? What do you think?
Some notable “Lost"-centric sites:
http://darkufo.blogspot.com/
http://www.hawaiiup.com/lost/
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American Idol: Syesha speaks
Melissa Ruggieri
May 15, 2008 4:37 PM
Now we know why Syesha Mercado was so hard to warm up to those first Top-whatever weeks on “American Idol” – the girl is a classic workaholic.
In today’s exit interview with reporters, Syesha acknowledged those frosty moments when she sounded great, but emitted all of the heat of an ice cube.
“When I first stepped into the competition, I was really in a little shell,” she said, noting the vocal issues that plagued her during the Hollywood rounds. “I don’t feel I was at my whole potential because of the negative mind frame I was in. It was really harming my performance. When I got my mind right again, like it was during the auditions, I became more comfortable with myself… I just enjoyed myself more every week. I separated that fine line between overworking and doing so much that you’re unfocused and not enjoying yourself, and trusting yourself and letting go and taking it all in. My goal every week was to feel satisfied after every show, and I felt more satisfied the more the weeks went on.”
When asked which of the remaining Davids she prefers, Syehsa was expectedly non-committal, saying that she felt like a “little sister and a big sister” to both of them. But, she said, “David Archuleta has that beautiful smile and that really, really good connection with a younger audience, and David Cook has that connection with the younger audience—girls go crazy over him—and the older audience thinks he’s really, really charming, all of the older women.”
Despite regular appearances in the bottom three, or, as the contest narrowed, the bottom two, Syesha refused to consider that she might be sent packing – so much so that she literally refused to get her stuff in order.
“I never packed my bags,” she said. “They told us, you know what, you’ve got to pack your bags, but I was like, I’m not packing my bags because I don’t want to go home yet! I’m not ready. I think if you want something, it’s gonna happen for you. If you want top three you’re gonna get top 3. If you want to win, you’re going to win. Whoever is the most passionate, they’re gonna win. Every week, I set a goal and I just wasn’t ready to go home.”
After next week’s finale and the “Idol” tour, Syesha already has a detailed list of ambitions to attend to for life post-show.
“I know that whatever goal I set, it can be accomplished whether it’s within a year span or 10 years,” she said. “I want to make an album. I want to star in a film. I want to do Broadway. I want to open up an organic restaurant…it just depends on what comes first, but I have goals and I write them down.”
American Idol: And so it goes…
Melissa Ruggieri
May 15, 2008 12:08 AM
So it’s David vs. David in next week’s finale.
Yawn.
Even as Scruffy David (that would be Cook) sweetly held out his hand to clasp Syesha Mercado’s as the final trio waited to hear Ryan Seacrest shatter a dream, was there ever any doubt who was going home?
Syesha didn’t look very surprised at the news, remaining poised and able to flash a mega-watt smile to the Broadway producers watching from home. You almost expected her to make the universal “call me” sign, hoping that someone will save her from becoming the next Melinda Doolittle (my favorite contestant from last year who has, unfortunately, lived up to her last name – at least in any major, public way).
But it’s funny how I’ll always equate third-place week with Elliott Yamin.
Just watching Scruffy David tossing out a pitch at the baseball stadium (albeit with a major league team), Syesha riding in the back of a top-down limo with her parents as squealing fans lined the streets and David “Gosh” Archuleta getting handed a special proclamation from the groovily mustached mayor of Murray City, Utah, instantly brought back memories of Elliott’s magical day here two years ago.
So here’s to Syesha having some Elliott-level success.
But if there were any revelations last night – aside from the fact that I wanted to start a new drinking game and down a shot of whiskey every time David A. murmured “gosh” and blinked…but then I’d be too drunk to type – it’s that Fantasia, God bless her, hasn’t changed a whit.
She’s not my favorite “Idol” winner if we’re talking about vocals – I always found her a bit too screechy and overbearing – but has there ever been a more spirited, command-the-room performer as Lady F? I think her guest appearance last night proved that the answer is most definitely NO.
(Also, was there a more priceless camera cut in the show’s history than to Simon’s nearly dropped-jaw reaction to the Fantasia workout?).
Anyway, that’s why I’m throwing what little gusto I still have for this season behind Scruffy David next week. No secret that David A. just doesn’t do it for me, and Fantasia was another reminder why.
Scruffy David isn’t about to start booty-boppin’ across the stage (and after watching him dance, poor thing, during last night’s dreadful group song, that’s a good thing), but he has presence. His quiet authority projects an underlying sexiness and he’s demonstrated repeatedly that he can mold any style of song and inject it with originality.
David A., meanwhile, still looks and acts like the “Star Search” contestant he once was – a sweet-faced boy in a Members Only jacket who does treacly well and is as dull as a PBS telethon.
But, as Simon predicted moments before Syesha was celebrated home – or, back to her “Idol” dorm – next week’s D&D finale has the potential to be a “humdinger” that will come down not to talent, but to the fan base with the fastest phone connections.
Britney. Must. Be. Stopped.
Cynthia McMullen
May 14, 2008 6:16 PM
So Britney ran into another innocent driver—again—yesterday. Her Mercedes Benz coupe rear-ended a Ford 
Explorer in Beverly Hills. My guess—since she didn’t have a child in her lap—is that she was reaching for her 27th Starbucks of the day and just did not notice that pesky 2 tons’ worth of metal in front of her.
Or ... and here’s a theory worth investigating ... did she hit Drew Barrymore? I would’ve jumped on that one—made sense to me—except Drew was hit from behind on Monday. Of course, it still could’ve been Ms. Spears. That one gets around.
Seriously, somebody needs to take her driver’s license and grind it into tiny pieces, impound her car and put a lock on her front door till she gets some sense. Sure, I feel bad for Britney. She needs help. But does that make it OK to put others’ lives in danger?
American Idol: The final countdown
Melissa Ruggieri
May 14, 2008 12:07 AM
Remember way back in 2006 when Simon Cowell so despised Taylor Hicks, couldn’t think of put-downs for the hyperactive bar singer fast enough, yet had to sit and grimace through his performances week after week as that omnipotent Soul Patrol boosted Hicks to what has now become a hollow victory?
That’s pretty much how I feel about David Archuleta.
Resigned to the reality that no matter how blatantly he jumbles lyrics (or, in the case of last night’s “With You,” mumbles over the melody to disguise his mistakes), how shiny, yet empty his vocal performance, or how ill-equipped he is to handle anything resembling a conversation, the teen with controlling daddy issues will be in next week’s finale and likely win.
Speaking of resignation, David A.’s read of Billy Joel’s “And So it Goes” (interesting choice from Ms. Abdul) sapped the poignant song of its weary acquiescence and instead made it the equivalent of studying a Monet and walking away with a shrug. It’s a deep song about loss and miscommunication, but as presented by David A., it could have been a nonchalant “oh well” about Banana Republic being out of his sweater size.
But, as usual, Randy Jackson lapped up the youngster’s downy delivery, stopping a smidgen short of anointing him the “Idol” prince.
Eh, just as well. As Chris Daughtry has more than proved, not winning “Idol” is usually the best thing that can happen to any contestant not interested in singing double-glazed, tear-jerking pap. So hey, David Cook, we’ll soon see you opening for a major arena rock band … but only if you promise never to sing that Switchfoot song again.
I’d love to see David C. and Syesha Mercado face off if only because they both resemble the complete package far more than the Mouseketeer. As David C. demonstrated last night, he is capable of much more than restructuring pop songs into Nickelback-worthy rockers.
Anyone who can hit all of the twisting key changes in Roberta Flack’s “”The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and then stay on point while a squealing guitar derails during Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” – as David C. did --deserves more compensation than tepid praise from Randy. (Side note: Coincidence that Simon’s pick for David C. was a song that Leona Lewis, Simon’s protege, also covers on her debut album?)
But clearly, Randy’s thesaurus failed him last night, as he told BOTH David’s that they were capable of singing the phone book. Is that really a compliment?
And just as I was anticipating a night of good notices for three solid Syesha performances (OK, two and a half), Paula – Paula! – bludgeoned the suddenly sassy songstress’ dream right in front of all 21-million-and-rapidly-falling of us.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be good enough to get into the finals,” Paula told Syesha, who continued to beam bravely, likely because she was relieved to finally be freed from the spandex and sequins that nearly swallowed her during a stellar run on Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You.”
Well, I know who we can blame when Syesha is sent back to her room tonight – those goofy producers who chose for her third song a bright, syncopated slice of vapidity that no one knows.
Are you really telling me that with all of “Idol”’s juice, Nigel Lythgoe and Co. couldn’t get a Beyonce or Rihanna song cleared, instead saddling Syesha with Gia Farrell’s “Hit Me Up” from the “Happy Feet” soundtrack? It would not be inappropriate to ask at this point, “Who the heck is Gia Farrell” and “Didn’t that penguin movie come out almost two years ago?”
The answers are a) a young singer whom you have no reason to have heard of and b) yes.
But none of that matters, because the “Idol” gods determined weeks ago that this year’s winner would be named David.
What I would like to know, though, is why we were subjected to what felt like dozens of plugs for iTunes, the “Idol” tour and other Fox shows – not to mention an inordinate amount of playful bickering among the judges – yet there was no time to show footage from the final trio’s hometown visits aside from cursory “Oh, look, Simon Cowell has just sent me a text message. Let me see what song he has chosen for me to sing,” contrivance.
Maybe we’ll get a look tonight – as long as the show can fit it in between the Ford commercial and endorsement of Coke products.
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Ooh, ooh, this just in!
Cynthia McMullen
May 13, 2008 4:48 PM
Forget what I said in the previous entry, Shayne Lamas’ career is clearly burgeoning.
This just in from Santa Monica, Calif.:
“Newly engaged actress Shayne Lamas, who was selected over 24 other girls for a marriage proposal by Matt Grant in the season finale of ABC TV’s popular ‘The Bachelor’ series, has chosen the Girls Gone Wild Magazine for her national print debut.
“Shayne says she decided to pose for Girls Gone Wild because ‘To me, Girls Gone Wild is about fun and freedom. It’s a way for a girl to express confidence in herself.’ The magazine contains no nudity.”
I’m more nonplussed by that last statement than I am about Shayne’s posing for the mag. How can it be Girls Gone Wild sans naked women? Do they paste those rectangular blocks—the one you see in the TV commercials—over each and every girly part?
Oh, wait, here you go: “Each issue of the magazine comes packaged with an exclusive, uncensored Girls Gone Wild DVD.” So I guess the magazine is just an entree to the vids.
Shayne is even classier than I thought. We can only hope Matt Grant agrees.
Matt, oh, Matt, what were you thinking?
Cynthia McMullen
May 13, 2008 4:28 PM
I watched the finale of “The Bachelor” last night. Yes, I admit it. Mock, if you will.
What can I say, I’m a romantic at heart. As little chance as true love has in this artificial world where bachelor-meets-25-lovely-ladies-whittles-them-down-to-one-and-lives-happily-(ha!)-forever-after, hope springs eternal for me. But c’mon, Matt, what were you thinking?
In this edition of the ABC show, global financier Matt Grant of London, 27, comes to America to find himself a 
bride. After weeks of painful and so-not-dramatic rose ceremonies, he pops the question on bended knee. And wouldn’t ya know it, 22-year-old Shayne Lamas of Malibu, Calif.—whose initial appearance even forces Matt’s big bro, Simon, to comment on her ever-so-bleached-blondness—ends up with the hunka-hunka diamond engagement ring.
Shayne, according to Shayne, is an actress. She is not there, she says, to enhance her career, despite papa Lorenzo Lamas’ comment to the contrary: “I think it was the idea of being on television that was very enticing to her.”
What acting career, you say? Yeah, I was curious, too, never having heard of her. Here’s what I found, courtesy of http://www.imdb.com: Shayne has appeared in two episodes of “Air America,” 18 episodes of “General Hospital” and three films I’m pretty sure you never heard of: “Endless Bummer” (in which she plays the no-doubt pivotal role of Red Bikini Girl), which apparently has been released but who knows where; “The 13th Alley,” somewhere between completion and release; and “Deep in the Valley,” in post-production.
You know the latter is Oscar-bound. It also stars one of the interchangeable Kardashian brood and, just to sweeten the pot, Tracy Morgan.
Matt, Matt, Matt. I’d like to think this is going somewhere – despite the best attempts of reality TV, I’m still that romantic at heart – but c’mon, let’s not kid ourselves. Your chances of marrying Shayne might not be quite as bad as 300-to-1, as one handicapper is predicting. But I’m guessing they’re slim.
So enjoy your little American tartlet while you can – sorry, make that little American “monkey.” (Yes, he DID propose this way: “Monkey, will you marry me?” Which might be the biggest reason of all that the relationship is most likely doomeddoomeddoomed.)
A new season of “The Bachelorette” premieres next week. Having just come off “The Bachelor,” I might have to skip it. Sometimes you just have to say no.
American Idol: The dread head speaks
Melissa Ruggieri
May 08, 2008 5:17 PM
That goofy guy with the funny hair who suddenly seemed as if he couldn’t care less about winning “American Idol”?
Yeah, that’s pretty much who Jason Castro is – except that, it turns out, he really did want to win.
Castro chatted with reporters this afternoon and one thing he quickly refuted – punctuating it with that halting giggle familiar to “Idol” viewers – was that he didn’t intentionally flub his lyrics to “Mr. Tambourine Man” Tuesday night simply as a way to guarantee a goodbye trip from the show.
“I definitely did not do that on purpose,” he said. “I couldn’t believe I forgot such a popular line that’s, like, written on your soul. Somehow it slipped my mind, but I definitely didn’t do that on purpose … As of yesterday, I wanted to win. I think what it came down to is my inexperience. Once we doubled up on songs, I just wasn’t really being able to focus on both my songs. My mind was just split and I just couldn’t deliver either/or, and I think that’s what it came down to.”
Unlike many of the top 10, the 21-year-old Castro had little performing experience heading into the show. He started playing guitar his freshman year of college and singing shortly thereafter.
“I would learn songs, but I wouldn’t learn them all the way through,” he said with a drawn-out laugh, adding that prior to his callback audition on “Idol,” he performed about 10 or 12 times around his native Texas, and the longest set he ever played was 30 minutes.
Castro said, somewhat regretfully, that he didn’t think he’d be heading home yet because the “Idol” crew was going to New York next week and then he would return to Los Angeles for the show’s finale.
“I just miss home,” he said. “I love being home in the summer. I kinda miss working the summers with my dad.”
Castro’s father runs a custom-design swimming pool company; the “Idol” castoff said he liked helping out by surveying lots and cleaning pools.
But most amusingly, Castro didn’t deny the perception that many had of him as a spacey dude and believes the show portrayed him accurately.
“I am a goofy person. I am kind of an awkward conversationalist—I’m doing my best right now—but all my friends, they love it because what you see is what you get,” he said. “I didn’t change at all coming out here. That’s me.”
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American Idol: No redemption song for Jason
Melissa Ruggieri
May 08, 2008 12:09 AM
Has a contestant ever looked as relieved to be sent packing as Jason Castro did last night?
In probably the least dramatic results show ever – despite Ryan Seacrest trying to plant a Chris-Daughtry-voted-off??!! type seed with his constant prattling about all of this expected “drama” – the guy who threw up his hands in resignation weeks ago rightfully got voted off “Idol”’s dysfunctional island.
Even many fans of the spacey dreadlocked dude had enough of his apathy, which culminated in Tuesday’s twisted wreckage of halting Bob Marley and forgotten words to one of Bob Dylan’s easiest lyrics (“Mr. Tambourine Man” ).
After learning of his fate, the perpetually dazed soft rocker/folkie told Ryan that the thought of having to learn, perform and – yikes – remember three songs next week would have sent him into the land of white coats and happy pills, a place currently inhabited by Brooke White.
Even Jason’s reprise of “I Shot the Sheriff” last night reeked of indifference, as he half sung the words while constantly flipping an annoying strand of dreadlock off his shoulder.
Six weeks ago, I never would have predicted that I would say thank God that Syesha is in the top three. Of course, there’s no way the lovely crooner is going to go any further, because the producers have already decided that we WILL have to witness a battle between the non-descript rocker and the even-less-descript Disney hopeful (aka David Cook and David Archuleta).
But she definitely wins the Most Improved prize – a reward that should at least garner her a tertiary role in some Broadway musical.
As for the rest of last night’s show, it was good to see Bo Bice again, but one would think he could afford a hair cut. I dig Bo’s ‘70s rock Allman Brothers vibe, but, well, it’s not the ‘70s and he’s no Gregg Allman.
But the guy deserved a better post-“Idol” career than he’s received, so let’s hope that last night’s appearance will help him sell a few CDs.
Anyway, moving toward the finale, the traditional Visit the Contestants Hometown episode is up next week and the final trio will perform a trio of songs—judges’ choice, producers’ choice and finalist’s choice.
I suppose there’s no way Simon might choose “Hakuna Matata” for Archuleta?
American Idol: Jason derails
Melissa Ruggieri
May 06, 2008 11:54 PM
You’ll never hear me complain about anyone covering a Duran Duran song because of all of my guilty pleasures, they’re the guiltiest. Well, maybe that honor goes to Rick Springfield.
But anyway, I’m still trying to figure out how if last night’s “theme” was songs from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, that “Hungry Like the Wolf” nudged in there since my British boys are most definitely not immortalized in I.M. Pei’s glass pyramid in Cleveland.
Anyone?
Moving on, I liked David Cook’s growling – if overly affected—rendition of the song better than Randy did – and I’m usually hypercritical about performances of songs by my favorite bands. Case in point, I wanted to strangle Blake Lewis last season after he turned Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” into a wiki-wiki-wiki beat boxing exercise.
But I’ve got to say, David C. made me want to check out the performance downloads on iTunes – and that’s saying something because I spend too many hours of my life trying to avoid iTunes and grousing about it to my friends, who are entirely sick of my complaining.
So even though Ryan pointedly noted at the start of the show that the judges would critique each contestant after EACH song (got that, Paula?), let’s get the two over with at once.
David C. returned with the bold choice of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley,” a song that runs about 87 minutes (Oh, OK, 5:05) and contains significant musical interludes. I worried that this would be a repeat of Michael Johns during one of the Beatles weeks; his performance of the complex “A Day in the Life” was solid, but by dismantling the tune to fit the “Idol’ time constraints, it wound up disjointed and odd.
But the Cook kept it steady and low, breaking out the flashy rock riffs for added effect and guaranteeing himself a spot in the final two.
While I realize there is no way that the Ewok (aka David Archuleta) WON’T be in the final two, since the judges overlook his every flaw and his ingratiating reaction to their heaps of praise obviously send the grandmas to the phones and the tweens to the texts, let’s have a moment of respect for Syesha Mercado.
Hey, I admit, I haven’t been very nice to her all season because, well, until two weeks ago, she was a singing Barbie – all plastic, no soul.
But Syesha not only chose the two most challenging songs of the night – from Tina Turner and Sam Cooke, mind you – but she simply smoked on “Proud Mary.” Yeah, could you consider it a passable Tina Turner impersonation? Sure. But the same could be said of Beyonce’s performance of the song at the Grammys this year.
Of all of the “huh?” things that the judges say, the criticism that continues to baffle me the most is when they carp about a performance being too similar to the original and that these kids “need to make it their own.” And when they do that, most of the time, Randy, Simon or Paula complains that they didn’t like the arrangement.
Make up your mind, guys.
But I now think Syesha is worthy of the Elliott Yamin spot this season (numero tres) , especially after unleashing her emotions in a torrent of tears after Simon complimented her performance (surely he was swayed by her heaving cleavage) and Jason Castro’s complete derailment.
Long before Entertainment Weekly outed the space case as being completely nonchalant about learning his songs for Neil Diamond week and even more apathetic about his spot on the show—“What happens happens. I’ll sing and if people like it, they like it. And if they don’t, they don’t. I’m kind of ready to go home,” he said – it’s been apparent to anyone over the age of 13 and not influenced by Jason’s dreamy eyes that the guy couldn’t care less about being there.
(You can read the entire EW story here: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20007164_20171835_20197246,00.html).
I only hope that Simon’s suggestion that Jason pack his bags after he got tangled up in Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” (with none of Brooke White’s addled charm, I might add) didn’t earn him scads of sympathy votes.
Jason’s dreadlocks were a handy accoutrement for a Bob Marley performance (“I Shot the Sheriff” ), but his apathy has never been more apparent than it was last night. Go home, dude, and let someone with more passion for the game get the votes.
So, back to David A. I know I didn’t hear anything “hot” or “mad” about his vocals on “Stand By Me,” as Randy apparently did as he almost fell out of his chair while lauding the Boy Scout. I do give the kid credit for cleverness for slipping in a line from Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls,” which heavily borrows from “Stand By Me” – good way to ensure some votes from current radio listeners.
But what sadist dressed him in that seagull shirt?
And David’s second performance, Elvis’ “Love Me Tender” (you have an entire canon of rock songs to choose from and you pick THIS gloppy ballad?), was completely disconcerting to me when the camera started to move in closer and closer…and closer…and closer, until we could count the eyelashes on his blinky eyes.
As I’ve said all along, the little guy has a smooth voice, an innocuous appeal and still, absolutely nothing about him would spur me to spend a dime on his music.
So, now that we’re down to the final four, who gets the boot before the big Hometown Visit show next week? It so obviously should be Jason, but the same could have been said last week.
Also, you might have heard the rumblings this past week about whether “Idol” is losing some of its luster. Check out my column in Thursday’s Weekend section, where I’ll discuss the situation and you can tell me how you feel about the show.
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