Sorry that I have not created a voting update video in a few weeks.
But Memorial Day is approaching very fast and so I wanted to give you an update on the voting for #OfficialHat2023 at this point.
(Remember that you can still vote for a few more days. The Google Form will close at 9 pm on Sunday, May 28th. The form is available here: https://forms.gle/SM3eh3m6HKtvr4Fz7)
I will do my best to announce the winner--in either video or written fashion--on Memorial Day, Monday May 29th.
Since we got rid of cable I rely on streaming services for the majority of my passive media. And one drawback of that is that I tend to dip back into things that I have already seen because . . . well, the library of entertainment is large and the output of new things is slow. Reruns and rewatches of familiar things is sort of the inevitable end result of such a situation.
But that is not always bad. And it led to an interesting thought for today.
I sat down and decided to begin rewatching J.J. Abram's Star Trek (2009). And if you like this movie, as I do, you remember how it begins. The U.S.S. Kelvin is minding its own business out in space when a mystery ship appears from an anomalous "lightning storm in space" and summarily kicks the shit out of the Kelvin without so much as a how-do-you-do. The Kelvin's captain is killed and acting captain George Kirk does his best to keep the remaining crew alive by evacuating shuttles and shooting down torpedoes before heroically colliding with the mystery ship. The Kelvin's crew survives--including his wife who just gave birth to one James Tiberius Kirk. The scene begins with a rousing orchestral variation on the movie's theme and after the battle is done, the movie jumps from space to Iowa, Earth where a young James T. steals a Mustang convertible and does his best Thelma and Louise to "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys.
A great ten minutes of sadness, action, and thrills.
Do you remember that George Kirk is played (briefly) by a pre-Thor Chris Hemsworth? Did you know that two of the Chrises were possibly on set that early in their rise to movie dominance?
But let's shift to endings.
Specifically the ending scene of another of those Chrises. Evans, this time . . . in his own moment of movie glory that began this new phase of his own career. As Steve Rogers, in the final heroic moments of Captain America: The First Avenger.
Do you remember?
Cap has defeated Nazis and rescued the Howling Commandoes from Red Skull. But Red Skull has launches his massive Flying Wing bomber and has plans to drop those bombs on New York City, Chicago, and D.C. (maybe?) But Steve gets on the plane, defeats Red Skull (or lets Red Skull's hubris defeat himself) and prepares to get back home to Peggy and post war freedom. Unfortunately the bomber malfunctions and Steve has to intentionally crash the plane to save people.
So, two Chrises . . . early in their MCU (or pre-MCU) trajectory . . . intentionally crash their craft to save others. And both of them, in their pre-crash last moments have heartfelt good-bye speeches with their partners. Hemsworth's Kirk talks to his wife mid-labor and gets to help name James and say goodbye before the Kelvin collides with the Romulan mining vessel. Evan's Rogers talks to Peggy Carter and tries to keep it light. He promises Peggy that he will survive and will meet up with her in Europe to go dancing. They both know that it is false. But they get to say goodbye in a fashion.
I'd like to imagine Hemsworth and Evans swapping set stories about those moments on the set of The Avengers movie.
The #OfficialHat2023 campaign has already been underway for a few weeks, but I have neglected to post any of the videos on the old WWYG?! platform.
So, here are the three choices available for your voting pleasure.
As always--you can cast your votes on the provided Google Form to select the ONLY hat that I will wear all summer long: from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend. When I wear a hat, it will only be the one that is chosen to be this year's #Hat of Summer.
(Because ones of you out there in the vast Internet sea actually said to my face "You've got to update your blog!" Those six words have only every been utter in that sequence and directed at me once before . . . by the same kind person. And so, the Universe was trying to tell me something and who am I to fight against the Universe?)
Andbutso . . . you might guess from the fairly clear blog title what this is about. And why be surprised, because I venture to guess that 30ish percent of WWYG?! is already about this. And LOST was one of the original spurs that made me start blogging almost twenty years (?!!!) ago anyway. So, its Old Home Week back here on the digital ranch.
Grace shared this video with me on Friday. And I watched it. And by and large I appreciated it. Heck, I appreciate anyone who takes time to think about LOST--especially if that thinking results in the conclusion that We didn't appreciate LOST at the time!
Damn right you didn't. But I'm here to tell you that I.DID.
I was drinking the glowing cave water from the opening minutes of episode one! And that is no surprise to anyone who has read WWYG?! in the past. But though I did appreciate Drew's support and his positive thoughts on one of the most impactful shows in TV history . . . and one of the most important TV shows in my adult life.
But he is wrong about one critical thing.
But before I get to what Drew is wrong about, I guess I should say that if you HAVEN'T watched LOST then you will be somewhat spoiled by the video above. So I guess go make one of the best decisions of your life and a. bookmark this post for future reference, b. devote 5,400 hours of your life to watching a show that premiered in 2004. And once you are done, c. come back to watch the video.
But . . . Drew's big mistake is that he argues that LOST is best watched in a binging environment and that it suffers from a week-to-week viewing. Having been an O.G. network television watcher I must STRONGLY disagree. Because watching LOST week-to-week gave me and my friends time to discuss, time to dissect, time to ponder what the actual f just happened on this week's show. Beyond that, LOST helped create the second-screen, entertainment discussion ethos that all prestige television thrives on currently.
LOST helped propel TV-themed podcasts. Back when podcasts were first emerging. And the dedicated fans of LOST tuned into those few LOST casts to listen to theories and hear from the actors and the producers and generally wallow in everything related to the show. We scoured the Internet for clues. We checked out the random book references from our libraries and tried to understand. The Easter Egg culture of TV (for all that is good and bad about it) sprung up from the mysteries that defined LOST. (Hell, the creators even designed a few off-season Internet "experiences" to keep people engaged during the summer. Remember Alvar Hanso?)
So . . . sorry Drew . . . the weekly release was a very helpful environment in which to watch the show. And if you are taking my advice to join in on the whole thing, consider taking your time. There are so few TV experiences anymore that are going to offer you 121* immersive episodes full of intrigue, plot twists, and unexpected joys.
As an aside . . . I 100 percent do AGREE with Drew's assessment that Michael Giacchino's music and scoring is a key element of what makes the show beautiful.
In summary . . . LOST is a beautiful treasure that should be savored. Please consider diving in and when you do, dive in all the way.
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* Why didn't Lindelof and Cuse do the right thing and make is guaranteed that the show would end with 108 episodes?
