Warning: If you have not watched Season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 3 of 24, or Season 3 of LOST, and you intend to, DO NOT READ THIS POST.
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We reached it, people! Day 30--the final day of the TV Meme. And today we're discussing the saddest character death. Of the three choices I came up with, my actual answer is the second of the three. So let me explain the others first.
My first thought, of course, was Charlie Pace from LOST. Sure, his character started to get a bit annoying in Season 2, but then he begins redeeming himself in Season 3. And right when you start to love him? He dies. Sacrificing himself within the Looking Glass Station, Charlie saves Desmond by locking himself in a flooding room. Then comes the iconic moment when he places his hand on the glass with a note declaring "Not Pennys Boat," Desmond putting his hand to the other side. And then he dies. The full scene can be seen here:
The final one I came up with is one I'm surprised actually took me that long, considering it's the most recent one of the three I've seen. The death I'm talking about here is, of course, Ryan Chappelle from 24. Chappelle was a very hateable character. Almost not even in a love-to-hate him kinda way. You just disliked this guy. But then comes the moment when Jack is told that he needs to kill him. Ryan is immediately flustered, showing he's not the tough a-hole he appears to be on the outside. The majority of the episode is dedicated to them trying to find the terrorist, but they end up in the wrong location, and time runs out. Jack takes Ryan to the designated train yard. They have their final talk. Ryan tries to dignify it by killing himself, but he can't go through with it. Jack then takes the gun and does it himself. I have to say, this episode had amazing writing. To take a character you hate and, in less than an hour, make you care for him so much to where you're nearly in tears by the time he's dead... wow. But it's not the best one (or saddest), in my opinion.
The winner, if you haven't guessed it by now from the warning at the top of this post, is Joyce Summers in Season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Previously Joyce having thought she was over her brain tumor, it suddenly resurfaces and kills her. The episode begins as Buffy walks into the living room and sees her mother dead on the couch. The rest of the episode is how everybody deals with the death (which also leads in to Willow and Tara's first on-screen kiss). I think what helps the sadness in this episode is the fact that there is no music playing throughout the entire episode. It's just this uncomfortable stillness and silence. Most movies or TV shows always accompany their major death scenes with dramatic music. This episode shows you how to make a highly effective death scene without it. Here is a short video of clips from the episode set to "Mad World":
And that's my saddest character death.
Thanks to everybody who made it through this last 30 days with me! It's been fun (and challenging) to come up with answers for every day, with some days where I just felt too lazy to do it. But I did it anyway! Below is a list of all the days over the past month and my answers:
Day 01 - An Unfairly Canceled Show (Dead Like Me)
Day 02 - A Show Needing More Viewers (Greek)
Day 03 - Favorite New Show From This Past Season (Glee)
Day 04 - Favorite Show of All Time (Boy Meets World)
Day 05 - A Show I Hate (Dancing With The Stars)
Day 06 - Favorite Episode of My Favorite Show ("And Then There Was Shawn")
Day 07 - Least Favorite Episode of My Favorite Show ("On The Fence")
Day 08 - A Show Everyone Should Watch (Glee)
Day 09 - Best Scene Ever ("Bohemian Rhapsody" - Glee)
Day 10 - A Show I Thought I'd Hate But Ended Up Loving (Battlestar Galactica)
Day 11 - A Show That Disappointed Me (Leverage)
Day 12 - An Episode I’ve Watched More Than 5 Times ("Road to Rhode Island" - Family Guy)
Day 13 - Favorite Childhood Show (Power Rangers)
Day 14 - Favorite Male Character (Eric/Cappie/Lafayette/Spike/Dexter)
Day 15 - Favorite Female Character (Sue Sylvester)
Day 16 - My Guilty Pleasure Show (iCarly)
Day 17 - Favorite Mini-Series (Harper's Island)
Day 18 - Favorite Title Sequence (Jack of all Trades)
Day 19 - Best TV Show Cast (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Day 20 - Favorite Kiss (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Day 21 - Favorite Relationship (from Gilmore Girls)
Day 22 - Favorite Series Finale (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Day 23 - Most Annoying Character (from Dexter)
Day 24 - Best Quote (from Greek)
Day 25 - A Show I Plan on Re-Watching (Dexter)
Day 26 - Biggest Season Finale Shocker (from Dexter)
Day 27 - Best Pilot Episode (Glee)
Day 28 - First Show Obsession (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Day 29 - Current Show Obsession (True Blood)
Day 30 - Saddest Character Death (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed it!
Showing posts with label lost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lost. Show all posts
5.27.2010
An Email From LOST Writer Ryan Jones.
Note: I took this email from fellow blogger Adam Frazier's Facebook, where he posted it. It helped make sense of a lot of things on the show that seemed unexplained. Due to popular demand (from my mentioning it), I'm posting it here.
-----------------
This is an email from LOST Writer Ryan Jones which gives out some pretty definitive answers - now, I realize a lot of this may appear to be "common knowledge" to most of us... but the more podcasts and articles I read, the more I see how divisive this finale has been and how many crazy thoughts people have had (like they all died in the plane crash...)
Anyways, ENJOY!
First ...
The Island:
It was real. Everything that happened on the island that we saw throughout the 6 seasons was real. Forget the final image of the plane crash, it was put in purposely to f*&k with people's heads and show how far the show had come. They really crashed. They really survived. They really discovered Dharma and the Others. The Island keeps the balance of good and evil in the world. It always has and always will perform that role. And the Island will always need a "Protector". Jacob wasn't the first, Hurley won't be the last. However, Jacob had to deal with a malevolent force (MIB) that his mother, nor Hurley had to deal with. He created the devil and had to find a way to kill him -- even though the rules prevented him from actually doing so.
Thus began Jacob's plan to bring candidates to the Island to do the one thing he couldn't do. Kill the MIB. He had a huge list of candidates that spanned generations. Yet everytime he brought people there, the MIB corrupted them and caused them to kill one another. That was until Richard came along and helped Jacob understand that if he didn't take a more active role, then his plan would never work.
Enter Dharma -- which I'm not sure why John is having such a hard time grasping. Dharma, like the countless scores of people that were brought to the island before, were brought there by Jacob as part of his plan to kill the MIB. However, the MIB was aware of this plan and interfered by "corrupting" Ben. Making Ben believe he was doing the work of Jacob when in reality he was doing the work of the MIB. This carried over into all of Ben's "off-island" activities. He was the leader. He spoke for Jacob as far as they were concerned. So the "Others" killed Dharma and later were actively trying to kill Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley and all the candidates because that's what the MIB wanted. And what he couldn't do for himself.
Dharma was originally brought in to be good. But was turned bad by MIB's corruption and eventually destroyed by his pawn Ben. Now, was Dharma only brought there to help Jack and the other Candidates on their overall quest to kill Smokey? Or did Jacob have another list of Candidates from the Dharma group that we were never aware of? That's a question that is purposely not answered because whatever answer the writers came up with would be worse than the one you come up with for yourself. Still ... Dharma's purpose is not "pointless" or even vague. Hell, it's pretty blatant.
Still, despite his grand plan, Jacob wanted to give his "candidates" (our Lostaways) the one thing he, nor his brother, were ever afforded: free will. Hence him bringing a host of "candidates" through the decades and letting them "choose" which one would actually do the job in the end. Maybe he knew Jack would be the one to kill Flocke and that Hurley would be the protector in the end. Maybe he didn't. But that was always the key question of the show: Fate vs Free-will. Science vs Faith. Personally I think Jacob knew from the beginning what was going to happen and that everyone played a part over 6 seasons in helping Jack get to the point where he needed to be to kill Smokey and make Hurley the protector -- I know that's how a lot of the writers viewed it. But again, they won't answer that (nor should they) because that ruins the fun.
In the end, Jack got to do what he always wanted to do from the very first episode of the show: Save his fellow Lostaways. He got Kate and Sawyer off the island and he gave Hurley the purpose in life he'd always been missing. And, in Sideways world (which we'll get to next) he in fact saved everyone by helping them all move on ...
Now...
Sideways World:
Sideways world is where it gets really cool in terms of theology and metaphysical discussion (for me at least -- because I love history/religion theories and loved all the talks in the writer's room about it). Basically what the show is proposing is that we're all linked to certain people during our lives. Call them soulmates (though it's not exactly the best word). But these people we're linked to are with us doing "the most important moments of our lives" as Christian said. These are the people we move through the universe with from lifetime to lifetime. It's loosely based in Hinduism with large doses of western religion thrown into the mix.
The concept that the writers created, basing it off these religious philosophies, was that as a group, the Lostaways subconsciously created this "sideways" world where they exist in purgatory until they are "awakened" and find one another. Once they all find one another, they can then move on and move forward. In essence, this is the show's concept of the afterlife. According to the show, everyone creates their own "Sideways" purgatory with their "soulmates" throughout their lives and exist there until they all move on together. That's a beautiful notion. Even if you aren't religious or even spiritual, the idea that we live AND die together is deeply profound and moving.
It's a really cool and spiritual concept that fits the whole tone and subtext the show has had from the beginning. These people were SUPPOSED to be together on that plane. They were supposed to live through these events -- not JUST because of Jacob. But because that's what the universe or God (depending on how religious you wish to get) wanted to happen. The show was always about science vs faith -- and it ultimately came down on the side of faith. It answered THE core question of the series. The one question that has been at the root of every island mystery, every character backstory, every plot twist. That, by itself, is quite an accomplishment.
How much you want to extrapolate from that is up to you as the viewer. Think about season 1 when we first found the Hatch. Everyone thought that's THE answer! Whatever is down there is the answer! Then, as we discovered it was just one station of many. One link in a very long chain that kept revealing more, and more of a larger mosaic.
But the writer's took it even further this season by contrasting this Sideways "purgatory" with the Island itself. Remember when Michael appeared to Hurley, he said he was not allowed to leave the Island. Just like the MIB. He wasn't allowed into this sideways world and thus, was not afforded the opportunity to move on. Why? Because he had proven himself to be unworthy with his actions on the Island. He failed the test. The others, passed. They made it into Sideways world when they died -- some before Jack, some years later. In Hurley's case, maybe centuries later. They exist in this sideways world until they are "awakened" and they can only move on TOGETHER because they are linked. They are destined to be together for eternity. That was their destiny.
They were NOT linked to Anna Lucia, Daniel, Roussou, Alex, Miles, Lupidis, (and all the rest who weren't in the church -- basically everyone who wasn't in season 1). Yet those people exist in Sideways world. Why? Well again, here's where they leave it up to you to decide. The way I like to think about it, is that those people who were left behind in Sideways world have to find their own soulmates before they can wake up. It's possible that those links aren't people from the island but from their other life (Anna's parnter, the guy she shot --- Roussou's husband, etc etc).
A lot of people have been talking about Ben and why he didn't go into the Church. And if you think of Sideways world in this way, then it gives you the answer to that very question. Ben can't move on yet because he hasn't connected with the people he needs to. It's going to be his job to awaken Roussou, Alex, Anna Lucia (maybe), Ethan, Goodspeed, his father and the rest. He has to atone for his sins more than he did by being Hurley's number two. He has to do what Hurley and Desmond did for our Lostaways with his own people. He has to help them connect. And he can only move on when all the links in his chain are ready to. Same can be said for Faraday, Charlotte, Whidmore, Hawkins etc. It's really a neat, and cool concept. At least to me.
But, from a more "behind the scenes" note: the reason Ben's not in the church, and the reason no one is in the church but for Season 1 people is because they wrote the ending to the show after writing the pilot. And never changed it. The writers always said (and many didn't believe them) that they knew their ending from the very first episode. I applaud them for that. It's pretty fantastic. Originally Ben was supposed to have a 3 episode arc and be done. But he became a big part of the show. They could have easily changed their ending and put him in the church -- but instead they problem solved it. Gave him a BRILLIANT moment with Locke outside the church ... and then that was it. I loved that. For those that wonder -- the original ending started the moment Jack walked into the church and touches the casket to Jack closing his eyes as the other plane flies away. That was always JJ's ending. And they kept it.
For me the ending of this show means a lot. Not only because I worked on it, but because as a writer it inspired me in a way the medium had never done before. I've been inspired to write by great films. Maybe too many to count. And there have been amazing TV shows that I've loved (X-Files, 24, Sopranos, countless 1/2 hour shows). But none did what LOST did for me. None showed me that you could take huge risks (writing a show about faith for network TV) and stick to your creative guns and STILL please the audience. I learned a lot from the show as a writer. I learned even more from being around the incredible writers, producers, PAs, interns and everyone else who slaved on the show for 6 years.
In the end, for me, LOST was a touchstone show that dealt with faith, the afterlife, and all these big, spirtual questions that most shows don't touch. And to me, they never once waivered from their core story -- even with all the sci-fi elements they mixed in. To walk that long and daunting of a creative tightrope and survive is simply astounding.
"it only ends once."
-----------------
This is an email from LOST Writer Ryan Jones which gives out some pretty definitive answers - now, I realize a lot of this may appear to be "common knowledge" to most of us... but the more podcasts and articles I read, the more I see how divisive this finale has been and how many crazy thoughts people have had (like they all died in the plane crash...)
Anyways, ENJOY!
First ...
The Island:
It was real. Everything that happened on the island that we saw throughout the 6 seasons was real. Forget the final image of the plane crash, it was put in purposely to f*&k with people's heads and show how far the show had come. They really crashed. They really survived. They really discovered Dharma and the Others. The Island keeps the balance of good and evil in the world. It always has and always will perform that role. And the Island will always need a "Protector". Jacob wasn't the first, Hurley won't be the last. However, Jacob had to deal with a malevolent force (MIB) that his mother, nor Hurley had to deal with. He created the devil and had to find a way to kill him -- even though the rules prevented him from actually doing so.
Thus began Jacob's plan to bring candidates to the Island to do the one thing he couldn't do. Kill the MIB. He had a huge list of candidates that spanned generations. Yet everytime he brought people there, the MIB corrupted them and caused them to kill one another. That was until Richard came along and helped Jacob understand that if he didn't take a more active role, then his plan would never work.
Enter Dharma -- which I'm not sure why John is having such a hard time grasping. Dharma, like the countless scores of people that were brought to the island before, were brought there by Jacob as part of his plan to kill the MIB. However, the MIB was aware of this plan and interfered by "corrupting" Ben. Making Ben believe he was doing the work of Jacob when in reality he was doing the work of the MIB. This carried over into all of Ben's "off-island" activities. He was the leader. He spoke for Jacob as far as they were concerned. So the "Others" killed Dharma and later were actively trying to kill Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley and all the candidates because that's what the MIB wanted. And what he couldn't do for himself.
Dharma was originally brought in to be good. But was turned bad by MIB's corruption and eventually destroyed by his pawn Ben. Now, was Dharma only brought there to help Jack and the other Candidates on their overall quest to kill Smokey? Or did Jacob have another list of Candidates from the Dharma group that we were never aware of? That's a question that is purposely not answered because whatever answer the writers came up with would be worse than the one you come up with for yourself. Still ... Dharma's purpose is not "pointless" or even vague. Hell, it's pretty blatant.
Still, despite his grand plan, Jacob wanted to give his "candidates" (our Lostaways) the one thing he, nor his brother, were ever afforded: free will. Hence him bringing a host of "candidates" through the decades and letting them "choose" which one would actually do the job in the end. Maybe he knew Jack would be the one to kill Flocke and that Hurley would be the protector in the end. Maybe he didn't. But that was always the key question of the show: Fate vs Free-will. Science vs Faith. Personally I think Jacob knew from the beginning what was going to happen and that everyone played a part over 6 seasons in helping Jack get to the point where he needed to be to kill Smokey and make Hurley the protector -- I know that's how a lot of the writers viewed it. But again, they won't answer that (nor should they) because that ruins the fun.
In the end, Jack got to do what he always wanted to do from the very first episode of the show: Save his fellow Lostaways. He got Kate and Sawyer off the island and he gave Hurley the purpose in life he'd always been missing. And, in Sideways world (which we'll get to next) he in fact saved everyone by helping them all move on ...
Now...
Sideways World:
Sideways world is where it gets really cool in terms of theology and metaphysical discussion (for me at least -- because I love history/religion theories and loved all the talks in the writer's room about it). Basically what the show is proposing is that we're all linked to certain people during our lives. Call them soulmates (though it's not exactly the best word). But these people we're linked to are with us doing "the most important moments of our lives" as Christian said. These are the people we move through the universe with from lifetime to lifetime. It's loosely based in Hinduism with large doses of western religion thrown into the mix.
The concept that the writers created, basing it off these religious philosophies, was that as a group, the Lostaways subconsciously created this "sideways" world where they exist in purgatory until they are "awakened" and find one another. Once they all find one another, they can then move on and move forward. In essence, this is the show's concept of the afterlife. According to the show, everyone creates their own "Sideways" purgatory with their "soulmates" throughout their lives and exist there until they all move on together. That's a beautiful notion. Even if you aren't religious or even spiritual, the idea that we live AND die together is deeply profound and moving.
It's a really cool and spiritual concept that fits the whole tone and subtext the show has had from the beginning. These people were SUPPOSED to be together on that plane. They were supposed to live through these events -- not JUST because of Jacob. But because that's what the universe or God (depending on how religious you wish to get) wanted to happen. The show was always about science vs faith -- and it ultimately came down on the side of faith. It answered THE core question of the series. The one question that has been at the root of every island mystery, every character backstory, every plot twist. That, by itself, is quite an accomplishment.
How much you want to extrapolate from that is up to you as the viewer. Think about season 1 when we first found the Hatch. Everyone thought that's THE answer! Whatever is down there is the answer! Then, as we discovered it was just one station of many. One link in a very long chain that kept revealing more, and more of a larger mosaic.
But the writer's took it even further this season by contrasting this Sideways "purgatory" with the Island itself. Remember when Michael appeared to Hurley, he said he was not allowed to leave the Island. Just like the MIB. He wasn't allowed into this sideways world and thus, was not afforded the opportunity to move on. Why? Because he had proven himself to be unworthy with his actions on the Island. He failed the test. The others, passed. They made it into Sideways world when they died -- some before Jack, some years later. In Hurley's case, maybe centuries later. They exist in this sideways world until they are "awakened" and they can only move on TOGETHER because they are linked. They are destined to be together for eternity. That was their destiny.
They were NOT linked to Anna Lucia, Daniel, Roussou, Alex, Miles, Lupidis, (and all the rest who weren't in the church -- basically everyone who wasn't in season 1). Yet those people exist in Sideways world. Why? Well again, here's where they leave it up to you to decide. The way I like to think about it, is that those people who were left behind in Sideways world have to find their own soulmates before they can wake up. It's possible that those links aren't people from the island but from their other life (Anna's parnter, the guy she shot --- Roussou's husband, etc etc).
A lot of people have been talking about Ben and why he didn't go into the Church. And if you think of Sideways world in this way, then it gives you the answer to that very question. Ben can't move on yet because he hasn't connected with the people he needs to. It's going to be his job to awaken Roussou, Alex, Anna Lucia (maybe), Ethan, Goodspeed, his father and the rest. He has to atone for his sins more than he did by being Hurley's number two. He has to do what Hurley and Desmond did for our Lostaways with his own people. He has to help them connect. And he can only move on when all the links in his chain are ready to. Same can be said for Faraday, Charlotte, Whidmore, Hawkins etc. It's really a neat, and cool concept. At least to me.
But, from a more "behind the scenes" note: the reason Ben's not in the church, and the reason no one is in the church but for Season 1 people is because they wrote the ending to the show after writing the pilot. And never changed it. The writers always said (and many didn't believe them) that they knew their ending from the very first episode. I applaud them for that. It's pretty fantastic. Originally Ben was supposed to have a 3 episode arc and be done. But he became a big part of the show. They could have easily changed their ending and put him in the church -- but instead they problem solved it. Gave him a BRILLIANT moment with Locke outside the church ... and then that was it. I loved that. For those that wonder -- the original ending started the moment Jack walked into the church and touches the casket to Jack closing his eyes as the other plane flies away. That was always JJ's ending. And they kept it.
For me the ending of this show means a lot. Not only because I worked on it, but because as a writer it inspired me in a way the medium had never done before. I've been inspired to write by great films. Maybe too many to count. And there have been amazing TV shows that I've loved (X-Files, 24, Sopranos, countless 1/2 hour shows). But none did what LOST did for me. None showed me that you could take huge risks (writing a show about faith for network TV) and stick to your creative guns and STILL please the audience. I learned a lot from the show as a writer. I learned even more from being around the incredible writers, producers, PAs, interns and everyone else who slaved on the show for 6 years.
In the end, for me, LOST was a touchstone show that dealt with faith, the afterlife, and all these big, spirtual questions that most shows don't touch. And to me, they never once waivered from their core story -- even with all the sci-fi elements they mixed in. To walk that long and daunting of a creative tightrope and survive is simply astounding.
"it only ends once."
1.15.2008
Random Ramblings of a Demented Doorknob…
Also known as R2D2 (No relation). I just have time to kill before class, I’m bored, and I have a bunch of things on my mind that wouldn’t really fit under any cohesive article… therefore, I have this! So here I go. - Diary of the Dead comes out next month! George Romero claims that he hasn’t been this excited about one of his movies since the original Night. That makes me excited. Also, there’s gonna be a contest to go along with it where you make a horror movie short and send it in, and Romero watches each one, picks a winner, and the winner gets to go on the Diary DVD. I’m insanely tempted to try for it.
- How the hell does Uwe Boll still keep getting funding AND big name actors? His movies have never done anything but bomb horribly. His latest, In the Name of the King, didn’t even make the top 10 box office over the weekend. One of my co-workers saw it—and we don’t always exactly have the same opinion on movies (sometimes we do, but a lot of times we don’t)—and even she thought it was crap. Also, how do you pronounce the dude’s name? Is it ‘you’, like one of those sheep things, or You-Hey, or You-EE?
- Cloverfield comes out this weekend! I’m excited. It’ll either be really awesome or the hype will have killed it. I’m half inclined to really want it to actually be the stay-puffed marshmallow man like that one spoof trailer shows.
- What is it about movies when really good characters die at the end, and you go through the whole movie hoping that the ending will be different this time around, even if you’ve seen it hundreds of times already? (I watched Cube last night again, and I always hope that the one person who dies at the end doesn’t). Or am I just crazy and the only one who ever feels that way?
- I’m both excited for and wary of the upcoming The Eye. I saw the original Asian version a few years ago and it’s an excellent movie. It’s creepy and suspenseful. That elevator scene is intense. And then the ending is just mind blowing. But now it’s being remade with Jessica Alba. That’s the first thing that worries me. I mean, the girl is great to look at, but she’s not the best actress out there. On the other hand, it looks like they still have the elevator scene AND they’re keeping the same ending, so that’s good. Anyway, it comes out next month, I think, so I’ll keep an eye out for it (sorry, I couldn’t resist).
- The song from the second half of the Hellboy II trailer (assuming it’s a different song from the first half) is freaking awesome.
- I just found out that one of my favorite Horror/Comedies, Feast, is getting two sequels: Feast II: Sloppy Seconds and Feast III: The Happy Finish. And they both have sexual related names. I find that funny. Feast went above and beyond the B-Movie/common horror genre. It did what was highly unexpected in how things happened and who lived/died. Every
- Is anybody else super hyped for Jumper? I heard it’s almost nothing like the book, but hey… I haven’t read it, so I don’t care! :P
- Has anybody else heard of the upcoming My Name Is Bruce? It stars the legendary Bruce Campbell… as himself… and some people mistake him for his character of Ash from the Evil
Dead series and ask him for help to fight a town of monsters. It looks so freaking cheesy awesome. Classic Bruce Campbell.
- Did anybody else catch the 2-night season premier of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles? This show looks like it’s gonna rock the house. And Summer Glau is so hot. How can you not love this picture?
- I’m so upset that the character Michael is coming back to Lost. I was so happy when he left the show. He got on my nerves so bad. I’m upset now.
- While we’re on the subject of TV and people stuck on islands, the castaway list for the next Survivor was released a week or so ago. For those who don’t know, this season is going to have Fans vs. Favorites, where favorites from previous seasons come back to face true fans of the show. Well, I have no idea who I’m gonna root for now… because Yau-Man, Ozzy, AND James are returning. And even Johnny Fairplay is coming back. I’m not rooting for him, but he’ll be fun to watch. This is gonna be an awesome season.
Anywho, that’s all I can think of for right now. I’ll leave it at that. Later!
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