LOST - The Best TV Show EVER?

So, I've realized that I don't really use this blog very much anymore. Maybe that's because I don't have that much to say that I think anyone else will care about. However, I'm "supposed" to be a writer, and writer's write, and if anything can get me thinking about writing, it's "LOST."
If you're not a fan of LOST, that's ok. You can still appreciate this. What I want to express is what I feel when I'm watching an episode of LOST. You have probably experienced this before. You're sitting in front of the TV, and you're on the edge of the sofa, inching your face towards the TV, turning the volume up on the remote, so you can hear, word-for-word, every minute detail the people are saying. You are excited. You're watching enthralling, entincing, what's-gonna-happen-next TV.
That's how I feel when I watch LOST. For those of you for whatever reason aren't familiar with the plot of LOST, in a nutshell, it deals with a group of people who crash-landed on a mysterious island inhabited by, well, no one really knows for sure. There's a crazy French lady, a polar bear, whispering in the jungle, a giant mesquito-like cloud that envelops people and kills them, and a few secret hatches that belonged to a group of scientists who have all mysteriously disappeared. And the island also has a quasi-leader named Benjamin Linus with a Napolean-complex who is so marvelously crazy/evil/obsessed, with his giant bug-eyes, that one minute you want to wring his neck and the next you're begging him to help protect you from whatever else is lurking nearby.
I understand if you aren't one for science-fiction, or have trouble following serial-TV that requires you to tune in week after week. But you really have no excuse when a show is praised by everyone from your stoner-neighbor-dude to your mom's book club group. This show crosses all sex/age/race groups and gets people talking at the water cooler the next day.
I love LOST because when I watch it, I know that the writers and the creators are going to take me on an exciting journey, one that they've elaborately hatched for me so I can debate the many ways in which the story will end.
I love LOST because there it has a love story.
I love LOST because magical things happen on an island, kind of like "Fantasy Island," and makes you think you, too, might really enjoy life without your TiVo recorded soap operas, sport shows, and reality TV, hair products, stilleto heels, video games, and designer coffee.
I love LOST because it has reminded me to ask myself what am I doing with my life.
I love LOST because I've learned how to push someone's shoulder back into place in case they pull it out of their socket.
I love LOST because there is a strong, sexy, intelligent female character for me to admire, even if she did kill someone.
I love LOST because of Josh Holloway (even if his character did kill someone).
I love LOST because even though the season is over, I can watch the first season on DVD and remember little details I had forgotten that make me again think how genius the creators are.
I love LOST because in at least one of every four episodes, I slap my hand over my mouth as I am gaping in shock and awe in what I have just found out.
Please, please, please, if you are not watching this show, you owe it to your happiness to go out and rent or buy the first DVD and watch it. I remember thinking when I re-watched the pilot epidsodes back-to-back (it's a two-parter) that this show is like a movie. It really is, it's that good.
Lastly, I'm not so naive and gullible that I don't think the show has its downs along with its ups.
There are certain characters (Nikki and Paolo, anyone?) that should have died in that plane crash to begin with. But 90% of the characters (even the ones that, sadly, die), and maybe don't have as much an impact on the final story lines as their co-survivors, deserve the juicy episodes they get.
Besides, you could always make this show into a drinking game for every time someone is punched in the face. It happens quite a bit.

A tribute to Heath Ledger

So, as many of my friends know, I have been a big fan of Heath Ledger since he debuted in America with "10 Things I Hate About You." Like many, I was excited by his charm and accent, and of course, his devilish good looks. I felt he always had a little twinkle in his eye, and thus in the characters he played, that said, "I know something you don't."
I remember going to see "The Patriot" with my dad at the theater, and had been so excited about the movie opening (at the time, I was also a big fan of Mel Gibson's- well, I still think he's a good actor). Anyway, it came out the summer of 2000, when I had just graduated from high school, and was preparing to go to college. I recall watching "10 Things" and "The Patriot" over and over in my dorm room, and crying every time someone died in "The Patriot." It is the ultimate good vs. evil, and it deliberately tugs at your heart strings, but Heath shows some of that silly and playful demeanor again when he's paired with his on-screen love.
Two-and-a-half years ago, I was working at Starbucks in the summer of 2005. We had lots of celebrities come to that location on the Upper West Side. We were across from ABC Studios and near Lincoln Center. I'd see Spike Lee, Regis Philbin, Alec Baldwin, and even Dustin Hoffman. But for me, the highlight was when Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams came into the store. Someone came over and said they spotted him, and I immediately abandoned my spot at the far end of the store, and sprinted over to the other bar to make or get whatever Heath was ordering. It being the summer, of course he got some Frappuccinos. Michelle was at least well into her second trimester, and when Heath came to pick up the drinks he asked me if they were decaf. I told him that he had ordered a blended creme drink, which was not coffee based, and asked if he wanted a coffee based one instead, and of course made it (I would have done that for any costumer- it often gets confusing). The whole time, I think I probably had a goofy smile plastered on my face, and was likely shaking from excitement. I don't often tell the actors or whomever that I'm a big fan unless I really am, and even then I try to leave them alone and just thank them for coming in and wish them a good day. So, this time, I decided that when I handed the frap back to Heath, I was just going to say something like, "By the way, I just wanted to tell you I've been a really big fan since '10 Things I Hate About You'," or, "I can't wait to see you in 'Brokeback Mountain'." However, when I turned around he was talking quietly on the cell phone and I didn't want to bother him.
He, Michelle and a friend stayed at the table in the corner for a while, used the restrooms, and I walked by them when I had to go back to the back office. My boss, Josh, even wrote a funny note that was hand-delivered to my by another employee that read something like this:
"Dear Laura,
I'm tired of being with this woman over there, and I think you're really hot. Will you go out with me? Circle "yes" or "no"
Love, Heath : )"
When they left, I watched Heath and Michelle walk away together down a side street towards Central Park, holding hands. They looked really in love.
When I read about their break-up, I was saddened, especially because they have a young daughter together.
Yesterday, when I heard the news from a co-worker, I was shocked. I thought, they did not just say Heath Ledger was dead. I know that celebrities, the rich, the famous, no one is immune from death or tragedy. We tend to think, though, that they're more immune, or eventually, they'll get back up on their feet. I kept thinking, why wasn't someone there to help him? Why didn't he have a close buddy to call and say, "Are you getting any sleep these days? What are you taking? How much? Do you need to see someone?" It's tragic when anyone, famous or not, dies at such a young age. I couldn't help but think there are so many famous people to have died young, and whether it's the lifestyle that brings the death, or they type of person that is drawn to the lifestyle that inevitably brings the reckless behavior, it's sad. Look at someone like Amy Winehouse. Why has she not died from the reckless lifestyle she's been living? I hope not; she's a great talent as well. I hope she gets help, and that once again, if any good can come out of this, it's that her or someone else gets help. Let me clarify, I'm not speculating what killed Heath. All we know so far is that prescription sleeping pills were found, not strewn about, in the apartment. I hope that it was not a suicide. I am saddened either way, and I would hate to think that he felt that depressed and helpless that he would do something like that. Without knowing him, I can only assume that with his continuing to act in parts that interested him, and the joy he apparently took in being a father to Matilda, he did not. Again, it's just so sad and he will be greatly missed by his family and his fans.
Rest in Peace, Heath.

Outside Heath Ledger's New York Vigil

Outside Heath Ledger's New York Vigil: "Outside Heath Ledger's New York Vigil"

To explain, I went down to SoHo last night after work (around 10:00 pm) after buying a single yellow rose from the bodega around the corner. I took the six train to Spring St. and walked to Broome St. At the end, I saw all the news vans, and there was a small crowd still gathered around, questioning others about what they'd seen. I stopped across the street from the barricade and asked the first person I saw which building it was specifically, or if he knew which floor Heath lived on. I told him about the story of me meeting Heath at Starbucks. Then this guy held up a microphone with the Entertainment Tonight logo on it, and aksed if I would mind being interviewed. At first, I wasn't sure, because I thought I don't want to seem like I'm happy about being on TV. But then I thought, otherwise they'll pick some tourist teeny-bopper who'll just gush about how cute he was. At least I'm a big fan, and have been affected by this in a deeper way than the average moviegoer, and at least I can say that in a short meeting with him, I felt that he was a sincere and nice guy. So, that's what happened. I just want to add that I feel for his family, his mother, father, and sister, and step-family, grandparents and such. As my parents and others always say, it's not natural for a child to die before their parents. It's not the way of life. R.I.P.